HECATE
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Triple-faced Hecate ancient images of pre-Hellenic mythology
worshipped as the Great Mother/Crone.
linked to the moon, is guardian of the crossroad , preside over magic, ritual, prophetic
vision, childbirth, death, the underworld, and the secrets of regeneration
guardian figure of the mysterious depths of our unconscious that accesses our collective
memory
Middle Ages, Hecate became associated black magic / debased as the Queen of the Witches
who led satanic rites
Genealogy/History
 Hecate is a primordial figure linking back to beginning of time
 Mother Nyx. Ancient Night
 She can be linked back to the ancient frog-headed Egyptian Goddess Heket.
 As mid-wife it was said that she helped to birth the sun every morning.
 Heket evolved into Heq, the tribal matriarch of pre-dynastic Egypt.
 Greece – pre-Hellenic – resident of Thrace – part of present day Greece and Bulgaria.
 absorbed into Greek Pantheon
 Mother Astaria, Father Perses – both symbols of shining light –
 Cousin of Artemis and Apollo
 Later mythologies make her the daughter of Zeus and Hera
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powerful Thracian divinity, and a Titan, who ruled heaven, earth and the sea.
She was said to bestow on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, and good luck.
 could also withhold her blessings.
assisted the gods in the war with the Gigantes, and slew Clytius
Hecate worshipped from Middle Europe to Anatolia dating back 5 to 6000 years ago, to prepatriarchal times.
o matrilineal, matrifocal, agrarian and peace-loving.
Mother Goddess who presided over the cycles of life – birth, death and rebirth.
This Ancient Mother Goddess preceded Hecate, / evolved into Hecate.
As patriarchy took root and male gods became more dominant, the goddesses became
more submissive and less powerful.
Many of Hecate’s attributes were split off and given to other goddesses such as Demeter,
Persephone and Artemis.
Hecate was relegated to her chthonic, or underworld qualities, and lost much of her
prominence.
Myth of Demeter and Persephone
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Hecate appears in the Eleusinian mysteries of pre-Hellenic Greece.
descent into the underworld
Persephone, daughter of Demeter, is abducted by Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and
carried off to his kingdom in the underworld.
Hecate witnesses Persephone’s abduction / greets Persephone upon her return.
Hecate resided in the Underworld as its Queen and was the Guardian of the Souls.
Hecate’s responsibility as Guardian of the Souls degenerated >shadowy haunting figure
sent out demons and phantoms who taught sorcery and witchcraft.
Hecate said to wander with souls of the dead,
Her approach announced by the whining and howling of dogs
Triple Goddess
 Hecate - original Trinity / Great Triple Goddess, Hecate Triformis: maiden, mother, aging
wise woman or crone.
Hectaerion
 pillar depicting three aspects of Hecate.
 three females represent Hecate’s powers over heaven, earth and underworld
o as well as her control over birth, life and death.
 six arms bare three torches, a key, rope and dagger.
o key illustrates her role as the guardian of the deep mysteries;
 only Hecate possesses the key that unlocks them.
o rope possibly symbolizes the umbilical cord
 or represents her role of bringing souls into underworld / helping them be
reborn.
o dagger symbolizes cutting through illusions to true power.
 dagger later becomes athame of Wicca.
Crone
 Hecate most honored as crone -wise woman;
 one who speaks with wisdom, provides valuable counsel, and protection.
Guardian of the Crossroads
 ancient ritual honoring Hecate / It was called Hecate’s supper
 leave food at the crossroads where three paths meet,
 referring to her powers of divination to see past , present and future.
 food left when important decisions had to be made. / guidance and favorable outcome.
 The way is not always clear and confusion exists. Especially true today.
 Hecate as Goddess of wisdom and vision / sees past, present and future
 Call upon Hekate to help you make wise decisions and good choices.
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Queen or Guardian of the Underworld
 underworld not always been viewed as a place of punishment.
 Christians invented the concept of Hell as a place of unending torture.
 Originally the underworld was the place of the dead.
 stop over place while the dead prepared for rebirth.
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Hecate, witnessed both Persephone’s descent into the underworld and her return.
being behind and in front of Persephone Hecate is symbolically protecting / guiding her.
viewed by ancient Greeks as the Mistress of Souls / lighted the way / conveying souls to the
underworld.
western culture death taboo subject, / old are hidden away.
Hecate = wise Old Crone / knew death / did not fear it / death brought renewal and rebirth.
Guardian of the Subconscious and the Shadow Realm
 ancients no concept of an inner or psychological realm.
 The inner world was the spirit realm where all the spirits dwelt.
 Today underworld used as metaphor for shadow realm, or depth of subconscious
 our inner world can seem mysterious and disconcerting.
 Hecate guardian of unconscious, the hidden part of our psyches
 Yet source of our creativity, growth and healing.
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descent into the underworld of our unconscious, Persephone and Inanna=
Place where inspiration, vision, the creative juices of renewal often found.
Western emphasis on action and productivity,
o devalues those times of deep introspection.
o experience them as being stuck, in limbo or as being depressed.
o spaces of non-activity
Reality –Reflection and solitude is part of the journey to revitalization and creative insight.
o Workshop, teachings and integration part of reflection, not active doing
Hecate, if invited, acts as our guide in this deep inner work.
Transformation and change requires releasing the old.
humans fear letting go = old beliefs, relationships, assumptions, perceptions, Physical Body.
To receive Hecate’s gift of vision and renewal, must face the Dark Goddess.
o surrender to her what you need to release so you can be reborn.
protest / crone will often reclaim you and recycle you through her cauldron anyway.
Many of you may have already experienced this
Goddess of Magic:
 Queen of Ghosts, Mother of Witches, Mistress of Magic,
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Hecate bestows magical knowledge.
hold the secrets of the workings of magical spells, charms, enchantments,
knowledge of medicinal herbs used for both healing and destructive substances.
We will work more with her in the Fourth Module, Ancient Wisdom for Every Woman
Persecution of the Devotees of Hecate
 Shadow of Eve cast on women of more contemporary times.
 Late in the1400 CE, an inquisition was unleashed to hunt, torture and burn witches.
 lasted until Seventeenth Century / nine million witches, 80% women including young girls
exterminated.
 period of asceticism in which the church denigrates anything of the flesh
 misogynistic hatred of all that brought life into the world.
 Anyone could accuse a witch, / considered guilty until proven innocent.
 frequently tortured for confessions / implicate others until a coven of thirteen identified.
 few of those convicted really belonged to a coven or were a true witch.
 victims were elderly, senile, mentally ill, handicapped, physically unappealing, the village
beauties that incited lust, homosexuals or freethinkers.
 midwives, healers and seers, those who did the most good for the country people, who
were identified by the Church as the most dangerous.
 A video by Starhawk, Burning Times, is a documentary about this period.
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Hecate demonized by the Catholic authorities.
projected onto her their fears and insecurities of the powerful dark feminine.
distorted her into an ugly Queen of witches.
Pagan or country people persisted in practicing their ancient fertility rites and folk customs.
angered and horrified the church.
patriarchal authorities could not control Hecate; didn’t understand the powers of the dark
feminine, they demonized her.
Instead of valuing and honoring these women for the healers they were,
for the wisdom and understanding they brought to the community,
women were burned or hanged as witches
Accused of being inhabited by evil spirits such as Hecate.
Therefore tonight we will be reclaiming Hecate as:
• The wise crone who is protectress, guardian and counselor.
• Guardian of the Crossroads who offers wisdom, guidance and counsel when important
decisions need to be made.
• Queen and Guardian of the Underworld, who offers hope for fertility, renewal, and
regeneration.
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Light bearer, Guardian of the Souls, who protects and offers guidance as she guides
souls to the underworld.
Guardian of the Subconscious and Shadow Realms, of transitions, who guards the
doorways of birth, death and transformation
Goddess of Magic and Divination
I offer her to you as your guardian as we do the shadow work today.
WORKING WITH OUR SHADOW
Our Stories
The Secret of the Shadow by Debbie Ford
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We create stories to become somebody – helps us create our identities
Important – hold key to our purpose and fulfillment – connects us to our humanity
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Negative – separates us, creates boundaries - not necessarily good ones, limits our
potential, draining, depleting
Keeps us stuck in repetitive habits, abusive behavior, negative self talk
Themes – poor me, no one loves me, I can’t get anything right, etc.
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Shadow beliefs = unconscious beliefs that come from our stories
 Control our thoughts and behaviors
 Negative, deprecating –
 Yet holds key to the wisdom to transcend out limitations / motivate and drive us to change
 Positive – Propel us to prove we are loveable, loving, important,
 Negative – turn inward – self-sabotaging, trapped, paralysis = keeps us small, limits our
potential
False Self
 we cling to story – is familiar, comfortable
 Examples: I’m sweet and helpful so people will love me. I strive for perfection so people will
approve of me. I have to be outspoken and assertive to be noticed. I can only be safe by
being tougher than everyone else. If I’m invisible then no one will notice me and I will be
safe. People will like me if I make them laugh.
 but small version of our Self – the False Self
 helps to individuate ourselves – but an illusion that traps us in our small self
 continually want more, feel flawed – not our Divine Self – or Big Self
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Our Divine Self connects us to the oneness of all things – way we truly are
Fear embracing the oneness of all things – or truly connecting with the divine part of
ourselves
what would happen to our uniqueness – our Self might die
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cling to stories stay separate, not fully living, always wanting more, different, better
