The Head God

The 'Head God' of Mesopotamian tradition was literally the God that dwelt in one's head or mind, one's personal Deity, this is a very little known tradition but one of great significance, particularly if one wants to understand religious traditions such as that of Israel.



The God of one's head was inherited from your Father, it was most likely not the Head of the local Pantheon, but personal dedication according to family status, daughters would be expected to transfer the God of their head to that of their husbands when they married, in this regards one can consider the actions of Rachel in Genesis when she smuggles the household Deities of her Father with her when given in marriage to Jacob, by tradition those should have been given up and the head God of Israel adopted.



The premise of Israel was the continuation of an extended family continuing their devotion to the head God of their ancestor Abraham, which was El, all sons would inherit this and any daughters taken in marriage. To have the actual head of the Semitic pantheon as one's personal head God indicates descent from high status, as only Kings could adopt major Deities as personal head Gods, and to adopt the head of the Pantheon associates with supreme Kingship.



It was for this reason that the major Gods of the Pantheon had ministers and that it was therefore common for those of humble status to have these intermediaries as their head Gods, one simply could not choose a Deity according to personal taste, and to have adopted a major Deity as one's head God disproportionate to personal status would have been understood as invoking Divine wrath due to presumptuousness.



It seems likely that the head Gods of the people were first determined according to status and profession, in the surviving evidence there might be found disproportionate bias toward the household Deities of the mercantile class on whose seals the evidence is recorded, and thus families in certain neighbourhoods could be expected to share the same head Gods and local shrines would reflect this.



From the biblical evidence it is clear that this is very much the sense that Israel should be understood in terms of, the continuation of worshiping the God of one's Father Abraham as the personal head God of all sons of Israel


Family religion in Babylon, Ugarit and Israel

a reply to: Kantzveldt

One of the best I have ever read and especially interesting.

I have always wondered why people refer to what (I understand as their conscience) as 'my higher self'. I am not sure whether this may be an Eastern view possible from India and the Hindi or from another influential group. The majority of us have a 'voice' that if we listen, easier when meditating that in normal busy life, where due to the speed of life one acts fast because of necessity we don't have time to listen to. In truth it hit me when I read your article that I haven't sat quietly for weeks due to family needs.

I see your reasoning that because Abraham had the God El, that follows through the Jewish line, but I am stumped because we have no evidence that Abraham ever lived, or is in fact an individual adopted by the Jews in the same way they adopted and very importantly altered Babylonian myths and others, in order to forge Genesis and the early part of the bible. We know from archaeological findings - unless something new is located, that there was no Exodus from Egypt because no Pharaoh died from drowning. I see the point of how Jewish thinking has been influenced as the 'chosen' ones and may be reasoned today.

The light you have shone on the thinking and understanding of these ancient peoples is amazing and will be food for thought for a long time.

I do think that a better and real understanding of the way they viewed and thought about their lives is a door we need to further open. Their view of the skies and the constellations and what planet passed through them, what planet was on the horizon and in which constellation, which is basic astrology without the interpretation, is little understood because it is a subject that has been so ridiculed by influential persons/rulers (who believe in it themselves) that we are still missing a great deal of understanding.

A brilliant thread and I hope its enjoyed by others as much as I have enjoyed it.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Great stuff here!!!

Ole Abe was no random traveler for sure. He was Ab-Ram the father of Rama. Isaac or Y-saaca the staff of sakya (sakyamuni Buddha the solar clan that Rama is from, also the Saxons derive their name from saaca which is their Odin aka Buddha) would be the son in the family of deities.

This would be akin to Osiris and Horus. Ouranos and Jesus. When Paul speaks in Galatians about the seed not being the literal seed of Isaac but the spiritual seed of Christ this was a continuation of the ancient tradition of priest kings which Abraham was, we see some recognition of that in your wonderful post here with him having El as his head God.

Have you ever read this ladies site? jandyongenesis.blogspot.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink">Justgenesis

I can't say I'm down with all she says nor do I know enough to validate her claims but it is in line somewhat with how I see things.

Her main thing is that Abe and friends are Horites, worshippers and priest rulers of Horus.

It's interesting also that lower classes needed mediator gods or mediator priests acting as gods. The law was given through mediators (angels lower order "gods") but grace and truth came through Christ. There is one mediator between God and Men Christ Jesus who is the Melchizedek priest,of that ancient abrahamic order.

Not trying to derail just some things I see that hopefully opens up unity to Christians to see the ancient origins and connectedness.

a reply to: Shiloh7


Thanks, i found this chapter in the book i linked to really fascinating and the most interesting i have read in a long while also. I think it puts into context what a trauma it would have been for Israel to have been expected to have worshipped their head God under a different name according to the instructions of Moses, as their entire status depended on personal devotion to EL seemingly to the exclusion of all other Deities.

