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In this episode, Joel and Antonia start a short series talking about the goddess archetypes that show up for some people. This episode details the virgin goddesses in everywoman.
In this podcast you’ll find:
- Animas and Anima – Feminine and Masculine Archetypes
- Goddesses in Everywoman by Jean Bolen
- Gods in Everyman by Jean Bolen
- Doctor and Jungian analyst
- According to Jung: “Archetype is a collectively inherited unconscious idea that is universally present in individual psyches.”
- We start manifesting specific patterns individually and as a group.
- Bolen uses the pantheon of Greek Gods and Goddesses that have survived for thousands of years.
- Anima is Latin for breath, soul, spirit. Animation.
- Jung used anima to describe the inner feminine of men
- Animas is the inner masculine of women.
- Feeler men and Thinker women
- There are seven goddesses we will discuss
- There is one feminine, but it has fractured into different archetypes
- Men can identify with some of these Goddesses as an Anima
- Women will identify with some Gods as their animas
- We can identify with more than one Goddess or God
- Try to identify your shadow archetypes or the parts of you that are less developed.
- All of these energies live inside of us.
- Some are strengths, and some are weaknesses or suppressed.
- These archetypes may show up at different times in our lives.
- They can be triggered by hormonal shifts, age shifts, or life changes.
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Three categories of Goddesses:
- Virgin Goddesses – characterized by independence. They didn’t belong to anyone.
- Vulnerable Goddesses – Relational Goddesses. Dependent upon relationships with people.
- Alchemical Goddess – neither a virgin nor vulnerable. She chose her companions and path. Never the victim.
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Virgin Goddesses:
- Artemis
- Hestia
- Athena
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Vulnerable Goddesses:
- Hera
- Persephone
- Demeter
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Alchemical Goddess:
- Aphrodite
- Virgin Goddess Archetypes are not driven by a need to please anyone – not even herself.
- They have a guiding star to whatever is true for them
- They have a one-track mind and are focused on whatever is driving them.
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Artemis was the daughter of Zeus. A very celebrated Goddess.
- She left civilization and dwelt in the forest with nymphs.
- She was the protector of wildlife and young girls.
- She was very earthy. Marked with a bow and arrow.
- Didn’t like to be around people too much.
- Environmentally focused
- Goddess of the hunt but a protector of wild animals.
- She only fell in love once, with Orion.
- Her brother, Apollo, challenged her to hit something floating in the ocean, so she did – and killed Orion.
- Artemis is extremely competitive.
- Examples of Artemis in pop culture:
- Katniss Eberdeen from Hunger Games
- Aria Stark from Game of Thrones
- “Far distant Artemis” – marked by separation. Can be cruel or unkind.
- Artemis can get caught up in the present and forget to build for the future.
- Not terribly creative
- We seem to be in a very Artemis time – Strong independence for women
- Feminist movements
- Artemis women stick together and separate from society, which makes them stronger
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Athena sprang from Zeus’s head as a full-grown woman.
- She was the goddess of wisdom, crafts and wartime strategy
- A lot of Thinker women identify with Athena energy
- She wears armor
- Credited with giving humanity the bridle to tame the horse
- Strategic and industrious – very productive
- Artemis separated from society and masculinity
- Athena identifies with masculine energy more than female
- Claire Underwood from House of Cards
- Athena women can be very protective of masculine energy and go to bat with Artemis women
- Athena is a feminine archetype, not an Animas
- She is a thinker character and entirely feminine
- Thinker women will likely identify with these two Goddesses
- Artemis is going to identify with TP women who use Introverted Thinking
- Athena is going to identify with TJ women who use Extraverted Thinking
- Feeler women who have conscious Thinking functions may identify with aspects of these Goddesses
- Athenas tend to go with what works and be more industrious
- Athena didn’t have a childhood and Athena women often feel like they didn’t have a childhood.
- So such women need to reclaim their childlike wonder and emotion
- Athenas need to discover their mother, too.
- They also tend not to forgive themselves very well and push themselves too hard
- They feel like they need to be tough because their mothers were missing
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Hestia is the only Goddess who didn’t have a face
- Hestia is Goddess of the hearth – Zeus’s sister
- Hestia doesn’t make a fuss.
- She is the least known among the Goddesses
- Women who have the Hestia archetype are warm and inviting, and they turn their homes into warm and inviting places.
- Support energy. Enabler.
- They turn housekeeping into a meditative experience.
