Liberation through Proserpina

[TYRRHENUS]

Obligatory Read Me
Last year someone in my grove came to me for advice on getting out of a bad relationship. After much discussion, we discovered that anger was the underlying problem. It was then that I told her the story of Proserpina and outlined a ritual for her to perform. I have included the ritual below.
This is written as a sermon, so the punctuation may seem odd, but makes sense when spoken out loud. Any questions or comments on how to make this a better sermon are appreciated.

Background Information
Proserpina is probably the most underrated and misunderstood of all Roman Goddesses.
Too often the historians claim she is the Roman equivalent of Persephone. But the similarities between the Greek Persephone and the Roman Proserpina end with the kidnapping by Hades/Pluto. And even the purpose of the kidnapping differs greatly between the Greek and the Roman.

Liberation through Proserpina

Here I tell you the truth of Proserpina.
Proserpina is not the damsel in distress who soothes Pluto so that she may bring life back to the Earth. Proserpina is a most powerful Goddess whom only Death himself can contain.
Proserpina was kidnapped by Pluto because only he has the patience to quell her enormous powers. Only in the still depths of the Underworld can he do this. Yet Pluto must release her to fulfill his own destiny as the Guardian of the Realms of Death. The fact is, Pluto did Terra (the World of Mortals) a great favor by kidnapping Proserpina. And Pluto continues to show us mercy by keeping Proserpina away from us. If only for half the year.

Proserpina is the original woman scorned. (And you know what is said of them...)
During the Golden Age when Saturnus ruled Latium and Prosperity was universal, Proserpina was called Libera - the personification of all free beings.
Yet we Latins took Libera for granted. We took Liberty for granted. Prosperity made us lazy and Libera's groves fell silent. We Latins began to favor Maia.
So Libera's pain of rejection turned into anger. Libera went Pro Serpens (in favor of snakes) and willingly joined the Dii Inferi - the Gods of the Underworld.
Proserpina is forever caught in a struggle with herself. Proserpina is forever caught in a bad relationship, not with the Gods of the Underworld, but with her own anger.
The only way for her to regain her happiness is to transform the pain she feels into strength. She must let go of the pain of rejection, and return to her natural state, she must free herself, she must become Libera.

Lessons of Proserpina for the Liberation of Women
Know that like attracts like. Pain attracts pain. Anger attracts anger.
Proserpina has not escaped her struggle with herself because she is immortal. The pain of rejection by generations of Latins festers within her. The pain multiplies pain and the anger has become so old it is without definition.
Yet you are not immortal. This is your advantage. You must choose: allow the anger to beget anger until you become Proserpina, until you can no longer remember why you are angry, until only Death can quell your anger, or you can heal yourself, you can return to your natural state, you can return to the woman you were, you can allow yourself the time to heal.
To this day Proserpina takes her revenge upon all mortals by rejecting her true nature, by denying us Libera - the woman she was. She does this even to those who truly love her. You must learn to forgive. You must transform your pain and your anger into strength. Only by this transformation can you free yourself. Only by this can you be free.

Lessons of Proserpina for the Liberation of Men
Know that like Proserpina, women are burdened with long memories. They do not forget easily.
Just as two women can have a conversation without speaking, so too may a woman show dissatisfaction with merely a fraction of a second of silence.
You will never decipher this strange language, but you can ask a woman to speak your own. To tell you out loud what she is feeling. You must ask, for quite often a woman will not tell you until she has gone through the transformation from Libera to Proserpina.
Should the transformation take place, you must become Pluto. You must have the patience of this God. You must listen. No matter how long it takes, no matter what she says. Patience is a virtue not born with men. But like the still silence of the Underworld, if you remain silent, you will understand the depth of her words. You will recognize that she is lost, and trying to find her way back to the way she was. You will learn from her. Knowledge is liberty, and your liberation lies in hers.