Why Moses should have instituted this is mysterious as YAH gives every indication of being an adaptation of Ea or Enki, who was lesser in the Pantheon than El or Anu, but from that point on Yah is taken in personal names and became the head God of the Hebrews, this may relate to having lost his personal head God with being brought up as an Egyptian and adopting Ea during his sojurn with the Midianites, were the cult was strong, that would also indicate the family he stayed with were of high status to have had personal dedication to such a major Deity.

In Egypt as in Mesopotamia personal dedication to higher Divinities was strictly off limits to those of common status, this only seems to change with the cult of Osiris from the middle Kingdom onward were it seems cultic dedication toward him became increasingly open to all and the prospect of resurrection, this role of the approachable inter-mediary as one's head God of course also being realized in Christianity, though some felt through instinctive humility that even this should only be approached through the intercession of personal Saints.

But it is deep rooted and instinctive as you suggest for everyone to have their own idea of who or what constitutes their own personal head God, for some of course this may only be Marx


a reply to: zardust

I think the tradition of a High King with personal dedication to EL is sourced as you suggest in the tradition of Melchizadek, i was actually studying a basis for that when i came across the citations to the book and the mention of the 'head God' tradition, i think it relates to this historical period, and the tradition of five Kings and various conflicts and alliances.

Yamhad

I can't see any connection to Horus who certainly wasn't the head of the Egyptian Pantheon, though it would be hard to say who was as they had a different outlook than the Mesoptamians were things were more strictly hierarchical.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

YHWH was the mediating angel for the peasants coming out of Egypt. He is mentioned as getting the nation of jacob when the sons of El were given the earth.

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Do you have any ideas on how we ended up with a Trinity of Gods today? I must admit I can now see The 1st and 2nd as opened via the Egyptians and then place the priesthood as the third on an intermediatory earthly dias. Its still one of the strangest ways to think about God I have ever come across and I can't get my head around it.

Marx ey! hmm! I had to smile at that.

a reply to: zardust


Or perhaps they required a Deity that could be relied upon to lead them to water...


a reply to: Shiloh7


The Holy Spirit or Ruha Qudosh developed as a somewhat abstract feminine recognition of the role of the female consort of the shepherd King, at Uruk the trinity was Anu and Damuzid and Inanna, with the shepherd King as the approachable inter-mediary and representative of the people as King,in principle, and all were expected to have some degree of homage to the Royal Cult, thus the King as Damuzid was a 'head God' of sorts for the people...as in Christianity all supplications to be made to the King.

Interesting post op S&F .... I listened to a professor speaking about genealogy and the table of nations . He brought up a good point in that some of the earlier Gods names were associated with the sons of Noah .So in a relative way this makes some sense for me in your post .The God of my father ..... Some how your post also brought out the book of Ruth and I think I am going to go reread it again .There may be some principals associated with this thread in it ....peace

The things you folks believe in order to NOT believe the plain truth makes my head spin...

This thread... speechless

a reply to: godlover25

You appear to have a 'head God' yourself so what exactly is the problem...?!?...the adaptation of El and Ya as personal Deities dates back as far as Ebla.

Yah and ‘E’l Connected in the Ebla Archives

It-ti-il/ia El/Ya has given
En-na-il/ia El/Ya has shown favor
Pazur-ra-il/ia Protection of El/Ya
Ip-hur-il/ia El/Ya has united
Mik-a-il/ia Who is like El/Ya?

These names grant an insight into the intimate relationship between the common man and his god; he is the servant of god but in recompense the god watches over him, indeed, he is like a father who protects, provides, and listens.

Though those names would not have been of the altogether common man but those who at some point had Royal descent and thus could adopt such High Deities as personal Gods.

Sacred name in the Ebla tablets

Very interesting. Most religions did realize that there was a main god though. The demi-gods, the ones that were pertinent to the particular situation, were possibly the head gods. Head gods would be a mindset that applied to your personal life. Some of these Demi-gods were not good gods though and sometimes this differing mindset did cause a lot of tension between groups of people. If you look at the gods of India though, this tension is not so evident between the people so I guess there is no reason why it should exist. There is one main god in most of the religions of India too. There is also a triad there. Many religions have the triad, leaving me to believe that people sense that there are three main traits of god in most religions.

I don't know why there is so much arguing, maybe to control populations of people. If we get too crowded or food shortages occur, we usually try to self regulate, banding together in groups of a kind and attacking others like packs of wolves. An animal instinct with a hive mindset.

