Your Goddess Archetype is Hecate

Goddesses and Personal Archetypes

Archetypes are inner images that embody universal characteristics and experiences. They are responsible for the persistent themes we see surfacing in our own lives. Myths and fairy tales, many artistic images, and many of the characters we encounter in our dreams are expressions of these archetypes. As inner guides that exist in your personality, the goddess archetypes influence how you behave, how you think and feel, and how you relate to others. Since the goddess stories that are passed on in the mythology of human cultures embody the expression of female character, they provide us with a rich and fascinating way to gain access to the personal archetypes that are active in our lives.

How to Use Your Personal Goddess Type:

The interpretation of your goddess quiz begins on the next page. Each section starts with a brief guide to understanding the information, followed by your personal results. Before you begin to study it, take a few minutes to review a few basic concepts that will help you use the goddess report to:

• Understand/accept yourself as the unique goddess you are meant to be.

• Learn how to use the guide on the goddess path to personal fulfillment.

The results of your goddess assessment can be used in several different ways. One is to treat your report simply as interesting reading to be enjoyed. As the 100-year-old woman answered, ‘ Sure, Sonny, I believe in horoscopes. At my age I believe in anything that makes life more interesting!’ Have fun with the report. Use it, and information available at the website, as an entrance to the fascinating world of mythology and personality type. Learn to recognize patterns of behavior among your family, friends, and coworkers while you gain a better picture of your own strengths, abilities, and vulnerabilities.

A second approach is to use your results to learn to relax and accept yourself for who you really are. Recognizing the strength and beauty of your own personal goddess type can be a deeply empowering experience. If your goddess type is not one that is valued highly by society, your sense of self-esteem will almost certainly have been threatened. Take comfort from learning about the richness of your goddess type and realize that, even if it seems you are often ‘marching to the beat of a different drummer’, you share your type with many others and don’t have to try to force yourself into the mold of a more socially acceptable type. You are not alone.

The third approach is to use the report as a guide on your path to personal growth. It can help you see and understand the underlying reasons for the patterns of your life. Each goddess type has both strengths and weaknesses. Knowing about your goddess type, you can capitalize upon those strengths (and guard against the weaknesses) while you begin to work on your underdeveloped traits. The more you function within your inherent goddess type, the stronger and more confident you will become, the more control you have over your life, and the better prepared you are to make the choices that create the life you want. You can enlist the help of other, less well-developed goddess types, thereby enlarging your repertoire of attitudes, feelings, and behaviors. You will be less rigid and more flexible, better able to meet the wide variety of challenges and demands that your life may present. Your report highlights ways you can assist this process of ‘becoming’.

Your Personal Goddess Type:

Her Story and Her Symbols

Each one of us is born with an inherent temperament that predisposes us to develop as one of a number of goddess types. These ‘goddess gifts’ reveal themselves at an early age and remain fairly constant throughout our lives. They influence how you learn and think, how you decide and act, who you select as friends and mates, even where your talents lie, in short, everything that makes you unique and guides the direction of your life. This gift, your personal goddess type, is your favored, most trusted style in dealing with the outer world.

Hecate

Greek Goddess of the Crossroads

Hecate, Greek goddess of the three paths, guardian of the household, protector of everything newly born, and the goddess of witchcraft — once a widely revered and influential goddess, the reputation of Hecate has been tarnished over the centuries. In current times, she is usually depicted as a “hag” or old witch stirring the cauldron.

But nothing could be further from the image of Hecate’s original glory.

A beautiful and powerful goddess in her own right, the Greek goddess Hecate was the only one of the ancient Titans who Zeus allowed to retain their authority once the Olympians seized control. Zeus shared with Hecate, and only her, the awesome power of giving humanity anything she wished (or withholding it if she pleased).

Usually classified as a “moon goddess”, her kingdoms were actually three-fold . . . the earth, sea, and sky. Having the power to create or withhold storms undoubtedly played a role in making her the goddess who was the protector of shepherds and sailors.

A lover of solitude, the Greek goddess Hecate was, like her cousin Artemis, a “virgin” goddess, unwilling to sacrifice her independent nature for the sake of marriage. Walking the roads at night or visiting cemeteries during the dark phase of the moon, the goddess Hecate was described as shining or luminous.

In other legends she is invisible, perhaps only glimpsed as a light, a “will-o-the-wisp”. Perhaps it was this luminous quality that marked Hecate as a “moon goddess”, for she seemed quite at home on the earth. Some scholars believe it is also was because her mother was Asteria (Titan goddess of the Shining Light or “Star”) or because sensibly, she always carried a torch on her journeys.

Like Artermis, Hecate was usually depicted with her sacred dogs, although Hecate and even her animals, were sometimes said to have three heads and that they could see in all directions. Although usually depicted as a beautiful woman having three human heads, some images are fearsome indeed (one with a snake’s head, one with a horse’s, and the third a boar’s head).

This farsightedness, the ability to see in several directions at once (even the past, present, and future) featured largely in her most famous myth, the abduction of Persephone. For it was the goddess Hecate who “saw” and told the frantic Demeter what had become of her daughter.

The goddess Hecate continued to play an important role in the life of Persephone, becoming her confidante when she was in the Underworld. Hades, thankful for their friendship, was more than hospitable, honoring Hecate as a prominent and permanent guest in the spirit world. Surely this had the effect of enhancing her reputation as a spirit of black magic with the power to conjure up dreams, prophecies, and phantoms.

Hecate’s ability to see into the underworld, the “otherworld” of the sleeping and the dead, made her comfortable and tolerant in the company of those most would shun out of fear or misunderstanding.

In her role as ‘Queen of the Night’, sometimes traveling with a following of “ghosts” and other social outcasts, she was both honored and feared as the protectress of the oppressed and of those who lived “on the edge”. In Rome many of the priests in her sacred groves were former slaves who had been released to work in her service.

The goddess Hecate was often accompanied on her travels by an owl, a symbol of wisdom. Not really known as a goddess of wisdom, per se, Hecate is nevertheless recognized for a special type of knowledge and is considered to be the goddess of trivia. Hecate’s farsightedness and attention to detail, combined with her extraordinary interest in that which most of us discount as irrelevant or arcane, gave her tremendous powers. She knew what the rest of us did not.

Not surprisingly, the people thought it best to give the goddess Hecate (and any friends that might be accompanying her) a lot of honor and a fairly wide berth. When darkness descended they wisely retired to the fireside for supper, but put the leftovers outside as an offering to Hecate and her hounds.

That the homeless and destitute were often the actual beneficiaries hardly mattered…after all, they were under Hecate’s protection.

In a similar fashion, food was often left at the crossroads to honor Hecate, especially at junctions where three roads converged –what we often call a “Y-intersection”. Frequently a pole was erected at the intersection and three masks would be hung from it to pay homage to Hecate and to request her guidance in helping to choose the right direction.

