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we imagine god and endow her or him with the qualities we need to survive and grow.
we imagine god and endow her or him with the qualities we need to survive and grow.
“I have always thought of a myth as something that never was but is always happening.”
“I have always thought of a myth as something that never was but is always happening.”
To live a meaningful life has to do with what matters per-sonally: love of what we do, who we love and are loved by, and living by our values. When those values are courage, kindness, compassion, justice, and service, we help make our world a better place.
To live a meaningful life has to do with what matters per-sonally: love of what we do, who we love and are loved by, and living by our values. When those values are courage, kindness, compassion, justice, and service, we help make our world a better place.
In either case, it seems to me that women seek the help of a therapist in order to learn how to be better protagonists or heroines in their own life stories. To do so, women need to make conscious choices that will shape their lives. Just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they may also be unconscious of powerful forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel.
In either case, it seems to me that women seek the help of a therapist in order to learn how to be better protagonists or heroines in their own life stories. To do so, women need to make conscious choices that will shape their lives. Just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they may also be unconscious of powerful forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel.
women are influenced by powerful inner forces, or archetypes, which can be personified by Greek goddesses. And the feminist perspective has given me an understanding of how outer forces, or stereotypes—the roles to which society expects women to conform—reinforce some goddess patterns and repress others.
women are influenced by powerful inner forces, or archetypes, which can be personified by Greek goddesses. And the feminist perspective has given me an understanding of how outer forces, or stereotypes—the roles to which society expects women to conform—reinforce some goddess patterns and repress others.
According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, “Dream is the personalized myth, myth the depersonalized dream.”
According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, “Dream is the personalized myth, myth the depersonalized dream.”
For example, as a woman “shifts gears” and goes from one facet of herself to another, she can shift from one goddess pattern to another: in one setting, for example, she is an extraverted, logical Athena who pays attention to details; in another situation, she is an introverted hearth-keeping Hestia for whom “still waters run deep.”
For example, as a woman “shifts gears” and goes from one facet of herself to another, she can shift from one goddess pattern to another: in one setting, for example, she is an extraverted, logical Athena who pays attention to details; in another situation, she is an introverted hearth-keeping Hestia for whom “still waters run deep.”
As archetypes, they express the need in women for autonomy, and the capacity women have to focus their consciousness on what is personally meaningful. Artemis and Athena represent goal-directedness and logical thinking, which make them the achievement-oriented archetypes. Hestia is the archetype that focuses attention inward, to the spiritual center of a woman’s personality. These three goddesses are feminine archetypes that actively seek their own goals. They expand our notion of feminine attributes to include competency and self-sufficiency.
As archetypes, they express the need in women for autonomy, and the capacity women have to focus their consciousness on what is personally meaningful. Artemis and Athena represent goal-directedness and logical thinking, which make them the achievement-oriented archetypes. Hestia is the archetype that focuses attention inward, to the spiritual center of a woman’s personality. These three goddesses are feminine archetypes that actively seek their own goals. They expand our notion of feminine attributes to include competency and self-sufficiency.
A classic pattern is the independent Artemis woman who lives with a marriage-resistant man or with a man she feels isn’t husband material. Living together is an arrangement that suits her fine—until the hormonal shift. Somewhere into the second half of the cycle, Hera’s need to be a mate receives hormonal support. Not being married now stirs up feelings of resentment or rejection, which leads to a monthly fight or to a minidepression that, just as predictably, passes after she’s had her period.
A classic pattern is the independent Artemis woman who lives with a marriage-resistant man or with a man she feels isn’t husband material. Living together is an arrangement that suits her fine—until the hormonal shift. Somewhere into the second half of the cycle, Hera’s need to be a mate receives hormonal support. Not being married now stirs up feelings of resentment or rejection, which leads to a monthly fight or to a minidepression that, just as predictably, passes after she’s had her period.
If a woman is one-in-herself, she will be motivated by a need to follow her own inner values, to do what has meaning or fulfills herself, apart from what other people think.
When a woman has Athena and Artemis as goddess patterns, “feminine” attributes such as dependency, receptivity, and nurturing may not be facets of her personality. These are the qualities she will need to develop in order to be a person who can form enduring relationships, become vulnerable, give and receive love and comfort, and support growth in others.
