Queen of the Great Below: An Anthology in Honor of Ereshkigal

Compiled by Janet Munin

Price: $10.99 (paperback) / $2.99 (digital)
Publication Date: October 2010
Place of Publication: Shreveport, Louisiana
ISBN: 1453878963/978-1453878965
Pages: 124 pp
Binding Type: US Trade Paperback
Trim Size: 5.5″x8.5″

Hail to You, Ereshkigal, Great Queen of Those Below. Mistress of the Shadows. Lady of Bones and Dust. Frightening One of the Far Places Where Men Fear to Go. Strong One Who Builds the Boundaries and Knows How to Tear Them Down.

Queen of the Great Below is a collection of poems, essays and personal ritual experiences by modern devotees in honor of Ereshkigal. Once worshipped as Ruler of the Underworld from the shores of the Euphrates to the banks of the Nile, Ereshkigal is now known primarily for her role as the antagonist in The Descent of Inanna. In this unique devotional anthology, however, Ereshkigal is revealed to be a multi-faceted deity of transformation, boundary-keeping, and passion, a teacher of harsh but necessary lessons.

You stand at the brink of the Underworld, on the shadowed path that few walk willingly. Those who have contributed to this devotional have walked this road and returned, bearing the blessings of the Queen. We invite you to walk this path, as well.

Ereshkigal awaits ….

[Editor’s Note: This text contains references to BDSM and the ordeal path.]

Queen of the Great Below can be purchased for the Kindle here; in paperback on Amazon here and at Amazon.co.uk here; and at Barnes and Noble here. All of the proceeds from Queen of the Great Below – as well as many of the other volumes in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina series – will be used to help promote the revival of the worship of the Greek and Egyptian Gods, with a portion of the proceeds given to a worthy charitable organization in their name.  So, not only will you be getting a wonderful book about the modern worship of Ereshkigal – but your money will be going to do good work and help the revival of ancient polytheistic religions.

ATTENTION Librarians, Teachers and Retailers: Queen of the Great Below is also available at reduced cost for academic institutions, lending libraries (public and private) and retailers. Check our online store, or email baeditor@gmail.com with any questions.

We are rebuilding the Library of Alexandria one book at a time!

Interviews and Reviews: Check out the Patheos interview with editor Janet Munin, as well as the review by Galina Krasskova. The Everything Magical and Middle Eastern review. And the Life of Joy posting. And the 5/5 review in witches&pagans!

Table of Contents:

Dedication (H. Jeremiah Lewis) — 3
Acknowledgments (Janet Munin) — 4
Guide to Names — 5
Introduction (Janet Munin) — 7
Are You Lost? (Janet Munin) — 15
Darkness Rising (Sophie Reicher) — 17
Irkalla (Melitta Benu) — 18
To Stay a Seventh Day: Nergal Sings to Ereshkigal (Lee Harrington) — 20
Stripped to the Core: Ereshkigal Frees Inanna from Religious Bondage (MasterAmazon) — 27
The Space Before Her Throne is Strewn with Broken  Eggshells (Janet Munin) — 32
Stonebreaker:  A Call to Gugalanna, Bull of Heaven (Lee Harrington) — 33
Claimed by Ereshkigal (Janet Munin) — 35
Hymn to Ereshkigal II (Rebecca Buchanan) — 41
The Bones of the Earth (Leni Hester) — 42
Naked and Bowed Low (Janet Munin) — 45
Drawing the Line (Grace Barker) — 46
Let Me Be Burned in Thy Sight (Callista Evenstar) — 49
She Comes to Me Masked (Clare Vaughn) — 50
Ereshkigal as The Queen of Swords (Shirl Sazynski) — 52
The Oracle of Ereshkigal (Galina Krasskova) — 53
At the Gates (Erynn Rowan Laurie) — 55
The Seven Gates (Grace Barker) — 60
Her Mirror (Sophie Reicher) — 75
Welcome to Irkalla (BellaDonna Oya) — 76
Ereshkigal: Lady of Shadows (BellaDonna Oya) — 78
Mourning Prayer to Ereshkigal (Rebecca Buchanan) — 80
Ereshkigal’s Visit (Belladonna Laveau) — 81
The Dark Mother’s Mysteries & Lessons (Inara de Luna) — 88
Ereshkigal Speaks (Belladonna Laveau & Inara de Luna) — 95
The Ways of the Underworld (Janet Munin) — 98
Meeting Ereshkigal (Janet Munin) — 108
For Further Reading — 111
Contributors — 113
About the Bibliotheca Alexandrina –118

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