The Akkadian series Maqlu, "Burning," is one of the most significant and interesting magical texts from the Ancient Near East. While containing almost 100 incantations and accompanying rituals directed against witches and witchcraft, it actually represents a single complex ceremony. The ceremony was performed during a single night and into the following morning at the end of the month Abu (July/August), a time when spirits were thought to move back and forth between the netherworld and the world of the living. This edition of the text contains a detailed introduction as well as an annotated transcription and translation of the text."