Entries tagged with death

In the Mesopotamian Wheel of the Year, from mid-June to mid-September, the confluence of An (the heavens), Ki (the earth) and Kur (the Underworld) (Note 1) (Note 2) occurs. During this time, the Dead wander freely among the living. Fires are lit to guide Them to their families, where the Dead stay for a brief time.

In Babylon, the month is called Abu. According to the Assyrian Astrolabe B, “the month Abu, Sirius, braziers are kindled, a torch is raised to the Anunna-Gods, Girra comes down from the sky and rivals the sun, the month of Gilgamesh, for nine days men contest in wrestling, and athleticism in their city quarters.” In Uruk, the name of the month is “The Festival of Gilgamesh.” Gilgamesh is one of the Lords of the Netherworld, who came back to the land of the living. During this month, athletic contests are held to honor his physical powers.

During Abu, the King would perform the Maqlu (the Burning) using a figurine of Gilgamesh. This ritual was held to transform a live witch into a ghost. Then the Maqlu acts to expel the witch’s ghost and others to places where they could never return. (Note 3) This ritual has three sections – the first and second are recited at night with incantations to Nuska and Girra, the Gods of Fire. The final one is at dawn with prayers to Shamash, the God of the Sun. At the end, the King would recite, “Evil Demon, to your steppe” and have the entrances to the city be circled with flour. (Note 4)

Three days before the full moon, offerings are made for the journey of the Ancestors. When the full moon arrives, the doors of the Netherworld are at their widest. This is the time when Ancestors return through the ab/pum (the mound). (The ab/pum is a mound placed over the passage to the Netherworld.) At the Abe (Ab/pum) festival, beer, honey, oil and wine are poured into the mound. Then the person places their foot over the ab/pum and kisses the ground.

Since the Dead do not sever their ties to the living, Babylonians regard death as a transition from being human to that of a gidim (spirit). (Note 5) After dying, the gidim is reunited with their dead relatives, and assigned a place in the Netherworld. Funeral rites ensure the gidim’s integration into that world. Offerings of food and water are made since the Netherworld have little of either for nourishment. If they do not receive this, then the gidim will become vicious and haunt the living. Flour was spread out and water poured for the Dead.

In Babylonian theology, diseases are often caused by the angry Dead. Ghosts who were ignored would seize a person through the ear. (This was called the “hand of the ghost” (Qat etemmi) which caused mental illness. Seizures were known as “seizure by the ghost” (sibit etemmi). Meanwhile, angry gidim demanded that they be fed hot soup before promising to leave.

Notes:

Note 1. The Mesopotamian Netherworld was neither a place of punishment or reward. It was the Great City where the Dead, who received proper rituals, went.

Note 2. The Netherworld is known by many names – arali, irkalla, kukku, ekur, kigal, and ganzir. Kur means “the land of no return.” Arallu (Akkadian) (or Ganzer (Sumerian)) was the Great City (iri-gal) of the Dead.

Note 3. The regular Dead had to cross a steppe infested by demons, pass over the Khuber River (of the Underworld), go down a staircase, and be admitted through the Seven Gates. Then they could reside in the Great City of the Dead. During the Ne-izi-gar, They journeyed back the same way. The unwanted Dead were sent to places of no return.

Note 4. Flour in Babylon was used for protecting entrances.

Note 5. The gidim (or etemmu (Akkadian)) is associated with the corpse. After death, the gidim still retained hunger and thirst.

After much research, I conclude that Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) can also contribute to ideas about the Afterlife. People who have OBEs often experience other realms, one being the afterlife. In their OBEs, they have encountered angels and other divine beings. Meanwhile others have received divine wisdom.

Marilynn Hughes (Note 1), who researches OBEs and mysticism, has collected thousands of OBE accounts. She says that OBEs allow people to receive messages beyond ordinary perception. Hughes cites the Apostle Paul being caught up to the Third Heaven and the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey (the Isra and Mi’raj). Each brought back spiritual insights for their respective believers.