becomes a mantra – not enough clients, not enough money, not the perfect mate, etc.
all a decoy, a distraction – covers our true essence – our potential – it’s disempowering
We need our stories however – not bad – create our ID, protects our true essence –
o holds key that will guide us back to our Divinity – to our life’s purpose
o We just need to know how to unlock the door/ stop cycling in our old stories
Embracing Our Stories
 We unconsciously live out our stories / cycle in repetitive patterns
 Try to fix parts of us that are broken
 Finally an awakening – realize there are lessons from those stories
 Painful experiences actually taught you something – wise, more compassionate, more
tolerant, more patient – fine tune, hone, your gifts that we each have to offer the world
 When we cycle in the negativity – stuck in self-hatred > can’t access gifts and wisdom
 Need to stand back and look at the story
 Not judge as good or bad
 Rather ask “What can I learn about myself from my story?”
o Heal wounds, self-forgiveness, forgiveness of others, acceptance
o Be open to the lessons – receive the wisdom
 Know thy self! – a truth first uttered by oracle at Delphi – when Goddess first reigned 6K
yrs ago
o repeated by Plato –
o knowing yourself is the source of your wisdom and the path to your divine self
 What everyone is looking for is love, compassion – seeking to fill the emptiness
 Process – stop, see, understand > self-love and self-compassion
 Gift of the Shadow –
 discover your true essence, see your story, understand the reasons behind it,
 embrace yourself with compassion, love and acceptance.
 You are on your human journey to awakening
 not automatically perfect – though you are always Divine
Brief reflection
 think back to a time with 5/6 – felt lost, alone, scared, sad – jarred your reality –
o holds key to drama of your story
 Pause for several seconds and just jot briefly the details – pause for 1 minute
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What is the theme of that memory – 3 main categories – or Shadow beliefs
 I’m not good enough
 I don’t matter
 There’s something wrong with me
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Pain of childhood triggered by present day event > Feel the old pain . re-wounding,
 proves how accurate and true you old drama was
 Emotional response – resignation, lack, deprivation, resentment, victimization,
loneliness, anger, blame, shame, despair, hopelessness, sadness, fear, guilt, jealousy,
envy, regret
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Leads to self-pity or to self-loathing or both
Really this is about that frightened small child
bought into the lie that they were, small, not capable, not important, and not loveable.
Etc.
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stories show up in career, relationships, families, finances, emotional states, physical bodies
Keep us from our potential – keeps us small
Keeps us from being in the present
 Stuck in past – ruminating over old memories / reliving the old pain
 Future – focusing on our hopes and dreams rather than staking practical actions in the
here and now
 Circular thinking, worry, obsessive thoughts, dreaming, yet not planning or doing
anything to change your situation
Shadow Box
 We all know what a music box is –beautiful music chiming out like a harpsichord
 What is a shadow box
 Negative chatter of your shadow realm
 Beats you up – sends you into a low mood
 Paralysis, stuck, self-sabotage, disabling, despair, self-doubt, hopelessness
Antidote for next time you hear this negative inner dialog
 Stop! Step Back! Listen to the inner dialog with curiosity, not judgment.
 Determine what is truth, lie, exaggeration, and self-sabotaging
 It’s your subconscious trying to keep you safe in a familiar story –
 but keeps you small, often unhappy and unfulfilled
Why do we hold onto our stories?
 Fear change – prefer comfort of the familiar story than the unknown of change
 We resist, fight change – the battle drains our energy –
 how many of you have struggled with the decisions to stay in a relationship or to leave –
remember how draining and painful it was. The torment of indecision!
 If we surrender – opens opportunities for new insight, new adventure, new territories to
explore–
 everything has its challenges –fire leading to escape can be preferable to the proverbial
frying pan!
 Stop fighting the change – listen to the inner voice of wisdom – weigh what will make you
happy –
 too often we stay stuck because we’re afraid of hurting someone else – never works.
 end up hurting them and ourselves because not fully present /aren’t authentic.
 Delay change > hope things will get better > live in the dream of hope
 Instead Let go of hope – realize you have to “be the change” > take action
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People hold onto hope rather than deal with reality
They fear pain and loss and would rather cycle in same old stuff
 Need to know, be in control, be right, be somebody, be secure –
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 just keeps you trapped inside an old story that now makes you unhappy.
Your story is limited view of the Self – a small view – not the full potential of the Divine Self!
How can We Reclaim Our Power?
 Tendency to blame others or try to fix them
 Can’t fix anyone else! – including from victimhood – Can Only Fix Yourself!
 Victim – has perspective they’ve been wronged – place of limitation and powerlessness –
 their choice, their timing – they will or won’t change in this lifetime
 1st step – let everyone take care of themselves. Your job in this lifetime is to Take Care of
Yourself!
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2nd step - Change your perspective - become co-creator of your experience
Reframe – “everything that happens is in perfect order so you can learn the lessons you
need and step into your potential!”
Blaming self, or others - equally bad and ineffective
o Blaming self – plummets you further into self-deprecation, paralysis, lack of
motivation and depletion.
o blaming others – gets you off the hook for the short term
 Don’t have to try so hard. Can stay in poor me.
o Long-term> perpetuates limitation and misery
3rd step - Take responsibility
Parents aren’t perfect – neither were you if you are a parent. So stop blaming your parents
 I made a ton of mistakes. What did I know at 21?
Know I did the best I could with the awareness I had –
 just too much of a kid myself. Own limitations, immaturity
don’t blame self – have self compassion
Try to reach place of forgiving your parents –doing their best with the awareness they had
 my Dad was a dominating authoritarian with a heavy hand. Now he is my best
supporter.
 My mother was anxious, insecure, fearful but very sweet and loved us all
unconditionally. I always knew I was loved
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Unfortunate mistake of some people Try to get back at parents by being miserable “You did this to me” See how miserable I am”
It’s your fault”
This only hurts the – keeps them in victim
Instead -Learn, grow, shine, step into you Divine Self
Show your parents, or whomever, that you can change your story and live to your potential!
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4rh step - A word about excuses
Humans are masters at justifying our condition
Justifications are often believed to be truth rather than excuses
EXPOSE YOUR EXCUSES!
When you start to talk yourself out of something important - STOP!
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 Ask self if this is a truth or excuse
Excuses keep us stuck in limitation and misery
Prevent us from stepping into our big self
Keeps us cycling in the drama of the same old story
Excuses can be
 Too busy
 Getting sick
 Focusing on needs of others and ignoring yourself
 What other excuses are there?
Process to determine if your “second guessing” is based on truth or just another excuse.
Debbie Ford recommends you ask yourself three questions:
1. Is this the truth, or is this an excuse that I’ve heard, said or used before?
2. Would (someone you respect) see this as the truth or as an excuse?
3. Am I responsible for this choice? Or am I blaming others, God or the universe as
responsible for my plight?
 By giving up our excuses and taking responsibility
 we can step beyond our stories
 create our desires and dreams
 become our Big Selves
 step into our Divinity
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ADDICTION TO UNHAPPINESS
Adapted from the work of
Martha Heineman Pieper, PH.D and William J. Pieper, MD
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Another take on our attachment to our familiar stories - Martha and William Pieper call it an
addiction to unhappiness.
Childhood- unpleasant experience – i.e., fighting, chaos, abuse, lack of money, lack of safety,
substance abuse – creates unhappiness
Home = primary place for getting love/ unpleasantness perceived as normal
o Becomes the way we experienced love
o Unpleasant – but familiar
Want pleasant happy life – but when some of us approach to much pleasure – it feels
unfamiliar and uncomfortable
Will do something to get back to what they fell is normal – overspend, pick a fight, aggravate
abuse or become the abuser, eat a bowl of chocolate ice cream, fall off the exercise wagon
and then throw in the towel
Our purpose - Recreate the familiar but unpleasant love that they experienced as a kid
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Is this resonating for any of you?
You can change your story by choosing happiness
 be author of your life –choose real pleasure & happiness, or false pleasure of familiar
unhappiness
 Never too late – never too old!
 Once you realize the struggle between your unconscious need to be in familiar unhappiness
and the desire to be truly happy – then you can begin the road to rehabilitation and lasting
happiness
 The condition of addiction to unhappiness is ingrained so backsliding happens – but can be
corrected
Piepers offer some more tips for dealing with your story and shadow beliefs as an addition
Process for Overcoming Addiction to Unhappiness
 Get Started! – even when you don’t feel like it!
 Cope with episodes of backsliding
 Keep your resolve when it starts to evaporate
 Think of yourself as a recovering addict
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Possible to overcome addiction to unhappiness. I’ve been working on it and am better at
staying in happiness for longer and longer periods of time
1. Getting started – Acknowledge that changing your life will feel uncomfortable
 Urge to postpone –
o Relieve pressure for short term – still stuck in unhappiness
 Can’t wait until you feel like it – Pick a date and start
o Realized my habit of being snippy with on-line tech support people.
o Start with a small project
o Start date no more than a few days out
o Ignore inner pleas for delay – just start!
o Day comes – start! Even if there is resistance
 Week of computer problems – hours on phone with tech support
o Reward self by doing something nice for you – bubble bath, extra hour to just
read, relax, chill out, walk in the park – something that will feel like a reward
2. Backsliding – accept it will happen and is part of the process – universe if giving you an
