Your Goddess Archetype is Pele

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.

Pele

Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano

Talk about nervous energy; Pele was confident, passionate, and volatile. This was a goddess who knew what she wanted and went after it! Pele was full of life and unable to do anything just halfway.

According to myth, the islands of Hawaii owe their very existence to Pele, the goddess of fire, best known as “the volcano goddess”. Like most other deities who play the starring role in creation myths, Pele held both the power to create and to destroy. Never able to win a clear victory over her rivals, the tension of these opposing forces kept everything in balance.

Pele was supposed to grow up to become a water goddess, but once she discovered matches her fascination with fire took her in another direction entirely. The headstrong young goddess ignored her mother’s instructions and managed to set her home island of Bora-Bora aflame while playing with fires from the Underworld. Her older sister Namaka, a sea goddess, threatened to flood the entire island to punish Pele for being so destructive. Fearful for the safety of her children, Pele’s mother loaded them in a canoe and instructed Pele to take them to safety on another island.

Hi`iaka, the youngest child, had yet to be born. She was hatched from an egg that Pele held in her armpit while she paddled furiously with Namaka in hot pursuit. It was a long, stressful journey. Eventually the siblings found a place they could stop; a tiny atoll that was home to only a handful of human tribes.

Four snow goddesses lived in the mountains. They were none too pleased with the arrival of this beautiful young upstart. Pele set about trying to make a new home for her family, but it was proving difficult because the jealous snow goddesses kept sending blizzards their way. Hopping from one tiny island to another to escape the hard freezes, Pele kept moving southward only to encounter tidal waves sent by the vengeful Namaka.

Finally she laid claim to Mauna Loa on the southernmost island. Mauna Loa is the tallest mountain on earth (as measured from the ocean floor), and even Namaka couldn’t fling her ocean waves that high.

Pele was finally able to keep her fires lit, but that only increased Namaka’s rage. Soon the two sisters were waging a ferocious battle. Pele’s fires rose up out of the trembling earth, spewing rivers of lava fiery lava into the ocean, driving the sea away from the coast. As the lava cooled it added to the land mass, and the small atoll was transformed into the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii.

Though victorious, Pele did not emerge unscathed. With the death of her physical body she became a spirit, a shape-shifter who can assume whatever appearance she wishes. Often she appears as a shapely young woman, sometimes as a small white dog, and other times as an old woman asking a stranger for a cigarette.

Though she took up residence inside her volcanoes, Pele’s exuberant spirit was not to be contained. Legends about Pele and her many lovers and rivals abound.

Poliahu, one of the snow goddesses, became her archrival when they competed for the attention of a young chieftain. As he paddled his canoe, Pele surfed the waves beside his boat to catch his attention. But, after his brief fling with Pele, he had an affair with the snow goddess Poliahu.

He was so taken with the snow goddess that he moved in with her. Pele was not amused. She managed to win him back from her rival, but the angry snow goddess was not to be outdone. She blasted the couple with fierce ice storms. The lovers soon had to separate.

A struggle of immense proportions ensued. Pele erupted from the volcano, forcing Poliahu to flee with fiery lava licking at her heels. The snow goddess quickly recovered her wits, however, and returned with a snow storm so massive and intense that it quenched forever the spectacular fire on her northern island.

Though the two still quarrel neither will ever win for they are destined to forever hold each other in a delicate balance. It is their perpetual clashes that have created the luxuriant and fertile hillsides that grace the Hawaiian landscape. Once she has scorched all that lies on her path, Pele swiftly seeds it with the beautiful flowers that quickly rise from the bed that she created with her fiery anger.

Pele’s jealousy was legendary. Attracted to a handsome mortal named Ohi`a, she flew into a rage when he resisted her seduction by proclaiming his devotion to the lovely mortal Lehua. Furious, Pele killed the lovers.

