Persephone Dark Moon Bath

"To she who glides the silver crescent moon boat through the dark still waters of our becoming"
~Demetrius George"

 

I recently attended the Waking Persephone Dance Festival in Seattle. It was a wonderful weekend full of dance, spirituality and change. You can read all about my experience here. I am thrilled to have Persephone’s presence back in my life. I have worked with her before, but she had been silent for several years. She first began to whisper to me again when my friend first told me about the Waking Persephone festival during lunch about a year ago. I had looked at the website, but realized that there was little chance that I would make it all the way to the Pacific North West. I thought,  “perhaps I will apply to teach next year too and then I will end up there.” I dismissed this first call back into her embrace. Weeks later I began reading Village Witch by Cassandra Latham. I absolutely love Cassandra Latham! I love how she is grumpy, real and strong. I love how she has been through so much, yet has so much to offer! I loved every page of her book; it really helped me see that all the trials, abuses and traumas of my life were for a reason. In her book she speaks of Persephone’s Children, which she referenced came from the book “Mysteries of the Dark Moon” This was the second call and I ignored it again. Well the Spirits do have mysterious ways about them and when they want you to go in a direction they open doors! Time went on and in a strange turn of events we suddenly moved from Arizona to Portland Oregon, just 3 hours away from the Waking Persephone festival. I waited and procrastinated until I couldn’t anymore! I broke down, I registered for 4 witchy based dance classes. Then in an even stranger turn of events I was revisiting the Village Witch book and I decided to finally break down and get Mysteries of the Dark Moon. No coincidence it arrived right around the time of Waking Persephone! 

I opened the book and, like I always do, I flipped around devouring the information I craved before starting at the beginning and reading the whole book. I got to the section on Persephone and I began to read, it spoke of her sexual trauma which I know all too well and as I read through the book. I began to see patterns and key words appear on the page. I then slipped into trance through bibliomancy. I saw myself naked, being cleansed with water, rose and the blood red juice of the pomegranate. The scene changed as if I was now getting instructions. I saw myself in my sacred bath, filled with black salts, roses and juicy pomegranate seeds and red blood like juice covering my body. I understood that this was the healing I had been asking for. She was back in my life and that this was the dedication to her and to heal through her ways. I did not hesitate, I grabbed the pomegranate in my fridge and went to the bathroom, I cleansed myself in warm waters and rose and then without care for my hair or where the seeds popped and sprayed I covered myself in blood red juice covering the walls of the shower with red and the floor with pulp…


This is just the beginning. During the Dark Moons she has asked that I worship her in this way; with her sacred fruit and a journey to the underworld. So just in time for Samhain and of course on each dark moon I look forward to spending time in her death like embrace… 

Here is my recipe, feel free to tweak it how you feel fit. Working with Persephone can be incredibly rewarding and powerful for those that have suffered through traumatic events in their lives. Will you join me in by honoring this powerful Goddess with a healing bath in honor of the dark goddess Persephone?

You will need...
·         ½ cup pomegranate juice
·         1 apple sliced so the pentagram shows
·         1 pomegranate cut into quarters
·         1 cup Epsom or black lava salt
·         Red Rose petals

Cowry Shell Divination

Cowry Shells have many different sizes and colors. The ones we are most familiar with are about 1/2 inch long. They can get as large as 2-3 inches in some cases. They are beautiful very feminine shells. Boasting beautiful colors, round womanly shapes, and very feminine lips. Treasured for thousands of years by many different cultures this prized shell can make an excellent bath divination tool. 


My Bathtub has a nice little corner which I have made into a altar space to the Water Spirits, Mermaids, and Sulis. (And yes there is a little Bast in there too! My cats like to take baths with me, what can I say) Here in a little offering bowl shaped like a godess I hold many little sea treasures. Inside is a 1.5 inch Cowry shell. I use this shell durring my spiritual baths for simple yes/no answers. 

First I have "trained" my shell. Spoken to it and told it that the slit or mouth side up is a "yes" and the lips side down (rounded side up) is a "no" if the shell lands on its side it is a maybe/unknown. I sit in my bath, candle lit, in a meditative state. I wait till the waters calm and hold the shell veritcal just under the surface of the water. I ask my questions and let the shell fall. If it lands with the lips facing up the answer is yes, if it falls with the rounded part up it is a no. If it lands on its side it is a maybe/not now/more info. 

When you are selecting your shell, try to use one you have found, if you can not find a large enough one, you can buy it. Make sure to cleanse it. Before you train it, let it drop several times to make sure that the shell is able to fall all 3 sides a number of different times. Once you have been successful train the shell with your yes/no/maybe. Give it a try and let me know your results!