- Hestia doesn’t demean her activity
- Second wave feminism – big push to remind Artemis and Athena that some women enjoy keeping house. The important thing is the ability to choose.
- Hestia women do activities that are not well celebrated.
- Hestia-like activities are unhurried, like photography.
- The Oracle from the Matrix is a Hestia personality
- Grandma from True Blood
- Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter – maybe
- Hestias can be a little quirky and weird because they are so inwardly focused
- Life Changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo
- To be devalued is very hurtful to Hestias
- It is hard for Hestias not to have something to hold onto
- The modern world is shifting away from institutions which Hestia finds comfortable.
- Hestias can acquire assertiveness by developing Artemis or Athena energy and learn to fight for themselves
- Hermes Animas
- Hestia and Hermes are frequently together
- Hestia was the hearth and Hermes was a pillar in the front of the house
- Inward and outward facing energy
- Hestia can develop the Hermes Animas to give her a front facing piece so she can be more assertive
- Hermes is a lot of fun. We will cover him in the Gods podcast
- We tend to overidentify with our experience. Don’t overvalue one Goddess over another
- Recognize the differences and honor them.
- Three vulnerable goddesses are coming up next
- Can you fit some of these archetypes in your life?
- We tend to deny our anima/animas
- Identify and integrate these parts of you
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28 comments
Thank you Antonia for the book suggestion and the podcast. I wish the book were in audiobook form. I appreciate the effort and time you and Joel put into to you podcast and all your programs.
Thank you for this amazing podcast. The god/goddess archetypes seemed like a lighthearted, fun break from your regular talks (reminded me of those internet quizzes ‘which city are you’) but boy was I wrong. Not that it wasn’t lighthearted but I was surprised at how useful it is to visualize different feminine and masculine energies through the Greek pantheon and to explore when and how you tap into them in your own life.
As an INTJ I was unsurprised that I identified most with Athena and Artemis (knowing a thing or two about Greek mythology). Artemis for my feminist ideals and tendency to hang out with my ‘sisters’. Athena because I’m very cerebral and want to be at least as good as ‘the boys’ careerwise. I did learn however, to my shame, that I have been undervaluing Hestia energy my entire life. Maybe because I feel pushed by society towards that role. But when you described her in detail, I could immediately think of a couple of women that I know who show up a lot like Hestia. In the shape of creating the conditions for others to thrive (our events planner at work) or enjoying quiet Marie Kondo style homemaking (an editor friend). I always considered it a character flaw that these women don’t stand up for themselves and don’t show much ambition. As you said, I took myself to be the norm to strive for – how narcissistic (reference intended). So I’ll definitely listen to the rest of this series. I am certain it will help me further in developing compassion for other people as well as show the value of other energies to use in areas of my own life.
Hestia’s have not been portrayed in great numbers in television of late. You can see them in Edith, Archie Bunker’s wife in All in the Family. June Lockhart as the mother of Timmy in Lassie is another. Sebastian Cabot portrayed a butler in Family Affair also demonstrated Hestia in his role. Beaver Cleaver’s mother was another. Take a trip down memory lane for Hestia examples.
I would type the Goddesses as follows:
Artemis (ISTP): Quite logical and rational, has her own way of doing things, finds meaning within herself, not defined by external logic or external standards of success, makes her own path in life based on what is personally meaningful and makes sense to her, loves to explore and is very curious (Ti), quite the athlete, great at physical activities, a nature child deeply in touch with everything the wilderness has to offer (Se), will fight for her personal goals and has some insight into other people but not much focused on the future (Ni), is very sensitive to others’ needs, quite the social justice warrior, tends to bond with and protect the underdog, which sometimes includes young vulnerable children, quite caring despite she leads with logic, she still needs to get in touch with her emotions and her vulnerable side (Fe).
Athena (INTJ): Quite the strategist, very future oriented, understands patterns and nuances many others might not notice, able to predict outcomes accurately (Ni), interested in intellectual and logical pursuits and very rational, but more focused on objective principles and standards of success (Te), not quite in touch with her emotions but they still run deep (Fi), not very grounded in the physical world, not in touch with her body, mostly focuses on the mind (Se).
