Inanna/Ishtar
Queen of the Sky

Pantheon: Sumerian
Element: Air
Sphere of Influence: Love and Fertility
Preferred colors: Gold, Blue
Associated symbol: Eight Point Star, Reed Bundle
Best day to work with: Friday
Suitable offerings: Lapus Lazuli
Associated Planet: Venus
 

Inanna (also known as Istar, and Ninanna) is the goddess of love, fertility, and war. She is frequently shown with bow and arrow, naked or simply clad in long robes with a crown on her head and an eight-rayed star as her symbol. She travels to the realm of the dead and claimed dominian over it, however, her sister Ereshkigal, the ruler of the realm of the dead, sentenced her to death. As Inanna died, nature died with her and nothing would grow anymore. Enki intervened and decreed that she could be reborn if another person took her place. She chose her consort Dumuzi, who from then on ruled the underworld for six months of the year. The similarities between Inannas descent into the realm of the dead and the Goddess Persephones journey into Hades is striking, and it would be useful for anyone wishing to honor Inanna to also study Persephone.