apple” in one situation, but pass it to introverted Hestia or
Persephone in another.
According to Jungian theory, thinking and feeling are the assessing
functions, sensation and intuition the perceptive ones. When one of
these four is the most developed, its opposite (the other one in the
pair) is theoretically the least conscious one. Theory holds when one
goddess pattern underlies the whole personality: while an Athena
woman thinks with great clarity, her ability to assess feeling values
is characteristically almost nonexistent. But such may not be the case
when there is more than one important goddess. For example, if
Artemis joins Athena as an activated archetype, then feeling as well
as thinking may be equal or near-equally developed, contrary to
theory.
Under these circumstances—when the goddesses cooperate and
take turns being expressed within a woman—“which goddess gets
the golden apple” depends on the circumstances and the task at
hand.
CONSCIOUSNESS AND CHOICE
Once a woman (through her observing ego) becomes aware of the
goddess archetypes and develops an appreciation of the committee
as a metaphor for inner process, she has two very useful insight
tools. She can listen with a sensitive ear to the voices within herself,
recognize “who” is speaking, and become aware of the goddesses
that influence her. When they represent conflicting aspects of herself
that she must resolve, she can tune into the needs and concerns of
each goddess, and then decide for herself what is most important.
If some goddesses are inarticulate and difficult to recognize—their
presence only surmised through an acting-out episode, a psychoso-
matic symptom, or a mood—she may need time and attention to
perceive who they are. Having an idea of the archetypal patterns
and knowing the range of goddesses may help her identify those
who need recognition.
Since all the goddesses are innate patterns in every woman, an
individual woman may realize the need to become better acquainted
with a particular goddess. In this case, efforts to develop or
strengthen the influence of a particular goddess
Goddesses in Everywoman