21 Sep Demeter’s Sorrow ~ Autumn Equinox ~ September 23rd, 2023

The wheel of the year has turned, marked by the equinox on September 23rd where the day and night become equal for a fleeting moment. In the northern hemisphere, the Sun’s light begins to fall, heralding the beginning of autumn.

The equinox is a moment of perfect balance between day and night, offering the rare gift of using your conscious and unconscious perceptions in equal measure. In this moment of poise, you are asked by all of nature to find peace of mind about the cycle of life and death.

In the zodiac, the September equinox brings the seasonal shift from Virgo into Libra. In the deepening twilight, you become more contemplative about what the loss of light truly means.

A subtle sadness flutters through the air, slowing things down so you can savor all the beauty the world has been blessed with. The days are still blushing with warmth, but afternoons are disappearing quickly and there is a chill sitting on the edge of twilight.

Time feels so precious now, every pleasure becoming fleeting. In transitory moments such as these, life’s ephemerality is remembered. Life is now but not forever.

The last breath of summer is prismatic. Amber sun gleaming upon fruits as purple as the dusk. And as you watch the pomegranates turn blood-red, the memory of Persephone’s unwilling descent into the underworld is evoked. It was for the taste of that alluring fruit that she became bound to live in darkness for half the year.

In the mystery schools of ancient Greece, the decay of the earth’s resplendent beauty began at the fall equinox, which was associated with Persephone’s descent into to the underworld.

The myth of Persephone was in fact the basis for the famed Eleusinian Mysteries. And the rituals surrounding the September equinox, when the darkness began to usurp the light, were the most sacred time of year.

According to Manley P. Hall in The Secret Teachings of All Ages:

“The Greeks believed that Persephone was a manifestation of the solar energy, which in the winter months lived under the earth… but in the summer returned again…the flowers loved Persephone and that every year when she left for the dark realms…the plants and shrubs would die of grief…”

The ancient myth describes that the earth goddess Demeter had a beloved daughter, Persephone, whose footsteps blessed the earth with flowering beauty. One day, while wandering alone in a meadow, Persephone was abducted by Hades: god of the underworld. Swallowed by darkness, the radiance of Persephone vanished from the earth. Her mother Demeter fell into a deep sorrow, vowing that she would let the earth wither and freeze unless her daughter was returned.

The myth concludes with a compromise. During spring and summer, Persephone ascended back to the surface of the earth to live with her mother in warmth and bliss. And during the fall and winter, Persephone descended back into the Underworld to rule with Hades.

Teardrop on the fire

Every fall equinox brings the loss of Persephone’s light and a wave of Demeter’s sorrow.

Fearless on my breath

Teardrop on the fire

Of a confession

Time feels so precious now, every pleasure becoming fleeting. In transitory moments such as these, life’s ephemerality reveals itself once again. And with the wisdom inherent in such revelations, you will once again be able to think of your time as being very precious. 

In the mystery schools of ancient Greece, the decay of the earth’s resplendent beauty began at the fall equinox, which was associated with the goddess Persephone’s melancholic return to the underworld. The myth of Persephone was in fact the basis for the famed Eleusinian Mysteries.

And the rituals surrounding the September equinox, when the darkness began to usurp the light, were by far the most sacred time of year. 

According to Manley P. Hall in The Secret Teachings of All Ages: 

“The Greeks believed that Persephone was a manifestation of the solar energy, which in the winter months lived under the earth… but in the summer returned again…the flowers loved Persephone and that every year when she left for the dark realms…the plants and shrubs would die of grief…”

The ancient story describes that the earth goddess Demeter had a beloved daughter, Persephone, whose footsteps blessed the earth with flowering beauty. One day, while wandering alone in a meadow, Persephone was abducted by Hades: god of the underworld. Swallowed by darkness, the radiance of Persephone vanished from the earth. Her mother Demeter fell into a deep sorrow, vowing that she would let the earth wither and freeze unless her daughter was returned. 

The myth concludes with a compromise. During spring and summer, Persephone ascended back to the surface of the earth to live with her mother in warmth and bliss. And during the fall and winter, Persephone descended back into the Underworld to rule with Hades.

Teardrop on the fire

In the Eleusinian Mysteries, the cycle of Persephone’s descent and ascent illustrated that though the mortal body will surely decay, the immortal soul will rise again.

Most of the great thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome were initiates in these Mysteries, including the philosopher and historian Plutarch who once wrote:

Much about these ancient rites remains shrouded in mystery, but some of its important elements have been recovered. In Eleusis, a great temple to Demeter stood. On the fifth day of the September rituals, the initiates took a long walk to the temple, reenacting Demeter’s fruitless search for her daughter. Feeling the depth of Demeter’s sorrow was the initiation into wisdom and freedom from the fear of death.

Grief and loss opened the door to the soul’s liberation.

In the Eleusinian Mysteries, the cycle of Persephone’s descent and ascent illustrated that though the mortal body will surely decay, the immortal soul will rise again.

Most of the great thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome were initiates in these Mysteries, including the philosopher and historian Plutarch who once wrote:

“because of those sacred and faithful promises given in the mysteries…we hold it firmly for an undoubted truth that our soul is incorruptible and immortal. Let us behave ourselves accordingly.”

Much about these ancient rites remains shrouded in mystery, but some of its important elements have been recovered. In Eleusis, a great temple to Demeter stood. On the fifth day of the September rituals, the initiates took a long walk to the temple, reenacting Demeter’s fruitless search for her daughter. Feeling the depth of Demeter’s sorrow was the very path to wisdom. 

Demeter’s sorrow symbolizes the sadness which penetrates your spirit at the sight of all dying things. To celebrate the mythic meaning of this time of year, find a graceful lament, something that summons a darkened mood like Teardrop by Massive Attack.

This exquisite song perfectly captures the haunting mystery of Demeter’s sorrow. The lyrics are spare and impressionistic, an elegy for a lost dream.

In melancholic delirium, you are pulled into its mystery with the primordial rhythm of a heartbeat, that first sound you heard in your mother’s womb.

Absorbed into the darkness by the pulse, you descend into inner space, where time seems to stand still. You can feel Demeter’s pain in the glistening voice of Elisabeth Fraser: how the tenderness of her love has been met with cruelty.

Like all great music, Teardrop breaks your heart with beauty, summoning the light of your soul to emerge from the darkness.

Teardrop on the fire

To know the earth is to know the Mysteries of sorrow and death.

It’s tumbling down (as in love falling apart)

As the light begins to fall and the darkness begins to rise, you may feel Demeter’s sorrow, her mourning for the Virgin’s golden warmth. But do not despair. Light and life are in an eternal flux of rise and fall.

The Greater Mysteries of the September equinox still serve to remind us that it is the death of summer that opens the gateway to eternity.

After this equinox, may you feel free to live with more vivid color and feeling than ever before.

Much Love,

Rachel