Clothing : The priestess who will invoke Athena (1) can wear any robe that feels right to her, but she will carry the sword. The priestess invoking Demeter (2) should wear a green robe, but cover it with her cloak to begin with. The priestess invoking Kore (3) should wear a spring robe, covered with a dark cloak.
Before the ritual, place a large number of candles about the temple. Leave them unlit. One tiny candle should be placed on the altar. The matches should be put where they can be got at easily!
Burn Black Forest Incense... a fair amount of it. Keep the door of your temple CLOSED.
Have ready some lavender oil to burn later in the ritual.
Have the participants each bring a candle.
When the participants enter, have them stand in the centre of the temple. It will be dark. Shut the door.
Priestess 1 goes to the east quarter, 2 to the south, 3 to the west.
Call the quarters theatrically.
All : Kore is in the underworld.
Priestess 1 :
Blow, gentle breezes from the depths of the earth,
Bring us to her in safety.
All :
Kore is in the underworld.
Priestess 2 :
Come, tiny flame, shine in the depths of the earth,
Guide us to her in safety.
All :
Kore is in the underworld.
Priestess 3 :
Come, still dark waters in the depths of the earth,
Bring us to her in safety.
All :
Kore is in the underworld.
Cold stone under our feet in the depths of the earth,
Bring us to her in safety.
P2 silently raises the circle. The participants seat themselves.
P3 :
It is dark. So dark.
P2 :
It is cold. So cold.
P1 :
Where is the Grain Mother?
P3 :
Where is Demeter?
P2 :
She has turned her face from the earth.
P1 :
How can this be?
All :
Mother Demeter, speak to us!
Mother Demeter, speak to us!
Mother Demeter, speak to us!
P2 : invokes Demeter.
Demeter :
My daughter, where is my daughter?
Where is she for whom I made the sun shine?
Where is she for whom I made the grain grow?
Kore, Kore, Kore!
P1 invokes Athena.
Athena :
She has gone below, Mother Demeter.
All :
Kore is in the underworld.
Kore is in the underworld.
Kore is in the underworld.
Demeter :
Then I will cover my face
And let the earth die.
Kore, Kore, Kore!
Athena :
Mother, the people of the earth need you.
We are cold.
We are hungry.
We must have light.
Demeter :
Kore, Kore, Kore!
Demeter turns her back.
Athena turns to the participants.
Athena :
Then we must go below to her
And beseech her to return.
The earth must not die.
Athena moves to the altar and lights the tiny candle.
P3 :
Our steps falter.
All :
It is dark, dark.
P3 :
Our sight falters.
All :
It is dark, dark.
P3 :
Our hearts falter.
All :
It is dark, dark.
Athena :
Courage, for I am with you.
Even in the darkness I am with you.
Even in the coldness I am with you.
And see - we approach Kore on her throne!
Athena directs the participants' attention to the west.
All :
Kore, speak to us!
Kore, speak to us!
Kore, speak to us!
P3 invokes Kore/Persephone.
Kore :
I have gone below.
Why do you now come to me?
Athena :
Kore, why are you here
In the dark and the cold?
Kore :
Don't you know that all people
Even gods
Must go into the dark
And look within?
Athena :
Kore, your Mother weeps for you.
Will you come home to us?
Kore :
Don't you know that all children
Even gods
Must leave their Mothers
And grow into adulthood?
Athena :
Kore, the earth is dying.
Will you come home to us?
Kore :
The earth must not die.
I will beseech my mother
To bring life to the earth again.
Kore picks up the tiny candle and 'leads' the participants out.
Kore :
We walk through the darkness of the underworld.
Our steps are sure.
We do not fear the darkness of the underworld,
For it is also the darkness within ourselves.
We wind our way through the caverns.
And now we feel the breath of the wind on our faces.
We emerge from the underworld to the earth.
The wind is cold.
The earth is dark.
Athena :
Mother Demeter, we have returned.
Demeter :
Kore, Kore, Kore!
Kore :
Mother, I am here.
Demeter :
Kore, you have returned!
Stay with me and run in the fields as you did before.
Play in the gardens of the earth as you did before.
Kore :
Mother, I cannot stay.
Demeter :
Then I will cover my face and grieve,
And the earth will die.
Athena :
The earth must not die.
Kore :
I will stay with you
For half of the year.
But I must go below
For the other half.
Mother, look at me.
Demeter turns.
Demeter :
But what is this?
Kore, you have changed.
Kore :
I went below to change, Mother.
To grow.
Call me now Persephone,
For I have been to the underworld.
I have been within.
I must return to grow
And to help others grow.
Your world is the grain, Mother.
My world is the hearts of all people
Even gods.
Athena :
It is just, Mother Demeter.
She must return below,
But for now she will stay with you.
