The Importance of the Goddess in a Woman's life
The seven Greek Goddesses personified strong feminine qualities, the archetypes of which
reside in all women. Understanding these archetypes and becoming aware of which goddess
or goddesses are ruling our individual psyches, can open new depths of understanding for
women.
Psychologist, C.G. Jung believed that women are influenced by these inner forces
(archetypes), which are part of our collective unconscious. Tapping into this knowledge
can raise a woman's awareness. It can help us find new personal meaning in our lives,
or even empower us to alter our life course and start a new path toward enriching our souls!
The following is a brief description of the Goddess archetypes. Find the
Goddesses that most closely resemble who you are, or who you aspire to be.
Go within to invoke the power of your Goddesses and the women you've always wanted
to be!
- Athena: the Goddess of wisdom and also the goddess of crafts. She is a pragmatic thinker who can keep her head in an emotional situation. The Athena archetype is present in business women, college, professors, and other professions that rely on a woman's strategy to get ahead. Athena women seek the company of men as equals.
- Artemis: the Goddess of the hunt and goddess of the moon: she was the archer with perfect aim. Artemis is a back-to-nature woman; a sister; she belongs to no man. Artemis strongly represents achievement and competence, independence from men and male opinions, a passionate concern for powerless women and children, and for women experiencing childbirth.
- Hestia: Goddess of the hearth and Temple; Wise-women; Hestia is insightful, looking inward to intuitively sense what is going on. Hestia does not need to leave the home to find herself; she makes the home, a home. The Hestia archetype provides a woman with a sense of wholeness.
- Hera: Goddess of Marriage; her name means "Great Lady". Hera is committed to the role of wife, which brings both joy and sorrow into her life. Hera is The Commitment-Maker and infidelity in her marriage can cause Hera to be overtaken with jealous rage. Women who experience a pressing desire to get married are experiencing this archetype in their psyche.
- Demeter: Goddess of Grain, Nurturer, and Mother. Demeter was worshiped as the "Mother Goddess" and the mother of the maiden, Persephone. Demeter represents the maternal instinct; the archetype gives women the compelling desire to become pregnant. A Demeter woman needs to nurture and care for children, and finds great joy in preparing food for her family and her guests.
- Persephone: The queen of the Underworld and Maiden Goddess; worshiped as the "Kore" (young girl). The Goddess Persephone represents the duality of the child-woman. A woman who has difficulty committing to a relationship or work, or an educational goal is being influenced by Persephone. She never quite figures out what she wants to be when she grows up, but she also has the remarkable ability to be eternally youthful!
- Aphrodite: Goddess of Love and Beauty. Aphrodite governs a woman's enjoyment of love and beauty and of sensuality and sexuality. Aphrodite's influence is felt in a woman's need to procreate, as well as her need to be artistically creative. Aphrodite demands intensity, in total absorption in who she is with or what she is doing.
The study of Goddess archetypes can enrich a woman's life by gaining a new perspective on what it means to be a woman, to learn to
value her gender and appreciate the Goddess within herself!
About the Pendant pictured at top
The “Seven Goddess Pendant” symbolizes
the seven greek Goddesses in the petals of a flower.
At the center is a seven-pointed star,
symbolizing the sparkling light of the Earth Goddess, Gaia; who gave birth to us all!
From the star bursts forth the seven petals, each signifying one goddess.
The petals interlace, representing the overlapping of Goddesses within us,
with their strengths and weaknessess apparent at different phases of our lives. You can purchase the Seven Goddess Pendant and celebrate
your Goddess within. |
