Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday is another post about Medusa, Gorgon, Goddess, and Dark Feminine Icon! In particular, with this post, I want to focus on Medusa as a figure to embrace when working with the Dark Goddess and Dark Feminine energy in general. On a side note, I have long had a deep fascination with Medusa, in fact, I memorably wore a Medusa costume to class on Halloween in college, which made a major impression on my husband months before we got together! I even bought a sterling silver Medusa pendant on our honeymoon in Salem.
I will begin with a little bit of backstory on the mythic tale of Medusa. She was one of the three Gorgon sisters, daughter of the female sea monster Ceto and ‘the Old Man of the Sea’ Phorcys. Her two sisters were named Stheno and Euryale, but Medusa differed from the rest of her family by her mortality, being the only one not born immortal. This is why Medusa was able to be beheaded by Perseus at the end of her tale! Likely the most famous version of Medusa’s tale originated in Book IV of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The story goes that Medusa was a gorgeous young Priestess working at the Temple of Minerva (the Roman equivalent of Athena) when she was assaulted by Neptune (the Roman equivalent of Poseidon) in the Temple after he had become obsessed with her. Minerva was outraged at the defilement of her Temple and punished Medusa by turning her lovely hair into snakes and making her gaze capable of turning all who looked at her into stone. This myth is sometimes interpreted more positively by stating that Minerva (Athena) had not cursed Medusa, but instead protected her from ever being assaulted again, as she would turn any man looking to defile her into stone before he could harm her! This ability of Medusa to turn others to stone had to be circumvented by Perseus when he went up against the then-fearsome Medusa. He used a polished shield, actually gifted to him by Minerva (Athena) to see Medusa without looking directly into her eyes, and then he swung his sword with his eyes closed to behead Medusa. Her head would then be used to turn Perseus’s enemies into stone and later gifted to Minerva (Athena) when it would be placed upon her Aegis, forever used as an apotropaic image to shield the Goddess from harm, stopping those seeking to harm her in battle in their tracks, just as Medusa’s gaze once did. In the interpretation where Minerva (Athena) gifted Medusa with the power to prevent being assaulted, her head was given to Minerva (Athena) to protect her in kind, a symbol of female solidarity of sorts.
Now that I have briefly gone over the most famed interpretation of Medusa’s tale, let’s go over three ways Medusa can be viewed through the magickal and spiritual lens in separate sections below!
DIVINE FEMININE
~ In some interpretations, Medusa’s name means ‘Queen’. She is sometimes thought to be a part of a Divine Feminine Triad, with Athena representing the Maiden, Metis (first wife of Zeus and technically the mother of Athena, as Zeus swallowed her whole while she was pregnant) representing the Mother, and Medusa representing the Crone. In this way, Medusa is seen to be a literal Goddess, not a monster at all. Some scholars even believe that Medusa was originally a snake Goddess who was absorbed into the Hellenic pantheon as a monster when the matriarchal societies were ending and the patriarchal society of ancient Greece was blooming. This interpretation was first put forth by Robert Graves. Other scholars have deepened this viewpoint by translating Medusa’s name to mean ‘sovereign feminine wisdom’ and stating that Perseus’s slaying of Medusa is a rising of the masculine over the feminine as society evolved!
DARK FEMININE
~Medusa has a very powerful force in her tale, where she implores those seeking her wisdom to dive deeply into the darkness of their own Shadows. Her tale involves sexual trauma, and that makes her a Goddess that often draws the attention of people who have endured similar trauma themselves. She can be a potent spiritual ally for people who suffer from PTSD, but her nature as a Dark Goddess should be approached with caution. As Medusa encourages the confrontation of trauma, so Dark Goddess’s work surrounding trauma should be done only after you have made progress in processing what has happened to you. Once you are ready to do the potent Shadow work that Medusa encourages, there is so much integration of Shadow and Sovereignty that can be gained through Medusa’s Dark Goddess energy.
MONSTROUS FEMININE
~The final thing I wanted to discuss in this post is the Monstrous Feminine aspect of Medusa. This is the most well-known part of Medusa, as she was the fair maiden cursed to become a monster. Her fearsome appearance is, as mentioned above, often seen to be a reaction of an increasingly male deity-dominated society reacting to the power of such a strong female Snake Goddess. This is very similar to the treatment of Celtic Goddesses who were demoted to Faery Women or absorbed into Sainthood when the Church became the supreme religious community in the Celtic world. Demonizing that which opposes your societal values is an unfortunately common occurrence, for it must ever be remembered that history is written by the victors!
~I hope you have enjoyed this look at three different aspects of Medusa. What part of Medusa’s tale most appeals to you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a lovely interpretation of Medusa. I found the image on https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/beautiful-medusa-wearing-a-stunning-whimsical-rendition-4/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- Encountering the Dark Goddess by Frances Billinghurst
- Metamorphoses by Ovid
- The White Goddess by Robert Graves
- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
White Rose of Avalon 