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The Pentacle of the Underworld is a tool developed in the Pagan Universalist Tradition. In early October, 2000, co-priests Copper and Mir received a series of oracular messages from the Sumerian Goddess of the Underworld, Queen Ereshkigal. These oracular messages mostly concerned three things: 1) The near future, especially matters related to the 2000 US presidential election; 2) Planning for a Blood Moon ritual on Friday, October 13, 2000 in honor of the Queenship of Ereshkigal; and, 3) The structure and use of the Pentacle of the Underworld. In these oracular messages, Ereshkigal stated that a major evolution in the divine order is at work and said that this evolution would be effected through a massive infusion of spiritual energy from the Underworld in the very near future (perhaps beginning in November 2000). Consequences of this infusion, Ereshkigal said, would be the synthesis and rebirth of our cultural concepts of masculine and feminine, and a restoration of "natural death". She indicated that this infusion would be both energetic (literal energy entering our domain from the Underworld domain), and in terms of returning souls (ancient Pagan folk who have not been embodied for millennia now taking birth in large numbers). She was emphatic that our salvation will arise from below, not descend from above; we must not receive this transition passively, but should be actively engaged in shaping the raw energy She will provide.
During the Blood Moon Ritual, Copper aspected Queen Ereshkigal (aspecting refers to trance possession of the priest by the Goddess*). Ereshkigal spoke about the state of violence in the world, and urged us to restore balance in our perceptions of death. She clearly distinguishd between "natural death" and "unnatural death," the latter being produced by social arrangement, especially refering to war, capital punishment, and many forms of disease. She said that She is queen only of natural death. She said that one of her husbands, Nergal, is the king of unnatural death. She told us that He is not a demon, but was created out of our own alienation from nature. She said that His power has become so great that it threatens the stability of the world and the living planetary body of the Goddess. She said that Nergal longs to be healed, and can be healed through empathy.
Those familiar with the sacred story of Inanna's descent to the Underworld will recall that Ereshkigal Herself was healed through the empathy of the strangely-gendered Kurgarra and Galatur beings created by Enki to aid Inanna in Her return. Precisely how to show empathy to Nergal remains to be clarified, but a beginning is to "sacrifice" our violent impulses by choosing not to lend any energy to violence, thinking of the healing (wholing) of Nergal. Ereshkigal assured us that we have the power to heal Nergal and end unnatural death, saying that if we are attentive to His recovery, He will arise from the Underworld on a white horse, bearing the sword of truth to cut the wall between humanity and nature built over the last 6,000 years.
Near the end of the ritual, Ereshkigal got up from Her throne and walked to a physical representation of the Pentacle of the Underworld that had been placed on the floor in masking tape. The Goddess, using the body of the priest, walked the pentacle Herself, stopping, drawing up energy, and stomping the earth three times at each point. She did this in silence and with great power. When Ereshkigal had finished walking the pentacle, as the ritual was drawing to a close, She was asked if She had any words for the Pagan Universalist Tradition. Among other things, She said that we should use the Pentacle of the Underworld. She said that it has the power to dispel (dis-spell) the fear of death and to bring balance to the soul of the practitioner. She said that She had empowered the tool Herself, establishing it that night in all the realms of power. She also asked to be honored on our private altars on the Dark Moon of each month, and to be publicly honored by our tradition each Blood Moon.
The Pentacle of the Underworld is based upon the five steps in the sacred narrative of Inanna's descent. Inanna, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, "opened her ears" to the Great Below, then proceeded through the mysterious gates of the Underworld city. As She passed through each of its seven gates, Inanna "let go" of some symbol of personal power, until she was utterly naked. As Inanna stood before Ereshkigal, "judgement" was passed upon Her (this can be seen as karma, divine judgement, or personal discernment), and She "died". Through the empathy of the strangely-gendered, Inanna was resurrected after three days and three nights, reborn to Her Queenship of Heaven and Earth.
This Pentacle should be worked with an awareness of the myth cycle behind it. An excellent resource is Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth by Wolkstein and Kramer.
Mir and Copper continue to work with the Goddess Ereshkigal and are responding to Her strong calls for greater devotion. She has made it clear that She has much to offer.
You may also want to look at a related oracular message received from the Goddess Isis in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, and subsequent US retaliation, that began on Sept. 11, 2001.
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*It should be borne in mind that information delivered through aspecting passes through the "filter" or "sieve" of the aspecting priest/ess(e)s physical consciousness (the Goddess manipulates the brain as a tool), and is received by auditors through their own filters and sieves. Though trance possession is practiced in many religious traditions, I (Copper) believe that the term "aspecting" originated in the Reclaiming tradition, in which I was first introduced to the practice. Alexandrian Wiccans also practice aspecting (I have heard Alexandrians use that word), so perhaps the term originates there.