I -- The Beginning

"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth." Why is that?

Legitimacy

Basic to modern astronomy and astrophysics is the idea of the beginning of all things, a starting point for the cosmogony of the Universe. All religious traditions, mythologies, and official party lines (be they communistic, republican and simply ludicrous) often go along with this off-the-wall theorizing in order to claim some measure of legitimacy. It's as if without a beginning, a tradition, a glorious and illustrious past (filled with glorious and illustrious leaders -- usually male); without some definitive grounding in the past, a supplicant to the new order (be it political, religious, scientific or whatever) might have doubts about one's future in said order. It's the perceived need for a connection with the Divine or on a more mundane level, Roots -- all tied with a sense of individual and mutual destiny. It's about the essential need for legitimacy, a subject over which politics, science and/or religion have a tendency to really get intense and exorcised.

In this vein, it might be appropriate to note at the outset of these Annals ("a written account of events year by year in chronological order") that: In the beginning the author began writing these Annals of Earth based on the work of  Immanuel Velikovsky,  Zecharia Sitchin,  Laurence Gardner, and a host (a highly technical term for a bunch) of other legitimate and semi-legitimate scholars. In this regard, semi-legitimate scholars are often alluded to, quoted, and taken out-of-context because their theories are often a great deal more entertaining than those of "legitimate" scholars.

There may appear to be early on in these annals an unusual emphasis on legitimacy. It's not clear why such an emphasis should exist, other than, perhaps, the fact that despite the intentional interjections of attempted humor, the information contained herein is factual and truthful to the best of the author's knowledge. In other words, this is not a fictional account nor a fantasy of his inclining years.

And while  the author believes the material herein to be as accurate as currently possible, it does fly in the face of much of traditional science and religious interpretations. It definitely questions authority (or what passes for authority in these chaotic times), and it often questions the so-called authorities' rules, customs, "laws," Neanderthal-based traditions and outdated  paradigms. 

Therefore, for the purposes ascribed to herein we will occasionally ignore the legitimate definitions of "sanctioned by law or custom," "rights of heredity," or "conforming to or in accordance with established rules, standards, or principles," and on the contrary will adhere strictly to the equally legitimate definitions of "reasonable, logically correct, rational, isn't it blatantly obvious, and/or clearly justified." The idea is that legitimacy is far less important than an accurate understanding of one's heritage.

Furthermore, while the author does not wish in any of these writings to give offense, the fact of the matter is that anyone reading this may, at their discretion, take all the offense they can carry off the field. Offense is, after all, free for the taking. [Offense is a wonderful commodity in that regard in that contrary to  Zero Sum Games and the like, one can take offense without anyone ever thinking to give it. It's a wonderful example of  Creating Reality -- even if it's a rather dismal one.]

But I digress. Which I will often do. For just as in the case of the creation of the Heaven and the Earth, initially there is void and chaos -- like the blank parchment prior to the pen being applied. This is not uncommon. In fact, these conditions prior to order conforms to the latest theories of  Chaos wherein chaotic activity, not permanent stability, rules the universe. Being inherently unstable itself, one can expect chaos to reign within these pages as well, but where we will occasionally stumble upon isolated moments of temporary stability or sanity.

And thus it begins: A subtle, semi-serious serial, seething with socially sound, stupendously staggering and slightly slanted subjects, including Sphinxes,  Sumerians, and similar sordid subjects. Sorry.

The Beginning

It's called the Big Bang Theory. Which is really rather silly, when you think about it. Like why "Bang" -- much less a "Big Bang!?"  Why not, for example, the first sound?  Like the first "Ommmmmmmmm?" Or the first "Ouch!" Or "What in the...?" Why, pray tell, is our modern scientific theory for the beginning of the "local universe" (defined as all that mainstream science can see and detect) about explosions? Can't they spell "Ommmmmmmmm?" Why get into the dramatic?  There's enough drama already. 

For example, according to  Superstring Theory (one of the latest fads in Quantum Physics and mainstream science) all matter in the universe derives from portions of the void or vacuum (where nothing exists). In other words, the vacuum begins vibrating. These vibrations of the vacuum are called "superstrings" because scientists badly need to label things. (There is also the adage that "there's always a string attached.")  It also helps them "to see" or visualize the properties of a vibrating vacuum which is best understood in terms of infinitesimally super-small strings twisting, turning, knotting, and otherwise cavorting in the vacuum. It also allows one to visualize their interactions. (Clever devils, those physicists!)

