#ningishzidda

King Gudea’s libation vase dedicated to Ningishzidda, Sumerian vegetation god of the underworld (made out of steatite and currently in the Louvre)

Like Hermes, Ningishzidda’s symbol was the caduceus, however I’d really advise against identifying them as the same god. There are a couple of similarities (Hermes was also a god of the underworld of sorts, called a psychopomp, as he’d lead the dead to Hades) but Ningishzidda is not a trickster god nor a god of merchants, and the aspects of a scribal god given to the Graeco-Egyptian syncretized version of Hermes/Thoth has more to do with Mesopotamian Nabû or Sumerian Nisaba.

Taken directly from: http://www.halexandria.org/dward376.htm

updated -- June 20, 2004

Ningishzidda is a Sumerian god, generally thought to be equivalent to the Egyptian Thoth and the Greek Hermes. Laurence Gardner , in fact, identifies Thoth as being Hermes-Trismegistus. There is the possibility Ningishzidda was also the early MesoAmerican god, Quetzalcoatl. Okay, so the guy gets around. This may be a good thing.

Ningishzidda, also known by the Greek familiar, Herm, may be highly relevant to the modern world. The assumption is that the beginning of the Age of Aquarius (scheduled for 2012 A.D.) may mark the point in time when Ningishzidda (or another member of the Anunnaki) will assume the title and status as the ruling deity of Earth.

The concept being addressed here is that the Sumerian Anunnaki Gods and Goddesses have ruled over the Earth for as long as man has assumed the role of Homo sapiens sapiens, and that it has been only in the last 2600 years or so that man has apparently been left to his own devices. [This idea is described in part in the treatises entitled 600 B.C.E., the Age of Pisces, Ancient Myths, Cronus and Zeus, and in greater detail, A Once and Future Myth and Heir Apparent.] The last 2600 years would then correspond to the age when the Sumerian God of Wisdom, Enki, was ostensibly in charge of the planet Earth, but who, as the god of wisdom and father of mankind, may have elected to leave his children pretty much on their own. For better or for worse. In sickness and in...

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Ningishzidda

(aka Thoth, Djedi, Hermes Trismegistus, Quetzalcoatl, et al)

Previous Employment: Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek (et al) God

Experience and Abilities: Alchemy, Pyramid Building, Wisdom, Communicator

Position sought: Lord of Earth

References:

According to Zecharia Sitchin, Ningishzidda, Herm, is the son of Enki and Ereshkigal (the Sumerian Queen of the Underworld). Despite the Enki and Enlil rivalry, however, Herm was highly regarded by all the factions in the sibling arch rivalry. In his Egyptian role as Thoth, Herm was “the falcon among the gods”, the “god of the cord who measures the Earth”, the Anunnaki who was appointed to be guardian of the secrets of The Great Pyramids of Giza, as well as the god who replaced Horus (son of Isis and Osiris) on the throne of very, very ancient Egypt.

There is also a hymn to Ningishzidda, exalting his pyramid house in Egypt:

“Enduring place, light-hued mountain which in an artful fashion was founded.

Its dark hidden chamber is an awe-inspiring place;

In a Field of Supervision it lies.

Awesome, its ways no one can fathom,

In the Land of the Shield your pedestal is closely knit as a fine-mesh net...

At night you face the heavens, your ancient measurements are surpassing.

Your interior knows the place where Utu [the sun god] rises,

the measure of its width is far reaching.

Your prince is the prince whose pure hand is outstretched,

whose luxuriant and abundant hair flows down on his back --

the lord Ningishzidda.” [1]

Ningishzidda is credited with providing Gudea -- one of Sumer’s most enlightened and best-known rulers (22nd century B.C.E.) -- a set of divine instructions, a “holy stylus”, in which the direction and orientation of a great temple could be established. The temple, itself, was a ziggurat, a seven stage pyramid, and Herm’s plans included a plan for the necessary prerequisite of a firm foundation capable of supporting the structure. [Probably something to the effect of not building a pyramid (or a house) on sand.]

As Quetzalcoatl, Herm was equally free with disseminating knowledge for the betterment of others. In fact, his return is greatly anticipated in MesoAmerica as an end of the Hellish period from the time of Cortez to 2012 A.D.. Herm is, in short, the possible good news that may come with the end of the Age of Pisces. And being the younger son of Enki, one might expect Herm to have all of the wisdom (and then some) of his illustrious father. Herm also likely learned something from watching his elder, half-brother Marduk/Ra in his many trials and tribulations -- and quite possibly elected to take a more thoughtful route.

