Circe’s journey part 4 (witch archetype series)
In ancient Greek society, sexual trauma and disempowerment were commonplace and normalized. Myths and stories are the ways in which we as humans try to process collective traumas, grief, joy, and suffering so it makes sense that the ancient Greek and Roman myths had such a theme of sexual trauma.
We see this time and time again in the stories of the goddesses including Persephone and Demeter. It was a rarity to have a goddess whose sexuality was liberated and not determined by the gods or by men. Even Aphrodite, the goddess of pleasure, beauty, and love, was forced into a marriage against her will.
Circe was unique in that her sexuality was all her own. Through being cast away on an island as punishment, she actually gained liberation. She chose who she wanted to have sex with. She was free to embrace her wildness, her seduction, and her pleasure. Circe’s path to sexual freedom came from hardship. In her original myth, it was through jealousy and banishment. In Madeline Miller’s fictionalized version of Circe’s myth, she connects Circe’s sexual empowerment to her healing from sexual trauma.
Whatever led her to her path of sexual authenticity, it is clear that her sexuality was a source of power for her. Her sexuality was connected with her magic. She was seductive and her sexuality was feared. She was in charge. She was Sorceress. She was Goddess. She was Magic. She, in her powerful seduction, lured Odysseus away from his journey home.
What we see from Circe’s sexual empowerment is the shadow aspect and the healing parts of sex. Sexuality is powerful. It can transform. It can awaken the most intense parts of us, it can make us feel connected with the divine. It can make us drop our barriers and become completely bare and raw with another being. It can also harm. It can hurt. It can traumatize.
True sexual empowerment is not overtaking others or overpowering others. It is coming into our authentic being. It is showing up fully. It is listening with a soft and open heart to someone else. It is receiving the gift of presence and vulnerability while also sharing that gift with another being. It is delving into the transpersonal, the awkward, the unknown with someone. It is trusting in our worth. It is reclaiming the beauty and sacredness of pleasure. It is honoring sexual boundaries. It is being in the here and now in this human experience.
Sexuality can be sacred. Working through sexual boundaries and reclaiming sexual empowerment can lead to deepened authenticity, connection, and self-awareness. We often separate sex from the rest of this human life journey, which can be such a loss. There is so much rich, deep healing to be discovered through sexuality. This is particularly true when we have had sexual trauma, been shamed for sexuality, or felt we couldn’t listen to our boundaries or to our bodies.
Circe’s myth can help us to reflect on our own experience of sexuality and also helps us to integrate our sexual shadow.
As you connect with your own Circe witch archetype, you can reflect on these questions:
What does sexual empowerment mean for you?
What messages have you received around sexuality? Pleasure? Vulnerability?
In what ways has sexuality felt sacred for you?
What does authentic sexuality feel like for you?
As we continue to explore archetypes, I invite you to continue to stay connected with your body’s messages and wisdom. To notice what becomes activated within you as you connect with these archetypes and their myths. This journey can have so many layers and each archetype can help us to delve into our own spirit, healing, and shadows.