The Labyrinth

Only 1 week until Summer Solstice 🌞

Tonight is the New Moon in the sign of Gemini. This New Moon is all about connections and expressions with others and ourselves. We may hear from people we haven't heard from for a while. There will be reunions with friends and family. We sometimes need to have deep personal conversations with other people and ourselves to figure out where we are and where we are going. Our emotions will feel raw at this time, Don't hold back your thoughts and feelings on this New Moon, let them out and tell people how you really feel.

This is a time of great transition, it is a time to let go of the past and to look to the future. Life is moving forward swiftly now, embrace changes and steer them in the direction you want them to go in. Allow a fresh perspective to take hold of you. Let today and everyday be the first day of your life. The past does not equal the future. There is unlimited potential in the spirit. Keep your mind open. Open your heart and let the light in. A new day is dawning for you.

The Gemini New Moon is about communication and using your intellect. Be smarter and wiser, look at your life in a new way, think on things, make plans for the future, use the Gemini influence to help you reach a higher understanding and propel you in a direction you want to go. There will be choices to be made coming soon, leaving you with decisions to make about your future. When you come across multiple choices or two choices and are at a cross roads, rather than becoming scattered like leaves blowing in the wind, quiet down and be still, connect with your Spirit and your higher consciousness and ask for the answer.

This is a dreamy New Moon filled with possibilities and promises. The past few months have been challenging for most of us, many of us had a rude awakening in one form or another and life may have seemed rather hard of late, but with this New Moon things will start to look up. Enjoy the new energy as the Moon starts it’s waxing phase after tonight and will bring us into a new place of positive and good energy. Expect answers to any unsolved questions.

This is a good time to go deep within yourself and see things as they really are. Listen to your intuition. Your instincts will never fail you. The logical mind can be deceived, the eyes and ears can be fooled. They see what they want to see, they hear what they want to hear. However, your Inner self cannot be fooled. Live your life from your authentic self, from inside out. Only you know what you really need and what needs to be done. The power is in your hands.

The New Moon in Gemini is a time for calm and peace. The Cosmos is in perfect harmony at this time. This is a brilliant time to make dreams and wishes come true or just spoil yourself with luxury and enjoy the peace and tranquillity. Meditate on any questions you may have and the answers will come to you. Let the winds of change from this air sign blow over you and take you on a journey of discovery. This is the perfect time to start any new projects or learning something new.

Have a blessed New Moon, may the Goddess watch over you.

Happy World Tarot Day! Today is a good day to pick up your Tarot cards, give them a shuffle and pull a few. Or give me a call and schedule a reading today!

Be sure to share what you pulled in the comments!

Tonight will be the Full Flower Moon, named because of all the flowers blossoming and blooming at this time. May's Full Moon is also known as the Bright Moon because it is very bright and the Corn Planting Moon because this is the time when farmers would plant corn for it to be ready for the harvest.

Tonight's Full Moon will also be a Supermoon. The Supermoon occurs when the Moon is the closest to the earth more than any other time of the year, making the Moon appear up to 30% bigger and brighter than usual. The Supermoon not only affects nature such as the tides and wildlife it also affects us, our emotions will be heightened, our senses will be sharp, things that were hidden or in the shadows can now be seen. A Supermoon amplifies the effects of a normal Moon, we will be feeling ultra-sensitive and emotional at this time.

Like nature at this time, we are blossoming, we are growing day by day with the strength of the Sun. Like solar panels we are soaking up the suns energy. The Full Moon is in Scorpio and it shines its light in the darkest places, encouraging us to peer in and see what’s there. Things that were once hidden will show themselves to us, you cannot hide anything from a Scorpio. We will be able to see ourselves and others in a whole new light and look at our lives more clearly.

Like a scorpion shedding its skin as a form of renewal, the Full Moon in Scorpio calls to each of us to shed the layers that are bringing a rebirth, allowing a new skin to emerge. Welcome change, allow your light to pe*****te the dark areas of fear, shame and deep seated resentment that lies hidden underneath. Give yourself permission to heal and move forward in your life, use the potential of the Full Moon to symbolically die to be reborn.

