Inanna’s Descent

This week has an underworld flavour, not as doom and gloom, more like the part of life where we are absolutely done with pretence. Power dynamics will be rising to the surface and our desire tells the truth, control becomes visible and what has been quietly shaping things from underneath, for good or for ill, gets named.

I want to frame it through one of the oldest descent myths we have: Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld, because astrologically, we’re watching a sequence of conjunctions to Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, in early Aquarius and it’s a picture of each planet taking a turn to walk through a gate into the Underworld.

In the Sumerian story, Inanna decides to descend, the text literally says she “abandoned heaven” and “abandoned earth.” She tells the gatekeeper she is going down for funeral rites—specifically for Gugalanna, the husband of her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld.

So the descent begins with grief, with ritual, with the reality of death and also with a deeper motive underneath, the restoration of balance, the return of fertility, the renewal of life through sacrifice and exchange.

And here’s the part that always gets me: she goes through seven gates, and at each gate she’s stripped. Not just of jewellery and symbols, but of the functions, of status, protection and leverage.

By the end, she’s brought low and rendered powerless, until she becomes like a corpse, hung on a hook in the underworld. And then, even when she is revived, she cannot simply return unchanged, there’s an exchange, a cost and there is a demand for balance. That is the tone of this week, surrender and reckoning, as a mechanism of renewal.

This week Venus, Mercury and the Sun will all conjunct Pluto, later this week Mars will ingress Aquarius and immediately be applying to his conjunction with Pluto. Now, the conjunctions all happen around 3 degrees of Aquarius. And if you like the Hellenistic “texture” of a degree: 3° Aquarius is in Mercury’s Egyptian bounds, 0° to 6°59° Aquarius belongs to Mercury also in the Chaldean decans, the first decan of Aquarius is Venus (0–10).

So the sky itself is already telling a story, the Goddess Venus is stepping into the underworld Pluto, inside Mercury’s territory of speech, naming, contracts, oaths, negotiations. Which is perfect for the way we’re going to use Mercury, as voice, command, language and what happens when that’s stripped away.

And because it’s Aquarius, in Hellenistic terms, Aquarius is Saturn’s domicile so a feel of cold, sober, structural, and long-view. It’s fixed air: ideas that don’t just flicker, they become systems. It’s the sign of the collective, the network, the “people,” but also the laws and architectures that shape what the people can do. So when Pluto is here, we’re not only talking personal shadow work. We’re talking power in systems: organisations, communities, leadership structures, cultural movements, technology, ideology it is how power flows through the collective body.

The Gates.

Show the Charts

Gate 1: Venus conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius. Exact late 19 Jan at 11:04pm ET, which is 20 Jan 4:04am UK time.
Gate 2: Sun conjunct Mercury (cazimi) at 1° Aquarius. Exact 21 Jan 10:49am ET, which is 21 Jan 3:49pm UK.
Gate 3: Mercury conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius. Exact 22 Jan 12:15pm ET, which is 22 Jan 5:15pm UK.
Gate 4: Sun conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius. Exact 23 Jan 5:28am ET, which is 23 Jan 10:28am UK.
Then Mars enters Aquarius 23 Jan 4:16am ET, which is 23 Jan 9:16am UK.
And finally: Mars conjunct Pluto at 3° Aquarius. Exact 27 Jan 6:01pm ET, which is 27 Jan 11:01pm UK.

So we start with Venus, then Mercury as verbal expression, the voice and how the mind names the underworld, the place of the unconscious, dream world, power, wealth, of Soul and death a place containing existential themes. We will then look at the Sun as sovereignty meeting Pluto and then Mars bringing the heat to this process. Finally I will briefly outline the themes and topics for each Zodiac sign, which are being impacted by this stellium of planets passing through the Underworld. (There are timestamps below)

I am going to look at this procession of planets as Gates, the gates that Inanna passed through and if you are interested in the myth of Inanna as a feminine initiation I will put a link in the description dealing with initiation and descent to the Goddess in the description below along with the website for the ETCSL, a treasure trove of Sumerian Literature.

Gate 1: Venus/Inanna meets Pluto

Venus–Pluto is desire meeting the underworld and this is deep and intense passion and sometimes taboo desires. It’s bonding, obsession, jealousy, fascination, compulsion, magnetic pulls. But if we keep the myth on: this is Inanna choosing to descend. She is not being dragged she is choosing. She is choosing because she is willing to make sacrifices in exchange for the return of the cycles of fertility and abundance.

So I’d ask: where are you willingly going lower this week?

