![]() ![]() There is a numinous experience in working with a myth in a repetitive way and when we do, it starts to bloom and grow, much as a living entity does. It can nourish us, yes, but only if we come into relationship to its very being. But truth is, myth cannot be consumed and myth definitely is not a fast-food meal. We might think that when we ‘know’ a story-we are done with it and we can go to the next one. Because the culture and pattern of consumerism and fast consumption is so ingrained in our psyche, we inevitably bring this programming into our relationship to story and myth. It changes with the time, place and gathering of people it is told in. But just like a walk in the forest is never the same experience, so is the way we can view a myth or fairytale. I believe that it is first and foremost a very important experience for women to go through the myth with the understanding that this indeed represents the abduction, violation, and rape of the feminine Soul principle in a time where patriarchal powers had established themselves in ancient Greek. Because she ate 6 seeds of the pomegranate given to her by Hades, she has to seasonally return to the Underworld. Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and no longer the little Kore, is now the wife and consort of Hades. And eventually, Demeter is given back her daughter and life starts blossoming with their reunion. The story is filled with many transformations of both human beings, the goddess herself and the community of Eleusis. Demeter refuses to be the nourishing goddess that she is, unless she is given back her daughter. As a result the lands and people suffer from drought and famine. When Demeter finds out about Kore’s abduction, she rages and mourns endlessly and even stops nourishing the Olympian gods and human beings. In this ancient Greek myth, the maiden Kore is abducted by her uncle Hades, the god of the underworld, after the marriage was approved by her father Zeus without the knowing of her mother Demeter. The story of Persephone and Demeter is a classical one in myth and depth-psychology and has been many times interpreted, by myself included, as a metaphor for the patriarchal abduction of the feminine-yin-principle by the masculine-yang-culture of Zeus and his brother Hades. (artwork above: Laura Krusemark for Anima Mundi School) ![]() An alternative reading to Kore’s abduction by Faranak Mirjalili ![]()
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