Authors
Steff V Scott
Steff V Scott is a writer, researcher, and a prominent Pagan Rights Activist in his home country, having served two terms as the Presiding Officer (Elected) of the Pagan Federation (Scotland). He has spoken at Pagan Events both Nationally and Internationally on the subject of ‘Sumerian Paganism in Practice’, as well as to Colleges, Universities, City and Community Councils, Museums representing ‘Modern Paganism’ in general. In 2021 he led a panel at the Parliament of the World’s Religions on ‘Anti-Pagan Prejudice & Discrimination’.
Academically he has studied the Archaeology of the Near East, Literature and Art of the Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Demonology, the Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, the Cult of the God Mithras, and the Cult of the Goddess Anat, between the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. He has also taught a class on ‘Contemporary Paganism’ at Glasgow University’s summer school on 'Religion and Spirituality in Scotland'.
He is the Co-Founder of the ‘Temple of Inanna’, and is the Director of ‘Eanna Press’.
Samuel David
Samuel David is a Mesopotamian polytheist, artist, writer, and researcher based in the American Midwest. His presentations at local pagan festivals, national, and international conventions include lectures, rituals, and workshops.
As a representative for Temple Sangamon, he actively networks and collaborates with others to represent and protect the interests of those who seek to revive the worship of the Ancient Near Eastern gods. He is also one of the three Co-Founders of the ‘Temple of Inanna’ (alongside Steff V Scott and Mariana Vital).
His adaptation of “The Descent of Inanna” has been featured as classroom material for California State University, Los Angeles’ 2020 ancient history syllabus. His accessible published work includes the novella, “I, Adapa” (featured in “Circe's Cauldron: Pagan Poems and Tales of Magic and Witchcraft”, published by Bibliotheca Alexandrina); “Rod & Ring” and “The Red Shepherd” both published by Anathema Publishing, Ltd.; “Lioness: The Song of Inanna”, originally published by Grayle Press.
Dr Roseane R. Velho Lopes Ph.D
Dr. Roseane R. Velho Lopes, known to most as Lishtar, was a visionary scholar, priestess, and pioneer in the modern revival of Mesopotamian spirituality. A passionate researcher of Sumerian and Babylonian religion, she dedicated her life to making the wisdom of the ancient Near East accessible to a new generation of seekers.
Lishtar’s ground-breaking work began in the late 1990s, and over the last three decades she has become one of the most influential figures within Mesopotamian Reconstructionist Paganism.
Through her meticulous research, modern retellings of ancient myths, and deep spiritual insight, she helped shape the way contemporary practitioners engage with the gods and goddesses of Sumer and Babylon. Her work, spanning over half a million words, reached hundreds of thousands of seekers across the world, bridging academic scholarship and living spirituality. In life she was a dedicated Wiccan, and a devoted priestess of Inanna-Ishtar, embodying the divine light that inspired her chosen name.
Although Lishtar passed away in 2014, her legacy endures.
Lindsay River
Lindsay encountered Inanna/Ishtar from research during 1981/1982 and became instantly devoted to Her. She is an astrologer respected for originality and innovation and focused her attention from the 80s on understanding the relation of the observed behaviour of the planet Venus to the mythology and worship of Inanna.
She has also been interested in the inclusivity of variant gender and sexuality in Inanna’s cult. While not making easy equivalencies she has found this history significant to contemporary LGBTQIA communities and has brought news of Inanna to these and also to the Sex Workers’ University, an educational and cultural project in London. She has taught many community workshops and courses in the UK over the past forty years relating to mythology.
She is a writer of articles and poems, and published, with Sally Gillespie ‘The Knot of Time: Astrology and Female Experience’ The Women’s Press, 1987, and brought out an updated edition at the millennium
Harper Feist
Harper Feist is an esotericist, a scientist and a historian. She is interested chiefly in magical/religious innovations of late antiquity, and the use of these tools and methods today. She is involved in Ordo Templi Orientis (she is past-Master of Leaping Laughter Lodge, Valley of Minneapolis, MN, USA); is an ordained priestess of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, is current interviewer of U.S. Grand Lodge’s official podcast, “Thelema Now”) and is a member of the A:.A:..
She has given a number of recent presentations at national and international occult conferences including Trans-States 2022, Paganicon 2022, NOTOCON (2017 and 2023), ThelemaCON (2019, 2020, 2022) and the Magical Women Symposium 2019. Most recently, she presented at HekateFest 2023 and Symposium Chthonia 2023.
