Goddesses in Everywoman:: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives Anniversary Edition, Kindle Edition

by Jean Shinoda Bolen M.D. (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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ISBN-13: 978-0060572846

ISBN-10: 0060572841

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A classic work of female psychology that uses seven archetypcal goddesses as a way of describing behavior patterns and personality traits is being introduced to the next generation of readers with a new introduction by the author.

Psychoanalyst Jean Bolen's career soared in the early 1980s when Goddesses in Everywoman was published. Thousands of women readers became fascinated with identifying their own inner goddesses and using these archetypes to guide themselves to greater self–esteem, creativity, and happiness.

Bolen's radical idea was that just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they were also unconscious of powerful archetypal forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel, and which account for major differences among them. Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns and their interrelationships offers reassuring, true–to–life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. And she demonstrates in this book how understanding them can provide the key to self–knowledge and wholeness.

Dr. Bolen introduced these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women could identify, from the autonomous Artemis and the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter and the creative Aphrodite, and explains how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better "heroine" in one's own life story.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A glorious book. Jean Shinoda Bolen's weaving of myth, science and keen observation makes this an outstanding contribution to the humanities."--Rita Mae Brown --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Myths are fascinating stories that become even more intriguing when we realize that they can reveal intimate truths about ourselves and others. Jean Shinoda Bolen brings the Greek pantheon to life as our inner archetypes and applies the power of myth to our personal lives. Once we understand the natural progression from myth to archetype to personal psychology, and realize that positive gifts and negative tendencies are qualities associated with a particular goddess within, we gain powerful insights.

Depending on which goddess is more active within, one woman might be more committed to achieving professional success, while another more fulfilled as a wife and mother. Bolen teaches women how to decide which qualities to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better heroine in their own life stories.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Author

I wrote Goddesses in Everywoman as a psychology of women, that has over the past fifteen years since I wrote it, become something of a classic. I've been told how useful it has been to facilitate discussions between mothers and daughters, sisters, and friends about their differences and similarities. It's helped men understand the significant women in their lives (something women who have given the book to husbands and lovers, with chapters or passages marked, hoped would happen). It's a book that has become a text in a very wide variety of courses from high school to graduate school, in mythology, psychology, women's studies, literature, creative writing, drama, and counseling, and had a major influence in women's spirituality. Its perspective and mine is Jungian, feminist, spiritual, clinical, right brain and left.

I wish that women readers would also read Gods in Everyman, for a complete understanding of themselves. I think that just about every woman who does so, will find an aspect of herself in a god-archetype, which completes her internal pantheon. For example, Hermes (Mercury) the messenger god, is a very significant archetype in me. I have the exploratory energy of Artemis, but it is Hermes that puts what I learn in words and makes the intuitive connections.

Besides Gods in Everyman, two of my other books are related. Ring of Power (a new edition will be published February 1999) based on Richard Wagner's operatic Ring Cycle, focuses on dysfunctional family relationships between these same archetypes (with different names). In Crossing to Avalon, I wrote about my pilgrimage to sacred sites and what I experienced of goddess spirituality. A "sequel" to Goddesses in Everywoman is in the works -- I am now writing Goddesses in Older Women. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., is an internationally known Jungian analyst, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and a former member of the board of the Ms. Foundation for Women. She lives in Mill Valley, California. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN : B00134XEPU
Publisher : HarperOne; Anniversary edition (October 13, 2009)
Publication date : October 13, 2009
Language : English
File size : 929 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 356 pages
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #126,185 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #72 in New Age Goddesses (Kindle Store)
- #112 in New Age Goddesses (Books)
- #171 in New Age New Thought

Customer Reviews:
370 ratings

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4 star		11%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Julie

Every woman should read this book!