Hestia (ISFJ): Very inner focused, has a personal inner world which shapes all of her views and her meaning, very contained and focused on working and taking care of home tasks (Si), very warm even though quite distant due to her introversion but is nonetheless focused on taking care of others’ needs and of making an inviting and cozy atmosphere at home (Fe), has her own logic and way of seeing things, doesn’t need external standards to tell her what is meaningful, as she derives meaning from her own conclusions and what makes sense to her (Ti), hasn’t got ambitions and isn’t much interested in intellectual conversations or things that go beyond what is personally meaningful to her (Ne).
Hera (ESTJ): defined by external objective standards of success, wants to manage and take charge of some of her partner’s business, wants to make sure their marriage is advantageous (Te), very traditional in her views, very concerned with taking care of wifely tasks, has her own way of seeing things (Si), sees lots of potential in her husband and children and wants them to become the best they can be (Ne), is too focused on external things to take good care of her emotions, might not realize her marriage isn’t as good as she thinks unless she takes time to reflect and think of how it is affecting her emotionally (Fi).
Demeter (ESFJ): a definite mother hen, constantly taking care of others’ needs to the point she might neglect her own (Fe), has traditional views when it comes to marriage and children, has a connection with the earth and all that is slow, steady and constant (Si), doesn’t expect too much of her children, only to see them happy, and she’s willing to give up her own life goals to focus on her family (Ne), needs to realize it’s rational and not selfish to take care of her own needs when she has to, otherwise she won’t be as capable of caring for others since she’ll be tired and burnt out (Ti).
Persephone (INFJ): has a connection with all things mystical and mysterious, sees beyond the surface and is deeply intuitive (Ni), needs others to take care of her, quite outspoken about her emotions, knows how to tell her mom what she wants to hear, very sensitive, needs affirmation from others (Fe), once she descends to the Underworld, she becomes more rational and capable of making decisions for herself, she doesn’t stop to question the consequences that eating Hades’ berries might bring (Ti), not much grounded, very focused on her inner life of daydreams instead of on the physical world, more in touch with her senses after she descends to the Underworld (Se).
Aphrodite (ESFP): Very sensual, loves to be in touch with the physical world around her and is responsive to it (Se), doesn’t really care what others think of her multiple affairs, follows her own path, is in touch with her own emotions and that allows her to express them in beautiful and artful ways (Fi), is able to establish boundaries between her and other people, never dependent on anyone, knows how to take care of herself though she doesn’t stop and think much about the consequences of her actions and is more emotional than rational (Te), doesn’t give much thought to the future and doesn’t really have many ambitions, she lives in the present (Ni).
As for what functions are more characteristic of each Goddess (and thus people with these functions higher in their stack might identify more with them), I would say their dominant and auxiliary functions. As can be observed, Virgin Goddesses seem to be introverted while most Vulnerable Goddesses are extroverted:
Athena: Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extroverted Thinking (Te).
Artemis: Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extroverted Sensing (Se).
Hestia: Introverted Sensing (Si), Extroverted Feeling (Fe).
Hera: Extroverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Sensing (Si).
Demeter: Extroverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Sensing (Si).
Persephone: Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extroverted Feeling (Fe).
Aphrodite: Extroverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Feeling (Fi).
Hope this helps anyone wondering about this, I agree with Antonia in her association of Artemis and Athena with Introverted and Extroverted Thinking respectively.
Very insightful podcast, can’t wait to listen to the next one. :)
Another way to think of the warmth of Hestia, instead of literal views of housekeeping and crafts, maybe look at the action of the story, which is that the life-giving force of contained fire is handed down from woman to woman, homemaker to homemaker, life giver to life giver. I think we too easily reduce this absolutely necessary energy. Think about it. Without the fierce (underlined) energy of giving life and then tending to it, we have nothing. We would be less than animals without it, but with the fire, we are something else: human, civilized, self-aware. It took fortitude and forward-seeing for people, women, to contain the fire, birth and feed the children. The calm comes from the knowledge that without tending to life, what comes is death. I’m taking care of a wild baby bird at the moment and he demands his life in ways that calls this real nurturing forward. Watch this Youtube video on an Australian woman who naturally conceived quintuplets and listen to how she talks about her body and energy when she faces having five babies growing within her, birthing them (with a lot of help) and caring for them. She almost talks of herself as a goddess. I think you’ll like it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJEiKDVfe0 This is a deeper, older energy perhaps. Please let it be as big and as important as it really is. The dull, personality-less housewife paradigm has been created by men and is but a watered down version of what it really is; even in Greek times this may have been true. Stilll in the 80’s when the book was written, there was a tugging at the tightness of this caricature but not the full-on awakening we are going through right now.