In the midst of Mabon, we continue to celebrate the harvest! You can find a list of some harvest gods and goddesses in our Lughnassadh blog post here! Let’s dive into just a couple harvest deities and their affect on the ancient world around them! Read on to lear more about Harvest Myth and Magic.  

Let’s start with Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture. Demeter is one of the original 12 deities of the Greek pantheon, second born to Cronus and Rhea. Demeter is depicted fully clothed, often sitting on a throne with a hand outstretched. Sometimes, she is depicted riding a chariot beside her daughter, Persephone. The myth surrounding the reason for winter has several iterations, but the general story remains.  

Aphrodite believes that Hades views her as lesser and decides that its time that he get a taste of her power. As Hades is riding his chariot across the sky in search of Typhon, Aphrodite orders her son, Eros, to pierce him with one of his arrows of love. When he does, Hades’ eyes set on Persephone in a field of flowers. Hades immediately approaches his brother Zeus, Persephone’s father, to ask for her hand. Zeus agrees, thinking that there are few gods more suitable as a husband for his daughter, as Hades rules over an entire realm, and quickly hatches a plan with Hades. Zeus knows that Demeter will never allow the marriage to happen, as Persephone is her life. Zeus arranges for Hades’ kidnap of Persephone using a beautiful narcissus flower to glean her attention.

Demeter, upon realizing her daughter is missing, is inconsolable. She wanders the earth for nine days in search of Persephone. On the tenth day of searching, the goddess Hecate comes forward to tell Demeter what she saw. Demeter was furious with everyone and left Mount Olympus to grieve among the mortals. During this time of grieving, Demeter neglected her duties of fertility and agriculture, causing the earth to become barren and famine to set in. Zeus soon realized that he would have to bring Persephone back to her mother to save the humans. Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger god, to the Underworld to retrieve Persephone. However, upon her return, the gods were quick to realize that she had eaten a pomegranate seed while in the Underworld. The pomegranate seed ensures her return to the Underworld. Zeus proposes a compromise to Demeter; Persephone will spend two thirds of the year with her mother, and the last third with her husband in the Underworld. Demeter reluctantly agrees and the time that Persephone spends with Demeter results in beautiful, abundant springs and summers. Winter comes upon us when Persephone returns to the Underworld, Demeter’s grief once again taking hold of her during this time.  

Some symbols associated with Demeter are the scythe, cornucopia, corn, wheat, the torch, and bread. Demeter’s Roman counterpart is the goddess Ceres, for whom our modern day cereal is named!  

In Norse Mythology, the most celebrated Harvest God is Freyr. Freyr is part of the Vanir tribes, but is also an honorary Aesir. Freyr was one of the most widely and passionately worshiped amongst the Norse and some other Germanic peoples. According to an old Norse poem, Freyr is “the foremost of gods” and “hated by none.” As a harvest god, the humans’ agriculture and thus their livelihood relied on Freyr. His compassion manifested in sexual and ecological fertility, along with wealth, peace, and abundant harvest. Freyr is often depicted with his golden-bristled boar, Gullinborsti, which symbolized his role in providing prosperity and health. Sacrifices were frequently made in Freyr’s name at several celebrations and occasions, such as weddings or harvest festivals.  

Reflect on your successes during the past year and allow yourself to let go of things that no longer serve you.

As we are right in the middle of Mabon celebrations, we are reminded to give thanks to our harvest deities and to Mother Earth. Reflect on your successes during the past year and allow yourself to let go of things that no longer serve you. One of the easiest, and for some the most fun, ways to celebrate Mabon is simply to decorate your living space full of autumnal colors and symbols! 

How amazing is it that we get to read about and be part of these ancient peoples’ lives and celebrations through these stories? To think that if not for the act of storytelling and passing along traditions that we would have missed out on all these stories! We as modern people are gifted with knowledge and traditions of countless societies. This knowledge and abundance of stories gives us the opportunity to create our own magic and to give these “dead religions” place in our world today. The stories and traditions of these civilizations allow all of us to find a place, a religion, and gods or goddesses that we are attuned to and that we can choose to worship. We can learn from these stories to become better people and practitioners today, which is pretty special. All we have to do is open our minds to the possibilities.