Lessons of Proserpina for the Liberation of Nations
Should we recognize that we have taken Liberty for granted, we must learn from Proserpina. We should not let the groves of Liberty fall silent. Yet if they have, we must fill them again with the sounds of Liberty. We must celebrate in the freedoms we have, simplify our lives, and fill ourselves with forgiveness so that we may return to the natural state of human existence.
Proserpina is immortal. She has all of eternity to return to her natural state. Nations do not.
It is in the reawakening of the spirit of Liberty that we preserve our freedom and prosper.

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The Ritual
In the early morning, before sunrise, go to the bottom of a hill.
Look to the top and admit the following:

By the immortal Gods.
I need help!
I know where I am, but I have lost myself.
Allow my pain to become strength.
I will overcome what I have become.
As above, so below.

Slowly climb the hill remaining as close to the ground as you can. Make use of your hands whenever possible.
When you reach the top of the hill you should meditate until you are in full daylight.
Standing, outstretch your arms in front of you with your palms facing the ground and say:

By the immortal Gods.
From beneath I have risen.
I am no longer what I was.
I have transformed pain into strength.
I am free.
I am Libera.
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NOTES
Dii Īnferī = The Romans, like many cultures, explained the disappearance of the Gods of earlier cultures by claiming these Gods went underground. The Romans also gave Proserpina the title 'Iūnō Īnferna', the Infernal Juno.
-ina = (suffix) Indication of femininity.
Latins = Latīnī, the name Aeneas gave the Rutuli, Laurentians and Trojans living in Italy.
Lībera = Early Italic Goddess. Wife of Līber.
Māia = Oscan Goddess, later called Ops.
Prō = Before, in front of, in favor of.
Serpēns = Snake. Before the founding of Rome, there was a belief common in the Mediterranean, that crops grew because of the movement of snakes underground.
Serpō = (v) To crawl, to glide, to slither.
Περσεφονη = Persephone. Roman matriarchs could not accept the chauvinistic story of Persephone brought to Italy by Greeks. The Romans took the story of the kidnapping and used it to explain the disappearance of Libera. It is the modern authors who have confused the Greek Persephone and the Roman Proserpina. They have taken an Italic Goddess and made her Greek. It is my opinion that the story of the Roman Goddess has much more to offer us.

[mol]

Pretty cool post. Is this all your own stuff?

[TYRRHENUS]

Thanx mol. I wrote everything but the actual myth. The mythology was pieced together from the 3C's: Cato, Catullus and Cicero.

[Mnemosyne]

I like it also, Tyrrhenus! I've always been a fan of the Persephone/Perserpina myth. It's a perfect myth to think about this time of the year.

Hey, I'm a big fan of the classics. In fact, I used to study classical languages and ancient history when I was at university. Can you tell me where Catullus and Cicero mention the Perserpina?

[TYRRHENUS]

You know, I pressed the New Reply button, then a second later I said "oh s@%t, that wasn't Catullus, that was Ovid... well, I'll be ok so long as Mnemosyne doesn't see this." Good eye.

Anyway, here's some Cicero:
De Natura Deorum II - LXVI, III - LIII, III - LVI, III - LVIII, III - LXXXIII

Some Ovid:
Metamorphoses V.DI
Fasti IV.DLXXV

Other interesting bits on the dark Goddess:
Horace. Odes - Liber II, XIII (verses XXI-XXV)

The best is Apollodorus I.XIII:
He says she is the daughter, not of Ceres/Demeter, but of Styx/Στνξ.

Vale Bene, Mnemosyne!

[mol]

Thanks for the references. You rock!

[Oneira]

Of all the chthonic deities, I've always had a difficult time appreciating her. Thanks for the food for thought. :) Quite helpful in my situation, actually.

[TYRRHENUS]

Hey no problem folks. Welcome Oneira! And good luck with the situation you mentioned

[Mnemosyne]

Salve Tyhrrenus!

Thanks for all the references! Hey, do you know of this site www.theoi.com ? Well, it has an extensive list of Greek deities on there. On the site, you can find MANY sources where the ancients mentioned their deities in literary works. It's mainly Greek references; however, there are Roman sources too.