Where are you done with the shallow version of a story, done with politeness, done with the “it’s fine,” done with performing harmony, because you want the real thing?

And Venus–Pluto is also the mythical sacrifice and exchange motif and so many things become the currency here - Libido (sexual desire and life instinct) is currency. Attention, beauty and charm, sex and loyalty is currency. The underworld doesn’t care about what we say we value, it reveals what we are actually willing to pay for.

Personal lens:
You might feel drawn to someone, or pulled into a dynamic, and it’s neither light nor casual. It might be healing, it might be messy, it might be both.
The medicine is honesty: “What do I want, really? What am I trying to control? What am I afraid to lose?”

Shadow expression:
This can show up as passive aggression, triangulation, manipulation, power-games in relationships, or that feeling of “I need you to prove it.” Your own desire becomes a kind of test.

Collective / leadership lens:
Venus–Pluto can correlate with financial power, resource control, loyalty economics, PR beauty used as leverage, or moral language used to dominate.
It can also show up as genuine regeneration: communities re-forming around values that are actually lived, not just posted. It is here that the Spiritual Communities should pay attention this week as whatever is posted online, offered as courses must be something that we are living or willing to live not something that pushes the brand by looking pretty but that actually has spiritual wisdom behind it because the talk is walked not just simply performed for leverage to gain finances or status or power for self.

So the question for leaders this week is simple:
Are you using love—or “community”—as a tool of control? Or are you willing to lose status to restore integrity?

Gate 2: Mercury as voice stripped (Sun–Mercury cazimi)

In the story, when Inanna reaches a gate, she’s told not to argue the rites of the underworld and essentially it is important not to use your voice to override the process.

And then we get Sun conjunct Mercury, the cazimi it is Mercury in the heart of the Sun. This is a moment where mind and message are purified and the signal gets sharp.

So here’s how I’d speak this gate:
Your voice is powerful this week, but power isn’t always volume, sometimes power is restraint.

Sometimes you don’t win by speaking.
You win by speaking once—cleanly—and then not negotiating your boundary with your own fear and sometimes silence is incredibly powerful

Practically:
If you’ve been circling a conversation use this day to write the sentence you’ve been avoiding and actively express it to the person you need to communicate it to. Also this is a good time to explore if you have been leaking energy into explaining yourself, or justifying your choices and boundaries this is a day to choose clarity over persuasion.

Collective lens:
Mercury cazimi can bring announcements or pivots in the narrative, it can also bring revelations and messaging that resets the story.
But if the story is being used to manipulate, Pluto is right there waiting.

Gate 3: Mercury conjunct Pluto (voice meets the underworld)

Then Mercury meets Pluto exactly. This is the mind going surgical with a scalpel it is interrogation and truth-telling energy. We may see confessions or a going down the rabbit hole research. There may be leaks and obsessions or the urge to say the thing you “shouldn’t” say.

This is also where language becomes a weapon if we’re not conscious, Mercury with Pluto gives you the power to name what’s actually happening but it is wise to be aware that it also tempts you to use naming as domination. We may see a truth about someone or a situation, maybe a secret that comes to light but we see it very clearly here and have that urge to use that knowledge or insight to have power over someone or something.

It’s a good time to ask yourself if you are seeking truth or seeking control, because they can sound identical in your head. Aim for clear expression, have those hard conversations with awareness and maturity. If you are having or conducting therapy sessions you may find that they go straight to the root. We can also use this time to speak concisely about our boundaries but without cruelty.

The Shadow expression can be compulsive texting, verbal power plays or withholding information to maintain advantage.
Or the opposite: blurting things like a grenade, and calling it “honesty.”

Collective lens:
This can be whistleblower energy individuals and groups shedding light on mismanagement of resources and corruption.
It can be propaganda wars.
It can be communities splitting over who controls the narrative.
It can also be necessary truth: the thing that has to be said so the system can regenerate - this can be a journalist speaking truth to power, holding someone publicly accountable for harmful actions, bringing hidden power dynamics to the surface, to the collectives awareness.

Gate 4: Sun conjunct Pluto (sovereignty stripped)

Now the Sun. The Sun is sovereignty and authority. The centre of the story.
And in the myth, Inanna’s descent includes the surrender of her offices—her status—her “I rule here” energy.

So when the Sun conjoins Pluto, it’s like the underworld puts a hand on the crown and says: “Are you sure you deserve this?”

This is intense enthusiasm and drive, surges of creative potency, primal energy and it’s also ego meeting shadow.