Superstrings by definition are tiny little things (i.e. smaller than a breadbox), on the order 10-33 cm, that is: 1 divided by 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. This dimension can be compared to the dimensions of an atom of 10-8 cm, or a nucleus of 10-13 cm -- at best, a difference of twenty orders of magnitude. We're talking small here!  We're dealing with a realm where it is necessary to abandon space and time concepts, particularly a space-time theory built upon the notion of points and/or continuity.

This also leads us (assuming you're still following) to the concept of  zero-point-energy, or for those of us who are forever looking for ways of reducing the amount of typing necessary, ZPE. The ZPE can be thought of as the ether, the all-pervading energy that fills the fabric of our three dimensional space. The term, "zero-point" refers to zero degrees Kelvin (absolute zero) and means that the energy fluctuations of the ZPE are not thermal in nature. They are not just a matter of heating things up -- in effect there is an energy source pervading our universe that goes beyond anything we've known before. And it's likely  hyperdimensional!

All particles of matter are a coherence in the ZPE. Coherence is essentially "sticking together, logically connected or integrated"; and is the basis of any fundamental particle. For example, an electron can be thought of as simply a bunch (we'll use the technical term here) of sticky superstrings stuck together by virtue of being immersed in the ZPE. The theories of ZPE coherence is well established in mainstream physics, and is supported by the theories of system self-organization from chaos, for which Ilya Prigogine won the 1977 Nobel Prize in chemistry. [Thereafter, much of what Ilya said was styled: "I (comma) Prigogine..."]

Zero-point-energy not only pervades our universe, but is omni-directional within it. The energy density of the ZPE is on the order of 1094 (as compared to nuclear energy densities of 1024). (Having recently become proficient in factors of 10, I am sure the reader will recognize that the ZPE energy density is seventy orders of magnitude greater than that of nuclear energy -- i.e. 70 more zeroes to the right of the "1.") 

For all extents and purposes, the amount of energy in the ZPE is infinite. Furthermore, while the ZPE is electromagnetic in nature, quantum theory strongly suggests that it does not arise from electromagnetic propagations in our three dimensional space. By applying the formalism of Einstein's general relativity theory to the ZPE, Wheeler's Geometrodynamics theorizes that the zero-point-energy arises from an orthogonal (90o angle) electric flux from a fourth (or higher) spatial dimension. 

Essentially, a virtually infinite amount of energy is blowing through our three-dimensional universe in all directions, and occasionally, some of this energy finds itself, for whatever reason, cohering or self-organizing into elementary particles -- which by virtue of their existence encourages other coherences, and slowly but surely, our universe is constructed the old fashioned way, one superstring after another.

[We hesitated to get technical like this, but felt you should be aware that all these scientific ramblings are based on mainstream science and peer-reviewed journals -- journals where other scientists check out the work of the submitting scientist prior to publishing in their precious, very conservative and very authoritative publications. There's also a recurring theme in these annals, and ZPE is part of it.]

The essence, then, of Superstring, Zero-point-energy, and System Self-organization theories is that our universe -- our limited-view, three-dimensional space (and one-dimensional time) frame of reference—began (and exists?) from the initial, and possibly continuing, coherence within the void of the zero-point energy. This vacuum polarization (i.e. getting the vacuum or zero-point energies aligned in one direction) apparently stemmed from some initial action (and may, of course, be continuing to stem from subsequent actions). 

However, for our purposes of establishing "The Beginning," we will consider the coherence from several possible viewpoints:  A Big Bang (for the explosively oriented scientists among us), a divinely uttered "Ommmm" (for the divinely inspired lay persons), a sneeze or cough of god/goddess/all-that-is (for the less traditional and more fun-loving individuals), or simply the first sound, the Nada Brama  -- "The World is Sound" for those into the less dramatic qualities of a supreme being.

15 Billion (± 3 Billion) B.C.E. (Before Current Era)

God sneezed. Or went "Ommmmmmmmm." Or possibly thought the first sound, and our universe began. Or maybe the universe was simply restarted, having already gone through a complete cycle of universal expansion and subsequent contraction. In any event, the current edition of The Perils of Pauline, Paul and all the other Poor wretches on the planet commenced at 9:15 am (MST) on November 15th (an auspicious day if there ever was one), roughly 15 billion years ago. It was a Thursday.

