The Descent to the Underworld: A Global Symbol of Individuation

BY NICOLE LAU

Every culture tells the same story:

A hero descends into the underworld. Faces trials. Dies (symbolically or literally). Retrieves something precious. Returns transformed.

Inanna descends through seven gates, stripped naked, killed, resurrected.

Orpheus descends to Hades, retrieves Eurydice, loses her by looking back.

Persephone is taken to the underworld, becomes its queen, returns each spring.

Christ descends to hell, harrrows it, rises on the third day.

The Egyptian soul journeys through the Duat, faces judgment, is reborn.

Different cultures. Different details. Different characters.

Identical pattern.

Why? Because the underworld descent is not literal geography.

It's a map of psychological transformation—the journey into the unconscious and the death of the old self.

Jung called this process individuation.

The ancients called it the descent to the underworld.

Same journey. Same structure. Same necessity.

The Universal Pattern: Seven Stages

Across all underworld myths, the same seven-stage pattern appears:

1. The Call / Loss
Something is lost, taken, or calls from the depths. A loved one dies. A crisis occurs. The old life no longer works.

2. The Descent
The hero voluntarily (or involuntarily) descends into the underworld—the realm of death, darkness, the unconscious.

3. The Threshold / Gates
Guardians block the way. Gates must be passed. Something must be surrendered at each threshold.

4. The Trials
Tests, ordeals, confrontations with monsters, demons, or dark forces. The hero is stripped, challenged, broken down.

5. The Death
Symbolic (or literal) death. The old self dies. The ego is shattered. Total surrender.

6. The Retrieval / Gift
Something precious is found in the depths: treasure, knowledge, a loved one, the Self, the philosopher's stone.

7. The Return / Rebirth
The hero ascends, transformed. But there's often a condition, a sacrifice, or a loss. The return is not simple.

This is not storytelling. This is the structure of transformation itself.

Inanna's Descent: The Sumerian Template

The oldest recorded underworld myth is Inanna's Descent (c. 1900 BCE).

The Story:

Inanna, Queen of Heaven, decides to visit her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld.

She descends through seven gates. At each gate, she must remove one item:

1. Her crown (authority)
2. Her lapis lazuli necklace (adornment)
3. Her double strand of beads (beauty)
4. Her breastplate (protection)
5. Her gold ring (power)
6. Her lapis measuring rod (judgment)
7. Her royal robe (identity)

She arrives naked and powerless before Ereshkigal.

Ereshkigal kills her. Hangs her corpse on a hook. Inanna is dead for three days.

Finally, servants sent by Enki revive her. But to leave the underworld, she must send a substitute—her husband Dumuzi.

She returns, but transformed. She has died and been reborn.

The Psychological Meaning:

• The seven gates = stages of ego-stripping, removing all identifications
• Arriving naked = complete vulnerability, no defenses
• Death = ego death, the old self must die
• Three days = the liminal period, the void between death and rebirth
• The substitute = something must be sacrificed for transformation
• Return = rebirth, but you're not the same person

This is the template for all underworld descents.

Orpheus and Eurydice: The Greek Tragedy

The Story:

Orpheus, the greatest musician, loses his beloved Eurydice to a snakebite. She dies.

Grief-stricken, Orpheus descends to Hades. His music is so beautiful that Hades and Persephone agree to let Eurydice return—on one condition:

Orpheus must walk ahead. He must not look back until they reach the upper world.

Orpheus agrees. They ascend. But at the last moment, just before reaching the surface, Orpheus looks back.

Eurydice vanishes. Lost forever.

The Psychological Meaning:

• Eurydice = the Anima, the soul, the lost feminine aspect
• The descent = the journey into the unconscious to retrieve the soul
• The condition = trust, faith, not grasping
• Looking back = the ego's need to control, to possess, to verify
• Losing her = when the ego tries to grasp the soul, it loses it

The lesson: You cannot force the soul to return. You must trust the process.

Persephone: The Abduction and Return

The Story:

Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of harvest), is abducted by Hades and taken to the underworld.

Demeter grieves. The earth becomes barren. Nothing grows.

Zeus intervenes. Persephone can return—but she has eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld.

The rule: Anyone who eats in the underworld must return.

