Embodying Polarity: Integrating the Queen and Princess through Persephone

Dream Weaver
Jun 30
2 min read

Updated: Sep 18

Bouquet of pink and peach roses with dark, leafy greenery in a dimly lit setting conveying a moody, vintage atmosphere.

Persephone’s story has risen to the front of my consciousness in recent months. I resonate with the Queen of the Underworld as I begin to embody the dominant side of my switch identity. Persephone is a maiden when she descends into the underworld for the first time and emerges six months later as a Queen. Her story symbolizes rebirth and transformation, and the life cycles that rule us all. Interpretations of her story run the spectrum from sexual violence to forbidden romance to empowerment and self-determination. However, her story is told or interpreted, they all grapple with the transition from a state of innocence to one of knowledge. Her story speaks to the duality of life. To live we must be willing to die. To know pleasure, we must know suffering. To claim our power, we must honor our vulnerability.

Like Persephone, my own life is marked by transition, duality, and transformation. These similarities lead me to seeing myself as a modern-day scholar in the Temple of Persephone. Studying her story illuminates the tension and conflict within myself. As I settle into the power of my inner Queen, the Princess inside me resists. She fears the softness, tenderness, and care she needs will be lost in the discipline, order, and standards the Queen demands. Persephone reminds me it can all co-exist in harmony. There is a symbiotic relationship between these parts of myself. Leaning into the Queen creates room for the Princess to safely expand. The order the Queen demands is the stability the Princess needs. Similarly, the Queen’s power grows as the Princess’ spirit expands. She brings life to everything she touches, and life must be nurtured by mature and wise minds such as the Queen’s. One does not exist without the other. The Princess is always destined to become the Queen, and the Queen will always be a Princess first. Persephone is a vision of what a little princess can become when she’s bold enough to venture into the underworld and claim her power.