November Full Moon Altar: Inanna

This month's altar honours Inanna, the Great Goddess of Sumer (now Iraq) who dates from 5-6,000 years ago. As depicted in ancient times (centre altar image from Sacred Soure), Inanna was a goddess of abundance (offering her breasts to nourish all life), fertility (those wide child-bearing hips) and personal power (her rich and plentiful adornments of jewelry) --

The complex myth of Inanna's descent/death/rebirth, so full of psychological and emotional insights and truths relevant to my own life, had a profound impact on me. It marked the start of my devotion to the Divine Feminine over 35 years ago. Here is a very simplified version of the myth, illustrated by goddess art which I commissioned about 15-20 years ago from Thalia Took of A-Muse-ing Grace Gallery.

The goddess Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, decided to visit her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. The harrowing descent required Inanna to pass through seven gates, each one smaller and lower than the one before. At each gate, she was stripped of a symbol of her power, until she entered the Underworld through the seventh gate, naked and crawling on the ground. Her dark goddess sister Ereshkigal promptly killed her and hung her body on a meat hook.

Inanna and Ereshkigal are actually the same being, of course. Inanna is our conscious ego and Ereshkigal is our unconscious shadow side. In times of emotional crisis, the ego is laid low, powerless and defeated, in the abyss of despair. The shadow must be understood and integrated or healing cannot occur.

Ereshkigal was not an evil goddess but was in great chronic pain, lashing out at all around her. Inanna had suspected she might be in danger if she visited her sister so before setting out, she'd made contingency plans for rescue. In three days time, a couple of small and unlikely rescuers appeared in the Underworld. They did not attempt to defeat or overcome Ereshkigal by force because that was impossible. So instead, they commiserated with Ereshkigal's terrible pain, mirroring and soothing her anguish with great empathy.

In gratitude for such unexpected kindness, Ereshkigal granted them one wish. They asked for Inanna's body, which they then revived with the Water of Life brought for that purpose. The ascent back to the surface began. At each gate, a symbol of Inanna's power was returned, so that by the time she reached the surface, Inanna was restored to her full power. However, she now saw the world "with new eyes," having integrated her shadow self and grown wiser from the experience.

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2024]