An Equinox Prayer to Demeter & the Coming of the Darkness

The wheel is turning once again! There's a nip in the air, the leaves are tipped with red and gold, and the days are growing shorter, shorter, shorter....

On this particular Autumnal Equinox I am focusing my thoughts on the Goddess Demeter. Demeter is associated with agriculture in both Greek and Roman mythology, and so this time of year many are offering up thanks to Demeter for a bountiful harvest.

As a death worker, what really draws me to Demeter is her grief and loss. The end of Summer means the end of Persephone's time on the mortal plane, and the Goddess of Spring transforms once again into the Queen of the Underworld as she descends below to spend the next six months with her husband. Demeter's grief at the loss of her daughter is primal, raw and profound. It's such a mighty grief, in fact, that some say it's what causes the earth herself to wither and decay into winter.

I've never lost a child, but I've certainly experienced my own cycles of grief. Especially as this pandemic drags on and on, and new forms violence and chaos spring up on a near-daily basis. From California and Texas, to Haiti, to Afghanistan, the world offers it's collective grief up to Demeter in solidarity. We mourn with her and honor this cycle of death, and to pray for transformation and new life, hope, and possibility in the future.

Perhaps there's a way to combine both concepts - honoring both the harvest and the grief that fall under Demeter's domain?

In the spirit of community, the members of The Mortal Path Alliance would like to invite those in the Chicago area to join us in person for a "Grief Harvest" on Sunday, October 3rd. You can find the rest of the event details on our social media pages!

For those who can't join in person, we encourage you to think about creating your own Grief Harvest ritual. What seeds of grief have been growing in your energetic body? How might you harvest and honor the fruits of that spiritual and emotional work? Now is the time to reap, so that the fields may lay dormant for a much-deserved winter rest.