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Myths-Dreams-Symbols The Unconscious World of Dream |
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There are many Virgin Goddesses encompassing many different fields of enterprise. What they have in common is the fact that they are self-contained, pure, independent, uncorrupted and unpartnered.
Virgin in this context has more to do with state of mind and attitude rather than physical attributes or sexual status .
Often the Virgin goddesses were unmarried, but this did not mean that they were necessarily asexual. In fact, some of the virgin goddesses expressed their sexuality openly, owning their sexuality proudly and without shame. It was not given away or bartered or owned by their partners, it was wholly and solely within their dominion.
The Virgin goddess appears whenever a woman is pursuing her own desires and ideas for herself . The Virgin or Maiden has been given a bad rap as a selfish wanton being for centuries in a culture that has taught women to only please and look after others to the exclusion of all else. She is now making a come back as women everywhere are beginning to follow their own hearts and dreams to manifest a reality other than that of partnerships, motherhood and child rearing.
Using the Goddesses from Greek mythology we will explore a few of the different Virgins. Other mythologies also have these archetypes by different names. For example the Greek goddess Athena is very similar to the Roman Goddess Minerva. Greek Aphrodite correlates to Roman Venus, and Norse Goddess Hel correlates to the Greek Persephone to name just a few. Just about every culture has these archetypal Goddesses in one form or another.Another point to remember is that originally there was but one Goddess, but over time she has been divided up into differing personalities. I will use a quote here from Michael Babcock - 'The Goddess Paintings' by Susan Boulet.
'The Triple Goddess, the original trinity symbolises the three faces of the Great Goddess and is the earliest representation of her division into multiplicity. The Goddess with three faces is a universal motif, found worldwide. The Triple Goddess is intimately associated with the changing phases of the moon; just as the moon transforms from one phase to another, the Great Goddess moves among her many roles. Her three faces are usually virgin, mother and crone: virgin representing the strong, self-defined goddess; mother representing the nurturing goddess as source of all nourishment; and crone representing the goddess of death and transformation. This symbolism embraces the role of goddess in all phases of existence, from birth through death to rebirth. The Triple Goddess reminds us of our sacredness regardless of our age or function in life. She reminds us that despite her many forms there is one goddess, always present and always sacred'
Primarily mentally focused, Athena is highly intelligent, rational, outgoing, practical and logical. She prefers to be ruled by the head rather than the heart and She thrives in the business, academic, political and scientific arenas.
Diplomacy is another of her strengths and this coupled with her abilities for foresight, planning, and strategy give her the edge in seeing the big picture and overseeing large and complicated projects. She is able to synthesise many differing points of view and ideas into a harmonious and workable whole.
Athena is very comfortable working with men, and as is able to develop friendship and mateship with men without any of the usual romantic and sexual entanglements.
Athena compete's easily with men, being extroverted and adept at the cut and thrust of civilisation and corporate culture. At times Athena may relate so totally to the 'mans world' that she may uphold traditions and rules that limit and restrict women.
She can sometimes be cut off from her feminine side, emotions and her physical body which can result in various menstrual difficulties.
At Her best Athena is courageous and tireless, using her keen mind and intelligence to improve the world.
Artemis is the ultimate sportswoman; outdoorsy, truly present and revelling in her body, pushing her body to its physical limits. She displays an intensity of focus, can be competitive and enjoys the thrill of the hunt.
Artemis savours her independence, freedom and autonomy. She enjoys being alone in her own company and yet is also profoundly connected to the Sisterhood. In Her role as Protectoress of Women and Children She is often found campaigning for women's rights. Artemis gains her worth from who She is and what She does more than from who She is connected to or partnered with.
As the Goddess of the Moon, Artemis is familiar with charting the wilderness within human souls and navigating her way around the Inner darkness. She does not scare easily and is compassionate and empathetic.
The Artemis archetype has an affinity for nature and is found anywhere where women love to be with nature, enjoy being physical and confronting some wild new frontier.
I consider Hestia to be both a Virgin and an Enchantress archetype.
