THIS is the Book of Entrance to the Seven Zones above the Earth, which Zones were known to the Chaldeans, and to the ancient races that preceded them among the lost temples of UR. Know that these Zones are governed by the celestial spirits, and that passage may be had by the Priest through those lands that border on the Unzoned Wastes beyond. Know that, when Walking thus through the Sea of Spheres, he should leave his Watcher behind that It may guard his body and his property, lest he be slain unawares and must wander throughout eternity among the dark spaces between Stars, or else be devoured by the wrathful IGIGI that dwell beyond.
Know that thou must Walk the Steps of the Ladder of Lights, each in its place and one at a time, and that thou must enter by the Gates in the lawful manner, as is put down in the Covenant; else thou art surely lost.
Know that thou must keep purified for the space of one moon for the Entrance to the first Step, one moon between the First and the Second Step, and again between the Second and the Third, and so on in like manner. Thou must abstain from spilling thy seed in any manner for like period of time, but thou mayest worship at the Temple of ISHTAR, provided thou lose not thine Essence. And this is a great secret.
Thou must needs call upon thy God in the dawn light and upon thy Goddess in the light of dusk, every day of the moon of purification. Thou must summon thy Watcher and instruct it perfectly in its duties, providing it with a time and a place whereby it may serve thee and surround thee with a flaming sword, in every direction.
Thy clothing for the Walking should be fair, clean and simple, but appropriate to each Step. And thou should have with thee the Seal of the particular Step whereupon thou Walkest, which is the Seal of the Star appertaining thereunto.
Thou must needs prepare an alter to face the North, having upon it the statues of thine deities, or some such suitable Images, an offering bowl, and a brazier. Upon the earth should be inscribed the Gate appropriate to the Walking. If above thee is the Sky, so much the better. If there be a roof above thine head, it must be free from all hangings. Not even a lamp should be suspended over thee, save in Operations of Calling, which is discussed elsewhere (if the Gods grant me the time!).
The only light shall be from the four lamps upon the ground, at each of the four Gates of the Earth: of the North, one lamp; pf the East, one lamp; of the South, one lamp; and of the West, one lamp. The oil should be pure, with no odour, or else sweet-smelling. The perfumes in the brazier should also be sweet-smelling, or especially appropriate to the Star where thou wouldst desire Entrance, after the fashion of thy country.
The Seven Gates here follow:
THIS IS THE FIRST GATE, THE GATE OF NANNA, CALLED SIN:
THIS IS THE SECOND GATE, OF NEBO:
THIS IS THE THIRD GATE OF INANNA, CALLED ISHTAR:
THIS IS THE FOURTH GATE OF SHAMMASH, CALLED UDDU:
THIS IS THE FIFTH GATE, OF NERGAL:
THIS IS THE SIXTH GATE, OF LORD MARDUK:
THIS IS THE SEVENTH GATE OF NINIB, CALLED ADAR:
And the Ritual of the Walking must follow the formulae herein described:
First, thou must observe the moon of purification. In this time, thou mayest not eat meat for the space of seven days preceding the last day of the moon, and for the space of three days preceding the last dat of the moon thou mayest not eat anything whatsoever, save to drink sweet water. On the last three days, thou must invoke, in addition to thy God and Goddess, the Three Great Elder Ones, ANU, ENLIL, ENKI, by their proper invocations. And the Number of ANU is Sixty, the Perfect Number, for he is Father of the Heavens. And the Number of ENLIL is Fifty, and he is the Father of the Wind. And the Number of ENKI is Forty a most excellent Number, and he is our Father, of all who would tread these forgotten paths, and wander into Lands unknown, among the Wastes, amid frightful monsters of the Azonei.
Second, on the Night of the Walking, which must be the thirteenth night of the moon, having begun on the previous thirteenth night, thou must approach the Gate with awe and respect. Thy Temple is exorcised. Thou must light the Fire and conjure it, but the invocation of the God of Fire, and pour incense thereon. Thou must make offering to the Deities on the altar.
Third, thou must light the four lamps from the flaming brazier, reciting the invocation proper to each of these Watchtowers in its proper place, summoning the respective Star.
Fourth, thou must recite the invocation of the Watcher, thrusting the Sword into the Earth at Its station, not touching it until it is the appointed time for Its departure.
Fifth, thou must take the Seal of the Star in thy right hand, and whisper its Name softly upon it.
Sixth, thou must recite the Incantation of the Walking, loudly, and in a clear voice, as thou walkest about the Gate in a circular fashion, beginning at the North and walking to the East, then to the South, and to the West, the Number of turns being equal to the special Number of the Star.