Check out Proserphina/Persephone!

http://www.theoi.com/Kronos/Persephone.html

[Theres]

yeah, the Theoi project is really cool!

i read an interesting invocation of the Triple Goddess today from Apuleius, which included Proserpine.
i'll post it later, in anyone is interested.

[TYRRHENUS]

Salveti Mnemosyne et omnes!
ah yeah, ah yeah, Mnemosyne, that site rocks! There is so much info, I'll be there for years. See you all in 2020. And Greenman, I'm definately interested in this invocation you speak of. :hehehehe:

[Theres]

okay then. suitably propped up with the finest Chinese food Salem has to offer, i'll take a shot at this.

this is from a 1566 translation of Apuleius's 'Golden Ass' by William Adlington.
in it we find Lucius pining over his great misfortune's, and finally he offers this prayer to the Goddess...

‘O blessed Queen of Heaven, whether thou be the Dame Ceres which art the original and motherly source of all fruitful things on the earth, who after finding thy daughter Proserpine, through the great joy which thou didst presently conceive, didst utterly take away and abolish the food of them of old time, the acorn, and madest the barren and unfruitful ground of Eleusis to be ploughed and sown, and now givest men a more better and milder food;
or whether thou be the celestial Venus, who, at the beginning of the world, didst couple together male and female with an engendered love, and didst so make an eternal propagation of mankind, being now worshipped within the temples of the Isle of Paphos;
or whether thou be the sister of the God Phoebus, who hast saved so many people by lightening and lessening with thy medicines the pangs of travail and art now adored at the sacred places of Ephesus;
or whether thou be called terrible Proserpine by reason of the deadly howlings which thou yieldest, that hast power with triple face to stop and put away the invasion of hags and ghosts which appear unto men, and to keep them down in the closures of the Earth, which dost wander in sundry groves and art worshipped in diverse manners;
thou, which dost illuminate all the cities of the earth by thy feminine light;
thou, which nourishest all the seeds of the world by thy damp heat, giving thy changing light according to the wanderings, near or far, of the sun:
by whatever name or fashion or shape it is lawful to call upon thee, I pray thee to end my great travail and misery and rise up my fallen hopes, and deliver me from the wretched fortune which so long time pursued me. Grant peace and rest, if it please thee, to my adversities, for I have endured enough labor and peril…’

Lucius then goes on to a very picturesque description of how She appears to him in a vision...

"Her vestment was of the finest linen yielding diverse colors, somewhere white and shining, somewhere yellow like the crocus flower, somewhere rosy red, somewhere flaming; and (which troubled my sight and spirit soar) Her cloak was utterly dark and obscure covered with shining black..."

and more goodies about the lining holding stars and suns, etc etc. let's just hope that old Lucius was able to climb out from the depths of despair!
but what i found really interesting was this description of what appears to be the 'modern' MMC version of the triple Goddess, but from circa 1st century CE!

:)

[TYRRHENUS]

that hast power with triple face
Salvete amici!
Greenman, it seems you've found a gem here.
You see, the mystery deepens... This is the enlightenment I'm getting out of the Adlington translation:

• Apuleius says whether you be called this, that, or the other thing, leads me to believe that the ancients themselves quite often equated the Gods of the Greeks and Romans. Another good example is Apuleius using Ceres and Eleusis in the same sentence.
• Unless of course, Apuleius was a proponent of the Greeks. In which case, he would have tried to equate Persephone with Proserpina. Does anyone have info on Apuleius' views of the Greeks?
• The "triple face" quote blows me away! I thought that was just an invention of certain Llewellyn authors.

or whether thou be called terrible Proserpine by reason of the deadly howlings which thou yieldest
What I really need is for someone with better Greek skills than mine (I have none) to look at the name Persephone and tell me what it means. We all recognize the phone ending. But what about the Pers(e) part?

Her cloak was utterly dark and obscure covered with shining black
When I think of the Greek Persephone, I think of the innocent maiden (yep, dressed in white) who was carried off on the shoulders of brutish Hades.
However when I think of the Roman Proserpina, I think she was once the innocent maiden but has now become a real b@%ch (clothed in the ancient equivalent of 'goth'). Much more in line with the quote above.
Perhaps my imagery is off?

