Elemental Earth – Scott Irvine
The ancients saw the world made up of four basic elements, Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Aristotle philosophised that all physical matter are composed of all the four basic elements in different proportions. The Anunnaki gave these elemental forces the prominence of gods and goddesses as a way of explaining the natural forces that drove nature to the Mesopotamian populations. The two main gods, the half-brothers Enki was the Lord of Water, and Enlil was the Lord of the Air. Between them, they spawned the powerful storm gods Nergal and Ninurta whose mother was Nimnah, the Lady of Nature.
The four main elements are represented at each of the four quarters of the ritual circle. As a Druid, from the East quarter and the direction of the rising sun, I call to the Dagda with his magic Cauldron of Abundance to join the circle bringing with him the element of Air. From the South and the noon sun, I call on the goddess Aine, the kingmaker with her Stone of Destiny and the element of Fire. From the West and the direction of the setting sun, I call Lugh into the circle with his Spear of Light to guide me through the coming darkness. With Lugh comes the element of Water. And from the North and the midnight sun, I call on Nuada to guard over the circle with his sword of truth and the element Earth.
Hail and Welcome!
The element of Earth who the Anunnaki called Ki, which meant the planet and the fertile soil that gives birth to all of nature from which all creatures of the planet, needs to exist. Earth is land as opposed to Water that is sea, rivers and lakes that makes up the surface of our planet and the home of all life. Destroy the land and sea and you destroy life, a simple equation that seems to have been forgotten today by major governments and big corporations.
Soil has its own ecosystem that needs to be maintained constantly if its fertility is to be guaranteed to keep nature healthy. The decaying of dead material gives the soil its life giving powers, seen as the dance between Ereshkigal, the goddess of death and her sister Ishtar, the goddess of love. It is a universal law that the destruction of something old needs to occur before something new and fresh can replace it. Nutrients from fallen leaves that have been gathering the energy of the sun over the summer gets broken down by bacteria and worms in the earth to become food for thriving roots borrowing into its depths in search for nourishment and water.
Plants are food, medicine, shade, produce timber for shelter, tools, weapons, furniture and fire. They are home to birds, rodents and insects who respond by distributing seeds farther afield. Without the natural cycle of germination, growth, maturity, reproduction and ultimately, death, nature will fail and all life on Earth will die, there is no question about it. All life on this planet needs nature to exist and nature needs fresh water, nutrients and sunlight to thrive.
The element of Water comes as rain saturating the land, fills rivers and lakes and generates springs and the main source of drinking water. It is the life force for plants, animals and humans, who without this element will all die. Water is also the oceans that surround the land and from which all life originated. The Anunnaki God of Water was Enki, the eldest son of Anu, which means Heaven. His peers crowned Enki as Lord of the Earth. It was his duty to ensure the wellbeing of all life on the planet.
The heat of the sun draws molecules of water from the Earth’s vast oceans to create clouds that bring shade and rain to the land and replenish the drinking water that sustains all life. The first settlements were always situated near rivers and lakes and natural springs were seen as sacred and a gift from the goddess. Life evolved along the banks of rivers, streams and on the shores of lakes, for not only fresh water but also fish and oysters to supplement their diet of animal and vegetables.Rivers also became major highways for travel and trade, avoiding the dense forests of wild animals and the dark demonic forces believed to dwell in them.
With the flooding of the Euphrates and Tigris in Mesopotamia, The Nile in Africa, The Indus in Asia, the Amazon in South America and the Mississippi in North America bringing fertile silt along their banks each spring allowed farming to take off at the beginning of the Neolithic Age. Farming allowed humanity to remain in one place and available to construct large stone temples, villages, towns, cities and ultimately, nations and empires.
The domain of the element of Air was the sky god Enlil, the younger brother of Enki. When he was born, it is said his presence separated his parents Anu and Ki (Heaven and Earth) and filled the space with air. Like water, air is vital to all life. Without the right combination of air to breathe, mammals, reptiles and insects, any creature with a heart and lungs, could not exist on our planet. Enlil’s son, Ninurta was a storm god that worked in unison with his half-brother Nergal, Enki’s son, combining the wind and rain to cleanse and refresh the Earth from time to time. Between them, they destroyed the weak and old so that new life could grow in its place. Storms generally occur when warm air from the equator meets the cool air from the poles. Ninurta and Nergal erode mountains and cliffs turning stone into dust.
Wind stirs the oceans oxygenating the sea for marine life to exist and moves sands across the deserts burying everything in its path. Wind also scatters seeds for miles so that nature can expand and thrive in new places. Hot air creates thermals allowing birds to soar to the heavens and glide in search for prey. Air is required for fires to burn, fires that gave warmth, light and protection from wild beasts and the demonic forces that roam in the darkness at night.
I understand the element of Fire as the energy of our star, the Sun from which all life originates. It is the light and warmth in the abyss of darkness and cold. The Anunnaki god of the Sun was the grandson of Enlil, Shamash, the son of the Moon God Sin and brother of the opposing sisters of Venus, Ishtar and Ereshkigal. Shamash is a cosmic furnace that produces a force throughout the solar system that drives the planets that influences all life on Earth. Ancient philosophers saw the Sun as a kind of portal through which the spiritual influence of God, in the form of the Goddess, the Shekinah, flows into the earthly realm to reside in the heart of humanity.
Fire was a gift from the gods for the benefit of humanity and regarded as sacred to the Stone Age people. It can be lifesaving and life destroying. Fire is an element of transformation that allows new creations from the destruction of the old; in other words the change that allows personal development to take place while experiencing existence on this planet. Fire can destroy forests, towns and even great cities. Rome was burnt down in 64AD and London in 1666, but from out of the ashes of both capitals, like the phoenix, great modern cities rose from the destruction better and more powerful than before. Fire is the creative principle, the active force of creation that burns in the mind and heart of poets and artists. It is the will of God. Fire purifies and is the raw energy of the universe.
Take any one of the elements out of the equation and life on our planet would cease to exist. It is important that we look after and respect them as we would a god or goddess. Earth, Air, Water and Fire are the main natural forces that govern all of our lives. Anunnaki priests gave them godlike status as a way of explaining nature to our early ancestors in simplistic terms as a way of understanding the natural forces. I believe by giving natural phenomenon godlike status it gave humanity a way of thinking of needing to appease the powerful cosmic gods and goddesses with sacrifice and offerings that kept the priests and their kings in a luxury that they did not have to work hard for. It was a way to control the population that the powerful still use today.
Ishtar and Ereshkigal by Scott Irvine
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