For the precision-oriented (i.e. nit-pickers) among you, the latest figure for the age of the universe ranges from 12 to 15 billion years. This first "wild guess" is based on the observation of a galaxy or proto-galaxy some 12 billion light years away. Inasmuch as light travels at a speed of some 186,000 miles per second -- which has the advantage of avoiding radar speed traps in that radar travels at the same speed -- it takes galactic light 12 billions years to travel the distance from there to here. Hence, we are looking back into time at what existed some 12 billion years ago. The author chose 15 ± 3 billion years, knowing that he's safe at 12 billion, and figure it's just a matter of time before they find something further away.

For those into checking out the conditions billions of years ago, check out the Hubble Space Telescope's  Deep Space Objects. Just be warned that such excursions can be addictive in terms of incredible beauty and random acts of  sacred geometry.

10 Billion years later

Moving right along, our next stop is the formation of our Solar System. As you might have suspected in the description of the creation of our universe, the details of that particular creation were not based on eyewitness reports. Essentially, it's all theory (theory being the term for what constitutes the current scientific fad, wild guess, or which provides for the all important legitimacy previously mentioned). One might suspect, therefore, that any epic of creation of our Solar System might fall into that same category. Not necessarily!  We may have an eyewitness source!  No kidding!

The following descriptions are based on ancient  Sumerian texts (including their subsequent translations into other languages). And while these texts may also be based on ancient theories, there is reasonable cause to believe that eyewitness accounts may not be totally out of the picture. (More on this later -- much later, like Episode III or IV). 

There is the additional factor that these ancient texts ("published" circa 3,000 to 10,000 B.C.E.) have been incredibly accurate in describing our Solar System as it is presently constituted -- a fact we shall soon encounter. There is the added nicety that this description existed at least 5,000 years before mainstream science developed its own currently held views. It is in fact delightfully amusing that recent discoveries (within the last several decades) have required mainstream science to modify its theories on the origins of the Solar System, and in many cases, to align them with the original Sumerian view.

[Incidentally, ancient Sumer was the world's first civilization, located in the Tigris-Euphrates valley (in what is now Iraq/Kuwait), and spanning the time from approximately 4,000 B.C.E. to 2,000 B.C.E. There will be a lot more on Sumer later on -- probably much more than you ever really wanted to know. Meanwhile, keep in mind that B.C.E. stands for "Before Current Era"—science's way of avoiding the bias implications of "Before Christ" -- and "c." or "circa" is the term to indicate an approximate date. Actually, virtually every date in these annals is approximate, but when we reach those dates which appear reasonably accurate, we will discard the c.'s and circas. (But not the circus. Thank goodness!)]

The Epic of Creation (c. 4.6 billion years)

It all begins with the "Celestial Battle," a cataclysmic event the description of which is central to the Sumerian's cosmogony, worldview and religion. It was an event to which references were continually being made in numerous Sumerian texts, hymns, and proverbs (just as in the Bible's books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, et al). It was described in detail, step by step, in the Enuma elish, a long text that required seven tablets (keep that number, seven, in mind). The Enuma elish, with a single cosmogonic premise, explains puzzles that baffle modern day astronomers and astrophysicists.

It begins with:

"Enuma elish...

When in the heights Heaven had not been named,

And below, Earth had not been called;

Naught, but primordial APSU, their Begetter,

MUMMU, and TIAMAT -- she who bore them all.

No reed had yet been formed, no marshland had appeared.

None of the gods had yet been brought into being,

None bore a name, their destinies were undetermined."

In the Sumerian epic, APSU ("one who exists from the beginning") is another name for the Sun. MUMMU ("one who is born") becomes known as the trusted emissary of Apsu -- a possible description of the planet Mercury. TIAMAT ("maiden of life") is an early planet unknown to modern science. 

Larger than the Earth, Tiamat apparently orbited the Sun at two to three times that of the earth's distance from the Sun. This would place Tiamat at about the distance of the main bulk of the asteroid belt, between where Mars and Jupiter are currently located. Between Tiamat and Apsu, "their waters were mingled together," i.e., the void was filled with primordial elements of both bodies -- this situation constituting a cross between chaos and the slow accumulation of matter, particles, and elements into ever larger bodies. At the same time, however, their "destinies were undetermined," i.e., the orbits of the planets were not yet stable.

"Their waters were mingled together...

Gods were formed in their midst:

God LAHMU and goddess LAHAMU were brought forth;

By name they were called."

