The information on this page comes from various sources. When possible, the entry from the original source is copied verbatim. All sources are listed at the bottom.
Flour: Numerous different types of flour were used in a variety of rituals. Flour might be used for making a magic drawing, e.g. of a sorcerer thought to have bewitched the patient. In various divinatory and exorcistic rituals, flour is scattered on the ground, and a special ritual use of flour is to make small heaps of it (zidubdubbû, literally 'piled up flour'), sometimes together with šebirbirredû (scattered grains). When separate heaps of flour are made in front of gods, or in front of other objects symbolizing the gods, the heaps represent offerings. In other rituals, as explicitly stated, the heaps themselves symbolize certain gods whose presence is desired during the procedures. Various doughs made from different cereal flours were used, mixed with herbs, to make pastes for medical treatments. They were also used ritually in the manufacture of figurines for magical rituals intended to improve sexual potency or to undo the effects of sorcery. (r)
Resource List - all entries are taken verbatim from the original source: (r) "Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary." Jeremy Black and Anthony Green. University of Texas Press, Austin. ©1992
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