#innana

Descent - Shadow work, grief rituals, ancestral healing

Resurrection - Rebirth after endings, new identity shaping

Erotic Power - Self-pleasure, sovereign sexuality, creative fire

Divine Authority - Boundaries, claiming space, commanding respect

And so here, upon this first gate, i relinquish my heavenly robes, silk of which has ordained my being since time immemorial, of which has represented my blanket over the heavens and dominion of love, gentle as it may be, so i may descend to maintain it,

And as i step through this gate, down to the mortal realm i can feel the heat of mortality, and the weight of life bare down upon my being

Thus

I journey deeper,

And so here, upon this second gate, I divest myself of the veil of the cosmos, the stars that had guided me as i guided them, the lights of life of which i cherish so much, so i may descend to protect them,

And as i step through this gate, to the chasms of this world, i can feel the darkness of isolation, poking and prodding at my form, pleading at any crack to wriggle its way into so it may make me as it is now- cold, alone, lost.

Thus

I journey deeper,

And so here, upon this third gate, i leave behind my gilded necklace, divine jewelry carrying the eye of heaven, the physical remnant of my infinite gaze, one so gentle and tender to coddle the earth, now blighted by darkness, so i may descend to cleanse it,

And as i step through this gate, to the entrance of the underworld, i can feel the temptation of sin, the infernal desire that permeates all mortal soul, yet now is twisted into something much darker, much more primal, and it claws at my skin, wishing to break me,

Thus

I journey deeper,

And so here, upon this fourth gate, I strip myself of my golden rings, symbols of my marriage to life, to love, to beauty, to war, and to the glory it protects, but still i hold these in my heart, as now i become love, and now i become life, and now i become war, and now i move to protect it, so i may descend to enact it,

And as i step through this gate, to the river of styx, i can feel the stream of a thousand dying wills; humanities and hopes crying for help, their elongated formless limbs reaching for me, and so do i wish i may save them, but they are no more than formless whispers of what used to be a mans desire,

Thus

I journey deeper,

And so here, upon this fifth gate, I bare my feet, my sandals discarded as my naked soles are left to scrape the jagged stone of this hellish realm, and upon it do i feel the sorrow of a thousand men past digging into my feet as i lay my spirit naked to mortal vulnerability, so i may descend to guide it,

And as i step through this gate, passing through tartarus itself, the weight of divine darkness now bears upon my ever weakening soul, closer and closer to mortality i am, as my feeble blood leaks from my nude feet and traces my path across these jagged stones, and i can feel his corruptive gaze upon me,

Thus

I journey deeper

And so here, upon this sixth gate, I abandon my final garments, and so my body is exposed, naked against the oppressive infinity of darkness, soft against the violent stone and gentle against the harsh gust, no longer am i protected, no longer am i safe, but as i am bare against the abyss, so too, is it bare against the flame of my warrior heart, and the heat of my love, so i may descend, to wield it,

And as i step through this gate, passing into the deepest layers of the abyss, where existence itself pulls my bare form from west to east and north to south, desperate in its attempt to rip me apart and feast upon the divinity left in my form, on my feeble, frail, skin can i feel the claws of darkness, the gaze of the night born, and before me i know what i must do,

Thus

I journey deeper

And so finally, upon this finale gate, my divinity shall fade from my very soul, and i can feel infinity- fleeting from my now mortal soul, and i feel the heavy burden of life, and i now understand what it means to love in finite time, and fight for time beyond you, as is now my mission, so i’ve descended, to complete it,

And in his wicked chambers i step, his guards parting way, for mortal i may be, but weak i am not, and from my gaze they know the fury of my war and the blaze of my love and that even in the underworld they may burn shall they dare to stand before my way,

Thus

I stand before him

God of night, in his boundless arrogance, he stares with wicked contempt as his voice- infested with sin and filth- booms across the realm,

“Inanna, how foolish may you be? I’ve heard that love is blind but are you yourself aswell? Do you believe, naked, bare, before me, you can stand? Or is it a show youve come to give me, if offered, I’ll gladly dig in” His foul expression contorts into a terrible smile,