My latest reference is nothing compared to Greenman's, but what the heck. It comes from a prayer inscription seeking revenge (death) from Proserpina to be placed upon the person or persons whole stole merchandise from someone while at a bath house.
Remember, when the ancients wrote in stone they had to take short-cuts... so everything between () are abbreviations we understand, while everything between [] are either questionable translations or caused by ancient 'typos'.

Dea Atacina Turibrig(ensis) Proserpina, per tuam maiestatem te rogo oro obsecro, uti vindices, quot mihi furti factum est; quisquis mihi imudavit involavit minusve fecti eas [res], q(wae) i(nfra) s(criptae): tunicas VI? [pa]enula lintea II, in[dus]ium cuius I c v? m ignoro ia? [eum tu pessimo leto adficias (vel simile quid)].

Proserpina, Goddess who is called Atacina in Turibrigia, through your majesty I ask, I pray, I implore that you vindicate me of each and every theft that is made against me, whosoever has altered my life, violated me, lessened me by taking these things that I have listed below: six tunics,? two cloaks, one of these being of Indian linen? I do not know (who took them). May you call down upon him the worst possible death.

Is this quickly becoming the Proserpina thread or what?

[Theres]

i used to see Persephone in that 'innocent Maiden' role too, as that is certainly Her character in the beginning of the myth.
but what we are left with by the end is definitely a chthonic Goddess who shares the throne of the underworld with Hades, and is not merely His unwilling captive.

and i might be able to throw some light upon 'perse' (pun intended ;) ). perse means 'light', which might seem a bit out of touch with Persephone. but wait, there's more...

Perse was a Titan, and is generally considered as the father of Hekate, who is all about light. and Hekate and Persephone are inextricably tied together through the Eleusian Mysteries. further, 'Persephone' could mean 'daughter of Perse', which would make them sisters!
so, while i don't necessarily think of Her as a 'real bitch', i do consider Persephone a fearsome Goddess, and very similar to Proserpine.

okay then, on to your quote (and where did you find that marvelous inscription?!).

i see a rather obvious connection to the Greek myths here too.
Hermes was a thief (having stolen Apollo's cattle, thereby earning His place at Olympus), and was patron to thieves. but Hermes was also 'psychopomp' being able to descend into the underworld AND return again, a power He shared only with Hekate. so again, we have a connection between Persephone. and perhaps this is the reason for this victimized bathers appeal to Proserpine specifically.

here's something else that might be linked to this, and may be a good area for further research. i
n later Italian witchcraft (according to Leyland) there was a Goddess of thieves named Laverna. i'm wondering what Her origins were, and if they can be tied to Proserpine too?

cool discussion T, and thanks! :)

[TYRRHENUS]

So... if phone = sound/voice and perse = light, we have:
Persephone = sound of light?
Persephone = voice of light?
Or perhaps, one whose voice creates light?
- - - - -
The bath house prayer (I think) was documented by Cato, a Roman who was a 'Greek-lover', for lack of a better word. (prohellas, amathellas, maybe? I don't know what they were called.)

What would really shatter my belief system would be to find a quote from a 'Greek-hater' (a Roman like Plinius who viewed the Greeks in the way Karl Marx viewed the bourgeoisie,) who gives reference to Proserpina which sounds like the Greek model. Then I'd really be bewildered.
- - - - -
Here are some possible origins of the name Laverna:

Latin:
lavō, lāvī, lautum, lavātum & lōtum, [1] & [3] v. to wash, to bathe, to soak.
verna, ae, m. & f. slave born in the master's household
vernō, [1] v. to carry on or undergo the process proper to spring
vernus, a, um, a. of the spring, vernal

Italian:
lavare v.t. to wash, etc., same as the Latin

"la" + "verna", Verna being a town in northern Italy. (Tuscany to be precise... where C.G. Leland spent all his time.)

