Nin Ereshkigal-me-en or Casting the Circle
/nin e.reʃ.ki.gal-me-en/
Chorus 1:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, I say,
The sister of Irkalla’s dark domain,
To whom the weary soldiers find their way,
And rest in peace, no longer wrought with pain.
Verse 1:
My beauty, vast beyond all words can tell,
My strength, a force that crushes skulls of foes,
Ascend my mountain, where true love doth dwell,
But dare not call me down, for wrath then shows.
Chorus 2:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, in might,
The sister to the Queen of Earthly sphere,
With power o’er the cosmos’ boundless light,
Sing praise to me, and let my wisdom steer.
Verse 2:
Below the void ‘twixt Kur and earthly ground,
He channeled seas primeval, life’s first breath,
Where flows of Dilmun’s rivers spread around,
Bringing both life and plague, the twin of death.
Chorus 3:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, I reign,
The sister of Kur’s sovereign, dark and deep,
I balance hearts with justice, true and plain,
In my embrace, the weary souls do sleep.
Verse 3:
My charm did win the ninety-four great Me,
From Enki’s hands, the elements of life,
Yet Irkalla’s depths remain a mystery,
Though Me I hold, I know not death’s cold strife.
Chorus 4:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, I stand,
The sister of the keeper of the dead,
I bring the souls to their eternal land,
Unite with me, and reign where none have fled.
Verse 4:
The source of all by Nergal’s seal is bound,
He who laid low the serpent’s deadly brood,
The ninth head severed, brought down to the ground,
Thus, justice in the darkest place accrued.
Chorus 5:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, sister of the Mother of the Snake,
She who bears the burden of hidden fate,
I who saved Enki's tree from flood’s intake,
And bring wisdom to the living’s gate.
Verse 5:
The vessel breaks by hands of wicked men,
Who slayed the bull of heaven in their pride,
Brought low by sky’s decree, to earth again,
Their lust for power crushed, their lives denied.
Chorus 6:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, I call,
The sister of the night’s eternal queen,
To cosmic laws, my soul must humbly keep,
Submissive to the order of the dead.
Verse 6:
Three days I hung, by death’s cold hand suspended,
But Enki’s touch revived me on the fourth,
From netherworld, new life was thus extended,
And death gave birth to all that walks the earth.
Chorus 7:
Nin Ereshkigal-me-en, I reign,
The sister of the queen who rules below,
In me all realms united shall remain,
Now and for all eternity’s long flow.
Verse 7:
And in my vessel shines the thirteenth moon,
Between the light of life and shadow’s shade,
Yet when illusion’s gate is opened soon,
The vessel’s crushed, and all its dreams do fade.
(A hymn as Propaedeutics for Ritual Invocation, 12/08/2024)