The compromise: Persephone spends part of the year in the underworld (winter) and part in the upper world (spring/summer).

The Psychological Meaning:

• Persephone = the innocent maiden, the unconscious feminine
• Abduction = involuntary descent (crisis, depression, dark night)
• Becoming Queen of the Underworld = integrating the dark, owning your power in the depths
• Eating the seeds = once you've tasted the underworld, you're changed forever
• The cycle = you must return to the depths periodically (seasonal depression, necessary withdrawals)

The lesson: The descent changes you. You can't go back to innocence.

The Egyptian Duat: The Nightly Journey

The Story:

Every night, the sun god Ra descends into the Duat (underworld). He travels through twelve hours/gates, facing demons and trials.

At the deepest point (midnight), Ra merges with Osiris (god of death and rebirth).

Then Ra is reborn at dawn.

When a human dies, their soul makes the same journey:

• Descends into the Duat
• Faces trials (demons, gates, challenges)
• Heart is weighed against the feather of Ma'at (truth/justice)
• If worthy, becomes an Akh (transfigured spirit)
• If unworthy, is devoured by Ammit

The Psychological Meaning:

• Nightly descent = every sleep is a mini-death, a return to the unconscious
• Twelve hours = complete cycle through the unconscious
• Merging with Osiris = ego dissolves into the Self
• Rebirth at dawn = return to consciousness, renewed
• Weighing the heart = confronting truth, facing judgment

The lesson: Death and rebirth happen daily. Each night is an underworld journey.

The Psychological Interpretation: Individuation

Carl Jung recognized that underworld myths describe individuation—the process of becoming whole.

The Underworld = The Unconscious

The descent is not literal. It's the journey into the unconscious:

• Facing the Shadow (rejected aspects of self)
• Encountering the Anima/Animus (soul image)
• Confronting archetypes (Mother, Father, Wise Old Man, Trickster)
• Experiencing ego death (the old identity dissolves)
• Discovering the Self (the treasure in the depths)

The Pattern of Transformation:

1. Crisis — Something breaks, fails, is lost (the call to descend)
2. Descent — Depression, withdrawal, turning inward (entering the underworld)
3. Stripping — Loss of identity, roles, defenses (the seven gates)
4. Confrontation — Facing shadow, demons, fears (the trials)
5. Death — Ego dissolution, surrender, the void (hanging on the hook)
6. Discovery — Finding the Self, the treasure, the truth (the gift)
7. Return — Rebirth, integration, new life (but transformed)

This is not optional. Everyone who individuates must descend.

Why This Matters for Practice

Understanding the underworld descent gives you:

1. Pattern Recognition
When you're in crisis, depression, or dark night—you can recognize: "I'm in the underworld." This isn't failure. It's the necessary descent.

2. Trust in the Process
The myths show: everyone who descends returns. The journey has a structure. There's a way through. You're not lost—you're on the path.

3. Surrender to Death
The old self must die. Trying to avoid this prolongs suffering. The myths teach: surrender to the death. Let the old self go.

The Operational Truth

Here's what all underworld myths teach:

• Transformation requires descent into darkness
• The ego must be stripped, tested, killed
• Something precious is found only in the depths
• You cannot return unchanged
• The descent is necessary, not a mistake
• There is always a return—but with a cost

This is not mythology. This is the structure of psychological transformation.

Practice: Mapping Your Descent

Reflect on a time of crisis, depression, or dark night in your life.

Identify the stages:

1. The Call/Loss: What was lost? What called you into the depths?

2. The Descent: When did you realize you were "going down"? What did it feel like?

3. The Stripping: What identities, roles, defenses did you lose?

4. The Trials: What did you face in the depths? What tested you?

5. The Death: What part of you died? What old self was released?

6. The Gift: What did you find in the depths? What treasure did you retrieve?

7. The Return: How did you come back? What changed? What was the cost?

If you're currently in the underworld:

Recognize: This is the descent. It's necessary. It has a structure.

Trust: There is a way through. The myths show the path.

Surrender: Let the old self die. Don't cling. The treasure is in the depths.

The underworld is not punishment.

It's initiation.

And everyone who would be whole must descend.

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Next in series: The Seven Layers of Soul: Kabbalah vs. Eastern Hun-Po Systems