Using her extensive knowledge of Jungian psychology and the work of psychiatrist Jean Shinoda Bolen, Montreal, Canada-based life coach Giuseppina “Penny” Mancuso developed her self-development program Goddess Me. Through her individualized coaching sessions, Penny Mancuso helps her clients discover the inner goddess archetype, which is based on the major goddesses from Greek mythology. The goddess Demeter represents the nurturing and motherly archetype.

Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and harvest, is described in mythology through her role as a mother. When her daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, lord of the underworld, Demeter went without food or sleep to search for her. After 9 days of fruitless efforts, she approached Zeus for help, but was rebuked. In her pain, Demeter went into hiding, which triggered widespread crop failure and famine.

During her exile, she became a surrogate mother to a young prince. Eventually, Persephone was allowed to leave the underworld to see her mother, but only for part of the year. When Demeter was reunited with her child, her happiness promoted the growing conditions seen in the spring, summer, and fall. Every winter, Persephone must return to Hades. Demeter’s sadness is reflected in the bare trees and dried crops.