#utterance

A horse figurine from the ancient Judahite cultic site of Tel Motza, c. 750 BCE (Source)

Shalōm 𐤔𐤋𐤌! I hope all my readers are having a wonderful day. I'd imagine what's going on lately is taking as much of a toll on some of you as it is on me. I haven't been feeling my best as a result and this took my mind back to what I find to be one of the most interesting texts in the Ugaritic corpus. KTU 1.100 is part myth, part incantation and it describes Shapash's efforts to find a spell which will cure Her Daughter, the Mother-of-Horses, who had fallen victim to snake venom. The text itself leaves quite a lot of room for interpretation, so I'll leave such judgements to the reader. The sources for KTU 1.100 (=RS 24.244) in translation with more info are Pardee 2002 pp. 172–79, Wyatt 2002 pp. 378–87, and Ugaritic Narrative Poetry (1997, pp. 219–23) edited by Simon B. Parker.

Before that, however, I'd like to first share an actual ancient spell against the Evil Eye, classified as KTU 1.96 (=RS 22.225) and to be found translated in Pardee 2002 pp. 161–62 and Wyatt 2002 pp. 375–77. It's also been interpreted as referring to Maiden ʿAnat's sexual and/or cannibalistic acts involving Baʿal which is certainly intriguing. The Ugaritic text is missing an indeterminate number of lines and I decided to rectify this by simply completing the apparent chiasm.

Finally, I'd like to include a brief prayer to Milqart I wrote myself drawing mainly from what appears to be an Ugaritic royal funerary text associated with Niqmaddu IV (formerly reckoned Niqmaddu III), the penultimate King of Ugarit who passed away in the late 13th century BCE (KTU 1.108 = RS 24.252, Pardee 2002 pp. 192–85). It's also influenced by the founding myths of Ṣur and Qart-Ḥadasht. I really hope you enjoy reading these and you may find them useful in your own practice <3

Incantation Against the Evil Eye: Attack and Counterattack

The Evil Eye roves about, it prowls,

and disfigures the beauty of its Brother

and the grace of its Brother,

although He be altogether lovely,

it devours His Flesh without a knife,

drinks His blood without a cup.

The eye of a wicked one that has seen Him,

the eye of a price-setter,

the eye of an assembler,

the eye of a gatekeeper.

The eye of the gatekeeper, to the gatekeeper let it return!

The eye of the assembler, to the assembler let it return!

The eye of the price-setter, to the price-setter let it return!

The eye of the wicked one, to the wicked one let it return!

No more drink His Blood without a cup,

no more devour His Flesh without a knife!

For He be altogether lovely,

no more disfigure the grace of your Brother!

No more disfigure the beauty of your Brother!

Evil Eye, nevermore rove about and prowl here!

Incantation Against Bane: Shapash and the Mother-of-Horses

I. The Mother-of-Horses,

Mother of Stallion and Mare,

Daughter of the Spring, Daughter of the Stone,

Daughter of the Heavens and the Abyss,

Calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to ʾEl at the Source of the Two Rivers,

“at the Confluence of the Channels of the Two Deeps:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

II. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Baʿal on the Heights of Ṣapon:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

III. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Dagan in Tuttul:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

IV. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to ʿAnat and ʿAshtart on ʾInbubu:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

V. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Yariḫ in Larugatu:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

VI. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Resheph in Bibitta:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

VII. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Ishtar in Mari:

“‘For a spell for a viper's bite,

“‘For a sloughing viper's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the viper,

“‘dismiss the sloughing viper,

“draw up a chair and sit.’”

VIII. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Ẓiẓẓu-wa-Kamathu in Ḥuriyat: [This is Kemosh, the National Deity of Iron-Age Moab]

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

IX. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Milku in ʿAshtartu: [This City's name becomes "Ashtoreth" in the Hebrew Bible with the vowels for בּשֶׁת (bosheth, "shame") inserted based on a postexilic Judean taboo against pronouncing the old Deities' Names as followed by monotheistic redactors.]

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

X. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Kothar-wa-Ḫasis in Caphtor:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

XI. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Shaḥar and Shalim in the Heavens:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison;

“‘then bind the serpent,

“‘dismiss the sloughing serpent,

“‘draw up a chair and sit.’”

XII. She again calls to Shapash, Her Mother:

“Shapash, My Mother, carry My Cry

“to Ḥoron in the Fortress:

“‘For a spell for a serpent's bite,

“‘For a sloughing serpent's venom;

“‘from it, O Charmer, banish the bane,

“‘from it cast out the poison.’”

XIII. Shapash turns Her Face to Ḥoron

for She is to be bereaved of Her Child.

He returns to the City of the East

then straightaway He sets His Face

towards Great ʾArashshiḫ,

towards ʾArashshiḫ the Well-Irrigated.

From the trees He casts out the tamarisk,

from the shrubs the Tree of Death.

With the tamarisk He expels the venom,

with the cluster of dates He drives it out,

with the foliage He dismisses it,

with the roots He carries it off.

Then Ḥoron goes to His House

and arrives at His Court.

The poison peters out like in a stream-bed,

washes away as though in a canal.

XIV. Behind the Mother-of-Horses the House of Incantation,

behind Her the House She shut,

behind Her the bronze bolt She set.

Ḥoron: “Open the House of Incantation,

“Open the House and let Me in,

“the Palace let Me in.”

Mother-of-Horses: “Give as My dowry serpents, O Horan,

“as My dowry a toxic lizard,

“as My wedding gift the viper's brood.”

Ḥoron: “As Your dowry I give You serpents,

“as Your wedding gift the viper's brood.”

Prayer to Milqart of the House of Freedom

Praises to You, Great Milqart of Ṣur!

Glory to Your Name, Victorious Son of Baʿal!

You alone are Foremost within the Earth,

all the Blessed Dead rejoice for Your power.

When Your Company vanquishes Lotan the Shifting Serpent,

You make rampage with the Club in Your Hand,

The Axe of Your Right Hand gleams with blood.

When the Two Rocks wandered the Ocean,

the Standing Stones around the Oil Tree,

Only You could command them to be at rest.

The violet of snails is wrought by Your wisdom

and You in Your beneficence guided the Wandering Queen to Her Crown respite.

We lift a song of love to the King of Seventy Cities,

our hearts abide in Milqart, Powerful on Land and Sea.

A Universal Wisdom Goddess Naturally Unrecognized By Most Of Humanity The Sown Element Pneumatic Going Along Every Road She Is Remembrance Light Within Light Hated Everywhere Loved Everywhere The Call To Wisdom Reveals Her Actions Shaping & Sustaining Order In The Universe Which Stems From Her