Persephone + Tarot: Death & The High Priestess

BY NICOLE LAU

Introduction to Persephone in Tarot

Persephone's energy flows through multiple tarot cards, most powerfully through Death and The High Priestess, but also touching The Empress, The Star, Judgment, and others. Understanding these connections deepens both your tarot practice and your relationship with Persephone, revealing how her archetypal journey of descent, transformation, and sovereignty appears in the cards.

Death (Major Arcana XIII)

Persephone's Connection

Death is THE Persephone card:

• Transformation through descent
• The death of the old self (Kore dies, Persephone is born)
• Necessary endings
• The underworld journey
• Rebirth after death

Card Meanings Through Persephone's Lens

Upright:

• You're in a Persephone descent
• Something must die for something new to be born
• Transformation is occurring
• Let go of the old identity
• Trust the process of death and rebirth

Reversed:

• Resisting necessary change
• Clinging to what must end
• Fear of transformation
• Stuck between death and rebirth
• Need to surrender to the process

Persephone's Wisdom for Death Card

• Death is not the end but transformation
• What dies will be reborn
• The descent is necessary
• You will emerge as Persephone, not Kore
• Trust the underworld

The High Priestess (Major Arcana II)

Persephone's Connection

The High Priestess embodies Persephone as Queen:

• Keeper of mysteries
• Sovereign in the underworld
• Holder of hidden knowledge
• The veil between worlds
• Intuition and the unconscious

Card Meanings Through Persephone's Lens

Upright:

• Access to underworld wisdom
• Trust your intuition
• Secrets and mysteries
• The unconscious speaking
• Sovereignty and power

Reversed:

• Disconnected from intuition
• Ignoring the unconscious
• Secrets causing problems
• Need to descend and listen

Persephone's Wisdom for High Priestess

• You hold mysteries
• Trust what you know in the depths
• The unconscious has wisdom
• You are sovereign
• Some knowledge is secret

Other Major Arcana Connections

The Empress (III)

Persephone as Maiden/Spring:

• Fertility and abundance
• Spring's renewal
• The maiden aspect (Kore)
• Life and growth
• Demeter-Persephone connection

The Lovers (VI)

Persephone and Hades:

• Sacred partnership
• Integration of opposites
• Choice and consequence
• The pomegranate choice

The Hermit (IX)

Persephone in the Underworld:

• Solitude and introspection
• Inner journey
• Seeking wisdom in darkness
• The descent inward

Wheel of Fortune (X)

Persephone's Cycle:

• The eternal cycle of descent and return
• Six months here, six months there
• The turning of seasons
• What goes down comes up

Strength (VIII)

Persephone's Sovereignty:

• Inner strength through ordeal
• Taming the shadow (Hades)
• Courage in the underworld
• Gentle power

The Hanged Man (XII)

The Suspension:

• Between worlds (underworld and upper world)
• Sacrifice and surrender
• New perspective through descent
• The liminal space

Temperance (XIV)

Integration:

• Balancing maiden and queen
• Integrating light and shadow
• The middle path
• Harmony of opposites

The Star (XVII)

Persephone's Return:

• Hope after darkness
• Renewal and rebirth
• Spring's promise
• Light after the underworld

The Moon (XVIII)

The Unconscious:

• The underworld realm
• Illusion and truth
• The shadow
• Intuition and dreams

Judgment (XX)

Resurrection:

• Rising from the underworld
• Rebirth and renewal
• The return transformed
• Answering the call

The World (XXI)

Integration Complete:

• Wholeness achieved
• The cycle complete
• Maiden and queen integrated
• Sovereignty claimed

Minor Arcana Connections

Cups (Emotional/Water)

• Ace of Cups: New emotional beginning (spring return)
• Five of Cups: Grief and loss (Demeter's sorrow)
• Six of Cups: Innocence (Kore in the meadow)
• Queen of Cups: Emotional sovereignty (Persephone as queen)

Swords (Mental/Air)

• Three of Swords: Heartbreak (the abduction)
• Eight of Swords: Feeling trapped (captivity)
• Queen of Swords: Clear boundaries (Persephone's sovereignty)

Wands (Spiritual/Fire)

• Ace of Wands: New beginning (spring renewal)
• Eight of Wands: Swift change (the abduction)
• Queen of Wands: Passionate sovereignty

Pentacles (Material/Earth)

• Ace of Pentacles: New growth (spring)
• Four of Pentacles: Holding on (resistance to change)
• Queen of Pentacles: Earthly sovereignty (Demeter aspect)

Persephone Tarot Spreads

The Descent Spread (5 cards)

1. Kore: Who you were before descent
2. The Abduction: What dragged you into transformation
3. The Underworld: What you're facing in the depths
4. The Pomegranate: What you're integrating
5. Persephone: Who you're becoming

The Cycle Spread (6 cards)

1. Spring: What is being born/renewed
2. Summer: What is in full bloom
3. Autumn: What is ending/being released
4. Winter: What is in the underworld/gestation
5. The Lesson: What the cycle is teaching
6. Integration: How to honor the whole cycle

Maiden-Queen Spread (4 cards)

1. The Maiden: Your innocent/light aspect
2. The Queen: Your sovereign/shadow aspect
3. Integration: How to hold both
4. Guidance: Persephone's message

Shadow Work Spread (7 cards)

1. Conscious self: What you know about yourself
2. Shadow: What you've repressed
3. The Gift: Power in the shadow
4. The Challenge: What makes integration difficult
5. The Pomegranate: What to integrate
6. The Throne: Sovereignty to claim
7. Persephone's Wisdom: Her guidance

Reading Tarot with Persephone

Invoking Persephone for Readings

"Persephone, Queen of Mysteries, guide this reading. Reveal what needs to be seen, illuminate what is hidden, and speak truth through these cards. Hail Persephone!"

Persephone as Significator

Use Death or High Priestess as significator when:

• Doing shadow work readings
• Exploring transformation
• Seeking underworld wisdom
• Working with descent themes

Interpreting Cards Through Persephone's Lens

Ask:

• Is this a descent or return card?
• Does this represent maiden or queen energy?
• What is dying? What is being born?
• What shadow is being revealed?
• What sovereignty is being claimed?

Persephone's Tarot Wisdom

Key Teachings

• Death is transformation, not ending
• The High Priestess holds mysteries you must discover yourself
• Cycles are natural: descent and return, death and rebirth
• Shadow work is necessary for wholeness
• Sovereignty is claimed through the journey

When Persephone Cards Appear

Death: You're in transformation. Let go. Trust the process.

High Priestess: Listen to your intuition. Trust your inner knowing. You hold mysteries.

Both together: Major transformation through accessing deep wisdom. Powerful descent and integration.

Creating a Persephone Tarot Practice

Daily Draw

• Pull a card asking: "Persephone, what do I need to know today?"
• Interpret through her lens of descent, transformation, sovereignty

New and Full Moon Readings

• New Moon: Descent themes, shadow work, what to release
• Full Moon: Return themes, integration, what to celebrate

Seasonal Readings

• Spring Equinox: Persephone's return spread
• Autumn Equinox: Persephone's descent spread

Conclusion

Persephone's energy flows through the tarot, most powerfully in Death and The High Priestess, but touching many other cards. Understanding these connections deepens your tarot practice and your relationship with the goddess of transformation, mysteries, and sovereignty. The cards become gateways to her wisdom, tools for navigating your own descents and returns, and mirrors reflecting your journey from maiden to queen.

Hail Persephone! May the cards reveal your mysteries, guide our descents, and illuminate our paths to sovereignty!