Baal Bael

God of Fertility Weather Tribes of Canaan

Baal

Source: https://www.worldhistory.org/baal/

Baal (also given as Ba'al) is a Canaanite-Phoenician god of fertility and weather, specifically rainstorms. The name was also used as a title, however, meaning "Lord" and was applied to a number of different deities throughout the ancient Near East. Baal is best known today from the Bible as the antagonist of the Israelite cult of Yahweh.

Tales concerning Baal date back to the mid-14th and late 13th centuries BCE in written form but are understood to be much older, preserved by oral tradition until committed to writing. Excavations of the ancient city of Ugarit (modern-day Ras Shamra, Syria) beginning in 1929 CE revealed thousands of cuneiform tablets, many of them relating the tales of the gods and, specifically, Baal, who became king of the gods, replacing El.

Baal's popularity is attested by the many copies found of the stories that make up the so-called Baal Cycle which relates how Baal conquers death and assumes the kingship of the gods. The story of Baal's descent to the underworld and return has often been cited as an early example of the dying and reviving god motif but this has been challenged as Baal does not actually die and return to life.

The personal name Baal is also a theophoric name which could apply to many male deities throughout the Levant and Mesopotamia but is most frequently used to refer to Baal Hadad (also Ba'al Adad), the god of storms and rain in Canaanite and Mesopotamian religion who eventually became a war god as well.

Read More Adad

Baal Hadad is the central character of the Baal Cycle and also the god who appears in the biblical books of Exodus and I and II Kings where he is portrayed negatively. By the time of the Protestant Reformation (1517-1648 CE) he was regularly referenced as Beelzebub ("Lord of the Flies") and thought synonymous with the Christian devil. In the present day, interest in Baal has been revived by Neo-Pagan and Wiccan groups who often choose him as their personal deity in ritual worship.

Mesopotamian Origins

Baal Hadad originated in Mesopotamia under the names Adad in the north and Iskur in the south. He is attested as early as the time of the Akkadian Empire (2334-2218 BCE) but became more popular after the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2047-1750 BCE) during the First Babylonian Empire (c. 1894 to c. 1595 BCE).

Even so, at this time, he was not a major deity and was often associated with the storm god Ninurta as a subordinate or with the great god Enlil as a kind of personal secretary. It was during this time, however, that he came to be associated with the bull as his sacred animal, which would become a prominent aspect of his iconography later.

Baal was also linked with Shamash (as an arbiter of justice), with the moon goddess Nanna regarding fertility and harvests, and with Shala, a grain goddess.

In time, he also became associated with Dagan (also given as Dagon), the Phoenician lord of the gods, owing to his earlier link with Enlil who had a similar role in Mesopotamia. At some point, he became central in divination rituals along with Shamash, most likely because both were associated with the concept of divine justice and so would ensure a fair response to one's supplications.

By the time Baal Hadad's worship reached Ugarit, he was a major deity understood as a sky god who brought rain and was a friend of the life-giving sun. He is referenced as the son of El, the king of the gods, in Ugarit and is said to live in a palace on Mount Zaphon. A stele from the site shows him with a club in one hand and a lightning bolt in the other, identifying him as a god of storms and war.

Baal in the Levant (modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and certain adjacent areas)

While still a thriving city, however, Ugarit participated in trade with others including the major urban centers of the Levant. Baal Hadad seems to have traveled there via trade, though precisely when is unknown. He became a central deity of the Canaanite pantheon which would inform, first, Canaanite beliefs and, later, Phoenician religion.

The Phoenician city of Baalbek (in modern-day Lebanon) was his cult center where he was worshipped with his consort Astarte, goddess of love, sexuality, and war (associated with the goddess Inanna/Ishtar, among others). Even so, Astarte was the most popular deity at Sidon, even eclipsing Baal in the number of temples dedicated to her, and is equally well represented at Baalbek.

The interpretation of the pairing of Baal and Astarte has been challenged for various reasons, among them the possibility that the goddess associated with Baal is his sister, Anat, who is thought to have informed the development of Astarte. This argument, however, seems to ignore her depiction in the Baal Cycle and other tales like El's Drinking Party (in which she is clearly differentiated from Anat) as well as her temples at Baalbek.

