Calendar of the Sun 7 Winterfyllith Ereshkigal's Day Colour: Black Elements: Earth and Air Altar: Upon cloth of black place a chalice of dark wine, seven black candles, and a knife. Offerings: Weep for her. Daily Meal: Fasting, as Ereshkigal suffers for her Dead.
Invocation to Ereshkigal Lady of Irkalla, Lady of the Darkness, Widow of Gugulanna, the Great Bull of Heaven, Widow of Nergal, conqueror of hubris, Who drinks water with the Annunaki, Who eats dust and clay for bread, who drinks river-mud for beer, Who weeps for the young men forced to abandon their sweethearts, Who weeps for the girls wrenched from their lovers' laps, Who weeps for the infant child, expelled before its time, We hail you in your mourning. Mistress of the Seven Gates Guarded by Neti, Gatekeeper of the Underworld Who answers only to Ereshkigal, We hail you in your sorrow. Lady who holds the water-gift, the river in its fullness, Lady who holds the grain-gift, the fields in their fullness, Lady who held the Queen of Heaven in her arrogance, Hung her on the wall like a piece of meat, Ransomed only by the tears Of those neither male nor female, And then sent her back only to have Her husband instead, to decorate your throne, May we all learn the wisdom of the kurgarra and galatur! May we learn to weep for Death And feel compassion for even that which we fear, For this, too, is your painful lesson. Lady of Irkalla, help us to move beyond ourselves And our fears, and see all endings with new eyes. Chant: Dust of the Dark Clay of the River Run through my hands like the dawn
[source:paganbookofhours.org]