The Myth of Inanna...
Inanna's Descent.
The world is celebrating Easter this weekend, which is a Christian version of a pagan version of the oldest recorded myth surrounding the Rites of Death and Rebirth.
I'm talking about Inanna.
This weekend, inside REWILDING, we’re going to be embarking on some in-depth contemplation of the myth of Inanna and what it means for us during these revolutionary times. I want to bring some of that contemplation here, to you.
It’s important.
Inanna was a Sumerian Goddess, and her story was first written about five and a half thousand years ago. She was called into the Underworld, died, and rose again three days later.
She made this journey well before Odin, Dionysus, Jesus, or any other male figurehead followed in her footsteps.
Her story is one of radical self-reclamation. Patriarchal religions all over have since co-opted it for their own ends.
I figure this weekend is as good a time as any to bring in some contemplation of Inanna, and what her story of death and rebirth means for our personal and collective liberation.
INANNA'S DESCENT...
(prompts for journaling and reflection at the bottom)
We'll begin our contemplation with THE CALL.
The beckoning you feel in your bones, the one you can't ignore, the one you keep coming back to, no matter how effectively you numb it out, or distract yourself away.
In the Myth of Inanna, her story begins with a wedding.
Inanna marries a handsome young shepherd, thus signifying her life finally "coming together". Everything is where it should be, on the outside, she has everything she's ever wanted.
In a time of what "should be" delight, celebration, and gratitude, Inanna hears a terrible cry from Below.
The cry was coming from Inanna's sister, Ereshkigal, who was trapped in the underworld and mourning the death of her husband, just as Inanna was "supposed to" be celebrating her own marriage.
(Notice here, her "sister" isn't real. it's an allegory for the shadow part of Inanna herself. The disowned and disavowed parts. Notice that while Inanna is "supposed to" be celebrating, her Shadow Self is in mourning. Maybe you know this feeling.)
Inanna KNEW IN HER BONES that she ABSOLUTELY HAD TO go down to the underworld and be with her sister as she grieved, and to bear witness to the funeral rites that needed to happen.
Everyone around her tried desperately to persuade her out of it. They told her that she must never go to the underworld, because if she tries to go, she'll never come back.
For a while, it worked. Inanna stayed put, but she was constantly troubled by the terrible grieving cries she could still hear from her sister below.
Eventually, Inanna went against the wisdom and the wishes of everyone around her, and she followed her intuitive and instinctive pull down into the Underworld.
(Symbolically, we can take this here to mean that she knew in her soul that she had to go and be with the disowned and disavowed parts of herself, she had to resist the temptation to continue running away from her own pain and Shadow. She had to witness it, for there to be any hope of wholeness and integration.)
Inanna embarks on the terrible and terrifying journey into Hell. She says to her failthful and beloved servant Ninshubar: "I'm going. I don't care what you say. But if I'm not back in three days, call the Fathers for help."
PROMPTS FOR JOURNALING AND REFLECTION...
#1 Take a moment to reflect on THE CALL TO DESCEND.
Reflect on Inanna's Myth here. Allow yourself to contemplate and remember the sensation of feeling an irresistible pull to that place which you must never, ever go. Imagine what it would feel like to have this kind of Knowing, that despite the fear and the doubt, despite the fact that you have NO IDEA what's in store for you, you MUST GO ANYWAY. At any cost.
The unconscious mind (and the myriad of Goddess who resides there) will take her time. it might not show itself straight away. That's okay. We trust Her timing.
Begin at first by imagining a hypothetical quest. Imagine being a character in an epic story. Imagine that against all odds, you MUST go to a place which you can never go, and you must go there at any cost.
How would it feel, to have this Knowing? If it doesn't come straight away, use your imagination.
Allow your imaginative mind to play that hypothetical out. Eventually, your unconscious mind will begin making associations. Memories and emotion will come. Close your eyes, take time with this, and only when you're ready, begin to journal on what arises for you here.
