Ceres, the Earth Mother Who is Like God

Image: Collage of gig car receipt and image of Ceres, California in the background.

Ceres, the Asteroid Goddess, first made herself known to me on January 26, 2020. This night was the final gathering of a 4-week Womb & Blood Medicine circle hosted by Marilu Shinn. Every Sunday night that January, Marilu gathered a group of women in her home to discuss and share about the 4 archetypes of the Moon and how us women embody these energies through our body and blood cycles. On the evening of the 26th, Marilu led us through a womb rite.

It is significant that Ceres showed up in my life on that evening because she is connected to the Blood Mysteries of women and the womb. I learned this in 2022, after reading about her in Demetra George’s book, The Asteroid Goddesses. Demetra writes, “Ceres as a goddess of death functions as the matrix which receives the dead for rebirth. The entrance to rebirth is through the womb. Thus Ceres…rules over the women’s ‘blood transformation mysteries’” (pg. 58). She also writes that, “[The rites of Ceres] are still taking place today, as reported by psychotherapists who have observed the symbols of the ancient initiatory process emerging in their patients’ dreams and fantasies. Thus, Ceres’ rites of passage are now being lived out on the inner planes as stages of psychic transformation” (pg. 45). I agree with Demetra George that Ceres’ rites are still taking place, and I’ll add that her rites also happen in waking reality as part of everyday life.

Ceres came into my life as an answer to prayers for my health. In February 2019, I stopped taking birth control and started calling in womb healing for myself. At the time I didn’t even know what I meant by this, but I knew it was what I needed. In late September 2019, a health condition that is labeled as an ‘autoimmune disorder’ showed up in my body. Through dreams, messages from my ancestors and guides, and my intuition, I self diagnosed the condition on February 27, 2020 as lichen sclerosus. A doctor confirmed my diagnosis on August 27, 2020, and said the only solution was steroids for the rest of my life. I knew that wasn’t true and I also knew it meant I was going to have to change a lot of things in my life to bring balance to my body.

Change can be understood as death of what has been to be reborn anew, which is the realm of Ceres. By Autumn of 2020, it was clear that Ceres is supporting me through a season of transformation; death of who I’ve been and birthing who I came on Earth to be.

*Astrological notes- Ceres is in my 6th House in Taurus, and ruled by Venus because Venus rules Taurus. Venus is in my 9th House in Leo, and ruled by the Sun because Sun rules Leo. My Sun is located in the 9th House conjunct Demeter (the Greek name for Ceres). The 9th House is connected to intuition, higher thought, spirituality and religion, travel, and called the House of God. Ceres at 17 degrees Taurus and Venus at 16 degrees Leo squaring each other. Squares are challenging aspects that may bring rewards when you can learn and integrate the lesson. The 6th House can indicate health and body challenges that a person may need to work with throughout their life. To work with the 6th House, you can look towards its ruling planet and get an understanding of how to bring balance in this area of your life. In my situation the ruler of the 6th House is Venus, who is in Leo and squaring Ceres. I believe one of the major lessons of this square is the health condition that showed up in 2019 and how I need to give myself nourishment and deep love to bring my body into balance.

In your honor Ceres, Venus, and Moon. Tlazocamati for all the love, nourishment, and guidance.

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Mitchell Road in Ceres, California

Throughout most of 2020 I didn’t own a car. When I needed a vehicle I would rent a gig car through an application on my phone. This is what I used when I went to Marilu’s home each Sunday in January, 2020. The way gig car works is that the rental must end in a ‘home zone,’ which at the time was either the Bay Area or Sacramento. Each Sunday I picked up a car in Berkeley, drove it to Santa Cruz for the circle, and then I drove back home and ended the gig car rental in Berkeley.

On the night of the 26th, the gig car application wouldn't let me end my driving session. I called customer service and they said I was unable to end the ride because the gig car’s system located me near Modesto. They had to override the car’s system and end the ride for me.