Three-faced masks also adorned the entrances of many homes, honoring the goddess Hecate who could, of course, wield her influence over “the spirits that traveled the earth” to keep them from entering the household.

It is hardly surprising that a woman who needed to make a trip alone at night would say a brief prayer to Hecate to seek her protection. The goddess Hecate, like her cousin Artemis, was known as a protector of women, especially during childbirth.

Not only was Hecate called upon to ease the pains and progress of a woman’s labor, but especially to protect and restore the health and growth of a child.

Similarly, Hecate played a role that, in contemporary times, we would describe as “hospice nurse”, helping the elderly make a smooth and painless passage into the next life and staying with them, if need be, in the otherworld to help prepare them for their eventual return to the earth in their next life.

Familiar with the process of death and dying as well as that of new birth and new life, the goddess Hecate was wise in all of earth’s mysteries.

The Greek goddess Hecate reminds us of the importance of change, helping us to release the past, especially those things that are hindering our growth, and to accept change and transitions. She sometimes asks us to let go of what is familiar, safe, and secure and to travel to the scary places of the soul.

New beginnings, whether spiritual or mundane, aren’t always easy. But Hecate is there to support and show you the way. She loans her farsightedness for you to see what lies deeply forgotten or even hidden, and helps you make a choice and find your path. Oft times she shines her torch to guide you while you are in dreams or meditation.

Hecate teaches us to be just and to be tolerant of those who are different or less fortunate, yet she is hardly a “bleeding heart”, for Hecate dispenses justice “blindly” and equally. Whether the Greek goddess Hecate visits us in waking hours or only while we sleep, she can lead us to see things differently (ourselves included) and help us find greater understanding of our selves and others. Although her name may mean “The Distant One”, Hecate is always close at hand in times of need, helping us to release the old, familiar ways and find our way through new beginnings. 

Hecate’s Symbols  

 

General:

 

Torches, candles, dark moon, raisin and current cakes, crossroads (especially Y-int4ersections, three-headed animals and statues, the number 3, and masks.

 

 

Animals:

 

Bats, dogs, horses, owls, snakes, sheep (especially black female lambs), and boars.

 

 

Plants:

 

Willows, dark yew, blackthorn, groves of trees, saffron, raisins, currants, pumpkins and gourds.

 

 

Perfume/Scents:

 

Queen of the Night (a light floral scent), cinnamon, myrrh, mugwort, honey, lime and lemon verbena.

 

 

Gems and Metals:

 

Sapphire, opal, silver, gold, moonstone, black tourmaline, black onyx, smoky quartz and any stone that is either dark or luminous.

 

Colors:

 

 

Black, orange, yellow-orange, red-orange, and gold.

The Hecate Archetype

Every woman’s personality is actually influenced by numerous different goddesses (traits that exist in her personality, or roles that function in her life). One goddess, however, predominates. It is this goddess, your personal goddess type, that is detailed in this report because she represents the core part of your personality that establishes your identity and most influences how you express it to the outer world. Think of it as your own personal ‘comfort zone’ your personal goddess type represents your basic, in-born core, the way you ‘really’ are. When you are functioning within the boundaries of your goddess type, you feel ‘at home with yourself’. Anxieties will be dissolved, priorities clearer, and you will feel energized, resilient, and capable. If your circumstances are well matched to your goddess type, your normal coping mechanisms will work well, and you will feel a sense of control over your destiny.

Hecate Characteristics

An Hecate woman may present a calm, pleasant face to the world, but she is anything but distant. Just as her legend portrays, she is one of the most passionate of the goddesses, willing to go to the ends of the earth because she cares so deeply and intensely about a very special person or cause. As one of the most self-confident of all the goddesses, Hecate did not simply give up when faced with adversity but followed her unerring sense of what might be possible to achieve and faced the challenges set before her.

Hecates have rich inner lives so she tends to be reserved and spends much of her time ‘inside her own head’ she may be hard to get to know. Sometimes this characteristic may leave her feeling isolated from others. Even though her low level of emotional expression sometimes makes her seem distant and unresponsive, she is usually almost overly sensitive to signs of rejection from those she cares about.

Sustained by a rich inner life, most Hecates are rather self-contained, self-assured, and independent. Hecates usually behave in a very self-restrained manner with strangers, letting them take the initiative. Although their first impression may be that you are emotionless, when your interest becomes triggered you become quite animated and passionate as the conversation progresses. However, Hecates are not likely to participate in a conversation on a subject that doesn’t interest them, although they always give others the chance to say whatever they want. It’s just that Hecates would rather stay silent on subjects they have no interest in. As a rule an Hecate is not quick to reject the ideas and proposals of others, preferring to think them through first.

Hecates rarely demonstrate intense emotions. An Hecate is not even quick to share her innermost thoughts and feelings with others, except for those she knows well and trusts. She is not a social butterfly and tends to look for a few close friends who understand and appreciate her special nature. These deep friendships are very important to her even though she may not disclose much about herself. Even her closest friends are occasionally surprised when she displays a new side of her personality that they haven’t seen. It’s not that she’s inconsistent; it’s just that she has a very complex personality that sometimes puzzles even her.

Above all else, an Hecate seeks unity and wholeness in her life. Her body and intellect, her emotions and will, must all be consistent for her to feel comfortable with herself. She values harmony and may go to considerable lengths to avoid being in a situation of constant conflict. She is highly sensitive to the feelings of others and enjoys pleasing those she cares about. However, she does not find it easy to be physically demonstrative and may not express her positive feelings verbally, instead communicating her interest and affection indirectly. She has a strong capacity for sympathy and adaptability in her relationships and is generally easy to get along with. Hecates tend to be compliant in most everyday matters, even preferring that others make the decisions. But any violation of one of her important values (which can take the form of ideals she holds sacred) and she will dig in and refuse to budge. An Hecate knows her bottom line and will not betray it.

Hecates don’t always ‘fit in’ easily with others. They usually are very open-minded and have interests that may seem a little ‘bizarre’ to others (e.g., the supernatural or occult, extrasensory phenomena, the metaphysical, and spiritual). Like your Hecate sisters, you probably have an interesting, unusual, perhaps even eccentric, lifestyle and are somewhat idiosyncratic and rather indifferent to criticism. In short, you ‘march to the beat of a different drummer’.

If you dress like most Hecates, your clothes are not particularly striking or stylish. Most Hecates don’t like to call attention to themselves and usually stick to simple, comfortable clothes, often wearing the same styles for quite a while. In other ways you are also not very demanding-on an everyday basis you require only a minimum degree of comfort and may even forget to eat when you’re involved in something interesting. Actually, you are rather indifferent to food and its presentation and are happy with it as long as it is fresh, no matter how simply it is prepared.