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2019

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Every woman should read this. It gives you such an incredible insight into universal female archetypes that characterize most women. I learned so much from this book and told all my friends about it. Really helps you to understand the female psyche, both the positive and negative aspects, and you can easily draw on experiences in your own life that fit the archetypes and stories. Highly recommend if you want to better understand yourself and the women around you.

13 people found this helpful

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Angela Ashton Harbin

A Brilliant Book

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019

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This book is extraordinary!! Dr. Bolen is a voice of compassion, logic, and thorough understanding of her subject. She has discovered a way to explain a modern psychology of women by analyzing the Ancient Greek Goddesses and the roles they played in Greek culture. The book is enlightening and beautiful. Dr. Bolen is a breath of fresh air in style, insight, and substance.

7 people found this helpful

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Suzy

Great book to help me better understand myself and other women in my life

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020

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This book is beautiful! I not only enjoyed that it dove into Greek mythology, but that it also explained the attributes of Goddesses and how to detect them in women. This breakdown helped me better understand myself and other women in my life. When I look back in my life I can now see which goddess(es) were activated me and how that impacted my life. Similarly, I can see, based on the words and actions of other women in my life, which goddesses are/were activated in them. As a result, it helps me not take words/actions of others so personally. I highly recommend this book to any Greek goddess enthusiastic who appreciates Jung and wants to learn more about herself and other women!

4 people found this helpful

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Wyhikingirl

Every women should read

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2019

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I enjoyed reading this book. Giving relations between the main Goddesses and women today. Even though the book was written a few decades ago, everything is still relevant. I enjoyed the author and her writing.
I recommend to all the ladies to talk too.

5 people found this helpful

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Lesley Ann Crossingham

A classic that remains an absolute classic

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2014

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I first read this book close to twenty years ago, and revisited it recently on my beloved kindle reader... and it did not disappoint.

Jean Shinoda has written a classic book that looks into the archetypes of feminine consciousness through the stories of the ancient Goddesses and encourages us all to find these Goddesses within.

I would add that as we evolve and life gives us lessons, challenges and various experiences, we shift from one Goddess consciousness to another. In the end, they all blend into a Goddess-oneness and that experience is delightful. Of course it is not all win and roses. Many Goddesses, Persephone for example, do have their neuroses and so we do need to evaluate the whole package. However, there is definitely gold in this wisdom and so I heartily endorse this book and encourage women to read it cover to cover!

10 people found this helpful

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Michael P. McGarry

Powerful insights for women & men

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2005

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Dr. Bolen is one of my favorite modern authors. She is a Jungian who teaches in SF. This is a book written by an intelligent and empowered woman, in an attempt to give other women insight on their own strengths & inner gifts. She weaves the stories of 7 goddess of classical Greece (Athena, Artemis, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Persephone, and Aphrodite) with observations of emotional & behavioral patterns culled from her years of clinical work. The result are truly compelling portraits --- almost every women will find at least one "aha!" of recognition in this book, and all of us can find some kind of "aha!" for the women dear to us in our lives. By casting these behavioral patterns as *goddesses*, Dr. Bolen is ennobling the internal & external struggles of women and underscoring their inherent strength & wisdom. It is a book of tremendous optimism, courage, and hope. This is a book I have often given as a gift to women, especially young women.

59 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great for those looking for self knowledge

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2014

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A few months ago I went to an astrology who suggested this book to me, and commented that he saw a lot of Persephone in me. I've always had an interest in Greek mythology, so I bought it. And now I'm not entirely sure how to write this review.

As you probably already know, this book is about Greek goddesses, and how the archetypes of each one can be found in every woman. Some woman may only have one goddess archetype, or two, or three, or four, etc. Different archetypes might come to light at different stages of a woman's life.

