Goddess (see also Heroine)

The oldest religious tradition on earth may well be Goddess worship, which some archaeologists trace back further than 30,000
years. It was certainly natural to worship the archetype of woman as the Source of all life, especially in the age before male
warriors replaced Her with their combative sky gods. The connection of fertility with exaggerated sexual attributes found in
ancient statues of the Goddess survive in modern worship of screen goddesses such as Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The
Goddess can be inspiring to women, embodying wisdom, guidance, physical grace, athletic prowess, and sensuality. This aspect is
awakened by our relation to the goddesses of various spiritual traditions, including Kali, Durga, and Uma in India, Tara in Tibet,
Quanyin in China, and the many manifestations of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Western belief, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe or
the Black Madonna of Czestajowa.

The shadow side of the Goddess emerges from the exploration of the feminine power, including the exploitation or
over-indulgence of movie stars and fashion models.

Identifying with a goddess figure as a major archetype in your chart requires that you review life-long associations with the image
and personality associated with it. Athena is the able-bodied warrior woman as well as the classic "powerful woman behind the
throne." Today we see this power re-emerging in popular form in neo-mythic characters such as Xena the Warrior Princess and
The energy of Venus (Aphrodite) is prevalent in
women who form their self-image strongly around their sexuality. Study the specific qualities of each goddess and evaluate how
much of your sense of self is reflected in one of those patterns, beginning with a few of the most familiar names from the
Roman/Greek pantheon:

Venus/Aphrodite: love and fertility

Diana/Artemis: nature and hunting

Minerva/Athena: strength, clear thinking

Ceres/Demeter: motherhood

Juno/Hera: queenship and partnership

Proserpina/Persephone: mysticism and mediumship

Sophia: wisdom

Films: Kim Stanley in The Goddess; Ava Gardner in One Touch of Venus; Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch; Mira Sorvino in
Mighty Aphrodite.

Fiction: She by H. Rider Haggard

Religion/Myth: Every culture in the world has mythological stories portraying the power of the Goddess. Besides those mentioned
above, you can choose from Tara and Quanyin (Tibetan and Chinese bodhisattvas of compassion); Amaterasu Omigami (Shinto
Sun goddess); Shakti (Hindu personification of energy as Divine Mother); Branwen (Celtic goddess of love and beauty); Oshun
(East African Yoruba goddess of pleasure, love, and beauty); Pan Jin Lian (Chinese goddess of prostitution); Frigg (Norse goddess
of marriage, motherhood, childbirth, and midwifery); Turan (Etruscan goddess of love, health, and fertility).