opportunity to practice!
 Don’t beat self up
 Realize dealing with a conundrum – want change = happiness/ feels uncomfortable
= resistance
 Acknowledge the set back
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Assess - where caused weakness - build a new plan to ensure success
 Paying attention to my voice – not cordial but firm between clenched teeth
– knew I was losing it
 i.e – reduce sugars in my diet – can’t keep sugar in the house – if I do – it’s
all over
 Love experience of shopping – stay out of the shopping mall
 TV addict – get rid of the TV – limit time on computer – get a great book and
read
3. Resolve –
 Common to lose touch with reason for wanting to change –
 So wound up just wanted to release all the tension with a scream!
 Settle for good enough – 10 lbs rather than 20, just one chocolate bar – won’t
eat it all at once (ha ha!)
 Bored – hate all foods on the diet – crave a burrito with lots of cheese and
guacamole, or a large thick crust cheesy combo pizza!
 Exhausted from battle of will > irrational reasoning –i.e. I feel really sad, just
want to be sad and try to comfort myself, who cares if I have a pity party, no
one loves me anyway
 Familiar Addiction for unhappiness is powerful – ingrained – it will sabotage you – so
be on the lookout for it
 Remember positives of sticking to your goals – i.e. look better in clothes, have more
energy, house more organized, not being suck into negative thoughts, happier
4. Think of self as a recovering addict
 Get bitchy will ruin my day and theirs
 Love chocolate – arthritis – not good for inflammation
 Must stay vigilant – remind self of bigger picture, larger goal, benefit of long term
happiness
 Technique – play tape forward – what will happen if I eat the chocolate
 Play tape backwards – what happened in the past when I ate chocolate
 Helps you to remember.
Are any of you beginning to realize that you might have an addiction or inclination to
unhappiness?
How many of you can be fine one moment, having a good time, then from almost out
of nowhere a painful memory from the past will pop up, or a negative thought, or you
will start to worry or agonize over something.
Your good mood is gone!
Has this happened to any of you?
Painful Emotions
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Painful emotions can creep up out of now where / or triggered by upsetting event or
situation
Painful childhood – chaos, fighting, abuse – conditioned that painful emotions are normal
o Humans revert to what is familiar – even when unpleasant – how we evolved
o Learned addiction to unhappiness – can be unlearned!
Choose positive moods and emotions
Discernment
o When you are triggered into an old emotion that brings up anger, fear, a funk
anxiety, worry, depression, obsessive thinking, etc.
o Ask self – realistic?– based on event or situation in present time?
o Is your reaction inappropriate, over-reaction, causing ruminating – circular
obsessive thoughts?
o Are you cycling in memories filled with – sadness, shame, guilt, pain?
o Are they pulling you down into a low mood – funk, depression?
Choice – Can be sucked in to the low mood, try to stuff it or ignore it until you blow, take
meds
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Or take steps to understand and redirect the process
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Me – old tape of ‘not good enough’, ‘never be a success’, ‘will be a bag lady’
o hold over from authoritarian Dad and some bullying I experienced as a child.
Bloopers of past – mistakes, failures, shame, guild
Pull me down into a funk – feeling bad about myself
Now – recognize it happens when I have been successful or particularly good at something.
o It’s not a familiar feeling – ‘Not good enough’ is my unpleasant but familiar normal
So I say , “There it is again.” My subconscious is trying to pull me down
Mentally toss it away
replace it with positive thoughts of happiness
Now I can shake it pretty easily
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Would you like to know how you can deal with these intrusive painful emotions?
Process to untangle painful emotions
1. Identify the emotions and the experience that was triggered (small child within)
 Shame, guilt, critical parent, feelings of lack that can trigger jealousy, envy, etc.
2. Determine what set you off – be on alert in the future
 I.e. For me it is success or doing something well
 Could be intimate time with partner (need to detach), stressful day at work,
frustrated in getting what you need, lack of affection, not getting expected phone
call, etc.
3. Positive self talk – remind self of good things in life, things you have done well, how many
people love you, etc.
 Call a friend, journal, funny movie
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Reason building this community of women who want to awaken – all in this
together!
 Reach out to one of us
 Don’t beat self up – use as key to greater self awareness
4. Backsliding – accept it will happen / don’t throw in the towel, i.e. break up with your
partner, let the funk sink into a major depression, dissolve into a pity party
 Instead learn from it! Assess what made you weaken or vulnerable/ get back on
track
5. When to get professional help
 Can’t stop the negative thinking
 Can’t anticipate outbreak of emotional pain
 Funk that goes on for longer than a couple of weeks or gets worse, not better
 Irritable, angry and annoyed with frequent tendency to pick a fight with loved ones
 Feeling hopeless, helpless or victimized – and your rational mind tells you that it is
unreasonable.
 Frequent crying or spells of sadness for no real reason
 Unable to successfully follow the steps for alleviating emotional pain
 Reason I offered the special package – If this is happening please see me or
another healthcare practitioner
For those who have these intrusive painful emotions, is this helpful?
How many of you would like to lose those love handle, or eat healthier, exercise more,
or just take better care of yourself but find you start, but then keep falling off track?
Resistance to Physical Well-Being
 Resistance to healthy weight and eating habits, being fit, or self-care
 Possibly addiction to unhappiness – not weak character
 Ill health, injury and self-criticism result of resistance to physical well-being
 Dieting and eating healthy – seen as depravation for some
o False pleasure of over-eating = fleeting pleasure
o Then unpleasantness of self-criticism, continued weight issues, lack of control –
disparages self
 Exercise – perceived as less pleasurable than reading, TV, Surfing the net, gaming = a burden
o Unhappiness of not being fit, slovenly self-care, out of shape
 Ether feel burdened by depravation, or burdened by having to do something that takes
effort – even if it’s in your best interest
 Rebelling – but against whom? Your own self.
 Think you are being nice to yourself; but are you really? What are the long term costs?
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Do you want to know how you can work with this is a more effective way?
Process to Ensure Own Physical Well-being
1. Inventory – what needs to change and why
o Me – episode with my back and frozen neck
o My addiction – immediate annoyance at having to be diligent over-rode
commonsense of long term pleasure of maintaining ease and comfort in my body
 Poor ergonomics. Too long at computer. Ignoring advice of professionals.
Believing it won’t happen to me.
 Paid for it big time – now paying attention and am committed – but a bit too
late
2. Recognize what the problem is
3. Plan what needs to be done
 i.e. -Daily exercising and stretches, getting up every 20 minutes, watching
ergonomics
4. Trouble shooting – what’s going to get in your way
 No time – get up earlier
 Too busy – schedule it in – make it your priority
5. Pick start date
 Prepare for inner struggle and excuses
 Resist pattern of addiction - not taking care of self so can be in familiar
unhappiness
 Feels like rebellion - Screw it!
 Who am I rebelling against anyway? who am I hurting?
 Start and maintain resolve –
 keep reminding self why you are doing this and why it’s important
 If weaken and postpose – reset the date immediately and soon
 Fall off – get right back onto the program
 Don’t throw in the towel
 Don’t heap abuse on yourself – you are human / changing a lifetime
behavior creates resistance
 Must be persistent
Breaking addiction to unhappiness creates challenges. But it can be done. Counteract setbacks
by congratulating each success and plan a reward for each milestone
Do you think this well be helpful so you can maintain your physical well-being?
DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE
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myth of Demeter and Persephone Homer, a classical Greek poet, wrote down 650 BCE.
story of Demeter and the abduction and return of her daughter Persephone from the
underworld basis for a Mystery religion, the Eleusinian Mysteries,
lasted for at least fifteen hundred years, into the Fourth Century C.E.
Homer wrote of happiness of men who experienced the Eleusinian Rites felt even in the face
of death.
Mysteries considered so powerful - Greeks believed all life and the world would come
undone if not celebrated
historical perspective through feminist lens, the myth of the abduction of Kore from the
Mother, mirrors overthrow and gradual assimilation of the older Mother Goddess religion
from the earliest forces of patriarchy.
These warring sky god worshippers invaded from the North beginning around 3500 BCE.
abductor Hades, Lord of the Underworld.
brother of the sky god whom the Greeks came to call Zeus,
Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, have roots in the pre-patriarchal indigenous
Mother Goddess religions of southern and Eastern Europe. (Carlson)
masculine gods overcame and assimilated the old religion of the Mother Goddess over
course of several thousand years.
assimilation appears in myths from around the globe, including the Babylonia myth of
Tiamat and Marduk.
As mentioned last session Goddesses were often depicted as being dismembered, slain, or
raped by a hero figure, or married (and subordinated) to the invading God(s).
myth of Persephone and Demeter - ancient drama of the values, tensions and oppositions of
these two old religions. (Carlson 3)
myth that illustrates the dis-empowerment of the ancient great goddess and how they
reclaimed their power and changed their story!
According to this myth one day Kore, the maiden version of Persephone, was with her
companions picking flowers in a field not far from her mother. Suddenly she spies a flower she
had never seen before, the narcissus. Delighted Kore reaches for the blossom, but just as she
does so the earth splits open and from the depths emerges Hades, the dreaded Lord of the
Underworld, with his chariot and horses. He grabs the girl and carries her back through the
chasm into the underworld. Terrified Kore screams for her father, Zeus, but as he was busy
accepting offerings he doesn't hear her. Only three people hear her cries. Hecate, deep in her
cave, hears Kore’s screams.
Two others hear Kore's cry: Helios, the Sun God, (who Carlson states represents the patriarchal
