| |
The Goddess is riding in a chariot drawn by lions in a desert as the sun sets. She is an Amazon wearing Athene’s cape with its border of snakes and her lance, Ishtar’s (or later Artemis’) bow and arrows, and there is a shield on the front of the chariot with the head of Medusa (or Ereshkigal or Kali). Above is the starry sky where the evening star (Venus, connected to Ishtar) is shining brightly. She is driving without reins, using only her will. The Charioteer is definitely the ruler of her own universe. She has taken control of her life and can handle her ”vehicle” or personality.
She can be identified with Athene, Goddess of the cool rational intellect who has the guts to stand up for herself, but pefers to plan things out strategically rather than engaging in the messy business of fighting. The myth of Athena explores above all the quality of reflection, and her stories often compose a meditation on the value of thinking something through or seeing beyond the immediate response to an event. She assists so many heroes that this quality is thereby recommended for those on the heroic journey for self-mastery and understanding. She is not a goddess of procreation, but of creation, she is the worker, the maker, and as such connected to the soul, to soul-work. She is calm and centered, not taking her feelings too personally but knowing emotion for what it is - energy in motion - and letting it pass through her without holding on to it. She knows the balance between expressing an impulse and restraining it. She does not act on a whim, but knows how to harness the instincts to channel them the more effectively, she sees beyond the immediate satisfaction.
If we try this trick without the wisdom and delicate balance of Athene, the repressive control has the effect of draining the life out of that which we seek to control. The mind that subordinates everything to conscious will runs the risk of becoming rigid, cut off from the very forces it has learned to control. Will becomes reduced to willfulness, a determination to triumph over life. The chariot becomes a chariot of war which crushes whomever finds himself in its path, while we are hiding our heart behind our armour.
About • Majors • Minors • Contact • Links
Created by Maria Näslund ©1997-2002.