She teaches a well-received class on scrying at the Blackthorne School “A Workshop of Esoteric Awareness.” (www.blackthorne.com)
Written work:
“Wheels of Divine Influence: The Iynx and the Strophalos,” Hadean Press, Conjure Codex V 2022.
“An Explanation of the Illumination in the Hagia Sophia’s Original Dome,” Appendix II in Sanctum of Kronos” Spiritual Dissent in an Age of Tyranny, Peter Mark Adams, Scarlet Imprint, 2022.
“Hekate Ochetos: The Passage” an essay to be released as a pamphlet by Theion Publishing in Winter 2023/2024.
Io Typhon: a devotional volume to be released by Grayle Press in Winter 2023/2024.
Harper is currently under contract with both Llewelyn and Theion
Alix Vallance
Alix is a Sumerian Reconstructionist Pagan who hosts and maintains The Ishtar Gate, a website dedicated to hosting information about the Sumerian Reconstructionist faith and its core tenets and practices, as part of their mission to make the faith more accessible to seekers and new practitioners.
Their website can be found at www.theishtargate.com.
Valerie Voigt
Valerie Voigt is the High Priestess of Temple of Inanna and Dumuzi. She majored in Classical Languages, with additional concentrations in religion and in psychology, at the University of Kansas. She was first called to Inanna-Ishtar’s service in the early 1970s, working independently as a priestess of Inanna-Ishtar for several years.
She began studying Witchcraft with family tradition Witch “Grandma” Julie Tower in 1978, and continued her studies further, later receiving initiation into Feri Tradition Witchcraft from Victor and Cora Anderson, and initiations through the Third Degree in Gardnerian Wicca.
In 1982, with the late Zephyr Starwater, she co-founded the Centre of the Divine Ishtar, a sister Centre of the Fellowship of Isis. The Centre was succeeded by the Temple of Inanna and Dumuzi in 2004.
Ivan Richmond
Ivan Richmond has been the High Priest of the Temple of Inanna and Dumuzi since 2006. His BA in Classics, Reed ’96, has helped his understanding of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern religion.
In case anyone’s interested, he’s also a 3rd degree Gardnerian Wiccan (but not an uptight one) and served for several years as the High Priest of a Wiccan coven in Oakland, California.
He and the Temple both reside in San Jose, California.
Rebecca Buchanan
Rebecca Buchanan is the editor of the Pagan literary ezine Eternal Haunted Summer. She has published poems and short stories in a wide variety of venues (many with an explicitly polytheistic focus), and has released several novellas and poetry collections, including
Geek Witch and the Treacherous Tome of Deadly Danger; The Adventure of the Faerie Coffin: Being the First Morstan and Holmes Occult Detection; and Not a Princess, But (Yes) There Was a Pea and Other Faerie Tales to Foment Revolution.
A complete list of her publications can be found at eternalhauntedsummer.com.
Prisca Long
Prisca Long is a witch, priest/ess of Inanna, and an elder in Mesopotamian Reconstructionist Polytheism, with more than 30 years in multiple traditions of magick. In 2023, Prisca completed initiation into the Order of the Rod & Ring, alongside their Temple sister, Enheduinanna.
With the Temple of Inanna and Circle of Stars Mystery School, they serve the gods and community with congregational services, spiritual coaching, and the occasional class. Prisca also leads the Circle of Inanna, an organization for women who are devoted to the Sumerian Queen of Heaven.
Amara Willey
Amara Willey is a shaman, teacher, and co-founder of a 27-year-old Wiccan community in central New Jersey. Her mission is to ignite the Light in healers, creators, dreamers, and artists so that they can reconnect to the Sacred. Clients seek her guidance for greater abundance, freedom from clutter, and more connection to the unseen world. For more information, see her website or to contact: www.amarawilley.com
Suzanne Corbie
Suzanne is a Wiccan High Priestess of 49 years, whose main studies have been in the area of the Divine Feminine, Divination, History, Ritual and Magic in the west and middle east. She has an MA in Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred.
Alison C. Kepple ~ Enheduinanna
Alison C. Kepple has been a dedicated Priestess of Inanna since 2009 when the Lioness came to her in dream. Within a few years and the deepening of her practice, she took the name Enheduinanna to confirm devotion. Alison is a member of Hands of Change and a co-organizer of the annual ISHTARFEST. She completed the Rod & Ring Initiatory Journey alongside Temple sister Prisca Long, in July of 2023. She is a member of Circle of Inanna, and a moderator for Temple of Inanna.