This Full Moon emotions will be raw, we may find we are feeling a flow of different emotions and a feeling of being pulled in many different directions. There will be storms both in weather and in our lives. We may have trouble sleeping and when we do we may experience weird and vivid dreams. Don't worry this will pass in the next few days.

The Scorpio Full Moon will bring lessons in self transformation pulling you toward a more effective destiny, such as moving on to bigger and better things. Continue to maintain balance as you clean up the residue of what is already fractured in your life to allow new and positive beginnings to start. We are now in a new era, and are on the threshold of things beginning to develop a lot more quickly than they have in recent months. While things may still feel somewhat slow, they are about to quicken in a big way.

These are magnificent times. Change and life shifts are to be welcomed. Let the energy of this Full Moon help you see where you are emotionally stuck and resistant. Surrender to the universal gifts that are coming your way. Let the waters of Scorpio wash over you and cleanse your emotional pain and heal you.

Full Moon blessings, may the Goddess watch over you

Have a happy Friday the 13th.

It's Friday the 13th, a day that people either embrace or fear. A day that doesn't usually come around too often.

More than 60 million people worldwide claim to be affected by a fear of Friday 13th. Some of them won’t go to work, drive cars or get out of bed on this day. Many hospitals have no room 13, while airports don't have a Gate 13 and a lot of hotels don't have a floor 13. The official word for the fear of Friday 13th is paraskevidekatriaphobia.

The belief that Friday 13th is bad luck may have sprang from Norse legend when on Friday, 12 Gods were joined by a 13th God, Loki who was a cruel one, he brought upon humans great misfortune. Loki crashed a party at Valhalla disguised as an old hag and took advantage of the Norse virtue of hospitality and to never turn away a needy guest. The Gods allowed him in and fed him thinking he was a nomad soul passing through. Valhalla was the banquet hall of the Gods. The Gods where enjoying a great feast were Balder, who was Odin's son was letting people throw spears at him to show his strength and courage. There were 12 guests present at the hall, they were the greatest of the Norse Gods, until Loki arrived. Loki the trickster Norse God was the 13th guest, the affair turned grim when Balder the beloved son of Odin, the God of light, joy, and reconciliation was killed when Loki tricked Balder's sightless brother Hod into throwing a spear of mistletoe at him. Mistletoe was the only thing on earth that could kill Balder. By doing this Loki brought about the promise of Ragnarök which in Norse mythology will be doomsday, when Odin will get revenge on Loki. There will be a great battle between the Gods, this will bring about the end of the world ushering in a new dawn where Balder will be resurrected and rule in place of Odin.

On Friday 13th in the year 1307 thousands of soldier monks of the powerful Knights Templar were massacred by French king Louis IV it is said that blood ran through the streets like a river. Many people believe this is where our fear of the date springs from. The Pope of the church in Rome in Conjunction with the King of France, carried out a secret death warrant Against "the Knights Templar". The Templar's were terminated as heretics, never again to hold the power that they had held for so long. The Grand Master Jacques DeMolay was arrested and before he was killed, he was tortured and crucified, this was carried out on Friday 13th and there were 13 High Templar's which ruled the Knights Templar.

In Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesdays dated the 13th not Fridays are considered unlucky. In Italian culture, Friday the 17th is considered unlucky.

The number 13 appears many times on the U.S. $1 bill there are 13 stars, 13 stripes, 13 steps, 13 arrows and even has an olive branch with 13 leaves on it. Also there were 13 colonies in British North America. There are 13 stars and stripes on the original American flag.

From a religious standpoint, Muslims tout Friday as the day Allah created Adam, legend has it that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the apple on a Friday and later died on a Friday and Christians consider Friday as the day on which Christ was crucified by the Romans. Also the number 13 in the Christian faith is the number of guests at the Last Supper with the 13th guest at the table being the traitor Judas. When Christians combine this day and number the combination can only hold special significance. In Judaism The Bar Mitzva is held at age 13 on a Friday the Jewish Sabbath day. The Bible also lists 13 attributes of God.

