In this blog post I want to bring forward four specific wisdom goddess archetypes from Jean Shinoda Bolen’s book, Goddesses in Older Women, that support the concept of wisewomen in our psyches--ones that are of a soul quality that are most often identified with the Crone phase of women’s lives. Its counterpart for men would be the wiseman, but always remember, both women and men hold both, in wholeness. Bolen cautions that a long life is not a guarantee of wisdom. It takes conscious personal work to live an “examined life” that recognizes and names these wisdom qualities within ourselves and others.
The first wisdom goddess is Metis, Goddess of practical and Intellectual wisdom. In Greek mythology she was Zeus’s pursued first wife. He swallowed her when she was pregnant and then he gave birth to their daughter, Athena, who was born out of Zeus’s head! To my mind, that is a real stretch. Athena is the archetype for the male-identified female.
This myth is full of archetypal symbology that is relevant in contemporary culture. How often through history have women’s creation and ideas been “swallowed” by males or the male establishment? The examples of “Code Breakers of Bletchly Circle” featuring women who worked during WWII on German codes and “Hidden Figures,” about women mathematicians who helped bring the astronauts back to earth come to mind. Can you think of others?
And how many “women behind the man” have there been that you can think of? The wife of Dr. Benjamin Spock is one that comes to mind as does the first wife of Albert Einstein. Dr. Candice Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion tells another story of a woman set aside. “Pert had a pivotal role in the discovery of opiate receptors and endorphins for which her male mentor and two male researchers received the Lasker Award, second only to the Nobel Prize.” p. 9. Later, after she spoke up, she was included in the Nobel Prize. The recent movie, “The Wife,” features a woman who actually wrote the books that earn her husband the Nobel Prize! It is a powerful film and Glenn Close and Jonathon Pryce did it justice!
A reverse of these stories pleasantly surprised me as I watched the recent documentary, “RBG.’ Ruth Bader Ginsurg’s husband was the man behind the woman at the same time that he pursued a distinguished legal career himself. This is what I call the “man with the heart” archetype in action. It is the generative aspect of the masculine principle that often shows up in older men, as Robert DeNiro exemplified in the move, “The Intern.” Merlin, the old wizard who mentored King Arthur, demonstrates this masculine principle archetype for men.
Here is Bolen’s description of the Metis energy within us: “Metis’s wisdom is practical and applied wisdom that utilizes intelligence and mastery of a skill, usually with tangible results made evident through her work.” It is a stage of mentoring and sharing one’s knowledge with others. You draw upon Metis wisdom to make decisions about how to spend the third phase of your life or in making career decisions requiring foresight. Gerda Lerner, who began teaching and writing in the last third of her life, I see as being particularly strong in Metis wisdom.
*** Bolen quotes Merlin Stone who raises the question: “Why do so many educated people in this century think of classical Greece as the first major culture, when written language was in use and great cities were built at least twenty-five centuries before that time? And perhaps more important, why is it continually inferred that the age of the “pagan” religions, the time of the worship of female deities (if mentioned at all), was dark and chaotic, mysterious and evil, without the light of order and reason that supposedly accompanied the later male religions, when it has been archaeologically confirmed that the earliest laws, government, medicine, agriculture, architecture, metallurgy, wheeled vehicles, ceramics, textiles and written language were initially developed in societies that worshiped the Goddess?’ (p. 14-15).
This is just a sample of future blog posts that will explore Goddess History. The Sacred feminine principle was alive and well in world history before the coming of the Greeks.
The second Wisdom Goddess is Sophia which means wisdom in Greek. She is a goddess figure referred to in the old testament only. “Sophia was a major divine figure in the beliefs of first-century Gnostic Christians who were denounced as heretics by orthodox Christian bishops and successfully persecuted in the Fourth Century.” p. 25.
The Sophia archetype is that of spiritual wisdom or soul knowledge that is something we know through gnosis. Logos is what we can know objectively (masculine principle) and gnosis is what can only be known subjectively (feminine principle). “Objective knowledge can be learned through teachers, books or observation of something outside of ourselves...Gnostic knowledge is what is revealed to us or intuitively perceives as spiritually true.” p. 26. Intuition fits in this category of knowing. I will explore this more fully in future blog posts.
A question to ponder is how much objective knowledge was created by subjective gnosis? Einsteins’s theory of relativity reportedly came through a dream and the Watson-Crick double helix model of the DNA structure was also reported to be ‘envisioned’ as a starting place for its discovery. How many other hunches or insights became subjective knowledge? One is most often given more credit than the other but this process is an example of the “dance” of co-equal, masculine and feminine principle ideas.