point of view in this story), and Demeter, Kore’s mother, who frantically begins searching for her
daughter.
For days Demeter searches for her daughter, but to no avail, for no one knows what has become
of Kore. Finally Hecate meets up with Demeter and they decide to approach Helios. As the Sun
God he is able to see and hear everything as he travels across the sky. Helios tells them that it
was Zeus who has given Kore to Hades. Then Helios goes so far as to reprimand Demeter for
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being so upset. He reminds Demeter that Hades is her brother and that, as Lord of the
Underworld, he is a worthy son-in-law. Far from being reassured, Demeter becomes even more
angry and upset at Helios' words.
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cosmic level this Illustrates the dis-empowerment of the Feminine under Patriarchy.
The male “gave-away’ the daughter without consulting the mother or announcing it to the
daughter.
Greek traditional culture - men who made marriage arrangements.
The mother and maiden were not consulted.
Maiden had no control over her destiny.
separation of the daughter from the mother was one of great anguish for both.
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On Cosmic level Demeter is furious/refuses to buy into patriarchal views of male supremacy.
rebuffs a system that supports the rights of the “fathers,”
especially when it brings injustice and creates bitterness, pain and loss! (Carlson p 23)
Demeter is uncompromising and turns her back on Olympus, the home of the gods, and goes to
dwell among mortals. She disguises herself as an old woman so no one will recognize her as a
goddess. Eventually she comes to the town of Eleusis and stops to rest near the Virgin’s Well
where the townspeople draw their water. Soon the daughters of the local king, Keleos, come for
water. Noticing this sad old woman they feel sorry for her. They ask about her and inquire as to
whether she is looking for work as a housekeeper and nursemaid.
Demeter asserts she is looking for work and asks if they know anyone who might be looking for
help as a nurse and housekeeper. Their mother, Metanira, had only recently given birth to a
newborn son and was currently looking for someone. So the young women rushed home to tell
their mother. Metanira asked that "the old woman" be brought to her.
The maidens return and take Demeter to their mother. She offers Demeter the position of
nursemaid, which the goddess accepts, and is charged with the care of the baby named name is
Demophoon, which means slayer of people. He grows strong and healthy without sustenance
because at night Demeter holds him in the fire to burn off his mortal parts to make him
immortal.
One night Metanira catches sight of Demeter holding the baby in the fire. Alarmed she cries out
and creates uproar, as any one of us who is a mother would have done. Demeter is furious, lifts
the baby out of the fire and throws him on the ground. Revealing herself as the goddess,
Demeter rebukes the mother for her 'stupidity' telling her that she would have made the baby
immortal. Now, she says, this is impossible! She then instructs Metanira and her husband, King
Keleos, to have the people of Eleusis build her a temple. There, she says, she will inaugurate her
Mysteries there.
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Demeter is still furious with Metanira's interference,
act served as a catalyst.
helped goddess realize she needed to initiate humans into the Mysteries
no longer fear death as the end,
see it as part of the cycle of life;
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death was only a transition leading to new life.
This is, according to Kathie Carlson, author of Life’s Daughter, Death’s Blood, the divine
dimension of the myth (p 31).
Soon the townspeople complete a temple for Demeter. Established in her new residence
Demeter once again sinks deep into inconsolable despair over the loss of her daughter. In her
grief she becomes develops a strategy and decides to withdraw her gift of grain from the land.
When the seeds stop germinating both humans and the gods are put in peril. Humans are
threatened with starvation, and, since there is no harvest, the gods receive no offerings. Now
Zeus is distressed! He tries to appease her by offering her gifts and promises. Demeter will have
none of it and becomes even angrier. She asserts that she will not relent, nor will she step foot
in Olympus again, until her daughter is returned to her.
Zeus is finally forced to relent. He sends Hermes to the underworld to retrieve the maiden who
has now matured into the woman and queen, Persephone. Hermes finds Persephone sad and
still missing her mother terribly. Hermes conveys Zeus' command that Demeter’s daughter be
returned. Hades turns to his wife and reminds her that if she stays she will reign over his
kingdom with him as Persephone, the Queen of the Dead. When Hades realizes that Persephone
is eager to return to her mother, he slips her a pomegranate seed. Without realizing what she is
doing, she eats it. Consequently Persephone will now have to return to the underworld, for
anyone who eats the fruits of the underworld cannot escape.
Reluctantly Hades readies his chariot and drives Hermes and Persephone back into the world.
Demeter is overjoyed to finally see her daughter again and embraces her. Then alarmed she asks
Persephone if she has eaten anything while in the underworld. When Persephone tells her
mother about the pomegranate seed, Demeter regrettably tells her daughter that for one-third
of each year she must return to the underworld. However, Persephone can return each spring
bringing happiness and new life to the world.
The goddesses spent the rest of the day talking and laughing as their hearts were filled with
happiness. Hecate joins them and from that time on she precedes and follows Persephone.
Demeter allows the grain seeds to germinate and the fields once again become abundant with
crops. True to her promise she begins to teach the Mysteries by first teaching her rites and
secrets to the sons of Eleusis and Keleos. Triptolemus, the oldest son of King Keleos, is trained in
the art of agriculture so that he can in turn train all of Greece to plant and reap crops. It was
rumored that the goddesses provided him with a winged chariot so he could fly across Greece
teaching and training others. And it is said that those who were initiated in the Mysteries had a
different experience at death than the uninitiated. Those who served the goddesses with true
devotion were favored by Plutous, the Child of Prosperity, who brings abundance and wealth (p
37).
Rebalancing Earth with the Cycle of life
 When Hecate, the ancient Goddess of Death, joins the Goddesses and becomes the
companion of Persephone,
 Crone and her darkness are restored to their proper place.
 Mother Goddess religion life was cyclical – birth, death and rebirth.
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Like winter, which both precedes and follows the seasons of spring and of harvest,
Crone is now re-linked with the Maiden.
The cycle is restored. (Carlson)
Gift of Grain and Civilization
 gift of grain = civilizing influence / saved humans from having to forage like beasts for their
food,
 saved them from the savagery of war/because peace was needed to grow grain.
 Triptolemus, which meant, Thrice fold Warrior became Thrice-fold Ploughmen,
 symbolizes the civilizing of the masculine. The aggressor became the planter.
 death dealing masculine is re-linked with the Goddess and her cycles – in harmony &
service. way for found to repurpose the power of the masculine / counter its destructive
force with transformation and new life.
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Eleusian Mysteries offered a path of initiation –
a path of civilization, enlightenment, peace, and an honoring and protection of the
Feminine.
Death was no longer seen as the end, but was viewed on a continuum of rebirth.
those dying, or facing the loss of loved ones turned to the Goddess Persephone, the Queen
of the Underworld, for compassion and support,
no longer had to fear the dreaded terrible Hades.
The Eleusinian mysteries were celebrated for 1500 years until the 4th century CE. (Carlson)
Transpersonal Interpretation
 Kore, the maiden, is violently abducted / descends into traumatic ordeal / sits with it
 learns the lessons of the Underworld > wiser and more experienced.
 experience transforms her into Persephone, mature woman, Queen of the Underworld –
 or the mistress of her own psyche.
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Demeter also was transformed / engaged with the injustice done to her and her daughter.
embraced her righteous anger / launched the first embargo.
feminine protest, not of attack and violence – but withholding of resources
Gods were forced to acknowledge her power/power of the feminine,
brought them to their knees.
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Megan Wagner, M.A., author The Sapphire Staff: Walking the Western Mystical Way,
all experience abductions / taken into bowels of Underworld > confront our personal Hades
o death of someone close to us, the divorce of our parents, or our own divorce.
o loss of a career, a traumatic move, or a serious health crisis.
The pain and loss can be excruciating / many forms: shame, guilt, regret, anger, hatred,
betrayal, sadness, grief.
have many opportunities to escape our pain, our true feelings.
o numb out with alcohol, drugs, food, cigarettes, shopping, partying, or television.
numb ourselves rather than sitting with our pain, or process our feelings, we distance
ourselves from our emotions and our instincts.
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lose the ability to recognize them; begin to doubt our feelings and our true needs.
myth ends with the promise of Plutous, child of plenty.
Pluto is another name for Hades/ means “bringer of riches.”
In Eleusian mysteries deep in the underground chambers during the ritual a gong was
sounded and a voice cried out “The Mistress has given birth to a Holy Boy”.
The Queen of the Dead has given birth – Birth in death is possible – symbolizing rebirth
symbolizing transformative qualities of our own underworld –
the shadow realm, the time we spend in hell overwhelmed with the traumas of our life.
By sitting with her emotional pain, Persephone models how to both survive and heal from
the trauma can lead to rebirth and transformation.
Persephone shows us how to be present with ourselves even when trapped in descent to
underworld.
present and sitting with emotional pain > learn to be aware of our feelings
evolve into the queen of our own underworld, or our own subconscious.
Being present with feelings, not running or stuffing, helps us mature and become wise.
Changed Their Stories
 Both Goddesses began the myth trapped in their stories- disempowered, helpless,
vulnerable
 Through the course of their experience both changed their story
 Demeter – active /went into rage, feminine protest and held her stand unto victory
 Persephone – passive/ dragged into the underworld / sat with her pain> consciously aware
 became Queen of her inner realm > achieve awareness – awakening.
