Persephone

Culture: Ancient Greek   Domain: Spring's return, the underworld, the cycle of seasons

Persephone is Demeter's daughter, taken by Hades to the underworld and made its queen; because she ate pomegranate seeds there, she was bound to return each year, her ascent to the surface marking spring and her descent marking winter. Later tradition, especially at Eleusis, honored her as a powerful queen of the dead in her own right, not only a captive.

Associations

Spring's return, the underworld, duality, the pomegranate, the changing seasons.

Ways people honor her (modern)

• Mark the changing seasons with small rituals of release and renewal
• Hold both grief and hope as compatible, not contradictory
• Offer pomegranate seeds or spring flowers depending on the season
• Read the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the primary source for her myth

Approach any deity with respect and do your own research. Practices vary widely between traditions, and modern devotional practice often goes beyond what survives in ancient sources.