Is the Book of Calling A Trap Created by the Scorpion-Man?

Greetings! I would like to welcome everyone to the Simon Necronomicon Practitioner’s Journal. If this is your first time here, please feel free to review some of our previous discussions and share some of your insights and thoughts. Stay blessed!

Recently, we received quite a few emails about the Scorpion Man’s description, which is found in the Second Testimony of the Mad Arab. The passage reads as follows:

“Remember the Scorpion Man who dwells in the Mountains. He was of old created by TIAMAT to fight the Elder Gods, but was permitted to stay below the Mountains by Them. But He has deceived us once, and may do so again. But call upon him if there be something concerning the Outside that you would know, that I have not told thee.”

Many avid readers of the Simon Necronomicon, as well as, Initiates of the said Tradition, have often wondered how the Scorpion Man “deceived” the gods? In order for us to get a clear understanding about the Scorpion Man and his deception, we will analyze each sentence that appears in the passage cited above. This will help us get a full understanding of the Scorpion Man’s function.

“Remember the Scorpion Man who dwells in the Mountains.”

The Scorpion-Man and his spouse are mentioned in detail in the Gilgamesh Epics. We discussed this in a previous article, appearing on this blog page, entitled Mountains of Masshu Part 1, where we find the following:

“…Gilgamesh comes to Mashu “the great mountain, which guards the rising and setting sun. Its twin peaks are as high as the wall of heaven and its roots reach down to the underworld. Its gates are guarded by the Scorpions, half-man and half-dragon; their glory is terrifying; their stare strikes death into men, their shining halo sweeps the mountains that guard the rising sun”. Gilgamesh is able to convince the Scorpion-people to open the gate and let him enter the long tunnel through the mountains.”

We see that the Scorpion-Man guarded the Mountains of Mashu. Their job in these “mountains” was that of a “gatekeeper,” opening the gates at the Sun’s setting, and then opening them again for the Sun to leave the underworld. In a Wikipedia article, entitled Scorpion man, we read:

“Scorpion men are featured in several Akkadian language myths, including the Enûma Elish and the Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. They were also known as aqrabuamelu or girtablilu. They were first created by the Tiamat in order to wage war against the younger gods for the betrayal of her mate Apsu. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, they stand guard outside the gates of the sun god Shamash at the mountains of Mashu. These give entrance to Kurnugi, the land of darkness. The scorpion men open the doors for Shamash as he travels out each day, and close the doors after him when he returns to the underworld at night. They also warn travellers of the danger that lies beyond their post. Their heads touch the sky, their “terror is awesome” and their “glance is death”. This meeting of Gilgameš, on his way to Ūta-napišti, with the Scorpion-folk guarding the entrance to the tunnel is described in Iškār Gilgāmeš, tablet IX, lines 47-81″

The Mad Arab, however, reminds us that the Scorpion Man dwells in the mountains. These mountains are known in ancient Mesopotamian mythology as the Mountains of Mashu. We have discussed the meaning of these mountains and how they pertain to the rites of Gate-Walking initiation in several articles appearing on this blog page. Many of these definitions were placed in the context of the human body’s anatomy to reveal the physical evolution of the Initiate when entering the Necronomicon Tradition. One example of this can be seen in the article Mountains of Masshu & The Pituitary Gland. Since the Scorpion Man dwells in the “mountains,” we need to get a clear understanding of these mountains.

The Akkadian word Mashu, which scholars translate as “twin.” It was considered by the ancient Sumerians to be the Gateway to both the ‘garden of the gods’ and a passageway to the “Underworld.” It was also a symbol of the rising and setting Sun, as the sun-god Shamash is often depicted between the two peaks on ancient Babylonian cylinders. The rising sun would depict the sun’s return to the palace of the gods and the setting sun would be an indication of its entrance into the Underworld to judge the dead.