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Both emerged from their trauma – not filled with vengeance and anger –
realization of the pain and limitations of humankind / kept trapped in their story of
domination, death and destruction.
created out of trauma a new religion that lasted for 1500 years – into the 4th Century AD
Civilized men with the knowledge of agriculture,
Taught respect for the Feminine and the cycles of life
freed mankind from the fear of death.
THE DESCENT OF INANNA
According to an ancient Sumerian myth, one day Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, turns her
ear to the “deep below” and begins to journey into the underworld desiring to understand the
meaning of life and death. She has heard that her sister’s husband, Gugalanna, the Bull of
Heaven, has died, and she desires to attend his funeral and comfort her sister, Ereshkigal, the
Queen of the Underworld.
So Inanna dresses herself in all the fine symbols that represent her prestige in the world, each
representing a different chakra: Her glorious crown of the steppe, the small lapis bead necklace,
the double strand of beads that fall to her breast, the royal robes that she wraps around her
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body, the bound breast-plate called “come, man, come,” slides the golden bracelet onto her
wrist, and the lapis measuring rod and line which she carries in her hand.
Then Inanna alerts her trusted servant and companion, Ninshubar, of her journey and tells her
that if she does not return in three days Ninshubar is to go to the temples of the male gods,
Enlil, Nanna and Enki to plead and weep for her return.
Then Inanna sets out on her journey. She approaches the first of the seven gates of the
underworld and knocks loudly and announces who she is, “I am Inanna, Queen of Heaven, I
come to console my older sister, Ereshkigal, and attend the funeral rites of her husband.”
Neti, the gatekeeper leaves to consult with Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal commands that at each of the
seven gates one of Inanna's symbols of prestige must be removed. Possibly she is being required
to sacrifice something from each of her Chakras. This is done.
At the first gate Inanna is told to remove her crown. She protests but is told;
“Hush Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect.
They may not be questioned. “
At the second gate despite her protest she must remove her beautiful lapis necklace
At the third gate she is forced to remove her double strands of beads from her breast.
At the fourth gate under continued protest she removes her breastplate call “Come, man,
come.”
At the fifth gate she is instructed to remove her golden bracelet. When she again protests, she is
once again told,
“Hush Inanna, the ways of the Underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned.”
At the sixth gate the lapis measuring rod and line are taken from her hand.
At the seventh gate, despite her loud protests, the royal robe is removed from her body.
So at each gate Inanna sheds one the symbols of who she is in the world until she is stripped
bare. She has made the ultimate sacrifice. Naked and bowed low she enters the throne room.
Ereshkigal rises from her throne. Inanna moves toward the throne, the Annuna, the judges of
the underworld, surround Inanna and pass judgment upon her.
Then Ereshkigal fixes upon Inanna the “eye of death.” She speaks words of anger and rage. She
cries out words of Inanna’s guilt. Then she strikes Inanna turning her into a corpse, a piece of
rotting meat, and hangs her from a meat hook on the wall.
When Inanna does not return after three days, Ninshubar seeks out the ruling father gods
pleading for Inanna’s life. It is finally Enki, Inanna’s maternal grandfather, who agrees to help.
Enki honors the ancestral mother line and understands the significance of the journey that
Inanna has undertaken.
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Enki sends the kurgarra and galatur, who are small non-human creatures, to the underworld to
find Ereshkigal. She is in labor about to give birth. The kurgarra and galatur were instructed by
Enki to be empathetic to Ereshkigal’s pain and to mirror her emotions.
When they find Ereshkigal there is no one to attend her. No linen covers her body; her breast
are bare. She is moaning in agony, the agony of labor.
The kurgara and the galatur hear her moan and begin to mirror her cries.
Oh my insides! - Oh your insides!
Oh my belly! - Oh your belly!
Oh my back! - Oh your back!
Sound familiar to you who have given birth?
Ereshkigal, upon hearing them moan with her, is comforted feeling that her pain has finally
been heard. She is grateful for their compassion and offers them any request.
They ask for Inanna’s corpse. Ereshkigal is surprised and offers them many more ‘worthy’ gifts,
but they insist. So Inanna’s corpse is given to them. Inanna is brought back to life.
Inanna is reborn and now has new knowledge and a deeper understanding of life and death. No
one can leave the underworld alive, however, without sending a replacement in return. Inanna
is accompanied by the galla who will seize her replacement and take him or her back to the
underworld.
Upon her return she encounters Ninshubar and her sons who are deep in mourning for her and
decides she cannot send them to the underworld. Then she finds her consort, Dumuzi, seated
on her throne, dressed in her royal robes and celebrating his new position and power that he
has assumed in Inanna’s absence.
It is Dumuzi, her beloved, whom Inanna selects to replace her. Inanna fastens on Dumuzi the
“eye of death” and consigns him to the underworld. Dumuzi pleads for his life and at first is able
to escape. But Dumuzi cannot escape his own journey to the underworld. He is eventually
seized and dragged against his will to the great below. Inanna grieves bitterly for the loss of her
beloved:
Gone is my husband, my sweet husband
Gone is my love, my sweet love.
My beloved bridegroom has been taken from me
Dumuzi’s mother and his sister, Geshtinanna, grieve passionately for Dumuzi. Geshtinanna
walks through the streets of Uruk grieving. She begs to be allowed to replace Dumuzi.
Inanna is stirred by Geshtinanna’s words of grief. Deeply touched her wrath dissipates, and she
relents allowing Geshtinanna to share Dumuzi’s fate. From that time forward Dumuzi would
descend to the underworld in the fall and would not return until spring bringing fertility and new
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life with him. At springtime Geshtinanna would descend to take his place. Thereafter, in
springtime, the Sumerians celebrated the return of Dumuzi to Inanna, who brought with him the
potent sexual energy that insured fertility and new life.
Adapted from Uncursing the Dark by Betty Meador, and from Inanna, Queen of Heaven
and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Kramer
Why did Inanna make this Journey?
How many women do you know made a journey to the underworld because their
brother-in-law passed away?
Was she just bored? But a strange journey to take out of boredom!
Prequel to the Descent of Inanna – Why she made the journey
 myth doesn’t include is the prequel
 the story of just how Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, was killed.
 credit Marguerite Rigoglioso
 Inanna northern Mesopotamia counterpart - Ishtar.
 viewed as one and the same Goddess, different names /serve different regions.
 Inanna/Ishtar.
 myth about Ishtar and Gilgamesh
 Ishtar - goddess of love / annual sacred marriage ritual.
 consort crowned king / lavished with attention honor / erotic ritualized lovemaking with
Ishtar.
 king is ritually sacrificed.
 critical to the health and wellbeing of the community
 sacrifice releases karma for thousands of souls
 freed from samsara wheel of pain, struggle, lack, and hopelessness.
 gift of immortality.
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Gilgamesh defiant / refuses sacrifice.
defies tradition/ reneges responsibility of Karma / rebukes and rejects Ishtar.
sets out to find his immortality “Hero’s Journey” = “Coward’s Journey”.
Jesus willingly submitted / realized the significance of King’s sacrifice
Ishtar furious. / first glance ( patriarchy)- her feminine vanity that is wounded.
humiliated –Blow to ego and she is enraged / demands Bull of Heaven be sent to slay
Gilgamesh.
Ishtar is insulted and disgraced = Yet there was a far deeper offense.
o Gilgamesh had sacred duty, responsibility / Sacred Marriage Consorts had
always sacrificed for the good of humanity.
o Voluntarily took on the role as savior/ rewarded with immortality.
o Gilgamesh first to defy this sacred and holy duty.
o upset the balance of humanity / left thousands to suffer in despair and
hopelessness.
Ishtar was furious > Gilgamesh lacked moral character to follow through on his
responsibility.
demanded retribution /the Bull of Heaven was sent to slay Gilgamesh.
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twist of fate, unexpected happens.
Gilgamesh is able to slay the Bull of Heaven – Ereshkigal’s husband.
Inanna responsible for death of Gugalanna, making her sister, Ereshkigal, a widow.
This puts a different light on the story doesn’t it?
Transpersonal Interpretation of the Descent of Inanna
 Inanna’s descent /face her own Karma > death of Gugalanna and upsetting the balance of
the universe why she had to sacrifice from each chakra, signs of her roles, prestige and
power.
 reason for Ereshkigal’s words of wrath and allegations of guilt.
o verbalizing her rage at Inanna’s for her responsibility in the death of her husband.
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When we descend into shadow we are stripped bare; wee see the unpleasant aspects of
ourselves
We are raw because what we see may not be pretty.
o jealousy, meanness, greed, gluttony, lack of though and care for others, there may
have been legal altercations, damage and harm may have been inflicted on others –
emotionally or physically.
all equal in the underworld – stripped bare - our roles, our prestige, our titles, our authority
-mean nothing!
eye of death confronts Inanna revealing her shadow beliefs and behaviors – guilt, shame,
rejection, failure, and egotism.
She sits like Persephone – rather hangs on the meat hook - gains new understanding
eyes are opened, > awakened during her transformative journey.
She doesn’t hide; doesn’t run, or stuff it. She sits with it.
She’s rescued when she gains new understanding / ‘the eye of death’
o Now can see into the shadow, the pain, vulnerabilities, and limitations of others.
Inanna must send someone in her place
 She is now an initiator/priestess/ / guides for others in their own work the shadows
Those doing their work /remained faithful to path – Ninshubar and her sons –not send to
underworld – already doing their work.
Dumuzi, beloved consort, sees him for who he is
 self-involved playboy who seeks only pleasure
 leading a superficial and unexamined life.
 Dumuzi sent to underworld.
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realizes each must undergo own journey. No one can be saved from it.
Dumuzi pleads to escape his own journey. / resists and tries to escape.
prefers to be coddled pleasure-seeking playboy/consort.

