An ancient goddess in the light of a contemporary love story . . .Ishtar is the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war. Like the Greek Persephone, she descends to the Underworld and can return to Earth only after great hardship. Her story is that of the universal patterns of feminine power that transcend the dual nature of existence, balancing life and death and the forces that perpetuate the cycles of our universe. Today, this archetype represents the resurrection of the power of the feminine that for centuries has been absent from our human story. Said Dawlabani's poignant memoir, The Light of Ishtar, draws parallels between the ancient goddess and his wife and soulmate, Elza Maalouf, recognizing inner energies that are universal to us all. For over a decade, the dazzling futurist Elza Malouf spearheaded the resurrection of feminine power in the Middle East. A passionate agent of transformation, she championed women's rights everywhere. With Don Beck, leader of the Spiral Dynamics theory of human evolution, she and Said cofounded the Center for Human Emergence Middle East. She is author of the award-winning book Emerge! The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East. And Said, applying values systems to large-scale change, became an eminent speaker and author as well. Brilliant and dynamic, this Lebanese American couple seemed destined for greatness on the world stage―until in 2014 disaster struck. With excerpts from Elza's own unpublished memoir, Said tells the story of their backgrounds in Lebanon and their early romance in the States. He draws on Joseph Campbell's hero's journey to chronicle their ascent to prominence in their respective fields as part of their mythic call to adventure. Then with rare courage he explores the dark side of the psyche when, at age forty-nine, Elza begins descending into speechless dementia. Ishtar's journey to the Underworld mirrors them both as Said battles with the dark forces within himself and within the medical community, trying to restore Elza to health. But, unlike the goddess, Elza can't return to live in the world as she once did. In telling the story, Said explores the patterns at the heart of transformational experience: the deep wounding, the grief, and the long road to acceptance, recognizing that a life dedicated to improving the human condition does not rise above caring for one human being. Reframing his and Elza's experience through Ishtar's powerful myth provides a compelling example of how we can all lead richer and extraordinary lives. Said's spiritual observations elevate perception to a place of universal awareness. He demonstrates how myth, wonder, and mystery are constantly around us if we transcend the physical lens through which we usually interpret life. On the far side of such transcendence is the true meaning of love that goes beyond time and space. Said shows how a union of two souls represents the greater search for the beloved and how the coming together of the feminine and the masculine mirrors a universe in harmony. At the end, he can take solace in the simple pleasures that still remain, as he and Elza sit companionably in their garden by the sea.

A retelling of the Babylonian myth telling how the death of Ishtar's son Tammuz brings about the changing seasons on earth.

Ishtar is the first book dedicated to providing an accessible analysis of the mythology and image of this complex goddess. The polarity of her nature is reflected in her role as goddess of sexual love and war, and has made her difficult to characterise in modern scholarship. By exploring this complexity, Ishtar offers insight into Mesopotamian culture and thought, and elucidates a goddess who transcended the limits of gender, divinity and nature. It gives an accessible introduction to the Near Eastern pantheon, while also opening a pathway for comparison with the later Near Eastern and Mediterranean deities who followed her.

International teacher and channel InEasa mabu Ishtar has spent more than a decade learning at the feet of the ascended masters. In Tap into the Power of the Universal Rays, she shares a roadmap to charting and following our souls mission that provides insight as to why we make choices and how to look inward to attain our true purpose in life. Ishtar relies on her experience channeling the ascended masters to guide others on an introspective journey of self-mastery for the soul. Through twelve creation principles of the universe, Ishtar leads spiritual seekers down a path of enlightenment where they will learn what they have come to Earth to master and experience in each lifetime, and then transfer that knowledge to todays world to attain their highest potential and create peace and harmony. Tap into the Power of the Universal Rays shares twelve principles that guide others to chart the journey of their souls and, in the process, realize happiness, abundance and success.

A new Advent family devotional from the author of Jotham's Journey! Fourth in a set of Advent adventure books for families, Ishtar's Odyssey follows the ten-year-old son of a Persian wise man as their caravan follows a star across the desert. Ishtar would just as soon stay in the comfort of the palace, but slowly he learns that there's much to see, do, and learn in this world that can't be experienced in school. He eventually meets Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha as he follows his father and uncles in their search for a newborn king. Arnold Ytreeide's family advent devotionals have become a much-loved Christmas tradition, enjoyed by multiple generations. With over 100,000 in print they include Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels. - See more at: http://www.kregel.com/childrens-story-books/ishtars-odyssey/#sthash.UaTgkA6T.dpuf A new Advent family devotional from the author of Jotham's Journey! Fourth in a set of Advent adventure books for families, Ishtar's Odyssey follows the ten-year-old son of a Persian wise man as their caravan follows a star across the desert. Ishtar would just as soon stay in the comfort of the palace, but slowly he learns that there's much to see, do, and learn in this world that can't be experienced in school. He eventually meets Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha as he follows his father and uncles in their search for a newborn king. Arnold Ytreeide's family advent devotionals have become a much-loved Christmas tradition, enjoyed by multiple generations. With over 100,000 in print they include Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels. A new Advent family devotional from the author of Jotham's Journey! Fourth in a set of Advent adventure books for families, Ishtar's Odyssey follows the ten-year-old son of a Persian wise man as their caravan follows a star across the desert. Ishtar would just as soon stay in the comfort of the palace, but slowly he learns that there's much to see, do, and learn in this world that can't be experienced in school. He eventually meets Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha as he follows his father and uncles in their search for a newborn king. Arnold Ytreeide's family advent devotionals have become a much-loved Christmas tradition, enjoyed by multiple generations. With over 100,000 in print they include Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels. - See more at: http://www.kregel.com/childrens-story-books/ishtars-odyssey/#sthash.UaTgkA6T.dpufA new Advent family devotional from the author of Jotham's Journey! Fourth in a set of Advent adventure books for families, Ishtar's Odyssey follows the ten-year-old son of a Persian wise man as their caravan follows a star across the desert. Ishtar would just as soon stay in the comfort of the palace, but slowly he learns that there's much to see, do, and learn in this world that can't be experienced in school. He eventually meets Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha as he follows his father and uncles in their search for a newborn king. Arnold Ytreeide's family advent devotionals have become a much-loved Christmas tradition, enjoyed by multiple generations. With over 100,000 in print they include Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels. - See more at: http://www.kregel.com/childrens-story-books/ishtars-odyssey/#sthash.UaTgkA6T.dpuf