LAHMU ("deity of war") probably denotes the planet Mars while LAHAMU ("lady of battles") represents the planet Venus. Both Mars and Venus are located between the Sun and Tiamat. Their exact locations are not important in that both were probably roaming about in the chaotic early times.

"Before they had grown in age and in stature to an appointed size --

God ANSHAR and KISHAR were formed, surpassing them."

KISHAR ("foremost of firm lands") is the planet Jupiter. The largest of the planets, Jupiter is indeed, "foremost" of the planets, the location of "firm lands" (as opposed to space and the confusion of primordial matter in the Solar System). ANSHAR ("prince, foremost of the heavens") is the planet Saturn, with its glorious rings orbiting the gas giant. Both of these planets overshadowed and surpassed in size both Mars and Venus. The implication is that the more inner planets had never quite had the opportunity to grow to the size of the outer planets. At about the same time, GAGA, the emissary of Anshar (Saturn) is created, probably as a satellite of the planet, but ultimately with a destiny of his own. Then, after a long time had passed...

"As lengthened the days and multiplied the years,

God ANU became their son—of his ancestors a rival.

Then ANSHAR'S first-born, ANU, as his equal and in his image begot EA."

ANU ("He of the heaven") became Uranus. Anu then begot his twin and equal, EA, also known as NUDIMMUD ("artful creator"), or what we today call the planet Neptune.

"The divine brothers banded together; they disturbed TIAMAT as they surged back and forth.

They were troubling the "belly" of TIAMAT by their antics in the dwelling of heaven.

APSU could not lessen their clamor; TIAMAT was speechless at their ways.

Their doings were loathsome... Troublesome were their ways."

The new planets, Uranus and Neptune, were surging back and forth in erratic orbits, often getting too close to one another, often interfering with each other. Think of the situation as a stellar bumper car competition, with planets moving in erratic orbits, sweeping up matter and debris from the primordial Solar System and adding it to their bulk. And in the process interfering and threatening one another. 

These antics of her "grandkids" evidently disturbed the goddess Tiamat no end. (Mothers are not always delighted with children underfoot.)  Apparently, "she who bore them all" could no longer bear them and complained to Apsu; who being just a touch on the side of rampant egomania, responded quickly to Tiamat's complaints. Apsu (the Sun) announced his intention to "destroy, wreck their ways." He conferred with Mummu in secret, but "whatever they had plotted between them: was overheard by the other gods -- the plot to destroy them left them speechless."

Ea, however, did not lose his wits. He devised a plot to "pour sleep upon Apsu." When the other celestial gods liked the plan, Ea "drew a faithful map of the universe and cast a divine spell upon the primeval waters of the solar system." 

The physical mechanism of Ea's spell is not entirely clear. The orbit of Neptune might have affected the Sun's magnetism and thus its irradiative outpourings, or Neptune itself, might have emitted some counter radiations of energy. In any case, the physical equivalent was to quench the immense outpourings of primeval matter from the Sun. In effect, Apsu was "vanquished," "Mummu, the Counselor, was powerless to stir." In effect, Mummu was prevented from roaming about, "bound and left behind," a lifeless planet close to the Sun. Neptune apparently stopped the process of the Sun emitting any more of the energy and matter to create additional planets, deprived the Sun of its creativity, and thereby brought temporary peace to the Solar System. The Solar System then became known as "the abode of EA." Any additional planets could now come only from "The Deep," the far reaches of space beyond the outermost planet (at the time), Neptune.

c. 4.1 Billion:  Ah yes, from the deep space beyond Neptune:  An intruder!

"In the Chamber of Fates, the place of Destinies,

A god was engendered, most able and wisest of gods;

In the heart of the Deep was NIBIRU created.

Alluring was his figure, sparkling the lift of his eyes;

Lordly was his gait, commanding as of olden times...

Greatly exalted was he above the gods, exceeding throughout...

He was the loftiest of the gods, surpassing was his height;

His members were enormous, he was exceedingly tall.

When he moved his lips, fire blazed forth."

Nibiru was also, obviously enough, the first to use really good Public Relations.

In the Akkadian version of the original Sumerian text and from which the Enuma elish is taken, the glorious intruder is referred to as MARDUK. This, however, is an early example of revisionist history, inasmuch as the god of Babylon at the time of the Akkadian Empire was named Marduk. His destiny was not that of a humble, self-effacing god. Marduk had had to raise hell to reach his exalted position (the story of which will be offered herein in a later missle), and was now apparently trying to take on the glory of the original Nibiru. It's not an uncommon practice, even today.

