creative effort, a man, or a combination—are evident. More energy
becomes available for something else, which is an invitation to an-
other goddess to exert an influence. Will Athena influence her to go
to graduate school? Or, will Demeter’s desire to have a child pre-
vail—when it is now or never?
Next comes another later-life transition, when the goddesses may
shift yet again. The postmenopausal period may herald a shift, as
do widowhood, retirement, or feeling like an elder. Will the widowed
woman who must manage money for the first time discover a latent
Athena and find that she is well able to understand investments?
Has unwanted loneliness become comfortable solitude, because
Hestia is now known? Or has life now become meaningless and
empty, because Demeter has no one to nurture? As in every other
stage of life, the outcome for the individual depends on the activated
goddesses in her psyche, the realities of her situation, and the choices
she makes.
Goddesses in Everywoman