Regretting the impetuous act, she made amends by joining the lovers together for all eternity, turning Ohi`a into a shrub and filling the branches with soft delicate flowers made from the body of Lehua. The Ohi`a lehua tree, sacred to Pele, is always the first to sprout and grow in the hard earth of a lava bed.

Of all her siblings, Pele loved Hi`iaka most. But even she, the one Pele had so carefully nurtured, was not to escape the fury of Pele’s wrath. As a young woman, Hi`iaka and her best friend, the poet Hopoe, spent much time together, singing and dancing, and tending to the groves of the Ohi`a lehua trees. Pele thought she could trust this gentle sister and sent her to retrieve a handsome chieftain she had recently seduced.

Pele warned her sister that the chieftain Lohi`au was a magnificent male, and that she would not tolerate any flirtation between them. Hi`iaka agreed to go, asking only that Pele promise to take care of her beloved gardens while she was away.

Pele was asking a lot. Hi`iaka’s journey proved perilous and lengthy, for she met many demons and monsters along the way. Arriving too late, she found Lohi`au dying. His heart had broken from worry that Pele had forgotten to come for him. Using every bit of magic she possessed, Hi`iaka restored the young chief to life. Though they were powerfully attracted to each other, Hi`iaka kept her promise and returned with Pele’s lover, their relationship still chaste.

Hi`iaka had been gone so long that Pele began to entertain fantasies of her sister lying in Lohi`au’s arms. Furious that Hi`iaka would betray her, Pele burned Hi`iaka’s beloved grove to the ground, accidentally killing her friend Hopoe.

When Hi`iaka arrived to discover what Pele had done, she retaliated by making love to Lohi`au, right there in Pele’s view, on the lip of the volcano’s crater. Enraged, Pele erupted and the unfortunate young man was burned to death. Hi`iaka, realizing how much she loved him, descended into the Underworld and freed his soul.

One of her brothers reached out and caught his spirit as it drifted by his canoe, and the lovers were reunited. Lohi`au and Hi`iaka returned to one of the other islands where they lived together in contentment.

Though she was quick to anger, Pele also had the ability to let go. She realized she had been wrong to distrust her sister. And she regretted that she had caused Lohi`au’s death not once, but twice. She was quite sorry for her actions. Besides, another lover had already caught her eye so she was quite content to leave the young lovers in peace while she went about her own affairs.

Like a volcano’s lava that creates new land, the goddess Pele reminds us that, even fiery eruptions and emotional upheavals are followed by new life and change. As an archetype Pele is a passionate and creative force that transforms and rebuilds the landscapes of our lives.

Pele’s Symbols

General:

Volcanoes, fires, canoe paddles, and ocean waves. Cigarettes, gin, food, and human hair are often thrown into the volcano as gifts to the goddess Pele.

Animals:

Dogs, especially white ones, sharks, and humpback whales.

Plants:

Ohi`a lehua trees and flowers, rock clermontia (bellflower), hibiscus, basil, aloe, morning glories, macadamia nuts, and the candlenut tree

Perfume/Scents:

Allspice, plumeria, ginger,

Gems and

Metals:

Peridot, obsidian (and Pele’s tears and Pele’s hair varieties formed from cooling lava), coral (especially black coral), and glass.

Colors:

Red, gold, black, and green.

The Pele 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.

Pele Characteristics

Her love of people is central to the understanding of the Pele type. A Pele woman doesn’t live her life in terms of ideas or causes, but she can be quite organized and decisive. Being of involved with others is her calling.

Pele was the most sociable of all the goddesses, drawing strength and energy from her interactions with people and tending to emulate those who she admired. Above all else, a Pele values harmony and wherever she may go she promotes harmonious relationships. As a hostess she is without equal, constantly attending to the comfort of her guests.

Her social ties matter greatly to her, and her conversations are often peppered with the nostalgic recounting of favorite memories. Needless to say, a Pele woman goes out of her way to develop and nurture traditions. She enjoys the rituals associated with meals and thrives on festive occasions and family gatherings. Unabashedly sentimental, she is always able to express the right feelings for the occasion.

