MAY 2005 GODDESS OF THE MONTH

The story of Psyche tells of a mortal woman taken to a mysterious castle to be married to a fierce dragon. Her husband comes to her in the middle of the night, and she falls in love with him. Told that she must never look upon his face, she disobeys this injunction and finds that her husband is really Eros, the god of love; when he awakes, he flies away, leaving her forever.

Psyche roams far and wide trying to find Eros. She goes to his mother, Aphrodite, who gives her four tasks to complete, each seemingly impossible. The final task requires her to descend into Hades and retrieve a box of beauty.

Through the process of meeting the challenges of her tasks and integrating her experiences Psyche grows from an innocent young girl into a mature goddess. Psyche is a rich reminder of our imperative to grow; she reminds us that the process of life takes us into dark places as well as light, just as the butterfly emerges from the dark chrysalis into the light.

From GODDESS KNOWLEDGE CARDS,
Susan Eleanor Boulet Trust.
Text by Michael Babcock.
Published by Pomegranate
Box 6099, Rohnert Park, California 94927