Phoenician religion developed the earlier Canaanite pantheon, possibly at Byblos, where the god El and goddess Baalat Gebel were most prominent along with the Greek deity Adonis who was associated with the Babylonian god Tammuz. Baal had a place among the other gods but was never as popular in cities outside of Sidon as other deities such as Melqart of Tyre (also a consort of Astarte), Dagon, Reshef (god of lightning and fire), Chusor (god of metallurgy) or the god of crafts, Kothar-wa-Khasis, who would feature prominently in the Baal Cycle.

Even in Sidon, Baal was not the most prominent god as their patron deity was Eshmun. Still, he was popular enough to have inspired the Baal Cycle in which many of the gods appear. Yamm, god of the seas, and Mot, the god of death, were also closely associated with Baal through the stories about him which feature Astarte and other goddesses as well.

The Baal Cycle

The Baal Cycle begins with Baal, son of Dagon, confident that he will be chosen as king by El, lord of the gods. El disappoints his expectations, however, by choosing Yamm, who almost instantly subjugates the other gods and forces them to work for him. The gods complain to Asherah who agrees to intercede for them with Yamm. She offers him all kinds of treasures, but he is only interested in possessing her. She agrees but must first return to El and the divine court to inform them of their contract.

Every god in attendance supports Asherah's decision to give herself to Yamm except Baal who swears revenge on Yamm for insulting Asherah in this way and promises to kill him. His reaction is interpreted as treason by some of the other gods who are quick to inform Yamm of it, and Yamm then sends emissaries to the court demanding Baal's surrender. The other gods show the emissaries the utmost respect, but Baal refuses to bow and is disgusted by the behavior of his fellow deities.

No decision is given by the gods and so Yamm sends a second delegation who are arrogant and neglect the proper rituals due to El and the court. Baal wants to kill them for this affrontery, but he is held back by Anat and Astarte, who warn him against the sin of killing a messenger who is only acting on orders and is therefore innocent. El does not move against the messengers either but, instead, promises them that Baal will not only appear before Yamm but will bring lavish gifts.

Baal is enraged but understands he is not powerful enough to defeat Yamm in single combat. Kothar-wa-Khasis suggests a way, however, and tells Baal he can create two clubs for him, Yagrush and Aymur, which will destroy Yamm if used as instructed. Kothar-wa-Khasis makes the weapons and tells Baal how to use them, and Baal goes to meet Yamm, bearing no gifts.

He strikes Yamm on the shoulders with Yagrush, but Yamm is unhurt. Baal retreats and returns to strike Yamm with Aymur between the eyes, and Yamm falls. Baal then hauls him back to the court, announces his victory, and casts Yamm back into the sea.

Baal is now king of the gods, but Mot objects to this usurpation and sends the sea monster Lotan (possibly a form of Yamm) to attack Baal, but Baal defeats and kills him. Mot is now enraged further and swears he will devour Baal. Mot is unstoppable, and Baal understands that there are no magical weapons that can defeat death.

He goes into hiding, sending a double in his place to be eaten by Mot, and all the gods mourn his death. As he was the god of rain and fertility, the earth becomes barren in his absence, and Anat, swearing revenge, attacks and kills Mot.

As Mot is immortal, he returns to life, but Baal then emerges from hiding and subdues him, forcing him to return to his underworld home and recognize Baal as the legitimate king. He then asks for and receives permission from El and the other gods for Kothar-wa-Khasis to build him a grand palace on a mountain top (initially with no windows since it was thought Mot-as-Death entered a dwelling through a window) and begins his reign.