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women, especially with co-dependent tendencies, attempt to protect loved ones.
Protecting prevents loved ones from experiencing own journey – learnown lessons.
Inanna’s “eye of death” / metaphorical / each person must undergo their descent
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23

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cannot be protected from it.
new understanding/ Inanna releases Dumuzi, her great love, to his own descent.
how we grow. don’t grow from ease and abundance; grow/learn from our challenges.
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Maureen Murdock, / Heroine’s Journey, / Geshtinanna, Dumezi’s sister,
represents new wise woman / willing to accept her path, even to underworld.
wise woman understands the cycle of descent and ascent
willing to confront it in order to experience full spectrum of what it means to be human.
being willing to confront the underworld and her own shadow,
o breaks the pattern of scapegoating and blaming others.
o learns self-awareness
o grows in wisdom and in her understanding of the meaning of life and death.
o becomes awakened.
o From that knowledge she derives strength and courage > embrace life more fully.
(Murdock 109)
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Our culture focuses on pleasure and freedom from pain
When fearful, anxious, depressed – take a pill
Sad, disappointed – go party


Deep transformational journey into the shadow realm is not encouraged or valued
Still not mainstream to meditate daily
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



Old saying – the unexamined life is not worth living
For you here, we are examining our lives – we are awakening –
May seem intense and heavy – but is the way to true joy
Freeing ourselves from the unconscious voices of our ego that pull us down
Will enable us to stay in pleasure and happiness for longer and longer periods of time.
Who really wants drama?