To the land of no return, the land of darkness, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin directed her thought, Directed her thought, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin, To the house of shadows, the dwelling, of Irkalla, To the house without exit for him who enters therein, To the road, whence there is no turning, To the house without light for him who enters therein, The place where dust is their nourishment, clay their food.'

Ishtar and Ereshkigal are the daughters of the Moon God Sin and sisters of the Sun God Shamash and members of a family of deities called the Anunnaki who arrived from the heavens to the earth many thousands of years ago. Ishtar, as Inanna, was the original goddess of love and the forerunner to all of the fertility goddesses that followed. Ereshkigal was the original ruler of the underworld and the goddess of death. As the queens of heaven and the underworld, Ishtar and Ereshkigal represent the opposing forces that allow life, death and rebirth to occur in the world.

The court of the gryphon king has ever been a dangerous and seductive place where Ishtar’s blessing is both the hot breath of passion and the cold kiss of steel. Yet as the childhood companion of King Ditanu, Iltani never doubted her place in either his kingdom or his heart. Then duty called her away to complete her training. Now, a woman grown and a sword-maiden to the goddess Ishtar, Iltani returns and takes up her sacred destiny to protect the royal line. But so much has changed. Ditanu most of all. The youth she knew is gone. A stoic, untouchable king now sits the throne. Does anything of their once deep bond survive? Iltani must swiftly find her place in a court where cunning governors plot treason, trusted advisors orchestrate deceptions, and noblewomen seek to beguile King Ditanu using methods both fair and foul. But the greatest threat of all is no mortal adversary. Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld, desires to make Ditanu her consort and seize his kingdom for her own. Ishtar's Blade is a fantasy romance loosely based on ancient Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. It's book 1 of the Ishtar's Legacy series. Ishtar's Legacy Reading Order: Ishtar's Blade A Blade's Beginning (short story) Blade's Honor Blade's Destiny The Blade's Shadow First Queen of the Gryphons King of the Anunnaki (Forthcoming) If you like Grace Draven, Jeffe Kennedy, Amanda, Bouchet, C.L. Wilson, Sarah J. Maas, Maria V. Snyder, Bernadette Rowley, Bec McMaster, and Elizabeth Vaughan, you might also like the Ishtar’s Legacy series by Lisa Blackwood. Topics: epic fantasy romance, fantasy romance, shifters, fae, gryphons, fae kings, warrior maidens, demigods, goddesses, shifter romance series, epic fantasy with romance, series starter, first in series, paranormal romance series, paranormal romance saga, gryphon shifters, shapeshifter romance, magic, sorcery, sorceress, paranormal romance shifters, paranormal romance mythological, paranormal romance fae, shifter romance, shapeshifter romance with sex, fantasy romance ebook, romantic fantasy, female protagonist, paranormal elements, HEA, Witches, Magic, strong heroine, alpha hero, non-human hero, new adult paranormal romance, forbidden romance, romance fiction, top ebooks in fantasy fantasy, top ebooks in paranormal romance, speculative fiction, witch romance, Paranormal Romance witches, paranormal romance shifters, romantic fantasy series.

Mesopotamia, 3rd millennium BC For generations, Akkad has been at war with the neighboring realm of Subartu. Behind the two Mesopotamian powers stand the sun god Marduk in Akkad, while Ishtar, goddess of the night, love, and war, reigns in Subartu. The thunder god Addad exploits their never-ending, unwinnable war to his own ends. Subartu ́s Queen Semiramis travels in secret deep into hostile Akkad to win over King Sargon and form an alliance to defend the holy city of Nineveh from an impending attack by the thunder god. But even before Semiramis can offer her alliance to the Akkadians, the sinister helpers of the thunder god strike. A race against time begins, threatening to end in the subjugation of all mankind.

The archaeologist hero, Kenton, receives a mysterious ancient Babylonian artifact, which he discovers contains an incredibly detailed model of a ship. A dizzy spell casts Kenton onto the deck of the ship, which becomes a full-sized vessel sailing an eternal sea. The appearance of Kenton is unexpected for the inhabitants of the ship and amazing adventures ensue…