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Goddess Ishtar

The Goddess Ishtar is the personification of the words of The Great Goddess, "All acts of love and  pleasure are my rituals."   She is the Goddess of love, sexuality, war, creation, guardianship, healing, abundance, fertility and justice. Her name means “Star of Heaven”.  She is the Queen of Heaven, the morning star, the evening star, the shining star of Venus.  She is also the Queen of Earth, the fertility and the abundance of life.

 

Like Persephone, Ishtar descended into the Underworld giving up Her worldly possessions and magickal powers.  Ishtar’s beloved husband Tammuz died when they were both very young.  After a time Ishtar fell love with the great king Giglamesh, who rejected Her.  Ishtar decided to descend to the Underworld to be with Tammuz, so dressed in Her finest garments, jewellery and crown, Ishtar entered the cave that leads into the Underworld. The Underworld was surrounded by seven walls, each with its own gate that had to be passed to get to the dark place where the dead resided. At each gate Ishtar was required to give up one of Her possessions.

 

At the First Gate, She gave up Her crown.

At the Second Gate, She gave up Her necklace, the eight-pointed star.

At the Third Gate, She gave up Her golden bracelets.

At the Fourth Gate, She gave up Her shoes.

At the Fifth Gate, She gave up Her veil.

At the Sixth Gate, She gave up Her outer robe.

At the Seventh Gate, She gave up Her dress.

 

Ishtar entered the Underworld naked and powerless, Her love for Tammuz and Her previous life was forgotten and She was covered in feathers and dust.  The light of the world was completely gone, and Ishtar was in darkness.

 

As soon as Ishtar entered the Underworld, life on Earth began to change. Love and desire, birdsong, animal procreation and love-making between husbands and wives stopped, and the Gods were unhappy.  The Great God Ea created a creature that was fearless and sent it to the Underworld to rescue Ishtar. The Goddess was returned to Earth and was even stronger than before.

 

Call on the Goddess Ishtar to guide you in your personal journey to understand and assimilate your Shadow Self.  She will support you with Her radiance and give you the courage to face down your hidden demons. She will help you to strip away the veils of illusion so that you may see the truth and allow the light to enter.

 

To honour Ishtar give Her offerings of food and drink, make love, sing joyful songs and surround yourself with beauty. If you have moon or star jewellery, wear it in honour of Ishtar.  Wear your loveliest clothes; apply make-up and perfumes to align yourself with the Goddess.  Find and download a colouring picture of an eight-pointed star or mandala and as you colour, meditate on the aspects of Ishtar.

 

PLANET – Venus

EMBLEM – Eight-Pointed Star

SACRED ANIMALS – Dolphins, lions, snakes, scorpions, hedgehogs, hunting dogs, lions, dragons

NUMBERS – 7, 15

BIRD – Dove

STONE – Lapis Lazuli

TREE – Fig

OFFERINGS – Incense, wine, beer, sweet cakes

 

Sources – Silver Ravenwolf

Fairy Tales of the World

Encyclopedia of Spirits – Judika Illes

 

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