C.G. Leland on Laverna:
"She was almost always on earth, among thieves, pickpockets, and panders - she lived in darkness."
- - - - -
Courtesy of Societas Via Romana:
On Hecate "...Goddess of the crossroads, and of abandoned infants, She may be identified with Laverna." Then on Laverna, "Goddess of thieves and imposters, orphans and lost children."
- - - - -
My take on Aradia:
I am almost certain that Aradia was written by Gypsies. (Northern Italian Gypsies.) So it would make sense for them to identify with the old Roman Goddess of thieves. (Don't anybody go politically correct on me... I'm referring to the Mobile Gypsies of 19th century Italy. Not the law-abiding citizenry of today.)
This also makes me wonder if Gypsies in Greece identify with Hecate. Sadly, I know little of the Rom (I think that's their preferred title).
Perhaps Laverna and Proserpina have gone in and out of association over the centuries. (Yes, this does need further research.)

[Mnemosyne]

Ooohh, thanks for the look into Laverna's name. When I see her name, I think of spring or "verna," having to do with spring. I didn't think of the verb "lavare" though. How does her name relate to her role- goddess of fraudulence? Also, how exactly do you guys think that she is connected to Proserpina? Do you know of the Roman goddess Libitina? In my opinion, this goddess of watching over funerals would be more connected to Proserpina than Laverna.

[Theres]

Do you know of the Roman goddess Libitina? In my opinion, this goddess of watching over funerals would be more connected to Proserpina than Laverna.

that makes sense to me, at least by association.
i would never have connected Proserpine to Laverna but for that inscription TYRRHENUS posted above, and even then it's highly speculative.

[Theres]

i was actually unfamiliar with Libitina, so i Googled Her(!), and found this...

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/libitina.html

it seems that She was associated with Proserpine, at least later on.

[Mnemosyne]

i was actually unfamiliar with Libitina, so i Googled Her(!), and found this...

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/libitina.html

it seems that She was associated with Proserpine, at least later on.

Hey, I just found an article on Libitina which associates her with Perserpina too.

http://73.1911encyclopedia.org/L/LI/LIBITINA.htm

Hey, this thread on Persephone's Journey was started a year ago, but members bring up some interesting points.

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=20765

[Flar's Freyja]

Another site with info on the Goddess of Liberty:

Goddess of Liberty (http://www.empyreanquest.com/liberty.htm)

[Oneira]

So, would the Statue of Liberty be connected to Proserpina as well? I love seeing the gods ambiguously displayed. :hehehehe: Like Themis as blind justice and the sculptures of Night and Day(Nyx and Hemera) in Penn Station.

BTW, can I reference your first post, Tyrrhenus? It really helps explain why Persephone isn't as annoying as I thought she was. :)

[Mnemosyne]

So, would the Statue of Liberty be connected to Proserpina as well? I love seeing the gods ambiguously displayed. :hehehehe: Like Themis as blind justice and the sculptures of Night and Day(Nyx and Hemera) in Penn Station.

BTW, can I reference your first post, Tyrrhenus? It really helps explain why Persephone isn't as annoying as I thought she was. :)

Yeah, I like it when goddesses are displayed too, Oneira. I don't think that the Statue of Liberty is connected to Proserpina in any way. Earlier on, I was saying that she does have a connection to Libitina, a goddess of funerals.

[TYRRHENUS]

Old thread...BTW, can I reference your first post, Tyrrhenus? It really helps explain why Persephone isn't as annoying as I thought she was. :)Yeah, if it helps, take it.

As for the Statue of Liberty, her physical appearance I think would be more along the lines of Victoria, or possibly an Enlightenment version of Minerva. Symbolically, she's more along the lines of Libertas (freedom), a numen which, to my knowledge, was never given form by classical sculptors.

[Oneira]

Old thread...Yeah, if it helps, take it.

As for the Statue of Liberty, her physical appearance I think would be more along the lines of Victoria, or possibly an Enlightenment version of Minerva. Symbolically, she's more along the lines of Libertas (freedom), a numen which, to my knowledge, was never given form by classical sculptors.
Well, there's always a first time for everything. :lol: I'm hoping somewhere that I can find a statue of Hades that doesn't involve the abduction. It sort of grates my nerves that I have this wonderful patron god and the only statue to remember him by is an abduction. :lol: It's not like as if the other gods were so passive.

