Dearest Bendis, when you joined the board right in the beginning I felt our Gateways2Bab board might work out fine, because to have you as a member is certainly a great honour! I have grown to love and respect you profoundly... *real hug from here, *and turning to the board* Bendis does not need any introduction, but for those who are not familiar with the evolution of Witchcraft in America, Bendis belongs to the line of successors of ZBudapest, who trained amongst others, Starhawk. Bendis is therefore one of the most important priestesses of the Great Goddess in the US and probably... in all worlds. Esharra of the Twin Rivers said that I should join Bendis´ e-list HerStudy back in Setpt 1998, and all that Esharra (and Bendis since then!) say, I promptly put into action! Bendis´ life is a hymn of praise to the Everlasting Spirit by deeds and dedication. And wit, love and strength and all the good things the Goddess make you find out in yourself
By the way, when our board started, and I was very much afraid of attracting all sorts of Meso weirdoes then, my example was Bendis´HerStudy list. It still is. I wanted to do things and sound like Bendis in HerStudy, if I were lucky! I guess the only difference between our board and HerStudy is that our focus is Mesopotamia, whereas HerStudy is more ecclectic. So, meet one of my role models *hug hmm... You didn´t know this, but now dear Board and Bendis, this is the whole truth!!!!
hmmm... I don´t post in HerStudy as much as I would like to because... I don´t want to sound too Meso all the time...
*red faced.
It is an honour to be in the circle with you, dearest Bendis, from the start. And I long for the day we will hug in person too! I travel lots and want to visit California again
And please never feel out of place here. I would give you my place all times! Indeed, it is me the one who will read with all interest, mind, heart, body and soul anything you post... in all boards and places in all worlds!
With deep love, respect and admiration for all you are, dearest Bendis,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
I share your trepidation about posting, my posts are usually much shorter than those better educated here, as they should be!
I just love reading the information that is available and putting in my two cents whenever I feel I have something to add, usually by just trying to look at things with a new angle.
The longest post I've ever written was on this forum and about the first Chapter of the Bottero book we are reading right now, and I wrote it by hand the night I read the chapter. I took notes and wrote it a bit like an essay, like I was in school! lol
I look forward to sharing and learning from you as well!
My AOL IM is SKWEEKUS
So look for me next time you are on!
Love and light
Kirizal
Response to Lishtar/profile
I am most humbled by your awesome reply to my post. My dear friend, it is I who would be so thrilled and honored if you should ever decide to come to Southern California - to have you as my guest!
What a joy that would be - I would take you down to LA to visit one of the grand rituals held by Circle of Aradia, the legacy Z started 30 years ago now grown into huge Circles within Circles.
We celebrated the 30th anniversary this past Yule and all of us who could be there, shared our stories - where we have come from and our vision of the future.
And if I ever get past all of this surgery that is rebuilding my body (or pinning it together with screws, plates, and rods!) I may just come down to Brazil to see you! Now that would be a treat!
I am excited to read of your presence on this board. Please pardon the slowness of this reply -- working two jobs and writing "full time" (anytime time is available) has made me lax about keeping up with the board. But I am happy to give you a big hello from my (low) end of the evolutionary chain. Whether the greeting comes from Lishtar or from a mere nobody like me, know that you are most welcome on this list.
Re: Response to Lishtar/profile
Dearest Bendis, now it is me who is jumping up and down with joy for the invitation to stay with you in California and surely it will be my greatest pleasure to have you in my little flat!!! For starters...
The day you decide to come over here, I will pick you up in Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo and we fly to the South together, where I live. Mountains and a visit to a farm included!
Do think about South Brazil for your body-building process.
Caitlín Matthews will probably come in 2003 and I will be organizing the Southern part of her trip This is just a date for your records, because I can have any of you any time and all times...
I guess Mother and you will get along wonderfully well
*red faced: Only saw your message now, but John replied to you. Don´t we adore when people jump in and post for us too????
real hugs and all my love,
Lish
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
me
Hi guys!
Well I just joined. I guess this is the place to do the introductions, huh?
I live in Georgia.....in the extreme southwest part of the state. It's not a very good place to be interested in anything "unusual," so cyberspace is where most of my social life takes place. I am married, have a little boy who's six years old, going on 17, and we enjoy the company of "the perfect dog" named Bubba, and four wonderful kittycats. We do alot of organic gardening (food, herbs, flowers), and forage for wild edibles, medicinals, and shroomies whenever we get a chance to.
I'm a full time, free lance artist; but I've also been doing research for several years for a book. Eventually (and at this rate, I'll probably be quite the Elder when it comes to pass), it will manifest as _Chasing Symbols_. It's the book that will accompany a Tarot deck I've designed, and it follows the symbols of the cards through different traditions, cultures, etc, taking into account archeological evidence, ancient texts, art history, comparative religion and mythology, shamanic traditions, and anything else I wind up throwing in to spice up the mix. This is actually part of what's brought me to you guys.