There are also 13 Witches to a Coven. Which is true for many traditional Covens.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day.

Beltane blessings to everyone!!!

Beltane blessings to all.

Beltane is a major Pagan festival called a Sabbat. It is the union of the God and Goddess. The word Beltane means Bel's Fire or Bright Fire. It is named after the God Bel an ancient Celtic Sun God. It is primarily a fire festival and it is traditional to build a fire on Beltane night to honour the Sun Gods.

Beltane is a fertility festival, This is the time when the God and Goddess come together, The God plants his seed and the Goddess will become pregnant with the harvest to come in the next few months. Beltane is the height of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earths energy is very strong and potent at the minute with new life is blossoming and blooming everywhere you look. Beltane is the start of the farming calendar.

Fire is believed to have purifying qualities, it cleanses and rejuvenates both the land and the people. The ritual welcoming of the sun and the lighting of the fires was also believed to ensure fertility of the land and the people. Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield.

In Celtic times it would be traditional to build a big bonfire in the centre of the village and have a big feast, young men and women would dance around the maypole, the pole represents the God while the ribbons wrapped around the pole represent the Goddess. On Beltane many people would marry in a handfasting (Pagan wedding) People wishing to find love or conceive would jump over a Belfire for luck in love and fertility.

Light a small belfire on Beltane and make wishes into the flames. Let the fire burn itself out. Burn anything that has negative connotations in the fire. You can also write down any messages we want to tell passed loved ones and burn them in the Belfire and the message is said to reach them in the Summerlands.

On our alters we would put things that are of polarity to represent the God and Goddess, Sun and Moon, Male and Female, Masculine and Feminine, light and dark. Black, yellow, orange or gold candles to represent the God and white, blue and silver candles to represent the Goddess. Fill your alters with birds feathers that fall around at this time and any wild plants that have sprouted.

On Beltane we celebrate the abundance of the earth, it is a happy time when we give thanks for all we have in our lives and look forward to the bright sunny days ahead. We celebrate the coming together of the God and the Goddess and the gifts they will bestow upon the earth when the Goddess will become pregnant and give birth to the harvest to come.

May your Beltane be memorable and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing. May the God and Goddess watch over you.

Tonight is the second New Moon in April making it a Black Moon. Take a deep breath, you’ve made it to the end of a hectic month. The Celts and the Druids seen a Black Moon as a time of great changes and an omen of a big event coming. The Romans and Greeks seen a Black Moon as a symbol of good luck. The last month has been very hard for many of us but things will start to settle down now and fall into place. When a Black Moon happens it amplifies the effects the Moon usually has over us, our emotions will be heightened, our intuition will be on high alert. It also heightens the magical affects of the Moon which is why this is also known as the Witches Moon, in fact the Black Moon isn't a scientific term at all it is a very ancient term used in witchcraft.

Tonight is the New Moon in the sign of Ta**us bringing with it a very intense period of new discoveries and new awakenings. Truths will be spoken and what was hidden will now be uncovered. So much of what has been suppressed is coming to the light, This New Moon is about truth and seeing what is really there and not what we want to see.

Tonight's New Moon is a good time to commit to personal goals that express the positive energies of the sign of the Bull. It's time to enjoy life's simple and physical pleasures, savour good food and enjoy activities that bring us in touch with nature and with our bodies. It's time to stop and smell the roses and to become more aware of what makes us feel comfortable and secure. With this potent Ta**us energy, we have the chance to make important changes in our lives. It's time to make some solid yet realistic plans and to set the stage for reaping the rewards from our new beginnings.
This will be an emotional New Moon, Your feelings may become overwhelming, you may feel a flood of different emotions all coming at you all at once, you may even find yourself becoming empathic and feeling others emotions. We may find that we have been carrying around a lot of heavy emotional energy that belongs to our friends, lovers or relatives and we will need to recognise that it is time to try to off load it and to stop feeling responsible for how other people feel.