[We, however, are not prone to tolerating revisionism, and (indirectly assume that Marduk is no longer the god to which all must demonstrate their allegiance). Thus we will hereafter refer to the intruder planet as Nibiru. This would be in keeping with the bulk of the Sumerian texts.]

Nibiru, arriving from the outermost depths of interstellar space, did not possess a pedigree of which we are aware. There is no evidence in the Sumerian records from whence this planet came, or the circumstances of its birth. (We're not even sure Nibiru was legitimate!)  But as a new-born planet on his arrival in our environs, belching fire and flashing radiation all about (on the make, so to speak), legitimacy was probably not the initial nor even the primary concern. Peace and stability were threatened. Worse yet, Nibiru was unique in that it was traveling in a retrograde motion, i.e., in an opposite direction from all the other planets of the Solar System. This is akin to entering an eight lane (in one direction) freeway in the wrong direction!  There is, admittedly, a fair amount of space with which to dodge the on-coming traffic, but it's a fair bet that there will be a reasonable amount of excitement generated nonetheless.

For this reason, if for no other, as Nibiru neared the other planets, "they heaped upon him their awesome flashes," and he shone brightly "clothed with the halo of ten gods." In effect, Nibiru's approach stirred up electromagnetic emissions from the various planets and Sun. Nibiru first passed by the planet that "begot" him, that pulled him into the Solar System, the planet Ea/Neptune. It was Neptune's gravitational attraction that rounded out Nibiru's path, "making it good for its purpose." 

Nibiru was in a very plastic stage at this time, apparently early in its cosmogony. The gravitational attraction of Neptune caused the side of Nibiru to bulge, as though he had a "second head." There is the distinct possibility Neptune's largest moon, Triton, being created at this point. This is suggested by the fact that Triton also has a retrograde motion in contradistinction to virtually all of the other satellites of all of the other planets in the Solar System. By the time Nibiru reached the vicinity of Anu/Uranus, chunks of matter began to tear away from the intruding planet (the same sort of process that may have created Triton). The result was the formation of at least four satellites of Nibiru:

"Anu brought forth and fashioned the four sides,

Consigned their power to the leader of the host."

Called "winds," these "four sides" were thrust into a fast orbit around Nibiru, "swirling like a whirlwind." At the same time, Uranus may have taken a massive "hit," flipping its axis of rotation on its side, while one of its moons, Miranda, may still show the scars of the encounter. In addition, some of the satellites of Uranus may have been fashioned at this time.

Moving right along, Nibiru was then affected by the gravitational and magnetic forces of the larger planets, Saturn and Jupiter. The rendezvous with Saturn was particularly fateful, for it was here that Nibiru "kissed Anshar's lips" (a description, incidentally, vastly superior to a modern science estimation of the number of megatons of TNT detonated by a celestial collision). The result was that the Nibiru-Saturn encounter "changed the destiny of Nibiru" (i.e. determined its orbit about the Sun). 

[It might be noted, parenthetically, that it's not necessary to the theory for Nibiru, after encountering Neptune, to have then proceeded directly to its rendezvous with Uranus. It may very well have been that Nibiru, on the "fast track" caused by its new orbit about the Sun (the result of the encounter with Neptune) interacted with Uranus on a subsequent orbit. The orbital period of Nibiru, as we will eventually learn, is estimated at 3,600 years -- a very long orbital period for our Solar System, but when taken in context of possibly millions of years for Nibiru "to make the rounds," quickly fades in comparison.]

[Similarly, the subsequent encounters with other members of the Solar System may have occurred in yet later (or even earlier) orbits. It would appear, therefore, that the Sumerian version, lacking the eyewitness vantage at the time of the events, was not willing to venture a guess as to the exact sequencing of all of the events -- BUT, that in the true spirit of literary license, arranged the events in a sequence appropriate to a dramatic unfolding!  On the other hand (a common occurrence in these annals), the encounter with Saturn the first time around may have been critical to the creation of a solar-oriented orbit for Nibiru. Furthermore, the harmonic connections between the planets of the Solar System (a subject to be held in suspense until the second part of our series) might suggest at least the possibility of the sequencing described by the Enuma elish. And if you're not into suspense, see  The Harmony of the Spheres.]