Many, many moons ago I received my undergraduate degree in Anthropology. And recently (in the last several months) I've been intriqued with the idea of working some of the research I'd been doing for the book into my paintings. Don't ask me how I'd managed to keep these world separated till then without imploding. Anyway, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit an exhibit on Syria that is currently at the Fernbank Museum of Atlanta. The exhibit displays artifacts dating from the days of Homo erectus to modern times. (It's a traveling exhibit, too. If any of you guys get a chance to check it out, it's well worth the effort.) Anyway, there was an artifact on display that you guys may be familiar with. It's called the Cultic Stela. It's 5000 years old, and it was found in a trench beneath a temple dedicated to Ninhursag. And I wanted to paint it. So I came here to do my research, so I wouldn't look like a fool that didn't know what they were talking about.
Anyway, I'm very happy to find this place. It's an exciting prospect to go through and read everything. I hope I can contribute somewhere along the way. I don't do ICQ (I'm already glued to the computer too much as it is! LOL!) but my email is aurorapope@hotmail.com if anyone wants to drop a note. I have a website too, but I don't know if it's cool to post it here?
Anyway, peace to you all.
Aurora
Re: :-)
I am doing taxes in the office, so normally arrive very early and leave late. On top, there are the slides for Leiden to get ready... yeah, mad rush, but taxes are only once a year!
It is great to have you here!
sighs... rushing to work again!!!
Love, light and laughter,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
I'm a newbie also and still catching up on all the material here. You will find it very interesting and educational. I do love the sound of your life. I am also working on more of the natural way in my little piece of heaven here in Wisconsin.
So enjoy!
Besa
P.S. Found two links regarding your Cultic Stela that might be of interest for the others here...
Profiles?
I'm 100% new to this board, having only just discovered it a few days ago, and having only registered earlier this morning. But since I'm new, I thought I'd let people know who I am, in the event I actually post anything.
For the record, I am a graduate student in Assyriology, with an interest in the Ur III period and the various socio-economic aspects one can glean from said period's vast corpus of texts. (In fact, I found this site as part of a careful ploy to justify internet surfing by searching for things somewhat related to what I was supposed to be studying...)
I must admit that I'm not into any of the god/goddess Pagan/Neo-pagan elements that often associate with the study of Mesopotamia. In fact, my study of the ancient Near East has made me an atheist.
I am happy to offer and share whatever knowledge I might have with others in the group, and will no doubt feel compelled to ask my own questions about this or that. I look forward to the exchanges.
On a final note, I regret that I may not soon be able to check the internet as much as I'd like, as I'll by studying in Europe for a semester and will have only irregular access. But I'll try and stay in touch...
Re: Profiles?
Welcome Ugula to our Meso family here!! I'm so glad that you found our board. I, too, discovered GatewaystoBabylon after using a search engine that was more thorough than other typical engines. I have never regretted it!!
And thank you for jumping right in and introducing yourself!! We are a small circle of lovers of ancient Mesopotamia (which you know, of course, is a fairly large sweep of history!!) and this board is one of our ways of keeping ourselves on our toes and of learning more and sharing our mutual knowledge and insights.
Unfortunately, our illustrious and energetic leader, Lishtar, has been ill in Lisbon after presenting at the Recontre Assyriologique Internationale in early July. She had/is having/? severe problems with her blood pressure. We have had little information about her except for a message from her brother that was forwarded to us. It has been very quiet here the past several weeks that she has been absent and it's hard to fill the void of her energy and cheerfulness!
Once she is back in commission, however, she sends weekly emails to those of us in 'our inner circle', those of us who have registered on the board. It is a nice way for her to keep in touch with all of us. Only the EZOp, which she is, has access to that function.
So are you in a Ph.D. program? Where, may I ask?
I look forward to future exchanges with you as we all share our knowledge and insights. And yes, you may find that we tend to have a strong neo-pagan slant. However, everything is built and developed upon solid and rigorous scholarship. Lishtar wouldn't have it any other way, right Lish?
And we understand the limitations of not having Internet access as often as one would like. I was out of work for several months previously and rarely had time (or the energy) to post.
In any event, we're so happy you have joined us!!
Silim!
ShamhatinTraining / aka Melissa
In a taunt is its taunt; in a curse is its curse, (such is) the constant renewal of destiny. Sumerian Proverb
Re: Profiles?
Thanks for your reply and greetings, Shamhat/Melissa. I have read that Lishtar is ill, and I hope she gets better. I wonder how long it takes for one to recover from such an illness? The RAI was over a month ago! But perhaps she's fine and vacationing in Europe-- We'll have to see I guess....
new member.
