Hello! so im mesopotamian and I've been drawn to religion for quite a while now and I don't know how to start worshiping the mesopotamian gods, i used to be a Hellenic polytheism so i know a bit about paganism, but im not sure if its the same as mesopotamian polytheism, i dont even know the structures of the religion I'll try to study and understand but any help would be appreciated!

Hey all,

I would like people's opinion about this YouTube channel. It's roughly 7 years old but the content seems to be much more recent.

I have checked out some of the videos that were posted and although the author (sometimes) gives information about the researchers who studied the tablets which content is revealed, I could not find anything about them on the internet. It's like they don't even exist. Moreover, the author of these videos frequently refers to the content of the tablets they discuss as disturbing and/or unpublished.

I saw many people commenting negatively on the videos while some others, who claimed to be in the field, said they could confirm to some degree the truthfulness of the disclosed content.

It's becoming increasingly difficult nowadays to tell truth from falsehood with the rapid developing of AI and I really don't know what to think of this channel.

Just out of general curiousity.

I also recently noticed that the wikipedia articles on near eastern religion, canaanite religion, and sumerian religion seem to recently have been heavily edited. Strange

Hello everyone, I’ve been reading your posts and decided to ask. Is anyone here practicing the cult of Enlil, and could you tell me more about his correspondences and your personal experiences with this god?

One of the things that drew me to Ishtar was the notion of a gender-diverse priesthood and a broad-spectrum notion that queer love or modes of existence were equally sacred to cis/hetero stuff.

But after reading the monograph "Masculinities and Third Genders... In the Ancient Near East" and the article "Bad Girls and Kinky Boys, the modern prostitution of Ishtar/clergy/cult," I have the following new understanding.

A. Apart from the Gala ritually performing lamentations in a feminine aspect and maybe shaving their beards, there was NOT gender variance in the faith. And also, they would chant like that for everyone.

B. The implications of ritual gender-ambiguity was used by ancient Sumero-Akkadians in daily life to ridicule Gala/Assinu/Kul'u as lesser, infertile or passive men, like in Roman society, where gay stuff was fine as long as the top was of greater status than the bottom, but then and only then. (Women or trans folk omitted in the discusison.)

C. Any other queerness was an invention of Victorian/Imperial age scholars who really liked the idea of a freaky ancient sex goddess with castrated priests as a way of showing how far humanity had come in developing to the "true" faith and "natural order".

And like... a lot of my prayers to Ishtar have centered around my gratitude for a goddess who would find my queerness as a sacred, or at least, neutral thing, and for her hand guiding me along paths in romance and transition.

So... it kind of is throwing me sideways that I may have just been totally making an ass of myself to a goddess who might not value any of that the way I thought. And that, frankly, praying to Ereshkigal in terms of that in death and irkalla, at least all us are equal, might be the closest thing I will ever get to the level of acceptance I was feeling ever again.

Thoughts, anyone?

Inanna is my patron deity and I’m looking for more ways to honour her. I pray, write to and talk to her regularly but a big part of our communication is through cards - I have been doing tarot for years whilst I’m relatively new to deity work, so I’ve found it easier to bridge the gap using cards.

I would really like to find an appropriate deck to honour her with and dedicate to her but whilst I’ve found many Egyptian, Greek and Roman themed oracle and tarot decks, there seems to be almost no decks with themes related to the Sumerian or Mesopotamian pantheons (at least that I can find).

I don’t mind recommendations of non-Sumerian specific themed decks (as I know there’s not a lot out there), I just need to find some kind of deck that closely aligns with the energies of Inanna which she might like.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, i made some researchs of evil symbols in ancient mesopotamia and i wonder if satanists use mesopotamian symbols of ancient mesopotamia? like did mesopotamians had a symbol of irkalla?

Hi everyone, I’m planning to start working with Ishtar and I’m very excited to do so… mainly I want extra help when it comes to divination especially with tools like tarot

Has she helped anyone here with divination? So far when I ask about her I get the star card which is so funny because it literally has the 8 pointed star that’s her sigil! Sometimes my connection with divination glitches so I’d like it to be more consistent

Do you have any tips? Has she helped you with matters of divination?