The story is understood as illustrating a transition in power from the elder gods to a younger set, a familiar pattern in religious works of many different cultures as noted by Coogan and Smith:

The transfer of power from an older sky god to a younger storm god is attested in other contemporaneous eastern Mediterranean cultures. Cronus was imprisoned and succeeded by his son Zeus, Yahweh succeeded El as the god of Israel, the Hurrian god Teshub assumed kingship in heaven after having defeated his father Kumarbi, and Baal replaced El as the effective head of the Ugaritic pantheon. (104)
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The story also touches on the theme of order vs. chaos explored in famous myths like the Enuma Elish from Mesopotamia and the Osiris-Set cycle from Egyptian mythology. In both, order is threatened, and it is only by conquering the forces of chaos that it can be restored. The definition of 'order' and 'chaos', however, depends on who is using those terms, and in ancient Israel, Baal would be cast in the role of the chaotic threat and Yahweh as the hero of a just and ordered world.

Baal in the Bible

Although Baal is mentioned almost 100 times in the Bible, he is best known from the narratives of I and II Kings which include the story of the Phoenician princess Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE), who encouraged his worship, and her struggle with the prophet Elijah, champion of the cult of Yahweh.

Jezebel marries the Israelite King Ahab, who, according to I Kings 16:30-33, is seduced by her into turning away from Yahweh to worship Baal. As Phoenician royalty and the daughter of a priest of Baal, Jezebel would have naturally brought her own gods to her new home, but according to the narrative, these were rejected by the adherents of the Yahweh cult.

Jezebel and Elijah spar with each other for the supremacy of their respective faiths until they agree the matter will be settled by a duel between the gods themselves at the top of Mount Carmel. Jezebel's priests will call on Baal and Elijah on Yahweh, and whichever god responds by lighting the fire under a sacrificial bull will be recognized as the one true god.

The factions gather at Mount Carmel, and 850 priests of Baal call on him all day as they dance around the altar (I Kings 18:26) while Elijah mocks them by asking where their god is and why he is not answering. When it is Elijah's turn, he calls out to Yahweh, and fire comes down from heaven instantly, lighting the altar and consuming the offering (I Kings 18: 38-39). Elijah proclaims Yahweh the winner and orders the priests of Baal to be executed.

Jezebel refuses to acknowledge this victory, however, and continues to encourage the worship of Baal, as well as swearing revenge on Elijah, until she is killed on the orders of General Jehu. Afterwards, the cult of Yahweh proclaims him the only god, and the temples and shrines to Baal, Astarte, and the other Canaanite gods are destroyed. Baal worship in Israel continues, however, in later narratives which illustrate the struggle between traditional polytheism and emerging monotheism in the region in the 9th century BCE.

Conclusion

Baal's cult was eventually replaced by the cult of Yahweh and his name became synonymous with the enemies of the one true god. In II Kings 1, Ba'al Zebub is associated with Ekron, god of the Philistines, the people famously cast as the enemies of Israel in the Bible. Ba'al Zebub would eventually be known as Beelzebub to the New Testament scribes and linked with the Christian devil, an association that would last up through the time of the Protestant Reformation.

By that time, Baal had also come to be associated with the figure of Iblis, the devil in Islam, through passages in the Quran. Allah, in Islam, and Yahweh, in Judaism and Christianity, were recognized by their respective adherents as the only god and Baal as an aspect of chaos, darkness, and evil who threatened world order.

Initially, however, Yahweh was part of the same pantheon that embraced Baal, and the two would have been regarded as co-workers in the cause of order against the forces of chaos.

In order for Yahweh to be recognized as the supreme god, however, his predecessors had to be eliminated, and Baal was demonized in accomplishing this end. In the present day, the god's reputation as a powerful protector and life-affirming agency has been revived through the Neo-Pagan and Wiccan movements who reject the biblical narratives and rely on older constructs like the Baal Cycle. Although hardly widespread, the worship of Baal continues in the present day alongside the more popular Yahweh, mirroring the similar relationship the two gods had in the ancient world.

Betrayal - Prophets of Baal

Lyrics

Abandonment of Lord

Performing spiritual adultery

Forsaking God their Deliverer

Prostituting themselves to Baal

Sent to end this apostasy

The last prophet enters the story

Standing in the power of God

Sends words exclaiming, "Elijah is here!"