A Pele woman needs to be needed. Almost as importantly, she needs to be loved and appreciated. Peles often give large amounts of their time and energy in service to their communities, serving on committees, fundraising, and leading the local Brownie troop. Soft-hearted and sympathetic, she sometimes gives too freely of herself and becomes overburdened with other people’s problems. Others will notice that a Pele often seems to be in a hurry, seeming to have too much to do. Sometimes others will make the mistake of suggesting that she should slow down, that what she is doing is not that urgent. Peles seldom take this criticism kindly and are likely to take offence.

A Pele woman is usually very animated during conversation, using a wide range of facial expressions. She likes to tell stories emotionally and often in great detail. She is keenly aware of social status and often depends upon tradition or authority as the basis for her own opinions and attitudes. Many Peles repeat details frequently in conversation; unsure whether or not they were clear enough in what they said. They enjoy discussing movies and books, but especially talking about people they know. Because they are so friendly and sociable, Peles usually find it easy to make new friends.

A Pele is always tastefully dressed, always wearing the right clothes for the occasion, although she pays little attention to what’s currently in fashion. She has a keen sense for matching colors and patterns, and insists on quality if she can afford it.

She is very conscious of appearances and the opinions of others and is not likely to violate social norms. She is especially sensitive to the expectations of those in authority and tends to identify with them. Others have little difficulty in knowing exactly where she stands on any issues for she tends to see things in black and white, or good and bad. Her values often take the form of shoulds and should-nots, and she expresses them freely, as if she feels compelled to try to instill them in others. She pays close attention to the behavior of others, noting who behaves well and who does not, and for this reason is sometimes seen as tactless and demanding.

As an employee, she is likely to be conscientious and orderly, following company policy to the letter. After all, her basic values are duty and service. She tends to be loyal to the institution, but especially to her boss. It is important to her that her contributions, especially the tremendous amount of service she gives, be recognized and appreciated. She can be badly hurt by indifference.

Peles are down-to-earth, practical people. They are seldom extravagant, but always try to buy goods of high quality. If these do not live up to their expectations they are not in the least embarrassed to return them and lodge a complaint. Peles are very attached to their possessions and always keep them in good repair. Consequently, they may find it difficult to throw anything away. Just because something is old does not mean it needs to be discarded.

Most Peles prefer following a comfortable routine and may have difficulty when things become unpredictable. Change of any kind or magnitude (or having to deal with the unfamiliar) can be very stressful, and most Peles will go to great lengths to avoid them.

A Pele is a natural born worrier. Others can easily tell when she is distressed about something for she is fully expressive of her emotional reactions. Her tendency to worry and be pessimistic usually makes her well prepared for any disaster when (and if) it comes, but her predisposition to always expect the worst takes an undue toll on her, not to mention those close to her.

A Pele takes her responsibilities seriously. She will attend to them before she allows herself to relax or have fun. Since she is helpful, hardworking, and incredibly generous with her time and attention, she is always a valuable asset to her family and her community.

Your Personal Characteristics

Like the Pele that you are, you are extroverted, friendly and sociable. You enjoy being with other people and find that it energizes you, heightening your natural enthusiasm for life and all its possibilities. Exuberant, optimistic, and energetic, you are at your best in a social situation.

The goddess Pele enjoyed being with other people and found that it energized her, heightening her natural enthusiasm
for life and all its possibilities. Most Peles are full of energy, and tend to be enthusiastic. They genuinely like
other people and openly demonstrate positive feelings toward them, finding it easy to form close relationships and
tending to make friends quickly. Your responses on the quiz indicate that, while you may not be as friendly as some,
you are still well within the range of the typical Pele type.

Peles usually find the company of others pleasantly energizing and enjoy the company of others and the excitement of
crowds. Your quiz indicates that you are somewhat less gregarious than most Peles, needing to occasionally have some
privacy and some time for yourself.