You are self-confident and rely on your strong will to accomplish your goals, which are usually clear and well-defined. Decision-making and contingency planning come easily to you. You can hardly rest until you have things settled, with a backup plan in place. You are also a bit of a perfectionist, always trying to make things better. Your self-confidence which is communicated to others as there being a certain ‘definiteness’ about you, can easily be mistaken as arrogance . . . but you actually do know what you know and what you care about. And you push others to work as diligently as you do yourself.

An expert innovator and decision-maker, an Hecate is usually a valuable employee in an organizational setting. Hecates have the capacity to work in positions that require solitude and intense concentration. An Hecate usually enjoys brainstorming, problem-solving and developing innovative solutions, translating theory into practice. Although not terribly impressed by authority for authority’s sake, she is nonetheless a loyal employee and diligent worker who is always generous with praise and recognition for her coworkers and the employees that she supervises.

Given her ability to tolerate and enjoy solitude, many Hecates choose to be homemakers. But however an Hecate chooses to commit her talents, she will usually be successful. After all, she has great enthusiasm, insight, originality, and a depth of concentration that is unique.

Your Personal Characteristics

Hecates tend to be quiet, low-key, and often disengaged from the social ‘flurries’ that go on in the world around you. You prefer the company of a few close friends or an intimate to a loud and lively party or to interacting with a wide circle of friends. It’s not necessarily that you’re unfriendly or shy; you simply need less social stimulation than other types. You generally prefer to be alone because you find yourself easily overwhelmed by large or noisy crowds, your energy being depleted by such social situations. Although some may mistake your independence and reserve as aloofness, you actually need time on your own to recharge your emotional ‘batteries’ and to restore your energy.

Unlike Hecate, you are fairly extroverted. You enjoy being with people, are full of energy, and tend to be
enthusiastic. You genuinely like other people and openly demonstrate your positive feelings toward them. It is easy
for you to form close relationships, and you tend to make friends quickly.

Hecates usually find the company of others somewhat draining. They don’t enjoy the company of others and the
excitement of crowds as much as extroverted types do. Hecates typically need a fair bit of privacy and time for
themselves. Your quiz indicates that you are somewhat more outgoing than most Hecates since your level of
gregariousness is average.

Like your goddess Hecate, you have a rather unconventional soul. Although at times you may seesaw between adhering to
the traditional and the unorthodox, the practical and the idealistic, you are by nature imaginative, creative, and
somewhat individualistic.

Tolerant and broadminded, you have considerable impact on the people you encounter, even though you seldom may
recognize it. Your tendency to be freedom-loving and somewhat independent leads you to insist upon living your own
life as you see fit, even if that means ignoring convention.

You, like Hecate, are someone whose ‘heart rules her head’, for you have good access to your feelings and find it
relatively easy to express them openly Sometimes you do so even though it would be wiser not to. Though it may leave
you vulnerable on occasion, wearing your heart on your sleeve usually makes others feel comfortable in talking to
you about their feelings and in sharing confidences with you.

Like Hecate, your needs are fairly simple, and you are not usually difficult to please. You have a moderately strong
desire for stability and peace. Although you may enjoy occasional travel or the adventure of new experiences, you do
not require them to feel fulfilled like Hecate did. Instead, you are comfortable with familiarity and routine and do
not find them intrinsically boring, consequently you are not compelled to seek thrills or adventure at every turn.

Like Hecate, your levels of excitement- and thrill-seeking are average, indicating you have neither a tendency
toward either high or low levels of risk-taking behavior.

Like the goddess Hecate, you show a readiness to question or challenge convention, authority, and traditional
values. Like her, you have an ability to tolerate (or even enjoy) a level of ambiguity, chaos, and disorder that
many others would find uncomfortable. Her myths portrayed her as a goddess who was somewhat unconventional, ready to
question traditional values and, when need be, to challenge authority.

Many of the legends of Hecate recount stories that demonstrate her conscientiousness, her wisdom, and caution. Highly
conscientious, Hecate was able to avoid danger and to achieve success through her purposeful planning and her
persistence. Like her, you tend to avoid impulsive behavior that would diminish your effectiveness and subject you
to undesirable consequences.

This ability to foresee the likely outcomes of your behavior is a hallmark of intelligence. Your ability to
contemplate long-range goals, to plan and organize routes to these goals, and your willingness to persist in your
efforts even when you’d rather be doing something else, is one of you goddess gifts. . . one that gives you the
ability to successfully undertake projects that require organized effort in sequenced steps or stages. Others
probably regard you as being intelligent and reliable.

On the negative side, some women of the Hecate type can become compulsive perfectionists and workaholics who set high
(sometimes unrealistically high) standards of performance for them and others. Furthermore, Hecate types like you
are sometimes so focused on their goals that they find it difficult to relax, not to mention play. Acting
spontaneously and impulsively when you are playing can be fun. Others usually see spontaneous people as colorful,
wacky, and fun to be with. Give yourself permission to act in a carefree and careless manner every once in a
while-at least no one will accuse you of being stuffy or boring.

In her myths Hecate is usually depicted as someone who is moderately confident in her ability to accomplish her
goals, someone who believes she has the common sense, the drive, and the self-control to overcome the obstacles in
her path. Your level of confidence in your ability to succeed is higher than hers.

You are well organized and like to live according to routines and schedules, your attention keenly focused on what
you have to accomplish. But short of spontaneity, sometimes you may be so bound up in your lists of ‘Things To Do’
that you overlook valuable opportunities to enrich your life.

Hecate was known for having a sense of duty and moral obligation that was moderate, neither remarkably high nor low.
Unlike her, your sense of obligation is fairly high. You reliably honor your commitments and do not find contracts,
rules and regulations overly confining.

The goddess Hecate was seldom impulsive. Your level of impulsiveness is low, like hers. You usually take your time before speaking or making decisions, considering your alternatives and carefully weighing the consequences of your actions. Impulses are not inherently bad; acting on our impulses can be an effective response in situations requiring snap decisions. Additionally, acting spontaneously and impulsively makes play possible. People who are impulsive are often seen as being colorful, exciting, and fun. Nonetheless, excessive impulsivity can lead to trouble – examples include using illicit drugs that eventually destroy one’s health, responding with an insult during an argument leading to the destruction of an important relationship, or excessive socializing that results in being fired from one’s job. Hecate usually thought things through carefully before she sprang into action. She was deliberate and cautious when making decisions. Like Hecate, you tend to take your time before deciding and seldom do or say the first thing that comes to mind without deliberating your alternatives and their probable consequences.

How An Hecate’s Mind Works

Your goddess type is largely determined by the neurological hard-wiring you received at birth. It governs the way you think and learn. Unfortunately, most of us have been exposed to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ educational system that fails to take into account that not everyone has the same style of learning. Understanding how you think and learn best can help you be more productive at work or in school.