While dedicated to Inanna, Alison works very closely with Ereshkigal as a psychopomp and End-of-Life Doula in her day job as a Palliative Care Social Worker at a level I trauma center acute care hospital. It is not uncommon for her to be walking spirits to the gates of Ereshkigal’s city even in dream. She is a death-positivity advocate and educator, currently working on a doctorate with a focus on human rights in death care.
Besides Priestess and advocate, Alison’s other full-time services are as mother to two spirited children, wife of an archaeologist, and wrangler of cats. Life is full and beautiful, though hardly tidy.
Catherine Brooks
Catherine Brooks pulls story threads through depths of time, reviving ancient myths and deities. She is a weaver of words and images, creating at the crossroads of spirituality, psychology, mythology, ecology, and embodiment. Through poetry, fiction, and essay, Catherine explores the mysteries of the unconscious and the Great Mysteries of sex + birth, death + reincarnation. Her previous bodies of artwork in print, constructed paintings, and performance addressed embodied symbology.
Catherine has B.A. and M.F.A. degrees in printmaking and is a former master printer. She is the author of many writings on art, travel, motherhood, and feminine spirituality. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
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Websites: www.catherinebrooks.com,
Scott Irvine
Scott Irvine lives on the south coast of Dorset, inspired by cliffs, beaches and a wild sea. He is an active member of the Cotswold Order of Druids and a local witches circle working with earth energies for good in the world. He became fascinated with ancient history and mythology, wishing to understand the Celtic tribes who left behind many hill-forts and burial mounds scattered everywhere across the county.
Scott was introduced to the Goddess Brigit, leading him far back in time to Ishtar/Inanna, Mesopotamia and the Anunnaki culminating in the publication of his first book, ‘Ishtar and Ereshkigal’, from Moon Books (2020). Also, from Moon books by Scott is ‘The Magic of Serpents’ (2023) and several anthologies including ‘Seven Ages of the Goddess’, (2018) ‘Pagan Planet’ (2016) and ‘Naming the Goddess’ (2014).
From Veneficia Publications is Scott’s novel ‘The King’s Odyssey’ (2021) a fantasy adventure set in Iron-Age Dorset. From the same publisher, Scott has contributed to their Dark Devine Feminine series with two short books, ‘Kali the Destroyer’ (2023), ‘Ereshkigal – The Dark Side of Venue’ (2021) and several anthologies including ‘So, Do We Have a Deal?’ (2022), ‘A Gateway to Summit or Other’ (2022) and ‘Voices from the Ashes – Resurrecting the Wytch’ (2020).
Jack Massa
Jack Massa is a science fiction and fantasy author, and a long-time student of mysticism and ancient deities. His writing can be found at triskelionbooks.com and speclectic.substack.com.
Sheryl Yoneviv
Practitioner in folk and syncretism magics. Born and raised in the local area where it is still filled with rituals and superstitions. My work is usually an adapted version of those I can find on the trace of history, along with the research, and the family-folks. With the small trace of planetary magic blended with.
Mary Malinski
Reverend Mary Malinski is the Archpriestess of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church of Canada, and the founder of the Circle of the Sacred Muse, the public ritual group for ATC - Canada. She has been leading rituals for more than twenty years, and writing guided meditations for almost as long. Mary also teaches at the Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, and holds a Bachelor in Wiccan Ministry from the same school. You can read more of Mary's writings and find her other guided meditations, at www.WalksWithin.com.
Alexandria Sorensen
Alexandria has dedicated herself to Inanna for over fifteen years and to her spiritual journey for even longer. She leads a quiet life, embracing nature, the spirits and the gods in her pursuit of balance and harmony. She is always searching for further knowledge and to share her experiences with those who seek it.
Joseph Sullivan
Joseph Sullivan is an artist and lifelong student of theology, mysticism, and the occult, with a special interest in Levantine and West Asian polytheism. He helps run the Temple of Canaan group on Facebook, and also curates a collection of ancient Near-Eastern writings at The Sapiru Project blog
Joseph Stoneman
Joe is the founder of Temple of the goddess Ishtar and admin of The Goddess Ishtar group on Facebook. He has been a follower of the divine feminine since 2012 and specifically Ishtar since 2015. This is his first goddess related printed work.
