4:42 p.m. - 2002-07-17
Which Goddess am I?
41.7% Persephone
If you exemplify the qualities of Persephone, you have most likely experienced great loss in your life -- the loss of your health or your emotional or physical security, the betrayal of a friend or lover, the loss of a child, your own divorce or that of your parents. This experience has forced you to face the dark, unenlightened side of yourself (the side that blames other people or circumstances for your own suffering) and transform yourself into a stronger, more independent, more accepting and more loving person. It may have also led you down a spiritual path, and moved you to place great emphasis on inner calm and on close connections with friends. You are capable of embracing, integrating and accepting difficult experiences. Because of that skill, you offer others the gift of empathy -- you know where they are or have been.
More on Persephone
Persephone is the beautiful, innocent young daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and his sister, the goddess Demeter. Loved and adored by her mother, she is linked in every way with the Demeter myth. Her names derives from the Greek word phero and phonos, which mean together "she who brings destruction."
Persephone represents both light and darkness. The four stages of her life - her carefree and protected youth, her abduction and rape by Hades, her return to her mother and home, and her becoming queen of the underworld - reflect the alternating light and dark elements of all life on earth. Persephone shows us that we can grow and transform ourselves as we adapt to these experiences, steering us into awareness and wholeness.
The story of Persephone's abduction begins with Hades, king of the underworld, who for a long time had been asking his brother Zeus to help him find a wife. When Hades saw the young Persephone, he fell in love with her and asked Zeus to intercede with Demeter on his behalf. Knowing Demeter would not want her daughter to become Hades' wife and therefore spend all her time underground, away from her, Zeus helped Hades kidnap Persephone. The grief-stricken Demeter threatened to bring famine to the earth and destroy all mankind. At last, Zeus relented and demanded that Hades return Persephone to her mother. Before he let her go, Hades persuaded his wife - who had eaten nothing in the underworld - to swallow a pomegranate seed. It was well known that anyone who tasted the food of the dead would be bound to return to the underworld. Persephone, in her excitement to return to her mother, forgot this for a moment and, after having not eaten a morsel during her confinement, accepted the food from Hades. Thus, she was doomed to spend one-third of the year back with Hades.
Ultimately, Persephone had a tranquil marriage with Hades and even grew to love him in her own way. But it is in her role as Demeter's daughter, not Hades's wife, that Persephone was worshiped. She was the herald of spring, the reason Demeter awakened new life on earth every year. This powerful element of transformation remains central to the myth of Persephone and her importance to us today.
Persephone's Mantras
*You have the courage to overcome your doubts.
*I let go of everything the binds me to my past, and I move forward.
*I forgive myself for any un-kept promises to myself, and I start anew today.
*Any mistake I make is forgivable.
*In the midst of life and all the experiences it has to offer, I preserve my innocence and hold onto tender feelings.
*I am not afraid to ask for help in turning my dreams into reality.
*Creativity flows like a river, and I dive right in!
*I feel an invisible spirit at work in the world, and allow my vision to be larger than what only I can see.
*Just being alive fills my heart with joy.
*Self-judgments are not good for the soul.
*I imagine what my life looks like from a distant mountaintop and see that my worries are not so big.
*The joy of being alive fills my whole heart.
*Let go of your shame, guilt and self-judgments; they do not become you.
*Creativity is within me waiting to be discovered.
*You have the power to free yourself from pain. Say good-bye to hurt out loud.
*Self-doubt does not affect my self-worth; it only blocks me from seeing how valuable I am.
*It is wonderful to be innocent. Make time for play and don't worry what other people think.
*I celebrate what I have yet to learn.
*I return to my innocence and welcome its freshness, washing away the burdens of the world.
*Times of sorrow lead to my greatest moments of growth.
