An Ode to the Ghosts: The Myth of Persephone & Demeter
Our 9th full moon of the year rises on September 7th, and with it comes ghostly muses and ghostly women, pomegranates, grain, and a few mysteries harvested from nature. This week's full moon arrives around two weeks before the Autumn Equinox and is sometimes called the Corn Moon, the Falling Leaves Moon (Ojibwe origin), or the Autumn Moon (Cree origin).
Right now, in agricultural societies, land tenders are working late into the night to keep up with autumn's bounty. They use the moon as their lantern and helpmate, a seasonal torch intimately known to the reapers. In years past, the reaper's job was not purely physical, they were also agricultural mystics. In much of the Northern Hemisphere, farmers will harvest corn beneath September’s moon to feed their families, animals, and ancestors—the ghosts of seasons past.
As the Autumn Equinox nears, the ghosts begin to stir. The days between summer’s end and autumn’s opening are haunted.
I mentioned this to Caitlyn over a series of voice notes one afternoon. I was recapping “The Unforgivable” by Christina Campo, sharing a few passages from the woman who translated Virginia Woolf into Italian, while also writing several poetic creations of her own. Afterwards, Caitlyn and I returned to my earlier realization: Most of our muses were ghosts.
Full Moon Blessings, Witches!
