SYMBOLS & DEITIES OF THE FALL

SYMBOLS AND DEITIES OF THE FALL

THE POMEGRANATE & PERSEPHONE

The pomegranate is fruit of sensual existence, of death and fertility. It is the symbol of young Goddess Persephone, daughter Demeter, the Goddess of the Harvest. They both lived happily in a world where it was always summer, but one day the Earth cracked open and Persephone was taken into the Underworld. During her time there she ate six pomegranate seeds which represent the six months of her being away from the surface of the Earth. Every Spring she comes back, meeting her Mother, bringing life and blooms back to the Earth. A powerful story of what happens without (and within) during the wise cycle of the year.

THE GRAPE & DIONYSUS

The Grape is a symbol of abundance - and with the grapes being the main ingredient in making wine, they represent ecstasy. The grapes are also the symbol of God Dionysus, the lord of wine-making, orchards, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy and festivity. It is said that God Dionysus was also named as “liberator” as his wine, music and ecstatic dance would free people of inhibitions and fears of being oppressed. Those who would partake in his rituals would become possessed and empowered by the God himself. It is said that the Grapes are his earthly incarnation and that the grapevines grow near the God’s chosen people.

THE GRAIN & DEMETER

Grains (barley, rice, wheat, oats) were the first crop to be grown, having nourished us since the dawn of civilisation. They come from the most humble life form: the wild grasses, which have been the oldest plant life on Earth. Knowing this, you might never again look at wild grasses in the same way - and you might even want to start paying attention to the grains growing wild all around you: wild oats, rye, wheat appear everywhere when we look.

The Fall is a time of collecting what we are given - of harvesting the grain. In ancient Greece, the grain was connected to Goddess Demeter. She was the Earth deity to rule the Harvest, agriculture and the growth of crops. It is said that invoking Demeter brings fertility to the soil, and that the most fertile places in the world were the ones where Demeter and other Earth deities were worshipped.