Mythology and Astrology: Inanna & Venus 

Celebrating Gods and Stars: Mythologies, Astronomy, and the Divine Connection 

Many cultures were keen observers of the skies; they noticed the predictable movements of celestial bodies such as the sun, moon, and planets. 

These movements were critical for agricultural, seasonal, and calendrical purposes. As they studied the heavens, they developed complex systems for understanding the cosmos. 

The Greeks, for instance, were influenced by Mesopotamian astronomy and mythology, leading to the sharing of concepts and terminology. 

In these cultures, gods and goddesses were often associated with natural elements, forces of nature, and celestial bodies.  

These deities played significant roles in mythologies and were believed to exert influence over human lives.  

Associating gods with planets and celestial events reinforced the idea that the gods were intimately connected with the cycles of nature and the universe. 

Either way, mythologies served as a way to explain natural phenomena and human experiences. The movements of planets, the changing seasons, and various celestial events were woven into narratives involving gods and their interactions with humans.  

These myths conveyed the idea that the gods’ actions in the heavens had corresponding effects on Earth. 

Take the myth of Inanna.  

In the myth of Inanna’s descent into the Underworld, her disappearance and reemergence from the realm of death (the Underworld) and her subsequent return to the world of the living are symbolic of Venus as a morning star and an evening star. 

The Myth of Inanna (Venus) 

The tale of Inanna, an ancient Sumerian goddess, unfolds as follows which predates Greek mythology, with Inanna being associated with Venus in Mesopotamian lore. 

The crux of her myth revolves around her journey into the Underworld, followed by her triumphant return to the Upper World.  

It all begins when Inanna marries Dumuzid, a local shepherd. 

Shortly after her union, Gugalanna, her sister’s spouse, passes away. Inanna travels to the realm of her sister, Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Dead, to witness the funeral rites and provide support. So, Inanna makes a deliberate decision to descend.

She is moving towards something. She has an intention and a destination to be with her sister Ereshkigal.

However, Ereshkigal harbors no desire for Inanna’s presence.

Regardless, to get to her sister in the underworld, Inanna must pass through seven gates. But at each of the seven gates, something is taken from her. Her crown, jewellery, garments and other symbols of her divine authority are removed.

Inanna is not initially physically immobilised. She is still moving through the gates. But her freedom is being progressively restricted.

Nevertheless, she continues moving forward, but she has progressively less control over the conditions under which she moves. She is repeatedly told that she must accept the rules of the underworld.

Fortunately, Inanna had instructed her devoted servant, Ninshubur, to seek assistance if she failed to return within three days. Inanna faces trials at the first of the seven gates to the Underworld.

Three Days and Three Nights

When Inanna reaches Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld, Inanna is vulnerable and unclothed before Ereshkigal. 

Ereshkigal orders Inanna to be suspended on a hook where she remains for three days and three nights before being revived. Just like the fate of any other entrant into the Underworld. Being able to move again does not immediately mean that she is free. Inanna regains life and movement, yet the conditions governing her departure still constrain her. S

The goddess who began the journey with power and intention is now suspended in a state in which she cannot act. Inanna is then judged and killed. Her corpse is left to hang on the hook.

Inanna’s descent contains a very strong image of being trapped, stripped of power and ultimately rendered incapable of moving.

This is the most extreme image of immobilisation in the story. She cannot simply decide to leave. Inanna cannot use her authority to reverse what has happened. She cannot restore herself through her own actions.

Her return does not happen through willpower alone

This act of her decent and eventual death triggers death in the world above, symbolizing the absence of Inanna’s life-affirming qualities. 

And although Inanna is eventually revived through the intervention of beings sent by Enki.

In Inanna’s absence, Ninshubur seeks help as previously advised, leading to Inanna’s father-in-law, Enki, creating two beings to rescue her, who bring the life-giving plant and water. She rises, but being able to move again does not immediately mean that she is free. Inanna regains life and movement, yet the conditions governing her departure still constrain her.

She cannot simply leave without consequences: the underworld judges require a substitute.

Ianna takes her time to decide who must be designated as a substitute to take her place. She eventually selects her husband, Dumuzid, who remained unmoved during her absence.

Feeling guilty about her decision, she soon offers herself in exchange for his release, marking the beginning of the year.

This symbolism mirrors the changing seasons and the perpetual cycle of life, death, and rebirth. 

Thus, Inanna reclaims her regalia, signifying a resurrection, although she emerges transformed. 

The story further encapsulates the transition of Venus from a morning star into an evening star. There are different interpretations of her story, but they all correlate with Venus disappearing, Inanna losing her power, reaching the underworld and eventually returning.

How does this relate to Venus morning star and evening star?

Venus disappears from view around both types of conjunction with the Sun, but the two events are different.

Venus as the Evening Star vs Venus as the Morning Star

With the evening star, Venus is visible after sunset. Venus draws close to the Sun and disappears from the evening sky around the superior conjunction, when the Sun lies between Earth and Venus. It subsequently reappears in the evening sky.

Symbolically, an astrologer might read this phase as the culmination of an outwardly expressed Venus cycle, followed by a period of invisibility and a change in perspective.

During the retrograde cycle, Venus passes through the inferior conjunction, moving between Earth and the Sun. It disappears from view and subsequently reappears in the morning sky.

Symbolically, astrologers often associate this transition with an inward reassessment of Venusian matters, followed by the emergence of a new cycle of desire, values and relating.