The pomegranate is a luscious fruit full of juicy seeds. I created this series to honor the fruit, seeds, and its stories.
In the traditional Greek myth, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of Fertility, Grains, and the Harvest. The Maiden and Mother were very close. One day Persephone was secretly abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Demeter was so distraught in her mourning that crops failed in the fields.
Eventually -- thanks to Hecate, the Crone of the Crossroads -- Persephone was returned to her mother. In her rejoicing, Demeter gave the healing power of fertility and growth back to the earth, and the fields flourished. But Zeus deemed that if Persephone had eaten anything while in the Underworld, she must return there. Persephone ate 6 pomegranate seeds, and so she returns for 6 months of the year to rule as Queen of the Underworld.
This is how the Greeks explained why we have seasons: for Demeter’s alternating cycle of mourning and rejoicing.
But I prefer a different interpretation of this tale: perhaps Persephone could feel that it was time for her to begin maturing from Maiden to Mother. Then, she might choose to go within – into her unconscious or “underworld” – to reflect on these changes: what they are, what they mean, what they bring. She would spend time examining her depths and her dreams. Every female can remember as a teenager this going within, this escape into privacy; we’ve all done it. Any mother understands how painful it is not to be able to “reach” her daughter when she disappears by going within. Once Persephone had completed this self-examining rite of passage, she would “return” a maturing young woman, ready to be Queen of Herself.
So to me, the pomegranate holds seeds of empowerment, not imprisonment.
The rich red pomegranate is filled with the seeds of potential and change that we all hold within, regardless of our age. It resembles the ovary, where our own reproductive seeds are held. In the myth, all three Ages of Woman (Maiden, Mother, Crone) support each other. This happens in our own lives: giving and receiving support, comfort, and encouragement. (“Crone” – or Elder, Wise Woman -- has the same root word as “crown”, and was once a term of respect. Let’s return to that respect, shall we?)
The pomegranate is a luscious fruit full of juicy seeds. I created this series to honor the fruit, seeds, and its stories.
In the traditional Greek myth, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of Fertility, Grains, and the Harvest. The Maiden and Mother were very close. One day Persephone was secretly abducted by Hades, god of the Underworld. Demeter was so distraught in her mourning that crops failed in the fields.
Eventually -- thanks to Hecate, the Crone of the Crossroads -- Persephone was returned to her mother. In her rejoicing, Demeter gave the healing power of fertility and growth back to the earth, and the fields flourished. But Zeus deemed that if Persephone had eaten anything while in the Underworld, she must return there. Persephone ate 6 pomegranate seeds, and so she returns for 6 months of the year to rule as Queen of the Underworld.
This is how the Greeks explained why we have seasons: for Demeter’s alternating cycle of mourning and rejoicing.
But I prefer a different interpretation of this tale: perhaps Persephone could feel that it was time for her to begin maturing from Maiden to Mother. Then, she might choose to go within – into her unconscious or “underworld” – to reflect on these changes: what they are, what they mean, what they bring. She would spend time examining her depths and her dreams. Every female can remember as a teenager this going within, this escape into privacy; we’ve all done it. Any mother understands how painful it is not to be able to “reach” her daughter when she disappears by going within. Once Persephone had completed this self-examining rite of passage, she would “return” a maturing young woman, ready to be Queen of Herself.
So to me, the pomegranate holds seeds of empowerment, not imprisonment.
The rich red pomegranate is filled with the seeds of potential and change that we all hold within, regardless of our age. It resembles the ovary, where our own reproductive seeds are held. In the myth, all three Ages of Woman (Maiden, Mother, Crone) support each other. This happens in our own lives: giving and receiving support, comfort, and encouragement. (“Crone” – or Elder, Wise Woman -- has the same root word as “crown”, and was once a term of respect. Let’s return to that respect, shall we?)
