Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. For today’s Mermaid Monday blog post, I will be discussing embracing the story of Calypso for her archetypal energy as an Island Enchantress! I thought that this would be an ideal topic as we are transitioning into Summer.
So, it may not surprise people when I say that I have always preferred The Odyssey to The Iliad. After all, the story of the battle is interesting, but the story of the journey after it is all the more interesting! Beyond that, The Odyssey gives us a whole lot of aquatic and nautical lore. We have not one but two magickal women ruling over their own enchanted islands (Circe and Calypso), we have the Sirens, and we have Scylla and Caribdys as iconic Sea Monsters! Not to mention that I have always loved Odysseus as a hero.
Now, you may wonder why I am focusing on Calypso as an Island Enchantress and not discussing Circe also in this post. That is because Circe always felt like the Sorceress to me. Basically, Calypso is the more playful Springtime Witch energy of the Enchantress, while Circe is the more dangerous Autumn Witch energy of the Sorceress!
Even the ways that they interact with Odysseus in the story show this. Circe cursed his men, and they ended up as lovers because of mutual respect, but Circe did not seek to keep him with her when he wanted to leave. She gave him instructions on how to deal with the Sirens and let him go. Calypso, as an Island Enchantress who seeks love, sought to have Odysseus remain with her forever, even offering to make him an immortal! Yes, Circe and Calypso have very different reasons for how they act. Circe is more about being seated in her own power and protecting herself, whereas Calypso is powerful in her own right, but also prioritizes relationships.
Calypso’s Enchanted Island home is Ogygia, a remote island that is far from mortals and deities. Although she is most famously a daughter of Atlas in The Odyssey, I also want to note her other possible parentage. Hesiod listed her as a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and Apollodorus referred to her as a daughter of Nereus. However, I do prefer to use The Odyssey as a basis for knowledge on Calypso, as this is her most important appearance in myth, and there she is a daughter of Atlas. Being a daughter of Atlas makes her a sister to the Pleiades, who became stars, the Hyades, the Nymphs of Rain, and the Hesperides who guard the Golden Apples. In some versions of Atlas’s family tree, he is also said to be the father of Maira and Dione. This connection with Dione possibly being a sister of Calypso is very interesting, as Dione is said to be the mother of Aphrodite when she is born to Zeus, instead of her more famous Sea Birth story!
If we take that into consideration, that makes Calypso a possible aunt to Aphrodite in that version of her story. It also makes a lot of sense, as Calypso is often considered to be a Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Seduction, who has powers over Life and Death, which certainly holds her as being connected with Aphrodite. However, Calypso governs love in a distinct way that differs from Aphrodite’s governance over all forms of love. Calypso governs over people who are selective in choosing their lovers, people who seek true love, and people who seek exciting liaisons. This is in line with Calypso herself, who is very selective with her lovers, and certainly loved an exciting liaison!
Now that I have gone over Calypso, her family, and her desire to keep Odysseus with her, let’s look at how we can embrace Calypso as an archetypal Island Enchantress. The first way I will tell you to get in touch with Calypso’s Archetypal energy is to read The Odyssey. This may sound obvious, but when we are looking to get in tune with a Goddess, or an archetype, we need to begin by knowing their stories. The second way to get in touch with Calypso energy is to spend time at the beach, in caves, or near fountains, as all of these types of locations are connected with Calypso and her Enchanted Island. The third way to get in touch with Calypso energy is to spend time doing beauty treatments, as she is said to be eternally beautiful. Finally, the fourth way to embrace Calypso energy is to journal about her, write out all of your feelings about Calypso and her story to get to know how you relate to her archetype!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post exploring Calypso as the archetypal Island Enchantress. Do you feel pulled towards Calypso’s energy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the painting“Calypso receiving Telemachus and Mentor in the Grotto” by William Hamilton. I found the art on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Hamilton,_’Calypso_receiving_Telemachus_and_Mentor_in_the_Grotto’,_18th_c.jpg.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries
Further Reading
- The Odyssey by Homer
- Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes
- https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanAtlas.html
- https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKalypso.html