Hello, I'm new here! It seems that many of the people here are much more... er... informed than I am, but I hope you won't start nagging - I'll be quiet and listen, I promise... and maybe ask an occasional elementary question
My nickname is Auer, which is finnish for the haze that can be seen on a misty day. I actually am Finnish (so excuse me if I occasionally misspell something). My real first name (in case anyone is interested, because I don't think serial killers will travel this far) is Noora. Uh, I'm actually only 18 years old, studying in a boarding high school, specializing in creative writing.
I became interested in ancient Mesopotamia this spring. Since then I have read anything I could find about it on the internet (though for some strange reason I only found this site last weekend) and Wolkstein/Kramer's Inanna (which is currently the only book I own on the subject, and when it comes to the libraries... well, only one book existed on the subject, from the 60's... I could go to some university's library, but because I live in a small town, returning the books would become a problem.) I am a practicing dianic witch (though from the, uh, "milder" class - I also acknowledge and serve the male god), and dedicated myself last summer after two years of study.
My additional interests include my fiancé, arts and crafts, drawing comics / graphic novels, writing, reading (mostly nonfiction), webmastering, playing computer games (uh), politics, cooking. fashion, theater. My absolute favorite author (or should I say obsession) is T.S.Eliot.
I guess I've been rather verbose, so if anyone wants to know something more, well... my e-mail address is sininenrevontuli@hotmail.com, why not ask me?
I'm very pleased to find such an informative site with so many wise people around. Don't kick me outta here, OK?
Thanks for posting. Things seem pretty slow here for reasons I'm not quite sure about (I'm new here myself). but apparently, one of the main contributors is ill, so perhaps that's contributing.
In any case, you should know that Helsinki is one of Europe's main Assyriology centers, with Prof. Parpoa (he works mostly with late period Neo-Assyrian stuff), so a trip to the university's library (when you have the chance) might proove productive.
In the while, feel free to ask questions and enter into discussions. that's what the site is for, right? And perhaps the traffic will pick up, too.
..
Ugula,
I was most delighted to find your reply. I feel much more confident here now, even though I feel I'm in the middle of gurus or something
Perhaps I'll start posting now x) I checked the university library's book lists online and it truly seems to be worth a visit, when I have a change. I'll try to make it before the christmas holidays begin, but as I study 300 kms away from Helsinki, it is difficult to get there within the working hours...
In any case, thank you very much for the support and advice!
I recently signed up at the Gateways To Babylon board after taking a look around the website. This is an impressive site!
My handle is Coruncanius, the name of an ancient Roman jurist, and I come to you from Minnesota. I am a Technical/Legal writer by trade and am also an experienced researcher. I hold degrees in Ancient History, Classics and Language. Ancient civilizations are fascinating! From Sumer and Akkad to Rome and Byzantium - it's all good to me.
Although I have studied primarily Greek and Roman civilization, I have found the civilizations and cultures of the ancient Near East very intriguing too. I joined Gateways hopeful to learn more about these most ancient of civilizations.
Usually, I am not online that often or for that long but my contact points are:
AOL IM - Coruncanius
ICQ - 177427256
Re: profile
Cool! good to see a book that finally discounts the Necronomicon as a work of non-fiction. I too play the call of Cthulhu RPG and have read Lovecraft's original stories, and you guys are right, there is very little Sumerian stuff in them (considering that Sumer was just being discovered as its own civilization at the time, no wonder.) Egypt was still considered the oldest civ. so that is why (I think) Lovecraft used it.
Anyways, about me: I mentioned Earlier that I am a Kemetic Recon by religion. My parent diety is the goddess Sekhmet, and my s.n. means "beloved of Sekhmet." (as a Kemetic, I have to deal with "pyramidiots" instead of "necronerds" lol.) I Am engaged ot Saharda, and I have been interested in all things Ancient Near Eastern for quite some time. I work, am a college student (psych/soc. major) and draw, as well as spend too much time online. I also have cats who are quite demanding.
I have never made but one prayer to god, a very short one: "O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it. -Voltaire
My name is Edaine. I am a Wiccan *ducks* and have been for a number of years. Inanna came to me about a year ago and now has a firm grasp on my coure of study and field of research. I am majoring in Classic Civ and would like to incorporate Anthropolgy as well. Perhaps a dual major? I am not too sure yet.
At this moment I have four Goddesses that take main stage in my life: Athena, Lilith, Inanna, and Brighid. It can be an interesting mix at times but surprisenly very peaceful for the most part.
Best way to get a hold of me is through the Ezboard Inbox as I am rarely on IM and if I dont know who an email is from through Hotmail it gets erased.
*hug hmm... You didn´t know this, but now dear Board and Bendis, this is the whole truth!!!! 
She had/is having/? severe problems with her blood pressure. We have had little information about her except for a message from her brother that was forwarded to us. It has been very quiet here the past several weeks that she has been absent and it's hard to fill the void of her energy and cheerfulness!
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