Personal lens:
Where are you performing strength, when the real strength would be surrender?
Where are you clinging to identity, when the soul is trying to transform?

Shadow:
Ruthlessness. Dominance. Sexual shadow used for attention or control.
The vibe of “I’ll show you.” It can get theatrical.

Medicine:
Self-conquest, not conquest of others.
If you’re leading, lead with accountability.
If you’re creating, create from the root, not from the need to prove you exist.

Collective / leadership lens:
This is where leadership scandals can surface, power struggles can escalate, “shadow in authority” becomes visible - Intuitively I feel dark truths and secrets, which have been repressed and hidden from the collective meet the light of day during this period. Taboo subject matter will surface which may shock and shake society including the misuse and abuse of power and wealth and those things which have been hidden from public view. The Sun with Pluto and be the signification of the demise or death of a Solar figure/Leader so watch the news cycle…
And it can also be the moment a leader chooses humility and repairs trust.

Sun–Pluto asks:
Is your authority life-giving?
Or is it extracting vitality and sovereignty of the collective?

Mars enters Aquarius, then applies to Pluto (action stripped / reclaimed)

And then Mars enters Aquarius the same day. Mars is action, autonomy and fight. it is libido as motion.

So in our mythic frame: Mars is Inanna’s ability to act on her own behalf.

And as Mars heads straight for Pluto, this is where the week gets volcanic.

Mars–Pluto can be cathartic and surgical, cutting away what’s rotten, decisive action and courageous renewal.
Or it can be brutal and compulsive, expressing as force, coercion, obsession or scorched earth (deliberate military destruction of resources and property to deny them to an “enemy”).

This is a moment to slow down and speak to the nervous system. The underworld week doesn’t just happen “out there,” it is happening in and through our bodies.

If you notice you’re getting addicted to intensity, if you’re doom-scrolling, if you’re picking fights, if you’re seeking an enemy so your adrenaline has somewhere to go then pause. Mars–Pluto is incredible power and it needs a safe channel to flow through.

Personal lens:
This is where you can be empowered to break a compulsion or end a cycle and it can be where you can finally do the thing you’ve been circling for months.

Shadow:
Over-exertion. Pushing too hard. “My way or the highway.” Rage as identity and sexual energy used like a battering ram Interpret that as you will!

Collective lens:
This can correlate with eruptions in group dynamics, protest energy, retaliation energy, “people versus power” themes and again it can be liberation… or it can be a new form of domination posing as liberation, we see this often in revolutionary leaders becoming the next conduit of tyranny.

Mars conjunct Pluto exact (the last gate)

When Mars hits Pluto exactly on 27 Jan, that’s the final gate.

This is the part of the descent myth we need to take seriously because this is the part where the body is on the hook, where the old self, the old identity can’t negotiate. It is the moment where the underworld says, “Something must die for something to live.”

So I’d close this gate with one central question:
What are you willing to sacrifice that is actually worth sacrificing?

Because sometimes we sacrifice the wrong thing.
We sacrifice our softness.
We sacrifice our joy.
We sacrifice our health.
We sacrifice our relationships.

And the myth is clearer than people think:
The descent is not about losing life. It’s about restoring balance restoring the circle/cycle of life.
It’s about energy exchange that leads to renewal.

So make your sacrifice conscious.

If you want to work with this week consciously and intentionally, here are four simple practices—one per gate:

1. Venus–Pluto (desire and power)
   Write: “Where do I confuse love with control?”
   Then write one honest desire without dressing it up as virtue as something that is seen as a quality that is seen as morally good or desirable.

2. Mercury cazimi (voice purified)
   Choose one sentence you will say cleanly this week.
   No over-explaining. No defending. Just truth and boundary.

3. Mercury–Pluto (truth with ethics)
   Before you speak, ask: “Am I saying this to heal, or to win?”
   If it’s to win, wait 24 hours.

4. Sun–Pluto into Mars–Pluto (sovereignty and action)
   Move your body.
   Do something that metabolises intensity: walk, strength work, shake-out, breathwork.
   Then decide: “What is one decisive action that creates renewal, not destruction?”

Conclusion

So yes, this is a Plutonian week, power dynamics are at the fore, but you’re not here to be swallowed by the underworld. You’re here to meet it consciously.

To let something false die.
To let something true rise.

And if you’re in any kind of leadership—at home, in community, at work—this week asks you to lead like a priestess at a threshold: with integrity, with restraint, with courage and with a willingness to surrender the kind of power that was never yours to keep.