Artemis, known to the Romans as Diana, was goddess of the hunt and moon. The tall, lovely daughter of Zeus and Leto roamed the wilderness of forest, mountain, meadow, and glade with her band of nymphs and hunting dogs. Dressed in a short tunic, armed with a silver bow and a quiver of arrows on her back, she was the archer with unerring aim. As goddess of the moon, she is also portrayed in statues as a lightbearer carrying a torch in her hand, or with the moon and stars surrounding her head. Symbolized by the crescent, waxing moon, Artemis represented the maiden aspect of the once-worshiped triple goddess, with Selene being the mature or full moon, and Hecate the crescent, waning moon. As a trinity, Artemis’s realm was earth, Selene’s the heavens, and Hecate’s the underworld. Of the three, only Artemis was a major Greek divinity.
As the goddess of wildlife, she was associated with undomesticated animals that shared her qualities. The stag and doe symbolized her elusiveness, the bear her role as a fierce protector of the young, and the boar (which she once unleashed in anger to ravage a countryside) her destructive aspect.
Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and Leto (a pre-Olympian nature deity), the firstborn twin sister of Apollo, god of the sun. As soon as Artemis was born, this divine child witnessed the most difficult labor in Greek mythology. For nine days and nights, Leto suffered atrocious pain, finally delivering Apollo with Artemis as her midwife. This is why Artemis was a goddess of childbirth, prayed to by women in labor for delivery from pain.
When Artemis was three years old, Leto brought her to Mount Olympus to meet her father. Zeus was delighted with his little daughter and promised to give her whatever she wanted. At three, Artemis knew exactly what she wanted: a bow and arrows, a pack of hounds to hunt with, nymphs to accompany her, a tunic short enough to run in, mountains and wilderness as her special places, and eternal chastity. Zeus granted her all of her wishes, plus the privilege of making the selections herself. Artemis was granted autonomy and would never be violated or overpowered by male power.
As an archetype, Artemis personifies an independent feminine spirit that enables a woman to seek her own goals on a terrain of her own choosing. She had qualities that were idealized by the women’s movement such as sisterhood and independence. She acted swiftly and decisively to protect and rescue those who appealed to her for help and was quick to punish those who offended her. In her mythology, she alone of all the goddesses came to the aid of her mother; once a giant attempted to rape Leto and was swiftly punished (rape is a usual occurrence in Greek mythology, punishment a rarity). She was the protector of young wildlife and young girls. She was the archetypal big sister to her nymph companions, and an equal and competitor of her twin brother, Apollo.
With an affinity for the wilderness and animals, the Artemis archetype is active in women who backpack, ride horses, and have a spiritual connection to nature. An athletic Artemis is a fierce competitor and a team player. She is concerned about equality, fairness, and justice for people and animals, and most likely articulated these values as a child. When she was treated differently from a brother because she was a girl, she protested, “It’s not fair!” Motivated by these same values as an adult, she may become an activist. In her advocacy, she can be merciless. In the early years of the women’s movement, for example, such feminists trashed others for not being pure enough, as well as directed their wrath (righteous destructiveness is a shadow aspect of this archetype) toward sexist people and institutions. The metaphoric wilderness of uncharted terrain attracted many Artemis women to fields never before open to women. Armed with the attributes of the huntress with unerring aim, this was the active archetype in goal-oriented young women who single-mindedly set their sights on personal targets.
Artemis at Ephesus is probably the most famous statue of the goddess. More stately than the usual representations of her as a huntress, it often is called “the many-breasted Artemis” because of the numerous rows of rounded protuberances covering her chest. In the middle adult years, women usually juggle several roles and many responsibilities; the part of her that is Artemis can feel more constrained than fulfilled in the traditional roles of wife and mother or nurturer—“like an Artemis of Ephesus, with someone hanging on each breast” is how one Artemis woman put it. Yet it is through these same commitments to people that an Artemis woman grows in maturity and compassion. Until she has made such commitments, or had her own experiences of physical pain, dependency, jealousy, or emotional loss, she may be unable to have empathy for the suffering of others or awareness of her own vulnerability.