Like Pele, you’re a woman who approaches life realistically and who isn’t inclined to engage in much fantasy,
idealism, abstractions, or anything else far removed from concrete experience. Details, technical precision, and
practical applications are far more appealing to you. You are not particularly impressed with people who ‘may be
smart but don’t have much common sense’.

Although you care a reasonable amount about other’s opinions of you and crave love and acceptance as much as anyone
else, you are neither as expressive of your emotions (or sensitive to those of others) as Pele usually was. You have
an average level of emotionality.

Unlike Pele, your needs are fairly simple, and you are not usually difficult to please. You have a 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 Pele 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. On
the other hand, you may find that change and disruption are particularly stressful to you and that you resist change
even when it might be beneficial.

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.

Much like Pele, you are moderate (or average) in your requirement for the security and stability brought by
conformity to tradition. Though you are not particularly prone to challenging authority, convention, or traditional
values, neither do you demand a safe, predictable routine to feel secure. You are also average in the extent to
which you experience ambiguity, chaos, and disorder as stressful.

Many of the legends of Pele recount stories that demonstrate her conscientiousness, her wisdom, and perserverance.
Highly conscientious, Pele was able to avoid danger and to achieve success through her purposeful planning and her
persistence. Most Pele women tend to avoid impulsive behavior that would diminish their effectiveness and subject
them to undesirable consequences.

This ability to foresee the likely outcomes of one’s behavior is a hallmark of intelligence. The ability to
contemplate long-range goals, to plan and organize routes to these goals, and a willingness to persist in their
efforts even when they would rather be doing something else, is one of an Pele’s goddess gifts, one that gives you
the ability to successfully undertake projects that require organized effort in sequenced steps or stages.
Consequently, Pele women are often regarded as being intelligent and reliable.

On the negative side, some women of the Pele type can become compulsive perfectionists and workaholics who set high
(sometimes unrealistically high) standards of performance for themselves and others. Furthermore, Pele types are
sometimes so focused on their goals that they find it difficult to relax, not to mention play. Acting spontaneously
and impulsively in play 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 Pele is usually depicted as someone who is 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 high, like Pele’s.

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.

Pele was widely known for having a strong sense of duty and moral obligation. Like her, your sense of obligation is
fairly high. You honor your commitments and do not find contracts, rules and regulations overly confining.

Though she occasionally acted impulsively, Pele usually thought things through carefully before she sprang into action. She was generally deliberate and cautious when making decisions. Your level of impulsiveness is also low. 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. Pele usually thought things through carefully before she sprang into action. She was deliberate and cautious when making decisions. Like Pele, 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 A Pele’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.

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

While Pele preferred to deal with the ‘realities’ she find around her rather than abstractions, you enjoy playing
with new and unusual ideas. Your scores indicate that you are more likely than her to enjoy purely intellectual
exercises or games. Your level of ability and comfort in thinking abstractly is at an average level.

Like Pele, whose self-discipline or will power was notable, 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.

It is not surprising that most Peles do well in traditional classrooms. After all, a Pele is a down-to-earth woman
who has a firm grasp on reality. The organization of concrete facts is her forte; she generally respects traditional
institutions such as schools, and is responsible and dependable. She is comfortable with predominately
teacher-to-student interactions such as lectures and assignments. Peles appreciate practicality and flourishes in
classroom settings that foster consistency, cooperation, and hard work.

A Pele tends to have effective study habits. Because she seeks the ‘right way’ of doing things, she is usually
anxious to conform to a teacher’s expectations and often wants to please the instructor. She works best in
situations in which the teacher’s expectations are clear and when specific instructions for accomplishing assigned
tasks are given. She finds abstract or unstructured lessons frustrating, but is not disturbed by memorization,
drills, workbook exercises, and logical step-by-step presentations that deal with concrete facts. For a subject to
seem worthwhile to a Pele, it must be realistic and practical. They need to see the usefulness of information.

