QUALITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: LIKE “LIMELIGHT”
The quality of consciousness associated with Aphrodite is unique.
The virgin goddesses are associated with focused consciousness and
are the archetypes that enable women to concentrate on what matters
to them. The receptiveness of the vulnerable goddesses is equated
with diffuse awareness. But Aphrodite has a quality of consciousness
all her own, which I call Aphrodite consciousness. Aphrodite con-
sciousness is focused, yet receptive; such consciousness both takes
in what is attended to, and is affected by it.
Aphrodite consciousness is more focused and intense than the
diffuse awareness of vulnerable goddesses. But it is more receptive
and attentive to what it focuses on than the focused consciousness
of the virgin goddesses. Thus it is neither like a living room lamp
that illuminates everything within the radius of its glow with a
warm, soft light, nor like a spotlight or a laser beam. I think of
Aphrodite consciousness as analogous to theater lighting that illu-
minates the stage. What we behold in this limelight enhances,
dramatizes, or magnifies the impact of the experience on us. We take
in and react to what we see and hear. This special lighting helps us
to be emotionally transported at a symphony, or to be moved by a
play or by the words of a speaker; feelings, sense impressions, and
memories are drawn out of us in response to what we see and hear.
In turn, those onstage can become inspired by an audience, energized
by the rapport they sense being directed toward them.
What is in the “limelight” absorbs our attention. We are drawn
effortlessly toward what we see, and are relaxed in our concentration.
Whatever we see in the golden light of Aphrodite consciousness
becomes fascinating: a person’s face or character, an idea about the
nature of the universe, or the translucency and shape of a porcelain
bowl.
Anyone who has ever fallen in love with a person, a place, an idea,
or an object focuses on and takes it in with Aphrodite consciousness.
But not everyone who uses Aphrodite consciousness is in love.
Aphrodite’s “in love” way of attending to another person as if he
or she were fascinating and beautiful is characteristic of women who
personify the archetype, and is a
Goddesses in Everywoman