Lamashtu-The Heavenly Vampire Goddess

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Hi, I simply wanted to create a topic to introduce Lamashtu/Lamastu/DIM.ME to those unaware of the Goddess and those who misunderstand her, as well as sharing a few prayers. Over time i wish to add more to this topic, share about my bond with the ancient Goddess as well as our journey together and hopefully give others a different view of her.
The first thing I wish to share is a prayer to the Daughter of Anu, based on the Satanic Creed, which I have written to share bits of information about her as well:

“I believe in the force of Lamastu, she whose hand is a net, whose embrace is death. She is one ascended, a ruler of mankind, a victorious Goddess who holds the evil Assaku in tight grip, named by the Gods; DIM.ME The Exalted. I am a solitary witch, I am my own church, I declare myself as a High Priestess of The Daughter of Anu, The Child of Heaven cast down from above by her father for her bad behaviour, whose hair hangs loose and who roams the wilderness. I know i hold the spirit of Lamastu in my heart, i confess i am a child of the fierce lion-headed Goddess, the mighty she-wolf who howls constantly like a demon-dog. Dreaded One who is Oathbound by the Great Gods, surrounded by a divine gleam and whose face is wild, she who sneaks through the front door and slips past the door hinge, I praise thee. I have surrendered myself to Lamastu, my personal Goddess (or one of…), the Queen of Queens, clad in flames with a paralysing frost in her clawed hands, my flesh is your temple, my soul is your immortal altar.”
“I am one with Lamastu in mind, body and spirit, as it is now and forever will be. I am Lamastu, I am DIM.ME…So It Is Done”

I will definitely be adding more, time limits have sadly made me have to rush the introduction to this topic post. Hope you all enjoyed the Beginning of what i wish to be something Amazing.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

This magical book filled with so much glorious information, i recommend to everyone, it has changed my life and i think of it like a Christian would their bible.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Here is a few excerpts about the seven-named Goddess from books authored by Michael Ford as well as his incantations/summoning spells:

[TheBlondeBrujo]

A artist depiction of Lamastu in Jan Fries amazing book as well as a serpentine gemstone necklace i bought the Goddess as an offering.

[Nagash]

Thank you for this thread, @TheBlondeBrujo and every new informations about Lamashtu.

I’ve met Her name first when Pazuzu showed up to me at 2017. You thought well, it isn’t hard to miss Her name when you doing researches about the King of Wind Demons, because of in lot of writings, what talking about Pazuzu, Her name showed up somehow, as They are rivals (interesting, because I’ve found a writing what said Lamashtu was Pazuzu’s wife - still don’t know too much about Their relationship).

While I was worked with- and connected to Pazuzu for two years without any break, sometimes I’ve asked about Lamashtu, but He wasn’t so communicative, not like in general.

I’m not interested in working with Goddesses, but it was very useful reading about Her from a new perspective and learning new informations was also interesting.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Thank you very much for responding, I am glad you found it of interest. Yes i have also read somewhere that she is the wife of Pazuzu, but in most stories she is not partnered up unlike other Goddesses of that era. I have not worked with him but i know in ancient times he was commonly invoked to banish Lamastu and his talismans worn by pregnant mothers or hung by babies to ward her off…almost like fighting fire with fire.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Lamastu controls fierce passions, hot & cold feelings, the element of fire is her domain therefore she controls sexual lust, passion & desire. She also rules over confusion, madness, fierce passions/obsessions, perversion, fear and anger. The Goddess is attentive, listening to the prayers of those who invoke her and showing compassion, shr gives what you need, not necessarily what you want. In ancient times some magic practictioners were on such good terms with her that they asked her to kill others.

Lamastu moves in small lanes, alleys, byways, through the wilderness & on the paths of mountains, forests, deserts, rivers, swamps & the open sea, which are all her favourite haunts. In her realms civilisation, state-religiin and royal authority come to an end. Lamastu’s wild, tangled hair represents lack of civilisation, high emotionality, madness, morning and magical activity.

