“Ishtar” by Selina French
“Ishtar’s themes are love, fertility, passion, sexuality, and the moon. Her symbols are a star, the moon, lions and doves. In Babylon, Ishtar encompasses the fullness of womanhood, including being a maternal nurtures, an independent companion, an inspired bed partner, and an insightful advisor in matters of the heart. Having descended from Venus (the planet that governs romance), She is the moon, the morning star and the evening star, which inspire lovers everywhere to stop for a moment, look up and dare to dream. Saturday is Ishtar’s traditional temple day, and Her sacred animals include a lion and a dove.
Babylonians give Ishtar offerings of food and drink on this day. They then joined in ritual acts of lovemaking, which in turn invoked Ishtar’s favor on the region and its people to promote continued health and fruitfulness. If you’d like to connect with this fertile energy but have no bed partner, a magical alternative is using symbolism. Place a knife (or athame, a ritual dagger often representing the masculine divine or the two-edged sword of magic) in a cup filled with water. This represents the union of yin and yang. Leave this is a spot where it will remain undisturbed all day to dray Ishtar’s loving warmth to your home and heart.
If you have any clothes, jewellery or towels that have a star or moon on them, take them out and use them today. Ishtar abides in that symbolism. As you don the item, likewise accept Ishtar’s mantle of passion for whatever tasks you have to undertake all day.”
(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)
“Semiramis” by kk-graphics
“Ishtar is the Babylonian Goddess of Love and War, embodied in the two aspects of the planet Venus–as Evening Star, She brings lovers to celebration and bed; and as the Morning Star, She brings the fiery sword of War. She represents one of the many faces of the ancient Near Eastern Great Goddess, among them the Phoenicians Asherat or Ashtoreth (in Greek Astarte) and Anat, Sumerian Inanna, Phrygian Cybele, and Greek Aphrodite, most of whom share legends of dying and resurrected lovers.
As Goddess of love and sex, Ishtar is the force that draws mates together and brings fertility, both for humans and animals. She is Goddess of courtesans, and sacred prostitution was part of Her cult. She is Herself a harlot who took many lovers.
A Neo-Assyrian seal (circa 750-650 BC) of Ishtar (at left) standing with her bow on her mythical lion.
As Goddess of war, Ishtar takes part in battle and is shown standing on the back of a lion bearing bow and arrows. She was known for a fiery and fickle temper which usually spelled doom for Her lovers.
“Innana, Queen of Heaven” by buechnerstod
One of Ishtar’s lovers was the grain-god Tammuz (who still has a Jewish month named after Him). He died young (as the grain is cut just as it reaches the perfection of ripeness), and some legends imply that Ishtar had a hand in His death. But Ishtar was inconsolable and determined to fetch him back from the Underworld. At each of the seven gates of the Land of the Dead Ishtar, like Inanna, was required to give over an article of clothing or jewelry until finally She came naked and humbled before Her sister Queen Ereshkigal, who then imprisoned Ishtar.
The world mourned for the lost Goddess of love, and Her father Sin the Moon God sent an envoy armed with powerful magic who successfully rescued Her. Tammuz was eventually also brought back to live in the land of the gods. The Descent of Ishtar was celebrated annually in Babylonian lands.
Epithets: The Star of Lamentation, Lady of Battles, Courtesan of the Gods” [1]
ASSOCIATIONS:
Pantheon: Sumerian
Element: Air
Sphere of Influence: Love and fertility
Preferred Colors: Gold and blue
Associated Symbol: 8 pointed star, reed bundle
Best Day to Work With: Friday
Suitable Offerings: Lapus Lazuli
Associated Planet: Venus [2]
Gemstones: Carnelian, coral, agate, brown jasper (orange stones), quartz crystal, moonstone, garnet [3]
Sources:
PaganNews.com, “Inanna/Ishtar“.
Took, Thalia. A-Muse-ing Grace Gallery, “Ishtar“.
Revel, Anita. igoddess.com, “Ishtar: unleash the feminine divine“.
Suggested Links:
Andarta, Boudicca. PaganPages.org, “Ishtar“.
Celestial Journey Therapy, “Who Is Goddess Ishtar?”
Enkidu, Leah. Shrine, “Return of the Holy Prostitute“.
Ishtara. Order of the White Moon, “Ishtar: unleash the feminine divine“.
Monaghan, Patricia. Goddesses in World Culture, “Queen of Heaven and Earth: Inanna-Ishtar of Mesopotamia” (p. 19 – 38).
Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network, “Ishtar“.
Revel, Anita. igoddess, “Ishtar“.
Took, Thalia. A-Muse-ing Grace Gallery, “The Tale of Ishtar“.