#2 Reflect on RESISTANCE.
In much the same way that we can't see the wind, we only know it's there because of the movement of trees (for example), often we can be unaware of the Call to Descend, and only realise it's there because of the resistance we feel.
If the Call to Descend was the wind, and we can only know it's there because of the movement of trees... what are the fast moving trees in your life right now?
(I'll give you a moment to sit with that metaphor before we get into more details. Notice if something comes up straight away here. Often, poetic imagery will trigger more in our body's awareness than more intellectual detail...)
...
...
...
Write whatever comes.
Some instances of "moving trees" could be-
feeling very antsy and irritated at the work you know you love. On paper, you've "done it". you're doing the thing. but you can't seem to shake this feeling of overarching irritation
physical exhaustion, no matter how much "self care" you do or how much sleep you get. a feeling of aching tiredness seems to have taken over your being, that nothing is seeming to shake
PAIN IN YOUR CYCLE. Pay particular attention here.
weird and out-of-nowhere "blocks" in your creativity. inspiration just won't come, regardless of what you're trying
an urgent sense of "needing to do MORE and MORE and MORE", like nothing you're outwardly doing is ever going to be satisfying
Pay attention to the "trees". It means the winds are picking up ;)
#3 Reflect on the COST.
We know that the Underworld is "the place that we must never go", and also, "the place that we MUST go".
Take a moment now to get really, uncomfortably honest with yourself about the COST.
What is the COST of going "into the Underworld"? What are you sacrificing in order to make this pilgrimage?
Write until it feels "done". It doesn't have to make sense. (in fact, the more irrational it sounds, the closer it probably is to Truth. our unconscious mind is by definition, irrational...)
What is the COST of *IGNORING THE CALL*?
This is the kicker.
If you NEVER heed the magnetic and terrible call from Ereshkigal to make the pilgrimage into the underworld, what are you sacrificing?
What will your life, your loved ones lives, your worldview, your relationship with yourself and your creativity, and your legacy be if you choose NOT to heed the call? Get uncomfortably honest here as well. Keep writing until it feels "done".
(IMPORTANT: DO NOT WEAPONISE THIS EXERCISE AGAINST YOURSELF. GO WITH GRACE. We are NOT using this beautiful and brave self inquiry to fuel the shaming voice of the coloniser in our minds. We are NOT running on any kind of "deadline" here. There is no too late. There is no early. There is no on time. There is no failure. There is no success. There is no "best self". There is no "worse self". There is no "healing" if healing means "shaming the parts of me my ego doesn't like". We are not doing that here. We are diving INTO the icky bits, SO AS TO CALL THEM HOME. Very important
#4 Reflect on journeys of Descent you've undertaken in the past.
Maybe you didn't have this language or this framework at the time, but you have DEFINITELY honoured the call of Ereshkigal and taken the journey of Inanna down into the underworld before.
I know that, because you're here reading this now, actively doing decolonisation + reclamation work.
This IS NOT your first rodeo, no matter how much it might feel like it.
Now that you've taken some time to reflect on what the Call feels and looks like, journey back through your memories.
When have you felt the call to descend, before?
What was happening in your life at the time that made it clear to you a pilgrimage needed to be taken? What shape did "the laments of Ereshkigal" take?
How did it feel to bravely walk into the underworld and reclaim the lost parts of yourself?
How do you feel now, having already gone through it?
What happened as a result?
How did it feel in the moment of Void?
What did it reveal to you about your INNATE COURAGE? Your STRENGTH? Your SOFTNESS? Your INTEGRITY?
Now that you have this framework to look back at your memories through, how did it feel to know that the Goddess Inanna was holding you? Did you feel a presence, even if you had no name for it at the time? Did you feel a stirring, perhaps in your heart or pelvis? Did you feel a warmth, or maybe just a Knowing?
Get specific with this. Making it conscious will anchor it in.
Love you all, thank you for being here with me. Check back in tomorrow for some contemplation on THE UNDERWORLD.