In this episode of Story Medicine, we explore "The Descent of Inanna" from ancient Sumer - one of humanity's oldest recorded stories, carved into clay tablets nearly four thousand years ago. It carries profound medicine about voluntary descent, the stripping away of identity, and what can only be discovered through complete dissolution.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven, voluntarily descends to the underworld. At seven gates she is stripped of her divine powers until she arrives naked and powerless. Yet even then, she tries to seize the throne - revealing how the ego grasps for control even after surrender. Only through complete death and three days hanging as a corpse can transformation occur. The story illuminates why breakdown is sometimes necessary, how our shadow sister must be witnessed rather than fixed, and the price that transformation demands.

This story speaks to anyone in deep life transition, anyone feeling stripped of everything they've used to define themselves, anyone resisting the final letting go that genuine transformation requires.

The episode includes the complete story told in full, depth psychology analysis revealing the archetypal patterns and symbolic meaning, and four practical integration exercises to help you embody the medicine.

Learn more about Joe's therapeutic work: www.joesummerfield.co.uk

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