However, this triple image has become increasingly outdated. Joan Borysenko points out that the maiden years have gotten progressively shorter with the introduction of electric lights and the subsequent elongation of "daylight" hours which stimulates the release of hormones that bring on puberty several years earlier than a century ago. Furthermore, women's life spans have increased from 47 years on 1900 to 75 years in 1990. And, of course, the mothering years of the life cycle have undergone tremendous changes as well, as women have won more freedom in their choices regarding whether they will have children at all and if so, when and how many.

So, what do we do with the gap that has been created, both energetically and chronologically, in the old, three-fold presentation of the feminine life cycle? Overwhelmingly, feminist scholars and theologians are introducing a new phase, in between the mothering years and old age. It is called alternately -- amazon, queen, enchantress, matriarch, priestess, guardian. Borysenko points out that "ballsy behavior is supported by ballsy hormones" at this time -- that a kind of fierce power kicks in which is actually biologically mediated as testosterone levels increase and estrogen levels decrease right before menopause. Mention this phenomena to a room full of amazons and they know exactly what you mean!

Embracing this rich, new archetype, we conjur up the wisdom of the deep Feminine in four ways, drawing on four different energies or archetypes. And while they describe the stages in a women's life span, it is also important to remember that we carry each of them within us at all times. A teenager who is organizing political rallies is calling on her amazon energies. A crone who loves to roller-blade is embracing the maiden's thrill of adventure. There are mothers who never bear children but who create breathtaking works of art and amazons who retreat into silent meditation for months or years at a time. This four-sided construction is not meant to be a box that restricts and confines, but rather a container of possibilities for be-ing and do-ing in the world.

In the act of creation that IS the Divine Feminine, I've named these feminine archetypes "Fem*types" and offer keywords** to help in understanding the power and wisdom of each one:

MAIDEN: new beginnings, virgin (meaning "one unto herself"), daughter, menarche, dawn, spring, blossom, waxing moon, dynamic, fresh energy, joy, fun, sociability, sexual awakening, innocence, inspiration, potential, possibility, clear thinking, ambitious, enterprising.

MOTHER: fullness, midwife, lover, pregnancy, childbirth, noon, summer, fruit, full moon, ovulation, fertile, nurturing, creative, caring, compassion, receptive, protective, radiating, enveloping, supportive, encouraging, giving, counsel, community.

AMAZON: power, queen, priestess, enchantress, blood sister, peri-menopause, dusk, fall, harvest, waning moon, dramatic, passion, assertive, demanding, erotic, intuitive, restless, penetrating, destruction/creation, magic, intensity, authority, focused.

CRONE: wisdom, sorceress, dark mother, grandmother, menopause, midnight, winter, seed, new moon, menstruation, alchemical, transmutation, inward, endings, silence, death, release, unknown, uncompromising, dissolution, introspective, containing, prophecy.

**These associations were compiled by dipping into the vast cauldron of WomanSpirit literature, including:

Borysenko, Joan, Ph.D., A Woman's Book of Life: The Biology, Psychology and Spirituality of the Feminine Life Cycle, Riverhead Books, 1996.

Davis, Elizabeth and Leonard, Carol, The Women's Wheel of Life, Penguin/Arkana, 1996.

Gray, Miranda, Red Moon: Understanding and Using the Gifts of the Menstrual Cycle, Element Books, 1994.

McCoy, Edain, Celtic Women's Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life, Llewelyn Publications, 1998.

Wilshire, Donna, Virgin, Mother, Crone: Myths and Mysteries of the Triple Goddess, Inner Traditions, 1994.




Copyright © 1998 by Deborah Roth, MA