We’ve enjoyed crisp clear skies in this corner of Spain for a few nights now. Unusually for me, I’ve been out and about after dark, driving along twisting, unlit roads or visiting Santiago de Compostela to see the Christmas lights. Just a couple of days before fullness, the moon’s steady radiance feels both supportive and playful – lighting my way along unfamiliar roads and peeking out between the Cathedral towers, not wanting to miss the fun as families enjoyed the Christmas lights!
Today, reaching fullness, the moon cycle coincides with the end of Mercury’s 3-week retrograde, reflective period with the invitation to move forwards again in our communication.
I’ve taken this time to revisit a powerful myth, with its archetypal energies that’s been in my awareness for about 5 years. With deepening perspectives from recent studies, new wonderings and insights have come to light, and I’d love to consider them with you.
My deep dive took me back into the ancient Sumerian Descent of Inanna – Queen of Heaven and Earth. In the myth, Innana hears the call and sets out to reconnect with her estranged sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Netherworld.
Originally recounted orally from three thousand or more years ago, the story was recorded, as poetry, a little over two thousand years ago. It is thought to be one of our most ancient myths and was committed to writing as the Age of Taurus gradually turned to the Age of Aries.
The Myth describing the process of transformation, remains powerfully relevant today.
Inanna hears the call of the Great Below and courageously determines to make the descent, knowing that it is to be a journey to the “land of no return”.
Admission to the underworld – for Inanna and it seems for all, requires subjection to the laws and rites of Ereshkigal’s kingdom. Such submission takes us through seven gates: Ereshkigal demands that we enter her presence “naked and bowed low”.
Since my first introduction to the myth in 2019, I have learned that the tale of Inanna mirrors the orbit of the planet Venus.
Ah, Venus!
Whilst I’ve considered Jean Shinoda Bolen’s insights on the Roman equivalent, Aphrodite[i] and how her archetype might be expressed through my life – this year has given me opportunities to become much more aware of Venus – as both brightly shining in the night sky and through her symbolism.
As Venus travels though the sky, she repeatedly disappears then reappears as either morning or evening star. The shorter disappearance is thought to represent her descent to the underworld, to Ereshkigal, the longer to a time of communing with the stars. [ii]
Symbolically, my year has invited me to reflect upon Venus as the goddess of love. She is, of course, closely associated with roses – the flower of love.
The central part of the Rose of Venus, the geometric pattern that Venus’ orbit makes in the sky, adorns the rose products, described as the taste of love that I have been referencing these past months.
So, whilst I’ve been experiencing aspects of love through the beauty, aroma, flavour and amazing nutritional qualities of roses, I thought it would be fun to immerse myself in the complex sacred geometry of Venus’ orbit, to see what reveals itself from this expansive perspective.
Beginning with a central point and enclosed in a circle, a five-pointed star – a pentagram is drawn. Within this the points for a second pentagram appear. Using the distances between the pentagrams and outer circle, the central points for five smaller circles emerge. Then, by creating an 8-pointed star within one of these circles, the extent of Venus’ passage through time/space can be marked as three more concentric circles. And finally, connecting the dots, the fascinating, swooping and twirling path of Venus’ orbit can be penciled in!
Not surprisingly, my first attempt is a little wonky in places!
It is included here because I couldn’t find an online version without a copyright attached and by sharing it, I’m working to free myself from my slightly perfectionist tendencies!
As I gaze into the Rose of Venus, I find myself being drawn into the mandala, back to the smallest pentagram or 5-pointed star nestling in the centre.
Some suggest that the pentagram is a symbol of perfection – the shape so aesthetically pleasing that we are drawn to it. I think Venus, who, in astrological terms is connected to our aesthetic sensitivities, would like that!
Sticking with astrology for a moment – in an astrological chart, the aspects that result from dividing the circle into 5 (quintiles and biquintiles) are thought to be connected to the symbology of the number 5 – a fascination with patterns and structures, the desire to build or make things, being aware of problems and finding solutions for them and a desire to create order or harmony.
And perfectionist tendencies!
Hmm, that could explain why I’m drawn in!
(As a side note, during my quest to define and understand myself, I identified as an Enneagram 5 . . . interesting resonance! Whilst I don’t discount this categorisation, I’m in a much more fluid phase of this questing journey now – trying to avoid all static definitions in favour of process!)
Back to Venus, pentagrams and symbology. . .
The pentagram, like all symbols, has innumerable possible interpretations.
In Castrojeriz, a small town on the Camino de Santiago, the Iglesia de San Juan de los Caballeros has a pentagram window, commonly thought to represent the five wounds of Christ.
However, having been built in medieval times, when the town seemed to enjoy contented diversity, with Christians, Jews and Muslims living and working alongside one another, the stonemasons would most likely have seen the five-pointed star as a sign of wholeness and perfection[iii].