Now if we would just control our own populations this would not be a problem. If people did not desire shiny valued metals than that would also be a plus. If people did not waste so much we would be better off and not exploit our resources. I don't see much of this voluntarily happening so expect some increasing major wars within the decades to come. I kind of understand what might possibly be going on, a special type of genocide being incorporated that is not genetic specific so it is not considered internationally illegal. Making us more susceptible to disease is something that seems to be happening. Not a conspiracy though, just a necessary population correction that is being implemented. You are in charge of your diet, don't believe everything that is being told to you from the people running things. Everyone must evaluate things on a personal basis. Remember that some of the chemistry they are using, both natural and chemical, make us a little dopey so we cannot properly think and evaluate how this chemistry is effecting us. It does not quickly effect us, it slowly makes us susceptible to getting sick.

I'm not paranoid, I am interested in understanding how all this works. How it blocks natural cravings or causes improper enzyme production. Now, knowing the problem is half the battle. Our inability to comprehend this is because of the psychotropic qualities of foods in our diet. We are being steered by society to eat foods that may cause problems. This is a self destruct mechanism, not a conspiracy. Nothing to worry about if you deny ignorance and choose to follow in the boundaries of the path that we were individually meant to follow. When we get more money we choose foods we are not yet accustomed to eat, the foods of the elite. Don't let increased wealth negatively effect your health. Don't let the knowledge you hold make you into something your ancestors would not like. Some of us can not handle getting richer because we tend to follow the self destructive path of others in the group, putting ourselves into a risky situation, trying to keep up with the Jone's. We were warned, I did not make up that phrase, it used to be a common phrase when I was young.

To some, their lifestyle becomes their head god, they cannot see anything other than the wrong path they have chosen. They cannot see the tranquility that they once experienced. They have chosen to follow a false god that they have created. Now the real god is the collective consciousness of all things on this earth. This collective consciousness is part of the whole god, the collective consciousness of the universe. Now, why would anyone not want to experience the collective consciousness of this world instead of limiting it to the collective consciousness of a group of individuals. I know, this is considered a threat of terrorism, the belief in a consciousness that most cannot even comprehend. A consciousness of possible peace between us and all of nature. The people in charge control us by our desires, they do not want us to believe that we do not need them, that we can all get along, that everything is related.

Any mention of entheogens in that book?

a reply to: rickymouse


India is a good example of different groups having differing personal devotion according to social status and profession, that certain Deities are the preserve of the Brahmin. In Sumeria there is only one known example of a cultic centre of the Highest Deity Anu, obviously not because he wasn't considered important but the very opposite, dedication within his cult as a Priest offered highly privileged status of having Anu as one's personal God and that wasn't made commonly available, lest Anu be pestered.

With the lineage of Abraham that also could have related to Temple dedication to El rather than through Royal perogative, it wasn't a question of controlling populations but rather society being reflective of the many aspects of the Divine pantheon, the division of the Deities amongst the appropriate classes and professions, and from such they would expect harmony to ensue.

Even though according to your status and profession one's 'head God' might only say be the Goddess of latrines such as the Roman Caca at least she would be expected to listen to the appropriate supplication, whereas it would have been considered a complete waste of time to pray to a High God if you were a lowly municipal worker, so it was a question of understanding the system, it would have been considered unwise if you had access to the High God through lineage to bother with lesser Deities as was the case with Israel, better to dedicate oneself to the exclusive relationship as the Prophets insisted.

a reply to: BlueMule

I dunno i haven't read it all, you are thinking of 'shroom heads'....?

And nobody includes a video? Pity...

Well just reach out touch faith...
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver
Your own personal jesus,
someone who cares
someone who's there...

a reply to: Kantzveldt
I Love You, Kantzveldt
You bring such beauty to this world!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for EVERY ONE of your contributions to this site.

a reply to: abeverage

Yes we mustn't neglect our 'head Gods'...





a reply to: WanDash


Ah thank you and i love you too...


We must have very nice helpful and informative 'Head Gods'

Although I am no Jew-domedon... I find that this image best describes "my Head God".
It also rationalizes the idea that I am one of the many sephiroths... Thus making me servant to one requisite particular which bears a head God. So I must comport and call it by name... whilst letting the higher echelons do the same.

For me... "Eheieh" (I am that I am)... is who I must bear in my head.
Responsibilities!

Cabal-Law! The reason why 15 year olds are awakened to the life of service(s).
It's caballa/caballaw.

The system is designed for juveniles who must join the higher order of things and assume their respective duties. Whether master and apprentice... or father and son.... the system is utilized to present the way of life and to further exact the mystery that is man. Thus one becomes a man. Hence the portrait of the crowned Adam.
The Star was misrepresented as meaning "man and woman"... but it actually represents "men and women" as a whole... United in the cause of civility.
That aside... the system is a basic teaching for young sons who are of the nation.
The Great order of ...

This is an ancient system. It's literal name is: "The Old Charges!"

It is old. But advancements in those systems have been made tremendously.
Ex: The United States of America...

I am Catholic... and the present image is that of the olden times.

Forgot to mention E.V.E.

Eminent Virtues Establishment...
1) Brute Force...
2) Gentle Persuasion...
3) Order...