The mythical Mountain of Mashu was a personification of the Babylonian cosmos. Scholars define the Akkadian word Mashu, as twin, being that it held access to the Underworld, and the Abode of the Gods. There was also the third aspect that being the Throne of Ishtar. Jason Breshears, in the classic work, The Lost Scriptures of Giza, page 47, makes an interesting point:

“Sumerian writings tell of a mysterious mountain somewhere here on earth that was called Mashu. This is intriguing since there are no mountains in Sumer (southern Iraq). Concerning Mashu these texts read, “On high, to the celestial band it is connected; Below, to the lower world it is bound.”…The celestial band refers to the band of 12 constellations called the Zodiac that were long ago believed to harbor great secrets in the images of animals and deities. Even individual stars within the constellations contributed to these mysteries by the meanings of their names but those not initiated into the stellar mysteries saw these star patterns as merely attached to legends and lore.”

Breshears’ observation indicates that Mt. Mashu in part was the realm of the zodiac. This observation is in agreement with the words of the Mad Arab:

“For this is the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Black Earth, that I have writ down at the peril of my life, exactly as I received it, on the planes of the IGIGI, the cruel celestial spirits from beyond the Wanderers of the Wastes.”

The realm of the IGIGI is attributed to the zodiac (Enki) in Supplementary Material To 777, which is found in the Simon Necronomicon’s Introduction:

	Table VII [A.C.]	Table XXV [S.]
0.	. . .	ANU (TIAMAT)
1.	Sphere of the Primum Mobile	ENLIL (ABSU)
2.	Sphere of the Zodiac or Fixed Stars	ENKI; LUMASHI (IGIGI)

We can tell for certain that the Mad Arab associated the Mountains of Masshu with the zodiac, since his discovery of the book was said to be on the planes of the Igigi, but is also described as a journey through the mountains:

“When I was only a youth, travelling alone in the mountains to the East, called MASSHU by the people who live there, I came upon a grey rock carved with three strange symbols. It stood as high as a man, and as wide around as a bull. It was firmly in the ground, and I could not move it.”

From the information cited above, it is clear that the “mountains” where the Scorpion Man dwells is the zodiac. This is confirmed for us in Babylonian Star-Lore by Gavin White. Page 46 states:

“Nevertheless, the Scorpion’s mythical nature within the stellar calendar is most clearly revealed in the Epic of Gilgamesh where the gate of the sun is guarded by a pair of scorpion-people. The gate marks the start of an underground tunnel that was travelled by the sun during the course of each night and was transversed by Gilgamesh on his way to the visit the immortals who lived beyond the confines of the world. In terms of the sun’s annual circuit of the stars this tunnel can naturally be thought of as symbolising the sun’s autumnal descent into the darkness of the underworld.”

So the “mountains” that the Scorpion Man is said to dwell, is a reference to the constellation of Scorpio, or in ancient Mesopotamian terms, the Scorpion Man.

“He was of old created by TIAMAT to fight the Elder Gods, but was permitted to stay below the Mountains by Them.”

The Magan Text begins with a version of the Enuma Elish that seems to be adapted for the purpose of initiation. The Reader may want to note that the Enuma Elish was read during the Babylonian New Year festival, which took place in spring. Illustrating the defeat of winter and the sun’s return to life. The Magan Text states:

“She summoned the Viper, the Dragon, and the Winged Bull,
The Great Lion, the Mad-God, and the Scorpion-Man.
Mighty rabid Demons, Feathered-Serpents, the Horse-Man,
Bearing weapons that spare not
Fearless in Battle,
Charmed with the spells of ancient sorcery,
. . . withal Eleven of this kind she brought forth
With KINGU as Leader of the Minions.”

 

Hung Society Or the Society of Heaven and Earth, by J. S. M. Ward, W. G. Stirling, describes the creatures summoned by Tiamat as aspects of the zodiac. On page 73 of the said work, we find the following in the footnotes:

“In the Babylonian story of Marduk’s Fight with Tiamat, the dragon, we learn that the latter created the Scorpion-man, and other monsters, to aid her in the fight….Undoubtedly these monsters represent  the signs of the zodiac fighting against the sun, and the Scorpion-man is the sign Scorpio.”

This means that the Battle between Marduk (whose name means solar calf) and Tiamat was connected to the sun’s movement through the zodiac. Since the Sun in the sign of Scorpio marked a time when the seasons shifted from fall to winter, which is often described as the Sun’s death period, we find a lot of ancient cultures explaining this stellar process in the myth of the betrayer. One example of this can be found in the Christian mythos where Judas Iscariot betrays the Christ for 30 pieces of silver, or the Sun transiting through the sign of Scorpio, which is 30 degrees in total. The famous Manly P. Hall, in the legendary Secret Teachings of All Ages, states:

“When the twelve signs of the zodiac were used to represent the twelve Apostles (although the reverse is true), the scorpion was assigned to Judas Iscariot–the betrayer.” 

