Who is this Inanna? And why do we work with Her?
The stories that have collected around Inanna’s name are many. They were originally chiselled in stone in ancient Sumer, the first recorded stories that we have recognized and translated into modern language.
This all by itself, is remarkable. Here we have a beginning of the transition between Oral Traditions and the Written Word. A major changing point in history. It begs many questions,
‘What happens when we begin to write down our stories?
Do they become frozen in time, ‘set in stone’?
Can they continue to evolve?
And, perhaps most important, ‘Who gets to write them?’
But back to Inanna Herself. The cast of characters is fascinating, it includes Godds, notably Inanna and Erishkegal.
The stories are filled with trickery. Inanna tricks Enki into giving away His powers. He thought that he could hold His beer better than that sweet young thing sitting before him? HAH!
They offer us love. The love between Goddess and Her partner, between Goddess and a tree, between Goddess and Herself.
Perhaps the greatest love is between Inanna and Her friend and handmaiden, Ninshebur who works ceaselessly to secure Inanna’s release from the Underworld back into life.
The Underworld? Ah yes, Inanna’s Descent.
Inanna is one who travels into the Underworld, shedding the Stuff of this life as She goes.
There, Inanna meets Her sister, Erishkegal, Queen of the Underworld. In Erishkegal’s realm, Inanna faces Death itself.
Intrigue, love, loyalty and commitment, adventure, the relationship between Mortal and Immortal, this journey is epic.
The stories themselves come in a context. Imagine yourself back and further back, even before the dawn of our Settler history. Ancient Sumer was a walled city on the plains between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the so-called cradle of western civilization. And yet, there is much for us to learn from them today.
These questions, and many more, have been playing tag in the conversations James and I have had over the past months as we have designed the course we offer.
Learn more about our course, Journey with Inanna, on my Announcements page.
Registration is open. Come and join. Us!
*The image is from The Goddess Oracle, art by Hrana Janto
It is in the Public Domain
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