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Nikkal, [Great-Lady].
NYK*L
[to Whom the thirteenth day of March, day 072, is dedicated]
Geography/Culture: Mesopotamia: Syro-Palestinian. Canaanite. Ugaritic.
Description: Goddess of the moon, marriage, the fruitful earth and fertile humanity; Daughter of the Summer's King; She Whose fertility in the hieros gamos assures terrestrial abundance for humanity; She Who is perhaps especially manifest in the new moon after harvest.
Invocations, Pleas, Hymns and Other Homage to HER: Nikkal.
To Whom Sacred: lapis-lazuli; hieros gamos.
Male Associate: consort, Yarih, ----, (variant: Yerah), moon god.
'Ib
, The-Fruitful-One.
Geography/Culture: Mesopotamia.
Description: The seven Goddesses Who preside over child-birth.
Geography/Culture: Sumerian. Ur.
Linguistic Note: Knowing that Nin is often translated as 'Lady', maybe one is to assume from the above meaning given for Nin-Gal that the element -gal means 'great'. An alternate name of Ereshkigal, is Ninkigal. Ereshkigal is translated as 'Queen-of-Deadland' and Ninkigal as 'Lady-of-Deadland'. Ki is known to mean 'the surface of the earth', {in the sense I suppose of location}. Gal may therefore mean something closer to the 'great below', that is: the dwelling place of the chthonic deities. Thus a translation of kigal as 'deadland' suggests gal has a meaning more akin to 'death'.
Description: Mother Goddess of the moon, fertility and abundance; Kind advisor on matters of love.
Male Associates: consort, Nanna, (also called Sin), ----, moon god; son, Utu, (also called Shamash), ----, sun god.
Geography/Culture: Babylonia: Ur (image 2200-2100 BC).
Description: Goddess of the sun.