Visions of September
Persephone's Abduction, Rhythmic Living, Hounds of Love
Welcome back to Thread Webs! I wish you a beautiful month<3
If you're new around here, this is my cozy little cave where I (usually) share my embroidery and (occasionally) share other thoughts, musings, poems, songs, etc. Since this is the first newsletter of the month(and a new moon), I'm going to be sharing my recent musings and feelings/hopes for this month.
[Again and again, even though we know loves landscape] Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1910)
Again and again, even though we know loves landscape
and the little churchyard with it's lamenting names
and the terrible reticent gorge in which the others
end: again and again the two of us walk out together
under the ancient trees, lay ourselves down again and again
among the flowers, and look up into the sky.
Beloved readers, it's September, (almost) the official start of fall. In moon language the start of autumn is probably equivalent to the waning that follows a full moon. It's a time when light begins to lessen, darkness begins to grows, the energy of all life begins retreating inwards.
This time of year is synonymous with the ancient Hellenic myth of Persephone and Demeter. Demeter is the patron goddess of harvest and fertility, and coincidentally(or not) this month's full moon on September 17th is a harvest moon.
Narcissus, 1912, JW Waterhouse (depiction of Persephone before her abduction)
Here's a short, condensed summary of the myth of Persephone
Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, is the goddess of spring time and the underworld simultaneously. She and her mother were inseparable until one day when Persephone was out in the fields picking narcissus(daffodils), and the earth cracked open beneath her feet. Before she could scream, Hades on his black four horse chariot had abducted her into the underworld to be his bride. Demeter was devastated and the environment mirrored her despair— everything began to wither and die, famine quickly fell on the land. To calm Demeter's wrath and save humanity, Zeus knew he had to intervene somehow. When he sent Hermes to retrieve Persephone from the underworld, he was surprised to find that she had grown into her role as queen of the underworld. Hermes requested Persephone's return to her mother, and although she missed her mother deeply, she had inevitably grown to love Hades who treated her with respect and dedicated beautiful gardens to her in the underworld. Hades, afraid that Persephone might choose to go back to her mother, gifted her six pomegranate seeds. When Hermes took Persephone to mount Olympus, Zeus asked her if she wanted to stay with Hades or return to her mother. Persephone ended up choosing to stay with her husband, which infuriated her mother to the core. Demeter proclaimed that if Persephone wasn't returned to her that she would never tend to the earth again. Zeus decided that since Persephone had eaten the six pomegranate seeds Hades gifted her, that her fate would be to spend six months with her mother in Olympus and six months in the underworld with Hades.
Persephone's story undoubtedly represents the continuous cycles of life, death and rebirth in nature. Some other themes associated with Persephone are coming of age, duality and hope. Many believe this myth to have been an easy way to make the changing of the seasons understandable and explainable in ancient Hellas. When the constellation Virgo(known as Demeter or Persephone interchangeably) became visible in the night sky, ancient Hellinas knew the spring was starting and that things were beginning to grow. It symbolized both Persephone's return(the spring) and Demeter's rich harvest(an abundance of crops). When Virgo was hidden in the sky they knew the growing/harvest season was coming to an end. This is synonymous with Persephones abduction(the start of autumn) and Demeter's devistation which literally devastated the earth and all life on it(the winter).
“Virgo,” plate 21 in Urania's Mirror
There's so many myths that coincide with the constellation of Virgo throughout ancient cultures, but this one resonates with me the most. The brightest star in the constellation Virgo is Spica, located just at the top of the bundle of wheat the maiden holds(Spica means head of wheat in Latin), resembling the same bundle of wheat Persephone and Demeter are always pictured holding or wearing.
Ancient Depiction of Demeter and Persephone
The other day I fell into this thought: the first biologist were wanderers, just walking through forest noticing patterns, taking note of the cycles and similarities of all living things. As I sat down to write this, I realized just how much Virgo energy had seeped into that thought. In the zodiac, Virgo is Virgin maiden of the earth— she sees in puzzles, connecting the dots between all things, moving through patterns and cycles. She is the queen of scheduling and gently reminds us of the rhythms in which we live on the Earth and in our bodies.
As September unfolds, ripeness turns to rot, green turns to gold, the energy of everything begins the slow pilgrimage back into itself, and I am no exception. At my core, in my heart, lives a truth long silent. I yearn to live in tune with the natural rhythms of the Earth. One way I’ve been able to embrace this is through reading myths like that of Persephone and Demeter that speak to the cycles of life and death, by learning about what fruit trees are blossoming when, what vegetables are in season and which flowers are blooming around me. Learning and practicing seasonal eating has felt so wholesome for me. Just the feeling of knowing that this is how it's supposed to be(not to mention everything tastes better too). Lately I've been playing with the idea of letting this philosophy flow over into my work, taking inspiration from what's growing around me and using that as my muse in embroidery.
Some recent blooms
The end of summer always has an after taste of sadness to it. Every year September arrives covered in a thin blanket of ashes, the only known reminants of Augusts once bright burning fire. I've been feeling weary, like the love and light august brought might fade too soon. Naturally, I turned to Kate Bush for emotional support. Kate says change can be exciting, and we shouldn't fight it too much. It's better to just to accept it because change is the only constant thing anyways. The lyrics are also relatable to Persephones story— the "hounds of love" could obviously represent Hades, but they could also be symbolic of Persephones coming of age and learning to accept her own personal destiny.
Lyrics:
It's in the trees
It's coming
When I was a child, running in the night
Afraid of what might be
Hiding in the dark, hiding in the street
And of what was following me
The hounds of love are hunting
I've always been a coward
And I don't know what's good for me
Oh, here I go
It's coming for me through the trees
Oh, help me, someone
Help me, please
Take my shoes off
And throw them in the lake
And I'll be two steps on the water
I found a fox caught by dogs
He let me take him in my hands
His little heart, it beats so fast
And I'm ashamed of running away
From nothing real
I just can't deal with this
I'm still afraid to be there
Among the hounds of love
And feel your arms surround me
I've always been a coward
And never know what's good for me
Oh, here I go, don't let me go
Hold me down
It's coming for me through the trees
Oh, help me, darling
Help me, please
Take my shoes off
And throw them in the lake
And I'll be two steps on the water
I don't know what's good for me
I don't know what's good for me
I need love, love, love, love, love, yeah
Your love
And take your shoes off
And throw them in the lake
Do you know what I really need?
Do you know what I really need?
Love, love, love, love, love, yeah
Painting by Denis Sarazhin
That's all for today! I'll be back next week with a little studio update + what I'm working on.
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Thanks for reading!