Faces of the Goddess Magazine SGC 21

Assaglioni and his system of Psychosynthesis
perhaps more clearly moves into this area. It
employs the maps, symbols and vocabulary
of occult systems as a means to access the
transpersonal realms of soul and spirit. It is
here that we can begin to learn and connect
to who we are and how we may progress. The
practitioner may use the Tarot as a book of
archetypes, or the Kabbalistic Tree of Life to
contain and differentiate our experiences. The
Tree of Life diagram is also used to categorise
the goddesses..each sephora represents
a planet, an energy, an emotion and it is
possible to include goddesses from every
culture in this format, kind of like and A-Z
filing system to help locate the ideal goddess
for the occasion.
But these are more methods to access the
concept of archetypes as well as offering
means of applying the process to a therapeutic
model. Can the use of goddesses bring positive
benefits in the search for self-actualisation or
realisation. Can they heal?
One of the psychotherapists who has done
much work on this is Jean S. Bolen. In her
book GODDESSES IN EVERYWOMAN;
POWERFUL ARCHETYPES IN WOMENS
LIVES (Harper 1985) she uses her training in
Jungian analysis to examine the relationship
between the goddesses of the Greek pantheon
to the personality typès of women she has
encountered in her practice. Athena may
manifest in someone with a cool, unemotional
approach to situations, Demeter as the
nurturing mother. One interesting advantage
for this kind of approach because unlike
abstract archetypal roles, these goddesses
come as fully rounded women despite their
predominant tendencies. The Olympians are
known for their very human tendencies such
as jealousy, insecurity, vanity, or the ability to
act out of character.
Ms Bolen has said her “Jungian perspective
has made (me) aware that women are
influenced by powerful inner forces, or
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archetypes, which can be personified by Greek
goddesses. And the feminist perspective has
given me an understanding of how outer
forces, or stereotypes-the roles to which
society expects women to conform-reinforces
some goddess patterns and represses others.
As a result i see every woman as a ‘womanin-between’:
acted on from within by goddess
archetypes and from without by cultural
stereotypes.”(Bolen p.4)
Her ideas were influenced by the work of
Erich Neumann. In his book AMOR AND
PSYCHE he uses myth as a means of exploring
feminist psychology. Through the myths and
stories of the goddesses he gained insight into
the world of women. “in the Greek myth of
Amor and Psyche for example, Psyche’s first
task was to sort a huge disordered heap of
seeds, placing each kind of grain in a separate
mound. Her initial reaction to the task, as well
as the next three, was despair. I noticed that
the myth fit a number of my woman patients
who were struggling with various important
tasks.”(Bolen p.5) this has been the story at
some time of every woman i have ever known.
These goddess representations allow us to
hypothetically develop strategies and plans to
cope with our needs and solve our problems.
Which myths draw you in? It was Jung who
said “the most important question anyone can
ask is, what myth am i living?”
Personally i have been drawn into the myth
of Inanna and her descent to the underworld.
This version of the goddess is one of the more
complex. Inanna is the Queen of all, except
for the underworld which is ruled over by her
sister Erishkigal. Inanna is the goddess who
has it all—the loving husband, the father who
cedes power to her. She is smart, beautiful and
conniving. In the myth she decides to visit her
sister in the underworld. Her motives are not
clear, sometimes it is attributed to her desire
to make sure her sister is ok, other versions
suggest it is because she wants to rule over the
underworld as well. Either way and whatever