Demeter and Ceres: Great Goddesses can be found in the Horoscope!
By Wendy Ashley, Mythic Astrologer c.2005

Demeter’s Month in Greek Mythology is September. Demeter was among the most honored of the Greek Gods and her sacred rites, called “The Greater Mysteries” took place during the month of September at Eleusis, located near the narrow isthmus waist of Greece. Worshipers who participated in these most sacred ceremonies, dedicated to the goddess of grain and the renewal of life, were vowed to secrecy. They apparently watched a reenactment of the return of Persephone, or as she was known in Greece, Kore, from the land of the dead to her mother’s welcoming arms.

The story of Demeter (Ceres simply being her Roman counterpart) is fully told by Homer in his “Hymn to Demeter.” It is a long poem with many important characters and events. In brief, it is a tragic story about a mother’s loss of her child, who has been raped and abducted by Hades (Pluto) who took her to live as his bride in the underworld. The maiden is about fourteen, just coming into womanhood. Desperate for her daughter’s return, Demeter enlists the aid of Hecate, the wise crone who “sees all.” Hecate discovers where the girl has been taken and eventually brings her back to her mother with the aid of Hermes.

When Zeus would not command Hades, his brother, to return Persephone/Kore to her mother, Demeter vowed that no plant or vegetation would grow until her daughter was safely returned. If no grain would grow humanity would starve and there would be no one to worship the Gods. Because Demeter is the Goddess of grain, she is associated with eating and fasting. When one man cut down her sacred oaks to selfishly build a banquet hall for himself, she afflicted him with a disease that the Greeks called “Wolf” which we now call compulsive overeating. His hunger never relented, and he ate himself into a grave.

Virgo is Demeter’s constellation. The brightest star in Virgo is Spica whose name means “spike” or “spear.” Spica marks the ear of wheat in the virgin’s left hand. Spica is now located at 23 degrees of Libra. Because of precession, the sign Libra now overlies the constellation Virgo. Interestingly, Kore is the root of the words “corn” and “kernel.” Kore itself means “seed.” It also means “young girl.” The word Demeter means, “Holy Mother Earth”. Broken down even further; “de” means divine, “me” translates as “mother,” and “ter” becomes “earth.” Kore’s own constellation is Taurus. For this reason, the Greek astrologers called the 2nd house, the Taurus house, “Kore’s Door” (from the underworld).

The constellation Virgo as grain Goddess was put into the sky once humans began to grow grain. Grain was hybridized from wild seeds around 12,000 years ago, when Virgo would have been the sign of the Spring Equinox. By 6,000 years ago, Virgo was the sign of the Summer Solstice and grain had become the staff of life regardless of its form, be it wheat, barley, rye, maize, rice, millet, quinoa, etc… Joseph Campbell devoted three volumes of his Encyclopedia of World Mythology to the topic of “The Seeded Earth.” In it you can find the myths of grain from all over the world.

When we study the myths of the constellations we gain more insight into the meaning of the signs. For instance, Cancer is the sign associated with eating, but it is actually not the crab which is the legendary gourmand, but the Bear above Cancer that eats without cessation. In some ways, what Virgo’s need to learn is what they can and cannot eat in terms of assimilation. Of course, Taurus and Scorpio can be foodie signs as well, Taurus for Kore and Scorpio for Hades/Pluto. Those born under the sign Capricorn however, being the sign and time of the barren earth, may be natural abstainers. Hecate’s Sign is Capricorn. Clearly, these are generalities but not so general as to be inapplicable to the individuals born under these signs or stars.

The deeper mythological elements of the Demeter, Persephone and Hecate relate to our own cycle of life. Those who had participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries knew firsthand that although we die a certain death, we live again in time. The old site of Demeter’s Mysteries is now devoted to the worship of Mary who like Demeter is a “mater dolorosa” or “sorrowing mother” because she too, knew what it was to lose a child and to have that child returned from the dead so that the people might know that we have eternal life. Like the eternal seasons, life comes and goes and comes again.

However, when Demeter loses her child, she falls into a deep depression and reduces herself from a great goddess to a humble servant for hire. This impulse, to serve others, is very strong in individuals born under this sign and myth. Only after her child is returned to her does Demeter recover her joy and power. Often the Virgo will need to recover either an actual lost child, or the deeply hidden inner child stolen away years ago.

These are but a minimum of the mythical elements people may be living out in their daily lives. The other characters in the story want recognition for their function as well, Baubo, Iacchus, Hades himself, Ploutus the child, and the other people of Eleusis whom Demeter serves, such as Triptolemus and their corresponding signs can be found as well. In the upcoming lecture, I will show you the charts of individuals whose mythos depict the story of Demeter and her daughter Kore, revealing the myths alive within us.