Although the Hecate woman is not always the best at the small social rituals that are designed to place others at ease, she is remarkably at home with logic. In addition to being comfortable with expressible logic (concepts, principles, and theories), she possesses an intuition where she forms vague and unexpressible impressions that have uncanny accuracy. Consequently, she is able to find innovative strategies and tactics that have a high potential for paying off. Hecates are unlikely to stick for long with any strategy that is inefficient or unlikely to succeed.

An Hecate thinks in broad terms, is forward-looking, and progressive. They have a natural facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions and may greatly be moved by music and the visual and performing arts as well as the raw beauty of nature. Undisturbed by complexity, ambiguity, or subtlety, they tend to enjoy novelty, variety, and change. They usually have several different “projects” underway at the same time, though you may leave some of them incomplete when they abandon them for newer interests.

Sometimes Hecates form an opinion of a person or situation without much factual knowledge, and their intuition is often correct. It may be hard to explain to others but intangible forces seem just as real to them as anything in the concrete world. They are quick to sense the possibilities in any given situation and are more likely to focus on them that on any of the specific details of “what-actually-is” that others observe. They tend to have restless minds and a thirst for mental stimulation, preferring to see the “big picture” and what it might mean rather than discovering how all the little pieces fit together. This “broad-stroke” approach can become a bit sloppy at times, so in some situations it’s a good idea to have a co-worker one can rely upon to handle any details that require technical precision.

Your level of creativity and imagination is fairly high. Like Hecate you are blessed with the capacity to imagine
the possibilities and to envision a richer, more interesting world than other individuals who are more conventional
and down-to-earth can.

True to your nature as an Hecate, you are open-minded to new and unusual ideas and like to play with ideas and
debate intellectual issues. You probably enjoy riddles, puzzles and brainteasers. Like her, your level of ability
and comfort in thinking abstractly is high.

Hecate’s self-discipline or will power was easily recognized in her myths. Like hers, your level of self-discipline
is high. You are able to overcome any reluctance to begin a task (even a disagreeable one) and to stay on track
despite distractions. You seem to find it easy to persist at difficult or unpleasant tasks, seeing them through to
completion.

An Hecate is born with a hunger for knowledge and a burning desire for competence. She wants to be competent and to
understand . . . able to predict, explain, and control her world. Her eye is always focused on finding the way to
gain mastery of her self and her environment, constantly seeking solutions to problems, no matter how complex they
might seem. She is typically involved with projects that call for innovation, creativity, and vision. An Hecate
enjoys learning for its own sake. Never satisfied, she is motivated to continually improve, always raising the
standard by which she judges her own success. Typically she is her own worst critic.

Lectures that are logical and evidence-based appeal to most Hecate types . . . even more so if they are followed by
assignments requiring relevant, long term or extensive independent papers or projects. Intellectual exploration
through experimentation, analysis, and problem solving are her forte. She collects theories, laws, principles, and
concepts to give structure to her understanding of the world.

As an Hecate you are likely to excel as an independent learner, and, if motivated, can do well in a distance learning
situation or in classes that give you considerable latitude in choice of projects and/or approaches. You may succeed
in classroom situations which are very instructor-driven, allowing you scant opportunity to explore the areas that
seem most fruitful to you, and in those which require group projects that ‘slow you down’, but you probably find
them very frustrating. You possess a keen sense of what it is that you need to know and how best to accomplish that,
but a lock-step education system does not efficiently accommodate your needs.

Hecate At Work

Just as your inborn goddess type impacts the way you think and learn, it also greatly influences your life at work.
When your goddess-given strengths and patterns of behavior have become habitual, certain jobs or careers will be
more ‘natural’ for you. When your job allows you to capitalize on your goddess type, it is interesting and
energizing, almost fun. So if you’re about to enter the job market, use you knowledge of your goddess type as a
guide to selecting an ideal position that is a good match for your goddess type.

None of this means you can’t be happy in other fields. Lots of other factors influence job satisfaction, your boss
and coworkers, the pay, the dress code, for example. Most people manage to adapt, to develop and strengthen their
less developed skills and interests when working in a job, unless other factors introduce too many problems in the
setting.

Finally, if you aren’t satisfied at work or don’t feel you’re very effective, you can use what you learn about your
goddess’ strengths to examine the match between your goddess type and your current job and career.

Hecate women are usually not found at either extreme, but you are high in your quest for achievement. Those with a
drive to be recognized as successful often have a strong sense of direction in their lives and strive hard to
achieve excellence in their chosen pursuits. Taken to the extremes, high achievement seeking may result in an
individual who is too single-minded and obsessed with her work. At the other extreme, an individual who is content
to get by with only a minimal amount of work, even if it means being seen by others as lazy. Your level of
achievement striving is high.

 

Hecate at work tends to be:

 

Aloof and reserved

Independent

Analytical

Intellectual

Certain, definitive

Imaginative

Confident

Innovative

Driven to learn

Knowledgeable

Focused

Logical

High standards

Organized

 

An Hecate is usually highly successful in her work, often rising to positions of considerable responsibility . . . not surprising since she is usually willing to work long and hard in pursuit of goals, sparing nothing on her part (nor that of her employees) to get the job done. As an Hecate, you are not likely to be overly impressed with authority based simply on job title, position, or rank. Your willingness to follow another, to a great extent, is based on whether or not what they propose makes sense to you. Otherwise you’re just not that impressed. You do not find it hard to accept criticism yourself. You are an amazingly independent thinker and will consider the point of the criticism and accept it or not, depending upon whether you find it valid. You have a keen eye, and low tolerance, for inefficiency in any form. The wise boss would do well to notice this and put you in charge of designing procedures that really work!

Like Hecate, you are usually attracted to what is new and different. The fact that something is unproven isn’t likely to put you off. Simply taking someone else’s good idea and making it work isn’t your style. You’d rather do the creating and leave the mundane chore of working out the details (or following the procedures manual) to someone else. As an Hecate your interest dissipates once a task becomes repetitive or routine . . . after all, an Hecate prefers a challenge!

You are an innovator in your approach. Your strength lies in the very way you can make intuitive leaps, instinctively sensing what might work best in a given situation. You may sometimes err when success depends on detailed factual data or on accuracy. For you, by nature, are seeing the ‘big picture’, not the little details. As an Hecate you are invigorated by difficulties and love a challenge, especially if it requires that you use your strongly developed creativity. These traits lead many Hecates into occupations where they can translate theory into practice. You are a supreme pragmatist and a natural brainstormer, always seeking new ideas and refining them to make them workable.

An Hecate woman is usually well organized and likely to be a bit lost without her list of ‘Things To Do’. Very aware of time, you value punctuality and tend to be very productive, planning your work schedule down to 15-minute time slots to get the most done. With a tendency to be a ‘workaholic’, you’ve probably accumulated more annual leave time than you’re ever likely to use.