Meanwhile, in “Wicca For Life,” Raymond Buckland discusses Summerland where Wiccans (Note 2) go after death. He writes that he gleamed his knowledge from people who had either NDEs or OBEs. Buckland writes, “Many records of near-death experiences, speak of leaving the body, going toward a bright light – often times down a sort of tunnel – and seeing deceased loved ones there.” He adds that “Summerland – which outwardly, looks much like this land where we lived and breathed.” Most Wiccans believe that Summerland is a place of perpetual summer of lush meadows, deep woods, and babbling brooks.

Buckland states that Summerland came from Gerald Gardner, who took the name from Spiritualists. (Note 3) In “The Next World: Extraordinary Experiences of the Afterlife,” Gregory Shushan writes that Victorian and Edwardian mediums coined the term “Summerland.” The spirits that spoke through these mediums called their Afterlife, “Summerland.” Several stated that “the other realm is a place of ‘peace and plenty,’” and “the soul and consciousness are one.”

In “NDEs and the Afterlife in Ancient Civilizations,” Gregory Shushan describes the OBEs of shamans. In the “Rig Veda,” munis (Note 4) drink a drug to allow “the Gods to enter” and then they “mount the winds.” Other scholars such as Mircea Eliade suggests that beliefs about the Afterlife stem from various shamanic practices. These visionary practices include OBE journeys to the Afterworld.

In “Ecology of Souls (Volume Two),” Joshua Cutchin drives home this aspect of shamanism. He writes “Shamanism is a death discipline, focused upon rebuilding relationships with not only with our ancestors but the broader ecology of souls. Shamans in their journey do encounter other worlds. One can be the Dead and the Afterlife.”

In “Time Expansion Experiences,” Steve Taylor, who has studied time extensively, lists one of the laws of time. “Time passes very slowly in intense altered states of consciousness, when our normal psychological structures and processes are significantly disrupted and our normal ‘self-system’ (Note 5) dissolves.” He describes it as “stepping off a train and finding ourselves in a strange, panoramic landscape, where people enter a different “timeworld.’” When entering this ‘timeworld,’ they will visit other worlds including the Afterlife. Altered states of consciousness both transcend the boundaries and space of the self and time.

My brain injury has me go into fugue states where I experience what Taylor describes. I find myself in a different ‘timeworld’ where high-weirdness reigns. In that world, I have experienced various Gods and have come away with a different perspective of the Cosmos. I think that Polytheists could investigate OBEs to learn more about the Gods and the Afterlife.

According to Hughes, common traits of a prophetic vision are: (Note 6)

Sense of divine presence

The person feels an overwhelming transformative experience.

Clarity and precision

Messages or visions are specific and detailed.

Timelessness and universality

Messages or visions transcend time and place.

Transformation and healing

The experience reshapes the person’s understanding of the world.

Role of divine guidance.

Ancestors or spirits provide assistance and clarification.

Notes:

Note 1. Marilynn Hughes is a researcher in the field of OBEs and mysticism. She is the founder of The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation https://outofbodytravel.org/ , which details people’s experiences.

Note 2. Buckland refers to Wicca as the “Old Religion” as opposed to the “New Religion” of Christianity. For Buckland, Wicca is a “mystery religion” of initiation and oaths of secrecy. It is considered to be Neo-Pagan in its belief system.

Note 3. Some Wiccans claim that Summerland comes from the Celtic “Plains of Joy” (Mag Mell).

Note 4. Munis are considered to be long-haired ascetics who are sages and hermits.

Note 5. Taylor explains that “self-system refers to our normal sense of identity and all the normal psychological processes and functions that constitute it.”

Note 6. Marilynn Hughes, “Prophetic Journeys.” Out-of-Body-Travel Foundation. 2025.

Babylonian July/August: Month of the Dead

Out-of-Body Experiences and the Afterlife