In ancient times Hestia was the hearth keeper. Her job was to literally keep the home fires burning. This task or ritual symbolised the nurturing and continuity of a spiritual force within the home.
Hestia is a Virgin Goddess because of her intense inner focus. She is spiritually orientated and more concerned with the inner world than the outer world. Hestia is not tied to her personal ego but rather tries to meet with and connect with all energy or the universal oneness.
In this way Her focus is on Herself and on Her tasks, She is not concerned with partnership, romance, marriage and other worldly distractions.
In many ways Hestia emulates the Priestess ways of centering and grounding energy. There is a certain calmness and meditative approach that Hestia brings to all tasks. It is the joy of performing the task mindfully rather than with an eye on the clock. It is the Zen and joy of doing each mundane task with love and as a gift to God. Contemplation in the art of doing and being become one.
Hestia is the spiritual warrior. She is with us when we meditate and pray or when we do any task mindfully with an absorption that takes us out of ourselves. She is also with us when we work alone with an inner focus.
When looking at the phase coinciding with Ovulation we identify with the goddesses who value relationship, partnership and the wellbeing of others above all else.
These archetypes get their satisfaction and worth from playing the supporting, receptive and nurturing roles. Co-operation is one of their strengths as is the ability to be self sacrificing for the perceived greater good.
It is the Mother Archetype that most women are encouraged to express.
Mother
We are all familiar with the Mother Archetype. She wants to nurture and grow everything in sight. She is the giver of life and sometimes the taker of life too.
The Mother focuses all her energy on her offspring whether the offspring are her children, her pets, her garden, her friends or her creative projects. She wants to feed you, make sure you are warm and look after you. Her job is to make sure you grow up properly, safely and happily.
Expressed positively, the Mother archetype is great and highly necessary. But when a woman invests so much of herself in the Mother archetype without developing some of the other archetypes, then problems can arise when the offspring grow up and try to leave home.
These Mothers can become domineering, overly dependent and interfering... they turn into Terrible Mothers - the life takers.
Women who have strong Mother archetypes have to learn to nurture themselves as well as those around them. They have to get some of their worth and value from other avenues apart from being Mother.
I class Aphrodite as a Virgin goddess and a Mother goddess.
Firstly Aphrodite is a Virgin goddess because She belongs to no man or woman. She simply belongs to Herself. She expresses her abundant sexuality the way she sees fit and chooses not to exchange it for the security of partnership.
Aphrodite is a Mother goddess when She does seek union and partnership with another person whether that partnership is creative, emotional or sexual.
She seeks union with a partner, and feels the desire to consummate the relationship. She symbolises the creative force of attraction and fertilisation on all levels.
Aphrodite as a Mother goddess is just as sensual, receptive and creative an individual as when she is a Virgin goddess. The difference is that She is fascinated by relationship and the transmutation and creativity that takes place when people fall in love with each other. Whenever there is rapt attention and a meeting of the senses whether it be mental, physical or emotional, Aphrodite is there.
Aphrodite as an energetic force is the pre-cursor to all offspring. She is that wonderful heady attraction and chemistry that promises a wonderful and ecstatic union and gorgeous offspring. She wants to merge with the "Other".
When a woman is ovulating, is feeling amorous and is seized by the desire to have a child NOW, she is acting on an Aphrodite impulse.
Even though Aphrodite symbolises the creativity of procreating, She does not necessarily make an effective Mother. She is not necessarily interested in nurturing and attending to the needs of the progeny that may be the result of the creative urge.
Hera The Wife
Hera is the feminine archetype of the Wife. She longs to be part of a partnership, gets most of her validation and value out of being part of a couple and focuses most of her energy on sustaining her marriage'.
Hera will support her man through 'thick and thin', happily foregoing her own needs in order to put the marriage and her partner first. She sees her identity as part of a couple and views other people as couples.
She often does not develop lasting female relationships because She tends to relate to other women as a part of a couple also. She simply does not see the point in nurturing female friendships. She believes that She will have all Her needs met through the primary partnership or marriage.
