Gay Spirituality

I posted a while ago about a new Ereshkigal Anthology .  Since then I’ve been working on ideas for my own submission to the anthology.  I’ve used the Sumerian pantheon in my personal work for many, many years and have considered myself a priest of Ereshkigal for a long time.  I’ve had many experiences with her.  Some are beautiful and some have been…well frightening is probably a good word.  As I’ve been working on ideas for my own submission to the anthology, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to submitting something about Ereshkigal and queer men in particular.

It seems that I know a number of gay men that follow an underworld goddess.  Hekate seems to be the most common one but the parallels between Hekate and Ereshkigal are strong enough that I think there’s a similar theme.  What I really began to think about was “why?”.  Why are gay men drawn to dark or underworld goddesses?  In the Ereshkigal myth, Ereshkigal cursed the beings that were “neigher male nor female” which Enki sent to rescue Inanna.  She said that the “refuse at the foundation of the city shall be your food and the water of the gutters shall be your drink”.   We know from history that Inanna had a transgendered priesthood and myth tells that Ereshkigal and Inanna had a bitter rivalry at times.  So why then would a gay man worship Ereshkigal?

One idea that ocurred to me is that Inanna and Ereshkigal are archetypes for the two sides of human nature–Inanna the light and compassionate nature and Ereshkigal the dark destroyer nature.  Gay men are often known for their compassion and their joyousness.  Perhaps dedication to Ereshkigal is a way to get in touch with the darker sides of our natures.  Perhaps this darker energy gives us the strength to go on when we’re persecuted.  Aleister Crowley felt that every magickal accomplishment was both a blessing and a curse.  A student deserving of a degree that they claimed would have the tools to receive the fullness of the blessing and the ability to deal with the curse that accompanied it.  Perhaps there’s part of the Ereshkigal myth that’s been lost.  Maybe there was a blessing that goes with Ereshkigal’s curse.  Perhaps by drawing on the darker energy of Ereshkigal we learn to transmute the curse into a hidden source of strength and power.

I’d love to hear other thoughts on this topic.  Why do you think gay men tend to be drawn to underworld goddesses such as Ereshkigal or Hekate?