A Ritualization of the Persephone Myth

A Process of Personalizing Mythology

There are certain stories I know by heart. Stories that capture me through a place, time or character so strongly that it changes the way I see the world. The myth of Persephone’s descent and ascension is one of those. I revisit the story every year. The Persephone myth is a story of descent and ascension. To me, the descent represents going deeply into one’s self to repair and reclaim. It’s soul work. The ascension is discovering the renewed path of intention and letting in more light.

I’ve ritualized the myth in a way that makes it personal for me without losing its universality. Through a process of journaling, sketching and immersing in nature, I keep the descent and ascension story in my heart.  This is really the cycle and circle of all story, not just your story or my story, but THE story.

There is no right way or wrong way to personalize this myth. For me, I journal daily, keeping the Persephone myth in mind. I also use creative visualizations as a means of going deeper into the story, and sometimes art leads me into the daily process. What follows is a template, some suggestions for journaling and creative visualizations, that may help you.

Here are the bare bones of the Persephone myth, around which your own mythology can be built. Only the bare bones because you’re not trying to be accurate to the myth, but rather make the myth your own. Of course there are a lot of details to the full Persephone story and I encourage you to find a version that you like and read it, but for the purposes of making the myth your own, use the bare bones upon which you can attach the flesh of your own personal story/mythology:

Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, Her father was Zeus, the king of all Gods.  Persephone’s uncle was Hades, the god of the underworld. Hades was in love with Persephone.  One day as she was walking, the earth opened up and she made the descent into the underworld. 

Her absence caused her mother and father a great grief.  They wanted their daughter back. Demeter declared that until her daughter was returned to her, nothing on the earth would grow, and the people would starve.  But Persephone wanted to stay in the underworld. Eventually a deal was struck, whereby Persephone would go home, but would return to the underworld each year.

Many scholars say that this myth was used to explain the seasons.  But at closer look, it’s not just about the seasons of the earth, it’s about the yearly seasons of our life.  A time to gather the loves and losses of the year.

Autumn, pulls me to into ritual. Ritual, meaning a ceremony in which the actions and wording follow a prescribed form and order. The ritual of descent begins like this for me:

1.      The first part of September, gather gourds, pumpkins and flowers. Arrange them on your front porch, a patio, a balcony to signify the harvest time. Do so with a prayer of thanks and appreciation.

Journaling as a practice not only makes me a better writer, it helps me to sort through time and events and make sense of my life. Imagine that for several times a week, or everyday, you journaled about the Persephone myth to the point where you made the story your own. In doing so, you would create your own personal mythology that coincides with the longings and recognitions in your own heart and mind.

Just as the Greeks ancient stories give us clues and show us patters as to what it means to be human, personalizing those myths within us also offer clues and self-knowledge.  And as Carl Jung said, “self-knowledge reveals all things.

Begin here: LONGING AND DESCENT

Let yourself be lyrical. Let yourself write with the elements of magic, symbols and metaphor. Remember that metaphor is the language of mythology. Before journaling, either through breath or meditation, open yourself into a state of consciousness that feels ruled by intuition, imagination, and creativity.

2.     The first part of the descent is the longing. Longing is the deep sense of purpose in you that is asking to be felt.  Longing can be for the divine; for some desired state of being; for a relationship with yourself.  Longing is a bow on the strings of the heart, awakening that which is already within you.  Suggestions for journal prompts to be used and expanded upon from now until the Autumn Equinox of Sunday, September 22.:

a.     What has happened this past year that’s grown you or made you a different person? 

b.     Is there something absent from your life? What is it?

c.     What is the big “what’s next” question that has been dogging you. 

d.     What is it that you are longing to do? 

e.     Where is it that you want to wander and wonder. Where is the place that you would like to linger?

f.      This past spring and summer, you’ve dreamed. 

g.     What have you dreamed of doing or of being? 

h.     What is it that would fill your heart and feel satisfying?

The descent into the underworld is an invitation to explore the things you may have misplaced or forgotten. It’s a time to gather the broken pieces of important things to your into your heart for healing. Always hold the intent for healing.

3.     Creative Visualization. Imagine this: You are making the descent on a long flight of stairs that that eventually opens up into a large cavernous room. You are standing in the cave of Hades. He’s no stranger to you. He is a male aspect of you. The Yang to your Yin. He represents the shadow of life, those things unseen or forgotten.  He welcomes you to this underworld.

