The Snow Maiden

Hecate, Ceres, Proserpina, Morena, Morgana, Maleficent. All these names trace back to the common Indo-European root *mṛ- (to wither, to die). In Slavic tradition, the word for death—Smert—literally signifies "one's own, natural death." This same root flows through words for pestilence (mor), haze (marevo), and even the sea (more), seen as a hostile, vast abyss.

In later myths, this archetype transformed into the Snow Queen, Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden), and Snow White. It is the universal story of the spindle, the long sleep, and the crystal coffin. In almost every Indo-European language, this word sounds nearly identical—as fundamental as "mother" or "sun."

At its heart, however, this is a story of the changing seasons. Life spends half the year in the realm of cold only to be reborn in the spring. We experience something similar after every loss: following the shadows of mortido, the energy of libido always returns.