Placing a positive value on receptivity is the first step in its cultiv-
ation. A receptive attitude toward other people can be consciously
developed by listening to what others have to say, attempting to see
matters from their perspective, and refraining from critical judgments
(or prejudices).
A receptive attitude toward one’s own psyche also can be de-
veloped. A necessary first step is kindness toward oneself (rather
than impatience and self-criticism), especially during periods when
a woman feels that she is “lying fallow.” Many women learn that
fallow periods can be healing respites that precede a surge of activity
or creativity, only after they have learned to accept them as a phase
and not a sin.
Cultivating dreams often turns out to be rewarding. An effort to
recall and write them down each morning keeps images alive. In-
sights into their meaning often develop when this is done, as one
now remembers dreams and thinks about them. Extrasensory per-
ception can also be developed by many people when they attempt
to pick up ESP impressions, and learn to be receptive to images that
arise spontaneously in their minds.
PERSEPHONE THE WOMAN
The Persephone woman has a youthful quality. She may actually
look younger than her age or may have something “girlish” in her
personality, a “Take care of Little Me” element that may endure
through middle age and beyond. I think of the Persephone woman
as having something willowy about her that bends to conform with
circumstances or with stronger personalities. Going first in one dir-
ection and then another, depending on how “the wind blows,” she
springs back when the force lets up, remaining unaffected in some
significant way by experience unless she makes a commitment that
will change her.
YOUNG PERSEPHONE
The typical little Persephone is a quiet, unassuming, “good little
girl,” the kind who is often “dolled up” in pink, frilly dresses. She’s
usually a well-behaved child, who wants to
Persephone: The Maiden and Queen of the Underworld, Receptive