Step 5 of 5

If nothing helps: exorcism

Probably the most elaborate “amulet” to ward off Lamashtu (AO 22205 from the Louvre, time ca. 1000-500 BCE). The third row shows a sick person on a bed, stretching out an arm, the person is flanked by exorcists dressed in fish robes. In the lowest row we find Lamashtu kneeling on a donkey in a boat. To the left of her is Pazuzu driving her away. The same Pazuzu looks at us from the top of the object. Credits: wikimedia commons, Tangopaso, [Wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plaque_de_conjuration_contre_la_Lamashtu_(Louvre,_AO_22205)_avec_annotations.jpg) (with Step 4)

Probably the most elaborate “amulet” to ward off Lamashtu (AO 22205 from the Louvre, time ca. 1000-500 BCE). The third row shows a sick person on a bed, stretching out an arm, the person is flanked by exorcists dressed in fish robes. In the lowest row we find Lamashtu kneeling on a donkey in a boat. To the left of her is Pazuzu driving her away. The same Pazuzu looks at us from the top of the object. Credits: wikimedia commons, Tangopaso, Wikimedia (with Step 4)

If the Mesopotamians needed professional help against Lamashtu or if they felt that time was running out, they could call on an exorcist. These exorcists were specialists who had a large repertoire of spells and rituals to contain Lamashtu, as well as a number of other illnesses and discomforts.

Exorcists first had to determine that Lamashtu was the cause of the complaints. Illnesses were usually attributed to disgruntled gods because, for example, the patient had angered a deity by not making sacrifices. This could not be true for infants, because they were too young to upset the gods.

The lurking presence of Lamashtu near sick patients was established by a diagnosis using special texts called “diagnostic omina”. For example, if a baby cries a lot and tosses and turns dissatisfied in its mother's lap, it was seen as an ominous sign of Lamashtu's presence. Once it was established that Lamashtu was the source of the complaints, the exorcist had at his disposal a series of special anti-Lamashtu texts with rituals and spells to expel the demoness.