In these ever-changing and uncertain times, perhaps now more than ever, we need to remember and reconnect with the sacred feminine. At first, we might question how exploring such things can really help us with the realities of day-to-day life. Yet the very act of reconnecting with the sacred feminine can help us live more fully the life we were born to live.
We can learn to tap into the strengths and wisdom of the goddesses from times gone by. These ancient myths were designed to guide us toward becoming the best of who we are – and in doing so, we contribute to the wellbeing of our families and the growth of our communities. With the guidance and support of the Greek goddesses, we stand tall and proud, knowing that we, each in our own unique way, have given the best of who we are and helped humankind to evolve a little further than it had before we were born.
The gifts we each carry
Each goddess carries a different gift of the sacred feminine, and each of us will feel a stronger connection and alignment with one in particular. Carl Jung called these gifts and qualities archetypal influences – the energies of which we are all made. A woman will embody these gifts in her way of living and being, while a man will tend to seek these goddess qualities in his partner and female friends.
Meet your goddess archetype
Maria's story
Maria was a successful businesswoman – the first woman in her family to go to university and build a career in business. Her mother, grandmother and aunts were delighted and encouraging about her choices. She was doing what some of them had longed to do themselves but had been unable to. In many ways, she was living their dreams.
Through work, she met and fell in love with her future husband. They married, and life seemed perfect. The natural next step for Maria was to have children, which both she and her husband were eager to do. A year later, their first son was born. The plan was for Maria to take maternity leave and return to work after a few months, which she did.
Finding Demeter
I met Maria a few years after this. She told me she was worried she was depressed: she wasn't happy, she had gained weight she couldn't shift, and her work was beginning to suffer. Maria was not happy at all.
We explored seven goddesses from Greek mythology together, and Maria's most dominant goddess turned out to be Demeter, the goddess who carries the qualities of home and children.
From this seemingly simple exploration, tears poured down Maria's face as we talked about the gifts and qualities Demeter brings. She confided that her deepest wish – one she had carried since childhood – had always been to be a wife who stays home to care for her children and stand beside her husband. But because her mother, grandmother and aunts had not had good experiences in that role, they hadn't wanted the same for Maria. They had encouraged her out into the world of business instead.
Seeing through another's eyes
They had urged her to return to work after her son's birth and advised her to get him into a crèche and kindergarten as soon as possible. When Maria and her husband spoke of having more children, they were discouraged – yet when a promotion arose at work, one that involved studying for another business degree, they were enthusiastically supportive.
Through further exploration, Maria came to understand that her mother and grandmother were, at heart, frustrated Athenas. Athena is the Goddess of the city and of commerce. They had projected their own unmet needs onto Maria – not from any ill will, but from a genuine desire to see her flourish. The trouble was, they were seeing her through their Athena eyes, not her Demeter ones.
Coming home
Through storytelling and expressive arts exercises, Maria began to embrace and welcome Demeter's qualities into her life. She spoke honestly with her husband about her longing to become a mother again and to stay at home for the foreseeable future.
In the weeks that followed, her mood began to lift. Within a few months, the extra weight had gone. She negotiated a gradual reduction in her working hours, and before long she was pregnant again. Thankfully, Maria and her husband were in a financial position to make this a reality.
There was initial resistance from her mother, grandmother and aunts – accusations that she was throwing her life away – but they too soon saw how she was blossoming.
I heard from Maria some years later. She had gone from strength to strength. She was the mother of three happily thriving sons, and had used her organisational skills and professional experience to set up a new mothers' group, creating a space where women could meet and support one another. She told me she was the happiest she had ever been – entirely at home with who she was and what she was doing. Demeter had come home.
When we shine
When you embrace and step into who you truly are, you have no other choice but to shine. And when we shine, the whole world shines – just that little bit more brightly.
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