nation of goal focus, intensity, competitiveness, and will that is re-
quired.) Artemis is also found in women skiers, who chart their
course down the mountain instinctively, always tilted forward in a
physical and psychological attitude that unhesitantly moves forward,
challenged by the difficulties.
WORK
The Artemis woman puts effort into work that is of subjective
value to her. She is spurred on by competition and undeterred (up
to a point) by opposition. The Artemis woman who has entered a
helping profession or the legal field usually has an ideal that influ-
enced her choice. If she is in business, she probably started out with
a product that she believed in, or perhaps one that helped her to do
something she wanted to do. If she is in a creative field, she most
likely is expressing a personal vision. If she has entered politics, she
is an advocate of a cause, most usually to do with environmental or
feminist issues. Worldly success—fame, power, or money—may
come to her, if what she excels at is rewarded.
However, the interests pursued by many Artemis women have
no commercial value, and do not lead to a career or enhance reputa-
tion or pocketbook. Sometimes, on the contrary, that interest is so
personal or off the beaten track, so absorbing of time, that lack of
success in the world and lack of relationships are guaranteed. Yet
the pursuit is personally fulfilling to the Artemis element in the
woman. For example, the advocate of the lost cause, the unappreci-
ated reformer, the “voice crying in the wilderness” that no one seems
to heed is most likely an Artemis woman, as may be the artist who
continues working with no encouragement or commercial success.
(In the artist’s case, Aphrodite, with her influence on creativity and
emphasis on subjective experience, joins Artemis.)
Because an Artemis woman is nontraditional, conflicts within
herself or with others may arise that can hamstring her efforts. What
she wants to do may be “off limits” to her, for example, if her family
views her aspirations as inappropriate for a daughter. The career
choice she wants to follow may
Goddesses in Everywoman