Demeter :
My daughter, you have grown wise.
I accept what you must do.
I will grieve when you go from me,
And the earth will become cold and dark.
But when you return,
The earth will live again.
See!
Athena, Demeter and Kore light all the candles. Persephone throws off her cloak to reveal a spring robe. Demeter throws off her cloak to reveal a green robe.
Athena :
Persephone has returned!
The light has returned!
The warmth has returned!
Let us praise Mother Demeter
For she has brought the earth to life again.
Let us praise Persephone
For she has returned from the underworld
And will be there to guide us
When we must go within.
All Chant :
She has returned
The earth lives again!
We feel the warmth returning
The sun shines again!
We see the grain growing
The garden grows again!
Persephone, Demeter
Persephone, Demeter
Persephone, Demeter
The earth lives again!
Repeat, then repeat last line to build cone of power until Demeter judges the cone ready. Send out the power to bring life to the earth again.
Farewell the Goddesses.
All sit down, forming a sitting circle.
P1 :
Long, long ago, there was no winter.
Summer ruled the Earth as Mother Demeter
Watched lovingly over her daughter Kore.
P2 :
All people knew her and loved her
As the Grain Mother.
There was no hunger
And no one was ever cold.
P1 :
Kore ran in the fields of the earth
Safe under her mother's loving eye.
And for a long, long time
She knew no other world.
P3 :
But all things change, and so did Kore.
She felt something within her,
An urge to know more,
To grow.
P2 :
And so she approached the cave
That led to the Underworld.
She descended into the darkness.
Her steps were faltering,
For she could not see,
And she was afraid.
Yet she knew she must go on.
P1 :
When she came to the Underworld,
Kore found a mirror.
She looked within, and saw herself.
Yet not the child she knew,
She saw a young woman
Who looked at her with knowledge in her eyes.
P3 :
Then she looked again,
And saw an old woman,
With a lined face and silver hair,
Who looked at her with knowledge in her eyes.
P1 :
And the old woman said,
"Kore, you must change.
All things must change.
You must look within
And know yourself truly,
And grow."
P2 :
So Kore looked within,
And embraced the old woman
And the young woman.
And she was filled with knowledge.
And the knowledge changed her.
P1 :
On the earth, Demeter searched for Kore.
She looked under every rock,
She dived into every sea,
She spoke to the flame,
She rode on the winds.
At last Athena came to her and said,
"Your daughter has gone into the Underworld."
P3 :
Demeter wailed, and wept for Kore.
She put aside her green robes
And veiled herself in mourning.
And the earth grew dark with her grief,
And the earth grew barren with her grief,
And the people cried out in fear.
All the gods and people begged Demeter
But she would not cease her weeping.
P2 :
At last Athena went to the cave,
And descended to the Underworld.
And there she spoke with Kore,
And begged her to return.
P1 :
Kore was reluctant to go,
But love of her mother
And love of the earth
Persuaded her to return.
And so she went with Athena
Back to the earth.
P2 :
Demeter was overjoyed to see her daughter.
They embraced, and kissed.
P3 :
But then Kore told her mother
How she had changed.
And she said,
"I must return,
For I have been within.
I am Queen of the Underworld."
P1 :
Demeter begged her daughter to stay.
Kore, relenting, agreed;
P2 :
That six months of every year
She would stay with her mother.
And the earth would be fruitful.
And six months of every year
She would return to the Underworld,
And the earth would be barren
Until she returned.
P1 :
And this is why we have winter.
For Demeter veils her face
When Kore, called Persephone,
Returns to the Underworld each year.
P3 :
And the mystery is this :
That the Underworld is within you,
And you must descend to it
If you are to grow.
You must look into the mirror
And see yourself as you truly are.
P1 :
But now is the time to rejoice!
Persephone is returned,
The earth is becoming warm again,
And the grain is growing again.
P2 :
Let us share Demeter's joy
In her daughter's return.
Let us feast on her bounty.
Share cakes and water/cider. Those who feel moved to may speak of their feelings in the darkness, and experiences of their own in the Underworld.
P3 opens the circle.
All :
Persephone has returned!
P3 :
Blow, winds of the East,
Bring warmth to our bodies again.
All :
Persephone has returned!
P3 :
Shine, sun in the North,
Bring warmth to our hearts again.
All :
Persephone has returned!
P3 :
Come, waters of the Western sea,
Bring warmth to our souls again.
All :
Persephone has returned!
P3 :
Grow, all plants of the Earth,
Bring warmth to our spirits again.
The circle is open, but ever unbroken.
Merry meet,
And merry part,
And merry meet again.
Blessed be.
All :
Blessed be.
P3 :
This rite is ended.
Note: The directions are all Southern Hemisphere... heh.
B*B* Marian*
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