Meanwhile, back in the environs of Saturn, the brief affair between Anshar and Nibiru moved Gaga (formerly attached to Saturn) in the direction of Mars and Venus, into "the inner circles" of the Solar System, and in a new orbit considerably more eccentric (inclined to the plane of the Elliptic) and considerably more elliptical than circular. This extremely elliptical orbit subsequently resulted in Gaga sweeping out as far (or further) than Neptune, until at one point in the future, Uranus and Neptune "addressed it" and fashioned its current orbit into that of the planet Pluto. Pluto, originally a satellite of Saturn, thus became a planet.

[This contradicts mainstream astronomy's guess that Pluto was an escaped moon of Neptune. However, Pluto may also have spent some time interacting with Neptune, and thus it's life path is only  indicated by the last phase of its journey.]

Finally, the encounters with Saturn and Jupiter also bent Nibiru's path even more inward, into the Solar System, toward Tiamat, and in the process, disturbed all of the inner planets. 

"He produced streams, disturbed Tiamat; the gods were not at rest, carried as in a storm." 

The gravitational pull of Nibiru began to tear away parts of Tiamat. From her midst there emerged eleven "monsters," a "growling, raging" throng of satellites who "separated themselves" from her body and marched at her side. As if preparing herself to meet the onrushing intruder, Tiamat "crowned them with halos" (planetary electromagnetic fields), giving them the appearance of gods (i.e. planets). Whether or not the throng was created on the first pass of Nibiru to Tiamat and thereafter the two planets commenced to do "battle" on a subsequent pass, or whether the "celestial battle" began in the midst of their first meeting, is not clear from the texts. But once engaged, the "celestial battle" had begun:

"She has set up an Assembly and is furious with rage...

Withall, eleven of this kind she brought forth....

They thronged and marched at the side of Tiamat;

Enraged, they plot ceaselessly day and night.

They are set for combat, fuming and raging;

They have assembled, prepared for conflict."

Of particular note was Tiamat's chief satellite, KINGU ("great emissary").

"From among the gods who formed her host, her first-born, KINGU, she elevated; in their midst she made him great.

To be head of her ranks, to command her host, to raise weapons for the encounter, to be in the lead for combat, in the battle to be the commander --

These to the hand of KINGU she entrusted, as she caused him to be in her host,

'I have cast a spell for thee,' she said to him; 'I have made thee great in the assembly of the gods;

Dominion over the gods I have given unto thee,

Verily, thou art supreme!'"

Subjected to the gravitational pull of Nibiru, Kingu evidently began to shift away from Tiamat, the end result of which could be an independent orbit for Kingu. It was this granting to Kingu of a "Tablet of Destinies" -- a planetary path of his own -- that especially upset the outer planets/gods. Ea was the first to ask, "Who had granted Tiamat the right to bring forth new planets?" He took the problem to Anshar, the giant Saturn. All that Tiamat had plotted, to him Ea repeated:

"...she has set up an Assembly and is furious with rage...

She had added matchless weapons, has borne monster-gods...

Withal eleven of this kind she has brought forth;

From among the gods who formed her Assembly,

She has elevated KINGU, her first-born, made him chief...

She has given him a Tablet of Destinies, fastened it on his breast."

Unfortunately, none of the other planets were eager to take on Tiamat. Except, of course, Nibiru (whom the others quickly labeled as their "Avenger"). And naturally, there was a price to pay!

"If I, indeed, as your Avenger am to vanquish Tiamat, save your lives --

Convene an Assembly to proclaim my Destiny supreme!"

Nibiru was thus granted his "destiny," a relatively fixed orbit about the Sun, and was to be supreme among all the celestial gods. In the process, Gaga (ultimately to become Pluto) was loosened from his orbit about Anshar/Saturn and allowed to visit all the other planets in the course of its strongly elliptical orbit. Anshar gave Gaga his marching orders:

"Anshar opened his mouth, to GAGA, his Counselor, a word he addressed...

'Be on they way, GAGA, take the stand before the gods, and that which I shall tell thee, repeat thou unto them.'"

Passing by the other gods/planets, Gaga urged them to "fix your decrees for Nibiru." This was apparently a successful venture, because as the Avenger passed by Jupiter and Saturn and subject to their tremendous gravitational pull, Nibiru "brought forth" three more satellites -- "Evil Wind, Whirl Wind, and Matchless Wind" -- to add to his existing arsenal of the four "Winds."

"The Lord [NIBIRU] went forth, followed his course;

Towards the raging TIAMAT he set his face...

