INTO THE GREAT BELOW

Into the Great Below. A Devotional to Inanna and Ereshkigal, edited by Galina Krasskova, 2010

reviewed by Gisela Kranz

Galina Krasskova is known for her books on the Nordic traditions, and short ago she wrote about Inanna of Sumeria (South Iraq)!? I was astonished; on the other hand hadn´t I myself recently thought that Odin and Inanna have more in common than there appears at first sight? Both of them dedicated seekers for Truth, deliberate to give everthing, even their lives for Insight. Both perishing on their quest and resurrecting with wisdom; Odin bestowed with the magical lore of Runes and the Goddess of Desire filled with sympathy and a will for Harmony... In her foreword Galina Krasskova  says: “I owe both Inanna and Erishkigal a great debt. ... For several years I was mentored by a priestess of Inanna... Through Her emissary, this magnificent Goddess was one of my earliest teachers. It was not until I began my own group that I had the opportunity to learn at Erishkigal´s feet....Because of Her, I am better able to serve Odin efficiently and well.... I owe a debt...and this is my way of beginning repayment”.

The little book (125 pages) compiles prayers and rituals “from many different devotees united in their desire to honor these two great Godddesses.” (ii Foreword). There are 3 chapters: Devotionals to Inanna and Ereshkigal, Prayers to Other Sumerian Deities, and Rituals to Inanna and Ereshkigal. The book is layouted nicely, printed on fine paper, illustrated by pictures of contemporary  as well as of ancient Babylonian origin .

I believe that Erishkigal as portrayed in the myth of the Descent of Inanna is so creepy for most  people in the retinue of Isis that they rather turn to revere others of the remaining  9.999 names of the Great One. Some lines of the Ereshkigal incantations in this book sound creepy too, but they touched me, they helped me acknowledge my warm flow of sympathy for Ereshkigal, for Neti, her gatekeeper, and other “difficult” divine members of the Babylonian pantheon.

“Into the Great Below” is certainly not a book to read at ease. But when you need to meditate on Shadow, when you have to deal with loss and sorrow or encounter your ego having grown a bit inflated,  then these prayers and rites lay out proper paths for your own descent. Here are some lines:

from Elisabeth Barette´s `Erishkigal, Goddess of the Last Resort` (p.22):

“When the Heavens and the Earth had been created,

And all the spheres of influence claimed but one,

There remained the Underworld in need of mastery.

´What a nasty job`, said Enki.´No one wants it!`

With that, he discarded the key to the lapis palace.

´I`ll do it`, said Erishkigal.

And so she did. ...

The other goddesses and gods

May not like Ereshkigal much...

But they´d be lost without her.”

And from Raven Kaldera´s mystery-play `The Descent of Inanna` (p.103):

“When she entered the sixth gate,

From her hand the lapis measuring rod and line was removed.

Inanna asked: `What is this?´

She was told: `Quiet, Inanna,

The ways of the underworld are perfect.

They may not be questioned.´

For your mind and your intellect mean nothing here.

The ways in which you judge things,

Your values and your scales,

They are all useless in this place,

And without them, who are you?”