The Ta**us New Moon is about strengthening our sense of security. It is a time for re-evaluating our relationship with money and possessions and to figure out what it is that truly makes us happy and fulfilled. It's a time for considering new ways of increasing our income or earning power. We should be concentrating on what it is we can do to increase our own feelings of self-worth. We are asked to get in touch with what it is that we truly value and want in our lives and to part with those things or situations that are not contributing to our feelings of worthiness. This includes identifying those things that give us a false sense of security.

This is a time for getting back to to nature and seeing the beauty all around us at the moment, trees are full with foliage, flowers are starting to open up and bloom, fields are lush and green, days are bright and warm, birds are singing. Look at the beauty in our lives and be grateful for all you have. Try to stay positive and steer clear of negativity, look at the good things in your life and look at how to improve the bad things. Ta**us gives us strength so now is a good time to get any tough jobs done you may have been putting off.

Use this New Moon to grow both materialistically and spiritually. Nature is giving us so many gifts at the moment don't be afraid to take them and to dream of bigger and better things, ask for more, do more, be more. Look at what may be holding you back and get rid of it. This is a powerful time of healing and cleansing our spirits, to release the old and stale energy to allow a new and more positive energy in.

Have a blessed New Moon, may the Goddess watch over you.

Beltane is almost upon us.

Beltane is a major Pagan festival called a Sabbat. It is the union of the God and Goddess, the Goddess will become pregnant with the harvest to come. The word Beltane means 'Bel's Fire'. It is named after the God Bel an ancient Celtic Sun God. Beltane is a fire festival and is traditional to build a fire on Beltane night to honour the Sun Gods.

Beltane is a fertility festival, it is the height of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earths energy is very strong and potent at this time, with new life everywhere, Beltane is the start of the farming calendar.

In Celtic times it would be traditional to build a big bonfire in the centre of the village and have a big feast, young men and women would dance around the maypole while many people would marry in a handfasting (Pagan wedding) People wishing to find love or conceive would jump over a Belfire for luck in love and fertility

On Beltane we celebrate the abundance of the earth, it is a happy time when we give thanks for all we have in our lives and look forward to the bright sunny days ahead. We celebrate the coming together of the God and the Goddess and the harvest gifts they will bestow upon the earth.

Beltane starts on April 30th at 12 midday and ends on May 1st at Midnight. The day is mainly celebrated on May 1st.

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter and Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, a resurrection of the earth after winter. One of the most ancient resurrection stories was that of Ishtar the Babylonian Spring Goddess. Read her legend below.

Ishtar was the Lady of the Gods, the Goddess of fertility. Her husband Tammuz, the great love of her youth had died when he was still very young. When she finally got over her husbands death she had fallen in love with Gilgamesh, the great king but he had spurned her advances as he loved another God, Ishtar was very upset at this. Ishtar was the Goddess of Spring and fertility and kept all things growing, loving, lusting and mating on earth, great temples were erected in her honor.

In Babylon, the dead were sent to the Underworld, a place of darkness ruled over by the Goddess Irkalla. It was said that in this place they lived on dust and mud. After being rejected by Gilgamesh, Ishtar became depressed and decided she would descend into the Underworld to be with Tammuz her husband. So dressed in her finest garments, brilliant jewellery and her high crown, Ishtar entered the cave that leads into the Underworld. Irkalla’s realm was surrounded by seven walls, each with its own gate that had to be passed to get to the dark place where the dead resided.

When she got to the first gate, Ishtar called out to the watchman: “Watchman, please open this gate and let me enter!” The watchman’s face peered at her from over the gate. He didn't say anything, but he didn't open the gate either. So she called out again: “Watchman, if you don’t open this gate for me I will force it open, I will break it down and I will set free all the dead that reside in this dreadful dark place. I will set them free from their gloom and the rule of your merciless mistress and take them to the land of the living! The dead will be so plentiful on earth that they will take over from the living!”