Humility is another of her teachers. With strong feelings and high principles, the Artemis woman can be righteous and intolerant. She can also be quick to act in anger and can do harm. However, because she is capable of reflection and has the ability to feel remorse as intense as her outrage, it is through these lessons that she can learn humility and grow wiser as she grows older.
CRONE-AGED ARTEMIS
It’s not unusual for a woman to have her Artemis qualities not only persist into her crone years but enjoy a renaissance at this time. If she is an active person in good health, the later years can be the best years of her life. The events that are major losses when other archetypes predominate—retirement, the end of a marriage through divorce or widowhood, children growing up and leaving the nest—can free a woman to be her Artemis self. A crone-aged Artemis retains an affinity for the young and an ability to think young, which keeps her from feeling middle-aged long after others might consider her old. She is an explorer who likes to travel to new and foreign places, and retains passionate interests in whatever fascinates her. She may be more free to follow her own inclinations and can more readily than most leave house and home behind and strike out for new terrain. In an age of recreational vehicles, she may take to the open road in her mobile home (there are networks and organizations of crones in RVs who report on conditions up ahead on their mobile radiophones or cellular phones and rely on each other’s awareness of where they are for a measure of safety). She may go to foreign countries or onto reservations as a volunteer, not shirking from the deprivation or hardships of living among tribal people, or she may travel on her own, making up an itinerary as she goes along, glad for the many elder hostels that now exist. Or she may be drawn to Esalen, Findhorn, and other growth centers in beautiful and natural settings that offer her opportunities to explore new psychological and spiritual terrain. When I was leading women’s wisdom workshops in these places, among the participants there invariably would be wonderful models of late-blossoming Artemis women.
If an Artemis is in an enduring marriage, chances are that it is a companionable, egalitarian, and comfortable one, with each partner also having separate interests and friends. Artemis has an aversion to being fenced in by possessive partners. If she found herself in a traditional, patriarchal marriage, something had to change. Marriage is not an institution that Artemis women have a deep need for, and should she form a new intimate relationship in her crone years, she is likely to prefer maintaining her autonomy as a single woman, and even his-and-her separate residences, if possible.
By the time they are crones, Artemis lesbian women often are a part of an extended family, which includes former partners who are now enduring friends. The heterosexual woman who switches her sexual orientation in the third phase of her life is often an Artemis whose new relationship grows out of her predisposition to explore new territory and to want a relationship with an equal. Thus, if she is strongly attracted to a woman, she will follow this attraction where it leads her.
A crone-aged Artemis with grown children and grandchildren usually has an easy relationship with them. With the mother bear as an appropriate symbol for her maternal style, it is likely that she protected them when they were young, kept them from being abused, and fostered their independence when they grew older. Artemis women may not be as close to their children as some other women are, though they can be, especially if they share mutual interests. As she grows older, an Artemis crone is concerned that she not become dependent on her children and makes every effort to keep her independence and not be a burden.
If she has a passion for her work, an Artemis is unlikely to retire. When this is so, she usually is doing work that keeps challenging her and affords her autonomy. She can work alone, with a team of equals, and even be part of a hierarchical institution as long as she can freely work within her own sphere. She will be eager to retire, however, if her work is repetitious or she has a controlling boss. She chomps at the bit when she has had to rein herself in and eagerly awaits being put out to pasture so that she can immediately jump the fence into her chosen wilderness.
Georgia O’Keeffe had Artemis qualities all her life and was in her crone years for over four decades. She kept her own name when she married, was an artist who weathered self-doubts and art critics as she broke from tradition to create her own art. She was not a mother, which was apparently a choice she agonized over, feeling that she could either be a mother or an artist, not both. Once she fell in love with the stark beauty of New Mexico’s deserts and mountains, she kept returning there to paint. That meant months in which she and her husband Alfred Stieglitz would be apart even when his health was beginning to fail. Once her husband died, there was nothing to hold her in the east and she moved to New Mexico, where she would spend the rest of her life. She painted until her eyesight failed, and then worked in clay. She lived where she wanted to live and lived as she wanted to live, all the time creating a body of work that places her among the most famous artists in the world. She once said that she differed from most people in knowing what it is she wanted. Whether it was to create something or acquire it, she had an intense ability to focus her will and her talents on her chosen goals.
