Now from the time when the Daughter of Heaven had passed through the first gate of Hell, a barrenness had fallen on the earth; and neither bird had sung nor any flower showed its beauty forth; nor was there joy in any heart. But when the Maid was slain upon the pillar of the world, an awful darkness fell on all the earth. And the rivers of the earth ceased to flow, but drained away into the salt sea, and the sea ceased to move, but stood still in awful stagnancy... And every growing thing began to wither from its roots.
From The Mythos of the Divine Maid
The story-beyond-time of the Maid's journey to the Dark Realm has been expressed throughout history; for some ancient examples see the article on Demeter and Persephone.
The final festival before the Nativity season celebrates Death as perhaps the most mysterious of the Mysteries of Life.
The image here represents Catrina, a central figure in the Mexican Day of the Dead festival. Though relatively recent in this elegant form, Catrina embodies a folk-tradition of the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, Lady of the Dead, Keeper of the Bones. The festival is celebrated with altars to the honoured dead, with sugar skulls and crossed-bone buns, and with grave-visiting. Though the idea of death is very much to the forefront, it is far from a sombre festival and includes dressing-up and dancing.
Read about the inner meaning of Tamala 