Nedu, as the watchman was called, looked at this fine lady, her crowned head held high in her splendid attire and said: ”Please lady, don’t break down the gate. I will go and take your message to the Lady Irkalla. Please wait until I get back". When Irkalla heard that Ishtar demanded to be admitted to her realm, she was so angry the place shook and turned ice cold. Irkalla thought she would teach this intruder a lesson and instructed her watchman to admit the proud lady. Nedu returned to the first gate and opened all the bolts and locks. “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady” he said. “Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took Ishtar’s crown. She wanted to know why he had taken her crown. “Oh lady,” he said, “if you wish to enter you must submit to the law of our Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head and Nedu took off the crow, she went through the first gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the second gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks, and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took the eight pointed star which adorned her neck. She wanted to know why he had taken her jewel. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head and they took her necklace, her radiance gone she went through the second gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the third gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took the gold and bejewelled bracelets from her wrists. She wanted to know why he had taken her bracelets. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head, her splendour gone without her magnificent gold ornaments and went through the third gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the fourth gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took the shoes off her feet. She wanted to know why he had taken her shoes. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head, her radiance gone, and without her magnificent gold ornaments, barefooted she went through the fourth gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the fifth gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks, and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took the splendid veil that covered her face. She wanted to know why he had taken her veil. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head, her radiance gone, and without her magnificent gold ornaments, barefaced and barefooted she went through the fifth gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the sixth gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks, and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took her magnificent outer robe. She wanted to know why he had taken her outer robe. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” She bent her head, her radiance gone, and without her magnificent gold ornaments, without the protection of her outer robe, barefaced and barefooted she went through the sixth gate.

Ishtar walked the short distance to the seventh gate. The watchman opened all the bolts and locks, and said: “Enter into the realm of Irkalla, fine lady. Welcome to the place from where nobody ever returns.” As he spoke, he took her dress. She wanted to know why he had taken her dress, leaving her quite naked. “Oh lady,” he said, “this is the law of Lady Irkalla!” And naked now, she bent her head, her radiance gone, and without her magnificent gold ornaments, without the protection of her outer robe, barefaced and barefooted she went through the seventh gate, where she found Irkalla.

Irkalla, the Queen of the Underworld had the head of a lioness and the body of a woman; in her arms she carried her pet, a deadly serpent. She summoned Belisari, the lady of the desert who was her scribe, and who came carrying the clay tablets on which all of Irkalla’s decrees would be written down. Behind these two the dead gathered. There was no light in their eyes; they were dressed not in cloth but feathers, and instead of arms and hands they had the wings of birds. They lived in darkness. Ishtar became frightfully anxious seeing them, and she wished she had never ventured in this dark place. She had expected to find Tammuz here, but now she realized that this was a hopeless quest.

Desperate, she begged Irkalla to allow her to return to the land of the living. Irkalla uttered a cold and contemptuous laugh and when she spoke it was as if an icy wind blew against Ishtar’s naked body. Irkalla said: “Ishtar, you may be the Lady of the Gods, but you are in my realm now, and nobody returns from this place of darkness. This is called the House of Darkness for good reason, and whoever enters here, magistrate or warrior, king or shepherd, milkmaid or goddess, can never return. Whoever enters this house has no more need of light. Dust will be your bread and mud will be your meat. Your dress will be a cloak of feathers. The gates are already bolted behind you, lady!”

Having said this, Irkalla summoned Namtar, the demon of the plague. Namtar appeared from the darkness, a viper’s head on a human body, naked underneath a cloak made of bones, and eagles claws instead of feet. He embraced Ishtar, making sure that the plague spread over her whole body. Feathers grew on her, and the light disappeared from her eyes. She tasted dust and ate mud. All memory of her past existence, of her great love Tammuz, disappeared with the light.

On earth a great change came when Ishtar descended into the world. Love and desire became strangers to man and animal alike. Birds no longer sang. Bulls no longer searched out the cows. Stallions were no longer attracted to mares. Rams no longer cared for ewes. Wives no longer caressed their husbands when they returned from business or war. Husbands no longer longed to lie with their wives. The women in Ishtar’s temple became lonely, nobody wanted to spend time drinking and singing and making merry with them.

