MAGIC WORDS Ea By the magic of the Word of Ea ... The great prince Ea, lord of magic. -- Semitic incantation, quoted in Semitic Magic by R. Campbell Thompson (1908) Meanings: • The act and structure of creation -- Mary E. Zimmer, "Creating and Re-creating Worlds with Words: The Religion and Magic of Language in The Lord of the Rings" (2004) • Babylonian deity of water, creation, wisdom, and magic (Enki in Sumerian mythology) "In ancient Babylon, [Ea was] the god of water who was also 'Lord of Wisdom'; the patron of magic, arts, and crafts, and the creator of people." -- Nevill Drury, The Watkins Dictionary of Magic (2006) • "It is" -- Mary E. Zimmer, "Creating and Re-creating Worlds with Words: The Religion and Magic of Language in The Lord of the Rings" (2004) • "Let it be" "[Ea] is used by Iluvatar, J. R. R. Tolkien's God-figure, to actually bring the world into existence." -- Wikipedia (2006) • Magic word with "the power to do what it says" -- Mary E. Zimmer, "Creating and Re-creating Worlds with Words: The Religion and Magic of Language in The Lord of the Rings" (2004) • Universe -- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion (1977) Origins: Ea is of Semitic origin, meaning "living." "In Babylonia the great god Ea was reputed to be the inventor of magic, and his son Marduk, the chief deity of Babylon, inherited the art from his father."1 Facts: In Babylonian mythology, the Water of Life "can be obtained only by means of pronouncing a magic word known only to the god Ea." "In a magical incantation describing the primitive monster form of Ea it is said that his head is like a serpent's, the ears are those of a basilisk, his horns are twisted into curls, his body is a sun-fish full of stars, his feet are armed with claws, and the sole of his foot has no heel." 1 James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (1890) 2 W.O.E. Oesterley, Immortality and The Unseen World: A Study in Old Testament Religion (1921) Lewis Spence, Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (c. 1920)