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The Other Side of Sovereignty
Oct. 11th, 2007 09:48 pmRecently it occurred to me that the hieros gamos is only one side of the rituals of Sovereignty, the bright side. King marries Goddess, sanctifying his rule and bringing prosperity to the land.
But there's another side, the dark side: the sacrifice of the king -- perhaps presided over by the same woman who was once his divine bride.
In my personal experience and practice, Inanna has two primary stories: the hieros gamos and The Descent. In the latter, she condemns her husband Dumuzi to the underworld when she returns from her ordeal to find him sitting on the throne feasting and drinking, in contrast to her loyal servant and both her sons who were in mourning, believing her dead.
I've read and studied this myth for years, and it was only two nights ago that I thought "What about the Descent of Dumuzi? What happened to him? And what of the king who takes on the identity of Dumuzi in the sacred marriage? Does he share the other part of Dumuzi's story as well?"
Since then, I've been pondering what it would be like for the queen-priestess to preside over such a ritual, and what it would be like for the king her husband. What would be the ritual purpose, and what would he endure, and how would he experience the return of Dumuzi (who only stays in the Underworld half the year due to the generosity of his sister, who stays the other half).
I've been imagining writing it as a story of the ancient world, but also what it would be like as a ritual now, and for the first time ever I've been imagining what it would be like to stand in the role of Ereshkigal, of the Dark Goddess, and preside over the ritual breaking-down of an initiate, of a king.
And it suddenly occurred to me that there might be some connection with these thoughts and the growly, predatory, feral energy that's been running through me the last few days.
This is very new space for me, but I feel very strongly it's something I need to explore.
But there's another side, the dark side: the sacrifice of the king -- perhaps presided over by the same woman who was once his divine bride.
In my personal experience and practice, Inanna has two primary stories: the hieros gamos and The Descent. In the latter, she condemns her husband Dumuzi to the underworld when she returns from her ordeal to find him sitting on the throne feasting and drinking, in contrast to her loyal servant and both her sons who were in mourning, believing her dead.
I've read and studied this myth for years, and it was only two nights ago that I thought "What about the Descent of Dumuzi? What happened to him? And what of the king who takes on the identity of Dumuzi in the sacred marriage? Does he share the other part of Dumuzi's story as well?"
Since then, I've been pondering what it would be like for the queen-priestess to preside over such a ritual, and what it would be like for the king her husband. What would be the ritual purpose, and what would he endure, and how would he experience the return of Dumuzi (who only stays in the Underworld half the year due to the generosity of his sister, who stays the other half).
I've been imagining writing it as a story of the ancient world, but also what it would be like as a ritual now, and for the first time ever I've been imagining what it would be like to stand in the role of Ereshkigal, of the Dark Goddess, and preside over the ritual breaking-down of an initiate, of a king.
And it suddenly occurred to me that there might be some connection with these thoughts and the growly, predatory, feral energy that's been running through me the last few days.
This is very new space for me, but I feel very strongly it's something I need to explore.
