Oh My Goddess: Meeting Demeter

Hello and welcome to Choosing Sunshine!

Today we’re going to be talking about one of the harvest goddesses, Demeter. This is the perfect time of year to work with a goddess of the harvest, especially one who is so closely tied with the seasons. 

Working with gods and goddesses can be very beneficial to any magick you are trying to work. Finding the right deity can take some research, but once you find the right one, they can be a great magickal ally. 

Who is Demeter?

The Greek Goddess, Demeter, is a great deity to call upon during the harvest season. She is the goddess of vegetation, agriculture, and all things that grow on the earth. She has the power to change the seasons, to make crops grow bountiful, or to bring on a deadly winter. 

Demeter is the daughter of the titans, Chronos and Rhea, and the consort of Zeus, king of the gods. She is not mentioned in many stories, but she is a powerful goddess in her own rite. Demeter is also one of the kindest of the Greeks deities. 

Demeter’s story

In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess who oversaw all of the growing things on Earth. She tended the crops and flowers with her daughter, Persephone. One day, Persephone was stolen by the God of the Underworld, Hades, to be his bride. 

Demeter searched everywhere for her, but could not find her. Then the goddess of the crossroads, Hecate, told Demeter what happened, for she saw the whole thing. Demeter was so distraught that she stopped all things from growing on the earth until her daughter was returned to her. 

The earth then plunged into a deep barren winter. The gods tried to appease Demeter to start the earth growing again, but she would not succumb to their requests. Finally, Zeus, king of the Greek gods, promised to get Persephone back from Hades, as long as she had not eaten anything. 

Unfortunately, Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds, the fruit of the dead, while she was in the Underworld, so she was not allowed to return to the upper world. Demeter refused to relent in her grief, so Zeus struck a compromise with Hades that Persephone would spend part of the year on Earth with her mother and the other part of the year in the Underworld.. 

The creation of the seasons

This became the creation of the seasons as we now know then. When Persephone returns to her mother, around the springtime, Demeter sets the earth to growing again. Then when her daughter returns to the Underworld, around the end of the harvest season, Demeter lets the world go barren and cold. 

This time of the year honors the story of Demeter and the sacrifices she made for her daughter, which created the seasons as we now know them. We can share in Demeter’s grief as we mourn the loss of the light and warmth of spring and summer. 

Thus Demeter now sets the land to stop growing and prepares us for the cold season. She blesses us with the harvest, though, in order to sustain life through the harshness of the winter months. 

Why is Demeter important?

Demeter is an important goddess to know about because she teaches us about how to survive hard times. We have all been through periods in our lives where we are in a state of barrenness or harshness, but we have gotten through it with the hope that better days are to come. 

This is why Demeter is important. She has experienced grief, heartache, loss, despair, and she survived. She teaches us that it’s okay to dig our heels in and hold out for what we truly desire. 

Demeter also shows us that getting what we want does not come without sacrifice. We have to learn to let go of things in order to get something better. 

What can Demeter help with?

Below are a few ways that Demeter can help you in your life. She is a kind, but fierce goddess who will protect what’s hers and can bring that power to will. 

Survival

Demeter can help us get through dark times. She is a survivor and can help when we’re going through harsh or bad experiences. She knows that there is an end to the suffering, but she teaches us how to weather the storms, whether metaphorical or literal. 

Letting go

She can also help us with letting go to have something better come into our lives. There is something to be said about giving something up to make space for something else to come in. Demeter can help with the process of letting go and having faith for something new and better to come our way. 

Growth

She can also be called upon for help with growing things in your life. While this is not the season for growing, Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and vegetation and is a great goddess to call in when you’re in need of help to get things growing. 

Balance

Demeter can also help when balance needs to be struck, for there cannot be light without dark. She has to balance her grief over the loss of her daughter with her faith that she will return. She has to balance the growing season with the barren season. Demeter embodies the cycle of life. 

These are some of the things that you can call on Demeter to help with. The spell below will help you to call upon her whenever you would like her energy and influence to guide your magickal pursuits. 

Spell to Call on Demeter

Materials needed:

• Black candle
• Green candle
• Lighter or matches

Take a minute to sit in a quiet place. Place the black candle to your right, and then the green candle to your left. Light the black candle and then close your eyes, thinking about something you need or want to let go of in your life. See in your mind’s eye this thing that you wish to be rid of. Once you have a solid image, send that image, with all of its energy, into the flame of the black candle. When you feel free of the energy of this thing, open your eyes. Then light the green candle. Close your eyes again and think about the possibilities that have been left by the thing you just let go of. See before you the goddess, Demeter, however she may look to you, and say the following to ask for her aid: 

Goddess of grain

Goddess of corn

Let that which dies

Now be reborn

As something new

And better still

For what I need

Now by your will

Help me to

Release the past

I look to free 

Myself at last

And look towards

A brand new day

I ask you please

Show me the way

By the power

Of three times three

As I will

So mote it be

Feel the energy that Demeter sends to you. It fills the void where the thing you let go of was. It feels clean and fresh. Once you feel filled, thank Demeter for her guidance and energy. Know that she will be with you as you continue your magickal journey through this harvest season. 

Until next time, my magickal friend, be well and choose joy. Blessed be!