MAGIC AND RELIGION IN MESOPOTAMIA

Go to the following website:www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/mesopotamia/Summerian/magic_and_religion_in_mesopotami.htm

Read the article. Copy and paste the following questions to a new e-mail,answer them, then send to the MysterySchool with the following subject line: MagRel ANE from ________ (yourmagikal name).

Please note that while this article does not discuss Canaanite religion,the religion of Melchizedek, many of the gods and goddesses in this areaare very similar, and many of the practices overlapped (as we saw in theprevious lesson on gods and goddesses of the Ancient Near East). Becausethere isn’t a lot of information on Canaanite gods and goddesses only, we’lluse what we can find!

1.  _______________ and _____________ for ancient Mesopotamians were_____________________ ___________ of the same _____________, because bothwere seen as the ___________ between the _____________ ___________ and the______________ ____________ of existence.

2.  What cuneiform phrase is roughly equivalent to “as above, so below”?

3.  Briefly contrast the roles of religion and magick in ancientMesopotamia.

4.  How do we know that religion is a magikal act?

5.  T/F  In Ancient Mesopotamia, nature and the divine were separateentities.

6.  What is the elemental quote from the Phoenician letters?

7.  What does polytheism mean in this context?

8.  A high priestess in Mesopotamia was a woman of ____________ and_____________ ______________ equal to the __________, with unquestionable_______________, the administrator of huge ______________ ___________ whichcatered for the ____________ on all levels of the ________________.

9.  How did Mesopotamian scholars and mystics link religion and magickto master the elements and find natural and supernatural realities?

10.  Who is the bond between Heaven and earth?

Essay: Can this type of polytheism coexist with monotheism? In otherwords, could Melchizedek have worshipped one god (El Elyon) while consideringall other forms of life sacred, like gods themselves? How does one reconcilemonotheism and polytheism? Take a paragraph or two to explain your view onthis.

Questions by Presvytera Deborah