Then there is the inverted symbol.
I’m feeling uncomfortable about including this description here, whilst talking about love. I’m touching on ground that I know practically nothing about – but I have just noticed that the central star in the Rose of Venus is inverted.
I’m wondering. Venus is often thought of as the muse – I think she’d be OK with this detour!
So – Add the image of Baphomet, a billy-goat’s head to the inverted pentagram and one interpretation is that the symbol represents carnality and earthly principles. I discover that it is the insignia for the Church of Satan.
My wondering, or perhaps wandering, takes me back to the transition between the age of Taurus – with its sacred bovines – the feminine and masculine aspects of cow and bull, to the age of Aquarius – with its iconography of sheep.
Often raised together, from a Biblical perspective, I’ve always been encouraged to identify with sheep rather than goats! Could it be that Baphomet represents a rejected part, an underworld aspect, a sort of male version of Ereshkigal, primal, earthy, with the capacity for destruction? Contained within the whole, the journey to these parts of ourselves is a crucial element in the journey of transformation.
Let’s re-turn the star to point upwards!
In some traditions, the five points of the pentagram are also thought to represent the elements – spirit, earth, air, fire and water. Or harmony, spirituality and divine knowledge.
I love that the Rose of Venus, and other sacred geometry is a harmonious interplay of circles and straight lines. Both are needed, in their right-relationship, the yin and yang, the feminine and masculine energies represented in pleasing symmetry.
Alongside all this, the pentagram or 5-pointed star has a very specific connection for me.
Much of the teaching I delivered during my time in the Middle East was concerned with providing the best possible environment for children to thrive.
Through long explanations and discussions between myself and skilled interpreters, Gillian Schofield and Mary Beek’s 5-dimensional Secure Base Model was translated, taught and gradually applied in culturally appropriate ways in refugee camps, with foster families and within a local children’s home.
Diagrammatically, the Secure Base Model is represented by a pentagram, and its principles have been widely adopted in the world of childcare.
At about this time last year, I discovered that scholars Brooke C Feeny and Roxanne L. Thrush had built upon the original model to produce a similar one for adults – The Adult Secure Base.
I was delighted! There is so much contained within the seemingly simple model – I was keen to find an outlet to share its wisdom more widely.
So, I set to, to adapt and incorporate this 5-dimensional model into my training programme, Containers for Growth – Cultivating Deeper Trust and Safety.
As I write this, I realise that the first iteration of this training only just scratches the surface.
That’s a great place to start of-course, and I’m looking forward to developing it further and sharing a fuller version with you.
Before we step back into our left brains and start to analyse the words, let’s take a moment to review and weave together the symbology.
Perhaps then, we can establish a better foundation or value base from which our left-brain analytical minds can work.
The pentagram symbol lies at the heart of the Venus cycle – the heart of love.
In its connection with roses, it offers us the taste of love.
Historically, it is thought of as perfection, divine knowledge.
It speaks to a desire to create order or harmony; it has the capacity to be aware of problems and to find solutions for them.
In indigenous traditions, the pentagram represents the integration of spirit and physical elements offering an image of embodied wholeness.
And the pentagram represents the relational qualities between yin and yang, feminine and masculine that create sufficient trust and safety for personal wellbeing, growth and development, whether as a child or adult.
There is a depth, a beauty and wholeness for me in this symbol and the ways it finds expression.
How does the pentagram and/or Rose of Venus symbolically speak to you?
I mentioned at the beginning that I first became aware of the Inanna myth in 2019. I was approaching my 56th birthday and my first pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. It was a time of significant personal endings . . . and new beginnings.
Although I wouldn’t have named it this way at the time, I heard the call of the Great Below and intentionally entered a process of initiation or transformation.
An astrologer once said to me “for a rebel, you’re remarkably punctual!” And I now realise that the timing for my journey of descent perfectly coincided with a Venus Return.
Every eight years, Venus returns to the same place in the sky that she passed at the time of our birth.
With this new-to-me knowledge, I’ve looked back to when I was 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 . . . 56 . . .etc, to see what I was learning about love and relationships in these eight-year cycles.
Considering the sacred geometry, it seems fitting to me that, 5 years into this 8-year cycle I’m deeply reviewing the Inanna myth and my experience of the journey of transformation!
As this full moon shines once more, perhaps consider where you are in relation to your Venus returns and ask yourself
What am I being invited to learn about love in this phase of my life?
and every good wish for a wonderful full moon, solstice and Christmas
Be happy, be safe, be well,
[i] Jean Shinoda Bolen – Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over 50
[ii] Heather Ensworth’s video “Venus and her Underworld Journey” at describes the Inanna myth and its connection with Venus.
[iii] Beebe Bahrami – Moon Camino de Santiago – Sacred Sites, Historic Villages, Local Food and Wine