Inanna goddess symbol meanings

Goddess Symbol for Inanna

Last Updated on October 31, 2020 by Avia

Goddess Symbols for Inanna: All About This Goddess and Her Symbolic Meanings

Goddess Symbol Meaning for the Goddess Inanna: The goddess Inanna has herself been a symbol of provision, fertility and abundance for centuries. It’s no wonder her prime symbol is agriculturally based.

The spiral, the reed, and specifically a bundle of spiraling reeds are a common goddess symbol of Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of life.

Inanna represents the divine feminine and the power of creation.

The goddess Inanna for whom this symbol is represented is known by many names, Astarte, Ishtar, Asherah to name a few. This bundle of reeds is her sacred symbol as one legend states Inanna bound reeds together to make a vessel that would sail upon the waters of the great flood caused by Enki who wanted to annihilate humankind. Inanna gathered up all humankind upon her reed boat and thus saved the human race. She is also known as the River of Life as she travels on the waters saving mankind.

This goddess symbol of the sacred bundle of reeds is symbolic of Inanna’s attributes such as:

Goddess Symbol Meanings for Inanna

  • Purpose
  • Protection
  • Purification
  • Clarification
  • Communication
reed and spiral goddess symbol for Inanna
The reed and spiral are sacred symbols to Inanna

Primary goddess symbols connected to Inanna include the reed plant, and also the spiral.

More Symbol Meanings For The Goddess Inanna

As mentioned, the spiral and the reed are common symbol connected to this ancient Mesopotamian goddess of life and creation. Here are some explanations for her goddess symbols:

♦  Reed: This is a symbol of life, structure, and provision. In Inanna’s day, the reed was used for almost countless purposes. It was relied upon for multiple tasks. When you see ancient Inanna, you will see the reed plant with her because it was a highly coveted crop among her original people.

♦  Spiral:  The spiral is a symbol of evolution and revolution of life. Inanna is a constant reminder of the transitions we experience in life. In other words, we have ups and downs.  Life is not linear. Rather, we go round in weird twirly whirly’s. Inanna and her people knew this. She was the only constant in a very inconsistent world at the time of her reign.

♦  Water: This element stands for intuition, dreams, and going deep within. Water is also symbolic of birth, renewal, healing and cleansing. Inanna represents all of these aspects in profound ways.

♦  Wings:  It was believed this goddess was able to take flight and visit various areas of her rule at will – as if she were as agile as a bird.  Wings are symbolic of freedom, but also representative of inspiration and uplifting messages of hope and peace.

♦  Crown:  Inanna is almost always depicted with a crown on her head. This denotes her status as royalty among the pantheon of gods and goddesses. But, it also represents her level of enlightenment. Any time you see a crown (on a god, goddess or anywhere else) it is a symbol of higher thought, higher mind, and higher purpose. A crown is also symbolic of victory over the mundane. It is an icon of power and indicates the wearer of the crown is in a station of elevation over most.

goddess symbols for inanna meaning
Goddess symbols for Inanna meanings

The goddess symbol of reeds represents water, and the symbolism of water has a universal undertone of purity and fertility. Symbolically, it is often viewed as the source of life itself as we see evidence in countless creation myths in which life emerges from primordial waters.

Interestingly, we are all made of water, and so we can liken many of these myths and allegories to our own existence (the macrocosm mirroring the microcosm and vice versa). We can incorporate symbolism of circulation, life, cohesion and birth by associating the creative waters of the earth with the fluids found in our own body (i.e., blood).

The spiral symbol (spiraling reeds) is symbolic of the way of life. Specifically, the center circle represents the seed (birth) of human life (or consciousness). 

The reeds moving out from the seed is symbolic of growth, expansion and evolving awareness into new areas of development.This also speaks about nourishing our souls for optimal growth.

Honor your ability to create and live life to the fullest by spiraling your awareness around the themes offered by Inanna and her special goddess symbol. Check out the links below for more god/goddess symbols.

I hope this article on the goddess symbols of Inanna has been informative and inspirational. As always, thanks so much for reading.

Brightly,

Avia

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