You work more effectively when you’re allowed to work on one project at a time, seeing it through to completion. You like for your work environment to be fairly predictable. You probably try to maintain a tidy workspace (or at least have a system that helps you find your ‘stuff’ even if it is all in a pile!) You work better when you have clearly defined goals and systems already worked out.

As an Hecate you rarely procrastinate and feel comfortable making decisions fairly quickly. You have a strong drive to complete what you begin, and always have an eye on the long-term result. You will be happiest in jobs that give you a lot of control over how you go about getting your work done. Your natural abilities in logical analysis and objective decision making allow you succeed in a competitive environment.

Your clear dedication to the task at hand may inspires others to look to you for leadership. You tend to be fairly matter of fact, and impersonal . . . getting right to the point without a lot of chitchat. As a result some of your coworkers or customers may think you are blunt, or even tactless. Your single-mindedness can make you get so caught up in the idea that you’re working on that you fail to notice the needs and points of view of others. On the other hand, an Hecate is almost never complains and is quick to compliment the work of others.

The Hecate employee takes her job seriously. She is dedicated to the goals of the organization. Indeed, her loyalty is focused more on the institution than on the individuals within it. Her goal-directedness is intense and her focus logical. Combined with her typical ’emotionally distant’ approach and her high expectations, she has a tendency to drive others just as hard as she drives herself.

You don’t mind working at a rapid pace, moving quickly from one task to another. Your ideal job would give you ample privacy and ‘quiet time’ to think things through.

Having to talk a lot, to explain your ideas to others before you’ve had a chance to carefully think them out is not a comfortable thing for an Hecate. You would prefer to work at a steady pace, not being interrupted by having to switch back and forth between tasks.

 

Hecate Women Often Find Careers in These Fields Rewarding:

Administrator

Financial planner

Architect

Freelance writer

Art Editor

Graphics designer

Auditor

Inventor

Attorney

Journalist

Biomedical researcher

Judge

Cardiologist

Management consultant

Civil Engineer

Mathematician

College Teacher

Media planner

Computer programmer

Network integration specialist

Curriculum designer

Neurologist

Design engineer 

News analyst

Designer

Photographer

Economist

Psychiatrist

Editor

Psychologist

Engineer

Scientist

Entrepreneur

Software developer

Environmental planner

Strategic planner

Financial administrator

Webmaster

 

Hecate’s Relationships

When we encounter people whose god or goddess type matches our own, people who have similar traits, we are usually attracted to them and often make them a part of our social circle. This is not surprising for they tend to think like you, have similar interests, treat you as you treat others, and are easy for you to communicate with. You feel comfortable and energized when you are with them. When you spend much time with someone of an opposite type, you may feel drained of energy if it becomes a struggle to find common ground. Other types truly see the world through different eyes and approach life from a very different perspective. Depending on the situation in which you find yourselves, you may be able to recognize your differences and essentially ‘agree to disagree’.

Try to learn more and use your understanding about different god and goddess types, remembering that even though they differ, each type has its unique strengths and beauty. After all, it is the incredible diversity that makes life so colorful!

You approach your relationships as if they were an art form, and like Hecate, are very skilled in this area since you possess both a high sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others as well as a genuine concern for their well being. Others see you as an agreeable, cooperative, and nice person for this is the face you choose to show to the world . . . even though there is much more to you than this. Because of your harmonious disposition you usually get along easily with others and have a pleasant, agreeable manner that most find appealing.

You usually take a friendly, cooperative approach rather than a forceful ‘we-should-do-it-like this’ position.
You’re more likely to use your charm in an understated, non-combative fashion to try to reach your objectives. But
if all else fails and you’ve just been pushed-too-far, you are perfectly capable of being assertive since your quiz
reveals that your assertiveness level is average.

Hecate was one of the goddesses who were well known for being altruistic, always helping others in times of need.
Like her, you find helping other people genuinely rewarding and have a strong need to be of service to others. For
you, helping others is a form of self-fulfillment rather than sacrifice. Your level of altruism is high.

Hecate was not noted for her agreeableness (except to those she chose to befriend), her preference for participating
in group efforts, or her desire to avoid conflict or confrontation at all costs. Unlike her, you are concerned with
getting along well with others and have a pleasing, agreeable manner that others find appealing. You tend to use
tact and charm, rather than strategy, to accomplish your goals. Rather unlike your personal goddess type Hecate, you
place the highest value on cooperation and the avoidance of conflict and greatly dislike any kind of confrontation.
Much of the time you seem perfectly willing to deny your own needs in order to get along with others. Your ability
to tolerate confrontations is average. You are usually cooperative, but you do not automatically abandon your own
needs and interests just to avoid a confrontation. In other words, you are not a ‘push-over’.

Tenderhearted and compassionate like your personal goddess type Hecate, you can easily feel the pain and neediness
of others and are easily moved to pity. Strongly affected by human suffering, sometimes you may lose your
objectivity and impartiality.

Hecate As a Child

What you were like as a child and the messages you received from your parents have undoubtedly influenced your development, for better or worse. Lucky for you if your family enjoyed and encouraged you to develop naturally as the Hecate that you are -chances are you felt good about yourself and got a big head start in developing all your Hecate strengths.

Sometimes, however, having ‘too much’ family support can cause a problem. When parents give their little goddess unlimited approval for the traits of her natural goddess type to the exclusion of helping her develop the helpful traits of the other goddesses that exist as potential in her personality, she can grow up too one-sided. Take, for example, the young Artemis who is a natural athlete and fierce competitor. While her parents are busy applauding her for all her trophies and carting her to competitions, they may forget to similarly encourage her to keep up with her assignments and she fails to sufficiently develop her intellectual skills.

Also unfortunate is the girl whose goddess type meets with her parents’ disapproval. Their opposition won’t change her inborn type; it just leaves her feeling bad about herself for being who she is, feeling inauthentic if she tries to conform to their expectations by pretending to be ‘the other girl’ that she sensed they would have preferred, or even making her rebellious.

Usually an Hecate baby is the one who can be completely absorbed for long periods of time, playing quietly with her own fingers and toes, already perfectly content exploring the fascinating world of the self. As a child you were probably filled with curiosity and spent much of your playtime dressing up in costumes and using you imagination to create your own magical world. Even at a young age you sought intellectual stimulation and were very logical and direct.

You could be incredibly single-minded and were probably already a bit of a perfectionist. Most Hecate’s seem to have a strong internal sense of ‘how things ought to be’ and can get very frustrated when they can’t achieve that internal image of perfection. You could be very stubborn and could ‘dig in you heels’, refusing to back down. Hopefully, your parents respected your perspective if it was different that theirs and applauded your constantly increasing competence and skills.

As an Hecate your tendency to take everything very personally may have made your teen years seem like a roller coaster ride. Caught up in your own world of ideas and imagination, others may have thought of you as socially awkward or even a bit bizarre. Hopefully you were lucky enough to run into enough classmates and teachers who saw your uniqueness and valued your original ideas.