Daniel Bran Griffith
Daniel Bran Griffith is a Registered Nurse living in central England. Frequently writing under the pseudonym ‘The Chattering Magpie’, he has seen his work published in over a dozen Pagan related magazines and journals. These include; Pagan Dawn, Pentacle, Silver Wheel, Hedgewytch, Deosil Dance, Brigid’s Fire, the Dolman Grove Chronicles, Greenmantle, Coire Ansic and Enquiring Eye. Daniel has also contributed to several anthologies; including ‘Silver Wheel’ volumes I, II, III and IV published by Lear Books of England, ‘Call of the God’ published by Temple of the Dark Moon of Australia and Pillars Vol. II Issue I (Circling the Compass) and Pillars Vol. II Issue II (Seeds or Ares), both published by Anathema of Canada and five volumes of Tumzantorum published by ZOSHOUSE of England.
Daniel was formally the Pagan Federation Regional Officer for Derbyshire and held that office for eight years. Prior to his retirement from charity work he was for two years, the Deputy District Manager for the East Midlands and the Pagan Representative on the local Interfaith Council. During his tenure he was in the chair when organising three conferences, the All Fools Gathering of 2007 and 2008 and the Derby Witan in 2011. Daniel was host and organiser of the Elvaston Castle Pagan Picnic in the Park for ten years.
Daniel is the founder and Summoner of the Hearth of the Turning Wheel, an independent coterie based in old Mercia. His particular area of interest is the symbolism and meaning of folklore, local legend and Sacred Mythology. Daniel therefore describes himself as an Esoteric Folklorist. As an independent scholar of the
esoteric, Daniel will describe himself as an essayist, a blogger, a poet and as an occasional public speaker. Sometimes described as an authority and he has been called a little man with a big mind.
River Harrison-Park
Along my spiritual path I've gotten a few scars. I was initiated into spirituality through Christianity, which taught that I was inherently sinful and in need of saving.
I left the church when I was 16 for paganism, as I was called to revere Nature, enjoy its splendours and to serve the Land. However, soon after I started studying philosophy, and it became harder to justify my faith to the sceptics. Eventually the gods were no longer alive to me, and I became a scientific materialist and Naturalistic Pagan.
I still felt the presence of a Divine force within nature. It was this hunch that became a doorway back to theism when, after a rain ritual, I came into contact with the spirit world. Scepticism has left many scars on my soul as I now struggle to connect to the Divine and make sense of the world. In this poem I praise Inanna for her powers and ask her to help me heal from those scars and expand my mind.
Carly Sherman
Carly is a doctoral student at the University of Notre Dame where she specializes in cultural sociology, new religious movements, subcultures, identity, and meaning-making.
Contemporary Paganism is the subject of both personal and professional research, as she has been a polytheist and practicing occultist for over half her life and has experience with Near Eastern Polytheism, traditional witchcraft, and Gardnerian Wicca.
Originally from Milwaukee, she now lives in southwest Michigan with her partner and their animal menagerie: 2 dogs, 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 5 snakes, a flock of parrots, and one grumpy chameleon.
In her spare time she enjoys making terrariums, playing (and DMing) TTRPGs, and writing fanfiction.
Featured Artists and Illustrators
Damara Carpenter
Damara Carpenter is a self-taught artist from Arkansas, who has been drawing since she was able to hold a pencil. She prefers to work in traditional media - mostly pencil and watercolour, but she sometimes creates work in acrylic or oil. Damara has made art that spans a wide range of subject matter but largely focuses on mythological or literary subjects as these are most inspiring to her. Damara has heard the call of Inanna for over a decade now and she became a dedicated devotee in 2022 after a lot of serious contemplation. Of late, Inanna is making Her way more and more into Damara’s artwork. It is her hope that, through her art, the power, beauty, and marvel that is Inanna will be shared with the world.
Janice Taylor
I create fine jewelry, working primarily in gemstones, gold and silver, using traditional metalsmithing techniques of lost wax casting and hand fabrication. My craft is deeply connected with the Sumerian current as a method of initiation, as well as the Angelical language and symbols spoken from the unmanifest, revealing themselves as talismans, amulets, and rings, carved from wax and cast into metal. The science and art of ceremonial magick drives my work, ensouling spirit into matter. Attached are some of my pieces depicting Inanna, using various materials such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, as well as some handmade statues.
Link as follows: https://www.etsy.com/shop/cimentarius
Martin Clinch
Martin Clinch is a narrative artist based out of Indianapolis. He received a BFA in Printmaking from Herron School of Art and Design (’14). He has taught comics and printmaking in the Indianapolis area through Herron Saturday School and the Indianapolis Arts Center.
His publications include Lupina issues 1 and 2 from Legendary Comics, and he has provided work for Steff V. Scott’s From Inanna to Eostre published by Eanna Press.