Jean Bolen really goes in depth to analyze each archetype. She goes over the three groups of goddesses: virgin (Artemis, Athene, and Hestia), vulnerable (Hera, Demeter, and Persephone), and alchemical (aphrodite gets her own category because she shows traits of both virgin and vulnerable goddesses). Bolen goes over the mythology of each archetype, who they are as an archetype, what they're most known for (Athena's chapter has subcategories like "the craftswoman" and "the father's daughter"), how to cultivate or activate this goddess in ourselves. Each chapter goes over how someone with that archetype is like in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, what the parents of that archetype are like, relationships, sexuality, marriage, psychological difficulties, ways to grow, and much more. I was surprised by the amount of information Bolen was able to put one book.

Not only are there individual chapters for each goddess, but there are chapters like "which goddess gets the golden apple" or how to understand the archetypes in you and use them to your advantage.

Overall, the book was easy to understand, and very insightful. It wasn't perfect, there were parts I thought could have been better. I would have liked to read more about Persephone as Queen of the Underworld, because Persephone as the Maiden seemed to overtake that chapter.

I can see why this book wouldn't be for everyone. Sometimes her theories can come off as subjective or unsupported. But I think anyone can learn a lot about themselves from this book, as long as you keep an open mind.

15 people found this helpful

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Trina Venit

A timeless tale!

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2019

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I got this to read for each of my 4 daughters. It’s all about archetypes explained in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Such a powerful read. Should be a recommended classic to read in schools.

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Top reviews from other countries

Vicky Vlachouli

One of the craziest insights in this book is thinking of a myth "as something that never was but is always happening"

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2018

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Amazing book. Ms. Bolen is perhaps the only author and researcher that has elaborated so much in the ancient archetypes, as these were always present in women of the past and of the present.

The Gods and Goddesses of ancient Greece, as mentioned in the introduction of the book, is a "myth that never was but is always happening", meaning that the personalities of the ancient Gods and Goddesses summarize the fundamental archetypes through which humans think and act, even if they are not conscious of it. What that means practically, is that you can explain every woman's behavior, needs and motives if you match her with her main archetype, or - in case of more complicated characters - the combination of archetypes active in her.

This book gave my crazy insights that helped me understandd the character, behavior and needs - as these were inner programmed by their currently active archetype - in the women around me. My mother, my sister, my friends, and all other women I have ever met. But the most life changing insight of all, was the advice given: if you feel that the shadows of an archetype mess with your life and happiness, and limit your growth, the best way to break free from these limitations and grow, is to activate other archetypes, gods or goddesses, that compliment you and provide you with the qualities that you lack.

If you are interested in educating yourself with psychology theories of explaining different human personalities, please please give this book and its companion book "Gods in Everyman" a try. They will change the way you view people. You will never again be under the impression that there are millions of different personalities around you. With the knowledge of the 16 main archetypes, you can easily categorize people in one or some of them, and thus you will be in position to understand them better, to know what they want and what they need, to know if their personality is compatible with your own personality. But most importantly, you will be able to understand why you do and like the things you do and like, why you repeat certain patterns, and why you are drawn to specific types of people.

14 people found this helpful

Stephen Bray

So good I bought it twice

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2018

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It's years since I read this from cover to cover yet I dip into it all the time. It's an essential source book for exploring female archetypes and all the more appealing because I spent a weekend with the author 30 years ago in a group in London where she presented the material.

This is a second copy purchased for my second home :)

3 people found this helpful

5LittleDucks

Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2019

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Interesting Archetypes of different goddesses used and interesting psychological analysis used throughout this book. Everyone can relate to the Greek gods and goddesses. I would really recommend this book

One person found this helpful

heather charnley

Goddesses in Every Woman

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2016

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A lot of historical information on the goddess cults of the ancient world. Some very interesting, sometimes quite gory in places, but never dull! If you are looking for factual information on the goddess cults in a historical setting I would recommend this book.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Will have you thinking for a long time to come.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2015

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Fascinating understanding of human archetypes. Not new-age, but the science of psychology. You will learn a lot about yourself. Get gods in every man too. Profound stories you will never forget because they relate to your life right now.

6 people found this helpful