Thanks for the permission. Will credit.

[Calyx]

Hey T! I seem to have missed this thread (probably because I was off digging through the Vulgate ;))
I find this of great interest because Persephone is my matron deity. One comment I would like to make is that she is a very strong woman! Most myth interpretations agree with this. And Persephone is constantly in conflict, because she is caught between those who love her. On one hand, she has her mother Demeter in the Overland, and on the other, is her husband Hades in the Underworld. She is torn between them and so must split her life trying to please both of them.

She is also credited with the oversight of much of Hades, from what I've read. She is often described as strong, courageous, queenly, and full of dignity. Sometimes she's described as cold as well.

Heh. Maybe I've gotten a little off topic here, so I guess I will stop. :)

[Agaliha]

Interesting Thread! I don't know much about the details of the Roman pantheon, but when ever I looked up things about Persephone there was always a comment like: Persephone (Roman: Proserpina). It was really bothering me when I actually wanted information about Proserpina and not Persephone. They were just assuming Proserpina was the same, with only a different name. ::sigh::

Oddly enough, last night I found Laverna (online)--

Here are some links:
Laverna, Roman Goddess of Thieves--Roman gods and goddesses (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LaSvZyaXdE6GYBZDNXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB2cXVjNTM5BGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZAM-/SIG=11q0ohr3u/EXP=1148762866/**http%3a//www.thaliatook.com/laverna.html)

Chapter XV: Laverna (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0LaSvZyaXdE6GYBdTNXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB2M3MzdmZoBGNvbG8DdwRsA1dTMQRwb3MDMwRzZWMDc3IEdnRpZAM-/SIG=1240fanb1/EXP=1148762866/**http%3a//www.sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/ara17.htm) -- An entry in "ARADIA or the Gospel of the Witches"

That's all I could find of her. :(

[Theres]

Courtesy of Societas Via Romana:
On Hecate "...Goddess of the crossroads, and of abandoned infants, She may be identified with Laverna." Then on Laverna, "Goddess of thieves and imposters, orphans and lost children."

perhaps more accurately, Hekate is the goddess of young women who have passed before their time (aoroi). this was usually through sacrifice (ie; Iphigenia), but could also include death due to disease, violence, etc.

[Agaliha]

I didn't want to make a new thread just for this...
I came across a article about the Demeter and Persphone myth:
Death and Return in the Myth of Demeter and Persephone
by Kathie Carlson
(http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrpersephone.html)

[RainInanna]

Does anyone have more resources specifically for Proserpina? Does anyone know someone who works with Proserpina or Persephone?

Can't get the name "Proserpina" out of my head lately.

[Agaliha]

Does anyone have more resources specifically for Proserpina? Does anyone know someone who works with Proserpina or Persephone?

It seems harder to find Proserpina (Roman) specific stuff online, like I said:
...when ever I looked up things about Persephone there was always a comment like: Persephone (Roman: Proserpina). It was really bothering me when I actually wanted information about Proserpina and not Persephone. They were just assuming Proserpina was the same, with only a different name. ::sigh::
There are differences between Persephone and Proserpina, that much I know. Just like there's differences between Venus and Aphrodite. What they are exactly (for Persephone and Proserpina) I'm not completely sure.

Proserpina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGki3qzG9GqxUAlglXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2ZWY2cjVhBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3cEdnRpZANNMDAyXzc1BGwDV 1Mx/SIG=11rv93hc7/EXP=1181818474/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proserpina)

As for info about Persephone, there's no problem there. There's TONS of sites online about her. Just a simple search on Google or Yahoo can turn them up.

[Cake-eating_Moth]

Love the mythology - the Roman Proserpina a little darker and closer to home in the lives of some women who identify with her than the more well-known Persephone.

Dante Gabrielle Rosetti's "Proserpina"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_Proserpine.JPG/180px-Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_Proserpine.JPG

Beautiful painting. I've always loved it.