The challenge is given to the king

To summon the prophet of Baal

And the people of Israel upon mount Carmel

To settle who is God, Lord or Baal

Elijah instructs, "prepare two bulls

Cut into pieces and place on an altar

You can call your god, I'll call the Lord

And the one who answers by fire, he is God"

Calling and babbling, ancient chanting arose

450 prophets of Baal danced around

The altar all day with no response

"Shout louder!" Elijah taunted

"Oh yeah Baal is god, Ha! Ha! Right

Maybe he's off somewhere travelling

Or taking a little nap, just maybe!"

The prophets of Baal shouted louder

Slashing themselves, letting the blood flow

Continuing frantic prophesying till the eve

With no response, no answer, no fire

Elijah smirked, "drench my altar

With water just for fun"

Then he prayed, "Lord let it be known

That You're the God of Israel"

The fire of the Lord fell

Consuming everything and burning the altar

The people fell face first and cried

"The Lord is God! The Lord is God!"

The Elijah commands, "seize the prophets of Baal

Don't let them get away

Slaughter them according to God

For you've seen the Lord's authority today!"

Baal Bael God of Fertility Weather Tribes of Canaan

Intestine Baalism - A Curse of Baal

Lyrics

in the darkness of the night drifting mysteriously

being an omen and the voice of curse

the gravity slides and overlaps the axis

of the other world

what doesn't exist in the real world

will come into existence

materialistic notion will be resurrected

it doesn't exist but makes itself exist

the mentally weak who rely on god

can't maintain even their existence

the reality that couldn't happen in the

human world pushes people's soul into the darkness

the fools who were called saints cry out

forgetting prayers for the god

those who have ancient wisdom become the kings

they and the materialized baal spread curses

the cross hanging from the neck is the token

it brings curses together

the more you pray the god

the more the negative gravity increases

plague is spread

the earth is covered with bodies

sticky resentment floats in the air

the idol gently opens his eyes

then gives a freezing smile

in the never-ending night

the dark red sun is drifting mysteriously.

Beal - Demon of Goetia

By Xenia Xen

Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/100317941/Beal-demon-of-goetia

Pictures Videos Music and Additional Reading

Dark Meditation

Demonic Mantra To Invoke & Evoke the Power of BAAL ( Produced by 9EV1l)

Bronze figurine of a Baal, 14th–12th century BC, found at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) near the Phoenician coast. Musée du Louvre.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal

Solid cast bronze of a votive figurine representing the god Baal discovered at Tel Megiddo, dating to the mid-2nd millennium BC. Symbol is a Bull, ram, and thunderbolt.

Region: Ancient Syria, especially Halab. Near, around and at Ugarit, Canaan, North Africa and Middle Kingdom of Egypt.

Baal (/ˈbeɪ.əl, ˈbɑː.əl/), or Baʻal (Hebrew: בַּעַל baʿal), was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have shown that the name Ba'al was particularly associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations.

Hadad

Baʿal was also used as a proper name by the third millennium BC, when he appears in a list of deities at Abu Salabikh. Most modern scholarship asserts that this Baʿal—usually distinguished as "The Lord" (הבעל, Ha Baʿal)—was identical with the storm and fertility god Hadad; it also appears in the form Baʿal Haddu.

Scholars propose that, as the cult of Hadad increased in importance, his true name came to be seen as too holy for any but the high priest to speak aloud and the alias "Lord" ("Baʿal") was used instead, as "Bel" was used for Marduk among the Babylonians and "Adonai" for Yahweh among the Israelites.

A minority propose that Baʿal was a native Canaanite deity whose cult was identified with or absorbed aspects of Adad's. Regardless of their original relationship, by the 1st millennium BCE, the two were distinct: Hadad was worshiped by the Aramaeans and Baʿal by the Phoenicians and other Canaanites.

Baʿal

Baʿal is well-attested in surviving inscriptions and was popular in theophoric names throughout the Levant but he is usually mentioned along with other gods, "his own field of action being seldom defined". Nonetheless, Ugaritic records show him as a weather god, with particular power over lightning, wind, rain, and fertility. The dry summers of the area were explained as Baʿal's time in the underworld and his return in autumn was said to cause the storms which revived the land.

