Understanding Persephone’s Journey.
The Return of Perspehone, Lord Leighton Frederic, ca. 1890–91
As spring nears, one of the most profound myths of transformation might come to mind: Persephone’s descent into the Underworld and her return to the living world. Through a Jungian, feminist lens, this myth is not merely a tale of abduction but a rite of passage—a journey into the unconscious, a confrontation with the Shadow, and a rebirth into sovereignty.
The Descent: Meeting the Shadow.
Traditional tellings frame Persephone as a victim, stolen by Hades while gathering flowers. Yet from a depth psychological perspective, her descent signifies an initiation: The Underworld represents the unconscious—where the repressed, the forgotten, and the feared reside. Persephone is not just taken; she is called to a deeper knowing of herself.
The descent into the Underworld mirrors our own psychological descent into the Shadow, the part of the psyche that holds our suppressed fears, desires, wounds, and unintegrated aspects of self. In daily life, we often construct personas—socially acceptable versions of ourselves—while burying the instincts, rage, grief, sexuality, and intuitive knowing that do not fit within the roles we are expected to play. Persephone’s fall is not a passive event but an encounter with these hidden aspects. She confronts the darkness within, and in doing so, she begins the process of transformation, of becoming whole. Jung writes:
How can I be substantial if I fail to cast a Shadow? I must have a dark side if I am to be whole; and in as much as I become conscious of my Shadow, I also remember that I am a human being like any other. [1]
Our Shadow grows and develops unconsciously alongside our physical self. It is influenced from an early age by our unconscious and conscious messaging we receive and interpret from our parents and caregivers. We internalize their positive and negative attitudes towards our body, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Our shadow stores these messages, which unconsciously play out in our individual and collective existence on earth. At the individual level, personal and professional relationships can be impacted. At the collective level, cultural, social, and political engagement can be thwarted.
Demeter’s Grief: The Power of Feminine Rage and Love.
Above ground, Demeter—the Great Mother—mourns and rages. Her grief is not passive but active refusal. She withholds fertility from the world, letting the earth wither, forcing even the gods to take notice.
From a feminist Jungian lens, Demeter embodies the power of the mother archetype in all its complexity—not just the nurturing force but also the fierce protector. Her refusal to accept Persephone’s disappearance without action reflects the necessity of acknowledging our own wounds, of demanding recognition when something sacred has been taken from us.
The Return: Integration and Sovereignty.
Persephone eventually emerges, but she is no longer the same. Having eaten the pomegranate seeds, she is bound to the Underworld for part of each year. Rather than a simple victim, she becomes a Queen, reigning beside Hades in the dark months and returning to the surface as a goddess of renewal in spring.
This cycle mirrors our own individuation process. We all must descend into our inner depths, face the Shadow, and return changed. Persephone’s return is not about escaping the dark but integrating it—embracing both life and death, innocence and experience, grief and growth. To deny the Shadow is to deny a part of ourselves; to confront it is to gain wisdom and wholeness.
Crucially, Persephone does not return as the same maiden who once wandered the fields. She comes back with knowledge, with the lived experience of darkness, and with a role that bridges both worlds. She has transitioned from daughter to sovereign, from lost girl to ruler of her own domain. This reflects an essential Jungian truth: true transformation requires us to hold both light and dark within us.
Her return also signifies that we do not leave our past selves behind; rather, we integrate them into a more complex, authentic wholeness. She reminds us that even after loss, we can emerge with new strength—not in spite of what we have endured, but because of it. The seeds she ate tie her to the Underworld, but they also root her into her power. Her return is not merely a release; it is a choice to exist fully in both realms, neither rejecting nor fearing the depth she has encountered.
Hecate: Guardian of the Crossroads and Keeper of the Torch.
While Persephone undergoes her transformation in the Underworld and Demeter grieves above, Hecate stands at the threshold. Often overlooked in mainstream tellings, Hecate is the forgotten guide of the myth, the one who witnesses, illuminates, and midwives the soul through change.
Hecate is a liminal figure, a goddess of the in-between spaces—dawn and dusk, life and death, conscious and unconscious. As a Jungian archetype, she represents the Crone, the Wise Woman who holds the lantern at the edge of the unknown. It is she who hears Persephone’s cries when she is first taken, standing as a silent witness when others look away. Later, it is she who guides Demeter through the darkness, carrying her torches as they search for the lost daughter.
As Persephone’s myth teaches, descent is necessary, but so is guidance. Hecate’s torches symbolize this light—our capacity to see beyond fear, to name what is happening to us, and to emerge not as the same person, but as someone who has integrated what was once hidden.
Embracing Persephone Within.
As we welcome spring, we might ask ourselves:
What has been gestating in the dark that is now ready to bloom?
Where have we mistaken loss for failure, rather than transformation?
How can we honor the wisdom of our own descents?
Like Persephone, we are always moving through cycles of death and rebirth, loss and renewal. This is not weakness—it is power. To descend, to rise, and to claim one’s place in both realms is the work of the awakened feminine.
Just as spring cyclically follows the fallow period after harvest and the barren months of winter, bringing warmth, more light, and new green growth, so can persephone become reactivated in women after times of loss and depression. Each time Persephone resurfaces in a woman’s psyche, it is once again possible for her to be receptive to new influences and change. [2]
— Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD
I encourage you to walk with Persephone—guided by Hecate’s wisdom and held by Demeter’s love—knowing that every descent carries within it the promise of return.
Notes.
[1] C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul
[2] Jean Shinoda Bolen, Goddesses in Everywoman. Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives.