In both Christian mythology and the Necronomicon Mysteries, the sign of Scorpio was noted to deceive or betray, which is symbolic of the Sun’s death as it transits from autumn to a colder period of the year in the sign of Scorpio. What is interesting about all of this is what is said about the Scorpion Man’s deception in the Simon Necronomicon:

 “But He has deceived us once, and may do so again.”

I recently discovered that the deceit of the Scorpion Man is concerned not only with stellar movements, but the Simon Necronomicon itself. earlier in this discussion it was noted that the Mad Arab received this book during his astral travels through the planes of the Igigi. The Igigi correspond to the zodiac. The Simon Necronomicon is divided up into twelve sections, each corresponding to a zodiac sign and, more importantly, an astrological house:

House	Sign		Translation	Modern title of house
1st	Aries		Life	House of Self  (Testimony of The Mad Arab)
2nd	Taurus		Wealth	House of Value (Of the Zonei and Their Attributes)
3rd	Gemini		Brothers	House of Communications (The Book of Entrance and of the Walking)
4th	Cancer		Parent	House of Home and Family (The Incantation of the Gates)
5th	Leo		Children	House of Pleasure (Conjuration of the Fire God)
6th	Virgo		Health	House of Health (The Conjuration of the Watcher)
7th	Libra		Spouse	House of Partnerships (The Book Maklu of the Burning of Evil Spirits)
8th	Scorpio		Death	House of Reincarnation (The Book of Calling)
9th	Sagittarius		Journeys	House of Philosophy (The Book of Fifty Names)
10th	Capricorn		Kingdom	House of Social Status (The Magan Text)
11th	Aquarius		Friendship	House of Friendships (The Urilia Text)
12th	Pisces		Prison	House of Self-Undoing (The Testimony of the Mad Arab, second part)

 Astrological correspondences are no simple matter. The reader should explore some of the ancient Mesopotamian correspondences to get a full idea how these 12 zodiac signs and astronomical houses show deeper meanings in the Simon Necronomicon itself. We see, however, a correspondence between the 8th house of Scorpio and the Book of Calling. Is it possible that the Book of Calling possesses the same characteristics as the Scorpion Man and may deceive the unwary Initiate, keeping him/her chained to the realm of Ereshikigal? A close examination of the text will reveal some surprising elements for practitioners of the Necronomicon Tradition and avid readers of the tome alike.

Based on the information that we have reviewed so far, the Mad Arab received the Book of the Black Earth while traveling through the zodiac, described as the planes of the Igigi. Yet he also mentions that for him/her to ascend to the realm of the Fixed Stars, a particular formulae had to be used, one that is not so clearly apparent in the text:

“I have traveled among the stars, and trembled before the Gods. I have, at last, found the formulae by which I passed the Gate ARZIR, and passed into the forbidden realms of the foul IGIGI.”

The above passage shows us that the Mad Arab had to work hard find a formulae to get into the realms of the Igigi, the realm of the zodiac. it seems that the Mad Arab worked with the zonei for a little while and was able to recieve a formulae to pass into the higher realms of the zodiac.

“Know that these Zones are governed by the celestial spirits, and that passage may be had by the Priest through those lands that border on the Unzoned Wastes beyond.”

The above quote indicates that at an appropriate times, after the Initiate has pursued the path of Gate-Walking, other truths open up, but we still see that the rites of entering the zodiac seem to be a mysterious element in the text.

When comparing the deceptive Scorpion Man with the Book of Calling, we begin to see some similarities. First, it is highly unusual that a rite of initiation is the same rite used for exercising the energies achieved in initiation. For example, someone initiated into Santeria does not do the same rituals they used for their initiation to “call” upon the “deities” of a particular pantheon. The Book of Calling presents the Ceremonies of Calling in the same manner as the rites of initiation. The Book of Calling begins with the following:

“This is further the Book of NAMMTAR, Chief among the Magicians of ERESHKIGAL.
This is the Book of the Seven Demons of the Ignited Spheres, of the Seven Demons of the Flame.
This is the Book of the Priest, who governeth the Works of Fire!”

