Inanna Goddess Oracle Card, Amy Sophia Marashinsky and Hrana Janto (illustrator)
To enhance my already-rich tradition of tapping into guidance and support through Tarot, I recently purchased the “The Goddess Oracle” cards, by Amy Sophia Marashinsky and Hrana Janto (illustrator). Today I drew a beautiful card, pictured above, with a message I feel is important to share in times like these. I think I posted recently that we can experience more than one dark night of the soul, and so it seems that many have contacted me to share their experience of that. Perhaps The Goddess Oracle can share some light and hope for your journeys.
Inanna is known as the Sumerian Queen of Heaven. She “tricked her father, Enki, God of Wisdom, into giving her the hundred objects of culture, which she then gave to humankind.” She journeyed to see her sister in the Underworld, where she was, “stripped and killed, and left to hang on a hook for three days and three nights.” She had to name a replacement in order to be allowed to leave the Underworld, and she chose her son-lover who betrayed her during her absence.
Marashinsky tells us:
Inanna is her to tell you that a journey to the Underworld is the way to wholeness for you now. It is time to dance with your shadow, reclaim what you’ve denied, embrace your own Dark Sister/Dark Self. You need all those aspects of yourself that your parents, caregivers, teachers, society have deemed unacceptable in order to achieve wholeness in your life. Whether it be your talent, your beauty, your inner vampire, your anger, your madness, you are required to surrender to the journey and embrace your dark side. If you are already in the Underworld, the appearance of Inanna may signal that the time for your return is at hand. Journeys to the Underworld to embrace your dark side are a law unto themselves. They take as much time as they need to take – you can’t just fit them into your schedule. When it is time for you to journey, you will and you will not be done until you return. Take comfort in the fact that all journeys to the Underworld do end and that you will indeed return – much different from who you thought you were when you went. (pp. 85-6)
I’ve been teaching workshops on accessing intuition in Reno over the past few months, first partnering with Katie Packham of Copper Cat Studio and then with Alicia Greene of Pure Yoga Boutique Studio. Each one has been different, as I’ve been guided to create more or less structure and content for each one. During the last workshop, I added a component of exploring the shadow, inspired by my shamanic work around this and also by Debbie Ford’s book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers: Reclaiming your Power, Creativity, Brilliance and Dreams. I felt thrilled at the way the workshop participants so courageously and beautifully embraced our activities on this topic!
Seeing and embracing our shadow allows us to live and breathe more deeply into our unique gifts, expressing them more fully in the world. Not only that, but once we embrace them, we no longer have to cast our shadows all over everyone else (called projection), limiting our capacity to intuit our world in empowered, masterful ways that allow for ease, grace, flow and so much love!
If you find yourself in the dark night, breathe into Marashinsky’s words once more, “Take comfort in the fact that all journeys to the Underworld do end and that you will indeed return.” I am happy to support you in your journey of discovery, coming back into light and joy, if that feels right for you.
What am I seeing in the shadows of my existence, within and in others?
How can I more deeply dance into what is in my experience, to reveal and embrace the gifts?
Who am I becoming?
