We know her as Artemis (Greek) or Diana (Roman).
She is a Moon Goddess, protector of animals, and archetypal Virgin (meaning complete within herself and belonging to no one).
As Moon Goddess, we see the seas and the tides referenced. As the vast cosmic tides of the seasons' flow, the Moon works her magic and causes the ebb and flow of the waters on earth.
Diana and her hounds hunt, but they hunt ethically to keep animal life in harmony and balance with the land. She is a fierce protector of both and will unleash her wrath on human hunters who are unethical, cruel, or take more than is necessary. She shares this aspect with the Cailleach (Hag) and the eastern European Baba Yaga type goddesses. It has always been up to women to protect the earth and her children.
Ethics, Balance, and Boundaries
The Huntress has a lot to teach us about ethics, balance, and boundaries.
Crossing ethical lines often means transgressing boundaries, and while the archetype of The Huntress has a pattern of enforcing ethics and healthy boundaries when out of balance, she can become overly protective, claiming everything for her own and withholding what should be freely given. As a result, boundaries become impenetrable walls, ethics become dogmatic absolutes, and compassion and mercy become eclipsed by enforcement and judgment.
At her very best, though, The Huntress presides over healthy, balanced systems, relationships, and boundaries. There is give and take, but not to the point of exploitation. Relationships have a natural ebb and flow for mutual benefit and respect. There is power and no guilt in creating and maintaining healthy boundaries. Boundaries are set with wisdom that keeps them from becoming selfish, self-isolating, or self-aggrandizing.
The Huntress is an aspect of Nature, the vibrant and governing energy that maintains balance, which by necessity encompasses both life and death and uses both to create equilibrium and healthy ecosystems.
It is hard to imagine that we haven't aroused The Huntress' wrath in our exploitation of the earth.
The Huntress in You
With the earth in crisis, The Huntress may arrive in your life as the environmental activist. You may find yourself inspired or called to speak hard truths to powerful systems about the unethical transgressing of boundaries threatening the harmony necessary for the earth to thrive.
Or you may encounter her in a more personal way. The Huntress may help you see your life as a more integrated whole, like Nature, where all things are connected. She may help you understand where there are "hunters" in your life that take more than they should (time, emotional energy, etc.) or deal with you in deceptive ways that do not respect your boundaries.
She may call upon you to allow the "death" of certain things (beliefs, relationships, patterns of behavior, self-talk) that need to be cleared out to help you return to a healthy balance.
In her fierceness, she will also point out that what you think are boundaries may actually be unhealthy coping strategies or defenses, locking you in and cutting you off from healthier relationships and patterns of living.
The New Moon in Sagittarius offers an opportunity to work with the archetype of The Huntress and discover what she brings to benefit you this month.
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