The love story of Eros and Psyche could be interpreted as a reflection of the troubles in a maturing relationship. It symbolizes the difficulties of developing consciousness in the process of integrating the feminine and masculine.  Psyche means butterfly and refers to soul, life, and breath, while Eros (also known as Cupid) refers to love, desire and sexual passion. Their union is the deep transformation of soul-making, representing wholeness.  When we fall in love, we project the image of the archetype of the Beloved (whose divine image is imprinted in our souls), not realizing the Beloved dwells within our own psyches.

In this Greek myth, the winged god Eros, the son of Aphrodite, marries the beautiful mortal woman, Psyche.  Aphrodite ordered him to shoot Psyche with his arrows so that she would suffer ‘being in love with an undesirable man’ - to punish her for her much-admired beauty.  Nobody was allowed to be more beautiful than Aphrodite!  But Aphrodite’s plans went awry when Eros ignored her wishes. This important choice denotes a son separating from his mother with whom he was enmeshed – a mother complex – and initiating a relationship with his own inner feminine or Anima, represented by Psyche.

During the initial stages of their marriage, Eros forbade Psyche to look at him. Erich Neumann (1956) sees this as the couple being in an unconscious relationship, not really seeing each other. We tend to project our own inner polar opposite onto our partners who consequently fail to live up to our expectations! Psyche stole a look at Eros while he slept and realized whom she married… a god, not a monster as she initially feared. She then accidently pricked herself on his arrows making her fall in love with him, while also spilling oil on him and waking him. These events led to their distressing separation and an eventual reunion between the lovers, denoting a shift from attraction (based on projection) to a genuine love. Neumann states: "… there appears a new love principle, in which the encounter between feminine and masculine is revealed as the basis of individuation" (Amor and Psyche, 1956, p. 90).
 
The story of Eros and Psyche also represents an awakening to our divine Self and inner power. Psyche’s arduous heroine’s journey (including to the underworld) can be seen as the mythical portrait of the difficult process of individuation – an internal development process which transformed Psyche as she earned her own wings -  initiating a new relationship with her inner masculine (or Animus).  According to Jean Shinoda-Bolin, "… Psyche's story is about the growth of the soul that began with her decision to face the truth, and led her to being on her own, challenged to complete tasks that were initially beyond her ability to perform. In the myth, her unseen bridegroom would come to her in the dark of the night and be gone by morning. Metaphorically, she was in an unconscious relationship.”

This is a rich myth with complex symbolic meanings. If you would like to read more, see the 3-part exploration at https://symbolreader.net/2013/11/05/eros-and-psyche-1/

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“Just as all energy proceeds from opposition, so the psyche too possesses its inner polarity, this being the indispensable prerequisite for its aliveness, as Heraclitus realized long ago” (Jung, 1965, p 346).

Jung used symbolism from the alchemical text Rosarium Philosophorum to demonstrate the transformative process of reconciliation of opposites. In the individuation journey to wholeness, the Sun King (Solar or Yang energy) and Moon Queen (Lunar or Yin energy) have to be recognized as archetypal polarities within the soul.  The Conjunctio is the union or ‘sacred marriage’ of solar and lunar energies necessary to move from a lesser to a higher state of being as symbolized by the alchemical process of turning lead into gold.

The King (Sol) and the Queen (Luna) are the masculine and feminine personifications of the archetype of the Self which represents the sovereign energy of the psyche, the transpersonal aspect, or higher self. The King/Queen, as the ruler of our own inner world, represents the 'ordering of the realm', choosing what will/will not be in your personal domain. The King/Queen symbolism mirrors the Brother/Sister pairs that were the ‘gods on earth’ of ancient mythologies such as the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris. Jung wrote: “Luna… is the counterpart of Sol…. She is the sister and bride, mother and spouse of the sun.”  CW14 ¶ 154

A proper relationship between these feminine and masculine inner forces must be established to contain the full experience of Spirit. The images in Rosarium Philosophorum, show the King and Queen transitioning through a series of conjunctios.  Initially they stand apart, barely touching, their meeting restrained and restricted (fully clothed). During this archetypal process they get into the alchemical bath together (naked) - into the realm of the unconscious - and eventually emerge as a hermaphrodite.   It is only when we can hold the tensions of opposites, without identification with either polar opposite that a unique third position can arise. This is the transcendent function.

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Deep authentic human connection (including the inner relationship) is represented, not by the “love-struck” Romeo and Juliet, but rather by the primordial lovers symbolized in the cosmic dance of Shiva (divine masculine principle) and Shakti (divine feminine principle) from Hinduism. “Their love for each other is legendary, and their union brings peace, understanding, and exquisite bliss. It generates the full spectrum of existence, the ten thousand levels of manifestation” (Archita, 2017).  

