Astarte, Ishtar, Inanna & Isis

Astarte, Ashtoreth, Inanna & Isis

Ishtar (pronounced both 'easter' and 'ishtar') is the goddess of both war (called 'Lady of Battle' by the Assyrians) and love in the ancient near east. There are several manifestations of Astarte/Ishtar in the Syria and Mesopotamia temples: Asherah is the mother goddess (wife of El) in the Canaanite pantheon, Anat was a youthful war-goddess; Ashtoreth was a goddess of love and lust. In Mesopotamia Inanna (Ishtar) presided over war and love, protecting and joyfully destroying the enemies of the lands.

In the old northern Mesopotamian calendars, April/May was known as "Month of the Feast of Astarte" who honors life, passion and the conquering spirit; including the fertility of the land, Astarte is a balanced deity holding great power in symbolism concerning the left hand path.

"The Agushaya Poem invokes and praises Ishtar as the personification of war. The association of Lilith and Ishtar is first by the spelling of the planet, Venus, Dilbat, known as a name of Lilith in numerous Aramaic Incantation Bowls." - from SEBITTI by Michael W. Ford

Isis, the Egyptian goddess is equally a strong deity associated with fertility, love, magick and when needed warfare.