Working With Persephone: Altar Ideas and How to Connect with the Goddess

Persephone, the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld, is a complex and powerful figure in Greek mythology. She is a powerful goddess to work with as she embodies both life and death, and darkness and light.

The central myth of Persephone revolves around her abduction by Hades, the god of the Underworld. While gathering flowers, Persephone was taken by Hades to his dark kingdom, leaving her mother, Demeter, in deep grief.

As the goddess of agriculture, Demeter’s sorrow caused the Earth to become barren as she searched for her daughter, and all vegetation began to wither. Eventually, Zeus intervened. Persephone could return to the Earth, but because she had eaten six pomegranate seeds during her time with Hades, she was bound to spend one month the Underworld for each seed she had consumed. This is one explanation for why there is Winter, as Demeter grieves while her daughter is away.

Working with Persephone involves embracing change, exploring the hidden aspects of yourself, and understanding and finding the balance between your light and darkness. If you seek to delve into the shadow aspects of your psyche, she is a guide that can offer wisdom and strength as your navigate your way to personal transformation.

Who is Persephone?

Persephone is the goddess of Spring and agriculture. She is also the Queen of the Underworld and wife of Hades. And, in the Calabria region of Italy, is a goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Persephone is one of the more complex goddesses as she represents both the cycle of nature and its rebirth and regeneration in the Spring, and she also revered as a chthonic deity of death and darkness.

In Greek mythology, she is commonly known as Persephone and is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In Roman mythology, she is known as Proserpina and is the daughter of the agricultural goddess Ceres. The Greeks and Romans also called her Kore or Cora, meaning “maiden” or “daughter.”

But her history may go back even further as may also have ties to the Babylonian goddess Ereshkigal. The two share a similar primary myth.

Why Work with Persephone

There are a number of reasons to work with Persephone and though she was not one of the Olympians, her and her mother were revered as a powerful goddesses in Ancient Greece and Rome.

In fact, their mystery cults were so popular that they were known as “the most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece.” Initiation occurred every Fall during the Eleusinian Mysteries at Eleusis near Athens, the location she was returned to in Ovid’s hymn.

She is one of the gods I personally work with. I felt called to her myth when I was little, and, as an adult, felt I could learn from her ability to balance both dark and light.

We all have darkness and lightness within us – no doubt you’ve heard the story of the two wolves – and while we many of us stretch towards the light, even Carl Jung once wrote, “No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.”

In other words, while you may not want to live in your shadow side or the darkness you’ve overcome, it can serve you well to understand it and transmute it. Be friends with your demons, if you will. The more you understand them, the less subconscious power they hold over you.

Also, I feel inspired by Persephone’s role as Queen of the Underworld. While she arrived there as a young maiden or girl, she now holds equal power as Hades in that realm. Instead of lamenting her circumstances she faces and accepts her challenge and finds a way to rise above it.

She could be sitting in the Underworld whining about being stuck there for six months a year. Instead, goes ok, this accepts her fate. Not just does she make the best of it, she rules over the domain. In doing so, she steps into her power.

These are my reasons for why I work with her. Here are some others you might want to consider.

Reasons to work with Persephone

• Shadow Work: As a cthonic deity, Persephone encourages you explore and integrate the shadow self, encouraging deep inner work and self-discovery. Working with her may help you understand and harmonize the balance between light and dark aspects of the self, fostering wholeness and acceptance.
• Growing Through Change: While her myth doesn’t exactly follow the hero’s journey, her continued passage from light to darkness and back to the light that resulted in transformation can help guide those going through periods of change and reframe them as opportunities for growth. And she serves as a reminder that while you may feel like everything is dark now, you will eventually reemerge into the light.
• Confidence Building: Her emergence from the Underworld and return to the surface can inspire confidence and inner strength, as she demonstrates resilience and the ability to overcome challenges.
• Rebirth and Renewal: Persephone’s dual role as a goddess of spring and the Underworld represents nature’s cycles of rebirth, which may be helpful in times of new beginnings.
• Connection to the Subconscious: Her association with the Underworld connects with the subconscious mind, aiding in uncovering and addressing hidden fears, desires, and potentials.

How to Work with Persephone

When beginning to work with a deity, it can help you feel more connected to them if you perform acts of service associated with the realms they rule over. For Persephone, this includes acts tied to nature and the underworld.

You may choose to work with the god or goddess of your choice through daily devotional acts, such as reading them poetry or leaving fresh flowers and refreshing the offerings on their altar daily. Or, you may find its best for you connect with them sporadically through meditation, dreams, or deep focused ritual work.

