Vitalist Healing Traditions by Dr. Carina Lopez Using the archetypal healing The Myth of Demeter-Persephone and understanding trauma which when healed leads to renewal and transformation using some of nature’s healing allies through an understanding of Myth, Medical Astrology, Homeopathy and Herbalism. Trauma is pervasive in our society. Our ability to understand and heal the wounds of trauma through mythological representations, cosmology, herbal and homeopathic allies are imperative for our abilities to heal and transform and regenerate our lives from the wounds we have suffered. This workshop will uncover the myth of Demeter-Persephone, trauma and the use of herbs, homeopathy, cosmology and more to help transcend and rejuvenate our lives. What will we cover in this workshop? The mythic background of the Goddesses & Deities Demeter & Persephone. The mythic background of the planetary archetype of Pluto and its affiliated relationships with Demeter & Persephone. The significations of these deities. Understanding of what these archetypes might mean in our personal lives. Calling up parts of the body and soul that have been repressed or traumatized and facilitate healing using the archetypal therapy. Honoring and acknowledging the Deities. Homeopathic remedies and Herbs that help support healing. The mythic background and the significations of the Goddesses & Deities Demeter & Persephone Demeter also known as the asteroid Ceres represents the great mother and for the ancient people, she was the goddess of agriculture, fertilizing the earth and nourishing all life on earth. She represents our capacity to unconditionally love and take care of ourselves and others, using the feminine creative energy to birth a new life form. Demeter being a mother was greatly attached to her daughter, representing the principle of unconditional love, but her excessive attachment to her daughter created a form of co-dependence. The myth we know: Persephone and her mother Demeter (The goddess of earth and grains) was out picking flowers with her two friends Athena and Artemis when the scent of a narcotic flower propelled her to drift away from away from everyone. At finding this flower, as Persephone went to reach for it the earth opened, and Pluto grabbed Persephone into the underworld. The maiden was taken underground, and her screams were heard by the Maid, Demeter and the Crone Hecate. 1 Vitalist Healing Traditions by Dr. Carina Lopez The very same narcotic flower that seduced Persephone became Demeter’s addiction as she felt betrayed that her brother had abducted her daughter. Opium flowers adorn Demeter’s hair in almost all the statues where she is portrayed. Opium being Demeter’s sacred plant. I cannot help but think of today’s opioid crisis and how so many use this flower to help transcend their own emotional and physical agony. It was on the tenth day of screaming that Demeter finally met Hecate in a cave and together they spoke to Apollo the god of the sun and their bargaining for Persephone began. "Lest for my daring Persephone the dread, From Hades should send up an awful monster's grisly head. Odyssey xi, Homer. Persephone’s ordeal not only was filled with rape but also as she is transcending deep into the cave her next meeting was with what appears to be Medusa. This awful monster looking into Persephone’s eyes did not turn Persephone into stone but allowed her a glimpse into herself, and all the darkness she possessed. The introspective gaze, being our most difficult allegory to actualize. This is different from the myth of Perseus, where Perseus chops Medusa’s head off. In this myth there is no need to slay oneself but instead to come to terms with the part of us that perhaps we have not confronted. Persephone then ingests one of the well-known fertility fruits our world has, the pomegranate seed. Her destiny is now sealed as whoever eats from the underworld stays in the underworld. Persephone becomes queen of the underworld and mother of a baby boy. Hecate the crone being the first woman she meets as she leaves the underworld for half the year, symbolizing the next level of transcendence that awaits her karmic passage. The allegory of this myth allows us to better appreciate the transcendence required to move from maiden, made and crone. The themes in the Demeter-Persephone myth are focused upon, betrayal, violation, loss, grief, rage, depression, co-dependence which then transforms into reconciliation and renewal. It is through the understanding of the relationship between Demeter and her brothers Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto that we gather more information regarding deity symbolism. It should be brought to the surface that Egypt was a matriarchy that worshipped the goddess Isis, the queen of heaven who passed freely through our world and the underworld. “Concerning