9/20/12—Returning to the Mother

Today's Draw: The Empress from the Sacred Sites Tarot. Are you a mother? How is your relationship with your mother? How do relate to the myth of Demeter?

Each card in this deck is attributed to a sacred site. This card is about the Sanctuary of Demetra, dedicated to the Eleusinian mysteries. So today I learned that the Eleusinian mysteries were ceremonies held for the cult of Persephone and Demeter. 

So if you're not up on the scoop, Persephone was out gathering flowers one day when Hades popped out of the underworld and kidnapped her. Her distraught mother, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, searched for her. Her distress caused a draught that left people starving and dying. Because of this Zeus interceded, because gods need people to worship them and when the people die, so does the worship. So he made a deal with Hades to let Persephone return to her mother part of the year. 

So when Persephone is with Demeter, the earth comes alive with the warmth of the sun and crops are abundant. And she returns to Hades, the earth grows cold and raw. And that, folks, is why we have seasons!

This is a perfect card for relationship week. But since this is about the mother/child relationship, I'm limited in my ability to address it. I don't know what it's like to have a human child. I only know what it's like to be one. 

A while back I watched a show about Jaycee Dugard. She's the woman that was kidnapped at 11 and remained in captivity for 18 years. Her mother never really gave up hope. There seems to be something in the programming between mother and child that tells one if the other is still alive. You hear these moms say it all the time...that they felt their child was gone when they were. Or that they felt their child was alive when they were. There's something remarkable about the connection between two bodies that once lived as one. 

Likewise, Jaycee had two daughters of her own while in captivity. And the circumstances of their birth did not change the depth of that connection. In fact, surviving that tragedy may have even made the connection that much more precious. Her mother also adores her grandchildren. The legacy of unconditional love cannot be broken any more than the energetic bond between mother and child. 

So you can see how Demeter's sorrow was powerful enough to cause a smothering drought. I imagine that's what Jaycee's mom felt inside all those years. 

I can only speak of this relationship from the other side. I'm a doggy mom and my commitment to them is all-in and unconditional, but right or wrong or whatever, we do hold human life more precious. It's a key difference in the relationships. But I do know this, I lost my mom at 21 and have not stopped missing her since. 

So today, honor that connection in whatever way you can. If you and your mom aren't the best of friends, give her a call anyway. I'm certain that, no matter what you think, her heart aches to know you've been thinking of her. If the two of you are close, call just to hear her voice and tell her so. If you are so incredibly lucky to have your mother still among the living, please take advantage of that. And if you don't, look inside your heart...that one that once beat within her womb and the one that was forever shaped by her love. She will always be there waiting for the day you reunite and life is abundant once again.