Persephone: Working with the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld
Persephone embodies the duality of the divine feminine. She is the Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld. She’s the beautiful maiden picking flowers and a goddess of death. She reminds us that we can be both beautiful and terrifying, we can embody all ages and eras at once, and we deserve to be deeply loved.
Who is Persephone?
Persephone’s story often gets reduced to her abduction, but she’s so much more than that. Let’s get that tale out of the way, though. She is the daughter of Persephone and Zeus, and one day, Hades, God of the Underworld, saw her picking flowers and immediately fell in love. But Hades knew that Demeter would never let him marry her daughter, so he went to his brother, Zeus, to make a deal. He then just took Persephone.
Demeter was crushed. She refused to accept Persephone’s disappearance and searched the world for her. She also stopped doing her job as the Goddess of Agriculture. Crops died, plants withered, and the world was plunged into winter. With no plants and food to offer to the Gods, there were no offerings, and (depending on the version of the story) the Gods were at risk of dying.
So clearly, something had to be done. Zeus brokered another deal, and Persephone was to be returned to the living world. However, what they didn’t know is she’d eaten six pomegranate seeds, the fruit of the dead, while in the Underworld with Hades. So, she had to go back to the Underworld half of the year because she was now part of the living world and of the dead world.
Is Persephone also Kore?
Throughout the ancient world, deities had multiple epithets. Epithets are descriptive words or phrases to describe a person or place based on their role or location, especially in ancient societies.
Kore means “young girl” or “maiden” and is the epithet used to describe Persephone’s youthful side. This is the name she had before she went into the Underworld. She appears as Kore in texts and stories about her relationship with her mother, and as the Goddess of Spring. However, Persephone is the name that she assumes when she became Queen of the Underworld.
Modern Interpretations of Persephone’s Abduction
Scholars believe that Persephone, whose name can be interpreted as “destroying face,” was an even more ancient goddess of death than the Greek myth would suggest. She actually may be the original ruler of the Underworld. In order to gain power, Hades may have had to trick Persephone in some way to become ruler of the Underworld. There are also multiple instances around the world where a powerful goddess was replaced by a god, whether that was her husband or her son, but that’s for another time.
There are multiple variants of Persephone’s story, like the one in which she sits in a cave, guarded by snakes, and weaves the world on a loom. In that story, Zeus came to her in the form of a snake, they had intercourse, and she gave birth to Dionysus. There’s also an ancient association between Persephone and Aphrodite, suggesting that they found common ground in women’s affairs.
Or maybe she met Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome in a field and ran away with him. What if she ate the pomegranate seeds not as part of a trick from Hades, but because she was ready to step into her new era after being in the Underworld and gaining perspective, responsibilities, and respect?
Modern interpretations of her story focus on her choices. Many now believe that she made the best of a bad situation and realized that she liked being a ruler with Hades. She definitely matured while in the Underworld!
Her mother treated her like a little girl, but her husband treated her like the queen she is. Demeter wanted to protect her, but Hades gave her a throne, and she assumed responsibilities over the dead. The life of a queen doesn’t sound too bad!
Regardless of her beginnings, we recognize that Persephone emerges from the Underworld to live with her mother, Demeter, in the spring and descends into it to rejoin her love in the autumn, taking the flowers and blossoms with her. When she is in the Underworld, we experience colder weather, plants go dormant, and animals hibernate. And when she re-emerges in Spring, everything comes back to life, because Demeter is happy again.
How to Work with Persephone
Work with Persephone when you want to embody the duality of the light and dark. She’s also a goddess to invoke in finding your true, lasting love, because although there are stories about extramarital affairs with both Persephone and Hades, they love each other very much (the same can’t be said for Zeus and Hera!).
Her abduction story often overshadows the fact that she’s a multifaceted goddess. For instance, she owns a box of beauty. She lends this out to other goddesses and devotees when they ask for help with enhancing their beauty and charisma. Ask her for help with your glamour magick or if you’d like to be convincing in a pivotal conversation, like a job interview.
Persephone also banishes ghosts and presides over communication with the dead. Call on her for protection if you’ve received unwanted or persistent contact from spirits. When seeking a painless, peaceful death, ask Persephone for comfort.
And as if that weren’t enough, legend also says she’s the mistress of the Furies who punished the dead for crimes, including betrayal and murder. So, while there may be better goddesses to call on for justice, if you already work with Persephone, reach out to her as well for additional support.
Persephone’s Correspondences at a Glance
The goddess’s correspondences are perfect examples of her dual nature. From colors that range from black to pastel yellow and gemstones from Rose Quartz to Black Onyx, Persephone’s magick exists on the whole spectrum of light to dark.
Animals
- Pigs
- Roosters
- Black Horses
- Black Rams & Bulls
- Bats
- Snakes
- Moths & Butterflies
Colors
- Black
- Dark Purple
- Dark Red
- Pastel Greens
- Pastel Pinks
- Pastel Yellows
Gemstones & Metals
- Rose Quartz
- Tourmaline
- Garnet
- Obsidian
- Black Onyx
- Iron
Herbs & Plants
- Pomegranate
- Roses
- Parsley
- Willow
- Peppermint
- Daffodils
- Asphodels
- Lavender
- White Lilies
Offerings
- Spring flowers
- Grains and seeds, including barley, wheat & corn
Other Symbols
- Torch
- Bones & Skulls
- Floral Perfumes
- Scents of almond, vanilla, or bergamot
Whether you’re new to working with Persephone or she’s been your guide for years, connecting with her can help you step into your full power and divine nature.
Ready to work with Persephone? Scroll down to find signature ritual supplies to support your work. Persephone is ready for the witch who’s ready to honor her light and darkness!
