relationships. For example, actress Elizabeth Taylor, whose public
image is that of a contemporary Aphrodite, has had a string of
marriages.
RELATIONSHIPS WITH WOMEN: MISTRUSTED LADY
An Aphrodite woman may be mistrusted by other women, espe-
cially by Hera women. The less conscious or less responsible she is
about her effect on men, the more disruptive an element she can be.
For instance, she may go to a party and engage in intense, erotically
charged conversations with the most interesting men there. Thus
she stimulates jealousy, feelings of inadequacy, and fear of loss in
many women who see their men reacting to her with increased an-
imation, as the alchemy between them casts a golden aura around
them both.
When women (especially a jealous or vindictive Hera) get angry
with her, the Aphrodite woman is often shocked. She rarely bears
other women ill-will, and since she is not possessive or jealous her-
self, she often has trouble fathoming the cause of the hostility toward
her.
An Aphrodite woman often has a wide circle of women friends
(none Hera women) and acquaintances who enjoy her spontaneity
and attractiveness. Many of them share Aphrodite qualities with
her. Others seem to function as her attendants, either enjoying her
company or living vicariously through her amorous adventures.
However, her friendships last only if her friends don’t take personal
offense when she treats casually the plans she has made with them.
A lesbian Aphrodite woman differs from a heterosexual one only
in her sexual preference. She, too, brings Aphrodite consciousness
to relationships and then, in turn, herself responds to the alchemy
she generates. She becomes intensely involved in relationships, falls
in love often, and as a consequence usually has a series of important
relationships. Wanting to experience “everything life has to offer,”
she often has sexual relationships with men as well as women. Un-
constrained by the need to live up to what men expect women to
be, a lesbian Aphrodite—perhaps more than her heterosexual
counterpart—exercises Aphrodite’s prerogative to pick and choose
her lovers. The alternative lifestyle that the lesbian
Aphrodite: Goddess of Love and Beauty, Creative Woman and Lover