In Tantric cosmology, the divine couple symbolizes the primal forces of existence/being. They are the two manifestations of the divine Consciousness of Brahman (Cosmic Self). “There is no Shiva without Shakti, or Shakti without Shiva. The two […] in themselves are One” (Subramanian, 1998). Their union is an alchemical marriage between chaos and order. Shiva represents consciousness, while Shakti represents life energy. 

At the dawn of creation duality came into existence together with a longing and compulsion to unite these polarities.  Creation only springs forth from the unification of energy and consciousness. Energy and consciousness in isolation are barren. Until energy is impregnated   with consciousness it is a “blind” force (chaos).  Consciousness furnishes energy with purpose and form. This interconnectedness is depicted in Adi Shankara’s renowned hymn, Saundaryalahari (c. 800 CE): “If Shiva is united with Shakti, he is able to create. If he is not, he is incapable even of stirring” and his power remains dormant.
 
Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1992) wrote “… without Shakti, the personified feminine life force, Shiva, who encompasses the masculine ability to act, becomes a corpse. She is the life energy that animates the male principle, and the male principle in turn animates action in the world.” (p.309)  Shiva symbolizes the image of Ultimate Reality – “The unchanging, unlimited and unswayable Observer”.  Shakti is “She who cannot be contained” - untamed and limitless. She embodies vitality, movement and change. Shakti, as the motivating force behind the material universe, symbolizes the dynamic participatory act of creation.

Read more about their love story as a journey to wholeness http://archita1992.blogspot.com/2017/02/invitation-to-attend-wholeness-of-this.html
 
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​As one of the most complex and powerful goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Hathor (originally “Hwt-Her”) represents the divine feminine principle in synergy with the masculine. According to The Dictionary of Nature Myths:                “… Egyptian goddess Hathor has been labeled a sky goddess, a moon goddess, a sun goddess, a goddess of agriculture, a goddess of moisture, and a universal Mother Goddess and creator of the universe.… She personified the female principle—primitive, fruitful, creative, and nourishing. Hathor was a fertility goddess and, in that sense, also a goddess of love, much like Isis, the Greek Aphrodite, the Babylonian Ishtar, and the Sumerian Inanna…” (89)
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Hathor (who later merged with Isis) is often depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a red solar disk between a pair of cow's horns. She was known as “the Great One of Many Names” and she was pivotal in every area of life and death in ancient Egypt. Her many names included Golden One (as daughter of Ra), Mistress of Life (an embodiment of beauty, music, dance, celebration, drunkenness, joy, love, romance, passion, perfume and gratitude), Mother of Mothers (representing fertility, childbirth, mothers, children and women’s health) , Mistress of Heaven (as the celestial nurse whose milk is life-giving), Lady of the Stars (linked to Sirius), Lady of the Necropolis (as gatekeeper of the underworld & helping the dead be reborn).
 
Geraldine Pinch (2004) writes “This complex deity could function as the mother, consort, and daughter of the creator god.” (137) Pinch notes that the union of Hathor and her creator-father "could be thought of… as a merging of the creator with his own active power" (138), signifying the importance of balance between the feminine and the masculine in maintaining order and harmony.
 
In her benevolent aspect Hathor is the personification of love, but in her destructive alter ego, she switches into the leonine goddess, Sekhmet, whose name means “She who is Powerful”. In the guise of Sekhmet, Hathor was regarded as “The Eye of Ra”, the feminine aspect of creation that often brought destruction to humankind, ultimately to transform its relationship with the divine.

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​It is the month of love and Valentine’s Day – when lovers celebrate their togetherness with romantic gestures – an appropriate time to focus on the relationship between the inner masculine and feminine.  The union of masculine and feminine within each human could be referred to as the alchemical marriage


Carl Jung named the masculine part within a woman the Animus with the Anima being the inner feminine part of a man. These concepts have nothing to do with biological sex or sexual orientation, but represent opposing forces within all people.  Together they contribute to a sense of wholeness in an individual (and in society), but only when in a harmonious dance, each contributing their unique qualities, as opposed to a brutal  wrestle for dominance.


​It is sadly the latter that has manifested in society and in individuals for many thousands of years.  This situation desperately needs to be remedied.   
 
Marion Woodman (1990) identified masculine and feminine as “two energies within each individual, both striving toward an inner harmony” (p. 9). To grow our full potential we need to allow these energies to interact and transform our consciousness. Jung wrote about the “mysterium coniunctionis” as encapsulated in the image of the hermaphrodite or bisexual being, which symbolizes the ability to hold the tension of the opposites - a necessity for psychic balance. This divine union, or hieragamos, is symbolized in alchemy by the King and Queen. In eastern philosophy the symbolism of Yin and Yang represents the interlocking play between these polar opposites.  The various gods/goddesses can be seen as archetypal patterns manifesting particular aspects of these divine principles. Even the left and right sides of the brain may be understood in terms of masculine and feminine characterization. .
 
Masculine energy comprises a forward-moving penetrating thrust into the unknown, while the feminine whispers “Listen”, “Keep still”, denoting receptivity as well as keeping us connected to the sacred silence of the Universe.
 
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