Persephone: Goddess of Spring, Shadows & Returning Light
Persephone is one of those goddesses whose story manages to be both beautiful and complicated. She is associated with spring flowers and new growth, yet she is also Queen of the Underworld. In other words, Persephone knows a thing or two about life, death, transformation – and making a dramatic seasonal entrance.
In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest. She was gathering flowers when Hades, god of the Underworld, carried her away to his realm. Demeter was devastated by her daughter’s disappearance, and as the goddess of growing things, she allowed the earth to become barren while she searched for her.
Eventually, Persephone was reunited with her mother, but there was a catch. While in the Underworld, she had eaten pomegranate seeds. Because food eaten in the Underworld created a connection to that realm, Persephone could not simply leave forever.
The compromise was that she would spend part of the year in the Underworld and part of the year with her mother. When Persephone returns, the earth awakens and flowers bloom. When she descends again, the growing season ends.
And thus, according to the myth, we get a rather poetic explanation for the changing seasons.
More Than Just a Spring Goddess
It is tempting to think of Persephone simply as a goddess of spring, flowers and youthful innocence, but her story gives her considerably more depth.
She becomes Queen of the Underworld, a powerful figure who stands between two worlds. Her journey can be viewed as a story of transformation: the young woman who enters the darkness is not quite the same person who emerges from it.
That makes Persephone especially interesting to modern witches who work with themes such as personal transformation, shadow work, rebirth, transitions and finding light after difficult periods.
She reminds us that going into the darkness isn’t necessarily the end of the story. Sometimes it’s where we grow.
Persephone and the Wheel of the Year
Persephone isn’t traditionally part of the Celtic Wheel of the Year, and the eight Sabbats come from a mixture of modern Pagan traditions rather than ancient Greek religious practice. So it would be historically inaccurate to say that Persephone was originally celebrated at these festivals.
However, modern witches sometimes find her perfectly suited to several points on the Wheel.
Ostara is probably the most obvious connection. Ostara celebrates spring, fertility, awakening and the return of life after winter. Persephone’s return from the Underworld makes her a natural symbolic companion for this season.
Imbolc can also work nicely with Persephone as a symbolic connection. Imbolc marks the first stirrings of spring – the point when winter hasn’t quite finished its business, but signs of returning life are beginning to appear. Persephone can represent that first little glimpse of what is coming.
Mabon provides the counterpart. As the autumn equinox arrives and the days begin their journey toward darkness, Persephone’s descent into the Underworld can be used as a metaphor for turning inward and preparing for the darker half of the year.
And, naturally, Samhain offers perhaps the strongest symbolic connection to her Underworld aspect. Persephone’s relationship with the realm of the dead makes her an interesting goddess to contemplate during a season traditionally associated with ancestors, death, endings and the thinning veil.
So, rather than saying “Persephone belongs to Ostara” or “Persephone is the goddess of Samhain,” it is better to say that modern witches may choose to work with different aspects of her mythology at these times of year.
Working With Persephone
If you’d like to bring Persephone into your practice, you don’t need to build an elaborate Greek temple in the backyard. A small seasonal altar can be just as meaningful.
Flowers, particularly spring flowers, are lovely offerings. Pomegranates and their seeds are perhaps her most recognizable symbol, while grains and other foods connected with the harvest can honour her relationship with Demeter.
Symbolically, you might also include:
- 🌸 Flowers – spring, beauty and renewal
- ❤️ Pomegranate – the Underworld and her transformation
- 🌾 Grain and seeds – fertility, growth and the harvest
- 🕯️ Candles – returning light
- 🌙 Dark-coloured stones or objects – her connection with the Underworld
- 🌱 Seeds – hidden potential and new beginnings
Persephone can be honoured when beginning a new chapter, working through change, exploring the shadowy corners of ourselves, or simply welcoming the return of spring.
A Goddess of Two Worlds
Perhaps the most appealing thing about Persephone is that she doesn’t fit neatly into one little box.
She is maiden and queen. She belongs to flowers and the Underworld. She represents both emergence and descent, endings and beginnings.
Her story reminds us that nature doesn’t move in a straight line. Things disappear and return. Seeds go into darkness before they become flowers. The garden looks asleep before suddenly bursting into life.
And perhaps that’s Persephone’s little piece of wisdom for us witches:
Sometimes you have to spend a little time underground before you’re ready to bloom.