Contemplative Hestia’s inward focus keeps her at an emotional distance from others. Detached though she is, her quiet warmth is nurturing and supportive.
Devaluation and lack of respect for their weak mothers strengthens the virgin goddess qualities of Artemis daughters. Determined not to resemble their mothers, they suppress dependency feelings, avoid expressing vulnerability and vow to be independent.
In rejecting identification with her mother, she usually finds herself rejecting what is considered as feminine—softness, receptivity, and stirrings toward marriage and motherhood. She is plagued by inadequacy feelings—this time in the realm of her feminine identification.
She ventures into the woods, climbs hills, or wants to see what is in the next block and the block after that.
Artemis shapes a woman’s character. She then needs to be challenged and involved in interests that are personally rewarding. Otherwise, the archetype is thwarted and unable to find adequate expression, and the Artemis woman herself feels frustrated, and ultimately depressed.
As long as there is an element of “pursuit” on her part, an Artemis woman may be interested in a man. But if he moves closer emotionally, wants to marry her, or becomes dependent on her, the excitement of the “hunt” is over. Moreover, she may lose interest or feel contempt for him if he shows “weakness” by needing her.
A Hera woman rages at “the other woman.” An Artemis woman is more likely angry at a man or men in general for depreciating her or for failing to treat with respect something she values.
The Artemis woman must confront her own destructiveness directly. She must see it as an aspect of herself that she must stop before it consumes her and devastates her relationships.
It takes courage to confront the inner boar, for doing so means that the woman must see how much damage she has done to herself and others. She can no longer feel righteous and powerful. Humility is the lesson that returns her humanity—she becomes all too aware that she, too, is a flawed human woman, not an avenging goddess.
These two endings can represent the two possible effects of Artemis. On the one hand, she rescues women and feminine values from the patriarchy, which devalues or oppresses both. On the other, with her intense focus on goals she can also require that a woman sacrifice and devalue what has been traditionally considered “feminine”—those receptive, nurturing, related-to-others, willing-to-make-sacrifices-for-the-sake-of-others qualities. Every Artemis woman is likely to have some part of her that is like Iphigenia—a young, trusting, beautiful part that represents her vulnerability, her
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Aphrodite’s procreative instinct (aided by Demeter) slows down many active, goal-focused women in the latter part of their thirties. Career-oriented women are often caught by surprise by a compelling urgency to have a child.
This third golden apple may also represent other than biological creativity. Achievement may become less important after midlife. Instead, the generativity represented by Aphrodite is directed toward transforming experience into some form of personal expression.
Such a woman is being like Athena, not acting “like a man.” Her masculine aspect, or animus, is not doing the thinking for her—she is thinking clearly and well for herself.
The concept of Athena as an archetype for logical thinking challenges the Jungian premise that thinking is done for a woman by her masculine animus, which is presumed to be distinct from her feminine ego. When a woman recognizes the keen way her mind works as a feminine quality related to Athena, she can develop a positive image of herself, instead of fearing that she is mannish (that is, inappropriate).
Athena differs from Artemis and Hestia in that she is the virgin goddess who seeks the company of men. Rather than separating or withdrawing, she enjoys being in the midst of male action and power. The virgin goddess element helps her to avoid emotional or sexual entanglements with men, with whom she works closely. She can be companion, colleague, or confidante of men without developing erotic feelings or emotional intimacy.
An Athena child shares the capacity for concentration of a young Artemis, to which she adds a decidedly intellectual bent. For example, at three Athena may be a self-taught reader. Whatever the age, once she has discovered books she will probably have her nose in one.
When an Athena daughter grows up as a favorite child of a successful father who is proud that “she takes after him,” he helps her develop her natural tendencies. When her role model gives her his blessing, confidence in her abilities is her “birthright.” Such a daughter grows up secure and without conflicts about being bright and ambitious. As an adult woman, she then can be comfortable exerting power, wielding authority, and demonstrating her capabilities.
But not all Athena women have Zeus fathers who favor them. When they do not, an essential ingredient for development is missing.
