Dear Ones,

This week has been really something—not sure how to qualify it and what will come out of it.

I was feeling inspiration-less yesterday and came across the passage below this morning. It is about “the Gift of the Goddess” and the spiritual path we are on, per Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey (diagram attached).

“What might this gift be?” still feels a valid question.

See you in a few hours!

Love & much Light

Gilles Asselin is inviting you to a Zoom meeting.

Topic: The Gift of the Goddess

Time: Jun 15 @ 03:30 PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82408352306

Gilles:

The second episode I want to mention is the “seizing of the desired boon,” in Campbell’s words. It brings back the memory of a chart analysis that Gary, an esoteric astrologer in Scotland, did for me two years ago. One of the myths he used is that of Hercules seizing the Girdle of Hippolyte, the Queen of the Amazons. At that time, I simply believed it was important for me to be patient and not rush through the process of spiritual walking. Now that I read it again, I am not sure I have gotten the full understanding of this archetype, especially in light of Campbell’s stage of the Return (gift of the goddess) and the balance of masculine and feminine energies.

What might this gift be?

“In this myth Hercules, as a hero, symbolizes the individual on the spiritual path. He was required to obtain Hippolyte’s girdle which had been given to her by Venus. The girdle symbolized the unity of spirit and matter and the motherhood of the spiritual principle within. Hippolyte was about to give Hercules the girdle but he killed her and seized it. He was aghast at his error. After leaving the bereft land of the Amazons Hercules managed to redeem himself by rescuing Hesione, the daughter of the King of Troy, from the belly of a sea monster by entering through the monster’s throat and hacking his way out though its belly.

The symbolism of this myth essentially relates to self-annihilation as a means to psycho-spiritual metamorphosis. Hippolyte symbolizes, not only mother matter, but all of her attendant secrets and the ability to nurture human consciousness enabling its ascent to the peak of human awareness as symbolized by the mountain of initiation. Hercules as a hero, depicting symbolically the individual on the spiritual path, initially views the feminine principle here as a challenge instead of being aware of its potential gifts. He redeems himself by entering the belly of a sea monster, symbolizing a journey into his own unconscious, to rescue or reinstate this aspect of his psyche.”