Hera likes to support traditional, conservative social structures. In fact, She is often instrumental in the creation of the structure and social rules. She seeks security and stability through traditional views and family life.
Hera will have children because they are important for carrying on the family name and because it is the right thing to do. However, Hera will always put Her marriage and Her husband before her children.
The Enchantress phase occurs after ovulation and before menstruation, in that premenstrual phase known for heightened emotions, irritability and mood swings.
The Enchantress phase is the time when most women desire some solitude and often experience recurrent dissatisfaction about particular aspects of their lives. This phase prepares us for the release and letting go of the (Crone) bleeding phase of our cycles.
There are two goddess archetypes which correspond to the Enchantress Phase and show us different ways of dealing with this highly charged time. They are Hestia and Persephone.
Hestia Goddess of the Hearth
Hestia is an Enchantress archetype because of Her Inner, meditative approach. She is spiritually orientated and cultivates an attitude of calm and serenity so that She can hear what spirit or 'God' is saying to her. Hestia is open to hearing the messages from within and is focused on Her spiritual path and journey.
To successfully negotiate the Enchantress phase in the menstrual cycle, it is helpful to cultivate Hestia behaviours, especially if you suffer during this phase. By maintaining a spiritual centre or 'hearth' within yourself, you can transcend the confusion and drama of the pre - menstrual phase.
By meditating or praying, we can communicate with ourselves and hear the messages we need to hear about the changes we need to make in our lives. Doing tasks mindfully with Hestia consciousness takes us out of ourselves and lessens our psychic pain and confusion at this time.
Developing meaningful rituals and activities for yourself, and remembering to do them when you start feeling unbalanced during the premenstrual phase is another good way of calling Hestia into your life.
PersephoneThe Maiden and Queen of the Underworld.Persephone is a goddess with two distinct phases to her development and personality. These two phases are Maiden and Queen of the Underworld. The use of the word Maiden in this case is not the same as is used in the Virgin phase. The reason for this is that Persephone is always somewhat ethereal, receptive and impressionable. She does not have the Self focus of the other Virgin goddesses.
At this point it may be useful to tell her mythical story.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter the Great Earth mother. It is said that one day the young and innocent maiden Persephone, was strolling through the fields smelling the flowers, in particular the Narcissus flower, when the ground opened up and Hades, The King of The Underworld appeared before her. Hades abducted Persephone and took her down to the underworld where he raped her.
Persephone's mother Demeter went into grieving for months and all fertility on the earth stopped. Plants stopped growing, animals died, it was said to be perpetual winter whilst Demeter mourned and searched for her lost daughter. Eventually humankind appealed to Zeus (the King of the Gods) for help and Zeus sent Hermes (Mercury) to intervene. Hermes rescued Persephone from the Underworld.
When Persephone returned to her mother, Demeter asked Persephone if she had eaten anything whilst in the Underworld. Persephone replied that she had eaten six pomegranate seeds. At this point Demeters joy at seeing her daughter turned to despair. Because Persephone had eaten in the underworld she would have to return to the Underworld.
So it happened that Persephone split her time between the real world and the Underworld. Through eating the pomegranate seeds Persephone became the Queen of the Underworld and Hades consort / wife.
So as in the myth, this feminine archetype is split between the innocent, naive and impressionable maiden, and the wiser, initiated, acquainted with 'darkness and death' Queen of the Underworld.
The Underworld in this myth symbolises many different things;
Through a tragic or traumatic event, Persephone is transformed from the innocent maiden into the Queen of the Underworld. This often occurs in the lives of women who strongly resonate to the Persephone archetype.
The process of this transformation demands the resolution of the tragedy. The crime against Persephone (that is, her abduction and rape) must be faced, and her role as a victim abandoned.
Persephone must reclaim her power and her responsibility, She must give up Her naivety in order to become the Queen of the Underworld. She has to take responsibility for eating the pomegranate seeds.
It is not good enough for Persephone to remain innocent and ignorant of her errors, or to expect to be rescued repeatedly by others. If She holds onto this attitude, She remains the Maiden and continues to be the victim again and again.