POQUIS
Poquis is an esoteric artist and occultist with a focus on ancestral practices, dirt sorcery and Hellenic polytheism. Poquis’ artwork is a synergistic interaction between a need to create and magickal praxis. Their artwork itself can be seen as the physical manifestation of a conversation between deity and devotee.
Ultimately, Poquis seeks to bridge the gap between the ancient and modern practitioner, creating a visual dialogue that stirs the blood and resonates in the bones.
You can find more of their artwork on their social media platforms: @poquis as well as www.athenaeumazostos.com
Medeia
Born and raised on small town in the western side of Portugal, she has made the land of her ancestors (since 1558) her own ever since. She was naturally drawn to Paganism and Natural Witchcraft, greatly influenced by the ancient knowledge of herbs and medicines that enrich the Portuguese folklore. Her path took her to training in medicinal herbs, crystals and the radionic table, always accompanied by practice and experience, which pushed forward her project that develops and sells pagan devotional crafts and esoteric products since 2019. In 2021, she became part of the Temple of Inanna and devoted herself to the Goddess of the Largest Heart.
She is driven by a passion for history, the land and the ancestral powers that inspire, guide and protect her.
Tamara Wyndham
Tamara Wyndham is a visual artist, primarily a painter. She has been awarded artist residencies at the Henry Street Settlement, the Kate Millett Art Colony, the Vermont Studio Center, the MaÅ™íž Ceramic Workshop in the Czech Republic, and Fundación Valparaíso in Spain.
Tamara Wyndham was part of a women’s Goddess circle in the early 1990’s; and now is the Imperator for Aiwass Temple No. 8, Temple of Thelema, in New York City; and also the founder and organizer of Babalon Salon, a women’s study group on magick and spirituality.
Cheldra Stanfield
I went to school for graphic design, then fooled around with digital art in college and mostly did pencil, sculpting, and painting in high school. However, after experimenting with other mediums, I mostly focus on painting now. I prefer to meditate before I paint or be in a particular mind frame before going all in on a piece of artwork, ritualistic pieces I have only worked with Inanna on and she is to me a creative goddess, and inspirational for me mostly through dreams and meditation.
Jake Baxter
I am an Amateur Scribe of the Sumerian Language and a practicing Mesopotamian Polytheist from the UK. I serve the gods by teaching the language in which they were worshipped and learning it for myself so that I can pray to the gods in the original language. My scribal work can be found over on my Instagram
@dumu.enki
Rubi Do Trinh
Rubi is a multimedia artist from Vietnam. She provides concept art and illustrations for feature animation, video games, books and playing cards. Her work focuses on depicting verdant environments and quiet adventures. She is currently living with her cat Eva and husband (in that order) in Kansas City.
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The Star of Inanna Tarot came about when Rubi was touched by a memorable view of the Milky Way in Australia and decided to contact Jan Lago. Together they anchor their love for Inanna, her mythologies and medicines into the physical form of a Tarot deck.
David Myriad
David Myriad grew up in New York City, moved to California where he studied art and Digital Graphics.
His archaeological artistry is grounded in ancient symbolism. The process involves studying the original archaeological artefacts, such as stone carvings, to determine the exact proportions of the divine image. Then modern digital drawing tools are used to create perfected symbols.
Jennifer Wilber
Jennifer Wilber is a devotee of Inanna and a Mesopotamian polytheist. She enjoys writing and creating artwork, especially in devotion to Inanna. She has felt a connection to Inanna since her teens and began building a deeper spiritual relationship with Her during her battle with breast cancer. Jennifer’s artwork and writing can be found at jenniferwilber.com and nybiru.com.
Barbara Kring
Barbara Kring is an artist and writer living in West Virginia with her mom, two dogs and three cats. A student in anthropology at the University of Southern Maine. A professional painter and modern Druid.
Tomasz Kuczyński
3D Character Artist from Poland. Designer, scupltor, 3D modeller, musician. Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Working as an 3D Artist in video game industry science 2017. In 2022 starter Arcane Visions project with creation of the statuette of Inanna Goddess.
Carolina Gonzalez
As well as a published artist, Carolina Gonzalez is a Spiritual Counsellor with over three decades of experience. For the past fifteen, she has offered her services online, mostly doing divination and custom spiritual work, and guiding people to a deeper and more authentic relationship with their spiritual heritage and personal power.
Emily Sorlien
Emily is a disabled astrologer, intuitive tarot reader and avid plant forager with an art practice dedicated to Venus-Aphrodite. She is based in Providence, RI. Find her work at TheQueenOfBones.com