The Lord approached to scan the innerside of TIAMAT --

The scheme of KINGU, her consort, to perceive.

As he [NIBIRU] looks on, his course becomes upset,

His direction is distracted, his goings are confused.

When the gods, his helpers, who were marching at his side,

Saw the valiant KINGU, blurred became their vision.

TIAMAT emitted a roar... the Lord raised the flooding storm.

TIAMAT and NIBIRU, the wisest of gods, advanced against one another;

They pressed on to single combat, they approached for battle.

The Lord spread out his net to enfold her;

The Evil Wind, the rearmost, he unleashed at her face.

As she opened her mouth, TIAMAT, to devour him --

He drove in the Evil Wind so that she closed not her lips.

The fierce storm Winds then charged her belly;

Her body became distended; her mouth had opened wide.

He shot there through an arrow, it tore her belly; it cut through her insides, tore into her womb.

Having thus subdued her, her life-breath he extinguished.

After he had slain TIAMAT, the leader, her band was shattered,

Her host broken up, the gods, her helpers who marched at her side,

Trembling with fear, turned their backs about so as to save and preserve their lives."

The Basic Idea

Consider the ramifications of all of this. A young and still unstable Solar System, made up of the Sun and eight planets, was invaded some 4 billions years ago by a large planet from outer space. The intruder approached as a comet, but in a retrograde motion, opposite to all of the members of the Solar System. Influenced by the gravitational attraction of the outermost planet, Neptune, the intruder is brought into the Solar System, making a close approach and leaving its mark on the outer planet. Eventually, this planet, Nibiru, passes by Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter, in each case interacting strongly, creating seven satellites, and having its orbit altered toward the inner Solar System, on a collision course with Tiamat. 

Of particular importance, however, is the fact that Nibiru and Tiamat do not collide!  It was Nibiru's satellites that crashed into Tiamat. The collisions distended the body of Tiamat, making a wide cleavage (but not the kind of cleavage for which many females yearn), and then with an immense bolt of electricity from the energy-charged Nibiru, Tiamat's own electric and magnetic fields were neutralized ("extinguished her life-breath"). 

This first encounter with Tiamat left her fissured and lifeless, but her fate, as well as Kingu's, was still to be determined. The fate, however, of her other ten, smaller satellites was determined at once. Their shattered remains were turned into comets—orbiting in wildly eccentric orbits, in diverse planes (as opposed to the planar nature of the Solar System's planets), and because of Nibiru's retrograde motion, in their own retrograde motion ("Trembling with fear, they turned their backs about"). 

The battle also resulted in Nibiru taking from Kingu his "Tablet of Destinies" (Kingu's potentially independent orbit) and attaching it to his own -- Nibiru's orbit being bent into a permanent solar orbit, albeit an extremely elliptical orbit. Having "vanguished" Tiamat, Nibiru continued on past the Sun, past the outer planets, and after a long time, returned to "strengthen his hold on the vanquished gods," Tiamat and Kingu.

Having now completed his first-ever orbit around the Sun, Nibiru...

"...then returned to TIAMAT, whom he had subdued.

The Lord paused to view her lifeless body.

To divide the monster he then artfully planned.

Then, as a mussel, he split her into two parts.

The Lord trod upon Tiamat's hinder part;

With his weapon the connected skull he cut loose;

He severed the channels of her blood;

And caused the North Wind to bear it to places that have been unknown."

It's time for the Birthday Girl, Earth! 

The second collision between Nibiru and Tiamat, splits Tiamat into two pieces. Another of Nibiru's satellites crashes into one of the separated parts, Tiamat's skull, cuts it loose and then "escorted" by his North Wind to a new orbit -- one that would eventually orbit the Sun at an average distance of some 93 million miles -- creates the Earth and its own "Tablet of Destinies!"  Better yet, the newest planet was even given a "head start." (Yes, yes, I know -- unforgivable!)  Meanwhile, the lower half of Tiamat had another fate:  On a subsequent orbit, Nibiru himself hits it, smashing it into pieces, thus creating the asteroid belt:

"The [other] half of her he set up as a screen for the skies:

Locking them together, as watchmen he stationed them...

He bent Tiamat's tail to form the Great Band as a bracelet."

