In the Elusinian mysteries, Persephone brings spring into the world as the Kore, the Maiden, and all rejoice as she returns to visit her mother Demeter, goddess of grain and plenty. But in the fall, Persephone returns to the underworld where she rules as Queen
What is in her carry-on as she rides the chariot with Hades back to Hell?
She doesn’t need any 2 ounce bottles of cosmetics in ziplock bags because she already has her divine beauty sleep waiting for her when she arrives.
She doesn’t need any clothing—she is no longer the daughter of the grain goddess, but the goddess of the underworld in her own right.
She doesn’t need identification, a passport or even a penny to pay the ferryman because she knows who she is, and so does everyone else.
Nothing from the upper world will sustain her in the underworld darkness that she does not provide herself. Rather she and her husband Haides/Pluton, God of Wealth, pour out the bounty that comes from the earth.
That inner presence is also in each of us. We are all chthonic deities within our own lives, living from our grounded inner abundance even if we are not aware of it. We often sortie forth, like the Maiden, open and vulnerable on the outside, but within, we are strong, large and in charge, and even awesome in any sense of the word. But we forget.
What baggage do we bring to the inner journey to the High Self, our inner Queen of Destiny? Guilt. Doubt. Regret. Mistrust. Fear. Resentment. Self-righteousness. Rage.
Leaving behind the trappings of ego, like leaves shed in autumn, to face our inner Beauty and Truth brings us like Persephone in to our own power. We are each enough to create our world and to direct our thoughts into being.
As queen of the underworld, Persephone releases the shades from their earthly memories, but she has the power to allow them to keep their wits, as she did with Tiresias, the blind seer. We have the power to create our own reality, to believe in ourselves and in our ability to see past the illusions of our interpretations of the past.
What if everything has always worked out for the best in the long run? What if we could never make a mistake?
What would we do in the next moment that would make our dearest wish come true?
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