It’s draining
saps our sense of peace and our connection to the Divine
which is our source of wisdom and joy

For those in Priestess Training - or who want to enter the Priestess Training – it is even
more important that you do this shadow work – that you stay clear and clean and not
driven by your egoic self
The more you advance to greater awareness, the more sever the Karma you incur if you
fall out of integrity.

The Descent of Inanna
According to an ancient Sumerian myth, one day Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, turns her
ear to the “deep below” and begins to journey into the underworld desiring to understand the
meaning of life and death. She has heard that her sister’s husband, Gugalanna, the Bull of
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24
Heaven, has died, and she desires to attend his funeral and comfort her sister, Ereshkigal, the
Queen of the Underworld.
So Inanna dresses herself in all the fine symbols that represent her prestige in the world, each
representing a different chakra: Her glorious crown of the steppe, the small lapis bead necklace,
the double strand of beads that fall to her breast, the royal robes that she wraps around her
body, the bound breast-plate called “come, man, come,” slides the golden bracelet onto her
wrist, and the lapis measuring rod and line which she carries in her hand.
Then Inanna alerts her trusted servant and companion, Ninshubar, of her journey and tells her
that if she does not return in three days Ninshubar is to go to the temples of the male gods,
Enlil, Nanna and Enki to plead and weep for her return.
Then Inanna sets out on her journey. She approaches the first of the seven gates of the
underworld and knocks loudly and announces who she is, “I am Inanna, Queen of Heaven, I
come to console my older sister, Ereshkigal, and attend the funeral rites of her husband.”
Neti, the gatekeeper leaves to consult with Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal commands that at each of the
seven gates one of Inanna's symbols of prestige must be removed. Possibly she is being required
to sacrifice something from each of her Chakras. This is done.
At the first gate Inanna is told to remove her crown. She protests but is told;
“Hush Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect.
They may not be questioned. “
At the second gate despite her protest she must remove her beautiful lapis necklace
At the third gate she is forced to remove her double strands of beads from her breast.
At the fourth gate under continued protest she removes her breastplate call “Come, man,
come.”
At the fifth gate she is instructed to remove her golden bracelet. When she again protests, she is
once again told,
“Hush Inanna, the ways of the Underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned.”
At the sixth gate the lapis measuring rod and line are taken from her hand.
At the seventh gate, despite her loud protests, the royal robe is removed from her body.
So at each gate Inanna sheds one the symbols of who she is in the world until she is stripped
bare. She has made the ultimate sacrifice. Naked and bowed low she enters the throne room.
Ereshkigal rises from her throne. Inanna moves toward the throne, the Annuna, the judges of
the underworld, surround Inanna and pass judgment upon her.
Then Ereshkigal fixes upon Inanna the “eye of death.” She speaks words of anger and rage. She
cries out words of Inanna’s guilt. Then she strikes Inanna turning her into a corpse, a piece of
rotting meat, and hangs her from a meat hook on the wall.
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
25
When Inanna does not return after three days, Ninshubar seeks out the ruling father gods
pleading for Inanna’s life. It is finally Enki, Inanna’s maternal grandfather, who agrees to help.
Enki honors the ancestral mother line and understands the significance of the journey that
Inanna has undertaken.
Enki sends the kurgarra and galatur, who are small non-human creatures, to the underworld to
find Ereshkigal. She is in labor about to give birth. The kurgarra and galatur were instructed by
Enki to be empathetic to Ereshkigal’s pain and to mirror her emotions.
When they find Ereshkigal there is no one to attend her. No linen covers her body; her breast
are bare. She is moaning in agony, the agony of labor.
The kurgara and the galatur hear her moan and begin to mirror her cries.
Oh my insides! - Oh your insides!
Oh my belly! - Oh your belly!
Oh my back! - Oh your back!
Sound familiar to you who have given birth?
Ereshkigal, upon hearing them moan with her, is comforted feeling that her pain has finally
been heard. She is grateful for their compassion and offers them any request.
They ask for Inanna’s corpse. Ereshkigal is surprised and offers them many more ‘worthy’ gifts,
but they insist. So Inanna’s corpse is given to them. Inanna is brought back to life.
Inanna is reborn and now has new knowledge and a deeper understanding of life and death. No
one can leave the underworld alive, however, without sending a replacement in return. Inanna
is accompanied by the galla who will seize her replacement and take him or her back to the
underworld.
Upon her return she encounters Ninshubar and her sons who are deep in mourning for her and
decides she cannot send them to the underworld. Then she finds her consort, Dumuzi, seated
on her throne, dressed in her royal robes and celebrating his new position and power that he
has assumed in Inanna’s absence.
It is Dumuzi, her beloved, whom Inanna selects to replace her. Inanna fastens on Dumuzi the
“eye of death” and consigns him to the underworld. Dumuzi pleads for his life and at first is able
to escape. But Dumuzi cannot escape his own journey to the underworld. He is eventually
seized and dragged against his will to the great below. Inanna grieves bitterly for the loss of her
beloved:
Gone is my husband, my sweet husband
Gone is my love, my sweet love.
My beloved bridegroom has been taken from me
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
26
Dumuzi’s mother and his sister, Geshtinanna, grieve passionately for Dumuzi. Geshtinanna
walks through the streets of Uruk grieving. She begs to be allowed to replace Dumuzi.
Inanna is stirred by Geshtinanna’s words of grief. Deeply touched her wrath dissipates, and she
relents allowing Geshtinanna to share Dumuzi’s fate. From that time forward Dumuzi would
descend to the underworld in the fall and would not return until spring bringing fertility and new
life with him. At springtime Geshtinanna would descend to take his place. Thereafter, in
springtime, the Sumerians celebrated the return of Dumuzi to Inanna, who brought with him the
potent sexual energy that insured fertility and new life.
Adapted from Uncursing the Dark by Betty Meador, and from Inanna, Queen of Heaven
and Earth by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Kramer
Why did Inanna make this Journey?
How many women do you know made a journey to the underworld because their
brother-in-law passed away?
Was she just bored? But a strange journey to take out of boredom!
Prequel to the Descent of Inanna – Why she made the journey
 myth doesn’t include is the prequel
 the story of just how Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, was killed.
 credit Marguerite Rigoglioso
 Inanna northern Mesopotamia counterpart - Ishtar.
 viewed as one and the same Goddess, different names /serve different regions.
 Inanna/Ishtar.
 myth about Ishtar and Gilgamesh
 Ishtar - goddess of love / annual sacred marriage ritual.
 consort crowned king / lavished with attention honor / erotic ritualized lovemaking with
Ishtar.
 king is ritually sacrificed.
 critical to the health and wellbeing of the community
 sacrifice releases karma for thousands of souls
 freed from samsara wheel of pain, struggle, lack, and hopelessness.
 gift of immortality.
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Gilgamesh defiant / refuses sacrifice.
defies tradition/ reneges responsibility of Karma / rebukes and rejects Ishtar.
sets out to find his immortality “Hero’s Journey” = “Coward’s Journey”.
Jesus willingly submitted / realized the significance of King’s sacrifice
Ishtar furious. / first glance ( patriarchy)- her feminine vanity that is wounded.
humiliated –Blow to ego and she is enraged / demands Bull of Heaven be sent to slay
Gilgamesh.
Ishtar is insulted and disgraced = Yet there was a far deeper offense.
o Gilgamesh had sacred duty, responsibility / Sacred Marriage Consorts had
always sacrificed for the good of humanity.
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27
o
o
o
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Voluntarily took on the role as savior/ rewarded with immortality.
Gilgamesh first to defy this sacred and holy duty.
upset the balance of humanity / left thousands to suffer in despair and
hopelessness.
Ishtar was furious > Gilgamesh lacked moral character to follow through on his
responsibility.
demanded retribution /the Bull of Heaven was sent to slay Gilgamesh.
twist of fate, unexpected happens.
Gilgamesh is able to slay the Bull of Heaven – Ereshkigal’s husband.
Inanna responsible for death of Gugalanna, making her sister, Ereshkigal, a widow.
This puts a different light on the story doesn’t it?
Transpersonal Interpretation of the Descent of Inanna
 Inanna’s descent /face her own Karma > death of Gugalanna and upsetting the balance of
the universe why she had to sacrifice from each chakra, signs of her roles, prestige and
power.
 reason for Ereshkigal’s words of wrath and allegations of guilt.
o verbalizing her rage at Inanna’s for her responsibility in the death of her husband.
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When we descend into shadow we are stripped bare; wee see the unpleasant aspects of
ourselves
We are raw because what we see may not be pretty.
o jealousy, meanness, greed, gluttony, lack of though and care for others, there may
have been legal altercations, damage and harm may have been inflicted on others –
emotionally or physically.
all equal in the underworld – stripped bare - our roles, our prestige, our titles, our authority
-mean nothing!
eye of death confronts Inanna revealing her shadow beliefs and behaviors – guilt, shame,
rejection, failure, and egotism.
She sits like Persephone – rather hangs on the meat hook - gains new understanding
eyes are opened, > awakened during her transformative journey.
She doesn’t hide; doesn’t run, or stuff it. She sits with it.
She’s rescued when she gains new understanding / ‘the eye of death’
o Now can see into the shadow, the pain, vulnerabilities, and limitations of others.
Inanna must send someone in her place
 She is now an initiator/priestess/ / guides for others in their own work the shadows
Those doing their work /remained faithful to path – Ninshubar and her sons –not send to
underworld – already doing their work.
Dumuzi, beloved consort, sees him for who he is
 self-involved playboy who seeks only pleasure
 leading a superficial and unexamined life.
 Dumuzi sent to underworld.
realizes each must undergo own journey. No one can be saved from it.
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
28


Dumuzi pleads to escape his own journey. / resists and tries to escape.
prefers to be coddled pleasure-seeking playboy/consort.






women, especially with co-dependent tendencies, attempt to protect loved ones.
Protecting prevents loved ones from experiencing own journey – learnown lessons.
Inanna’s “eye of death” / metaphorical / each person must undergo their descent
cannot be protected from it.
new understanding/ Inanna releases Dumuzi, her great love, to his own descent.
how we grow. don’t grow from ease and abundance; grow/learn from our challenges.





