I love studying the Divine Feminine Goddesses because I can see myself in many of their aspects. These Goddesses are archetypal or universal representations of all of us. I can relate to these archetypal representations on a deep level. As I see myself in these representations, I can understand myself more deeply, and I can accept myself in a different way.

It is interesting that none of these archetypes are perfect. Each Goddess has wonderful, loving characteristics, but she also has a shadow side that can trip her up or even harm the people she loves. For example, the Hindu Goddess Kali can be the Goddess of liberation, but she is also the Goddess of death and rebirth. The Greek Goddess, Artemis, represents focus and achievement of goals, but her shadow can inadvertently hurt the people who love her, and she can be merciless to her enemies. Demeter is the personification of the loving mother archetype, but she was willing to destroy the world in her grief.

Each of us embodies numerous archetypes, many of which we are unconscious of. As I study the Divine Feminine and her myriad aspects, I become more aware of both my strengths and my weaknesses. I can see the part of me that is both positive and negative. I can see that sometimes my greatest strengths are sometimes my greatest weaknesses. As I look at each Goddess, I can begin to choose to accept all of those parts of me, the good, the bad, and the ugly, as who I am. I can begin to meld those parts together to create a whole that is more than the sum of each separate characteristic. I can learn that I don’t have to be perfect to be enough.

This week my women’s group will be looking at Parvati, a Hindu Goddess who symbolizes the aspect of devotion. We will be asking ourselves questions that will clarify what devotion means to each of us and what is its shadow side. Some of those questions are

1. To what are you devoted?
2. How do you practice devotion?
3. How do you decide what is worthy of devotion?
4. Have you ever devoted yourself to something that wasn’t good for you?
5. What were the consequences and how did you disentangle yourself?

As I contemplate the various aspects of the Divine Feminine, as represented by many Goddesses, it is interesting to delve deeper into each of them to discover more about who I am and what makes me tick. As I ask the deep questions, it becomes an exercise in self-discovery. I invite you to join me on the journey. Look closely at some of these Goddesses and ask yourself how they manifest in your life. What do you love? What do you want to change?

Barbara Garland
August, 2022