Ishtar


An Asyrian and Babylonian goddess of love, fertility and war, who personifies the planet Venus.  She is also a mother goddess and the consort of Tammuz, the god of grain and bread who died each Winter and was reborn the following Spring.  As a Triple Goddess, Ishtar represents birth, death and rebirth.  In her aspect as Mother,  she is the giver of all life.  In her aspect as Warrioress, she is the bringer of death.  In her aspect as Crone, she brings rebirth and resurrection.  The crescent of the new moon rising is one of her sacred symbols and she is often depicted in works of art as a woman with birdlike facial features and braided hair, wearing bull's horns and many jeweled necklaces, bracelets and anklets.  She is associated with the Sumerian goddess Inanna and the Phoenician goddess Astarte.  Her sacred colors are red and green.


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