Persephone
the myth you need to know
If you liked reading this, feel free to click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏
I've said it before and will continue to do so because I'm sure it's true.
The Greek myth of Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate is foundational for all women. It's a story that every woman should delve into to support her journey to self-realization, peeling away fabricated layers of personality and persona to understand her true self and hence the true nature of reality.
In addition to doing personal work with this myth, I've offered courses like Pomegranate Wisdom and Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Persephone that help women encounter some of the potent medicine the myth provides.
Even with those credentials, I know I've barely scratched the surface of this Mount Olympus-sized myth.
There is so much in this myth, both evident and esoteric, that even now, as I'm writing, I feel overwhelmed by all that could be said, barely knowing where to begin.
But begin we shall, right here at the spring equinox. We'll dip into the earth's wisdom offered at this time of year and find our way into deeper waters as we go along.
Before we get to Persephone, though, let's talk about Ostara.
Spring Equinox is also known as Ostara. Ostara may be a goddess of the dawn or the returning spring. The historical record is very spotty and rests on scant evidence. She, if there is a She, could also be linked to a Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn Ausṓs, the shining one, or possibly The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons"), female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe.
I always like to have my historical foundation well laid before jumping the hedge and moving into the imaginal when working with myth. However, one thing we do know, and here I quote Our Merry Folk and her excellent article on Eostre and the Matronae Cult, which I hope you will read.
The naming of the modern-day spring festival of Ostara happened in the 1970s when an American academic, poet and Wiccan called Aiden Kelly wanted to rename the summer solstice (Litha), autumn equinox (Mabon), and of course, the spring equinox so that they would have 'pagan' names to go along with the other festivals on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. He took inspiration from mythology and Victorian and Edwardian Literature.
I mention this because while I like to have my historical facts straight, I am also a big proponent of the aliveness of myth. Myth, folklore, and legend must change and evolve to reflect the people's beating hearts and breathing spirits. So if Aiden Kelly felt the need to round out the seasonal Wheel of the Year fifty-odd years ago and fill in some blanks, that is perfectly fine with me. We are richer for it. That he was Wiccan doesn't bother me a bit, even though I am not. The celebration of the Earth, the wisdom, and the miracle of its changing seasons are sorely needed for everyone when we chronically stare at screens and wander in a soul-parching desert of technology.
Much of my previous work with Persephone and Demeter centers around the autumn equinox. That moment in the year opens the gateway to the Underworld and welcomes the darkness as it begins to descend. In autumn, Persephone re-lives her abduction before she returns as queen in spring. Meanwhile, at the autumn equinox, Demeter reigns supreme as the Grain Mother Who Feeds the World. We gather the harvest and rejoice in her bounty.
Persephone's return in spring is just as complex as her farewell in autumn.
While I've thought a great deal about the meaning and manner of her return, this will be the first time I am writing about it. So you are my chosen audience helping me along as I formulate some of the most important aspects of this section of her myth.
To our modern eyes, the myth of the Abduction of Persephone, in its current form and with its modern emphasis, points to a patriarchal culture of violence against women and their disempowerment. Yet, the roots of Persephone's myth are much older and come from a time when the Great Goddess of neolithic agrarian societies flourished across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Digging deeper and getting to know this myth through its more ancient and original sources is incredibly healing for the feminine psyche.
Persephone has a double function as a chthonic (underworld) and vegetation goddess wielding the power that shoots forth and then withdraws into the earth. To find her, you must travel to the edge, the threshold, and the liminal places; it takes courage to do so.
As Goddess of Death, she was sometimes seen as the daughter of The Styx, the river that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld. Her sacred groves were thought to stand at the western edge of the earth on the borders of the Underworld, which itself was called "The House of Persephone."
Plato calls her Pherepapha "because she is wise and touches that which is in motion," a possible reference to the turning seasons or the movement of our souls throughout our lives from birth to death.
The pre-greek Persephatta means "female thresher of grain" and gives us a clue to one of our ancestral mothers' tasks after the agricultural revolution around 10,000 BCE. Popular folk etymology in Greek culture means "to bring (or cause) death," yet another nod to the changing seasons.
We understand the deep history of myths, their origin, and how old they are via language, language development, and shared cultural motifs, which can be linked to the migration of people groups. For example, one of the oldest myths in the world is The Cosmic Hunt. You can watch a fascinating video about that from Crecganford on YouTube.
This oldest of stories, The Cosmic Hunt, is a myth from when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. The agricultural revolution came later, and with it, Persephone. She returns in spring because she is the vegetation itself.
For modern readers, one of the most difficult aspects of Persephone's story is her abduction and rape. It is interesting to note that in the very earliest version of the myth, there is no mention of rape. That is a later assumption made by (male) translators. Instead, early versions have Hades taking her to his domain in the Underworld and marrying her. But originally, even further back, she, the vegetative force of nature, is pulled into the Underworld by the forces of death as the season changes to winter. Her return to the earth, literally back into the soil, is simply part of the cycle. Her precious seeds are buried in the land producing the following year's crop.
In some ways, her story is reminiscent of the English folk song of John Barleycorn (a personification of the crops in the field at harvest), which tells how he is bound, beaten, and slain. Persephone and John Barleycorn suffer a violent transition in autumn as winter approaches. Is this a holdover of a deep memory around securing food from the time of our hunter ancestors? Indeed prehistoric hunting of mammoths, aurochs, and bison was a violent, bloody business. Taking a life was necessary to secure the survival of the tribe. When we became farmers, that memory of the hunt and the violence of taking a life became woven into tales of vegetation spirits cut down to provide grain for food.
