Hephaestus—known as Vulcan to the Romans—had his forge inside
a volcano. Symbolically, he represents the possibility that volcanic
rage can be contained and changed into creative energy to make
armor and works of art.
A spurned and angry Hera woman can choose between being
consumed by her rage or containing her hostile impulses and reflect-
ing on her available choices. If she can see that she is becoming
crippled and limited by her rage and jealousy, she could channel
her anger into work. She might literally follow the example of Hep-
haestus (whose wife Aphrodite was repeatedly unfaithful to him)
and become a craftswoman. She could work with clay, firing what
she makes in the kiln, and in the process become changed her-
self—metaphorically transformed by the fire of her emotions into
an artisan rather than being consumed and destroyed. Or she might
channel the intensity of her feelings into painting or writing. Work
of any kind, mental or manual, can serve as a means of sublimating
rage. And sublimation is much more healthy than allowing rage to
feed on itself and destroy her.
ASSESSING THE POSSIBILITY OF A RECONCILIATION:
REALITY VERSUS MYTH
A Hera woman needs to know that, once a man has left her, she
will have difficulty believing the loss. In this type of situation, she
has trouble accepting reality and is likely to believe in a mythic
ending—that he, like Zeus, will miss her and come back. A Hera
woman cannot afford to disregard the evidence, she needs to accept
reality instead of deny it. Only when she stops hoping for eventual
reconciliation can she mourn, recover, and go on with her life.
Many Hera women hope that a husband who has left for another
woman may come back. In one myth about Hera, this reconciliation
does occur, but only after she is able to leave Zeus. In the myth, as
noted earlier, Zeus then went to her mountain retreat and took part
in a wedding ceremony to a statue disguised as a woman. Hera was
amused at this scene, and a reconciliation followed.
Several important psychological elements are present here. First
of all, to be reconciled Hera let go of more than
Goddesses in Everywoman