As a Pele you are probably at a disadvantage on timed tests and could profit from a course that will help you develop
test-taking skills. Even though they often can read an exam question once and provide the correct answer, many Peles
second-guess themselves . . . going back to reread the question to be sure they understood it. In a timed test this
usually works to their disadvantage.

Cooperative individuals that they are, Peles usually function well in study groups and group projects. Given their
tendency to provide assistance to others (even unsolicited aid), they beware of being taken advantage of by other
group members who sit back and let them do much of the work for the entire group. Not surprisingly, the Pele in such
a situation will usually experience feelings of being unappreciated and unrecognized for her generous contribution.

Pele 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.

You, like the goddess Pele, 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-or at the other extreme, an individual 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.

Pele at work tends to be:

Conscientious

Organized

Concerned about others

Outgoing

Cooperative

Realistic

Energetic

Responsible

Entertaining

Sensitive

Friendly

Sociable

Matter of fact

Talkative

Like Pele, you pay great attention to facts, valuing what has been proven by experience. You can usually be counted on to be accurate. You like to do tasks that you’ve learned to do well and to see the results of your work quickly. You may excel at jobs that require paying a lot of attention to detail.

As a Pele, you probably enjoy setting up systems that improve how a process works and like to proceed in a logical step-by-step fashion, following established procedures so that everything runs smoothly. You seldom mind having to repeat a task or use a skill once you’ve mastered it. Boredom is rarely a major issue for you in your job. You don’t mind working at a rapid pace, moving quickly from one task to another.

A Pele type like you 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. Like Pele you rarely procrastinate and feel comfortable making decisions fairly quickly. You will be happiest in jobs that give you a lot of control over how you go about getting your work done.

Solitary work is not for a Pele like you. For one thing, you tend to ‘think out loud’ and may actually need to talk to be able to do your best thinking. Brainstorming sessions and committee meetings are often where you have your best ideas. It’s as if a thought forms in your head but becomes ‘fleshed out’ as you discuss it with others.

Your warm, friendly approach and sensitivity to the feelings of others often inspires others to look to you for guidance and support. You often engage in small talk and tend to be very diplomatic, although not very assertive. Others may think your ‘welcome mat’ is always out and sometimes distract you from completing important tasks.

A Pele does not flourish in a work environment that is full of conflict, arguments, and confrontation. It is important to your job satisfaction that your work be personally meaningful for you, allowing you to help others in an environment of cooperation and support.

Pele Women Often Find Careers in These Fields Rewarding:

Athletic coach

Medical/dental assistant

Bookkeeper

Merchandise buyer

Caterer

Nurse

Child care provider

Officer manager

Clergy

Realtor

Counselor

Receptionist

Credit counselor

Restaurant worker

Exercise physiologist

Retail sales/management

Fitness trainer

Sales

Flight attendant

Sales representative

Health care worker

Social worker

Home health worker

Special education teacher

Home manager

Teacher, bilingual education

Hospitality manager

Teacher: elementary school

Insurance agent

Telemarketer

Massage therapist

Veterinarian

Medical secretary

Volunteer

Pele’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!

The natural expression of vigilance is your goddess gift. You see problems clearly and, like the goddess Pele, are a natural organizer, ready to spring into action to see to it that you and those you care about are safe and secure.

Generous and helpful, you hold fast to your values even though you truly dislike conflict. You are basically honest, decent and trustworthy, and you expect others to be so too. Consequently, you are easily wounded.

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,
like Pele, if all else fails (or if the stakes are high or you’ve just been pushed-too-far) you are perfectly
capable of being assertive since your quiz reveals that your assertiveness level is neither high nor low, but within
the average range.

You approach your relationships as if they were an art form, and like Pele, 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.

Pele was revered for her altruism for she was generally willing to assist those in 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.

You greatly dislike any kind of confrontation and, unlike Pele, will go to great lengths to avoid it. Much of the
time you seem perfectly willing to deny your own needs in order to get along with others.

Tenderhearted and compassionate, like your personal goddess type Pele, 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.

