Demeter, Goddess of the Lean Harvest By Mary Caelsto

When it comes to the harvest festivals, it's easy to celebrate when there's bounty. The bushels of apples, ears of grain, and the zucchini so plentiful, neighbors need to be begged to take some away, all represent the ideal harvest. And although many of us are far removed from the agrarian lives of our ancestors, we still enjoy the harvest season and what it has to bring.

This year has understandably led to a very lean harvest for many of us. Coming to the part of the year where we celebrate the harvest, it's easy to look around and go "why bother?" Celebrate what? However looking at Demeter can help provide some answers.

Demeter has traditionally been the goddess of the harvest. One of her names includes "bringer of corn, or grain". She was referred to as the "bringer of seasons" and ruled over the cycles of life and death. The latter are seen in conjunction with her daughter Persephone, who must go to the Underworld for part of the year.

Our agrarian ancestors knew the seasons came in lean and bountiful forms. From the frigid barrenness of winter, to the tremulous, tender tides of spring, through the robust and warm summer, to a harvest, where hopefully we find enough to sustain us through another long winter. We see this waxing and waning in our own lives, and although very few of us earn our living from the land, we are undeniably tied to the seasons, and to the cycles over which Demeter rules.

We can bring this into the modern era by looking at one of Demeter's symbols: cereal. A look in the breakfast aisle of your favorite grocery store reveals lots of bounty and lots of grain, in boxed form. Some of these, such as designer brands, cost up to five dollars a box. Others, in plainer packaging, come in simpler forms and cost much less. When our own personal prosperity grows, we might buy the name brands, the ones that promise health benefits and make claims of good taste and natural ingredients. When we have less money, we buy generic, the basics. Right now, a lot of us are looking for the bargains amid Demeter's symbol as we try to start our days.

The truth is, that even as painful as it may be, we should be thankful there is a harvest. Living in Iowa, coming from a farm family, every year there's an actual question as to whether there is going to be a harvest. This year floods wiped out fields in some areas, where droughts took their toll on others. Though we may not be reaping what we have in years past, we can be thankful that we have something. Demeter, the bringer of the seasons, provided something for us. With luck, we'll make it through the winter and can start anew.

Demeter also shows us the range of seasons. We can look to her, and to her living several months without her daughter, to understand that this, too, will pass. As we give thanks this harvest, we know that Persephone returned from the Underworld. She returned to her mother, to Demeter's loving arms. We will return too, and when we do, we will rejoice. So be thankful for what we have, for the harvests we have been able to create. And know that Demeter is watching over us as the Goddess of the lean harvests, and of the bountiful ones, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Caelsto lives in the heartland and writes pagan fiction and nonfiction. She runs Jupiter Gardens Press, a publisher for metaphysical fiction, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy and romance. Her most recent fiction title was the pagan inspirational romance The Wider Circle, and she recently re-released Animal Reiki through Jupiter Gardens Press. You can visit her website at http://marycaelsto.com or visit Jupiter Gardens at http://jupitergardens.com