Baubo... the laughing, dancing enabler of the feminine goddess
Greek myth records the Belly Goddess as Baubo. In the55 story, Demeter's separation from her daughter, Persephone, begins when Persephone's father Zeus helps his brother Hades to abduct the maiden. Hades steals Persephone into the underworld to keep her as his own.
Having lost her daughter, Demeter is devastated. She doesn't know where to look for Persephone, nor does she have the will to search. She loses hope. In her grief, she stops the crops from growing. The supply of food dwindles; starvation nears. The world is barren and drab. Demeter takes on the appearance of the Old Crone.
Demeter arrives at Eleusis utterly dispirited. Baubo dances in front of Demeter and tells her bawdy jokes trying to make her laugh again. Baubo lifts her skirt, bares her belly and flashes her lovely womanhood to Demeter.
As Demeter laughs, mirth breaks through Demeter's despair; she soon resolves to resume her search for Persephone. Demeter's laughter gives her the courage to seek and ultimately reclaim her daughter. As she does so, abundant life returns to Earth.
Lifting her skirt and baring her belly, Baubo reveals female, regenerative power. Baubo demonstrates to Demeter the center they share, returning the goddess to her own center of being. Demeter sees Baubo's belly, and she remembers who she is.
Sweet Belly
O Baubo,
Greek belly goddess
who laughed away Demeter’s despair,
headless
you live without regret
your hips, your limbs, your belly
lead you --
look at me through nipple eyes
psychic eyes
that sense fear, anger, cold, noise
arousal --
speak to me
from the deep mine between your legs
that tells truth unadorned
unencumbered, sacred, sensual
that breathes full and long
and feels, feels, feels
sensations unknown --
tell your stories of the fertile earth
the muck of the psyche,
dirty jokes and belly laughs
that loose all control.
O Baubo
dirty, belly goddess
come laugh with me and be my love
and we shall