If you wish to work with Persephone, a good first step would be to set up an altar in her honor and then meditate or quietly sit near the altar focusing on building a connection with her. Picture her in your mind and imagine her standing before you as you do. The more you sit with her and focus on inviting in her energy, the more connection you will feel between the two of you.

One word of caution, however. As she is an chthonic goddess, it’s not a bad idea to first create a protective circle of energy around your space before working with her in order to guard against other beings that may try and enter.

Devotional acts that may also please Persephone or attract her energy

• Self care: You may ask why would you be doing self care if you’re worshiping a goddess, but this is a goddess who learned how to find her inner strength and confidence in the face of a very challenging situation. She will appreciate you making an effort to do so as well. Once you begin, you may find her sending you signs and guidance on how to feel more empowered.

• Go on a nature walk: Persephone is the Goddess of the Spring and, like Demeter, loves nature. Enjoy a stroll in the woods or a park and be present with the experience of being in this living space. Consider bringing a small container and gloves to pick up any trash you see on your walk.

• Tend to a garden: Learning about herbalism or growing your own garden is a great way to get in touch with the cycles of nature and her energy.

• Write poetry for her: Whether or not you consider yourself a writer, allow yourself to free write what comes to mind when you think of her. Read these poems to her at her altar. (You may choose to leave these on her altar or burn them if you feel that is the way to best reach her chthonic aspect.)

• Work with the dead: Clean gravestones, honor ancestors, or considering donating to those who cannot afford a funeral service for their loved one (you can find these on Go Fund Me under “funeral fundraisers”). By honoring the souls that have passed on to her realm, you pay homage to her as well.

When to Worship Her

You may choose to work with her every day or only on her major holidays. Those include:

Spring Equinox: The first day of Spring is the day that Persephone emerges from the Underworld. It’s a great day to honor her and refresh her altar. (To some pagans, this day is known as Ostara.)

Fall Equinox: The first day of Fall is the day that represents when Persephone descends into the Underworld. It’s a good day to pay homage to her Queen of the Underworld aspect with an altar that reflects this. (To some pagans, this is the holiday of Mabon.)

Halloween: Also known as Samhain to some, this is a day some consider to be Persephone’s coronation day as Queen of the Underworld.

Altar Offerings to Persephone

Persephone is both an Underworld goddess and a Spring goddess, so you may find your altar offerings for her change depending on the seasons.

Though, admittedly you can acquire pomegranate juice out of season and flowers in the winter, let your intuition guide you on what you feel is best to add to her altar based on the time of year it is. Also consider which aspect of her you want to work with or call in. (You may work with both if you feel so inclined.)

• Pomegranates: These red fall fruits symbolize the time that Persephone spends in the Underworld. They are also a symbol of fertility.
• Grain and Bread: As Persephone is a goddess of vegetation like her mother, grain is important to her.
• Flowers: Any type of spring flower to symbolize renewal and the rebirth of nature and her emergence from the Underworld. In Homer’s hymn, she was gathering violets, roses, irises, and other spring flowers when Hades grabbed her and drove away with her in his chariot.
• Elements of Nature: In the Spring, objects that represent renewal and hope, like wildflowers and potted plants. In the Fall, symbols of bats, dried objects and ethically-sourced animal bones. The plant asphodelus is also sacred to her.
• Candles: Black candles during Fall and Winter, dark green during Spring and Summer.
• Honey and Wine: These sweet offerings were commonly gifted to gods and goddesses.
• Her sigil: When the Persephone asteroid was discovered in 1895, it was given a symbol that combines that of Pluto with that of Ceres.

These offerings reflect Persephone’s dual role as both the goddess of the harvest and the queen of the underworld. Some of her followers believe that the best way to reach her chthonic aspect is to speak to her with your palms facing downwards and safely burn the offerings and bury them so they go into the earth. The choice is yours.

You may also create a shared altar for her and Hades.

Additional Reading to Consider if Working with Persephone

When working with any god or goddess, it’s a good idea to learn more about them as you deepen your work. Both as a way to honor and respect them and as a way to protect yourself and know what type of energy you’re tapping into.

Every deity has multiple sides, and while not all of these have to be pleasant for you to connect with them, it’s wise to approach with a more well-rounded understanding.

Here are some books and other additional suggested reading you may want to consider if you want to work with Persephone.

1. Persephone’s Pathway by Jennifer Heather (Available on Amazon)

2. Dark Goddesses: Unlocking the Power of Hecate, Lilith, The Morrigan, Baba Yaga, Kali, Oya, Persephone, Hathor, Sekhmet, and More by Mari Silva (Available on Amazon)

3. Hellenic Polytheism by Labyrs (Available on Amazon)

This isn’t a book or resource, but this pomegranate candle would be a suitable addition to her altar. (Available on Etsy)