According to Laurence Gardner , Hermes Trismegistus (Greek: “Hermes the Thrice Great”) is credited with writing the Egyptian Book of the Dead, theBook of Thoth, was linked to Cain, was later personally identified with Ham, and “in alchemical circles he was also associated with the priest-king Melchizedek. In the third century BC, the Ptolemaic chronicler Manetho credited Thoth with 36,525 words of wisdom -- the same number of primitive inches as in the Great Pyramid’s designed perimeter.” [2]

H.T. was called Hermes Trismegistus because of his having three parts of the philosophy of all the world. The content of his highly prized Book of Thothdescribed how, through the process of the mysteries, certain areas of the brain could be stimulated to extend human consciousness beyond any imagining. [2] This obviously implies a rather exalted position for Herm in the Alchemy (and/or ORME) chain of command. In fact, inasmuch as he was known to the Egyptians as Djedi (as well as Thoth), this fact might imply his direct connection to the djeds depicted on the walls of the Temple of Hathor. [For more detail, see Gardner’s Lost Secrets of the Sacred Ark. [3]]

Herm, in the guise of Thoth, was thought to be the sister of the Egyptian goddess, Ma’at, who was the goddess of truth and law (a nice family connection). Also, “the Dragon Court in Egypt provided a firm foundation for priestly pursuits associated with the teachings of Thoth.” [2] Herm was known specifically for pyramid building, and in fact this is also where his Greek name, Hermes, derives. The word herma relates to a “pile of stones”, The Great Pyramids of Giza are sometimes called “the Sanctuary of Thoth”.

Hermes Trismegistus was also known as the god who transcribed the great works onto an Emerald Table. This subsequently revered Emerald Table supposedly contained the most ancient of all alchemical formulae, and thus was considered of great significance to the early mystery schools. “In essence, the Emerald text relates to both the alchemy of base metals and the divine alchemy of human regeneration, along with matters of science, astronomy and numerology.” [2] [emphasis added]

The Crystal Links website has claimed a “literal translation and interpretation of one of the most ancient and secret of the great works of ancient wisdom,” The Emerald Tablets of Thoth. The work is a must read for anyone truly interested in Ningishzidda' reputed spiritual path, regardless of whether or not this version is true to the original document. In fact, the Crystal Links website is worthy of considerable study in and of itself. (Just don't forget to come back here!)

Inasmuch as Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton were heavily involved in the analysis and application of such sacred knowledge, it can be said that the Law of Gravity and Boyle’s Law [concerning the volume and pressure of gases at a constant temperature] were “discoveries that were directly attributed to the ancient archive of the hermetic Table.” [2]

Sir Isaac Newton was an ardent alchemist, having embarked on a translation of the Emerald Tablet and the Corpus Hermeticum of Hermes Trismegistus, and having seen the underlying validity of the Hermes maxim: “As above, so below”. In fact, Newton was so immersed in divine knowledge, numerology, and the hermetic lore of ancient times, that John Maynard Keyes once referred to him as “the last of the Sumerians.” Meanwhile, Boyle “conceded, with amazing foresight, that it was dangerous research [into the alchemy of the Philosopher's Stone] since the Stone, if misused, could ‘disorder the affairs of mankind, favor tyranny, and bring a general confusion, turning the world topsy-turvy.’”[3]

Hermes Trismegistus was often revered as the founder of alchemy and geometry, the keeper of the otherwise lost knowledge of the prediluvian Lamech, and in all cases was associated with wisdom, alchemy and intellectual pursuits. “A Gnostic document, found at Chenoboskion in Egypt and known as the Treatise of Hermes Trismegistus, states: ‘It is thus by degrees that the adepts will enter into the way of immortality, and will attain to a conception of the Ogdoad, which in turn reveals the Ennead.’ The Ogdoad (eightfold) corresponds to the heaven of the stars, outside the individual heavens of the planets, and the Ennead (ninefold) refers to the great outer heaven of the universe. The separate heaven on Earth itself was called the Hebdomad (sevenfold).” [3]

References:

[1] Zecharia Sitchin, The Wars of Gods and Men, Avon Books, New York, 1985.

[2] Laurence Gardner, Genesis of the Grail Kings, Bantam Press, London, 1999.