Valerie Voigt and Ivan Richmond, of COG member coven Waxing Moon Circle, will be presenting online, as part of the Pagan conference Ishtarfest, a devotional ritual to the Goddess Inanna and the God Dumuzi. Inanna, the most widely-revered Goddess in all of ancient Sumer, held all the powers of civilization. Her consort Dumuzi was the patron of herding and agriculture. Inanna was also widely known under the name Ishtar, whereby She was worshipped from Mesopotamia to Spain, from Egypt to Britain. Offerings and prayers will be made and ancient sacred texts read, with call-and-response singing. You may best participate in this virtual ritual by bringing your own food and drink offerings, which may be eaten afterwards. Traditional offerings include lentils, olive oil, bread, cream/milk, beer and wine, if you would like to also have some of those available. We will be reading aloud the hymn known as “The Holy One.” We consider this hymn family friendly, but some parents may prefer that their children not hear references to prostitutes. Some children may enjoy the call-and-response, while some may not.

The reason this is not entered as a virtual event, although it is one: the Zoom link will be sent only to those who register for Ishtarfest.