Up: [[Journeys]] Related: [[Mythology]] Created: 2023-10-09 Updated: 2026-06-07 Inanna is an ancient Sumer (now Iraq) story that is over four thousand years old, coming well before the various Greek descent myths. It is the core story used when [[Comparing Hero's and Heroine's Journeys]]. The goddess Inanna is Queen of Heaven and Earth where she enjoys respect, power and a good life. She chooses to descend to the Underworld to witness the funeral of her sister’s husband. Inanna’s sister, Ereshkigal, is in exile, has been Queen of the Netherworld/Underworld for years. Inanna asks her priestess, Ninshubur, to rescue her if she is not back after three days. This has to be pre-determined because if it isn’t, Inanna will have to stay in the underworld. ### Descent When the guard of the Underworld tells Ereshkigal that Inanna wants to come in, Ereshkigal has the guard bolt each of the seven gates, to be opened one at a time only after Inanna has removed items of clothing or jewelry that represent aspects of her identity. In the book, *Descent to the Goddess: A way of initiation for women*, Jungian author Sylvia Brinton Perera makes the interesting point that the items being divested match the seven [[Chakras]] and that the progression is from head down to root, as opposed to the hero’s journey from lower to higher knowledge and transcendence. | Gate | Chakra | Item | Significance | | ---- | ------------ | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1 | Crown | Crown | Roles we play in the world | | 2 | Third Eye | Lapis Lazuli beads | Inner, intuitive knowledge | | 3 | Throat | Double strand of beads | Voice and expression | | 4 | Heart | Breastplate | Beliefs about who we are, what we love, the way things should be | | 5 | Solar Plexus | Gold bracelets | Power, social standing, status, visibility | | 6 | Sacral | Measuring rod and line | Creativity, sexuality | | 7 | Root | Robes | Naked, with no defenses left | ### In the Underworld Inanna has descended in search of sisterhood, but Ereshkigal is having none of it. She has Inanna killed and her corpse hung on a hook. After three days, Ninshubur goes to Inanna’s father who helps by providing food and the water of life. When Ninshubur descends along with her assistants, Ereshkigal is in agony. They witness and mirror her with empathy and she offers them whatever they want. They ask for and are Inanna’s body, which they sprinkle with food and the water of life. Inanna is revived and is able to return to the Upper world but only if she sends someone to take her place. That ends up being Inanna’s husband who has not mourned her in the slightest! ### What This Story Means for Our Descent - If we make a descent for the purpose of renewal, this often looks like a loss of energy to keep doing the things that used to be meaningful for us. This is experienced by the ego but it is initiated by [[The Self]]. The ego would never choose to slow down. - We can think of Inanna as our conscious self, the parts we are willing to show. And Ereshkigal as our exiled self, the self in shadow that might manifest in something as obvious as depression or as seemingly unimportant as our inability to cry. - Ninshubur is our witness. She holds the essence of us steady while parts are being deconstructed. She’s what allows most of us to carry on with our lives during a descent. - The gates are listed sequentially but that, of course, isn’t likely to happen in real life. - When we descend, there are parts of ourselves that **must** surrender. Our successes in our everyday lives mean nothing to the natural order of the underworld. - Transformation requires sacrifice, the dissolution of one or more aspects of our identity.