Temple of Mysteries
A living mystery school built on the descent of Inanna.
This is where the Seven Gates are walked, not just read. Inside, She Who Rises guides you through each gate's descent and ascent in your own body, at your own pace, no cohorts, no falling behind. Live circles meet you where you are, some months in myth and discussion, others in verbal Reiki activation, held in company rather than alone. Enter whenever you're called, and return for as long as the work keeps unfolding.
The structure is not invented. It's five thousand years old.
The Descent of Inanna
The first named author in human history was a woman, and she wrote to this goddess.
Around 2300 BCE, Enheduanna, high priestess of Ur and daughter of Sargon of Akkad, put her name inside her own poems. She is the first author in recorded history known by name, and much of what survives of her work is addressed to Inanna. Before Enheduanna, literature reaches us anonymous. With her, authorship enters the world in a woman's voice, speaking to a goddess.
Four centuries later, scribes set down the story itself on tablets carrying no name at all. Inanna, queen of heaven and earth, sets her ear toward the Great Below and descends toward her sister Ereshkigal, who rules the place from which no traveler returns.
At the entrance she is met by a gatekeeper and told there are seven gates. At each one, something is taken from her. Her crown. The beads at her throat. The strands across her breast. Her breastplate. The ring at her wrist. The measuring rod in her hand. Finally her royal robe. When she asks why, she is answered the same way each time: Quiet, Inanna. The ways of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned.
She arrives naked and bowed low. She is struck down, and hung on a hook, and left there three days and three nights.
And then she is brought back. Not by force, and not by rescue in the heroic sense, but by two small beings who go down and do nothing except sit with Ereshkigal and echo her grief. Because they witnessed her, Ereshkigal gives Inanna back. She rises, and she returns through the same seven gates, and everything she surrendered is returned to her at the gate where she left it.
That last part is why this myth is the architecture of the Temple. The descent is not the whole story, and stripping is not the point. Every gate is walked twice. What you set down on the way in is what you collect on the way out, and it does not come back the same.
A Path You Walk, Not a Course You Watch
Walk all Seven Gates whenever you're ready, at your own rhythm. No cohort schedule, no falling behind.
Monthly gatherings held in myth, discussion, and live verbal Reiki activation, meeting you where you are.
The teaching gives you the map. The activation is where the actual transformation happens, in your body.
Company for the descent and the return, so this work never has to happen in isolation.
The Seven Gates
Each one walked twice, once released, once received.
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I
Safety
Inanna surrenders the shugurra, the crown of the steppe—her authority over her own ground.
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II
Worth
The small lapis beads are taken from her neck—the value hung where everyone can see it.
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III
Identity
The double strand of beads across her breast—the ornament that announced who she was.
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IV
Protection
The breastplate is removed—the armor worn over the heart.
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V
Attachment
The gold ring leaves her wrist—the binding, and everything it bound her to.
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VI
Scarcity
The lapis measuring rod and line are taken from her hand—the instruments of counting, of never quite enough.
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VII
Authenticity
The royal robe comes off her body—the last covering. She goes through this gate as herself, and nothing else.
Not sure which gate you're standing at? The reading takes about three minutes and answers from the body, not the mind.
Take the Gate ReadingEnter Whenever You're Called
Join, and enter at your own gate
There's no start date to wait for. Begin at Gate One, or wherever the descent is currently calling you.
Walk each gate in two passes
A teaching and activation for the release, then a teaching and activation for the reception, same gate, both directions.
Show up to live circles when you can
Monthly gatherings held in company, myth and discussion some months, live activation others.
Return to the spiral, as often as it calls
This isn't one-and-done. Come back to any gate, any time, as the work keeps unfolding.
Carissa Andrews
Carissa has carried the Usui Shiki Ryōhō lineage of Reiki since her initiation as a Master in 2008, and returned to it fully after years of walking her own descent. She channels Aureya, an evolving frequency of uncorrupted exchange, and writes under her own name and others, threading myth, energy work, and lived experience into one body of work. She isn't guiding you through the gates as someone standing outside them. She's walked through more than once, and keeps returning.
Common Questions
Do I need any experience with Reiki or shadow work?
No. The gates meet you where you are. Nothing inside assumes prior training, and nothing requires you to have done this kind of work before.
Is there a start date, or will I be behind?
There's no cohort and no schedule to catch up to. You enter at whatever gate is calling and move at your own rhythm. Live circles are monthly, and you attend the ones you can.
What is a verbal Reiki activation?
A guided transmission you receive by listening, rather than a technique you perform. The teaching gives you the map of a gate. The activation is where it lands in the body.
Do I have to know the myth of Inanna?
No. The myth is the structure underneath the work, not a prerequisite. You'll meet it as you walk, and you're welcome to arrive knowing nothing about it.
I already have the She Who Rises transmission. Is this the same thing?
No, and you haven't bought twice. The transmission walks all seven gates in a single sixty-seven minute descent. The Temple walks the same seven gates one at a time, across months, with the return journey as well as the descent. Think of the transmission as the whole spiral in one sitting, and the Temple as the spiral taken slowly. If you met the gates there first, this is where you walk them properly.
Can I cancel?
Yes, anytime, with no long-term hold. Monthly members can leave whenever it stops being true for them.
Is this a substitute for therapy or medical care?
No. Reiki and mythic work are practices of energetic support. They aren't a replacement for medical or psychological care, and no specific outcomes are promised.
Choose How You'd Like to Enter
Monthly Devotion
Stay as long as it serves you. Cancel anytime, no long-term hold.
The Full Turn
Almost two months of the year given back to you, for those ready to walk the whole cycle rather than test the threshold.
You'll select monthly or annual on the next page.
The Gates Are Open
You're already standing at one of them, whether you've named it or not. This is where you stop reading about the descent, and start walking it, in company, at your own pace.
Enter the TempleReiki is a practice of energetic support and is not a substitute for medical or psychological care. No specific outcomes are promised or guaranteed.