Myths of the descent into and return from the Underworld have been great companions to me. Especially the descent of Inanna, and the Demeter/Persephone story. Both of these stories have the element of a lost other-self who must be retrieved from the below. But neither story is a simple rescue mission. There is so much richness in these stories for every stage of life. As a young woman I resonated with Persephone, her victimhood and her power and her pomegranate-stained lips. Through midlife Inanna spoke to me, about being called below just as one is at the height of one's powers. Eldering now and Demeter's story speaks to me of metabolizing grief, mothering adult people, transforming the mantle of power, and wandering in search of one's own temple.