Mythic Musing: Odysseus & The Return

Right now, I am working with themes of “The Return”

It began as an explorative lens through which to reflect upon how we return from any underworld, initiatory journey, or change through personal or biological change such as menopause. In short, how we return from major life transitions. Sometimes major transitions show up as major transits in the astrology chart. If we are versed in astrology and mythology this symbolic language can really help us navigate tricky waters.

Talking of tricky waters, I’ve been thinking about Odysseus and his return to Ithaca. When Odysseus lands on Ithaca he is in a death-like slumber, he is placed, along with the treasures he has won, upon the Ithacan shore by Phaeacian sailors. He is entirely unconscious and unaware that he has arrived home. When he does wake up, he is shrouded in a thick mist cast by Athena and still does not recognise his homeland. This suggests that arrival home to oneself happens in stages rather than abrupt conscious arrival. It’s like that with homecoming to the self; it begins to dawn on us that something is different. We no longer seek outside approval, or measure our self-worth by outside validation, the bright shiny things over there that once seemed so appealing now appear rather empty and hollow, our own inner treasures begin to shine brighter, and our self-worth arises from the inside, we trust ourselves… At first, we may not recognise that we have been washed up on the shore of our own beingness; it may look unfamiliar… we may have never consciously been there before.

Welcome home!

Arriving home to oneself lessons have been learned: humility, discretion, self-gnosis, sagacity, candour and wisdom but also cunning and strategy, in other words “metis”. Metis is Odysseus’ superpower. Though he did not always know how to use it and was sometimes subject to hubris, by the time he arrived home he had tempered and cultivated the art of metis. In ancient Greek thought, metis is both a common noun and a proper noun: as a common noun it implies cleverness, cunning, resourcefulness; as a proper noun Metis is a goddess and the Mother of Wisdom. The most famous quote about metis comes from Hesiod’s Theogony where we learn that:

Metis is also the mother of Athena which directly explains the connection between Odysseus and the goddess. Throughout the Odyssey, Athena is the divine protectress of Odysseus who achieves perfect metis through his relationship with her. Athena’s gifts are hard won; the goddess does not hand the answers to Odysseus on a plate. He must work for wisdom and is subjected to a series of challenges, humiliations, temptations, and suffering. Odysseus must temper his hubris, master patience and emotional discipline, and leave behind his entitled and egotistical ways. Instead, he must responsibly inherit his trickster heritage, but he must do so according to divine law.

Odysseus’ maternal grandfather is Autolycus, a famous trickster and son of Hermes. It was he who named Odysseus- which has roots in the Greek word odyssasthai, meaning “the son of pain/wrath” or “he who is hated.”

Odysseus was born into a lineage that survived by using their wits to outsmart an inherently hostile world.

And is this not also the case when we return to ourselves? As we undergo the journey home to the self we may be kicked around by life’s storms, feeling that the world is indeed hostile. We may be taken advantage of, abused, conned, rejected, scapegoated, misunderstood, outcast or any other painful wound to the soul.

There comes a time when we must wise up. Not to become treacherous and join the ranks of deceivers and manipulators, but to read the room and act accordingly, engaging foresight and insight (gained from the school of hard knocks), intuition (from learning to trust our inner knowing), humility (see school of hard knocks), and cunning (remembering our magic). We create our own laws born from the truth of our soul and a desire to become who we are meant to be.

For women, the return home often begins around perimenopause and menopause. In Jungian terms, the return begins in the second half of life as we turn away from the noise of the world and listen to our inner wise counsel.

Metis was born from Oceanus and Tethys, primordial water deities. While originally a water nymph Metis is elevated to Titaness, goddess of wisdom and counsel. Her origins lay deeply in the primordial waters, and ancient feminine, lunar instinctual power. And that is, I believe, what we bring back online as we actualise into fully embodied human divine beings. In other words, it is the deep reservoir of instinctual wisdom that can return us fully to ourselves and bring the soul home.

As an imaginal exercise to explore these archetypes in your life, place asteroid Metis, Odysseus, and Athena into your natal chart.

Loosely and lightly the exploration might look like this: Where in your life do you receive divine guidance? From where does your primordial power rise? What part of your life is inviting you to transform and individuate into your true heritage and essence? From this playful quest profound truths may be discovered.

Would you like to work with me on this? I’d be delighted.

Or else, if you’d like to join “The Return” online workshop and course, there is still an opening before we seal the vessel.