The Book of Calling definitely find its connection with the land of Kur. We can confirm this as the Book of Calling still requires the Invocation of the Watcher. In the Watcher’s Invocation, we read the following:

“Cease to be the Sleeper of EGURRA.
Cease to lie unwaking beneath the Mountains of KUR.
Rise up, from the pits of ancient holocausts!
Rise up, from the old Abyss of NARR MARRATU!”

The Watcher’s Calling is another “underworld ritual,” but is for the use of the initiation only. It is the same initiation that was used by DinGir Ishtar in the Magan Text’s Of The Sleep of Ishtar. Remember, the words of the Mad Arab:

“For this is the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Black Earth, that I have writ down at the peril of my life, exactly as I received it, on the planes of the IGIGI, the cruel celestial spirits from beyond the Wanderers of the Wastes.”

The Black Earth is the land of Cutha. This is confirmed for us in the Magan Text:

“ISHTAR, Daughter of SIN, she set forth…To the Black Earth, the Land of CUTHA”

The Black Earth is Cutha. Based on the Mad Arab’s words, cited above, the Simon Necronomicon is the Book of Cutha. where the Initiates are being introduced to the Black Rites. Notice what is mentioned in the Urilia Text:

“..yet who lies not dead, but dreaming; he whom secret priests, initiated into the Black Rites, whose names are writ forever in the Book of Chaos, can summon if they but know how.”

How can someone be ‘initiated into the Black Rites’ and not know how to summon various energies that are part of the Black Rites, if he/she were not an initiate of the Necronomicon Tradition? The Mad Arab states the following in the Book of Calling:

“And they do not know what it is they do, but they do it at the demands of the Serpent, at whose Name even ERESHKIGAL gives fright, and the dread KUTULU strains at his bonds..”

The Necronomicon Tradition is the Serpent Cult of ancient Babylon. We find in the tome’s Introduction the following:

“..the Dragon or Serpent is said to reside somewhere “below the earth”; it is a powerful force, a magickal force, which is identified with mastery over the created world; it is also a power that can be summoned by the few and not the many.”

Why would Simon mention what is cited above if the book was not an initiation manual into the Dragon current? When we look further into the Mad Arab’s description of the Scorpion man, as it appears in the Second Testimony, we find the following:

“And again: His is the dark times…..And again: He knows of the Gate, but not the Gate.”

If the Book of Calling is relative to the sign of Scorpio, being the Scorpio Man, then it will appear to ‘know the Gate, but is not the Gate itself.’ We find further evidence of this in the words of Simon himself. In the book, Dead Names, which is authored by “Simon” we find the following comments on page 232:

“The next chapter, “The Book of Calling,” is the more familiar type of magical text containing lists of names of power and occult symbols, but it is one in which the magician must first invoke “the four gates from the world between the spheres.” These four gates refer to the four cardinal directions..”

Dead Names say that the ‘magician must invoke the four gates, which refer to the four cardinal directions.’ Published in 1911, written by William Tyler Olcott, Star-lore of All Ages gives us a clear definition of the four cardinal directions on page 234:

“The Bull, Lion, and Man are three of the four Cherubic forms….The fourth form, the Eagle, is closely associated with the Scorpion, that it is an evident fact that the guardianship, as it were, of the four quarters of the heavens had been alloted to these four mysterious forms….The Persians had a tradition that four brilliant stars marked the cardinal points…To these four stars divine honours were paid, and sacred images were erected in which the Lion, Eagle, Ox, and Man were variously combined.”

The four cardinal points are represented by the Lion, Eagle, Ox, and Man. Acknowledging these in magical ceremony as the four cardinal direction is practiced by many magical societies today. Simon in Dead Names, cited previously must be invoked during the ceremonies of the Calling. What is interesting about all of this is that these four cardinal direction are not found in the Book of Calling, but in the Urilia Text:

“And there are Four Spirits of the Spaces, and they come upon the Wind, and they are Things of the Wind, and of Fire. And the First comes from the North, and is called USTUR, and has a Human Shape. And He is the Most Ancient of the Four, and a Great Lord of the World. And the Second comes from the East, and is called SED and has the Shape of a Bull, but with a human face, and is very mighty. And the Third comes from the south, and is called LAMAS, and is of the Shape of a Lion, but with a human head, and governs those things of the Flame and the Burning Wind. And the Fourth comes from the West, and is called NATTIG, and is of the Shape of an Eagle, but with a human body, having only the face and wings of an Eagle, with an Eagle’s claws. And this Eagle comes from the Sea and is a Great Mystery.”

