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Persephoneia, Bringer-of-Destruction.
P=S]FONA1
[to Whom the twenty-seventh day of June, day 178, is dedicated]
Geography/Culture: Greek.
Description: First and foremost silent Goddess of the regeneration of life through death; Mistress of the mystery of the unknown, its fearfulness and unforgivingness; Gracious and gentle Queen; Ruler of the Underworld; She Who receives, preserves, and returns, the gold of our lives (it is the gold of Helios); She Who is approached with a golden-branch; She Who is the darkness of Core's light; She Who is associated with depths, solitude, hidden wealth and secrets of the beyond; {perhaps} Mother Goddess of the ripe ear of corn.
To Whom Sacred: pomegranate; willow; snake, and its venom; pool (which if drunk from by the dead insures immortality); loom; veil.
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She has sometimes formed one person (as the dark moon) of a luna triad:
Diana in the leavës green,
Luna that so bright doth sheen,
Persephone in Hell.
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Male Associates: consort, Hades, ----. Orphic Consort: Zagreus, Torn-in-Pieces, (a name, or title, of Dionysus; Dionysus is said by some to be Her son).
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Perhaps title: Alcis, Might, though perhaps it is a title of Demeter.
- Perhaps title: Androcleia, Glory-of-Men, below.
- She has been identified by some with Thracian Bendis, {Wave-of-the-Deep}.
- Core, Daughter, became known as Persephoneia after Her abduction by Hades.
- As Core, She is the Daughter of Demeter, Barley-Mother, and as Persephoneia She remains intimately associated with Demeter in connection with the corn mysteries, where She forms one person of the Triple Demeter.
- Also called Despoina, Mistress, below.
- She is also called: Eurydice, Wide-Justice, below.
- She is associated with Hecate, She-Who-Works-From-Afar.
- Perhaps to be identified with, or also known as Helle, Bright, Who is linked with Helene.
- Some connect Her with Hulda, The-Benignant, as a chthonic Deity.
- The Romans identified Her with Libera, Free-One.
- Also called Minthe, Free-One, below.
- Transliteration variant: Persephone.
- Etruscan variant: Phersiphnai, ----, below.
- Roman form, or perhaps variant: Proserpina, Fearful-One, below.
- It has been suggested that Semele, Subterranean, (Who is linked with Zemelo), may be a form of Her.
- Some say Daughter of Styx, Hateful, Who is linked with Victoria. {At the moment all reverences are to Nice as Daughter of Styx, under Victoria -- am not sure this is the best place, She, Styx, should definitely be elaborated somewhere.}
- Demeter and Persephoneia are known as Ta-Thea, The-Two-Goddesses, and are linked with Theia.
- Persephoneia seems to have been identified with Carthaginian Tanith, {Goddess-of-Heaven}.
- She is also called Thea, Goddess, Who is linked with, and Whose name may be a variant of, Theia.
Sources: ETAC; Graves GMv1 57; ibid GMv2 393; ibid WG 140, 173, 257, 386.
Androcleia, Glory-of-Men.
1NDROKLA1
Geography/Culture: Greek.
Linguistic Note: Greek orthography, Androklea, Androkleia.
- Variant: Androclea.
- Perhaps also a title of Demeter, Barley-Mother.
- Perhaps title of Persephoneia, above.
Despoina, Mistress.
D]SP%N1
Alternate meanings: Lady-of-the-House.
Geography/Culture: Greek: Arcadia.
Linguistic Note: delta-epsilon-sigma-pi-omicron-iota-nu-alpha, (Despoina), 'the mistress, lady of the house'. {The -poina element is the same as potnia, as in Potnia-Theron, Pi-omicron-tau-nu-iota-alpha, in the Greek Lexicon. There is also mention of Potnia under Mnemosyne.} Related English word: despot (from the Latin masculine form despotis, 'master').
This is a title common to all Goddesses of the underworld.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Title of Artemis, High-Source-of-Water.
- Title of: Demeter, Barley-Mother.
- Variant: Despoena.
- Daughter (by Poseidon), of Erinys, Spirit-of-Anger-and-Revenge, Who is linked with the Multiple Goddess Erinyes.
- Title of: Penelopeia, She-With-a-Web-Over-Her-Face.
- Title of: Persephoneia, Destroyer, above.
Source: Ency Brit; Graves GMv1 61-2; IGEL 180.
Eurydice, Wide-Justice.
YWRYDEXA
Alternate meaning: Wide-Rule.
Geography/Culture: Greek.
Description: Serpent-grasping Goddess and ruler of the underworld.
To Whom Sacred: viper; male human sacrifice (death perhaps brought about with viper's venom).
Male Associates: consort, Orpheus, ----.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Some say She is Mother of Alcmene,
Power-of-the-Moon.
- Third person of the Eurynome, Wide-Wandering, Triad.
- Some say Mother of Euryale, Wide-Roaming, Who is linked with the Triple Gorgones, Grim-Ones.
- Title of Persephoneia, above.
Source: GR.GMv1/128.
Minthe, Mint.
MYN3]
Geography/Culture: Greek.
Perhaps the herb mint was used in some connection with the dead.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Variant: Mentha.
- Variant: Menthe.
- Title of Persephoneia.
Phersiphnai, ----.
F=SEFNI
Geography/Culture: Etruscan. Earliest reference circa 4th century {is this BC?} tomb paintings.
Description: Young and beautiful Goddess, Queen of the underworld and of the demons of the after-life; Giver of feasts to the dead.
She apparently had no cults in Etruria.
To Whom Sacred: snakes (which She wears in Her hair); wolf-scalp cap (the cap of darkness); snake twined sceptre.
Male Associates: consort, Aita, ----, (identified with Hades, Sightless).
{Note: it is interesting that Nicippe, (a title, as well as a priestess, of Demeter Who is so closely connected with Greek Persephoneia), is the Mother of Medusa, one of the Gorgones, and that Euryale, (Who some say is the Daughter of Eurydice, sometimes title of Persephoneia) is also one of the Gorgones, since the Gorgones too wear snakes in Their hair}.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- I would expect Her to have something to do with the Vanths, ----, Who are linked with Culsu, but have not found a source bringing the two together yet..
Proserpina, Fearful-One.
PR0S6PEN1
Geography/Culture: Roman.
Description: {She Who initiates the intrepid living soul who descends into Her realm, the underworld of the subconscious}; Queen of death.
To Whom Sacred: casket filled with the ointment of divine loveliness.
Titles/Variants, etc:
- Daughter of Ceres, Creatress.
- She is identified with Libera, Free-One.
- Sometimes identified with Libitina, {Queen-of-Freedom}, Who is linked with Libera.
- Her casket of divine beauty was sought for by Psyche, World-Soul.
worked on: June, July, August 1990; August 1991; May, June 1995.
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