Thus, the worship of Baʿal in Canaan—where he eventually supplanted El as the leader of the gods and patron of kingship—was connected to the regions' dependence on rainfall for its agriculture, unlike Egypt and Mesopotamia, which focused on irrigation from their major rivers. Anxiety about the availability of water for crops and trees increased the importance of his cult, which focused attention on his role as a rain god.

The Baʿal of Ugarit was the epithet of Hadad but as the time passed, the epithet became the god's name while Hadad became the epithet. Baʿal was usually said to be the son of Dagan, but appears as one of the sons of El in Ugaritic sources. Both Baʿal and El were associated with the bull in Ugaritic texts, as it symbolized both strength and fertility.

He held special enmity against snakes, both on their own and as representatives of Yammu (lit. "Sea"), the Canaanite sea god and river god. He fought the Tannin (Tunnanu), the "Twisted Serpent", "Lotan the Fugitive Serpent" (the biblical Leviathan), and the "Mighty One with Seven Heads".

Baʿal Hammon

Baʿal Hammon was worshipped in the Tyrian colony of Carthage as their supreme god. It is believed that this position developed in the 5th century BCE following the severing of its ties to Tyre following the 480 BCE Battle of Himera Like Hadad, Baʿal Hammon was a fertility god. Inscriptions about Punic deities tend to be rather uninformative, though, and he has been variously identified as a moon god and as Dagan, the grain god.

Rather than the bull, Baʿal Hammon was associated with the ram and depicted with his horns. The archaeological record seems to bear out accusations in Roman sources that the Carthaginians burned their children as human sacrifices to him. He was worshipped as Baʿal Karnaim ("Lord of the Two Horns"), particularly at an open-air sanctuary at Jebel Bu Kornein ("Two-Horn Hill") across the bay from Carthage. His consort was the goddess Tanit.

The epithet Hammon is obscure. Most often, it is connected with the NW Semitic ḥammān ("brazier") and associated with a role as a sun god.

The Canaanites

Source: https://academic.oup.com/book/33589/chapter-abstract/288065012?redirectedFrom=fulltext

The Hebrew Bible considers the Canaanites and groups associated with them—Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, and Girgashites—constituting what tradition calls the “seven nations of Canaan,” as distinct people who are to be variously resisted or destroyed.

Heathen Foray - Carthage's End

Lyrics

Let me tell you about Hannibal

The mighty Carthagian.

He is one of the greatest warriors of all time

At the age of nine he swore an oath

He will never tolerate Romes intrigue

He will fight forever against them

All for his beloved Carthage

For our homeland

I will fight forever!

Nothing will ever stop me

I will stand my ground!

For our homeland

I will fight forever!

I will raise my sword in my hand

Even if it will be my end!

Nunquam ingenium idem ad res diversissimas

Parendum atque imperandum. Habilius fuit

Vincere scis Hannibal Victoria

Uti nescis Hannibal ad portas

For our homeland

I will fight forever!

Nothing will ever stop me

I will stand my ground!

For our homeland

I will fight forever!

I will raise my sword in my hand

Even if it will be my end!

Hasdubal my brother,

Come to me with a new army

Hasdubal my brother,

Together we'll ride to meet our fate

Hannibal my brother

I tried so hard to arm you well

Hannibal my brother

The Romans ambushed me

Melqart let me kill

With mercy of Baal Hammon

I will win the fight

Reshepf guide me through this battle

I will assert our right

For our homeland

I will die forever!

Nothing will ever stop me

I will stand my ground!

For our homeland

I will die forever!

I raised my sword

It was Carthage's end!

MAYSALOON - A Hymn to Ugarit, Mot (OFFICIAL LYRICS VIDEO)

Lyrics

"In the midst of the land of his inheritance

And the guards of the defense of the gods

El's beloved, the hero"

Dreadful tyrant of the underworld

Gazing in the eyes of eternity

For ages of blood and stones

Reaping millions and millions

Usurper of lives forevermore

Come forth into the nothingness

Conceal your burden inside my womb

Like a plague I prevail

A disarray incarnates

With doctrine, creed and faith

Embodiment of death and decay

The winds are blowing hatred

Vortex of wrath and despair

Lord of lords, king of kings is vanished

Mighty Baal shall be restrained

By chains, by bane

Blackening his clouds and rains

Deformed, dethroned

Dismantled, ripped and torn

Engraved in stones, carved on tablets

Long forgotten

A lip to earth, a lip to heaven

And a tongue to the stars.