So here we see once again that the Book of Calling, like the Scorpion Man knows the Gate, but is not the Gate itself. So what are the Invocation of the Four gates that appear in the Book of Calling then? Simon answer this in Dead Names, pages 232-233 read:

“These four gates refer to the four cardinal directions, but the text specifically mentions the “world between the spheres,” which indicates that these four directions are not identical  to the ones with which we are most familiar–north, south, east, and west–but pertain to directions in space from a point of reference not in this world.”

Here we see in Simon’s own words that these four cardinal direction do not refer to the directions of north, south, east, and west. However, we find in the Book of Calling invocations to the north, south, east, and west. Simon continues on page 233:

“I must agree that the book is full of traps, but they are traps that the book uses to defend itself–to defend its technology-from misuse by the casual reader. One cannot really abuse the system until one understands it. The simple invocation of the four gates is one example.”

The above quote clearly indicates that Simon viewed the four directional gate invocations, as found in the Book of Calling, as a trap for the unweary. From my own experience and perspective, these invocations are to be used for those going through the process of initiation and not the initiated. They ask for protection from those forces that dwell in Ereshkigal’s realm, since the are visiting it during their initiation, which is what we find in the Magan Text’s Of the Sleep of Ishtar section. Notice what is mentioned by “Simon” in Gates of the Necronomicon, page 239:

“It is also particularly apt for the Necronomicon workings, as the Walking pertains to the Underworld..”

Those who are initiated into the rites of the Necronomicon Tradition use the Urilia Text ritual to call any deity. notice what is written in the Book of Calling:

“In the Ceremonies of Calling, any type of Spirit may be summoned and detained until It has answered your questions or provided you with whatever you desire. The Spirits of the Dead may be invoked. The Spirits of the Unborn may be invoked. The Spirits of the Seven Spheres may be invoked. The Spirits of the Flame may be invoked. In all, there may be One Thousand-and-One Spirits that are of principal importance, and these you will come to know in the course of your experiments.”

All of these things can be invoke using the Urilia Text method of Calling, which can be traced historically. The system is one where once an Initiate has Walked the seven Gates, they are then to proceed with using the Urilia formula as their system of Calling. This is why the tome is called the Necronomicon. Gates of the Necronomicon, written by Simon seems to agree with this as it calls the Calling, using the Urilia Text method the eighth Gate, which deals primarily with astral travel, OBE, and exercising the energies gained through initiation. Notice what is written on page 223:

“For this reason, the Gates should have been mastered first before undertaking the Calling operations, for the Calling involves opening the last Gate–the Eighth Gate, if you will–which opens up the individual to forces that lie outside the purview of even traditional occult practice as it is understood in the literature.”

We can be certain that this Eighth Gate is a reference to the use of the Urilia Text method of Calling since what is found in the Book of Calling is the same method one uses to Walk the Gates of Initiation. Think about it. We should also keep in mind that there is only one Gate that leads to the Outside:

“I have found the Gate that leads to the Outside, by which the Ancient Ones, who ever seek entrance to our world, keep eternal watch. I have smelled the vapours of that Ancient One, Queen of the Outside, whose name is writ in the terrible MAGAN text, the testament of some dead civilisation whose priests, seeking power, swing open the dread, evil Gate for an hour past the time, and were consumed.”

The Mad Arab defines what the Gate to the Outside is on page 11 of the Simon Necronomicon:

“These are the signs carved upon the grey stone, that was the Gate to the Outside:

We can clearly see that the Three Seals of Masshu is the Gate of the Outside. So basically initiation into the Necronomicon Tradition allows the Initiate to open the gate of Ganzir without fear. We have already provided information showing that the Book of the Black Earth is another way of saying the Book of Cutha. In the Book of Calling we find the following, concerning the Gate to the Outside upon which the Gate-Walking Initiation will lead to the Initiate to:

“Preliminary Invocation of the Operation of Calling of the Spirits of the Dead Who Dwell in Cutha, Of the Lost.

