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Author Topic: Resources on Levant & Near-East Powers, queer or Othered perspectives  (Read 1971 times)

Eastling

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Hang on tight, this gets complicated. The short of it is I'm looking for some pretty specific recommendations.

I've decided to take the plunge and seriously work on (re)constructing my own eclectic/syncretic neopagan faith, which means doing a lot of very serious writing. I want to solidly research this stuff before I try to channel it through my fingers and keyboard, though!

What I know so far: I am working with a syncretism of Kabbalistic and other Jewish mystical ideas about Divinity, a dash of Kemetic Recon, and a variety of (roughly) Levantine and Near Eastern religious figures and concepts, all brewed together in my own personal gnosis--then fact-checked for consistency and meaning as best as possible.

The deities I'm pretty sure I'm currently working with--and would like to do more solid research on--are a Mother/Father/Daughter/Son quartet composed of, respectively, syncretisms of Lilith-Shekhina/Set-YHWH/Ishtar (or Inanna?)-Anat/Dionysos-Tammuz. I know, it's kind of a mess right now, but I feel like I'm getting something pretty cool out of it.

Now I get to the other part of the thread title: in addition to general resources on the above deities (which would be great), I'm also particularly interested in (gender)queer, Othered, or monstrous perspectives on them.

If you've got good resources on the above Powers and topics, I'd love to know. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
« Last Edit: April 30, 2016, 10:53:41 pm by Eastling »
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Castus

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Re: Resources on Levant & Near-East Powers, queer or Othered perspectives
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2016, 11:22:29 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;190600
Hang on tight, this gets complicated. The short of it is I'm looking for some pretty specific recommendations.

I've decided to take the plunge and seriously work on (re)constructing my own eclectic/syncretic neopagan faith, which means doing a lot of very serious writing. I want to solidly research this stuff before I try to channel it through my fingers and keyboard, though!

What I know so far: I am working with a syncretism of Kabbalistic and other Jewish mystical ideas about Divinity, a dash of Kemetic Recon, and a variety of (roughly) Levantine and Near Eastern religious figures and concepts, all brewed together in my own personal gnosis--then fact-checked for consistency and meaning as best as possible.

The deities I'm pretty sure I'm currently working with--and would like to do more solid research on--are a Mother/Father/Daughter/Son quartet composed of, respectively, syncretisms of Lilith-Shekhina/Set-YHWH/Ishtar (or Inanna?)-Anat/Dionysos-Tammuz. I know, it's kind of a mess right now, but I feel like I'm getting something pretty cool out of it.

Now I get to the other part of the thread title: in addition to general resources on the above deities (which would be great), I'm also particularly interested in (gender)queer, Othered, or monstrous perspectives on them.

If you've got good resources on the above Powers and topics, I'd love to know. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

 
I have nothing to add except the fact that I COULD EAT THIS UP WITH A SPOON.

You go girl, as my mother would say.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

RecycledBenedict

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Quote from: Eastling;190600
The deities I'm pretty sure I'm currently working with--and would like to do more solid research on--are a Mother/Father/Daughter/Son quartet composed of, respectively, syncretisms of Lilith-Shekhina/Set-YHWH/Ishtar (or Inanna?)-Anat/Dionysos-Tammuz. I know, it's kind of a mess right now, but I feel like I'm getting something pretty cool out of it.

(...)

If you've got good resources on the above Powers and topics, I'd love to know. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!


Have you read the fragments of Sanchuniathon? Philo of Byblus claimed to quote Sanchuniathon. The fragments present Phoenician mythology, as it was perceived in Hellenistic times. A very old translation into English here:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/af/index.htm

A good collection of early Kabbalistic treatises is Joseph Dan (ed.), Ronald C. Kiener (tr.) & Moshe Idel (preface): The Early Kabbalah (Paulist Press, Malwah NJ, 1986).

Eastling

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Quote from: FraterBenedict;190607
Have you read the fragments of Sanchuniathon? Philo of Byblus claimed to quote Sanchuniathon. The fragments present Phoenician mythology, as it was perceived in Hellenistic times. A very old translation into English here:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/af/index.htm

A good collection of early Kabbalistic treatises is Joseph Dan (ed.), Ronald C. Kiener (tr.) & Moshe Idel (preface): The Early Kabbalah (Paulist Press, Malwah NJ, 1986).

 
Interesting, thank you! I'm pretty low on primary sources at the moment--the book I've been using a lot lately is Barry B. Powell's Classical Myth textbook, third edition, which I picked up in a used book store months ago. It has a lot of good quotes from sources like The Descent of Inanna (a surprising amount for a textbook about classical myth, in that case) and Euripides's Bacchae, but they're only quotes. At least I have Karl Kerenyi's Dionysos book on the way from Amazon, too. I hear it's a great source for the god in question.

As for the Kabbalah I've had trouble deciding what's an actually reliable source, given modern pop culture's casual obsession with it. I've drawn most of my information so far from Raphael Patai's The Hebrew Goddess, which despite some flaws has been useful. I'll check out your recommendation too.
"The peacock can show its whole tail at once, but I can only tell you a story."
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Eastling

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Quote from: Castus;190602
I have nothing to add except the fact that I COULD EAT THIS UP WITH A SPOON.

You go girl, as my mother would say.

 
I'm glad to see other people have an interest in this work as well.

Quoting your mom as saying that is interesting, since you have your gender field set to male, and I'm a transgender man. Being told "you go, girl" on its own would get my hackles up, I think, so that's perhaps something to be careful with...but hearing it as an indirect quote from someone's mother is a little different.

My mystical work lately has involved a lot of grappling with gender, dysphoria, and gender-fluidity. That's certainly going to come up when I start writing texts, especially in the intersection between Lilith and Dionysos.
"The peacock can show its whole tail at once, but I can only tell you a story."
--JAMES ALAN GARDNER

Castus

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Quote from: Eastling;190621
I'm glad to see other people have an interest in this work as well.

Quoting your mom as saying that is interesting, since you have your gender field set to male, and I'm a transgender man. Being told "you go, girl" on its own would get my hackles up, I think, so that's perhaps something to be careful with...but hearing it as an indirect quote from someone's mother is a little different.

My mystical work lately has involved a lot of grappling with gender, dysphoria, and gender-fluidity. That's certainly going to come up when I start writing texts, especially in the intersection between Lilith and Dionysos.

 
I'd poke around Sannion and P Sufenas Virius Lupus' work if I were you.
“Castus, meanwhile, goes straight for the bad theology like one of those creepy fish that swims up streams of pee.” — Darkhawk

“Believing in the Lord means you are connected to me no matter when you are poor, sick, or struggling in a relationship. I am always with you. I want you to believe that. The future is uncertain, and much suffering awaits. However, the mission of the believer is to live life doing their best, no matter what the circumstances.” — Ryuho Okawa

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