the feast of Demeter...It was the daughters of Danaus who introduced this rite from Egypt and taught it to the Pelasgian women”. The mythic background and the significations of the planetary archetype of Pluto and its affiliated relationships with Demeter & Persephone In the Greek myth, Pluto is the god of the dead and the lord of the underworld. He symbolizes the capacity for self-transformation. We can see him as the alchemist who transforms lead into gold. 2 Vitalist Healing Traditions by Dr. Carina Lopez Ancient astrologers recognized Pluto as having destructive properties associated with the death and rebirth cycle in us all. Its ancient glyph Z, symbolizes a seed being encapsulated by a flower. It is this seed that when buried in the ground away from light, undergoes Pluto’s mysterious transformation. As all seeds, this seed will then plant and allow a new plant to be born. There are many tales and metaphors for this transformative process, like the caterpillar, when she thought the world was over, she became a butterfly. Archetypal Therapy In traditional astrology, there was a belief that planets were the manifestations of the Gods. The planets symbolize the mediators between the divine and the experiences here on Earth. When the planet would make an appearance in the sky, it was as if the archetypal deity had made an appearance in the sky and was bringing its significations to the terrestrial sphere. Carl Jung said that the ancient gods have now withdrawn from the celestial spheres and mythic locations and that they have withdrawn into the personal psyche where they reside as our diseases. When we see manifestations of disease in our lives, it is a signal that some aspect and deity, which is none other than the nature of our own mind, has not been esteemed. The premise of archetypal therapy is by calling up these parts that have been repressed, that are traumatized, and recognizing them we can promote healing. Mythology around the world is humanity’s way of coming to terms, understanding and transforming our lives and our family’s lives. The more we align ourselves with the planets and mythology the more we allow for a deepening of our understanding of the roles we have to play in our lives, the transformations we are meant to endure ensuring a true path to healing. The awareness and the progression of our mind and soul will activate the life force to facilitate healing. Family Constellations Our own mythological stories healing could also be through an ancient Zulu tradition dubbed in the West as Family Constellations. “It is impressive how clearly constellations bring to light the trans generational connection of disease and traumatic event in the patient’s family of origin”-Stephan Hausner. Ritual In order to help one person understand their familial constellation or story, using drumming or other instrument and a circle of people, specific people who formed the circle are asked to enter the circle and move to specific spots in space to represent the ancestors of the person whose story is unfolded. Every placement is made by the person whose story is being reflected and each person in their placement is asked to sense what their placement means and help to unravel the family myth of the person whose story is being represented. Thus, begins a story of exploration into the myth of said individual with the intuitive help of those inside of the circle. 3 Vitalist Healing Traditions by Dr. Carina Lopez Herbal and Homeopathic Support Thuja and abandonment. Opium and sedation. Wheat the great mother. Honoring and acknowledging the Deities Orphic hymn to Pluto Pluto [Plouton], magnanimous, whose realms profound are fix'd beneath the firm and solid ground, In the Tartarian plains remote from fight, and wrapt forever in the depths of night; Terrestrial Jove [Zeus Khthonios], thy sacred ear incline, and, pleas'd, accept thy mystic's hymn divine. Earth's keys to thee, illustrious king belong, its secret gates unlocking, deep and strong. 'Tis thine, abundant annual fruits to bear, for needy mortals are thy constant care. To thee, great king, Avernus is assign'd, the seat of Gods, and basis of mankind. Thy throne is fix'd in Hade's dismal plains, distant, unknown to rest, where darkness reigns; Where, destitute of breath, pale spectres dwell, in endless, dire, inexorable hell; And in dread Acheron, whose depths obscure, earth's stable roots eternally secure. O mighty dæmon, whose decision dread, the future fate determines of the dead, With captive Proserpine [Kore], thro' grassy plains, drawn in a four-yok'd car with loosen'd reins, Rapt o'er the deep, impell'd by love, you flew 'till Eleusina's city rose to view; There, in a wond'rous cave obscure and deep, the sacred maid secure from search you keep, The cave of Atthis, whose wide gates display an entrance to the kingdoms void of day.