Pele 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 you and encouraged you to develop naturally as the Pele that you are -chances are you felt good about yourself and got a big head start in developing all your Pele 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 Pele taking care of her baby dolls, and perhaps her younger siblings as well, who is rewarded for her nurturing nature, not to mention her grown-up sense of responsibility. Having learned that focusing on the needs of others is always rewarded, she later finds herself out of touch with her own needs, an ‘easy victim’ for those who would dominate her life with their neediness.

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.

As a Pele child you were very affectionate, thoughtful, and loving. You probably cared immensely for your pets and gave them a lot of attention and affection. Quite sensitive, your feelings could be easily hurt. Even as a young child you probably put other people’s needs ahead of your own and tried to avoid conflict and confrontation. You probably felt closer to your mother than your father, and may have married early to create a family of your own. Your genuine love for young children is an abiding feature of your personality that has been with you since your toddler years. Hopefully your parents valued the loyal and caring child you were and provided an environment of praise, physical affection, and acceptance that a young Pele needs to flourish.

It is likely that you were well-liked in school, although not necessarily popular. Your circle of friends probably included people of different socioeconomic classes, races, and ethnic backgrounds-you have always gone out of your way to help others feel comfortable and accepted. This nurturing quality of the Pele woman is usually apparent at a very early age.

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.

Pele 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.

The family, and especially her children, are the center of the life of the Pele woman. She loves them unconditionally and makes time to give them her undivided attention, no matter what other responsibilities she may have. A Pele mother is definitely ‘hands on’, cuddling them as babies and playing on the floor with them during toddlerhood. More than any other goddess type, a Pele is sympathetic and focused when she is nurturing her young.

She is a good listener, always ready to help them with their problems. Although some Peles can be a bit overprotective or overinvolved with their children, most manage to let them grow up and away from their dependence on her without too many problems. In disciplining she is kind but her standards are firm (remember those shoulds and should-nots), and her children quickly learn to abide by them as well.

Pele 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.

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. The tendency of some Peles, however, is to become overly dependent on their partner or their children and to neglect the development of their own identities outside of the relationship. Finding the right balance between being yourself and merging with your family is a challenge you must face.

As a partner, Pele’s commitment is usually lifelong. Loyal and faithful as a mate, she takes responsibilities to her family very seriously and is a steady, dependable partner who works hard to nurture and protect her relationships. She will stick with her partner through thick or thin.

A Pele desires harmony in her household, and will go to great lengths to provide it. She is conscientious about her responsibilities as a homemaker, and her house is usually clean and orderly. She wants family decisions settled quickly and efficiently, and the household organized and run on a schedule. If her partner is one whose standards are much more relaxed, frustration may be inevitable. She may find it easier to just ‘do it myself’, but eventually ends up feeling resentful. She cannot help but feel that everything her family does is a reflection on her. Consequently, if things don’t go well she may become very critical, even nagging.

Since Peles feel so strong about what’s important to them, it is important to them that their partners share similar values and concerns. Having mutual interests is very important to the relationship.

It is not uncommon for a Pele woman to fall victim to her own nurturing nature by ending up wedded to an irresponsible, immature, or needy partner. When this occurs the relationship falls into a pattern where she becomes ‘the mother’ and he behaves as a ‘little boy’. He may misbehave in a variety or ways-getting fired from one job after another, gambling, drinking, philandering, etc. Often she will ‘stick by her man’, attempting to reform the wayward mate. Her caretaking pattern includes rescuing him, scolding, disapproval, and forgiveness alternating with periods of anger and rejection. If she is married to a mate who is not a good provider, she is apt to nag and to make unflattering comparisons of her situation with those of her friends. Typically she will vacillate endlessly between being compassionate and forgiving with an irresponsible spouse and feeling resentful and angry that her own needs are so seldom met. Unable to accept behaving irresponsibly herself, she seems perfectly able to accept it from him, no matter how badly she is treated.