Remember that your parents, like most, probably assumed that you, their child, were pretty much like them. All parents have a different view of the ‘right way’ to rear a child, one that reflects their own god or goddess type.

Hecate As a Parent

Armed with your new understanding of how the goddess types work, you will not be surprised to hear that one other factor, the goddess or god-type of your child, will play a big part in how well you will fare in your role as a parent. Bear in mind that, whichever little gods or goddesses reside in your pantheon, the wise goddess avoids trying to reshape them and allows them to grow into their true goddess-given selves with her understanding and support.

An Hecate woman is usually devoted to her children, and they are a major focus of her life. As a parent, she is dedicated and single-minded to their interests. Hecate mothers support their children’s creativity and originality. Hecates tend to be supportive and trusting . . . allowing children to develop in directions of their own choosing, rather than trying to force them into a mold she has chosen.

An Hecate mother excels at helping her children get in touch with their feelings. She is usually firm and consistent in disciplining her children, although at times she may be overly critical. An Hecate rarely has to repeat directions, as her children understand fully that she really means what she says.

Hecate and Her Mates

Is there one perfect match for your goddess type? Some types may be naturally better suited than others. After all, the more similar two types are, the more they understand each other for the more values and interests they have in common, the easier they can communicate, and the less work they have to do to get along. They may, however, have to make an extra effort to stay interesting to each other.

But what about opposites? Opposites may attract, but too often they don’t manage to stay together. When a person from a very different type comes into a romantic relationship with you, you may find yourself drawn to them because you are intrigued by their difference. (Sometimes this may be a sign that they have a quality or strength you admire that isn’t a part of your goddess type and that you need to develop in your self.) Too soon the magical courtship stage is over and you begin to notice that the differences between you are less appealing, maybe even a source of annoyance and conflict. Perhaps you start seeing signs that there isn’t good chemistry between you, or that you need to pull back and not invest so much of yourself. If you think there is enough positive about the relationship and can thoughtfully examine the differences objectively, you may decide to live with the differences between you. Sometimes, though, the differences are just too great to overcome or do not justify the amount of energy it takes to maintain the relationship. If you choose not to deal with the differences, it is wise to move on and find other mates who are more compatible with your goddess type.

But if you’re already deeply invested in such a relationship, or if you simply like a challenge, much can be gained in a mating of opposites. Rather than unintentionally turning your differences into a source of frustration and dissatisfaction, you can learn to celebrate them. Unfortunately, the tendency is to instinctively follow the path of the Pygmalion archetype. In this legend the sculptor Pygmalion, unable to love any of the women he met, carved a statue . . . a perfect and beautiful image of his ‘ideal woman’. Over the course of his labors he grew madly in love with her, but fell into despair because, as a lifeless statue, she could not love him in return.

Like Pygmalion, we (in ways subtle, and not so subtle) try to make our partners change, to become more like us. Chipping away at our loves and marriages with constant tension, criticism, and complaints, we try to pull our partners out of their own god- or goddess- types. Such efforts are destined to fail. Even if it could be successful, it would extinguish their personality, leaving them as lifeless and cold as a statue. Although Aphrodite took pity on the poor sculptor and brought his statue to life in the legend, we must make our own miracles . . . by understanding our differences and seeing them not as problems but as incredible opportunities to breathe life into our own relationships.

This section will guide you to a general understanding of how your goddess archetype exerts a profound influence on the course of your love life. Perhaps the most important aspect of this report is the recognition that the very same differences that attract a woman and her mate to each other can also be the cause of most of the conflict between them, and that it is how these differences are handled that really matters.

Once an Hecate has identified a partner she desires, she is unlikely to be dissuaded. You are a very independent type, and will trust your intuition about others when choosing you mate and your friends, even in the face of opposing advice or pressure from others.

Being married, or in a committed relationship, has great significance for you. Finding the right person to share your life with, and maintaining that relationship, is very important for you are not an independent loner; being part of a couple seems natural to you.

Unfortunately, the knowledge and self-confidence that makes you so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon an Hecate in her personal relationships, especially romantic ones. Because you are an intensely private person and seldom display your emotions, your feelings are often hard for your partner to decipher. Since you are rarely expressive of your deepest emotions and may not enjoy physical contact as much as your partner, your mate may become uncertain about your appreciation and affection. Most Hecates find it difficult to admit their vulnerabilities and, consequently may have to push themselves to share themselves with their partner. Some mistakenly think that Hecates are distant, even cold. In actuality, an Hecate woman is almost hypersensitive and vulnerable to any expressions of disappointment or rejection from those she holds dear.

You have a strong desire for harmony and order in your home and in your relationships. Hecate’s value trust and good communication in their relationships, but often find communication difficult because they hate to have to repeat themselves and also strongly dislike listening to their partner sort out their own emotional conflicts. Although they greatly enjoy having creative and intellectual connections with their mates, Hecates often need to be reminded to nurture their intimate relationships.

But one of your greatest assets is your willingness to ‘work at’ a relationship, spending a great deal of thought, time and effort on it. Although an Hecate doesn’t always have a lot of natural empathy, she is often able to intuitively sense the meaning behind her partner’s body language and tone of voice. She is usually willing to perfect these skills to understand and support those she really cares about. Ultimately her partnerships tend to prove robust and stable.

Visit the reference section at www.goddessgift.com to find valuable resources that will help you ‘love the one you’re with’, getting past the ancient conflicts and behavior patterns that have the power to destroy relationships. Learn to appreciate, even honor, each other’s complementary, but differing, ways of being. By developing insight into the ways the god and goddess archetypes interact, you can learn how to make your differences complement one another as intensely as they might otherwise clash.

Hecate Under Stress

Your goddess type impacts every aspect of your life, including your health and sense of well-being. In fact, recent research suggests a direct link between personality and illness. Your goddess type represents the orderly arrangement of your personality that helps you deal with life. If your life is highly compatible with your goddess type, all is well. If, however, your circumstances force you to function largely outside your personal type, you will view your life from a negative perspective and experience stress and emotional discomfort. Our thoughts and emotions are deeply intertwined. Negative thoughts provoke negative feelings that rob the body of the energy it needs to remain in healthy balance, leaving us susceptible to illness.

Consider this example: Amy’s goddess type is one that finds it very difficult to say ‘no’ to anyone. Consequently, she is always trying to do too much and is frequently behind schedule. Missing deadlines and being late for appointments causes her to feel guilty, so every time she is late creates additional stress for her. That stress results in a negative chemical reaction in her body, which, if continued over a long period of time, can ‘wear down’ her body’s natural defenses, leaving her accident prone and vulnerable to infections and a number of other stress-related illnesses.

Another body of fascinating research suggests that each personality type is linked to its own specific areas of vulnerability, or ‘weak sites’, within the body . . . an Achilles’ heel, so to speak. It is thought that these particular areas may be more sensitive to stress-related chemical imbalance.

