The Descent As Initiation

We will be using, among other things, the ancient myth of feminine initiation, The Descent of Inanna. Some of you know that I have been working with this myth for many years. Recent events thrust me into Inanna's journey and have deepened my understanding of her descent. It is a journey into the dark that we all take, over and over again. I see now that what is critical is how we take it. Either we can go unconsiously, kicking and screaming, or we can "bend our ear to the Great Below" as does Inanna, and make a conscious choice to embrace the Mystery of the Great Below.

Parts of me from which I once pulled back in fear I now embrace with compassion, joy and love. I see that the dark shadow world of the Great Below is not hell. It is nothing to fear; rather it is the place to which I had banished some of the truest and most deeply pasionate parts of self.

And although I know the journey is never easy, each time I surrender in love instead of being brought down by fear I enter into a deeper relationship with my true self and my soul's desires.

I have come to believe that the hardest part of surrending to this journey inward is closing my ears to my ego's vociferous demand to "leave well enough alone," and closing my eyes to the road blocks my ego throws up.

The only way I know how to do this is to close my eyes to the outer world and, as Inanna does, "bend my ear to the Great Below."

Exploring the Myth of Inanna's Descent

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(914) 962 4432