The gig car receipts always have a map that illustrates your travel (you can see the map from this night in one of the collage photos I created for this post). When the receipt was emailed to me, I saw that it said I was in Ceres, on Mitchell Road. This felt very out of the ordinary because I was nowhere near the Central Valley. I drove out to the Coast that day and the gig car technology had no record of me being in Santa Cruz.

When something ‘out of the ordinary’ happens, then I take it as a message from my ancestors or guides. That means I have to do my part and make sense of the information they’re sending me. Two practices that support me in doing this are one, to understand the etymology and definition of words and two, numerology.

After receiving my gig car receipt, the first thing I did was to look up the meaning of Ceres and Mitchell and to look at the numbers of the address. What I found when I did a quick internet search for Ceres was ‘Earth Mother,’ and what I found for Mitchell was ‘One who is like God.’ The message I got was ‘Earth Mother Who is Like God.’

In this story, I share an example address, not the real one I was given because it is a home address. But the actual address I was given did add up to 11, an important number for me.

I’m sharing an example address to show how information can come through from our ancestors and guides. The reversal is what stood out to me and gave me an intuitive knowing that someone is trying to get my attention.

The address I picked up the gig car at was 6302.

The address gig car located me at was 3620.

For me, this is a clear message. I don’t see the reversal as a coincidence, but more of an intentional piece of information sent by a guide. This isn’t a logical thing, but it is human. We receive messages and guidance all the time from unseen realms and it is normal and can be supportive for our everyday lives.

In adding up the address, I realized it = 11.

3 + 6 + 2 + 0 = 11 and even further, 1+1 = 2

So, I gave the energy of this location an 11-2 archetype for my personal experience of what was happening in this situation. This is based on a framework that I’ve learned from Mary K. Greer’s book, Archetypal Tarot (formerly known as Who are you in the Tarot?). It is applied to our birthdate and name, and I apply it to other situations as well, like with the address Ceres gave me.

11-2 is my tarot constellation, which is that of the High Priestess. According to this framework, my personality archetype is 11, the Justice Card, and my soul archetype is 2, the High Priestess. While I am still learning what this 11-2 connection means for Ceres and I, I do know that she is here as a guide, as an Earth Mother who is Like God, for my soul growth and path during personal and world wide times of death and transformation.

*Astrological notes- This is a beautiful example of how I can receive information based on my numerology and astrology practices. In the gig car receipt it shows that my journey was 173.4 miles in distance. If we add together 1+7+3+4 = 15 1+5 = 6. The Asteroid Ceres is located in my 6th House. The receipt I received clearly shows Ceres contacting me and showing me who she is in my natal astrology chart and that she is here to support me on my healing journey. Ps. Out of all the numbers on the receipt, I chose to add the mileage number because I didn't drive that distance, so it was an 'out of the ordinary' number on the receipt, and I took that as a potential message.

Working with Ceres over the past three years, my understanding is that she is here offering us protection, love, nourishment, and she truly wants us to be well. There is much grief, ancestral and current, and she is also here to help us transmute grief, sorrow, and rage so that we may open our hearts more to bring more joy into our lives and radiate that out as love.

Pink Energy of Love and Comfort

I would like to end this post with a simple embodiment practice if you are interested in working with Ceres’ supportive and loving energies.

A practice I have with Ceres is working with the color of light pink, like a Rose Quartz color. In my experience with Ceres, she is associated with this color and it is a loving, warm, and comforting energy.

You can work with the light pink color in any way you feel called. I like to imagine Ceres’ energy as a light pink light and if I’m feeling down then I’ll imagine the pink light surrounding me. Or I’ll imagine her pink light surrounding someone I want to send love or protection to. I also paint and draw with the light pink color to honor Ceres. I bought a fuzzy light pink blanket that has the comforting, loving energy of Ceres and the blanket makes me so happy! You can adorn yourself in light pink. Make a food that is light pink and leave a plate out for Ceres. Bring your creativity and joy into it and you’ll find what works for you.