Sophian wisdom is found in our knowing of life’s purpose and that we are all part of an interconnected universe. It comes labeled as “women’s intuition” which is often demeaned and yet a way of knowing another person’s character. Intuition is not exclusive to females! We all have the capacity for it! It is a Feminine Principle quality and is more often attributed to women than men because women are more socialized to “tune in” to others.
What thoughts or examples of this do you have to offer? Wisewomen speak up and out, bravely sharing their Sophian wisdom. Inspiration for writing, poetry and art come from this place!
In Bolen’s book, the Sophia archetype is a very enlightening chapter….worth a read. If you are one of those people working to bring female divinity into religion, you are expressing Sophia Wisdom. “When we do not have the concept or word for goddess, we can’t see Sophia even though she is there.” p. 38.
Our third wisdom goddess is Hecate, Goddess of intuitive and psychic wisdom, the energy behind the determiner of the choices and directions we take in life. She is the dark goddess of the crossroads, the inner witness and wisdom learned from life experience. She is the observer. One stays with Hecate until one becomes clear about what is the next step to take in our decision-making process.
“Hecate is an inner midwife whose perspective aids us when we birth new aspects of ourselves. She helps us let go of what is ready to die: outmoded attitudes, outgrown roles, whatever elements in our lives are no longer life-affirming.” p.47 She is the discerner.
Does anyone recognize the energy of this goddess as a subpersonality or influencer in one’s life? Think about her qualities and how they are present in your life. It may or may not have been a particulary comfortable time. When she has been with me, I have called it a “growthful time”, one that stretches my edges.
This goddess or aspect of ourselves has been negativized and made to appear dark and scary like the “witch” but she is a powerful force for change, one of our most important qualities. Of course, the patriarchy is not fond of her because she brings in a power that activates the “unto oneselfness” in women. This is the quality that separates one from external rules and values inner promptings for decision-making. She is present in the Greek Demeter/Persephone story as the dispassionate observer, part of the third aspect of the Maiden/Mother/Crone archetype.
The Descent of Inanna story from ancient Sumerian writings is also an example of Hecate’s compelling energy. She watches over our descent as we encounter and learn from a death, an illness, a financial loss, depression, despair or cynicism. Bolen poses a couple of Hecate questions to ask yourself. “What have I learned from my own life experience?” and “What truth do I need to face?” The secret is to become quiet and wait for your answers to present themselves.
A Hecate quote: “To seek the truth rather than stay in ignorance or denial or speak the truth rather than remain silent, are critical, at- the-crossroads decisions.”
Our fourth Wisdom Goddess is Hestia. “Hestia’s presence warms the heart, nourishes the soul and makes others feel welcome.” p.66. She is the energy presence that allows ourselves and others to suspend judgements, make no comparisons and delete the need to understand, allowing to ourselves and others to comfortably just BE. She is the energy goddess of both the inner and outer hearth and home.
The book, Goddesses in Older Women does not finish with these four wisdom goddesses. Bolen goes on to describe other goddess energy subpersonalities that are more action-based, complementing and counterbalancing those highlighted here. It is well worth recognizing and reclaiming these parts of ourselves. Bolen considers all of these goddesses as subpersonalities and considers them to be her “inner committee…All of these wisewomen archetypes are beyond the need for the delusion that something or someone outside of themselves will complete them. They are at peace with themselves just as they are.” p. 62. “I am enough.” is a powerful affirmation that is the primary building stone claiming one’s own power.
Once again the concept of subpersonalities presents itself in another context. Jean Shinoda Bolen’s wise council of wisdom goddesses is the same as the personal qualities that present themselves in everyday life. As previously mentioned in one of the beginning posts, we are choosing to activate a part of ourselves (subpersonalities) at all times. Below is a subpersonality diagram that includes the diagram of what your Wisewomen Council might look like.
Can you identify any living or once living wisewomen in your life that could be put into your wisewoman subpersonality wheel? They are all a part of your internalized wise council, available for consultation. My most vivid memory of this in action was in a therapy session when my therapist said, “I need to take a , moment to consult with myself.” I was very impressed with what she did in that moment….just listened to her inner wisdom and after a few silent moments, responded to me. From that moment, I learned to embrace the power of silence!
In the next blog post, I will share two guided imageries that may help you be in touch with the wisdom goddess energy subpersonalities within yourself.