On the Use of Symbolic Resources

I started working with the myth of Inanna’s Descent seven years ago while navigating a very dark time in my life. I had used up all my courage and strength to leave my abusive husband and now found myself facing the unknown. It felt like my whole life had ended.

Although I didn’t know it then, my three-year marriage and subsequent divorce from my abusive husband became a catharsis for the emotional trauma I had carried from childhood. When the relationship ended, it provided the intense emotional shift that allowed me to confront and release long-held patterns that had kept me hostage, to fear, self-doubt, and unhealthy attachment, ultimately paving the way for healing and empowerment.

But first, I had to survive my transition through the unknown.

What made this even more challenging was the fact that our culture and education don’t equip us with the tools necessary to handle such deep, transformative shifts. Lacking these, I had no choice but to rely on my intuition to guide me.

In the darkness of the unknown, I turned toward what I love—writing, reading, photography, and taking long walks—to help me process what I was going through. I developed a routine around these activities to give structure to my days. It was also during this time that I reread Perera’s The Descent to the Goddess and, through her work, found my way back to the Sumerian myths of Inanna.

Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, fertility, desire, and war. She is one of the most complex deities in the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon and is often depicted as a powerful, multifaceted force. Associated with the planet Venus, she represents both the nurturing and destructive aspects of femininity.

One of her most famous myths is her descent into the underworld, ruled by her sister Ereshkigal. During her descent, she sheds her earthly trappings and is stripped of her power, only to be reborn after confronting death.

In The Descent to the Goddess, Sylvia Brinton Perera uses the myth of Inanna’s descent into the underworld as a psychological and symbolic framework for understanding personal transformation, particularly for women. She interprets Inanna’s journey as an initiation into the unconscious, where the goddess confronts her shadow. Perera draws parallels between Inanna’s symbolic death and rebirth in the underworld and the process individuals—especially women—undergo when facing life transitions or deep personal transformation.

By focusing on the myth, Perera highlights how Inanna’s descent represents the necessary shedding of old identities, roles, and attachments to fully embrace the unknown and experience renewal. She also emphasizes how the descent can lead to greater self-understanding, empowerment, and the ability to integrate previously ignored or rejected parts of the psyche. This process, she argues, is essential for achieving personal wholeness and spiritual growth.

I have been working with this framework for the past seven years. It allowed me to survive my transition intact while shedding old patterns of being. But I’ve always wondered: why does it work for me and not inspire others in the same way?

The answer is that I had unknowingly transformed the myth into a symbolic resource to help me cope with my transition.

I realized this while reading an article by Tania Zittoun on the use of symbolic resources in developmental transitions, where she highlights the essential role symbolic resources play in guiding individuals through significant life changes.

A symbolic resource is anything—such as an object, story, image, or ritual—that, through its use, takes on meaning beyond its literal purpose, offering support, insight, or guidance during challenging transitions. By engaging with this resource, individuals can process conflict, adapt to new circumstances, and maintain a coherent sense of self as they evolve.

Religious icons, stories, images, mantras, art, music, and social practices and traditions that offer continuity are examples of things that can be transformed into symbolic resources. Essentially, anything that holds symbolic significance and aids in understanding or coping with change can serve as a symbolic resource.

According to Zittoun, during transitions, symbolic resources are reinterpreted or re-contextualized to address the challenges of change. This process allows symbols to take on new meaning and purpose, transforming them into practical tools for navigating uncertainty. They act as catalysts for recreating meaning during times when previous frameworks have been disrupted or lost. In moments of upheaval—whether personal crises or broader social disruptions—symbolic resources offer a way to make sense of chaos and loss, providing continuity and guiding individuals to adapt, cope, and forge new pathways by bridging past experiences with future possibilities.

Because the world around us appears solid and tangible, we often forget that there is more to reality than what we can see or physically touch. In moments of symbolic displacement—when familiar meanings are disrupted—symbolic resources help us navigate this complexity and uncertainty. They provide tools to interpret, understand, and communicate what is otherwise difficult to communicate, bridging the inner and outer worlds and enabling us to create new meaning and envision future possibilities.

The myth of Inanna’s descent serves as a powerful symbolic resource that resonates deeply with my understanding of the world. It allows me to view my struggles and process of individuation as part of a larger, meaningful pattern. Beyond that, it acts as a symbolic map for inner work and healing, connecting me to the sacred and the paradoxical while reinforcing my core values. As a dynamic resource, I can reinterpret and adapt to various contexts, offering continued relevance and insight. In this way, the myth transcends its role as a story, transforming into a living resource for meaning-making, healing, and connection.