Kore was just a girl when She was abducted by the God of the Dead,
Hades ("The Invisible"), and dragged down into the Underworld
to be His wife. Her mother Demeter was consumed with grief and searched
for nine days, but no one would tell Her anything: for Kore had been
abducted with the approval of Zeus, ruler of the Gods, who was the girl's
own father. Finally Helios--who as Sun God sees all--told Demeter what
had happened. In anger and despair, She rejected the world of the Gods
and wandered among mankind. In Her sorrow, She also withheld Her gifts
of fertility so that no crops grew. At this Zeus finally gave in and
commanded Hades to release Her daughter.
However when Kore was returned to Demeter, it was found She had eaten
a few pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld, binding Her there. As
a compromise it was allowed that Kore would spend one third of the year
in the Land of the Dead, and two-thirds with Her mother on the Earth.
This produces the seasons--for when Kore is away from Her mother, dark
winter descends as the Earth sorrows; but When Her daughter is returned
to Her, the flowers spring forth in joy.
Kore and Demeter are thought of as two faces of the same goddess, and
with Persephone, Kore's name as Queen of the Underworld, they make up
the classic Triple Goddess--Kore (whose name means simply "The Maiden"),
Demeter ("Earth/Barley Mother") and Persephone ("Destroyer
of Light"), the Crone or Death-goddess. Within Herself, the Goddess
(and Woman) contains the whole cycle of life, from birth to death to
rebirth.
An early form of Demeter/Kore as Underworld goddess is the horse-headed
black goddess Melaina.
Persephone is also sometimes called the daughter of the Underworld river
Styx, and mother of Dionysos.
The journey of the Great Goddess through death and rebirth formed the
basis of the famed cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiatory rites
to the Goddess held in the Greek city of Eleusis that were said to have
been founded by the Goddess Herself. Over time the Mysteries became very
popular and were considered a highly ethical ritual to take part in that
promised eternal life after death. The mystery of Nature's death and
rebirth told through the tale of Demeter and Kore is a women's mystery
that was recognized as humanity's mystery.
In a reading this card indicates that the situation is more complex
than originally thought. Large patterns and cycles are at play here;
it may help to keep in mind that things are cyclical and will come around.
It can also represent finding your power in a bad situation--after Kore
was carried off against Her will to the Underworld, She became its Queen.
Alternate names: Core, Cora, Persephone, Persephoneia, Persephassa
To read Her story, go here.
