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The Goddess Within: I Am Psyche
by Michelle Cole

She came to me during one of my greatest pleasures. I first met the Goddess Psyche in a beautifully illustrated children’s book I was reading to my daughter. I have since found the bones of this story in other folk tales. Psyche’s saga led me along the path of the heroine’s journey while providing me with daily metaphor’s in my own not-so-mythical existence.

The story of Psyche is much more than girl meets boy, girl loses boy and has to work hard to get boy back. In fact in these terms it sounds fairly co-dependent. However, from a mythical perspective it is the extraordinary journey to the special world of relationship, specifically Psyche’s relationship with her inner self. Falling victim to external pressure Psyche loses her place in the world. Thus begins her journey down the Road of Trials. She is forced to rely on her personal resources to overcome a series of ordeals. The story ends with her return to the place from whence she came, but now she has the elixir of life in her hand and is all the stronger for the testing.

Psyche - was a fair maiden who fits all the usual fairytale descriptors. A marriage is arranged for her to a husband she never sees by the light of day. He only comes to her in the darkness of night and life will continue as usual as long as she never looks upon his clear image. Well, needless to say there is an unfortunate twist that brings to an end this idyllic relationship. Psyche’s older sisters come to visit. Initially they are overwhelmed with the opulence in which she lives, however, they cannot believe the terms she has accepted in her relationship. They convince her to take a peek to see what her husband is hiding about himself. Late one night Psyche lights a tallow candle and dares to view her husband’s sleeping visage. Lo and behold she is married to the beautiful God of Love, Cupid. In her amazement she accidentally drips tallow on him. He awakens to find she has broken the terms of their trust. True to his word he leaves her.

Now Psyche sets out to regain Cupid’s love. She appeals to her mother-in-law, Venus, to intercede on her behalf. Venus agrees to help if Psyche can complete four impossible tasks. First she must sort through a storehouse of seeds in one night. With help from an army of ants, she does it. The next task is to gather golden fleece from the sheep across the river. From a green reed, growing along the river, she learns the sheep will kill her if she enters their midst. It advises her to wait till nightfall, when they have gone. She does so, and collects the wool off the bushes. Successful to this point, Venus sends her off to fetch the waters of life from a mountain spring guarded by dragons. Psyche triumphs when an eagle brings the water for her. Finally, she descends to the underworld to retrieve for Venus a box of immortal beauty. It is here where Psyche is the most tested and ishelped by Cupid, who is touched by her efforts to this point. Psyche makes the journey and returns with the box. However, at the last moment she succumbs to her temptations to see what immortal beauty is and opens the box. She falls into an enchanted sleep. Her revival depends on Cupid’s acceptance of who she is and a willingness to return her love. Psyche is restored and the tale ends with Venus’ blessing upon their union and the birth of their daughter, Joy.

How can I be Pysche?* If there is one thing I can relate to it’s a woman who has a list of things to do. It’s much easier to get excited about a list with mythical aspects rather than mundane realities. With Psyche in mind, my daily list now takes a mythic turn. Washing diapers, doing dishes and making meals (oops just burned the rice) becomes Sorting the Seeds. Invoking me to use my instincts get the most essential tasks of everyday life accomplished. Reading stories of female heroines to my children and gleaning bits of time and energy to write this article take on aspects of Gathering the Golden Fleece. I need to follow my intuition as to how I can meaningfully contribute to my growth, my family, and my greater community. Taking time to stretch or nap or even just watching the planes take off from the lake while I sit and nurse my newborn is Fetching the Waters of Life. It’s all these things that refill my well and nurture my vital energies. Finally writing in my journal and processing my darker side is my Descent to the Underworld. It means saying “no” to some demands so I can carve out time and space for daily introspection whereby I can explore my perspectives and live mindfully of who I really am.

There have been times before the arrival of my newborn when this list of tasks looked like a clutter-free home, fulfilling paid employment, a walking/running regime and regular self-nurturing retreats on my own. But that was the world before Cupid was revealed to me again and I now I have a new set of challenges and am on the mythical journey of motherhood. My guide’s name is Joy and I am Psyche.

* My interpretation has been guided by Jean Houston’s A Passion for the Possible: A Guide to Realizing Your True Potential, 1997.

Michelle/MeShelle Cole is presently meeting the challenges of motherhood in Nelson, BC with her and Cupid’s offspring, Alexandrine (age 8) and Madeleine Elisa Estella Joy, born on Valentine’s Day, 2001.

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