LATE-BLOOMING ARTEMIS
In some women, after decades of being cut off from this dismembered aspect of themselves, Artemis reemerges in their crone years. Circumstances that make it possible have changed, and only now is she free to be her Artemis self. Once upon a time this woman knew Artemis as a part of herself: she may have climbed trees, enjoyed summer camp, or practically lived at a stable. She was sure of herself and unselfconscious, until something changed, and Artemis went underground.* Or Artemis may have emerged for a time in early adulthood, when she was in a consciousness-raising group or in college, and then receded. Or she may have lost Artemis after she was raped.
There are many reasons why women become cut off from Artemis. Puberty and attraction to boys may bring Aphrodite into the foreground of her psyche, while academic expectations call upon the development of Athena. Social pressure may be brought to bear to inhibit Artemis traits. The more patriarchal the family, religion, or culture, the more this is so. When “feminist” has a negative connotation, then Artemis is suppressed. Sometimes the loss of Artemis can be mostly attributed to the lack of time and energy, due to the demands of family and work. Whatever the cause, the emergence of Artemis in the crone phase is most welcome—there now may be a reclaiming of one’s free spirit, a finding of one’s true voice, an affinity with nature, or a sense of rekindled purpose.
ARTEMIS LEARNS WISDOM
The lessons that will make an Artemis wiser are those that come with life. In the maiden phase, she may be able to focus her energies on her career or causes, but lessons in reality and humility will come as they do to anyone who thinks they can stay eternally young, or are always right. When she becomes aware of her own vulnerability, she may begin to understand the choices and compromises that others make. When she makes mistakes and feels remorse, she begins to be less judgmental of others. While she may naturally be quick to act, like the moon itself, she has a capacity for reflection. She can go off by herself and ponder upon matters. When she does, she will likely take what she learns to heart. She goes into nature for solace when she is confused, hurt, or grieving, and is comforted. Through this a wisdom grows about the cycles of life. Nature may also teach her patience, which is one of the lessons most Artemis women need to learn.
Artemis was quick to punish and retaliate and she could be merciless and wrathful; these are shadow elements for a younger Artemis woman as well. When these feelings arise in a wiser Artemis, they may be fleeting, and they are restrained. An evolved Artemis is aware of her shadow, and is not controlled or possessed by such feelings. Lessons learned from inner work contribute to her understanding of herself and of others. While other women in their crone phase may finally say enough is enough, this is not an issue for an Artemis. She is not likely to have endured an oppressive relationship or become a codependent. Instead, she may have left significant relationships rather than worked on them and only later see the consequences and wonder how her life might have turned out otherwise.
WISDOM OF HECATE AND HESTIA
Hecate, the goddess of the crossroad and the waning moon, is the archetype of wisdom with whom Artemis has the most affinity. It is part of her own moon nature to be spiritually affected by the beauty and majesty of the wilderness, to feel a sacred connection to the elements and the great mystery of being part of the universe—especially under the nighttime sky, when Hecate is afoot. Moonlight and firelight (her hearth might be a campfire) draws an Artemis inward to Hecate and to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and temple. Through reflection and meditation, she may become more inner-directed and spiritual than ever before.
When such is the case, the Artemis woman in the crone phase of her life may decide to put her resources and acquired wisdom and competence to a new use; to “give back” by mentoring individuals and supporting organizations that protect women, children, or wilderness areas. Or she may be most drawn toward finding her own spiritual path.
An Artemis who becomes wise has learned to be at the crossroad with Hecate. If you are an Artemis, you’ve reacted strongly, taken a stand, come to someone’s aid, acted precipitously—and found that there were unexpected facets and consequences to these actions. Regret and remorse have taught you to pause and confer with Hecate before you do something that can change your life or impact others. You have learned that observation and reflection need to precede action. Gaining Hecate’s wisdom comes through acquiring her vision: to see three ways at once—how you got here and where the choices may lead.