My Path to Persephone

There is little I love more than hearing the stories of how people came to their deities of devotion. Most of us who run community groups on social media platforms have intro questions for filtering out bots and spam accounts. The question in my group dedicated to Persephone requests those calls, and so approving new member requests is often a highlight of my day. I especially love how many common threads can be found in large groups of people called to the same pantheons or deities. So many of us can trace the relationship back to our childhoods, even if we didn’t realize the call until many years later.

The story of my path to becoming a modern priestess of Persephone spans the course of about thirty years, so for now I’ll just hit the key points on my journey.

The Introduction

So how did the Olympian and Chthonic deities reach out to me initially? Mr. Gilbert’s sixth grade Social Studies class. Like many middle schoolers we had a section on world religions, and while I believe a few stories from the mythos were told the only one that I clearly remember learning from that section was the story of Persephone and Hades and how Demeter brought winter to the world while searching for Her daughter, and how Persephone consumed a certain number of pomegranate seeds, and that was the story the Greeks told of why the seasons changed. That unit and that story never left me. I’m reasonably certain we covered the story of Athena and Poseidon and how Athena won patronage of Athens, but Athena really made Her hold on me known later that year when we read an abridged version of The Odyssey, and then I went on to devour the complete version. Of course, this isn’t the story of Athena and me, though I’ll be certain to tell that story sometime down the road, too.

The Initiation

When I recently posted about accepting my call to the priestesshood with a particular group of my witchy and spiritual friends and acquaintances one friend shared a lovely article on one woman’s initiation experience. I started reading it feeling a little sad and a little jealous of the author. I started seriously studying witchcraft and the resurgence of ancient religions back in the late 90s and dedicated myself to the magic(k)al path of life at 16 years of age. I joined (and later grew into leadership of) the on campus pagan group in my college years. Throughout all of this I yearned for a teacher to share knowledge with me, a group with my same interests and expectations to learn and grow in practice with, and for a resounding understanding of which pantheon was my pantheon–and I always felt forgotten by the universe when it never materialized. Whenever I tried again to ask for a teacher I always somehow got the message of “But why? Youare the teacher.” That always seemed so ridiculous to me. How could I possibly be the teacher when I had nobody teaching me? (Spoiler Alert: Little did I realize how much I had the universe and life teaching me, and how my devotion and practice would grow around all of that.)

After reading the article in question I sat with it, and I sat with my sadness and jealousy, and I realized…but I did have an initiation of sorts, even if I didn’t realize at the time what it was. In my second year of college, and my second year with the on campus pagan group, we were planning our annual Samhain ritual. We had made the decision to write and perform a sacred spiral drama for our ritual that year, and we chose the descent of Persephone to the Underworld and Her taking of the mantle as Queen beside Hades. I know I have a copy of the ritual somewhere, and if I manage to find it I may just post it for you all sometime. I remember our version being more personal choice by Her than the traditional kidnapping story, and that rang so much truer to me. (One day I’ll write a post on how many modern devotees have been given that same insight from Persephone. A promised/arranged marriage, but an active and enthusiastic choice to follow the arrangement made and to walk the destined path and step into Her power as a ruler and equal to Hades rather than the story of force told by the men who wrote the original mythologies.) Because I had always had such an affinity for Persephone I requested and was assigned the role of Persephone for the ritual drama. When we invoked the deities honored and offered the invitation for Them to join us, Persephone absolutely joined through me. My memories of the ritual feel so out-of-body, and when I remember it I can see it more from an outside perspective than from within my own body–almost displaced. Looking back from where I stand now I recognize that this was the true start of my education into priestesshood, and this was my initiation as Her devotee and future priestess.

Accepting My Place with the Olympians

For what felt like so many years I struggled to find the pantheon that was mine. I had affinities for assorted deities in various traditions, I had a deep love for certain sets of mythologies, and deep down I knew there was something special about the Hellenic deities and stories that rang familiar and true to me. I denied it for ages feeling like I should feel more of a connection with the mythologies of my blood ancestors. In my senior year of college I had the honor of dramaturging one of my absolute favorite shows–Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses. One day before rehearsals started, as I was starting my breakdowns for the cast, I was rereading the script for at least my tenth time (probably more like my 20th) and this feeling of knowing and immense peace came over me. I knew the Olympians were my home. Not long after that epiphany I had a dream of owls. I rarely remember my dreams, but I’ve come to learn they are the last resort messengers from my deities when I’ve failed to pay attention to the signs in my day to day life. In this one I was swarmed by owls–so many! Amid the flurry around me an exceptionally large owl flew in and up to me. I knew immediately it was Athena. She was laying direct claim to me as one of Hers. I’d spent so much time denying that the patron goddess of so many heroes in the mythologies would be mine, but here we were. I was irrefutably Hers and She wasn’t going to let me ignore or deny that any longer.