It is important to a Pele that she feel listened to by her partner and supported, especially when she is in the midst of strong feelings that threaten to overwhelm her. Although she is long-suffering, her tendency to always put the needs of others before her own can leave her feeling depleted and exhausted. The extreme sensitivity to the feelings of others that makes Peles the most nurturing of all the types also leaves them highly sensitive to what other think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved and appreciated in return and usually hope to find this from their mates. A Pele can be crushed by criticism from her partner and needs frequent reassurance of her worth.

Always considerate and caring, Peles value good communication and mutual respect and deserve to be appreciated for their hard work, generosity, and compassion.

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.

Pele 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

As a Pele type, you need to feel secure and much prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar. When this need is not met, you are likely to become anxious. Peles are usually big worriers who often live on a day-to-day basis with a low level of anxiety in their lives. Generous to a fault, you tend to take on too much responsibility, working too hard to see that the needs of others are met while you put your on needs on the ‘back burner’. You may frequently feel the strain of trying to juggle your competing responsibilities of work, family, and friends.

When stressed many Peles become suddenly erratic, displaying their distress in dramatic emotional outbursts. Since you are usually rather serene, holding your emotions in until they threaten to overflow, these eruptions of strong emotion only add to your distress, making you feel guilty for burdening others with your problems.

It is typical for a Pele to respond to ongoing stress by becoming rather depressed. Your view of your situation might become very negative, colored by a sense of helplessness and defeat. Food is often used to provide a sense of comfort, and you may have a lifelong struggle with your weight. Peles are also at risk for other types of addictive behavior . . . including alcohol and drug abuse, gambling, and compulsive shopping. Those who respond to stress with increased sexual behavior are placed at heightened risk for sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.

Even though a Pele woman has demonstrated her unflagging devotion by serving the needs of others, her contributions are overlooked or taken for granted at times. Feeling unappreciated or neglected, she begins to feel dejected and may harbor negative feelings, including jealousy, for those she has so graciously supported. She may feel guilty or ashamed of these feelings and be unwilling to address them openly.

If this stress continues, a Pele often becomes gloomy and depressed. Even her memories of past experiences becomes colored with pessimism and feelings of self-blame and remorse. When stress reaches an overwhelming level, she is likely to become complaining, critical of those who have burdened or ‘betrayed’ her, and unduly worried about her health. A Pele’s complaints may so immobilize her that she is no longer able to continue to nurture others or to fulfill their expectations and demands. Underlying this pattern is Pele’s view that ‘after all I’ve done for them, now they’ve abandoned me’.

Physical illnesses frequently affecting Pele women include hormonal imbalances and various disorders of the female reproductive system (including frequent yeast infections and menstrual disorders), urinary tract infections, fibromyalgia, thyroid problems, and back (mid- and lower) pain.

Situations most likely to trigger a Pele’s level of stress are those that evoke:

the fear of being unsupported (or even abandoned)
frustration at feeling restricted, controlled or otherwise manipulated
feeling unvalued or unappreciated
feeling victimized and powerless to take control of one’s life.

Major stressors that arise in the lives of a Pele are often related to her:

need to socialize, sometimes at the expense of her other obligations
attempts to resist regulations and control over her behavior, which she experiences as a loss of freedom, and
tendency to feel anxious about life, whether or not she will ever have enough or be ‘good enough’.

Pele’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.

Pele’s Allies

The goddesses Hera and Artemis are your allies. 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 a different role. 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.

Like you, your ally Hera was practical, conscientious, and a woman who greatly valued her relationships with others. The Hera archetype can offer a Pele help in learning to be more selective about where she devotes her energy and attention and give a Pele the motivation to slow down, unwind, and to look after her own needs and desires . . . in short, to put herself first once in a while.

Peles are often in such a hurry to get their work done or to make a decision that they become inflexible. Focused on the goal or outcome they seek, a Pele can ignore the process if it slows her down. Unless she has an ally like Artemis strongly developed in her personality, she will find it hard to be spontaneous, playful, and adventurous. Once Artemis’ presence is activated, a Pele usually begins to pay more attention to what is happening in her life at that moment rather than just dreaming or ‘obsessing’ about the future. She also becomes more realistic about her ideas, projects, and her expectations of other people.

