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EXPLORING THE FEMININE THROUGH 7 GREEK GODDESS ARCHETYPES
Published: 01/12/2011 by BERNARDINE DEVINE
7 GREEK GODDESS ARCHETYPES
EXPLORING THE FEMININE
I’ve been working on exploring different aspects of my own feminine nature and so was drawn to write an article about that.
I studied classics at Uni and have always been drawn to these myths but am no expert so please excuse me if someone more knowledgeable has different information to me.
Like many women when I was young I was fully in my innocent child nature and expressed a soft vulnerable feminine. As life went on and circumstances changed I became more armoured and protected.
In my quest to evolve I’ve been exploring the expression of that vulnerable feminine again.
Many of us in today’s world have become very good at standing up for ourselves, taking care of others, caring for the home and keeping everything together.
This has created a breed of super women who are very capable, in their power (seemingly), very good at being assertive and keeping on top of things (or seeming to).
In our quest for keeping things together we leave ourselves out of the equation and become good at being a certain way or being in a certain role or energy at the expense of others.
I thought it would be fun to explore the different aspects of the feminine by looking at the Greek goddesses and the archetypes they represent.
ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLOGY
ATHENA: Goddess of wisdom, warfare, battle strategy and reason.
Most modern women will be very familiar with this aspect of themselves. It is the part of us that makes things happen, that protects our family, that plans the day and that battle on through. Sounds exhausting and it is!
HERA: Goddess of marriage, women and childbirth.
She speaks for herself in the roles we play, such as wife, mother, friend, sister, aunty etc. These roles while great and fulfilling in themselves can be something we can get lost in if we only express this archetype.
HESTIA: Goddess of the home, hearth and cooking.
This is also a familiar archetype for many women whether single or married. She speaks through us in how we create a home and family and in how we nourish ourselves and others.
ARTEMIS: Virgin Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, childbirth and the moon.
This reminds me of the more primal archetype of the feminine. The wilder instinctual nature, that can give birth one minute and then go out in the world and create a living for her family.
GAIA: Earth Mother, the aspect of us that cares primarily for her children and nurtures them as her main occupation in life.
Some women are very happy to play this role while others struggle with it. In modern times there is equal pressure for women to stay home and go to work. This creates an internal battle between one or the other or a feeling of being unsure of the balance.
DEMETER: Goddess of agriculture, horticulture, grain and harvest.
This to me is the feminine creative aspect. We can create in many ways – by having a child, painting a beautiful picture, cooking a great meal or through our occupations.
For many women some aspects of this creative nature are explored but not others.
APHRODITE: Goddess of love, beauty, and desire.
If you are fully in this archetype then more power to you. But many of us, including myself, are not. This is often due to perceived time, money and energy constraints or because it is put last on our priorities list as we come last on our "to do" list.
This is the one I’d most like to explore and give more expression to in my own journey into the feminine.
EXPLORING OUR OWN ROLES
How do we explore and express the vulnerable feminine in a powerful way while still fulfilling our other roles in life?
My purpose in writing this article is for you to create an exploration and dialogue for yourself and perhaps among your friends and family.
QUESTIONS
- In what way do you engage each of the 7 archetypes in your family and in the world?
- Do you give a lot of time and energy to some and ignore or devalue others?
- Assuming they all have value, which they do, which archetypes would you like to explore more of in your life?
- Do you express your role as wife and mother and leave no time for your inner Aphrodite?
- Do you go out in the world making a living and fulfilling that aspect but feel you’d like more time with your kids?
- Do you only have time with your family but neglect significant and fulfilling relationship outside of that?
- Do you nurture and nourish others and forget yourself?
- Do you forget to express yourself creatively?
Whatever roles you embrace or neglect it might be interesting to look at how you can embody more of them in your life.
I’d love to hear how you go.
May the goddesses be with you!
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PHOTOS COURTESY GOOGLE IMAGES