I just wanted to come out and say the Gods have sent me an incredibly healing journey where others notice the difference and how I am doing, I now have a clean space, a self care routine and a consistency I didn't know possible, it has absolutely molded and shaped my work as a direct support professional day to day and I am glad to be given incredible advice on this journey.

Hi how does somebody start to get into the religion and how does one begin?

I have been fascinated with Enki for a long while. I admire his wisdom, cleverness and the ability to turn any tide to his favour.

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I sense a bit of kinship to him. Other than setting up an altar, how can one actually embody him?

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How can I worship him through my actions rather than just have an altar?

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Thank you.

Hi!! Ive very recently listened to the epic of Gilgamesh and haven’t really been able to find any more resources regarding Gilgamesh and actual pagan practices concerning how ancient Sumerian figures, specifically Gilgamesh were worshipped. I’ve had an extensive interest in polytheism within itself for a while and have really just been curious specifically about anything related to ancient rituals or practices regarding Gilgamesh, as through my independent research I’ve found that he was worshipped and deified however I’ve found nothing regarding actual practices. So if anyone could share any knowledge of ancient practices purely for research purposes and genuine interest it would be much appreciated. <3

To the group,

I am an Sumerologist and recently found this thread. A brief scoll through all the questions and comments made me wonder how many have read primary sources translated from Sumerian. One of the issues with Sumerology and Assyriology is that most translations are either inaccessible to the generable public or so dense that non-specalists get bogged down in, which is why I am asking.

A simple but outdated resource for Sumerian is the ETCSL (https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/#) and for Akkadian the electronic Babylonian Library (https://www.ebl.lmu.de/). Have most of you run across these?

To those worshipping a Mesopotamian deity, how often do you use Sumerian prayers? This question is of particular interest to me as I am translating a Sumerian prayer for my PhD and I am curious as to what sources you use.

Hiya all! First of all, I am a complete beginner in this topic - I am developing a small game, where at one point they come across a Sumerian love letter. The only Sumerian they will see/I want to show is the title, which I wanted to be "My Wish for You".

I tried to look around and found the verb 𒀾, which apparently both means to desire something or to curse, which would fit PERFECTLY as the wish that's referenced in the letter also acts like an obsessive curse, so I would love to use that word... although I am unsure if it was also used in Sumerian as I only found reliable sources for Old Babylonian and Middle Hittite.

I had looked around a bit more and came to construct 𒅗𒀭𒉌𒋛𒈬, with 𒅗𒀭𒉌𒋛 meaning a wish and 𒈬 being the suffix to show first person possessive (my), but not only do I have no idea if that's accurate, I also don't know how to translate the "for you" part. Apparently za-e 𒍝𒂊 means you, and you can add 𒅕 to mark it as dative?

So, would 𒅗𒀭𒉌𒋛𒈬𒍝𒂊𒅕 be correct or am I on the completely wrong track?

As its a small detail of the whole game, I sadly don't have time to dive deep into the language myself right now, so I was wondering if anyone on here could help me! Any ideas or suggestions would be very appreciated! :)

I am fascinated by God Ningirsu, and have some questions. Is he the same as Ninurta? And apart from war and agriculture, does he have a role in healing? Do you know of an official source (not Wikipedia) with evidence that says he’s also a god of healing?

Does anyone have a upg on Nanna the moon god?

I've been interested in making my own clay tablets for a while and I have no idea what the proper term for the reed stylus is. Either where can I buy one, or what's the proper search term to find one? Is it something I have to make myself? I'm specifically looking for the one to the right in the first picture. Thank you in advance.

EDIT: I meant the stylus on the left side. Despite this, I still appreciate all of your support!

Hi everyone,

I’m new to this community and relatively new to Mesopotamian spirituality in general.

My interest began because I felt a strong pull toward Ishtar/Inanna. I’m still trying to understand that connection, learn more about her, and figure out how people honor and connect with her in modern practice.

I’ve been reading what I can find and recently created a small devotional space (photo attached), but I still feel like I’m at the very beginning of this journey.

For those who work with or worship Ishtar/Inanna:

• What resources would you recommend for a beginner?
• What aspects of her are often misunderstood?
• How do you personally honor or connect with her?
• Are there any books, hymns, prayers, or historical sources that helped you better understand her?

I’m approaching this with respect and a genuine desire to learn. Any advice, experiences, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!