Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship
For many the most sensual and sexual of experiences is the feeling of fresh air on the skin. Today's Friday Worship is, therefore dedicated to the sexual nudist and their pleasures.

The Holy Priestess of Heaven

I say, "Hail!" to the Holy One who appears in the heavens!
I say, "Hail!" to the Holy Priestess of Heaven!
I say, "Hail!" to Inanna, Great Lady of Heaven! Holy Torch!
You fill the sky with light! You brighten the day at dawn!
I say, "Hail!" to Inanna, Great Lady of Heaven!

Awesome Lady of the Annuna Gods!
Crowned with great horns,
You fill the heavens and earth with light! I say,
"Hail!" to Inanna, First Daughter of the Moon!

Mighty, majestic, and radiant,
You shine brilliantly in the evening,
You brighten the day at dawn,
You stand in the heavens like the sun and the moon,
Your wonders are known both above and below,
To the greatness of the Holy Priestess of Heaven,
To you, Inanna, I sing!

Would you like to take part in Friday Worship? If there is a poem or prayer you would like to see featured, or pictorial theme you would enjoy, please let us know.
We exist to serve love!

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship

Today's Friday Worship has a sad theme. Last week saw the death of a great lady and true avatar of Ishtar, Miss Bettie Page. Bettie brought beauty, elegance and a truly innocent sexiness to America in the 1950's at a time when they needed it most. Her image and legacy have become iconic.

Rest in peace, Bettie.

You alter the Fates, and an ill event becomes good;
I have sought you amongst the gods; supplications are offered to you;
To you amongst the goddesses I have turned, with intent to make entreaty,
Before you is a (protecting) shedu[a genie], behind you a (protecting) lamassu [another type of genie],
At your right is Justice, at your left Goodness,
Fixed on your head are Audience, Favour, Peace,
Your sides are encompassed with Life and Well-being;

How good it is to pray to you, how blessed to be heard by you!

Your glance is Audience, your utterance is the Light.
Have pity on me, O Ishtar! Order my prospering!
Glance on me in affirmation! Accept my litany!

This weekend is also the weekend of the Winter Solstice and Sunday is Global Orgasm Day.
So, along with the beautiful Bettie herself, we would like to wish all our friends and lovers a loving, lustful and joyous holiday.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship

May Ishtar spread her hands across you and bring you the greatest of joy.

FROM A HYMN TO INANNA

My father gave me the heavens, gave me the earth,

I am Inanna!
Kingship he gave me,
queenship he gave me,
waging of battle he gave me, the attack he gave me,
the flo

odstorm he gave me, the hurricane he gave me!

The heavens he set as a crown on my head,
the earth he set as sandals on my feet,
a holy robe he wrapped around my body,
a holy sceptre he placed in my hand.

The gods are sparrows -- I am a falcon;

the Anunnaki trundle along -- I am a splendid wild cow;
I am father Enlil's splendid wild cow,
his splendid wild cow leading the way!

If you would like to request a theme for Friday Worship we will be pleased to hear from you.

We exist to serve love.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship.

Ishtar is not simply a Goddess of love and sexual pleasure, she is also a Goddess of fertility. Thusly for many the greatest avatar of Ishtar, and a sight most beautiful to behold, is a pregnant woman.

THE POWER OF INANNA

Wake up to the power of Inanna
Whose name was first read in the form of a Knot
...known as the Knot of Inanna
For it is She who is...
the Great Goddess of Sumer

the Goddess of love, fertility and war
the Mother of all life
the Queen of Heaven, the Earth
...from which was given to Her by Her Father
the Queen of the Underworld
...from which She earned from descending thru the 7 gates
and then ascending back up to rightly place in Heaven
For it is She who is 1 with many names...
Nin-me-sar-ra, the Lady of Myriad Offices
or Queen of all the Me
Ninsianna, the personification of the planet Venus
Nin.an.na, queen of the sky
Nu-ugiganna, Hierodule of Heaven

Usunzianna, Exalted Cow of Heaven

For it is She who wears the crown of the crescent moon
and 8-pointed star and who is bejeweled with beautiful
lapis lazuli flecked with gold
and...
Whose Holy body is wrapped in the Pala robe of heaven

With eyes that call all to her
and...
Breasts that call all to them to drink from them
the elixic milk of life
As She stands on the great lion while holding lotuses
that she so generously bestows upon her true devotees

For it is She, Inanna, whom we worship

Worship in our great temples that we erected for Her, our Goddess...
where we can worship Her thru drumming, dancing and singing

For it is in these temples that we ritually seek
to become 1 with our Great Goddess Inanna
and it is...
With flour, that is ground from Her body, that we shall make
sacred cakes for Her, that will be placed at Her altar

in this temple of Hers

As it is She that the 4 elements unfold out of -
Air, Fire, Earth, Water
and...
it is She who contains all knowledge
Including the divine knowledge of music that She transmitted to us humans
Thru Her priestesses who divined down this knowledge from
Her divine realms above into the human

realms below

For it is from the mouth of Her buru that all water comes from
For it is Her water that comes from rain that turns into blood
which turns into milk
Milk that nourishes all life

All life that grows from the rain that She gives
For it is She who is the source of life and for all life, like the

waters of life that pour out from Her womb

Her waters of life that teared from her eyes
Teared for the great Huluppa tree
Oh how she wept
She wept because the Anzu-bird had set his young in
the Huluppa trees branches
And the dark maid, Lilith, built her home in the trunk
but all was not lost because soon...
Her throne would be carved from the trunk of the Huluppa tree
by the sons of Uruk
Her bed would be carved from the trunk of the Huluppa tree

by the daughters of Uruk
and...
From the roots of the Huluppa tree She would fashion a pukka
for her brother
From the crown of the Huluppa tree she would fashion a mikku
for Enki, the Wise Father
and...
Ninshubur, who was her faithful companion, would become closer
than a sister
For it was she who went down after 3 days missing Inanna,
and aided her ascent back up to Heaven

For it is Inanna
Inanna who is the instigator of creation, the Goddess who
manifested in us sexual desire and union
It is She who "caused the created to reproduce" and
whose planet is Venus
and...
It is She who is our lovely evening star who shines brightly
in the night's sky


For it is She, Inanna, who maintains the world's order
The world's order that is birthed out of holy union

Holy union of Inanna and Dumuzi
The Holy union that on New Year's day,
is celebrated as hieros gamos
The celebration of their sexual union
The holy union of Inanna and Dumuzi
Dumuzi, who is Her consort
Dumuzi, who is the God of vegetation
Dumuzi, He who surely pleases Her
but before consummation She praises him...
He caressed my loins with His fair hands
He poured milk and cream onto Me
He stroked My pubic hair
He irrigated My womb

He lay His hands upon My holy vulva
He nourished My black boat with His cream
He ripened My narrow boat with His milk
He caressed Me on the bed
Now I'll caress Him on the bed

Then I'll make love to my faithful Dumuzi
For it is their sexual union that will make the world live again

For their union will ensure abundance and plenty for all for the year to come
and...
The rest of the years to come that will cycle around
Cycle around the power of the Great Goddess Inanna

As she enters and exits the 7 gates of her descent and ascent
That takes her from the underworld of deprivation and then
back up to her rightly place as Queen of Heaven

This exceptional poem was written by Savannah Skye. If you would like to submit a poem or request a theme for Friday Worship, we would be very pleased to hear from you.

May Her blessings be with you always.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship

Many see Ishtar in the young and beautiful, others see her in the faces and bodies of age and experience. Today's Friday Worship is dedicated to the joining of these two opposites

Praise to Ishtar

(from an Akkadian hymn to Ishtar, translated by Ferris J. Stephens)

She is clothed with pleasure and love.
She is laden with vitality, charm,
and voluptuousness.
Ishtar is clothed with pleasure and love.
She is laden with vitality, charm,
and voluptuousness.
In lips she is sweet; life is in her mouth.
At her appearance rejoicing becomes full.

She is glorious; veils are thrown over her head.
Her figure is beautiful; her eyes are brilliant.
The goddess - with her there is counsel.

The fate of everything she holds in her hand.

At her glance there is created joy,
power, magnificence, the protecting deity and guardian spirit.
She dwells in, she pays heed to compassion and
friendliness.

Besides, agreeableness she truly possesses.

Be it slave, unattached girl, or mother, she

preserves (her).
One calls on her; among women one names her name.
Who - to her greatness who can be equal?
Strong, exalted, splendid are her decrees.
Ishtar - to her greatness who can be equal?

Strong, exalted, splendid are her decrees.

She is sought after among the gods;
extraordinary is her station.
Respected is her word; it is supreme over them.

Ishtar among the gods, extraordinary is her station.
Respected is her word; it is supreme over them.

Today's theme was suggested by our friend, Rosemarie. If you would like a particular theme or poem for Friday Worship please let us know.

As Ishtar is love and we exist to serve Her, so we exist to serve love.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship

Ishtar takes many names and forms according to the culture in which she appears. Here, for Friday Worship, is a prayer to the Greek "Ishtar", Aphrodite.

For Aphrodite

Glorious Aphrodite, my praise I offer you.
O mighty one, your irresistible power
overwhelms us mortals; helpless we obey you
and follow desire's demands despite all good sense.
Through you, O goddess, do we see with lovers' eyes
your own beauty reflected in our beloved.
Through you do new lovers welcome one another,
and old loves find their passion ever rekindled.
Aphrodite, whose gifts to humankind are great;
who nurtures growing love in the harshest of soils;
who so quickly impassions unsuspecting hearts;
Aphrodite--kind one, fierce one--I honor you

(The poem is taken from This site.)

With love from,
The Temple of Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship!

The Lady of the Morning

Honoured Counselor, Ornament of Heaven, Joy of An!

When sweet sleep has ended in the bedchamber,

You appear like bright daylight.

When all the lands and the people of Sumer assemble,

Those sleeping on the roofs and those sleeping by the walls,

When they sing your praises, bringing their concerns to you,

You study their words.

You render cruel judgment against the evildoer;

You destroy the wicked.

You look with kindly eyes on the straightforward;

You give that one your blessing.

My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.

The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.

Inanna, the Lady of the Morning, is radiant.

I sing your praises, holy Inanna.

The Lady of the Morning is radiant on the horizon.

We hope you enjoy Friday Worship. We are always open to suggestions and new ideas, so if you would like a particular theme please ask. We will be very glad to hear from you.

With love.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship

Welcome to Friday Worship

The Worship of Ishtar is for all who choose it. The last few Friday Worships have mostly consisted of images of women. In the spirit of balance, today's images are of solo men enjoying Ishtar's greatest gift: sexual pleasure.

The pure torch that flares in the sky,

The heavenly light shining bright like the day

The Great Queen of Heaven, Inanna, I will hail...

Of Her majesty, of Her greatness, of her exceeding dignity

Of Her brilliant coming forth in the evening sky,

Of Her flaring in the sky - a pure torch -

Of Her standing in the sky like the sun and moon,

Known by all lands from the south and north

Of the greatness of the holy heaven

To the Lady I will sing

If you would like to suggest a theme, prayer or poem for Friday Worship, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are available here, at the above address or on our profiles on MySpace and Facebook.

May the gifts of Ishtar be yours.

Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

Friday Worship at Samhain

Welcome to Friday Worship

Today is the Feast of Samhain, known as Halloween and in honour of such an auspicious date we are dedicating today's Friday Worship to Witchcraft, both in images and in words. The beautiful words are, in fact, the Charge of the Goddess as used by Gardnerian Covens all over the world.

Now listen to the words of the Great Mother,
who was of old also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names. At her altars, the youth of Lacedaemon in Sparta made due sacrifice.

Whenever ye have need of any thing,
once in the month,
and better it be when the moon is full,
then shall ye assemble in some secret place, and adore the spirit of me,
who am Queen of all witches.

There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,
yet have not won its deepest secrets;
to these will I teach things that are as yet unknown.

And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign that ye be really free,
ye shall be naked in your rites;
and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,
and mine also is joy on earth;
for my law is love unto all beings.

Keep pure your highest ideal;
strive ever towards it, let naught stop you or turn you aside;
for mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth,
and mine is the cup of wine of life,
and the cauldron of Cerridwen,
which is the Holy Grail of immortality.

I am the gracious Goddess,
who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.
Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;
and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom,
and reunion with those who have gone before.

Nor do I demand sacrifice;
for behold, I am the Mother of all living,
and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
whose body encircles the universe.

I who am the beauty
of the green earth and the white moon upon
the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.

For I am the soul of nature
that gives life to the universe.
From me all things proceed and unto me
they must return.
Let My worship be in the
heart that rejoices, for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure
are My rituals.

Let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion,
honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know me,
know that the seeking and yearning
will avail you not,
unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek,
you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.

For behold,
I have been with you from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained
at the end of desire.

If you would like a particular theme or poem for Friday Worship, please feel free to ask. We exist to serve love, joy and Ishtar.

Happy Samhain!

Praise to Ishtar