Some Athena women have very successful fathers who are too busy to notice them. Other Zeus fathers insist that their daughters behave like traditional girls; they may teasingly say, “Don’t fill your pretty head with facts” or chide them by saying, “This isn’t what little girls should play with” or “This doesn’t concern you, this is business.” As a result, she may grow up feeling that she is unacceptable the way she is and often la...
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When an Athena woman has a father who is very unlike Zeus—perhaps a business failure, alcoholic, unsung poet, or unpublished novelist—her Athena development is usually handicapped. She may not aspire to reach goals she could have fulfilled. And even when she appears succes...
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Unless they themselves are Athena women, most mothers of Athena daughters feel unappreciated, or feel as if their daughters are from a different species of being altogether. For example, any relationship-oriented woman will l...
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When she talks about people and feelings, the daughter is uninterested. Instead, her daughter wants to know how something works, and finds her mother hasn’t the foggiest notion or desire to know. As a result of their differences, the Athena daughter may treat her mother as an incompetent. One such mother noted that her daughter “was age ten going on thirty.” Her daughter’s slogan seemed to be, “Oh, mother, be practical!” This mother...
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The woman who develops her Athena qualities and is a high achiever with solid self-esteem usually has had parents in the Zeus-Metis mold5 (successful father in the foreground, nurturing mother in the background) and has had the position in the family of a first-born son. Often her position in the family came by default. She may have been the only child, or the oldest of several girls. Or her brother may have suffered from a mental or physical impairment, or may have been a grave disappointment to their father. And as a consequence, she was the recipient of her father’s aspirations for a son,
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Rational Athena never lost her head, her heart, or her self-control. She lived within the Golden Mean, and was not overwhelmed by emotion or irrational feelings. Most of the other goddesses (except Hestia) either unleashed their emotions on others and caused suffering, or were victimized and suffered themselves. The women who are like them likewise have the potential to either cause suffering or to suffer. Athena differed: she was invulnerable, unmoved by irrational or overwhelming emotion, and her actions were deliberate rather than impulsive. Since the woman who resembles Athena shares her
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The Athena woman who is out in the world can get caught up in the power games of business, law, or politics, and can find that she is always working, “talking shop,” or bringing work home from her office. She may feel after a while that her mind never rests—“the wheels are always turning.” When she realizes how all-consuming her work is and feels a need for more balance, Athena as Goddess of Crafts provides a psychological way to get her mind off business. Most dear to Athena of all the crafts was weaving. An Athena businesswoman told me when she took up weaving, “It’s the most calming
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The goddess Athena was never a child; she was born as an adult. This metaphor is not far removed from the Athena woman’s actual experience. From the earliest time she can remember, she recalls “figuring things out” or “being smart about everything.” But a verbal little girl with a matter-of-fact mind often misses whole areas of subjective experience that she may eventually want as an adult. She may need to discover in herself the child she never was, a child who can be confused or delighted by something new. To recover her child self, an Athena woman must stop approaching new experience as “a
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When she is in the midst of an emotional moment, she has to try to stay in it and let others comfort her. To rediscover her lost child, she needs to play and laugh, cry and be hugged.
An Athena woman often has depreciated her own mother. She needs to discover her mother’s strengths, often before she can value any similarities to her mother in herself. She often lacks connection to a maternal archetype (personified by the goddess Demeter), a connection she must feel in herself in order to experience maternity and motherhood deeply and instinctually. Christine Downing, author of The Goddess, calls this task “the re-membering of Athene,” which she speaks of as “the rediscovery of her relation to the feminine, to mother, to Metis.”6
It is helpful for an Athena woman to learn that matriarchal feminine values, which were held before Greek mythology took its present form, were swallowed up by the patriarchal culture that prevails today. Her intellectual curiosity can lead her from history or psychology toward feminist ideas. From this new perspective, she may begin to think differently about her own mother and other women, and then about herself.
were not represented in human form by painters or sculptors. Instead, this goddess was felt to be present in the living flame at the center of the home, temple, and city. Hestia’s symbol was a circle. Her first hearths were round, and her temples were also. Neither home nor temple were sanctified until Hestia entered. She made both places holy when she was there. Hestia was apparently a spiritually felt presence as well as a sacred fire that provided illumination, warmth, and heat for food.
