What kind of badass rides a lion into Babylon? Welcome to divinity week brought to you by Unity, a server I go to for peace of mind as well as sharing my passions here and there.
(So far it has been invite only but if you want to check it out feel free to message me one discord with the phrase unity and I will send you an invite =) )
On to the main topic at hand, Divinity week! Starting today and all throughout this week feel free to make a post about a chosen deity, god, or goddess. Be sure to use the tag divinityweek so we can find your posts.
For Divinity Week, I have chosen the goddess Ishtar! I saw an illustration of her and was immediately drawn to her. Let me show you what I found on the interwebz about her.
Ishtar was known as the Mesopotamian goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power, according to wikipedia. She has many other names or counterparts in other cultures. She is the embodiment of the planet Venus! Maybe that's why we say women are from Venus and men are from Mars. shrugs
Her symbols include the eight pointed star, the lion, rod and ring symbol, and the hook shaped knot of reeds.
This is the gate of Ishtar which is covered in lions! This is one of the most well preserved artifacts from Babylonian times which is pretty neat. This isn't going to be an in depth article on this Goddess though so feel free to fact check me and add any info you may have into the comments section below.
When I look at information displayed on any one deity, I always focus on the symbolism because it really says it all. especially when I start branching off and researching each one. Since I didn't make time to do such, from first glance I can say I really enjoy Ishtar's symbolism and what she herself embodies! The eight pointed star is Venus yes but it is also a guiding star. Just looking at it you can see it looks just like a rose compass which I remember from my days as someone who helped navigate a multi-billion dollar warship.
Enjoy this poem I have made inspired by Ishtar:
Well behaved women rarely make history, ask the goddess Ishtar, I'm sure she'll agree
Riding on the back of Lions and glorifying war with a passion in her male form
The same passion she has for love and all things her divine feminine energy encompasses
She fights for passion no matter the cost, she has plunged into darkness through many gates she passes
Taking off a layer of clothing each level down. Do not frown for she made it back somehow and was greeted by her empty lover, unable to express his sorrow therefore is sent to take her place according to her will. Fore, no man who loved her will remain loving her still. Like the fiery passion that takes over your soul. She will restore the balance that has been off course in us all, once you silence the ego and let her take hold. Passion will over flow. Channel the fire that is Ishtar's light. Welcome her and all of her might. Be the tamer of beasts and the lover of what makes you come alive. Channeling her may show you the intricacy that is the hive. Come alive.
In this poem I describe my thoughts and feelings derived from the information I soaked in such as her trip to the underworld and her trip back. I talk about how she is the embodiment of passion itself. Her male counterpart Attar is said to be the passion men have for war symbolized by the morning star while the female counterpart would be the evening star. Like I said feel free to fact check me. All information was sourced from Wikipedia and I explored what others were saying about her on youtube which was really, all over the place. It suits her because her pure passion can be chaotic. I was really happy when I saw that she is also known as Aphrodite in Greek Mythology.
In my humble perspective, I associate all these deities with our emotions. That is why we can resonate with them on some levels. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed what to me felt like just a really chill review of the Goddess Ishtar as described by others.
My advice is do not listen to those who seek to demonize these deities because if they are just representations of our very human emotions, it will throw you off balance. Which is fine if you thrive on chaos. As for me, I'm aligning myself with more peaceful state of being.
Namaste