In past blogs I've mentioned the Mayans (and Aztecs and Incas) and also talked about my interest in Norse Goddesses such as Skadi and Hel. For a long time, ever since high school in fact, I've been incredibly interested in Sumerian culture and religion. Sumer was the cradle of life and civilization. I've seen a few movies that use 'Sumerian cults' and 'obscure Sumerian gods' as the antagonizing forces. It makes sense to capitalize on something so ancient and mysterious when trying to terrorize an audience but I've always felt there was more to it than that. I recently went on a light search to learn a little about Sumerian gods and goddesses and what I found was very exciting. Until I read and learn more I won't talk about the overall myths, but I do want to share a little about Inanna and Ereshkigal.
Inanna, who is also known as Ishtar, is the goddess of love and war. She is the patron for children conceived in love and for those who die in battle. To me this feels beautifully familiar to Freyja who is the Norse goddess of pretty much the same thing. She appeals to me very strongly because of the immense scope of her patronage and also because of how revered she is still today by many people who study/revere the Sumerian Pantheon. There are many books on the subject, some of which I will be owning as soon as my life calms down and funds increase (or hell, if neither of those happens I will still be owning them soon):
Innana's sister, Ereshkigal, is the goddess who rules the underworld. I haven't researched her as much as Inanna, but I wonder if I'll find similarities between her and Norse's Hel. She is an interesting and provocative figure. There are a few books written about her as well and most of them delve into BDSM as part of devotion and worship. I've been curious about the sensual side of a BDSM spiritual path for a while now so it is little wonder why I'm so drawn to this Queen of the Great Below.
The books that I'm interested in purchasing as a way to get to know her better are as follows: (the first book in the list deals with her specifically, the next three talk about merging BDSM and spirituality)
Many books that talk about both goddesses. Inanna and her sister, Ereshkigal, are bound together in the myth of Inanna's descent into the Great Below. I don't have a Norse correlation of hand, but the way these sisters compliment each other reminds me very much of My Little Pony's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Just as their names suggest, one is the pony Princess of day and the other is the Princess of night. During the IEPG campout this June I'm going to lead a 'My Little Pony' themed ritual to banish our nightmares to the moon. I will invoke the archetypal Princesses to join us and I can't help but think that Inanna and Ereshkigal will be there too, in spirit if not in name.
No comments:
Post a Comment