Pagan Portals - Ishtar and Ereshkigal


Book Description

Ishtar and Ereshkigal are the daughters of the Moon God Sin and sisters of the Sun God Shamash and members of a family of deities called the Anunnaki who arrived from the heavens to the earth many thousands of years ago. Ishtar, as Inanna, was the original goddess of love and the forerunner to all of the fertility goddesses that followed. Ereshkigal was the original ruler of the underworld and the goddess of death. As the queens of heaven and the underworld, Ishtar and Ereshkigal represent the opposing forces that allow life, death and rebirth to occur in the world.




Pagan Portals - A Guide to Pilgrimage


Book Description

Pilgrimage is one of the oldest forms of sacred journeying. But how does it fit into the 21st century and, more importantly, how is it relevant to our tech-heavy super-busy lives? This book is a blueprint for understanding how going on a pilgrimage will spiritually fulfill and, ultimately, transform you. Discover how this ancient practice can be traced through history and how it still plays a significant role in the many paths of faith today. Here, you'll find stories of modern pilgrimage, words of wisdom from literature, meditations, and tools to inspire you towards taking your first physical steps on your journey.




Pagan Portals - The Fallen Women of Mythology


Book Description

Women have traditionally been written out of history. But throughout ancient myths, stories, and legends there is a power in rediscovering the experiences of the many 'fallen' women who have been hidden from the annals of the past. Portrayed to us as enigmatic Goddesses, devout saints, scandalous sinners, and infamous biblical whores, their storylines of inequity were scorned or, in many instances, disregarded altogether to gather the dust of antiquity. They are the hidden gems of the ancient world, and it is time to awaken their voices. For within every account of a 'fallen' woman, whether Divine or human, there is another very fascinating side to their story.




Pagan Portals - The Triple Goddess


Book Description

An updated approach for working with the Triple Goddess in modern times The Triple Goddess has three facets: the maiden, the mother, and the crone. The Triple Goddess represents many things such as birth, life, death and the phases of the moon, waxing, full and waning. Whilst in the form we recognise it may well be a modern idea, it still gives a wonderful way of working with the goddess and her phases, to help us evolve and understand our own pathway through life and this journey can help you to embrace your own personal power.




Pagan Portals - Moon Magic


Book Description

Moon Magic is an introduction to working with the phases of the Moon, what they are and how to live in harmony with the lunar year and to utilize all the magical powers it provides. It’s filled with the basics of the lunar cycle, the representations and correspondences of each phase, what magic to work and when and also includes a look at the lunar year, moon deities, moon spells, meditations, specific moon rituals, moon names, tree moons and moon recipes. ,




Pagan Portals - Temple of the Bones


Book Description

'The relationship that Jennifer Bird Teixeira has with Hekate is palpable; rich and deep, with an undercurrent of ancient mystery. Whether you've loved Hekate for many years, or seek to know her better now, you could not ask for a better guide than Bird.' Sharon Knight ~ Musician and Producer of Hexenfest; A Festival of Myth, Music and Magic The Temple of the Bones is a gathering of witches, priest/ess/xes, and pagans under the dark of the moon to honor Hekate through public ritual. This book contains information on witching herbs, daily practices, moon magic and how the Temple seeks to strengthen community through the honoring of the dead. As they are, soon we shall be and their message often is to not waste your precious time on the things that do not serve your highest purpose. The Temple of the Bones encourages you to look into your own power. What wants to be brought to the surface? Are you using your strengths, or are you feeding your weakness? How are you creating magic in your own life with the wisdom of your bones?




Into the Great Below


Book Description

Into the Great Below is a compilation of devotional poems, prayers, and rituals celebrating two magnificent Sumerian Goddesses: Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Erishkigal, Queen of the Underworld. In these pages you will find a map traversing the shadowy places between these two Holy Powers. Here, you will read about Inanna's courage, Her journey and decent into Irkla, and Her vulnerability before Her sister. Here too you will find prayers celebrating the wisdom of Eriskigal, Her power, Her fury, Her mercy. In this book, you will hear from contemporary devotees of these ancient Powers and through their words possibly glimpse the ways in which both goddesses touch Their devotees lives today.




Queen of the Great Below


Book Description

Hail to You, Ereshkigal, Great Queen of Those Below. Mistress of the Shadows. Lady of Bones and Dust. Frightening One of the Far Places Where Men Fear to Go. Strong One Who Builds the Boundaries and Knows How to Tear Them Down. Queen of the Great Below is a collection of poems, essays and personal ritual experiences by modern devotees in honor of Ereshkigal. Once worshipped as Ruler of the Underworld from the shores of the Euphrates to the banks of the Nile, Ereshkigal is now known primarily for her role as the antagonist in The Descent of Inanna. In this unique devotional anthology, however, Ereshkigal is revealed to be a multi-faceted deity of transformation, boundary-keeping, and passion, a teacher of harsh but necessary lessons. You stand at the brink of the Underworld, on the shadowed path that few walk willingly. Those who have contributed to this devotional have walked this road and returned, bearing the blessings of the Queen. We invite you to walk this path, as well. Ereshkigal awaits .... [Editor's Note: This text contains references to BDSM and the ordeal path.]




Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels


Book Description

Cuneiform records made some three thousand years ago are the basis for this essay on the ideas of death and the afterlife and the story of the flood which were current among the ancient peoples of the Tigro-Euphrates Valley. With the same careful scholarship shown in his previous volume, The Babylonian Genesis, Heidel interprets the famous Gilgamesh Epic and other related Babylonian and Assyrian documents. He compares them with corresponding portions of the Old Testament in order to determine the inherent historical relationship of Hebrew and Mesopotamian ideas.




Pagan Portals - Seeking the Primal Goddess


Book Description

Using archaeology, archaeo-mythology and mitochondrial DNA we can chart the mass migrations of people throughout the ancient world and follow the footsteps of the beliefs of Old Europe. But if the concept of the Old Goddess is at odds with current popular thinking, how will we feel if we discover that the Great Mother of contemporary Paganism bears no similarity to the primal Great Goddess of the Old European world? Is there a ‘magico-spiritual’ gene that could be traced back to those distant ancestors who actually worshipped the forebears of the various deities to whom we claim allegiance today? Are there time-honoured things about us all as individuals that are bred deep in the bone? Are we what our roots (our DNA) claim us to be? Perhaps, even though we are now scattered all over the globe, we cannot escape those ancient racial memories of where we originally came from.