Pazuzu

Deities

Tradition · Sumerian Mesopotamian
Alternate Names
FazuzuKing of the Evil Wind DemonsSon of Hanbi
Gender Expression
Masculine
Titles
King of the Evil Wind DemonsSon of HanbiThe Warding Head
Domain
The windFeverPlagueApotropaic protectionThe warding of lamashtuThe protection of childbirth
Planetary Correspondence
Saturn
Secondary Planets
MarsPluto
Elemental Correspondence
Air
Zodiac Affinity
AquariusScorpio
Correspondences
Colors
BlackRedGreyYellow
Scents
AsafoetidaSulphurCopal black
Metals
IronBronzeLead
Animals
EagleLionDogScorpionSerpent
Sacred Timing
Sabbats
Hours
Wind timesNight
Offerings
An amulet or figurine at the thresholdCopal or asafoetida incenseNo cultic offering is attested
Invocation Approach
Tone
The barking guardian at the gate
Address
PazuzuKing of the Evil Wind Demons
Relationship
The monster put at the door to face outward
Warning
He is a demon used against other demons and he has no cult
Resonance
Those warding a house or a childbed
Symbols
Amulet headWingsTalonsThe snake headed penisThe doorway
Mythology Summary

Pazuzu is a first-millennium BCE Mesopotamian apotropaic demon, the son of Hanbi and the king of the evil wind demons, who brings fever on the wind and is also the great opponent of Lamashtu. Bronze heads and plaques of him were hung in houses and worn by pregnant women, and the Lamashtu plaque sets him at the door driving her back. The sources are amulets and incantations; he has no temple, no priesthood, no festival and no mythology of his own beyond his parentage and his function. The figure became famous through the film The Exorcist, which is modern fiction.

Modern Practice

Pazuzu is used as a ward, not as a patron: the head at the threshold, the thing that faces outward so that what is coming does not come in. There is no cult to reconstruct, and any modern devotion to him is an invention that should be labelled as one.

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