It took me years to understand why I was so drawn to Inanna. She isn’t soft or subtle, and yet there’s something deeply magnetic about her. Maybe it’s her rawness. Maybe it’s the way she embodies both beauty and rage, power and grief. Working with Inanna has been transformative, challenging me to go deeper into my own shadows and rise back up stronger. If you’ve ever felt like you were constantly descending, being stripped of everything you thought you were, and slowly rebuilding yourself from scratch, then Inanna might already be walking beside you.
Who Is Inanna?
Inanna is a Sumerian goddess whose origins go back over four thousand years. She’s often referred to as the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and she holds dominion over love, sex, beauty, fertility, war, justice, and political power. She is not a one-dimensional goddess. She is multifaceted, often contradictory, and utterly human in her divine nature.
A Complex Deity
Inanna is not here to coddle or pacify. She represents the fullness of existence: passion, pride, ambition, sensuality, and sorrow. She teaches by initiation, and her lessons can be intense. And through this, she invites us to step into the whole spectrum of who we are. That means facing our inner battles, our desires, and our vulnerabilities with courage and grace. She is both sovereign and sensual, assertive and receptive, embodying a duality that encourages us to embrace our own contradictions.
She is also known by her Akkadian counterpart, Ishtar, but the two are not entirely the same. While Ishtar shares many attributes, Inanna’s mythology and rituals are rooted more deeply in Sumerian tradition, giving her a distinct flavour and energy. Inanna feels more personal, more mythic, and more deeply embedded in the land and language of the ancient Sumerians. Her temples were places of music, poetry, ritual sex, and prophecy.
The Descent of Inanna
One of the most powerful myths associated with Inanna is her descent into the Underworld. This story holds deep symbolic meaning and offers a blueprint for spiritual transformation. It is one of the earliest known myths of death and rebirth, and it continues to echo in modern rites of passage and personal awakening.
The Journey Begins
Inanna begins her descent to visit her sister Ereshkigal, the queen of the Underworld. She dresses in her finest regalia: a crown, jewellery, robes, and tools of power. Each item she wears represents an aspect of her authority and identity. At each of the seven gates to the Underworld, she is required to remove one item, arriving stripped and vulnerable by the time she reaches her sister. This stripping away is not just physical, but spiritual and emotional.
This symbolic act of undressing represents the shedding of ego, status, identity, and illusion. It is the painful unraveling that often precedes deep growth. When Inanna finally faces Ereshkigal, she is killed and hung on a hook for three days. In this moment, she becomes the sacrificial offering, experiencing death in its most mysterious and transformative form. Her story reminds us that true power cannot be faked. It must be earned through surrender and humility.
Death and Rebirth
Inanna’s death is not the end. She is eventually revived by her faithful servant Ninshubur, who seeks help from the gods. Through divine intervention, Inanna is reborn and allowed to return to the land of the living, but not without consequence. Someone must take her place. This part of the myth introduces the concept of sacrifice, balance, and the price of transformation. Her husband Dumuzid is chosen as her replacement, adding another layer of complexity to the story.
The descent and return speak to the cycles we all go through: times when everything falls apart, when we’re forced to confront our rawest selves, and when, finally, we emerge with new insight and strength. Inanna does not avoid pain or death. She walks into it and comes out changed. The myth offers hope, showing us that darkness is not the end but a doorway.
How Inanna Appears in Our Lives
Working with Inanna often doesn’t start with candles or offerings. It starts with a breakdown. A job loss. A breakup. A period of deep grief or emptiness. You may find yourself feeling like everything is being stripped away. That is the descent. And it is sacred.
Recognising Her Presence
Inanna often arrives when we are ready to change, even if we don’t feel ready. Her presence can be fierce, shaking up stagnant routines and calling us to a higher version of ourselves. You might feel a sudden urge to take up space more boldly, to speak truths that feel uncomfortable, or to stop hiding parts of yourself that once felt too much. Inanna does not shrink. Her presence in your life may push you to reclaim your voice, your sensuality, your ambition, or your boundaries.
She also calls us to honesty. Her energy asks, who are you when everything is taken from you? Who are you without the layers? Without the performance? She does not ask for perfection. She asks for authenticity. If you find yourself becoming more raw, more expressive, and more unapologetically you, chances are Inanna is stirring something in you.
Rituals and Offerings for Inanna
If you feel called to work with Inanna, it’s important to approach her with reverence and readiness. She’s a goddess of power and truth, and she responds to those who are willing to meet her with openness.
Setting Up an Altar
An altar for Inanna can include symbols of beauty and power: roses, gold jewellery, mirrors, red or pink candles, and images of lions or stars. She is associated with the planet Venus and often represented with an eight-pointed star. You might also include statues or artwork that represent her, especially those that show her in full regalia or in the act of descending.
Your altar doesn’t need to be elaborate. What matters most is intention. Even a single candle with a whispered invocation can be enough. Inanna’s presence is not summoned by extravagance, but by sincerity. Some people also place perfume bottles, silk fabrics, or written declarations of self-worth on her altar as a way of honouring her love of beauty and expression.
Offerings and Devotions
Common offerings for Inanna include honey, wine, pomegranates, and incense like myrrh or frankincense. You might also offer her poetry, dance, or song. Inanna appreciates expressions of passion, beauty, and truth. She values acts of devotion that come from the heart. If you feel inspired to write her a letter, sing to her in the bath, or wear something that makes you feel beautiful in her honour, she will notice.
Regular devotional practices can help you build a relationship with her. Speak to her. Write to her. Ask her for guidance when you feel lost. She often responds in unexpected ways, through dreams, synchronicities, or sudden insights. You may find yourself feeling more empowered, more assertive, and more willing to face challenges with courage.
Shadow Work with Inanna
Working with Inanna means doing shadow work. She will not let you avoid the parts of yourself you’ve tried to ignore. But in doing this work, she helps you find power in your vulnerability and strength in your softness. She teaches that our wounds do not make us weak. They make us wise.
Embracing the Descent
When you are going through a hard time, especially when it feels like everything is falling apart, this is often when Inanna’s energy is most potent. Rather than resist the descent, lean into it. Allow yourself to feel, to grieve, to question. Let yourself fall apart, knowing that this too is sacred.
Journal your experience. Sit in silence. Cry. Scream. Let it all out. Inanna does not ask you to be composed. She asks you to be real. And in doing so, you begin to rebuild, not as who you were, but as who you were always meant to be. These moments of emotional honesty and rawness create space for your true self to emerge.
Reclaiming Your Power
After the descent comes the return. Inanna does not stay in the Underworld. She rises. And so do you. As you reclaim parts of yourself that you abandoned or were told were too much, you step into your fullness. You become whole. And with that wholeness comes an undeniable sense of self-worth.
This might mean setting new boundaries. Speaking up. Leaving something that no longer serves you. Or simply recognising your worth and refusing to dim your light. Inanna celebrates the whole self: flawed, fierce, and free. She reminds us that empowerment is not about dominance. It’s about standing tall in your truth.
Final Reflections
Inanna is not a goddess of comfort, but she is a goddess of truth and transformation. She teaches us that descent is not failure. It is part of the cycle. That we are not broken when we are brought to our knees, but being initiated into something deeper. Inanna invites us to honour every part of the journey.
If you feel her calling, know that you do not walk alone. She has walked this path before you, and she walks it still, guiding those brave enough to meet themselves in the darkness and rise again in their power. She is not for the faint-hearted, but for those ready to remember who they are.
Let her story be a mirror. Let her descent be your initiation. And let her strength remind you of your own.
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