Seventh, thou must needs arrive back at the centre of the Gate, before thine altar, at which time thou must fall to the ground, looking neither to the right no to the left at what may be moving there, for these Operations attract many kinds of wandering demon and ghost to the Gates, but in the air above the altar whereupon thou wilt presently see the Gate opening for thee and the Spirit-Messenger of the Sphere greeting thee in a clear voice, and giving thee a Name, which thou must remember, for that is the Name of thy Passing the Gate, which thou must use each time thou passeth thereby. The same Spirit-messenger will meet thee and, if thou know not thy Name, he will forbid thee entrance and thou wilt fall to the Earth immediately.
When the First Gate has been entered and the Name received, thou wilt fall back to Earth amid thine Temple. That which has been moving about thy Gate on the ground will have gone. Recite thine thanksgiving to the Gods upon thine altar, strike the Sword of the Watcher that It may depart, and give the incantation of INANNA which say how she conquered the realm of the Underworld and vanquisheth KUTULU. All Idimmu will vanish thereby and thou wilt be thus free to depart the Gate and extinguish the Fire.
Thou mayest not call upon NANNA till thou hast passed the Gate of NANNA. Thou mayest not call NEBO until his Gate hast thou passed. Similarly for the rest of the Gates. When thou hast ascended to the limit of the Ladder of Lights, thou wilt have knowledge and power over the Spheres, and wilt be able to summon them thereby in times of need.
This will not give thee power over the ABSU, however, this power being obtained differently by the Ritual of Descent. This Ritual thou wilt undertake in the fifteenth day after the thirteenth of the month when thou hast summoned the Gate of MARDUK to open. For MARDUK slew the Fiends, and INANNA, the Goddess of the Fifteen, conquered the Netherworld, where some of theirs still dwell. This is a most perilous Rite, and may be undertaken by any man who as the formulae, whether he has passes the previous Gates or not, save that it is best advised to have passed through MARDUK Gate before venturing forth into the Pit.
For this reason, few have ever opened the Gate of ADAR, and spoken to the Horned One who resideth there and giveth all manner of wisdom regarding the operations of necromancy, and of the spells that hasten unto death. Only when thou hast shown thy power over the Maskim and the Rabishu, mayest thou venture forth to the Land of the IGIGI, and for that reason was this Covenant made, that none shall safely Walk through the sunken valleys of the Dead before having ascended to MARDUK, nor shall they breach the Gates that lie beyond ADAR until they have seen the Signs of the Mad God and felt the fury of the hellish Queen.
And against the Ancient Ones, there is only defence. Only a madman, indeed, such as I am called!, can hope to have power over Them that dwell in the Outer Spaces, for their power is unknown, and the number of the hordes uncounted, and each day they breed more horrors than a man's mind can conceive, the sight of which he can hardly bear. There was a time when theGate to the Outside was open too long and I witnessed the horror that struck, of which words cannot speak, and of which writing can only confuse.
The Ancient One that had escaped into the Inner World was forced back through the Gate by a magician of great power, but only at a great loss to the villages and flocks of the Island. Many sheep were slain after an unnatural fashion, and many devoured, an many Bedou rendered senseless; for the mind perceives what it is shown, but the sight of the Ancient Ones is a blasphemy to the ordinary senses of a man, for that come from a world that is not straight, but crooked, and their existence is of forms unnatural and painful to the eye and to the mind, whereby the spirit is threatened and wrenches loose from the body in flight.
And for that reason, the fearful utukku xul take possession of the body and dwell therein until the Priest banish them back to whence they came, and the normal spirit may return to its erstwhile neighbourhood.
And there are all the ALLU, frightening dog-faced demons that are the Messengers of the Gods of Prey, and that chew on the very bones of man. And there are many another, of which this is not the rightful place wherein they may be mentioned, save to warn the Priest against the ambitious striving against the Ancient Ones of the Outside, until mastery is acquired over the powers that reside Within. Only when ADAR has been obtained, may the Priest consider himself a master of the planes of the Spheres, and able to wrestle with the Old Gods. Once Death Herself has been stared in the Eye, can the Priest then summon and control the denizens of Death's darkly curtained halls. Then can he hope to open the Gate without fear and without that loathing of the spirit that slays the man.
Then cane he hope to have power over the demons that plague the mind and the body, pulling at the hair and grasping at the hands, and the screaming vile Names into the airs of the Night.
For what comes on the Wind can only be slain by he who knows the Wind; and what comes on the seas can only be slain by he who knows the Waters. This is it written, in the Ancient Covenant.