Thanks for joining us for another Families’ Deity! We’re exploring deities that tie into families and family values, or who are important to the family unit or children in some way. This month, we are exploring the sunny God, Utu
Who is Utu?
Utu is an ancient Mesopotamian Sun God and twin brother to Inanna the Queen of Heaven. He is the God of justice, morality, and truth and had two main temples which were white buildings in the cities of Sippar and Larsa. He rode his sun chariot across the sky, making sure justice was being done and helping people in distress. He is a kind and generous God and there are many stories of him protecting and aiding people including Gilgamesh in the “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Dumuzid who was Inanna’s consort.
Utu is depicted as having a beard and long arms and symbols associated with him include the mace, the saw, the sun disk, and the chariot. In later worship his name is changed for some reason and is known as Shamash.
Why is Utu one of our Family Deities?
The reason for including Utu as a family’s deity is for his good qualities of kindness, generosity, protection, truthfulness, and justice which are all personal traits to aspire to and therefore makes him an excellent role model.
Honouring Utu
To honour Utu you could make an offering with the rising sun or by living as the best person you can be through kindness, honesty, generosity and having a caring nature.
Utu Correspondences
There are no particular correspondence for Utu
Animals
There are no animals specifically connected to Utu, however, any animals that enjoy the sun will be appropriate, such as snakes, lizards or insects.
Offerings
There are no specific offerings mentioned for Utu, however, to draw his favour you could make your own gold (coloured) disk with the four cardinal points marked on it with wavy lines.
What are your experiences with this fascinating deity? Pop over to our Facebook group and let us know.