I need a break. How about you? No more heavy thinking. Let’s let our minds drift. Let’s get above the clouds.
Let’s talk about goddesses.
I never gave them much thought, but a friend who is a retired psychologist suggested I take a look at Goddesses in Older Women by Jean Shinoda Bolen to understand female archetypes as an aid to my writing. At first I wasn’t sure. Goddesses aren’t my thing. I tend to lump them in with divas.
Then I read the book and found out that, for a gal who’s always seeking balance in her life, the goddesses could be a big help and a lot of fun.
Different goddesses might be seen to represent different aspects of your personality.
- Metis: wisdom combined with expertise
- Sophia: intuitive wisdom
- Hestia: hearth and home
- Hecate: the wisdom of old age and courage when facing a crossroads
- Baubo: humor and laughter
- Athena: the masculine, business-minded side of you
I like Athena. She’s the strategist, the brainy warrior.
Athena was born as a fully-grown woman in golden armor, carrying a spear, and she announced her arrival with a mighty war cry. Mount Olympus shook when her feet hit the ground. Isn’t that a great mental image? If I have to do something that requires all my courage, I channel my inner Athena.
I don’t see the goddesses as deities perched in the heavens. Rather, they put a face on aspects of my personality, encouraging me to utilize all my strengths, and not be narrow. For example, if I need to turn off the computer and pay some attention to my family, that’s a nudge from Hestia, goddess of the hearth-fire. Hecate gives me wisdom and courage as I face the challenges of my age, and Baubo inspires dark humor as a friend and I grieve over a diagnosis.
We know about the male gods, like Thor and Zeus, but what do we know about the female dieties? A lot of what we hear is bad, like Medusa with the snakes writhing around her head. Most of the goddesses were originally seen as powerful forces for good, but they were demoted when ancient lands were conquered and dominated by patriarchal sects. For example, Hecate was the goddess of midlife, for people at a crossroads, having to make a big decision. But over time, Hecate was portrayed as a hag or a witch who resides in the underworld.
Nice going, fellas.
One of the most important goddesses was Sophia, who represented wisdom. Michelangelo thought enough of her to paint her right next to God, held close. Sophia was said to have given moral support while God created the universe. According to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Sophia spoke these words as she watched Him work.
The Lord created me at the beginning of his works, before all else that he made, long ago. Alone, I was fashioned in times long past, at the beginning, long before earth itself. When there was yet no ocean I was born, no springs brimming with water, before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, before he made the earth with its fields…When he set the heavens in their place I was there, when he girdled the ocean with the horizon, when he fixed the canopy of clouds overhead and set the springs of ocean firm in their place, when he prescribed its limits for the sea and knit together earth’s foundations. Then I was at his side each day, like a master workman, I was his darling and delight, rejoicing with him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in mankind.
Isn’t it nice to stop a minute and revel in that which is purely spiritual, artful, inspiration, or beautiful? Thanks again to Dolores for this respite.
Bette Lee Crosby says
Absoluterly loved this article. You have a wonderful way of helping us to face mid-life with a smile and a leap toward being incredible. Wishing you much success with Dakota Blues.
Lynne Spreen says
Thanks, Bette! I hope my readers love my work as much as yours did Spare Change.
Barb - The Empty Nest Mom says
Who can resist an invitation to let our minds drift above the clouds? Not me. I enjoyed, in my odd humor sort of way, your quip below the picture of God with his arm around “the babe.” My daughter and I were once almost run out of the Getty for uncontrollable laughter (you know how painful that can be when it’s at a time and place that’s not appropriate) at a painting of Jesus as an infant. Almost always I’m enchanted and soothed by art and hate to miss a museum – but every once in a while……
Lynne Spreen says
What a fun comment. Thanks, Barb.
kate granado says
i have been a practicing goddess for a very long time. 30yrs ago i read a similar book and i was hooked. to celebrate my bd this year i had a goddess luncheon in my garden. Plus i always felt it was more attractive to take a stand on a pedestal than a “soapbox”. as always it was a great read, thanks lynne.
Lynne Spreen says
Kate, who would you say is your greatest influence or which goddess do you admire the most and why?
Debbie says
I took four years of Latin, so info about those Roman goddesses was drilled into my head. This is a nice, succinct list for future reference; it also goes to show that old things (or people!) still have value! Thanks, Lynne!
Lynne Spreen says
Latin! That’s a blast from the past. My big sis had to take it but I dodged it.
Jim Parrish says
Remember limits are self imposed. Nature does not impose limits, she provides new horizons. I am a firm believer in appreciation of the moment.
Lynne Spreen says
Jim, that’s something I value, and I am getting better at doing the “freeze this moment in my mind” experience.