There's much to say about how Persephone rises above her abduction and doesn't let it limit or define her. She also integrates the masculine principle within herself, so she is no longer victimized by it. But I want to keep this exploration focused on her return in spring and what that means.
Persephone’s Return
Persephone returns each spring not only as the "spiritus frugum," the spirit of the crops but as a daughter returning to her mother. Persephone, Demeter, her mother, and Hecate have long been conflated as a triple goddess, the maiden, mother, and crone we are now familiar with. Whether the ancient Greeks saw her as such is another matter. However, that construct certainly seems significant in her myth. For women, the abduction of Persephone, who in the myth is simply known as Kore, that is, maiden, before her abduction and Persephone after, speaks of a critical integration within the feminine psyche. This is a gathering of lost parts of the Self and a step toward wholeness.
This fragmentation and return to wholeness takes a particular form in women. In Pomegranate Wisdom, I wrote this...
... as you grow, mature, and experience changes throughout your life, mourning for the loss of your own Inner Maiden can be triggered. For example, you may experience it first with the onset of menses and the dawning realization that you are no longer a child. Then, you may experience it again in young adulthood when you graduate from college, get your first "real" job, marry, or find a soulmate or partner.
It may rise again when you have your first child, and it may come painfully back upon the death of your own mother. It may stir when your first grandchild is born.
It may spiral back into your awareness when you turn 50 or 70 or any age that feels like a significant milestone in your life, signaling that you are "no longer young."
Each of these life events seems to say, "the maiden is gone, she is lost, she is no more," and then there is grieving.
While you know that you must grow, change and mature throughout your life, does this necessarily mean that your Inner Maiden must be lost forever?
The myth of Persephone tells you no, and shows you how to restore your Maiden, inviting her to have a part in your life, both outer and inner, in ways that heal and contribute to wholeness.
While both men and women have child parts of the Self that need to be understood and integrated, there's something unique about how and why this happens in women. I haven't teased this out yet, but I suspect it has to do with women being the ones who birth a child and, with a daughter, the complicated relationship that ensues. As a result, women need to stay in touch with and heal their younger parts of themselves, if necessary. This may also result from the emphasis culture places upon a woman's value being tied to her youth, beauty, and fertility. These things, once lost, may cause her identity to crumble.
Persephone returns as a queen and priestess. She has power, authority, and intimate knowledge of the highest order of occult mysteries. She knows life, death, and re-birth, the entire cycle of experience for living things. She, herself, and thus all women are the totality of that mystery.
Persephone gains her knowledge by belonging to the earth. Her experience is in the physical world and, like much of women's mysteries, is known through the body.
She also gains access to the great mysteries of existence by surviving the psychological challenges of passing from childhood and adolescence into adulthood. Like all initiations, she experiences life-changing trauma. Yet, she draws upon inner resources, including compassion, to navigate her underworld experience to emerge as a mighty queen in her own right, an adult woman, marriage partner to Hades seated on her own throne in the Underworld.
The Integration of Anima and Animus
Another vital part of Persephone's story is that she psychologically integrates her masculine principle, her animus. When first encountered, this inner force overpowers her and abducts her into unknown territory. However, Persephone matures and integrates this power, eventually becoming an equal partner with Hades, balancing his energy. In the myth, Hades recognizes Persephone's compassion and wisdom. She shares his rulership of the Underworld, and Hades relies on her insight, knowledge, and sense of justice as they rule harmoniously together. This can be understood as the masculine and feminine principles within, wisely and harmoniously governing the soul and unconscious.
The return of Persephone in spring and her reunion with her mother is healing. Demeter has her own parallel story to Persephone, which culminates in her daughter's return. At that moment, the total woman, mother, and daughter integrate and become a force to be reckoned with. Together they initiated the Eluesinian Mystery Cult, the most powerful and influential religion in the Mediterranean for over a thousand years.
Here we see the power of the feminine principle in its highest form. Tending to people's spiritual needs and the leadership necessary to guide them on a path of transformation. This is only achieved when Persephone and Demeter work in concert with the earth's rhythms, undergo suffering yet persevere, integrate the masculine, return to themselves, embrace their power, accept their authority, and put it to its highest purpose.
This is only the beginning, a tiny sample of what can be gleaned from the myth of Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate. Spring is now a reminder that growing up is necessary, trauma can be survived, lost, forgotten, or abducted parts of the Self can be retrieved, and greater wholeness within is not only possible but powerful. It is also a reminder that the cycles and rhythms of nature hold deeper truths about reality and the immortality of the soul.
Comments and conversation are always welcome. Have you encountered the myth of Persephone in a particular way? Has it taught you something important about yourself?
Hi Jan. I’m always fascinated by your wok with the triple goddess. Your insights here about Persephone help me realize more of the nuances and depths of the feminine principle. And how cool that you have crossed the bridge of classical art and computer/based art. Wow!! Really great work. This myth is so strong for me I am creating woodblock prints inspired by sheela-na-gig photos to create 13 triptychs each composed of maid, mother, crone images. Looking forward to reading more. Thank you, Sandra
How appropriate to hear this myth again.. At 70 I have just had a shoulder replacement . This injury initiated me into the fact I am no longer young, the maiden. At first I was dealing with the fact I needed to surrender. My director offered me another word...YIELD. Yield does include surrender but somehow feels fuller. It embraces the life, death and rebirth circle. Tomorrow two young maidens who are four are coming for a playdate...my granddaughter and her friend. They will help me plant seeds. We will talk about the whole cycle of life and what they are noticing this spring. My own inner maiden is stirring.