Bael

Source: https://occult-world.com/bael/

The Demon Baal (Bael, Baell) is an agricultural and fertility deity of Canaan turned into a Fallen Angel and a Demon. Many minor deities of ancient Syria and Persia carried the name Baal, which means “the lord.”

The greatest Baal was the son of El, the High God of Canaan. He was the lord of life and ruled the death-rebirth cycle. He engaged in a battle with Mot (death) and was slain and sent to the underworld. The crops withered, until Baal’s sister, Anath, the maiden goddess of love, found his body and gave it proper burial. The Canaanites worshipped Baal by sacrificing children by burning.

According to the Zohar, Baal is equal in rank to the archangel Raphael. Baal is the first of the 72 Spirits of Solomon. He is a king ruling in the east and governs 66 legions of Demons. He is triple-headed, with a cat’s head and a toad’s head on each side of his human head.

FROM THE LUCIFERIAN GOETIA ( 2007 ) – WRITTEN BY MICHAEL FORD

“Bael is a spirit of shape shifting – by the cat (stealth and instinct), by toad (the form of Ahriman, the gateway of self-initiation of the Devil or Anglican Witchcraft Lore). When one summons Bael it should be done so in the evocation circle – absorb the essence within this circle – focus the mind to be aligned and shadowed with the spirits anthropomorphic identification, until “he” becomes you.

You will then work on your ability to shape shift in dreams. The 66 legions of spirit familiars may be commanded by will to produce some results of what you seek in the obtainment of knowledge. Bael is a powerful familiar spirit who may bring one much instinctual impulses in relation to animals and dream shape shifting.”

FROM THE “DICTIONNAIRE INFERNAL” (EDITION OF 1863 ) WRITTEN BY JACQUES AUGUSTE SIMON COLLIN DE PLANCY

According to the “le Grand Grimoire”, Bael is the head of the infernal powers. He is also the first Demon listed in Wierus’ Pseudomonarchia daemonum. According to Wierus, Bael is first king of hell with estates in the East. He has three heads: a toad, a man, and a cat. He also speaks in a raucous, but well formed voice, and commands 66 legions. Bael teaches the art of invisibility, and may be the equivalent of Baal.

Black Funeral - Harab Serapel, the Ravens of Death - Netzach (Bael-Tubal Cain)

Lyrics

Ravens formed as flies enciricle

Ripping the spirit apart

To discover the essence remaining

Seperated from ignorance of the undiscovered light

Only with smoke fouled against the flame

Can immortality be seen

Darkness born from the first of fallen angels

Bringing the gift of hunger of light

Here resides Tebat Cain

Making the blades and weapons of war

Found first in your mind and soul

Finding the flesh to center it's will

Cast down the strong who stand against you still

Back, goetic lord of the 72 fallen

Roaming the earth as the spirit of darkness

Awaken more to our gnosis

Temple Of Baal - Lord Of Knowledge And Death

Lyrics

I embrace Damnation

I walk the path of Perdition

I acknowledge Madness

And the suicide of my soul

I accept Rejection

I will be Plague ridden

I embrace Chaos

For your Light, for your Glory

Lord of Knowledge, Lord of Death

I'll incarnate your Mystery

Forsaking all human bonds

I'll incarnate your Blasphemy

This blood is yours

This flesh is yours

This heart pulses your flames within

These words are yours

These prayers are yours

This tongue speaks your divine name

These eyes, they stare wide open

These arms they spread in passion

This pledge is my promise

This oath is my pride

Lord of Knowledge, Lord of Death

Lord of Salvation

Lord of Knowledge, Lord of Death

Sacramental Consecration

Fools... Souls of nothingess...

I spit on your lack of Faith

For I have seen, and I know

And in the Light of my Lord, I shall ascend