Low Magics

 

 

Ghosts

The spirits of those who had died by violence or in the consequence of sin against a god or a crime against the God-King are well known to maintain their link to this sphere and journey not to the Land of Kur. They plague the living with their presence and strike fear into hearts late at night. Or if a family neglects the proper funurary rites and mourning they may doom a spirit to eternal wandering. These are the 'forgotten ones" whose name is not uttered and has noone to care for them. These ghosts have become quite common in the poorer districts of the city, where family cannot afford more than a quickly spoken prayer as they silently lower the body of a deceased loved one into a river late at night. The temple Lamahu have rites to exorcise these ghosts and guide them on their journey, but those who cannot afford the costly attentions of the Temples have recourse to the questionable ceremonies of Low Magic.

Unleavened bread made with blood (any farm animal will do) is specially prepared with an incantation:

Dead Folk why do you appear to me? You house towns are the ruins and whose houses are bones. As for me I do not go to Cuthath the meeting place of ghosts in the Land of Kur: Why then do you come after me: Go forth to the Land of Kur, know ye the name of its Gatekeeper, Bine, do this in the name of its ancient Lords Nergal and Ukar. Be ye exorcised in the names of Anu, Shamash and Innin. I command this in their names.

As the sun sets the magical bread is offered to the spirits and buried in a hole newly dug for this purpose.

 

 

A Commentary on the so-called "Demon Bowls"

Within the extensive category of protective low magics, one local Ashurian tradition stands out as unique, namely the so-called demon bowls. A number of these inscribed earthenware containers were found in several sites in Red Hook and the Old Quarter, thought to date as early as the reign of Bel-Larsa. These bowls are inscribed in the form of a spiral moving towards the center from the bowl's rim, often on both inner and outer surfaces. Many bowls are inscribed in various pseudo-scripts, possibly due to illiteracy on the part of the creator, or because the text itself was deemed only a secondary component of the bowl, and could be recited orally. It may be assured that these "invocations" bear little relation to proper magical invocation and contain none of the words of power that separate the Low Magics from the High. Many of the bowls utilize the common devices of the Low Magics: common divine names; common "magic" words"; and symbols such as "magical eyes" and so forth. Bowls found on site are positioned face-down, and in some cases two bowls are found glued together with pitch, the space enclosed between them containing such items as inscribed egg-shells or human skull fragments. These bowls are intended as demon traps, meant to lure and then trap any malevolent demons. It seems that such traps often were placed in room corners, since the meeting of walls and floor created cracks through which the demons could sneak in, a fact which is also verified in contemporary literary sources. However, in some cases the bowls' inscriptions reveal them to have been aggressive devices aimed at sending the demons upon an enemy's head. Such bowls could be buried in cemeteries and abandoned houses, where ghosts and demons are supposedly abundant, then transferred to the victim's house and property, where the demon is released thus it may begin to plague him. Magus Zakir was able to conjure and question a scholarly inclined demon on the topic of these bowls. Apparently, demons mostly scoff at this sort of magical "trap", but tend to avoid them just to be safe. Thus in some small way, it might be said that these bowls may be efficacious for preventing access to one's home by demons.

 

 

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Wine, Beer, and Spirits: Are always passed around the table "desoleil" or clockwise. To do otherwise risks souring the beverage. Fisherman believe that an offering of wine poured into rough waters may calm them.

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