What music would you recommend while reading the Simon Necronomicon?

When reading the Simon Necronomicon, it is appropriate to select music that complements the esoteric and atmospheric nature of the text. The following recommendations align with the themes, rituals, and occult imagery present within this particular grimoire.

1. Dark Ambient
This genre excels in creating a sombre, mysterious atmosphere ideal for ritualistic study.

Lustmord – Albums such as Heresy or The Place Where the Black Stars Hang offer dense, ambient soundscapes evoking ancient cosmic dread.
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Introduction and Historical Origins

The Festival of Akitu, also known by its ancient Sumerian name “Zagmuk,” is one of the oldest recorded religious celebrations in human history. Originating in the city of Sumer and carried with enhanced theological precision into Babylonian culture, Akitu marked the beginning of the New Year and the symbolic re-establishment of cosmic order. The name “Akitu” is derived from the Sumerian term for “barley,” pointing to the agricultural dimension of the rite, which aligns with the renewal of the earth in the spring. Held on the first day of the month of Nisan—the Babylonian New Year—it is deeply entwined with both astronomical and mythological significance.

At the core of the Akitu festival is the myth of Marduk’s victory over Tiamat, the embodiment of primordial chaos. Through this act of divine warfare and resulting sovereignty, Marduk brings forth creation from formlessness, imposing structure on what was once undifferentiated. The festival thus combines calendrical renewal, agricultural rebirth, political legitimation, and theodical reaffirmation in one sophisticated ritual drama.
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Some people mistakenly equate the Simon Necronomicon with H. P. Lovecraft’s fictional Necronomicon because of overlapping names, mythological references, and surface-level aesthetic similarities. However, this association is both erroneous and superficial.

Lovecraft invented the name Necronomicon as part of his mythos—a fictional grimoire written by the “mad Arab” Abdul Alhazred. The Simon Necronomicon, published in 1977 by a man writing under the pseudonym “Simon,” intentionally adopted the same name to draw attention. The title was likely chosen to evoke an aura of forbidden knowledge and mystery. Many casual readers assumed it must be connected to Lovecraft’s mythology, despite the actual contents being different.

Lovecraft incorporated names like Cthulhu, Azathoth, and Yog-Sothoth—entirely fictional creations. In contrast, the Simon Necronomicon integrates names and cosmology drawn from Sumerian and Babylonian myth, including Tiamat, Marduk, Kutu (an obscure form possibly echoing Cthulhu), and others. Readers who are unfamiliar with ancient Mesopotamian religion wrongly assume that these are Lovecraftian names, when in fact they predate him by millennia.
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