Inanna, the goddess who dared to explore the realm of death, was the primary goddess of ancient Sumeria, in the area we now call Iraq. Goddess of heaven and earth, of sovereignty and fertility, she was the mother of human culture, one brought civilisation to this world.
Here is how it happened, according to the ancient myths of the Sumerians; across the immeasurable distances of the sweet-water abyss lived Enki, god of wisdom, and with him were the Tablets of Destiny and other magic civilising implements. These were his treasures, which he kept away from humankind. But Inanna, crafty queen of heaven, took pity on the miserable primitives of earth and fitted her boat to travel to her father's hall. There she was grandly welcomed with a banquet of food and wine. Wise he may have been, but Enki loved his daughter beyond wisdom, so much that he took cup after cup from her at the table and then, drunk, promised her anything she desired. Instantly Inanna asked for the Tablets of Destiny and a hundred other object of culture. Inanna immediately loaded the objects onto the boat of heaven and set sail for her city, Erech. Awakening the next day from his stupor, Enki remembered what he had done - and regretted it. But he was incapacitated by a hangover as massive as the previous evening's pleasure, and he could not pursue his daughter until he recovered. By then, Inanna had gained the safety of her kingdom, and even the seven tricks Enki played on her did not regain his treasures. This myth shows Inanna in typical form - wily and wise and wilful, brave almost to foolhardiness, devoted to her human children. She is casually powerful, queenly but far from remote. She is also adventurous, as the central myth told of Inanna reveals. Dumuzi became the goddess's favourite consort. However, it was not long before Dumuzi grew arrogant, assuming that his position came from his own worth, rather that the goddess's desire. He grew restless as a mere consort and began to imagine himself as king in his own right. Dumuzi's opportunity came when Inanna decided on a bold adventure: to visit the land of the dead, where her sister goddess Erishkigel ruled. No one had ever done this before, but Inanna was unafraid. She knew, however, the danger of her quest. And so she arranged with her prime minister, Ninshuba, that if she did not return with three days and three nights, he would stage mourning ceremonies and would appeal to the highest deities to rescue her. And then Inanna began her descent. At the first of the seven gates of the underworld, the goddess was stopped by the gatekeeper, Neti, who demanded one of her symbols of sovereignty, the magical ornaments with which she had hoped to protect herself. So it was at each gate. Piece by piece, Inanna gave up her jewellery and clothing until she stood splendid and naked before Erishkigel, the black haired goddess of death, who turned her eyes of stone of the goddess from the upper world. At that Inanna. Lost all life and hung for three days and three nights, a corpse in the realm of death. When Inanna failed to return to her sky kingdom, Ninshuba did as instructed. Enki the goddess's father, came to her aid. Fashioning two strange creatures, Kurgurra and Kalaturra, from the dirt beneath his fingernails, he sent then into the wilderness and the afterlife with food and water to revive the lifeless Inanna. But no one can leave the underworld unless a substitute is found to hang forever naked in the land of doom. And so demons followed the goddess as she ascended to her kingdom. One after another, the demons grabbed those they met. Each in turn Inanna freed, remembering good deeds they had performed for her. But when Inanna reached her holy city, Erech, she found that her paramour Dumuzi had set himself up as ruler as her stead. Angered at his presumption, the goddess commanded that he be taken as her substitute to Erishkigels kingdom. Luckily for Dumuzi, his loving sister Gestinanna followed him to the underworld and won from Erishkigel her bother's life for half each year - the half of the year when the desert plants flower, for Dumuzi was the god of vegetation. The symbols of Inannna, the goddess plants a garden, in the centre of which she places a huluppu, a sacred tree. In a waking dream, as she awaits her love, she sees threatening snake coiled around the tree, from which her hero Gilgamesh (a kind of Sumerian Hercules) frees her. Finally, a symbol often associated with Inanna is the star. As queen of heaven, she appears in both the morning and the evening star, which comforts her children and reminds them of her love. She is both a guide and a protector. Feasts of Inanna, because she was Sumer's primary goddess, the entire annual ritual cycle of that ancient city was dedicated to her. On the first day of each year, the goddess was invoked with thanksgiving for bringing new life to the earth. Throughout the year, plants and other offerings were bestowed on the goddess, in recognition of her assistance in making the crops productive. Thus a ritual to Inanna could be staged at any time and find resonance with her ancient ways of worship. Suggestions for invoking Inanna, If we are lucky, if we are blessed, we survive. Like Inanna, we give up the outer symbols of our strength and emerge again, our inner strength intact. You can also prepare the setting for a ritual by shrouding the furniture, as much as possible, in dark coverings. Create an altar by draping dark cloth over a table, putting only a representation of Inanna's star in the centre (A star card from a tarot deck is appropriate), finally, lower the lights so that the room is dark as comfortably possible. No one can give you power; you must seek it within yourself. Thus the last part of the ritual is reinforcement of your awareness of this power. Pick up the symbol of Inanna's star from the altar; if it is a piece of jewellery, put it on, otherwise hold it tightly. This is what you are left with, when everything else is gone: this symbol of inner strength and courage. It is, you will find, all you really need. It is a new Inanna - a new you - who emerges from the underworld journey. Stripped once to the essential self, no one can ever again believe so strongly in anything beyond it. Thus, though her initiation is a painful one, the gift Inanna gives us is magnificent. As the ritual ends, bring the lights up in the room and believe that, because you have survived the descent, you can survive as well the ascent to renewed life. |