This section will help you identify:

• Typical ways your type functions under stress

• Characteristic negative thoughts (fears and anxieties) that produce stress

• Vulnerable areas of the body and major health issues for your goddess type

• Behavior patterns that may put you ‘at risk of developing a specific health problem

For an Hecate, the search for perfection is a major source of stress. Constantly pushing yourself and others for improvement, and having a deep inner fear of failure, an Hecate’s life can become very stressful. With her ability to focus intensely on one thing, her tendency to overwork and inability to relax, an Hecate woman under stress can become extremely judgmental and critical of herself and others.

Your reliance on accuracy and precision may make you inflexible at times, or make you feel very pressured. Your high standard of competence can even leave you doubtful of your ability to succeed at times, perhaps even convincing you that you shouldn’t even try.

When an Hecate finds herself in a situation where her inner code of principles conflicts with her relationships with others, she experiences considerable stress. Her strong ability to identify with others (even to ‘feel’ their pain) along with her desire to please often creates an inner turmoil.

Situations involving the possibility that you might face criticism, intimidation, a loss of autonomy, or appear incompetent are very stressful for you. When operating under high levels of stress, an Hecate woman’s self-confidence may suddenly abandon her, leaving her feeling confused and full of self-doubt. Afraid to trust her own judgment, she may find herself ruminating obsessively about her inadequacies, mistakes, and self-diagnosed incompetence.

Your typical reaction when stressed is to become ‘nit-picky’ and even indignant. Under stress, an Hecate often becomes disagreeably argumentative and her interpersonal interactions suffer. At times, an Hecate may change her behavior abruptly, becoming very aggressive and openly hostile, surprising those who are frustrating her. Your natural inclination is to withdraw into yourself. Those close to you may find it hard to understand that you need to do this to restore your sense of balance.

The most vulnerable areas of an Hecate’s body include her central nervous system, digestive system, immune and musculoskeletal system, especially her midback (thoracic spine). Muscular tension, skin disorders, allergies, autoimmune diseases, liver disorders, indigestion, ulcers, tendonitis, and headaches are potential health issues of special concern for women who are Hecate types.

Situations most likely to trigger an Hecate’s level of stress are those that evoke:

• fear of being rejected or criticized

• fear of failure

• frustration at feeling restricted, controlled or otherwise manipulated

• feeling entrapped in a relationship that is emotionally complex or ‘needy’.

Major stressors that arise in the lives of an Hecate are often related to her:

• tendency to expect perfection from herself and others

• attempts to resist regulations and control over her behavior, which she experiences as a loss of freedom, and

• tendency to be single-minded and focused, leaving little time or energy for relaxation or other people.

Hecate’s Personal Goddess Path

While your goddess type is the strongest, most developed, preferred, and ‘natural’ to you, you potentially have aspects (or traits) of all the goddesses in your personality. They are willing to come to your rescue if needed. As your life unfolds over time, you will be presented with different challenges that are not in your goddess’ ‘area of expertise’, challenges that another goddess would be better equipped to handle. You can recognize when this occurs because you may feel drained of energy, ‘mentally fuzzy’, and less sure of your ability to cope. Your life may feel out of control, or you may even have a strong sense of being ‘numbed’ or detached from what is going on around you. Here is where those other goddesses can come to your rescue.

Hecate’s Allies

Your allies are the goddesses Persephone and Athena. Already present in your personality, they can be called into play to help you adapt and grow. Which goddess is active at any given time depends on a combination of factors that interact-how many (and which) goddesses are in your repertoire and your predisposition to use them. The situation you find yourself coping with and the roles it calls forth in you, even your hormones, and your stage of life are also important factors.

Think of your life as an improvisational play with several actresses in the cast, each with different roles. One actress (your personal goddess type) will play the lead and be on-stage most of the time since she is your strongest, most experienced performer. However, the others will be called on-stage occasionally when the play takes a direction that calls for their ‘special’ skills or attributes.

You can also activate a goddess archetype intentionally, by consciously focusing on her (through study, meditations, rituals) or by ‘doing’ those activities with which she is associated, such as taking a college course to ‘activate’ the logical Athena. All you need do is honor her and consciously invite her presence – a process called ‘invoking’ a goddess. This section identifies the other goddesses in your makeup and some of the ways you can summon, or invoke, these goddesses in your life-to solicit their aid during times of crisis or to strengthen their impact and increase your psychological flexibility.

Your ally Persephone, like you, greatly values her close relationships with others. Hecates are often filled with longing for something they sense is missing from their lives. Once Persephone’s presence is activated, an Hecate develops an ability to stand back and view her life more objectively and learns to calm herself in what feels like a crisis. As an ally Persephone can help you in learning to be more accepting, more content with the way things are.

Hecates rarely use objective analysis in their decision-making, instead relying mostly on their personal experiences, feelings and values unless there is a goddess like Athena present in their personalities. Once Athena’s presence is activated, an Hecate develops greater objectivity and tends to take everything less personally. She becomes more attuned to the outer world and takes greater responsibility for including the ideas and plan of others in her life.

To develop a healthy balance you need to integrate characteristics of each of the goddesses into your life. By so doing, you can recognize needs you’ve left unfulfilled. Then by attending to those needs, you can become happier and more self-confident. Visit the website again (www.goddessgift.com) to learn more about the different goddesses and to learn specific ways to strengthen their presence in your life.

Recognizing Your ‘Missing Goddess’

Just as your goddess type is dominant in your makeup, there is also one specific goddess that will be the weakest in you. Aphrodite is your missing goddess. Recognizing this goddess, and honoring her presence, is critical to your well-being because, if she remains neglected, she is apt to appear at the most unexpected time to create havoc in your life.

Most of us have witnessed, at one time or another, an acquaintance who, in the face of some seemingly trivial irritation, explodes into a tirade, ready to ‘take the skin off’ the offender. Normally a sweet-natured, compliant and somewhat self-effacing type, she pays for ignoring her missing goddess (in this case one who is more demanding or judgmental than her own goddess type). Had she acknowledged these needs within herself and developed a few simple assertiveness skills, she would have been spared this embarrassment.

You’ve probably encountered the motif of the ‘uninvited guest’ that appears in many fairy tales and legends. Usually the story begins with a celebration to which everyone in the kingdom is invited, everyone that is except for one certain person (often a witch or a troll who is disliked because they seem ugly or evil). This uninvited guest, understandably miffed at having been excluded, invariably shows up anyway and places a terrible curse on the hosts, the infant who is being christened, or even on the entire kingdom! The terms ‘uninvited guest’ or ‘missing goddess’ refer to the neglected or rejected side of our selves we’ve forced out of our conscious awareness. In Jungian psychology, these disowned aspects of the self, forced to reside in the darkness of the unconscious mind, are called the ‘shadow’. It is the part of our self that we feel least comfortable with and have rejected as not being a part of ‘who we really are’.