This journey to the Underworld involves diving to the depths of the psyche to confront the emotional scars of abuse and trauma. Persephone must face the depths of mourning, abandonment, depression, anger, madness and other emotions that are generally unacceptable in the light of the ordinary world.
In doing so she reclaims her power and her courage, wisdom and maturity. She becomes the Queen of the Underworld.
The Persephone personality is usually quite sensitive, impressionable and mediumistic. She quite happily changes herself or the persona she shows to the world to suit her surroundings, a chameleon. She often receives psychic information from her surroundings and can be quite vulnerable to these stimuli, not always knowing what is really Hers and what isn't.
It is important for the Persephone archetype to develop boundaries and knowledge of self. Spending time alone, working creatively for self, gaining knowledge of occult or psychic phenomena can often help Her in coming to grips with Her world. She knows that the world is not all that we see in tangible reality, She knows there are many other things under the surface and other realities. Learning to live with this knowledge effectively is her task.
When Persephone learns these skills She becomes the Goddess who is able to travel easily between the world above (tangible reality) and the world below, and can ultimately help others to do the same.
Coping with the pre-menstrual phase for the Persephone woman.
If Persephone features strongly in your psyche, then the pre-menstrual phase can be quite unbearable because things that are normally easier to screen out and ignore become very obvious. Because of your highly sensitive and intuitive nature, things you are able to ignore in all the other phases become very prominent during the pre-menstrual time.
If you have had traumatic experiences and not resolved them, this is the time when they will come to the surface with more ferocity.
Things that will help you cope with the pre-menstrual phase better are:
The word Crone conjures up images of wizened old hags wearing black pointy hats and cackling madly. As a feminine archetype the Crone has gotten some pretty bad press mostly being portrayed as a woman who likes eating small children and indulging in other unsavoury habits.
The Crone has also been portrayed as a woman past her prime, no longer fertile; vengeful and mean because her juices have all dried up. There is very little in Western culture that celebrates the Crone. She is nearly always portrayed as a jealous old woman, praying on the young.
The Crone phase correlates to the bleeding phase in the menstrual cycle and the menopausal phase in a woman's life. Both these phases focus on the flipside of physical fertility; a time when women can focus on themselves rather than constantly nurturing others. Being a Crone can be liberating, once you get over the cultural conditioning to be Mother.
The main work or theme of the Crone phase is release and letting go .
The Crone understands the importance of death and renewal. She understands that without death, release and letting go, there can be no renewal and fresh starts.
With experience She has learnt to recognise what it is that needs to be released so that you can move forward. This experience lends wisdom and maturity and an intimate understanding of the nature and inevitability of cycles. The Crone more than any other of the archetypes understands cycles, she knows that there is a time for all things and uses this knowledge for her own and others benefit.
The Crone represents the older, more mature female who has become immune to many of the issues facing young women; the constraints of partnership, beauty, social conditioning and children. She has the freedom to live her life more fully and make choices based on what She wants rather than what others in Her life need from Her.
The Crone can be a container and guide to the darker emotions, for the companions to death and release are often pain, grief and anger. The Crone is familiar with the seedier and darker aspects of life and death for She has survived the descent into the Underworld (as the Enchantress). Knowing how to deal effectively with these important emotions is a necessary skill to harness the gifts of the Crone phase.
Getting in touch with the Crone is getting in touch with that part of ourselves that is old and wise, who has seen everything, and dropped many of the pretensions, rules and limitations that society lives by. She is that part of ourselves that is infinitely understanding and compassionate yet also direct and unrelenting. The Crone sees the truth everywhere, in our lives, our relationships and our actions and She will work upon us to clear out the dross and garbage.
There is strength and courage required to meet the Crone but there is also a wealth of strength, courage and wisdom to be gained from making the journey.
*Examples of the Crone are Baba Yaga or Sheila na gig.
Getting to know these archetypes and their action on your life is highly beneficial for a number of reasons. They offer: