It is great to look back at this post. The watercolors are on 8 1/2 by 11-inch watercolor paper. Praying Mantis is an anthropomorphism often found in all my art.
“But when women succeed in maintaining themselves against the animus, instead of allowing themselves to be devoured by it, then it ceases to be only a danger and becomes a creative power. We women need this power, for, strange as it seems, only when this masculine entity becomes an integrated part of the soul and carried on its proper function, and, at the same time, also being herself, to fulfill her individual human destiny.”
Pg. 42 Animus and Anima; Two Essays by Emma Jung.
At the time creating this, I was going through a very dark experience and so this is my mythological and mysterious visit “to the great below.” A documentation creatively. Extremely hard to do. Thanks to Inanna. Her service in sharing with me ‘Kurgarra, the food of life, and Galatur the water of life.” I came back up into a life. A good life indeed!
From Winter to Spring (Summer) real change happens. The death of Winter and the rebirth of Spring. We now symbolically descend to the underworld as we approach winter.
Yet anytime where the dark pulls you down….
Symbolically and esoterically the resurrection of Christ Jesus after three days in the underworld, the release of Prometheus by Chiron, and the release of Persephone from the underworld are the promises of Spring to come. As change and growth are availed.
But now Persephone spends 6 months with Pluto away from her mother Demeter.
Another ancient or popular story is the one of Inanna the Goddess of love, Queen of Heaven and Earth.
The story holds the feminine trinity. It is a cuneiform Sumer texts about 3000 years old.
The characters of this story are Inanna Goddess of love, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Ereshkigal~ Queen of the Underworld, and Lilith ~ the dark rebel adolescent of Inanna. The feminine trinity.
In the Inanna story we also find a similar part as with Persephone’s story where Inanna’s king Dumuzi as the shepherd king of Uruk spends 6 months in the underground.
“His heart was filled with tears, the shepherd’s heart was filled with tears, Dumuzi’s heart was filled with tears.”
The wisdom god Enki helps Inanna from the underground.
“He creates from the dirt of his fingernails the kurgarra and galatur- instinctual, asexual creatures who will not disturb the necessary infertility rules of the kur. He endows the creatures with the artistic and empathetic taken of being professional mourners, capable of mirroring the lonely queen’s emotions.”
Pg. 160. Inanna by Diane Wolkstein
A rendering of Inanna’s Trinity
Inanna’s Trinity
“The powerful Lilith of Inanna’s adolescent days had to be sent away so Inanna’s life exploring talents could be developed. But now that Inanna has become queen of her city, wife to her beloved, mother of her children, she is more able to face what she has neglected and feared: the instinctual wounded, frightened parts of herself. She now hears, and capable of responding to, the labor call of Ereshkigal.
~The Great Below.” ~Pg. 160 Inanna by Diane Wolkstein.
Based on the ancient story of Inanna from the book Inanna by Diane Wolkstein
The Seminary of Praying Mantis Publishing 
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