Facing the Shadows

Back at the end of 2017 I found myself racing towards what I now can recognize as a neurodivergence-related burnout breakdown, though at the time I assumed it was a depression-related spiral and spent months prior attempting to find the meds that would bring me back into balance. In actuality I had overextended myself professionally for far too long, and my mind and body were paying the price. Meds weren’t going to fix the burnout, and they didn’t. I took time off from the hospitality industry and shut down completely for a few months before going back into a low-pressure position part time for a while. During that time off the only things that would get me out of bed were yoga classes and rehearsals of the community choir group I had just signed up for. I was attending yoga 6-7 times a week during this stretch, and then would promptly curl right back up in my bed or under the blankets of the couch where the cat would snuggle me. Between yoga and reconnecting with my most loved creative outlet and a new online community a friend had introduced me to (shoutout to my Stratejoy sisters and Holiday Council) I eventually started to come back to balance.

During this period of time I had a moment of clarity. I came across the menu from my 30th birthday dinner at Alinea (hey–when you’re a high level hospitality professional your milestone dinners are a little bit epic; three years later we went to Eleven Madison Park for my husband’s 30th). One of the courses had been Burn Morels–a rare treat because they only grow in areas that have been decimated by fire. They’re among the first regrowth, pushing through the ashes of destruction, and are so gorgeous to experience. I had been feeling Persephone strongly through this time and was reconnecting with my tarot work to help me through what was going on with me. She was burning me down to ashes and forcing me to face my shadows to show me I could build myself back, just as the forest would regrow–stronger and more complete than before. I recalled writings of Jung on the shadow self. This was when there was only a very small group talking about shadow work, and there was little to be found on how to engage with it. I clearly felt the pull from Persephone that this was a thing that was going to be central to my devotion of Her in the community around me. I started a group on Facebook, Persephone Calling, hoping to build a space for people who needed support in their own personal shadow work journeys. It’s since grown into a more general Persephone-centric space with over 700 members. Since starting the group I’ve also developed out my shadow work offerings and regularly share them privately there. Soon I’ll be sharing them here, too. That is, after all, a core piece of what She asks of me for my community.

(Re)Born in Fire

For many years I’d wanted to attend a silent retreat, and this past November finally offered me that opportunity. I went into the retreat mainly looking for a place of quiet contemplation and a bit of peace from rejoining the world of hospitality management earlier in the year. I anticipated maybe spending a bit of time with one of my other core deities, Aphrodite (another story to tell another day) because She’d been pressing me for some extra attention, but Persephone came in with a force and I spent the weekend mostly centered around Her. At a guided meditation and visualization that centered around our spirit guides Athena showed up in a rare appearance to give me the permission I didn’t realize I needed to accept the call to priestesshood from Persephone which I’d been sidestepping for 30 years. In the visualization Athena reminded me that accepting a call from another deity would not change our relationship, and that I was always Hers first, and She would always be present for me–just as She has always been. I’d often been concerned that stepping into this calling would be disrespectful to Athena as my key primary deity, and this experience gave me the affirmation I needed that it wouldn’t be, and that She fully approved and encouraged this shift. Later at the bonfire, as we’re all writing things we want to release on paper and throwing it to the fire, I felt Persephone’s voice behind me, whispering into my ear and asking me if we would finally be doing this and if I would finally accept Her call…and now here we are.

Moving Forward

Since I chose to accept Her call, I’ve been working out what that might look like as a mostly solitary practitioner and with very little in-person religious community–there are many of us, but we’re pretty spread out. I’m grateful to have a couple of local friends to occasionally celebrate festivals with. Now, I know my calling is not only for those called to Persephone and the Olympians or Chthonic deities, but for my larger life community also. I am an End of Life Doula, I am a Full Spectrum Doula, I am an advisor and guide for those working through transitions and working to find their own balance of dark and light, and all of that is available to anyone. While my calling may be grounded in one particular religious tradition it encompasses all around me and does not require religious devotion of those who seek what I have to offer and share.

As I move into a public sphere with my call, I am still working out what this might look like on the day to day. I would be grateful for your feedback on what you might expect or like to have from a modern priestess occupying this type of space. Please share your thoughts and wishes in the comments here!