Your eye slowly begin to adjust to the darkness in the cavern. Hades point to something straight ahead. It’s an altar, arranged with small objects that symbolize things that will help you.  Journal prompts from the Cave of Hades:

a.     Describe the cave of Hades.

b.     What is the significance of a deep, dark place in your life?

c.      What is on the altar? Pick it up and put it in you satchel or your pocket.

Hades invites you to dance. Imagine the dance.

a.     What kind of dance is it? A waltz? A tango? A twirling?

b.     What is the music you hear playing  from some far off place?

Dancing with Hades is like dancing with the male aspect of yourself. It’s a way to look into his eyes and recognize that he is a part of you.

a.     What is coming forward in you that asks for your attention?

b.     What is it that makes you feel you are pregnant with soul?

c.     What is the hunger of your longing?

d.     What was the object/ the symbol that you found in The Cave of Hades?

e.     What quality in your heart and soul does that symbol signify? What is it that you are remembering or rediscovering about yourself?

Ascension, Recognition and Reclamation

The ascension begins on Saturday, December 21^st, marked by the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. The Persephone ascension has to do with recognition and reclamation.  Recognition is owning the answers that are already in you. Recognition is owning that your life is a sacred journey. Recognition often times leads to repair.

Reclamation is reclaiming what you may have let languish – your art, writing, creativity, inner work, but most especially that artistic aspect of self.

All art is made up of light and shadow.  In the light our work blooms, but in the dark, the seeds of creativity gestate. The seasons are marked by light and dark. The human story is marked by periods of light and periods of dark. Our personal mythology is a circle of light and dark.

4.     Journal prompts and imaginings:

a.     You are now back in the cave of Hades.  What of your true essence have you remembered in this cave of dark and shadow?

b.     You intuitively know that soon it will be time to return home. (The ascension)  You will feel renewed and reinvented. Imagine how you will look when you make your ascension.

Will you wear velvet and moonbeams? What will you wear?

Hades, takes you by the hand and gestures toward a small alcove in his cave. There, you see for a beautifully wrapped package. 

a.     What is it wrapped in?  Is it wrapped in star dust?  Or in gossamer? sunbeams?

As you hold the package in your hands, Hades whispers to you “We can only linger in the shadows for so long before the light begins to seep in around the edges.”

You see that there is a shaft of light coming from somewhere, and it lights up the package that you hold.  Unwrapping the package is bittersweet, because you’ve grown comfortable here and it’s time to leave. You peel back the layers of wrapping to expose the gift and what you find is amazing. Journal Prompts:

a.     What is the amazing gift that you now hold in your hands and your heart? 

b.     How will this gift inform and inspire your life?

Hades offers you a pomegranate, breaking it open for you. You place three seeds in your mouth and close your eyes.  “Return to me,” he says. Return each year to find those things about

yourself that you may have misplaced or forgotten.  Return to me when you are filled with longing, when it’s time for new soul work.”

Journal Prompts:

a.     What is your soul work?

b.     What goodness did you find in the dark?  How does that inspire you?

You and Hades hold each other for a moment and your body become lighter and lighter.  You can feel yourself ascending, pushing up through the earth, like a dancing vine, twisting and turning toward the sun.  You open your eyes, and your forehead is being kissed by sunshine. In your hands is the gift that you brought back from The Cave of Hades. You are the only one who can see it. You press it to your heart where it will continue to live.  You recognize that this gift has been in you all along.

More Journaling. Here are the writing prompts.

a.     What does the underworld represent to you?

b.     What does ascending mean to you?

c.     What does it mean to be pregnant with soul?

Living the Persephone myth through ritualizing a conscious descent and ascent can be done through journaling, creative visualization, drawing, and nature walking. You can use dance and music as well. I believe that we all long to be the best version of ourself that we can be. We are caterpillars, birthing into butterflies each and every year.  We wear the skinned-knee-scars of courage and resilience.  Everything in our life can be imbued with meaning and purpose.

The journal prompts and creative visualizations are what I do from now until the first part of the year. I let this be a time of reflection, a time to reclaim the magic and musings of my creative self, of my soul self. For me, this is a time of quiet and contemplation. I share these things with you with the hope that they will inspire you to make up your own ritual of the Persephone story.

May you write your way into the descent and the accession. May you make art. Make love. Make mercy. Make your life a creative journey.

Thank you for allowing me to be a little part of your world through the sharing of this process. I appreciate and respect the struggle and the triumph that all of us go through as we become more fully human. ~Stephanie