"The very essence of the creative is its novelty,
and hence we have no standard by which to judge it."
-Carl R. Rogers
Hymn to Inanna 3
Inanna: Loud Thundering Storm
Proud Queen of the Earth Gods, Supreme Among the Heaven Gods,
Loud Thundering Storm, you pour your rain over all the lands and all the people.
You make the heavens tremble and the earth quake.
Great Priestess, who can soothe your troubled heart?
You flash like lightning over the highlands; you throw your firebrands across the earth.
Your deafening command, whistling like the South Wind, splits apart great mountains.
You trample the disobedient like a wild bull; heaven and earth tremble.
Holy Priestess, who can soothe your troubled heart?
Your frightful cry descending from the heavens devours its victims.
Your quivering hand causes the midday heat to hover over the sea.
Your nighttime stalking of the heavens chills the land with its dark breeze.
Holy Inanna, the riverbanks overflow with the flood-waves of your heart....
On the seventh day when the crescent moon reaches its fullness,
You bathe and sprinkle your face with holy water.
You cover your body with the long woolen garments of queenship.
You fasten combat and battle to your side;
You tie them into a girdle and let them rest.
In Eridu you received the me from the God of Wisdom.
Father Enki presented the me to you at his holy shrine in Eridu.
He placed queenship and godship in your hands.
You mount the steps to your high throne.
In all majesty you sit there
With your beloved husband, Dumuzi, at your side.
The gods of the land, wishing to hear their fate, come before you.
The gods of heaven and earth kneel before you.
The living creatures and the people of Sumer come before you.
The people of Sumer who parade before you are caught in your gaze,
And held in your holy yoke.
Inanna:
"I Bathed for the wild bull,
I bathed for the shepherd Dumuzi,
I perfumed my sides with ointment,
I coated my mouth with sweet-smelling amber,
I painted my eyes with kohl.
He shaped my loins with fair hands,
The shepherd Dumuzi filled my lap with cream and milk,
He stroked my pubic hair,
He watered my womb.
He laid his hands on my holy vulva,
He smoothed my black boat with cream,
He quickened my narrow boat with milk,
He caressed me on the bed.
Now I will caress my high priest on the bed,
I will caress the faithful shepherd Dumuzi,
I will caress his loins, the shepherdship of the land,
I will decree a sweet fate for him."
Translation by Samuel Noah Kramer from Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth (New York: Harper & Row, 1983).
To flip through the pages of my BOS faster...
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Brightest of Blessings