ARCHETYPE
of
THE MAIDEN
and
HER 3 FACES
of
THE MAIDEN
and
HER 3 FACES
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At Crescent Moon I am the Maiden, pure and innocent, gathering sensations and fantasies in a paradise of worldly delights. I am the Good daughter, inner soul of the Mother, learning the art of merging. I am the Naughty daughter, seducing my parents, learning the skill of separating. I am the Orphan teenage daughter, favorite of the gods, stumbling blindly into the mysteries of puberty and adolescence.
Eagerly seeking playmates, while hiding from villainous beasts, I am vulnerable and foolish, sensitive and curious-- a contradictory mix of potentials, as yet unfulfilled. I rule the worlds of make-believe and fantasy, and I teach you how to play. Do you remember when you giggled in delight at the simple joy of being alive? I was there with you then, and also when you screeched in terror at imagined frights.
My waxing crescent moon emerges in mysterious beauty, glimpsed briefly, following sunset-- and often accompanied by Venus, glimmering nearby as the Evening Star-- the Wishing Star. You may make a wish and dare to dream what your heart most desires, for I will help you believe that whatever you wish for could come true.
The Maiden is core to all others, for she embodies the soul’s dream. In her world, the magic of make-believe prevails. The freedom to explore our fantasies as children, gives us self-confidence to pursue our dreams as women.
The Good Girl represents ever-renewed virginity, ever-present maidenhood, hidden within every woman. She is the part of us that wishes to please, to keep harmony in order to have fun and feel happy. Her energy is light-hearted, optimistic-- and she fervently believes in Magic.
In the painting, the little girl blithely swings, as her puppy sleeps peacefully beneath the tree, guarding her hat and shoes. But her cat, in the basket, senses the dangerous elements encroaching on their paradisiacal playground, which lies perilously close to the dark forest-edge. There stands the wily fox, amused by this vulnerable trio, and debating how best to mount a surprise chase. The snake, however, may be a protector-goddess in disguise, ready to foil the fox’s plans.
Perhaps, this innocent swinging maiden is a modern-day Kore, idling away her springtime youth, oblivious to the inevitable abduction to come. She is tripled in the painting, appearing as three times herself. The stories of innocent maidens foreshadow a division from childhood into adolescence, and then into womanhood. But, the young maiden perceives a magical world, where all wishes are heard by the fairies in the tree, and can come true. Even the frights of the forest, with tricky wolves or foxes, are part of the drama of her make-believe adventure. They, as yet, present no real threat to her trusting innocence, which is her form of power.
Invocation to the Good Girl:
Help me to find joy in the simple pleasures of my daily life.
Let me bring happiness to others by the warmth of my smile, and
through my genuine delight in the world. Help me to engage the
innocent child within, to attain basic trust and acceptance of
myself.
The pre-adolescent Maiden feeds her curiosity from an unlimited, unquestioned sense of her own autonomy. She plays all the roles in her make-believe dramas, exploring her own androgynous potentials. She dares to disobey, in order to test limits and discover boundaries of her world. The Naughty Girl Maiden helps us laugh at our mistakes, tease away our fears, face life with a grin, take whatever comes our way and make the best of it.
The pre-pubescent Maiden Naughty Girl is not bad, in the pejorative sense, but possesses the daring-combined-with-innocence required to pursue all paths, open all doors, and investigate all containers she comes upon. This is the “tomboy” androgynous maiden, who is free to experiment with all sides of her nature. In the painting, she is in the midst of a tempest, which she has accidentally raised by opening the secret box and releasing its power. Storm winds stir the waves, tossing the sailboat on the water, while lightning flashes and thunder booms. Yet, the setting sun peeks from behind the clouds and the rising crescent moon is accompanied by the maiden’s wishing star.
Here, we may have Pandora in pigtails and jeans. Her curiosity prompts her to open the forbidden container. But it is merely a shoebox of childhood seaside treasures. No evil lurks here, but only the wonder of Nature’s gifts. The storm is invigorating and titillating-- energizing the Maiden’s magical world.
Invocation to the Naughty Girl:
Help me to let go of unnecessary controls over my spirit. Help me
to sing and dance to the music of life all around me. Help me to
join in on the games offered by my daily encounters with all my
fellow creatures on earth. I pray to banish guilt and express
myself honestly.
The adolescent young woman throws off protective wrappings of girlhood, to expose herself to life’s dangerous adventures, and thereby, discover her true identity. The Orphan Maiden’s adroit flair for drama provides her with inventiveness to play the roles demanded for a skillful passage through adolescence.
In this painting, she sits at the water’s edge, embracing a unicorn, who gazes dreamily at its own reflection. Here, the Orphan Maiden appears unreal, fairy-like, merely a mirage of her former autonomous girl-self, with but a hint of her future woman-power. She is beautiful, but insubstantial-- fragile in her blossoming erotic passion. Yet, therein lies the secret to her special power, for she can take on the character and form of whatever helps her survive a malevolent culture’s attacks against her innocent beauty.
Beyond the mists that veil her magical world of illusion, we see a man on horseback, riding from the castle in the hills-- a symbol of the patriarchal world. Is this her abductor, coming to snatch her from her sheltered sanctuary? Or, perhaps, it is a messenger of the goddess, coming to warn her of other dangers. Or is he the knight who will rescue her from the clutches of an evil sorceress? This Maiden may be Daphne, or Io, or any of many nymphs and maidens, chased by rapacious gods, tricked by villainous brutes, but ultimately transformed by the fates to attain immortality as selected daughters of the goddess.
Invocation to the Orphan Maiden:
Help me keep my loving spirit safe within the harbor of my heart,
while I venture into the world of unknown dangerous opportunities to
discover my true self and purpose. I pray to find blessed initiation
into the female blood mysteries and honor my woman- power.