Gods & Goddesses ~ Persephone
by Rayvensclaw
I was going to write a completely different story for this edition of Axis Mundi but was told by a higher spirit to do Persephone. After some confusion with the name and looking in the wrong direction I finally came up with the correct information, sometimes with spirit as in most other things, you have to disregard the forest to find the trees or the leaves.
Persephone/Kore, is the maiden goddess of spring and the underworld. She is the daughter aspect of the Demeter/Persephone myth and is jointly queen of the dead and goddess of spring. This combination makes her an extraordinary figure of female autonomy. Her caring aspect is seen in her insistence on returning each year to Hades,in the land of the dead. She is celebrated in spring and autumn.
Persephone, daughter of Demeter (the earth goddess), was abducted (at the suggestion of Zeus) and raped by Hades and forced to be his consort. According to the myth, Persephone was picking flowers in a field when Hades, her uncle and god of the underworld abducted her to be his Queen in the dark world below. The goddess, Hecate, strongly associated with the dark side of the moon and with witchcraft, was the only one to witness Persephone's abduction. She hears Persephone's cries but does nothing herself to help and furthermore does not seek help from others.
Persephone is extremely unhappy in the darkness of the underworld. She also misses her mother, Demeter, as they had such a close mother-daughter relationship. Zeus sends Hermes down to Hades to negotiate Persephone's release. Hades grudgingly agrees, however he tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds, which forces her to return to the underworld for a season each year.
Persephone's desire is to return to her mother, she returns from innocense to the mature goddess who now knows separation, sexuality and death. Persephone represents the 'maiden', Demeter the 'mother' and Hecate the 'wise crone'. Persephone who has returned from her underworld journey has seen all; she has faced her shadow and in the process has united birth and death within herself. Persephone belongs to the category of 'vulnerable goddess' through suffering pain and despair in a relationship and through the humiliation of abduction and rape. On a psychological level Persephone challenges our attitudes to those acts that are deemed "unacceptable" or those behaviour patterns which we find difficult to acknowledge and often perceive as dangerous.
Now that I have carried out my duties as requested (commandeered) I think you should ponder on this goddess for a moment and consider how much we have in common, there is always a light side with equal portions for dark. If one is stronger than the other don't we fall over and get into a lot of trouble. Please consider!
