Enlil
Enlil, Lord Wind, is the Sumerian god of the wind and of legitimate authority, king of the gods at Nippur where his temple the Ekur, House of the Mountain, stood. He holds the Tablet of Destinies, which the Anzu bird steals from him while he bathes and which Ninurta recovers.
Enlil is not a devil and the entry resists the old habit of reading him as one because of the flood; the rebuke of Enlil by Ea in Atrahasis is part of the tradition and complicates the picture. The planetary value Jupiter, the zodiac values Aquarius and Capricorn, the tarot cards and the sabbats Yule and Litha are modern Western overlays, as are the Saturn and Mercury values. Mesopotamian astronomy is old and serious, but no planetary rulership was given to Enlil, and the tradition's own account, the Ekur, the tablet and the decree, is primary.
Correspondences
Offerings
- Offerings
- BeerBreadWaterCedar woodIncenseFirst fruitsA lamb
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- EllilLord WindNunamnirThe Great Mountain
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- Lord WindThe Great MountainKing of the GodsHolder of the Tablet of DestiniesNunamnir
- Symbols
- Tablet of destiniesThe horned crownThe mountainThe windThe ekur
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneThe authority that speaks and it is soAddressEnlilLord WindNunamnirRelationshipThe king of the gods who holds the tabletWarningHis decree included the floodResonanceThose who hold office and must decide
- Modern Practice
Enlil is approached by those who hold office and have to decide, and by anyone working with the wind and with the breath. The flood is part of his account and should not be edited out; the god who decrees is the same god who is rebuked for it.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- WindBreathAuthorityFateThe tablet of destiniesKingshipThe floodThe air
- Mythology Summary
Enlil, Lord Wind, is the Sumerian god of the wind and of legitimate authority, king of the gods at Nippur where his temple the Ekur, House of the Mountain, stood. He holds the Tablet of Destinies, which the Anzu bird steals from him while he bathes and which Ninurta recovers, and in Atrahasis and in Gilgamesh XI it is Enlil who decrees the flood to end the noise of humanity and who is then rebuked for it by Ea. The Sumerian hymns call him the great mountain and the king whose word cannot be turned back.
- Related Deities
- EnkiMardukNannaInannaEreshkigal
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsSilverWhiteBlueGoldScentsCedarFrankincenseJuniperMetalsSilverGoldIronAnimalsBullEagleLion
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