The dismembering of Tiamat created, according to the Sumerian texts, the "Heaven and Earth."  Furthermore, after Nibiru's North Wind had pushed Earth to its new celestial location, Earth acquired its own orbit around the Sun (resulting in our seasons) and received its axial rotation (giving us night and day). The Sumerian texts also claim that after Nibiru had created the Earth, he "alloted [to Earth] the days of the Sun, and established the precincts of day and night."

In chronological order, the Sumerian texts continue with the shaping of the Earth. At first it is consumed with gushing lava (Tiamat's "spittle"); then with the formation of the atmosphere, the oceans of Earth, and the continents. After the "cloud waters were gathered," the oceans began to form and the "foundations" of Earth -- its continents -- were raised. As "the making of cold" -- a cooling off -- took place, rain and mist appeared. Meanwhile, the "spittle" continued to pour forth, "laying in layers," shaping Earth's topography.

"Putting TIAMAT's head [Earth] into position,

He raised the mountains thereon.

He opened the springs, the torrents to draw off. 

Through her eyes he released the Tigris and Euphrates. 

From her teats he formed the lofty mountains,

Drilled springs for wells, the water to carry off."

Nibiru is also credited with having "made the divine Moon appear... designated him to mark the night, define the days every month." The Moon thus became the "celestial god who protects Earth" and resides "within her heavenly pressure [gravitational field]." In effect this is a transformed Kingu, which the Epic of Creation specifically excluded from the "host" of Tiamat that was shattered and scattered and put into reverse motion around the Sun as comets. Then after Nibiru had completed his first orbit and returned to the scene of the battle, he decreed Kingu's separate fate:

"And Kingu, who had become chief among them,

He made shrink;

As god DUG.GA.E he counted him.

He took from him the Tablet of Destinies, not rightfully his."

Kingu remained a "god" -- a planetary member of the Solar System, but without an orbit of his own. (Hey!  He backed the wrong horse.!  Still, Nibiru let him keep his job of "protector," only for Earth instead of Tiamat. But Kingu had another price to pay.

In the midst of the celestial battle, Kingu had been stripped of his "vital" elements: atmosphere and waters. Kingu had also been shrunk in size and transformed into a celestial duggae, a "mass of lifeless clay." This description of our Moon pretty well correlates with what we now know of the Moon's characteristics and history. It also explains NASA's findings regarding a huge collision, "when celestial bodies the size of large cities came crashing into the Moon."

The battle over, the results glorious and appropriately lauded, the victorious Nibiru then took a quick victory lap around the solar track. Nibiru "crossed the heavens and surveyed the regions." This time his attention focused on "the dwelling of Ea/Neptune, to fix a final "destiny" for Gaga, the former satellite of Anshar/Saturn—who had been doing all the shuttle diplomacy between the planets, acting as "emissary" of Saturn. In one of his final acts (at least as far as the Epic of Creation is concerned), the planet Nibiru assigned the celestial god, Gaga, "to a hidden place," a hitherto unknown orbit facing "the deep" (outer space). Appropriately, Gaga also got his gold watch, as Nibiru entrusted to him the "counsellorship of the Watery Deep." Sounds like an impressive title, but it also sounds a bit like being given the job of "Royal Commander of All You Survey" and then posted to northern Greenland. A name change was also appropriate, and Gaga became US.MI ("one who shows the way"), also known as our outermost (at least most of the time) planet, Pluto.

[Please note that I have refrained from commenting on the name, US.MI.]

Our Solar System had now reached its present state, a grand composition of twelve major (from the viewpoint of Earth) celestial bodies. These included Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Nibiru -- with the asteroid belt located predominantly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. And of course, each celestial body had a ruling god as its counterpart.

If you've ever wondered why the number twelve shows up so much in our lives (12 months, 12 tribes, 12 jurors, etcetera), now you know.

Stay Tuned!

It's been an incredible saga thus far -- full of sound, fury, celestial battles, blood, guts, and so forth. It's also been an elaborate description of the formation of our solar system, far surpassing the current theories of mainstream cosmogony. The really big question, however, is whether or not any of the above is true!  I.e....

• Did Nibiru really use his rearmost satellite to smack Tiamat in the mouth?
• Was there something going on between Tiamat and Kingu that enraged Nibiru?
• Are these Sumerian texts worth the clay upon which they are impressed?
• What does our biblical authorities have to say about all this?
• Will Nibiru be making a return visit anytime soon?

For these and other marvelous questions, stay tuned and wait breathlessly for the next installment of the Annals of Earth -- arriving via Cyberspace sometime after the next new moon.

Are you excited now, or what!?