Hedonism and Divinity

Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure as an end to itself, is controversial, to say the least. Whether discussing ethical or psychological hedonism, generally, hedonism is frowned upon by most mainstream philosophies and religions.    

Left-Hand Path (LHP) philosophies, which include Dark Paganism, being a heterodox system, view hedonism differently than the mainstream. Life is meant to be lived, and the physical pleasures of embodiment are to be enjoyed. Joseph Campbell’s famous recommendation to “Follow your bliss” may be described as a hedonistic statement.

The roots of hedonism may be ancient. In fact, they may date back to the oldest written story, the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the myth, the hero Gilgamesh, in his grief over the death of Enkidu, is on a quest for immortality. During his adventure, he comes upon a woman described as an “alewife” named Siduri. While there is some debate among scholars, according to one interpretation, Siduri was the goddess Ishtar. According to some later texts, Siduri is an epithet for the goddess Ishtar (Inanna in Sumerian). In the tale, Siduri tells Gilgamesh the following:

‘When the gods created humans
they allotted to them death,
but life they retained in their own keeping.
As for you, Gilgamesh,
fill your belly with good things;
day and night, night and day, dance and be merry,
feast and rejoice.
Let your clothes be fresh,
bathe yourself in water,
cherish the little child that holds your hand,
and make your wife happy in your embrace;
for this too is the lot of humans.’

Some have speculated that this is a hedonistic declaration. In this view of the myth, Ishtar, through Her manifestation as Siduri, is giving Gilgamesh the meaning of life. Death comes for us all, so life is to be enjoyed. 

 

I’m not a scholar and, therefore, not qualified to give an opinion on the academic debates about this scene in the Epic. I will say that, for various reasons, I believe Siduri is Ishtar/ Inanna in this myth. And I believe the message from the goddess is to enjoy life and the pleasures of this world.

Enjoy life.

Paganism and Easter

“Welcome to the world of bullshit, my dear. You have arrived.” - Elton John

The amount of bullshit on the internet is truly outstanding. In this post, I cover one of big loads of crap that's floats around. Put on your waders, folks. It’s going to get deep before we get to the other side.

The bullshit is a meme that goes around social media this time each year. If you haven’t seen it, although I don’t know how you missed it, it’s a picture of the Burney Relief with the following wording over it:

Easter was originally the celebration of Ishtar, the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. Her symbols (like the egg and bunny) were and still are fertility and sex symbols (or did you actually think eggs and bunnies had anything to do with the resurrection?) After Constantine decided to Christianize the Empire, Easter was changed to represent Jesus. But at its roots, Easter (which is how you pronounce Ishtar) is all about celebrating fertility and sex.

Let me run through the error of this meme. While Ishtar’s domain includes fertility, her primary domains are war, sex, and wisdom. Her animal is not the bunny but the lion. And while bird imagery is found on some of Her Mesopotamian artifacts, eggs have nothing to do with Ishtar. Constantine did not establish a holiday named after Her. The Easter holiday here in the West was originally, and still is in the East, called Paschal. And Ishtar’s name is NOT pronounced: “Easter.”   

Now that we’ve sloshed through that manure, there is evidence that the name “Easter” might have a pagan origin. The primary source for this is an 8th-century monk named the Venerable Bede.

Bede was tasked with establishing a date for Paschal that met the criteria of the Medieval Western Church. In his book De Temporum, Bede wrote:

Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honored name of the old observance.

In this passage, we learn that the Saxon calendar had a month called Eosturmonath, named after a Saxon goddess named Eostre. Also, some 8th-century Christians in England continued to use this term for the Christian observance of Paschal. The modern Western name of Easter is a holdover from this practice.

Bede is the only source that the Saxons had a goddess by that name. Much later, in 1835, Jacob Grimm (yes, that Grimm) hypothesized that the Old High German tongue might contain references to a Saxon goddess named Ostara. 

Assuming there was a Saxon goddess named Eostre/ Ostara, what do we know about Her? We know nothing. Some scholars speculate that She was a goddess of the Dawn or possibly the East. But there are no records that the various pagan spring practices involving eggs and bunnies were associated with the goddess Eostre.

I know some people like to tease Christians. And some Christians ignore facts, making them easy targets. However, I feel an obligation to accuracy.

Akitu

March 20, 2023, marks the Spring Equinox called Ostara in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. The festival Ostara, named after the goddess Eostre, is very popular in Neopaganism, as evidenced by all the bloggers and website owners writing about it.

This blog post isn’t about Ostara.

I’ve posted before that my Patron Deity is the Sumerian goddess Inanna, known to the Babylonians as Ishtar. Akitu was one of the highest festivals in Babylon and marked the beginning of the New Year. While the Babylonians celebrated it in the Spring, the festival occurred during the Autumn Equinox in Sumer. 

The Babylonian Akitu festival was a twelve-day event that began on the first New Moon following the Spring Equinox. The first four days consisted of reciting the Babylonian Creation myth and manufacturing two statues to represent the demons of Tiamet, who were defeated by Marduk. One statue would have a viper in its left hand, while the other would have a scorpion. The rest of Akitu would consist of parading the statues along with their decapitation, the king proving his humility, and concluding with the sacred marriage of the king to the goddess Ishtar 

Scholars theorize that the Akitu festival served several purposes within Babylonian society. One was for the king to reassert his position of power. The other was to ensure a prosperous New Year for the people.   

While I don’t follow the letter of Akitu, I strive to celebrate its spirit. My personal celebration includes rituals to remind me of my sovereignty. I also include rituals to aid in the prosperity and good fortune of myself, my friends, and my family.       

A Lust For Life

“Well, I’m just a modern guy. Of course, I’ve had it in my ear before. ’Cause of a lust for life.” – lyrics Lust For Life, written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie

I’ve written that Dark Paganism is a positive, life-affirming philosophy. This means living life to the fullest. This isn’t a new idea.

In the book, The Gay Science, Friedrich Nietzsche, poses a question to the reader. 

“What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‘You are a god, and never have I heard anything more divine.”

What Nietzsche is saying is that life is good and worth living despite all its pain, boredom, and frustration.

Nietzsche wasn’t the first to teach this view. A declaration to love life can be found as far back as Ancient Mesopotamia. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Siduri (which was an epithet for the Goddess Inanna) said, 

“Fill your belly, day and night make merry, let days be full of joy, dance and make music day and night. And wear fresh clothes, and wash your head and bathe. Look at the child that is holding your hand, and let your wife delight in your embrace. These things alone are the concern of men.” 

Recover the passion for living. Enjoy pleasures of both the physical and the mental. Go out, grab life by the horns, and don’t let go.