BAAD ANGARRU!
NINNGHIZHIDDA!
Thee I invoke, Serpent of the Deep!
Thee I invoke, NINNGHIZHIDDA, Horned Serpent of the Deep!
Thee I invoke, Plumed Serpent of the Deep!
NINNGHIZHIDDA!
Open!
Open the Gate that I may enter!
NINNGHIZHIDDA, Spirit of the Deep, Watcher of the Gate, Remember!
In the Name of our Father, ENKI, before the Flight, Lord and Master of Magicians, Open the Gate that I may enter!
Open, lest I attack the Gate!
Open, lest I break down its bars!
Open, lest I attack the Walls!
Open, lest I leap over It by force!
Open the Gate, lest I cause the Dead to rise and devour the Living!
Open the Gate, lest I give the Dead power over the Living!
Open the Gate, lest I make the Dead to outnumber the Living!
NINNGHIZHIDDA, Spirit of the Deep, Watcher of the Gate, Open!

 We can see in the quote above that DinGir Enki is called, but is called in the aspect before the flight, or in of a time when the Elder Gods and the Ancient Ones dwelt peacefully. It here that the Initiate understands that although the Book of calling represents the Scorpion Man, the words of the Mad Arab still ring true concerning him:

“But call upon him if there be something concerning the Outside that you would know, that I have not told thee.”

It is in the Book of Calling that we find aspects of Scorpio, those being sex and death. The Book of calling lists three invocations concerning the Sphere of Libat, which are to be used as a Sacred Marriage Rite to the goddess Ishtar. It is known in the Necronomicon Mysteries as Worshipping at the Temple of Ishtar. We also find the ‘death’ element in the Ganzir Gate incantation which is the proper way of Calling once initiated. we also have various symbols appearing on ceremonial garb, which also reveal deeper aspects of the text, but illustrate the true thesis of the Necronomicon Mysteries. For example, it was thought that the “Lord of the Watchers” was DinGir Enki by many Initiates of the Necronomicon Tradition. The Mad Arab states:

“And the Lord of the Watchers dwells, it is said, among the Wastes of the IGIGI, and only Watches and never raises the Sword or fights the idimmi, save when the Covenant is invoked by none less than the Elder Gods in their Council, like unto the Seven Glorious APHKHALLU.”

From the words of the Mad Arab, we learn one aspect of the “Lord of Watchers” is that he/she holds a sword. The sign of Scorpio is known a the “sword of heaven.” Gavin White in Babylonian Star-Lore, mentions the following:

“The Scorpion in its entirety is attributed to the multifaceted goddess Išhara. She was worshipped by many peoples and nations throughout the Ancient Near East, which has led to a confusing array of attributions – she is known as a great goddess to the Hurrians, the wife of Dagon among the West Semites, and to the Akkadians she was a goddess of love with close affinities to Ištar, whose sacred plant cannabis (qunnabu) was known as the ‘aromatic of Išhara’. In astrology texts she is sometimes called ‘Išhara of the ocean’ (Išhara Tiamat), a name applied to Venus, and from her widespread worship she is also known as the ‘queen of the inhabited world’. Notwithstanding these varied aspects of her character, Išhara is overwhelmingly known as a goddess of war and victory in astrology texts and related literature. On entitlement stones her warlike nature is revealed in the epithet ‘mistress of victory over the lands’ and in curses she is entreated ‘not to hear him in the midst of mighty battle’. In a similar vein, she is sometimes regarded as the mother of the Seven Gods, the warmongering regents of the Star Cluster.”

.The constellation of Scorpio was attributed to Ishara by the ancient people of Mesopotamia. Ishara, though similar, should not be confused with Ishtar. Ishara is the “goddess of oath” and “binding promise.” For those Initiates who are concerned with marriage and the like, Ishara is a goddess that can aid in such matters. Ishtar, on the other hand rules sexuality, but not necessarily love. Wikipedia describes Ishara as follows:

“Her astrological embodiment is the constellation Scorpio and she is called the mother of the Sebitti (the Seven Stars) (Seux, 343).”

