Inanna - The Great Below
Ritual written* and led by Janine(Friday 24/8/07)
The goddess Inanna, called the Queen of Heaven in Ancient Sumer and the progenitor of the goddesses Venus and Aphrodite, tricked the God of Wisdom into giving her his special tools, including the valuable Tablets of Destiny, which gave her great powers. The Tablets of Destiny gives one power over the entire cosmos and the affairs of man.
The story of Inanna's descent into the Underworld marks the path of the magician, the initiation into the mysteries. Inanna journeys into the underworld because she hears the call of the Great Below. Seven are the degrees of initiation; seven are the classical planets she must pass through, seven me's Inanna must relinquish so that She can be reborn.
Inanna is represented by Venus which rises in the morning sky; she is Queen of Heaven and Earth. She is the Divine empowerment and the embodiment of the Sacred Feminine.
The upcoming eclipses loom as Venus re-emerges from her journey of the Underworld, ripened by sacrifice and grief. She shines with greater awareness.
This initiation by Venus serves as a prelude to the eclipse series that begins with a Total Lunar Eclipse on August 28, followed by a Partial Solar Eclipse on September 11. Eclipses break up energy. With the Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on August 28, what has been held in the subconscious is illuminated, brought forward for healing.
Venus corresponds to the attractive energy. Venus compels attraction to us from the world. Venus represents our love nature, or how we relate to others in interpersonal relationships.
Mercury represents the Intellect, the lower mind, cognitive ability and the ability to communicate thoughts and ideas verbally to others.
The Moon is the planet of the unconscious mind, habits, emotions, rhythms, memories, moods, and their ability to react and adapt to those around them. It is also associated with the mother, maternal instincts or the urge to nurture, the home, the need for security, and the past, especially early experiences and childhood.
Saturn is associated with the principles of limitation, restrictions, boundaries, practicality and reality, crystallizing and structures. Saturn governs ambition, career, authority and hierarchy, and conforming social structures. It concerns a person's sense of duty, discipline and responsibility.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, growth and cooperation it is the part of us which bestows mercy, compassion and benevolence to others.
Mars represents our drive, our need to assert ourselves in the world. It is forceful, outwardly directed, and relates to our sex drive as well. It represents our ability to conquer those obstacles which stand in our way of full self-determined action, but also represents the forces which create anger as well.
The Sun represents the conscious ego, the self and its expression, personal power, pride and authority; leadership qualities; and the principles of creativity, spontaneity, health and vitality; the life force.
The evening begins with a reading about Inanna's descent into the underworld. The story relates how Inanna must pass through seven gates and at each gate she must relinquish one of her me's, (her items of status) until she is completely naked and exposed and then she must go through a process of annilation so that she can be renewed, reborn and revitalised.
Click on the following link to read Inanna's Descent.
After the reading each person is asked to write down 7 me's that relate to their lives, they are then ushered into the main hall where they form a circle around a septagram. Each point of the seven pointed star represents a planet; each planet on the septagram has a signifance to the me's that have been written down. (The points of the star, when joined around the outside, form a heptagon.) Each person has a planet as a starting point and each planet thereafter relates to their me's in sequence.
The invocations for each point are called, followed by those for the God and Goddess.
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VenusOpeningOh Inanna Goddess of Love & War I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingOh Inanna Goddess of Love & War I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Fairwell. |
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SunOpeningUtu Lord of the sun and justice I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingUtu Lord of the sun and justice I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
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MarsOpeningGugalanna the Great Bull of Heaven I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingGugalanna the Great Bull of Heaven I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
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JupiterOpeningEnlil Lord of the Command I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingEnlil Lord of the Command I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
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SaturnOpeningNinurta lord of rain, fertility, war, thunderstorms I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingNinurta lord of rain, fertility, war, thunderstorms I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
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MoonOpeningNanna Lord of the Moon I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingNanna Lord of the Moon I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
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MercuryOpeningOh Enki, Lord of water and intellect I call upon you now to join us here tonight. We ask that you guide & protect this circle. So mote it be. ClosingOh Enki, Lord of water and intellect I thank you for joining us here tonight. We thank you for your guidance & protection. Hail & Farewell. |
I say "Hail!" to the Holy One who appears in the heavens!
I say "Hail!" to the Holy God of water & intellect!
I say "Hail!" to Enki, Great Lord of knowledge!
I say "Hail!" to the Holy One who appears in the heavens!
I say "Hail!" to the Holy Priestess of Heaven!
I say "Hail!" to Inanna, Great Lady of Light!
Going in an anticlockwise direction each person will move around the septagram. Each point of the star represents a gate and one must meditate on the corresponding me and how it relates to that planet, then they release that particular me before moving on to the next gate. Once the 7th gate is reached, the last me is released and each person is metaphorically naked and will undertake a death, and will be come a void - a nothingness. After a period of contemplation a small pinprick of light can be seen above the crown chakra, the light source becomes larger and larger and then enters through the crown chakra and moves down the spinal cord to the base chakra. The white light then enters each chakra opening, clearing blockages and cleansing each chakra. Once all chakras have been cleared and aligned a process of rebirth takes place and healing begins.
Each person then turns and moves clockwise through the septagram receiving back their re-engineered me's as they moved back through the seven gates. At each gate they will also receive healing which will be integrated through their being over the following weeks.
For a personal account of the ritual please also read Jenni Barnett's article in the "Astrology Corner" section of this website, called A Full Moon Journey.
The Septagram |
...some of the group |
...and a few more of us :) |