Wikipedia, “Ishtar“.
Journeying to the Goddess 
Queen of Passions, Goddess of Love, Goddess of War, Great Mother, Matriarch of Heaven…..
This line of names; Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Aphrodite, Venus, Inanna, Cybele- They or maybe She moves me in a way no other goddess type does. They are- to me- the power of woman, from maiden to lover to mother to matriarch to wise crone. They are the Warrior Queen that guided me when my life was so dark and bleak. They are the one that called to me in the darkness. Maybe I should go ahead and admit that I’m in love with The Warrior Mother, in all Her guises.
Beautifully and eloquently put – I love it!!! I thought of you when I was putting this together yesterday and figured you’d appreciate it with you new found Goddess tapping you on the shoulder and trying to get your attention 😉
She is a force to be reckoned with, a powerful and resilient Goddess indeed. She encompasses both sides of the coin (from love and fertility to war and death) and everything in-between – a circle complete and strong; not broken apart and divided (assigning other Goddesses Her attributes which would weaken Her). She is beautiful and deadly; loving, nurturing and healing, this Great Lady.
Is it any wonder that when the patriarchy and the supermale cult swept through that She could not be put down, eradicated or erased from history despite their best efforts? She survived, adapted and still lives. She has descended many times and re-emerges again and again, stronger than before. I agree with your thoughts when you say that She/They are “the power of woman”. Her very Essence, whatever name you call Her by (Inanna, Ishtar, Venus, Aphrodite, Anat, etc.) teaches us and guides us through our own descents; helps us emerge stronger with our new found wisdom to survive, evolve and adapt to whatever is thrown at us.
WE (women) are powerful and resilient, a force to be reckoned with – with the power and capability to bring life into this world and to love, nurture and heal. We also have the power and capability to take life, to swoop in like a hurricane – uncontrollable and wild. This is what scares the hell out of the patriarchy and that’s why they so desperately seek to control women and demonized the Goddesses who refused to lie down and submit (i.e. Lilith). This is why we are taught and institutionalized to think less or ourselves, to be subservient to men (because you know, after all, it was a woman responsible for the downfall of mankind in the eyes of God – now we all must pay), to hate and think poorly of everything feminine and consider it a weakness and dirty (i.e. our cycles, mood swings, dealing with blood, death, sickness). If we women rejected what society told us was a woman’s proper place, rejected it’s idea of impossible perfection, embraced what it meant to truly be woman and acknowledge our true power beautiful selves and our power, the patriarchy would be terrified and would try everything in it’s power to keep us down and demonize those that would stand up for equal rights and self autonomy, as we can see what’s happening now in our very own country…
Yes. I 100% agree and am grateful myself to have discovered Her as my Diety, I was lostbin my own dark decent, and Her Name kept coming to me as I was asking for my true Diety to make herself known to me through meditation.
I agree that we need to reclaim our power, but we should take care to remember that we are not superior either. We are all human, after all. Let women remember their power, and men their strength. Let women recall their cunning and men their wisdom. I think, more than anything else, we as a collective thing have forgotten our dignity and respect for one another, as well as ourselves. No one should be held to a lower place because of the way they were born. No one should be elevated by their birth either. I’ve had to earn everything I have. I am beginning to accept everything I am. Let’s lead the charge, shall we? 😉
“I think, more than anything else, we as a collective thing have forgotten our dignity and respect for one another, as well as ourselves.” – Oh, quite right. When we forget that the Divine is all around us and within each and everyone of us, it is too easy to view ourselves superior and regard others as inferior, to force our “power” and will on those who are “weaker” than us. It is my belief that we all contain the spark of the Divine. Equality is everything and balance is key and things have been way out of balance for way too long – thousands and thousands of years into present day; its time for a paradigm shift to rebalance everything out again, despite how painful it may be for others to relinquish the power they once enjoyed or we will destroy ourselves.
“I’ve had to earn everything I have.” – We reap what we sow. What we send out comes back to us. We must accept the Karma and consequences or our actions and inactions. Everything we do ripples out, farther than we may think. I am in complete agreement that we must be the change we want to see in the world – lead by example. I understand that life is not fair and that some of us must fight a little harder than others (some much more harder than others). Our experiences shape us into stronger individuals (if we learn and accept the lessons that we have been given to learn) with knowledge and wisdom as tools to share and use to help others.
On saying that, we all have our own gifts and talents that should be recognized and viewed as a contribution, no matter how “insignificant” or small they may be.
A close contact with these goddess is what i need and to know how she will be of benefit to me,a real consultant of the goddess pls
I have just recently been introduced to Ishtar and received a miraculous healing through her. Is there a mantra that I can use to connect with her?
How to call Ishtar for help?