PERSEPHONE: The Maiden, Queen of the Underworld Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the mighty Greek Goddess of Grain and the Harvest. She was kidnapped while gathering spring flowers with her friends. Erupting from the bowels of the Earth, dark Hades, God of the Underworld, carried the girl off to his gloomy kingdom. There, he raped and forced her to marry him, with the knowledge and consent of her father. Demeter, the Fierce Mother, searched tirelessly for her. A great blight fell upon Earth as she withdrew her care for it in her grief over her lost child. When she finally discovered where Persephone was, she demanded that Zeus force Hades to give her back. Realizing that if he did not do so, all life on Earth would perish, Zeus ordered Hades to return her. On the eve of her departure, wily Hades offered his unwilling bride a succulent pomegranate. She must have known that the fruit was a symbol of marriage in ancient Greece, and that those who took food in the Underworld could never leave it! Still, Persephone ate a few seeds. This sealed her destiny. She was allowed to return to Demeter for two thirds of every year, spring, summer and autumn. But she had to spend winter with Hades. This explained the cycle of seasons to the Greeks. How can we explain Persephone's decision to eat the seeds at the moment of deliverance? Had she fallen in love with Hades? Perhaps she made a deliberate, rational choice. Before Hades exploded into her life, Persephone was a pliant, carefree, adolescent virgin. With her abduction and forced marriage, maturity was brutally thrust upon her. Yet, instead of letting this destroy her, she grew into an infinitely more powerful woman. Perhaps that is why she chose to straddle two worlds. On Earth, she walked in light and life, eternal daughter of an awesome goddess. In the Underworld, land of darkness and death, she was Queen - a guide to heroes and heroines who came to the shadow lands and sought her help. She was mistress of that world and of her husband's lonely heart. In her, both dark and light found balance. The rooster symbolizes the wake-up call that brought Persephone back to Earth from her sojourn in the Underworld. He calls us all, urging us to cast off despair and return to a world of light, joy and fruitfulness. He heralds rebirth and regeneration. Story on back of card |