The goddess Aphrodite is your missing goddess, the goddess least represented in your personality. This suggests that you do not find it natural, or easy, to embody or demonstrate many of Aphrodite’s traits, especially her appreciation for the sensual and pleasurable things in life.

Most Hecates have a tendency to idealize relationships, especially their romantic ones, and find it very difficult to disengage, to be the rejecting one, even when they are aware that the relationship is not meeting their needs. Additionally, the mourning that is apt to follow an Hecate’s rejection tends to be painful and protracted. Aphrodite can help you learn to extricate yourself from these situations with greater finesse, and certainly less agonizing over your personal responsibility for the failure of the relationship.

An Hecate who has neglected to develop her Aphrodite archetype can allow her emotions to overwhelm her, leading to self-indulgence, either by increasingly retreating to a fantasy world or by a sensual decadence that may be expressed as uninhibited eating, drinking, etc. Aphrodite will help you examine and accept your sensual needs, helping you put them under your conscious control.

Goddess of romance and passion, of fashion, beauty and art, Aphrodite captivated the hearts of poets and painters for centuries. Known for her numerous affairs of the heart, as well as her willingness to help others find the love they seek, her stories reveal the extent of her power. Aphrodite’s irresistible touch can transform the lives of contemporary Hecates. Both playful and sophisticated, Aphrodite makes our world a livelier place. Read the story of Aphrodite @www.goddessgift.com. Make it a point to remember her and honor her regularly. Practice her strengths. She would like to become one of your allies, so welcome her into your life.

Approaching the Triple Goddess

Before the Titans and the Olympians (the gods and goddesses with their very human-like traits and personalities) appeared in Greek mythology, and long before the 5,000 year reign of male deities, people recognized a Triple Goddess who symbolized the three faces of the original Great Goddess. Often depicted in association with the changing phases of the moon, the Triple Goddess moves between her many roles with the changing seasons of her life. In Greek mythology her three faces are described as the:

Maiden/Virgin            Skilled,self-defining, achieving, and focused

Mother/Matriarch       Relationship-oriented,nurturing, loving, generous

Wise woman/Crone     Contemplative, spiritual, compassionate, able to laugh, an agent of transformative change in society

In Native American mythology the Triple Goddess was represented by the benevolent Changing Woman who could change back and forth from an infant to a young or old woman at will. She reminds us that a full life is rooted in our own nature as well as the seasons of our particular stage of life. Although recent social changes such as our ability to control the timing of childbearing have loosened the ties of the various stages to a woman’s chronological age, it is still common for most women to develop psychologically following this age-old sequence.

The major developmental task of the young woman, in her maiden stage, typically is to claim and embrace her own personal goddess and to fully develop and strengthen the character of her personal goddess type. Having done so, at mid-life (the phase of the mother/matron), her personal growth is enhanced by nurturing the presence and the strengths of the other goddesses who have remained less developed in her personality. With her primary goddess now strong and experienced, she can now afford to attend to the areas of her life she has heretofore neglected. And in the third phase of her life, generally occurring when she is postmenopausal, she reaches the stage of the wisewoman or crone. Her task at this stage is to pull back some from the more external and active involvement of her earlier years, to integrate all that she has learned, and to draw inward, finding her own voice and purpose. She emerges more spontaneous and less restrained by convention, more contemplative, more compassionate and self-accepting. She can be quite outspoken, in touch with her anger on behalf of herself and others. She is fully capable of forcing social changes that are needed. Using the wisdom she has gained, she now is able to weave her unique perspective into a tapestry that is a full expression of the sacred feminine.

Ways to Grow

Your journey toward completeness will require that you remain steadfast to your true nature, working to nurture, or if necessary rebuild, your self-esteem which is vulnerable to the challenges presented by your living in a society which undervalues the quiet, spiritual strengths of your archetype. While remaining true to your given nature, you need to call upon other goddesses as allies. Persephone can help you expand your repertoire of social skills and Athena will help you develop the assertiveness you need to deal successfully in the outer world. In addition:

• Desiring to be accepted by others, some Hecates adapt themselves so much to the expectations of others that they lose touch with what they are really feeling in a situation. It is important that you resist being a “people pleaser” at the expense of discovering your own core beliefs and values.

• Most Hecates are so in touch with their own feelings, that they can be misled by them. Hesitating to make a decision until they understand their feelings completely (especially the negative ones), can sometimes be a mistake. Many Hecate women need to learn to pay less attention to their feelings, especially those that make them feel bad about themselves.

• Developing self-discipline is important for Hecates and can take many forms–getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and adopting a routine have strengthening effects. Obviously excessive alcohol, drugs, sleep, and sexual experiences are not healthy means of coping with stress.

• Try to avoid lengthy conversations with yourself, especially if they involve negative, resentful, or excessively romantic imaginings.  These internal conversations are often not very reality-based and are, at best, only rehearsals for what might happen.   Instead spend time imagining your life and relationships as you want them to be and start to live these dreams.

• Hecates often feel that they haven’t “got it together” yet and consequently put off doing things that will benefit them. You may feel that you’re not ready yet to take on a challenge, but you can only build your confidence if you are accomplishing things and having positive experiences.  So start small, but commit yourself to doing something that will bring out the best in you.

• Commit yourself to productive, meaningful activities that will create an opportunity for you to discover yourself and your talents. Don’t put off doing things until you’re in the right mood. Hecates are actually happiest when they are working, testing their potential, and realizing their strengths. . . so it is important that they not wait for inspiration, but get out in the real world to “find themselves”.

Closing the Circle: Finding Completion on the Goddess Path

Even before the appearance of the Triple Goddess, humankind recognized the existence of a ‘Oneness’, a creator, a ‘giver of life’, a spiritual presence who was complete, in and of herself. She was known by many names, among them the Great Goddess, Ishtar, Gaia (Mother Earth). All powerful, she was life energy itself, and a goddess unafraid to venture into the underworld, the symbol for the soul. She reminds us that we must ground ourselves in the reality of our nature and incorporate all sides of ourselves, whether they be light and pleasant or dark and wrathful. She demanded that we connect to the inner wisdom inside our selves and that we manifest that wisdom in the world.

A Final Note

Although in contemporary times we are more likely to speak of mental health, self-actualization, or even spiritual enlightenment, the quest remains the same – growth that leads to personal authenticity. Recognizing and nurturing your goddesses within is a good beginning. As you continue on the goddess path in your quest for a meaningful life, we at Goddessgift wish you good luck and . . . well, Goddess-speed!

We wish to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Dr. John A. Johnson for allowing the use of comments he authored concerning the description of personality traits measured by the IPIP items contained in the goddess quiz, and to Steven E. Brenner who authored the original IPIP analysis program on which our program is based..