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Ishtar is the ancient goddess of love, war, and fertility worshipped in the Akkadian Empire, by the Babylonians, and Assyrians. She was originally worshipped in Sumer as Inanna. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine law, and political power. Her primary title was "the Queen of Heaven."

Inanna was associated with the planet Venus, which is named after her Roman equivalent Venus. In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, unlike any other deity, Inanna is able to descend into the netherworld and return to the heavens. Because the movements of Venus appear to be discontinuous (it disappears due to its proximity to the Sun, for many days at a time, and then reappears on the other horizon), some cultures did not recognize Venus as a single entity; instead, they assumed it to be two separate stars on each horizon.

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Poet W.B. Yeats

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This month in history Sybil Leek casting a circle in New England April - Accused witch, Margaret Aitken, is arrested on suspicion of witchcraft. (1597) April 1 - The Last Supper of Jesus Christ. (30) April 3 - Jack the Ripper is believed to commit his first murder. (1888) April 4 - Michael Servetus is arrested in Rome on charges of heresy. (1553) April 7 - Traditional date of the crucifiction of Jesus Christ. (30) April 8 - Aleister Crowley hears the voice of Aiwass, convincing him to write The Book of the Law. (1904) April 11 - Occultist Anton Szandor LaVey is born. (1930) April 11 - Doctor, occultist, and warlock, Frederick Santee dies. (1980) April 13 - Astrologer Sybil Leek appears on American television for the first time. (1964) April 18 - Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome. (1909) April 20 - Suspected necromancer, William II de Soules, is executed for treason. (1321) April 25 - The Satanic Temple receives 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status as a nonprofit church. (2019) April 28 - Thiess of Kaltenbrun, the Livonian Werewolf, is brought to trial. (1691)

Featured image Set is a god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners in ancient Egyptian religion. In a legend in the Pyramid Texts, as punishment for his rebellion and overthrow of Osiris, Set was transformed into a sacrificial red ox (some legends say a red goat). His foreleg (xpS) was cut off and thrown into the sky where it became Meskhetiu (Msxtyw), a group of seven stars in the northern sky (likely either Ursa Major or Ursa Minor). The foreleg was not only a protective god, but it was also a lasting symbol of power and strength, especially of strength in the afterlife. Thousands of blue or red foreleg amulets have been found wrapped in the bandages of mummies across all periods of Egyptian history, and drawings of Msxtyw feature prominently alongside the decanal stars in the Middle Kingdom Period coffins. Photographer: Travis McHenry (More Images)

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