Although DinGir Ishara is called mother of the Sebitti, seven minor war gods, history describes them as following Erra into battle. Erra appears in the Simon Necronomicon as Irra. In a post by NightCaller entitled Irra The Warrior God, we read:

“Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia tells us the following, on page 135:

“The gods Nergal and Erra were originally separate deities, but later became so closely identified as to lose their independent characters. Since Nergal was worshipped at the temple called E-meslam at Kutu in Babylonia, he was also sometimes known under the name Meslamta-ea, ‘he who comes forth from the Meslam’ ; later he was also identified with Lugal-irra.”

The Sebitti are commonly known in Mesopotamian literature as the “Seven maskim.” Under the topic of Nergal, GateWays to Babylon published the following:

“Nergal commands the Sebitti, seven warriors who are also the Pleiades, who help him when he feels the urge for war. The Sebitti prefer to be used in war instead of waiting while Erra kills by disease.”

The Sebitti are also known as the seven maskim. It is interesting that these fall under the command of DinGir Nergal. it is due to such that we find DinGir Nergal as the Lord of the Watchers. This is confirmed for us in the Book of Calling. let us first look at the Mandal of Calling, one that relates to the workings in the Urilia Text:

The above symbol is used in the rites of the initiated as referenced in the Urilia Text:

“And there are Four Spirits of the Spaces, and they come upon the Wind, and they are Things of the Wind, and of Fire. And the First comes from the North, and is called USTUR, and has a Human Shape. And He is the Most Ancient of the Four, and a Great Lord of the World. And the Second comes from the East, and is called SED and has the Shape of a Bull, but with a human face, and is very mighty. And the Third comes from the south, and is called LAMAS, and is of the Shape of a Lion, but with a human head, and governs those things of the Flame and the Burning Wind. And the Fourth comes from the West, and is called NATTIG, and is of the Shape of an Eagle, but with a human body, having only the face and wings of an Eagle, with an Eagle’s claws. And this Eagle comes from the Sea and is a Great Mystery.”

The symbol that sits in the West of the Mandal is the Eagle, but the Eagle was used in place of the Scorpion, which we will discuss later in this article. However, this illustrates that Irra, or DinGir Nergal is the Lord of the Watchers, being that he was a minor aspect of the constellation that Ishara ruled, where the Sebitti followed him into war. this is why we find the Scorpion symbol again, on the Frontlet of Calling, but above the Bandar symbol: If you notice the same symbol that appears in the “west” direction of the Mandal of Calling (another type) also appears on the Frontlet of Calling as they both represent Irra (Nergal) who dwells in the sign of Scorpio, which was ruled by Ishara. The Eagle is often put in place of the Scorpio for the reasons described by Manly P. Hall in Secret teachings of All Ages, page 140 states:

“The important point to be remembered is that when the sun is said to be in a certain sign of the zodiac, the ancients really meant that the sun occupied the opposite sign and cast its long ray into the house in which they enthroned it. Therefore, when it is said that the sun is in Taurus, it means (astronomically) that the sun is in the sign opposite to Taurus, which is Scorpio….While the ignorant multitudes worshiped the house of the sun’s reflection, which in the case described would be the Bull, the wise revered the house of the sun’s actual dwelling, which would be Scorpion, or the Serpent, the symbol of the concealed spiritual mystery. This sign has three different symbols. The most common is that of a Scorpion, who was called by the ancients the backbiter, being the symbol of deceit and perversion; the second (and less common) form of the sign is a Serpent, often used by the ancients to symbolize wisdom…probably the rarest form of the Scorpio is the Eagle. The arrangement of the stars of the constellation bears as much resemblance to a flying bird as to a scorpion. Scorpio, being the sign of occult initiation, the flying eagle–the king of birds–represents the highest and most spiritual type of Scorpio, in which it transcends the venomous insect on earth.”

For those who are initiated into the Necronomicon Tradition, but may not know how to enact the Urilia Text method, please contact me for further details. Members of the Necronomicon Tradition that have not completed their Gate-Walking ritual. keeping working with the text as you have been. i look forward to listening to some of your experiences. Stay Blessed!