As darkness gradually deepens, so does our intuition
As the winds begin to change, we might not feel it yet, but after the peak of energy celebrated at the start of summer, that force slowly wanes. We become aware that the brightness of summer will soon fade as we enter the darker phase of the year, one day at a time.
August 1st in the Northern Hemisphere, or February 1st in the Southern Hemisphere, marks the date when ancient cultures traditionally honored the harvest. It's the time to start gathering the fruits, a process that culminates at the autumn equinox. The archetype of the abundant pregnant woman of summer now gives birth, inviting us all to enjoy the harvest.
I associate this time's energy with the Greek goddess Demeter, known as the goddess of harvest and agriculture. She has the power to make the earth fertile or barren, thus creating the seasons. Her power is well depicted in the myth of cyclical transformation.
The most popular version of this myth involves the abduction of Demeter's daughter, Persephone, by Hades, the god of the dead, who forcibly makes her his wife. Demeter's desperate search for her daughter leads her to seek help from Zeus. Initially uninterested, Zeus eventually sees Demeter’s power to render the earth barren and convinces Hades to return Persephone. Hades, however, tricks Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds, binding her to spend half the year with him in the underworld and the other half with her mother on Earth.
Abductions, violations, and abuses of power against women are common in ancient myths, reflecting how matriarchal stories were “updated” with patriarchal values. Demeter’s threat to leave the earth barren until her daughter was returned reveals the ancient power of the Great Goddess as a ruler of ecological and ethical laws. The deceit with the pomegranate seeds symbolizes the patriarchal imposition of male gods’ supremacy.
I prefer the pre-patriarchal and pre-Hellenic version of this story, where Demeter, the Mother Goddess, educates Persephone to be a compassionate woman, transforming her into the spring Goddess of Renewal. In this version, Persephone descends to the underworld willingly, hearing the laments of the dead and offering them hope for rebirth, like in spring. Demeter withdraws during her absence, ushering in autumn. She is not a desperate mother but one who understands the importance of natural cycles, allowing nature and living beings to shed the old and welcome the new. When Persephone returns in spring, the mother repopulates the earth, and dormant life blooms once again.
As we move through this time of year, we realize that Demeter will soon retreat, but for now, we can enjoy the early harvests still abundant. We can thank her for nurturing these fruits and for the opportunity to share them with our loved ones and the world.
On a personal level, how can we honor our harvests? Both our internal and external harvests, like projects in our lives? Let’s appreciate what we have created and enjoy it as much as possible. There will be time to consider what didn’t go as expected and what to leave behind for future cycles. If we pause to reflect, we’ll discover many moments in our lives to be grateful for that we may have overlooked. This is a good time to acknowledge what certain people, situations, and experiences mean to us and honor them appropriately.
Things we can do to honor these energies:
Take a walk in nature and collect elements to decorate our altar.
Decorate our altar with seasonal items like apples and corn, place fresh herbs in jars of water, or dry them for winter use.
Bake homemade bread and share it. Bread is a symbol of this time and of Demeter, representing an ancient creative act, the result of harvested grains.
Make a doll from braided corn husks to represent Mother Earth. If the materials are hard to find, we can draw or print an image of the goddess to keep her feminine energy present until the autumn equinox.
Write a list of the year’s best moments and express gratitude for them.
Write thank-you letters to friends, family, and important people in our lives and deliver them if possible.
Thank the Earth for all the fruits she provides.
Let’s invoke Demeter’s wisdom as we enter the second half of the year with love and acceptance, recognizing that within the seed of life lies the seed of death, and within the seed of death, the seed of life.
With very early warm fall wishes,
Camila
Photo: Oliver Pacas & Paz Arando - Unsplash