Shamash, the sun god, was deeply perturbed when he saw the changes that had befallen earth. He could foresee the disaster that awaited earth. Without procreation, without regeneration, there would be no life left on earth once the people and animals who were there died off. The beings that the gods had created would all be extinct. He knew this was because of Ishtar’s descent into the Underworld, but he also knew that his power was not great enough to overcome Irkalla. So Shamash went to see Ea, the great god, and told him that earth’s creatures were not renewing themselves. “How is this possible?” asked Ea. Shamash then related that Ishtar had descended to the Underworld, in search of Tammuz, and had not returned.

Ea then created a being he called Udushunamir, which he made devoid of all emotion or fear. With the power of all the gods, Ea sent him as an emissary to the Underworld court of Irkalla, where he would demand the water of life from the dark queen. Because Udushunamir had been created by Ea, the great god, Irkalla had no power over this creature and could not stop it entering her realm. So Udushunamir entered the Underworld, and stood before Irkalla, where he demanded in the name of the great gods that Irkalla provide him with the water of life and that Ishtar be brought from the darkness. Of course Irkalla was furious at this demand. Her body trembled with rage as she roared and cursed both Ishtar and the emissary and all the gods everywhere, but to no avail. Udushunamir, being devoid of all emotion or fear, was unaffected either by the terrible sights in this dark place or by Irkalla’s curses. Irkalla could do nothing but submit, and she ordered the water of life be given to this creature, and so it was. She then summoned Namtar and ordered him to bring Ishtar the Lady of the Gods from the Darkness.

Ishtar, covered in feathers and her feathers covered in dust, was brought before Udushunamir, who then liberally sprinkled the water of life all over her. The dust fell off Ishtar. The mud fell off her and the feathers and bird’s wings fell off her. She was alive again. So she stood before her enemy, Irkalla, her head still bowed, colourless, weaker than a newborn human, just as naked and shaking like a leaf in the storm, but dead no longer, Irkalla starred in fury at Ishtar but could not stop her leaving.

Udushunamir guided her through the darkness to the seventh gate, where Nadu the watchman handed her the dress he had taken from her earlier. She covered her nakedness with it. Udushunamir guided her to the sixth gate. The watchman opened it and gave her back her outer garment, which she put on over her dress. Udushunamir guided her to the fifth gate. The watchman opened it and he handed her back her splendid veil. She took the veil and covered her bare face. Udushunamir guided her to the fourth gate, where the watchman handed her back her shoes. She put them on her bare feet, and proceeded through the fourth gate. Udushunamir guided her to the third gate. The watchman opened it and handed her back her bejewelled bracelets. She took the bracelets and put them on her bare wrists. Udushunamir guided her to the second gate. The watchman opened it and gave her back the magnificent eight pointed star. Ishtar accepted the jewel and put it back on her neck. Udushunamir guided her to the first gate. The watchman opened it and gave her back her high crown. She took it in her hands, and put it back on her head. Now Ishtar, her garments and ornaments reinstated, could leave the realm of Irkalla.

When she emerged from the cave, the earth was silent. There was no birdsong. No sounds came from the herds of cows and goats. No sailors’ songs came from the harbour. No music came from her temple. But as she walked from the cave an inner light shone bright inside her and her power returned, her neck straightened and her head bowed no longer, her splendour shone brilliantly and she walked as a goddess once more, a smile on her face she breathed in the air and felt the sun shine on her face. The stallion bayed and the bull bellowed. The rams reared high. Soldiers and merchants alike made excuses to rush home to feel their wives’ fond embraces. The women in Ishtar’s temple picked up their instruments and sang beguiling words to the men passing by below. All of creation rejoiced in the return of Ishtar. And all the gods rejoiced too, knowing that their creations would renew themselves and would survive to honor and serve them once more.

The Goddess Persephone is also taken to the underworld and is resurrected from death in the Spring.