Maureen Murdock, / Heroine’s Journey, / Geshtinanna, Dumezi’s sister,
represents new wise woman / willing to accept her path, even to underworld.
wise woman understands the cycle of descent and ascent
willing to confront it in order to experience full spectrum of what it means to be human.
being willing to confront the underworld and her own shadow,
o breaks the pattern of scapegoating and blaming others.
o learns self-awareness
o grows in wisdom and in her understanding of the meaning of life and death.
o becomes awakened.
o From that knowledge she derives strength and courage > embrace life more fully.
(Murdock 109)



Our culture focuses on pleasure and freedom from pain
When fearful, anxious, depressed – take a pill
Sad, disappointed – go party


Deep transformational journey into the shadow realm is not encouraged or valued
Still not mainstream to meditate daily





Old saying – the unexamined life is not worth living
For you here, we are examining our lives – we are awakening –
May seem intense and heavy – but is the way to true joy
Freeing ourselves from the unconscious voices of our ego that pull us down
Will enable us to stay in pleasure and happiness for longer and longer periods of time.
Who really wants drama?



It’s draining
saps our sense of peace and our connection to the Divine
which is our source of wisdom and joy

For those in Priestess Training - or who want to enter the Priestess Training – it is even
more important that you do this shadow work – that you stay clear and clean and not
driven by your egoic self
The more you advance to greater awareness, the more sever the Karma you incur if you
fall out of integrity.

© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
29
---------------------------------------------------
THE ROLES WE PLAY
We must shed our roles to find who we truly are
The Four Archetypes of Survival
• Child
• Victim
• Prostitute
• Saboteur
Light Attribute
Highlights your fear of self-empowerment and the changes it would bring to your life.
Shadow Attribute
Induces self-destructive behavior or the desire to undermine others.
Characteristics: Sabotages opportunities or aborts dreams.
Positive Roles Aid Our Growth
Teacher
Healer
Positive Core Beliefs Support Us
Negative Core Beliefs Handicap Us
I’m not good enough
I can’t upset you cause you might get mad and stop loving me
In order to be loved I have to be like you want me to be
Ereshkigal gives Birth to the Awakened Inanna
EXERCISE - ARTISTIC IMAGERY TO IDENTIFY AND NAME OF YOUR SHADOW
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The face of our shadow lurks within the depths of our subconscious, often unseen and
unrecognized
Through guided imagery and art we can identify, see, and name our shadow,
then can work with shadow persona in order to relinquish its hold over us
You may have more that one shadow persona, but one who is your primary
We will work with this one for this exercise.
Others may be identified. You may note them / work with them later if you would like, but
for today only work with your primary persona
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30

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Focused concentration on shadow work for too long a period of time can lead to inner
imbalance
We need balance – equal parts of joy, happiness, fun, lightness in our lives.
If shadow work becomes too uncomfortable or burdensome – take a break and do
something more mundane.
Refocusing like this will help you to stay grounded and present.
We are going to do a guided visualization to help you unveil your shadow persona.
After the meditation – journal exercise – journal pages in your manual.
 Take a moment to find them now.
After the meditation stay in silence until you complete the journal exercise.
Danger of Talking
o will pull you into your conscious mind
o might lose some of the insight and understanding you discovered while in
working in the shadow realm of your subc0nscious
Meditation: Underground Cavern of your Shadow Mask (adapted from Dark Moon Mysteries
by Timothy Roderick)
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Connect to light
Clear
Protect
Call up on Archangel Michael
Ground

Take a deep breath exhale – feel self lifted up and spiraled through time and space to far
away land of the shadow
When you land / see a figure in front of you/ vision clears you see it is Hecate –
With the three-headed Cerberus – the Hounds of Hell.
Hecate is here to guide you on your journey –
Cerberus is here for your protection.
 looks fierce –can scratch his ear and he tries to lick your hand
 bond and he know that you are now in his protection
Hecate carries a torch in one hand to light the way. / other hand she carries a staff.
She turns to lead the way / taps the ground 3 times with her staff.
hear a rumble / ground begins to shake / earth opens revealing a gaping hole
o a tunnel with a marble staircase descending deep into the ground
Spirals downward clockwise
Small candles flicker in niches carved out of wall giving right amount of light
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© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
31
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Walls are smooth cold marble, occasionally Sigils made out of metal adorn walls
Take note of which symbol is most prominent. Will be the symbol of your primary persona
Touch symbol of primary – rough, smooth – trace with your finger – the give a tug. It will
easily come away from the wall
Carry it with you.
Feel cold weight of it in your hands – you can see it 3 dimensionally from all angles
You will easily remember it as if it is printed on your memory
At bottom – find great ancient wooden door – as if entering the chambers of a grand
underground kingdom
Try door – locked
Keyhole oddly shaped – Hecate motions to the symbol you carry in your hand
Indicates that you can unlock the door with this – it is your key
Open the door
As you pull it open the great door creeks and groans – for it’s been a long time since anyone
has opened the door and it’s hinges are rusted with disuse
Enter room – cold and dark inside
Except from one point of illumination.
You and Hecate walk toward the illumination and see that it is a mask hanging on the wall
that is light up.
o Represents your primary shadow persona
From the light from Hecate’s torch you see that the walls of this great chamber that has be
carved out of a great chamber I lined with masks. All shapes, all sizes of all the shadow
personals that could possibly exist
Some plain, some pleasant, some full of rage, some full of grief and sadness, some
frightening to look at
Turn back to the one that is illuminated
Take it down and examine it
Inside is its name – take note of the name
Take note of what it looks like, what color/colors is it. How big is it? What is it made of
Put the mask on and ask “What is the story behind this shadow persona? How can I change
that story?
Listen for the answer…….
What can I have to learn from this shadow persona?
Listen……
What does this shadow persona keep me from doing?
Listen….…
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After you’ve queried the mask, take it off and put back on its hook
Take one more note of what it looks like
Exit the chamber
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32
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Lock the door with the symbol
As you climb the stairs you can place the symbol anywhere on the wall and it will stick.
Continue the long climb back to the top of the stairs, this time moving more quickly than
before
AT top, bid goodbye to Hecate and thank her for her guidance
Pet the Cerberus
Take a deep breath
As you exhale spiral right back to this place and this time
In chair
Feet on floor
Body in chair
Air on your face.
Open your eyes.
Journal sheets
Take 10 minutes to journal answering the questions provided.
Stay in silence. Talking will bring you back up to the conscious level and you will lose some of the
juice.
Journal Questions
Make a quick drawing of your shadow persona’s face. We will be making masks of our shadow
persona and taking the time to make this quick sketch will help you later.

What is the name of your shadow persona?
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What is your story - the story that creates the identity of your false self, or your shadow
persona?

How do you keep playing your part in your story? How do you keep the story alive?

The part you play in your story IS your shadow persona. What effect does this shadow
persona have on your life?
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What does this shadow persona keep you from accomplishing?

What actions must you take to free yourself from the grip your shadow persona has on
your life?

What have you learned from your shadow persona?
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
33
Draw a mask of what your personal looks like. You may ask Joy for a template of the masks if
you do not have one. [email protected]
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
34
Part 2 to read before the Mask exercise
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Making a physical representation or a mask of you shadow personal can be liberating
It’s empowering – more control over your shadow when you can hold it out and really
look at it.
By externalizing – know what it is made of – see its weaknesses, vulnerabilities, the lies,
and the truths
You can loosen its grip on you and your life, making it easier for you to step sustain your
true essence for longer and longer periods of time.
© 2014 Joy Reichard. All Rights Reserved * 415-819-8769 * healingwithjoy.net * [email protected]
35