One account gives The Praying Mantis as the main animal symbolism for Lamastu, which represents prayer, stillness, meditation, a formidable adversary, awakening, duality and midfulness, wisdom. In the bible, ‘mantis’ comes from ‘mantikas’ meaning ‘prophet’.

Lamastu is attracted to young lovers, obsessed with passionate lust and ofteb circles around mating animals in the wild. 3 characteristic items associated with Lamastu are a comb, a spindle and oil.

The Seven Names:
Child Of Heaven
Sister of the Gods of The Streets
Decapitator
Fire-starter
Wild-countenance
Trusted
Oath-bound, Free to Fly.

[Prophet]

Out of curiosity, who are your other two goddesses?

[TheBlondeBrujo]

I have worked in the past with Bast, Hecate, Neith and Circe, to name a few but to answer your question, my other two personal Goddesses are Lilith and Naamah.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

From the back of Seven Names of Lamastu

[TheBlondeBrujo]

A simple sigil using the name DIM.ME to aid in summoning and communication with the Goddess.

…
A short prayer to Lamastu, asking for help and aid in fire-scrying/wax-in-water divination:

“Great Goddess Lamastu, Child of An, taught the secrets of magic by Ea who raised you, DIM.ME, she who ignites the flame, let the candle burn and the water flow, Queen of Queens, show me shapes that i may know. Show me truths i wish to discover, reveal secrets i wish to uncover, through blessed water & sacred fire, may I see what i desire, so be it”
…

A note on Labasu/Labartu: sometimes seen as a seperate entity from Lamastu, who works as a sort of accomplice with the great Goddess, other times in ancient tablets and magic, she is seen as another form/aspect of Lamastu.

…

Prayer of Gratitude:

“Lamastu, Divine Mistress, Child of An, who roams the mountain of sweet scents, who helps the animals of Sakkan to give birth, mighty Goddess, named by the Gods, I thank you.”
“I dwell upon the goodness in my life which you have brought, thank you. I cherish in my heart, all your gifts to me, thank you”
“I notice the blessings, all that you have given to me; of life, breath, loving, sharing, power, strength, wisdom, beauty, protection & your unconditional love…I am so very grateful to you, thank you, Lamastu, my beloved Goddess, my personal diety…hail Lamastu The Exalted! My heart overflows with praise and gratitude, blessed be”

…
…

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Before working properly with Lamastu, developing an amazing bond with her and deciding to make her one of my three (then it two) personal Goddesses who i would worship above all others, I used my tarot cards to have a glimpse into DIM.ME the Exalted, her personality, her overall character and position as a Goddess. Recently I found the result in an old Book Of Shadows dated to be written in December 2018.

Quote from Book of Shadows used in the past, providing the result of my question and a few notes on the card pulled:
“Answer: tarot card- Strength, card 8…-a female who emulates confidence with tasks that may seem daunting to others. Animals sense her presence, she is comfortable with wild ‘beasts’. This is someone who is highly intuitive, courageous, protective, persistant, powerful and passionate. The serpent power symbolism within the card reveals the self-knowledge and wisdom of the hidden/unseen world/realms that she has gained through her ancient age and immortality”.

…

Looking back, I am suprised at how spot-on the card is that i pulled, the first part about ‘tasks that may seem daunting to others’ relates to how she was entrusted by the Great Gods with a divine job and is oath-bound to accomplish that tasks, although she may at times get carried away and enter the homes of those she isnt permitted to seize. When it comes to the animals and wild beasts, I know now that Lamastu loves animals, acting as a “lady of beasts” in the wilderness and mountains that she loves, aiding them in birth and adopting the strays she finds. The knowledge and wisdom I had noted about, i see now that is on relation to the magical wisdom taught to her by the great God Ea/Enki, who reared her, teaching her the magical arts of witchcraft and sorcery.
…

This for me is a great find personally, it was the result of that tarot card which gave me the confidence to approach the Goddess, one who i was weary off as so many focus only on what some would see as her ‘negative/dark’ aspects/attributes, leaving her highly misunderstood. Now I feel i have gained a loving and eternal bond with Lamastu, I can look back at the result of the Strength card and say she is all them things i wrote down in the past, as well as so much more.

