Demeter and Persephone - The Myth of Death and Rebirth | Celebrate the Divine Feminine | Joy Reichard, M.A.

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Demeter and Persephone Presentation

Demeter is a benevolent Greek Goddess of the Grain whose gifts were believed to be vital to the survival of ancient Greece. Her daughter, who in the virginal maiden goddess form is called Kore, is traumatically abducted by the dreaded god, Hades, Lord of the Underworld. This myth on one level explains the seasons and the dynamics of agricultural. On a deeper level it served a universal human need to come to terms with death, and to provide hope for the future even in the face of it. This myth is the basis for the Eleusinian Mysteries that were celebrated for fifteen hundred years - well into the Fourth Century CE. This myth can also be seen as a metaphor for the fall and assimilation of what is believed to be an older Mother Goddess Civilization by patriarchal sky god worshippers who invaded from the north beginning around 5000 years ago.

In the myth Kore is innocently picking flowers when the earth opens and from it arises Hades, the dreaded Lord of the Underworld. He abducts Kore carrying her off to his realm. Her Mother, Demeter, and the Goddess Hekate, hear her screams. They finally confront Helios, the Sun God, who tells them that Hades has taken Kore with the approval of Zeus, Kore’s father, to be his Bride.

Furious Demeter leaves the company of the Gods and goes to live among mortals. She ends up in the city of Eleusis where she reveals her true identity and commands that the people of Eleusis build her a temple where she might inaugurate her Mysteries. Once the temple is built, however, Demeter descends into a deep depression. She decides to punish Zeus by withholding her gift of grain. Soon humankind is in danger of starvation and the Gods are denied their offerings.

Zeus finally relents and sends Hermes to retrieve Kore. Kore, by spending time in the underworld, has now matured into Persephone, the wise Queen of the Underworld. Hades is reluctant to let her go and slips Persephone a pomegranate seed, ensuring her return. None who eat of the fruit of the Underworld can escape its grasp. Mother and daughter are reunited and are joined by Hekate. With sadness they accept the fate of Persephone who must return to the Underworld a third of each year. Demeter knew, however, that when the earth warms with the promise of spring, her daughter will return to the world. Then Demeter restores the grain harvests and begins to teach the Mysteries to the people of Eleusis, who then share it with the rest of the world.

The gift of grain saved human kind from having to forage for food like beasts and prevented war, because peace is necessary in order to grow crops. Death was no longer seen as the end, but as the continuum of rebirth. And for those dying and facing the death of a loved one, they now could turn to the Goddess Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, for compassion and support, rather than the dreaded Hades. The Eleusinian Mysteries which honored this myth and celebrated the cycle of birth, death and rebirth was celebrated for 1500 years.

We each during the course of our lives experience times of grief, turmoil, strife and loss. These emotional pains take us into our own dark moods, our personal underworld. If you remember, Kore matured in the underworld into Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. By resisting the temptation to numb our pain with food, alcohol, television, or even burying ourselves in work, and by sitting with our emotions, just feeling them, we can begin to learn what lessons they bring. In this way we can mature - become more awakened - and become the Queen or King of our own Underworld.

Please take time to view the complementary PowerPoint presentation.
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To take advantage of the entire PowerPoint presentation that was presented at the In Her Name Circle on the Demeter and Persephone, please click on the download link for the PowerPoint with audio.
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To experience Persephone on a more personal level please listen to the accompanying guided visualization. Enjoy!
>> Click here for the guided visualization. ($5.00) (Allow 60-90 seconds for download.)

If you have any questions, or if would like to use this information in a circle of your own, please contact me through my contact page on this website.

Sources
Carlson, Katie, Life’s Daughter/Death’s Bride: Inner Transformations Through the Goddess Demeter/Persephone, Boston, Shambhala Publications, 1997.
Keller, Mara Lynn, “The Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone: Fertility, Sexuality and Rebirth,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Spring 1988, Vol 4, No. 1.
Wagner, Megan, The Saphire Staff, Walking the Western Mystical Way, Redwood City, CA, Veriditas Publishing, 2004.

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