chairing the committee, deciding when and who should have a turn
or take the floor. A chairperson keeps order by being an observant
participant and an effective executive—qualities shared with a well-
functioning ego. When the ego functions well, appropriate behavior
results.
Chairing the committee is not an easy task, especially when there
are goddesses in every woman, demanding and claiming power, at
times in conflict with each other. When a woman’s ego cannot keep
order, one goddess archetype may intervene and take over the per-
sonality. Metaphorically, then, that goddess rules the mortal. Or an
inner equivalent of an Olympian war can occur when equally strong
archetypal elements are in conflict.
When a person is in inner conflict, the outcome depends on how
the “members” of that particular person’s “committee” work togeth-
er. Like all committees, the functioning of the group depends on the
chairperson and the members—who they are, how strong their
viewpoints are, how cooperative or how contentious the group
process is, and how much order the chair maintains.
ORDERLY PROCESS: THE EGO FUNCTIONS WELL
AS CHAIR, AND ALL GODDESSES HAVE
THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD
The first possibility is that there is an orderly process, presided
over by an observing ego who can make clear choices based on ad-
equate information. The ego is aware of the constituents and their
different needs and motivations All relevant aspects of the person-
ality are heard, reality is considered, and tension is tolerated. Since
each goddess speaks for a particular instinct, value, or aspect of a
woman’s psyche (the totality of her personality), the amount of say
that any one goddess has depends on how strong that particular
archetype is, how involved it may be in that particular agenda item,
and how much of the floor the ego (as chairperson) allows the god-
dess to have.
For example, a woman’s decision may be what to do on Sunday.
Hestia favors solitude and proposes a quiet day at
Which Goddess Gets the Golden Apple?