[kiss-lamia-lilith]

@Nagash

They are rivals ( interesting, because I’ve found a writing what said Lamashtu was Pazuzu’s wife - still don’t know too much about Their relationship ).

Look up the earlier myth of Ninlil & Enlil. Because they went to the underworld realm of irkalla later on those aspects were demonised. So Pazuzu and Lamashtu seem to be the demonised versions. Enlil north wind became Pazuzu king of winds. Ninlil south wind became Lamashtu queen of the south wind.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

I understand what you mean, but in that time in history the area was a mixture of several different cultures, all with their own of gods and beliefs, Pazuzu I believe probably got brought into the mix much later on by travellers to the area wishing to settle or passing through, wishing to add more importance to their own Gods, when they could not merge them with one of the popular ones.

There is hints that there is possibly a lost/missing legend surrounding Lamastu about her bad behavior in heaven which was why Anu cast her out. Possibly (as suggested by the author of the book I have posted title of above) to do with a lustful affair and insolent conduct leading to her being sent to Earth, a possible pregnancy because of it, concluding with the loss of the child.

I wonder who Lamastu’s secret lover may have been…I guess all we can do is hope more ancient tablets are found with more information on them.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Clearing things up
Lamastu…The Ardat-Lili…Lilitu…

The Ardat-Lili & Lilitu are two very distinct members of the group of terrifying wind deities the Lilu. The Ardat-Lili can be traced to the Sumerian period in the 3rd millenium BCE, she is commonly portrayed (short version) as a lonely girl/spirit who is also a seductive, lethal and sex-starved creature. The Lilitu are less well documentated, they first appear in the old babylonian period, they are occasionally blamed for causing nervous disorders and mental diseases.
Both these spirits acquired their function as child-snatchers from Lamastu.

Another fun fact…

In central asia and the middle east, Lamastu is known as the infant slaying spirit called Albasti, Almasti, Albasi and simply Al.
…

Quote from ancient conjuration:
“She buries (or: wraps up, convulses) the young men, she shakes (or: convulses, crushes, pushes away) girls, she really shakes (or: convulses, crushes) infants, she drenches the infants with waters of distress”.

…

[TheBlondeBrujo]

[TheBlondeBrujo]

A prayer/evocation to invite the Goddess into your sacred space:

“Blessed Daughter of Anu, O great lady who seizes the painful Assaku, Lamastu the Chosen One, hear my call and come forth from the mountain of sweet scents”
“Ancient Goddess, reared by Ea The Lord of the Abyss, granted the mask of a fierce lioness by Enlil, DIMME, named by the great Gods: Victoria, Heroine Among Ladies, I request your presence in this sacred space”
“Divine Mistress, who buries, shakes and crushes whomever she desires, advance from the wilderness that you love, where you adopt the stray beasts of Sakkan! Rise from the reed-thicket which you roam with your hair loose and breasts exposed! Mighty Queen of Queens, join me!”
“Ruler of the black headed people, Lamastu The Pure One, in a garment of raging fire and paralysing frost, with arms smeared with blood and long, clawed fingers, be present at my side!”
“Rebellious Child of Heaven! Furious She-wolf! Compassionate High Lady! Victorious Goddess Lamastu, I welcome you”
…

[Seph]

That picture is the gate of ishtar.

The book by that fries guy, the cover is a picture of the gate of ishtar. Which only proves what I think but its fine… Each one to their own.

[TheBlondeBrujo]

Yes and Lamastu is a daughter of Anu, the same is said at times about Ishtar, they are sisters in some accounts and ‘dust from the step of Ishtar’s temple’ is a common ingredient used in conjurations/banishing rituals of Lamastu…Ishtar is featured prominently in the book, so why not feature her temple gates on the front cover.

Like you said though, each to their own

[Seph]

If there was a symbol to represent each one of those you speak off, what would that symbol be? And why does that same symbol (s) match, throughout history?