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. Rhiannon 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’.

A Pele can easily become overwhelmed by the strength of her drive to rescue or ‘mother’ those who need her. She often struggles with her feelings of disppointment when they seem to take her for granted or with feelings of guilt when she thinks she has failed them.

Rhiannon can help you become more comfortable with abstract or philosophical thought in ways that leave you less critical and judgmental about yourself and others and, at the same time, allows you to develop a valid point of view based on your own learning and experience. This can help you overcome your need to relate to others by providing them with your help and sympathy in the hope of winning the approval and affection you need and deserve. By becoming more of an independent thinker like Rhiannon, you can find yourself better able to consciously adopt approaches to dealing with the challenges in your life without having to rely on any preconceived notion that may not be appropriate or meaningful to your personal situation.

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

Wisewoman/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

Pele’s journey to completeness will involve developing parts of yourself that may have been neglected as you exercised your Pele qualities in service to others. Your growth will center on the need to develop competencies that you may have left to those on whom you depend . . . the need to develop your own independent decision-making and expertise.

Other recommendations:

Make it a priority to take good care of yourself. Occasionally put your needs and desires first for a change. Many a Pele woman makes the mistake of looking after the needs and interests of everyone else while ignoring her own. Learn to relax. Make time for yourself.
Work on learning to express negative feelings. Your willingness to serve others may encourage them to take you for granted and leave you feeling resentful. This will help you learn to not bottle up your emotions, allowing them to fester and, eventually, to boil over. Develop one or two deep relationships where you can safely show your fears, sadness, and resentment and still find that you are loved and accepted.
Work at being in the limelight occasionally. You are so used to being “backstage” seeing to it that the show does go on that you could use more recognition for the many contributions you have quietly made.
Practice accepting compliments and service from others. Allow yourself to be pampered occasionally . . . you really don’t have to be so proficient all the time, people will really continue to love you even if you’re not looking after them.
Try to become more objective by developing the more abstract thinking processes that you may have neglected in your practical, service-oriented lifestyle. Engage in the purely fanciful or theoretical for a change. Studying psychology might be a good place to start, given your natural interest in people and their behavior.
Since some Peles have a blind spot in terms of their romantic relationships, it would be wise for you to develop a capacity to analyze your intimate relationships with logic and insight, identifying your goals, assessing your partners and their character. If you are one of the unfortunate Peles who finds herself in an emotionally damaging relationship, it is particularly important that you begin to work on your codependent behavior, protecting yourself, and perhaps beginning a new cycle in your life.
Try to be aware of your motives when you help someone. You will often be setting yourself up for disappointment when you’re expecting appreciation or for them to return the favor. Because of the propensity for Peles to develop codependent relationships, especially with their loved ones, it is especially important to realize that these behaviors seldom bring the results that you had really wanted.
After you’ve done something for others, avoid the temptation to call attention to it. Either they will thank you in their own way or they won’t. Reminding them of all that you’ve done for them only makes them feel easy, and possibly even resentful. It won’t help your relationship with them.
Just as you shouldn’t always be “doing for others” and especially not be trying to get people to love you by giving them service, gifts, or undeserved praise, you should also not pointedly withdraw your generosity when they do not respond to you as you would like. Don’t make what you do (or don’t do) for others depend on how they respond to you. Instead, give help when it’s asked for and always try to help them to become more capable of functioning on their own and less dependent upon you.
With your generous and giving Pele nature, you are unusually able to accurately sense other people’s feelings and needs. Sometimes your “giftedness” in this area can be overwhelming to others. So, rather than jumping right in to help them, it is often better to ask them what they really want first. Express your desire to help, communicate how you think you could help, but be willing to accept a “No Thanks”. Just because they decide to not take you up on their offer of help doesn’t mean they are rejecting you.

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..