The Queen

Regina

Become the queen of your own life. Decisions are yours and yours alone. Discover your area of expertise and your unique wisdom. Your role in life may have recently become more challenging. A dominant woman is the cause of your misfortune-or your delight. With great power comes great responsibility.

I bow to her,

Of silver and of gold,

The Queen of all spheres,

The one who was foretold.

It takes more than blood

To be a queen.

A crown of strength and wisdom,

As well as of ruby, diamond, and aquamarine.

Diana had many titles. One of her names in ancient Rome was Diva Triformis; in heaven, she was the moon; upon earth, Diana; and in Hades, Prosperine or Persephone. But often, Diana was the acknowledged Queen of the Moon, and in this mythos, Aradia, her daughter, became Queen of the Witches on earth. Whilst Aradia started her earthly journey as a maiden newly minted, she eventually grew into vast wisdom and became a queen not only to all witches, but also a mortal king.

There are many archetypal stories that tell of a maiden’s change from girl to married woman. These are often described as allegoric journeys or journeys into the underworld and back.

The Persephone myth is a famous example of such a story. In this myth, young Persephone, daughter of Demeter, is taken by Hades into the underworld to be his bride. Demeter seeks Persephone frantically-and when she can’t find her, her grief turns the world cold and barren. Persephone, in the meantime, learns much about her husband’s domain and develops tender feelings for him. Eventually, she strikes a bargain with Hades and is allowed to spend six months every year with her mother in the world above. Ultimately, she realizes that her marriage has transformed her from a maiden to a queen of her own domain, in her own right.

In Aradia’s time, when a young woman married, she had to give up her own family and move to the home of her husband’s family. This could be quite frightening-especially if the new family lived some distance from her own family, or if the customs of her husband’s family were quite different from those she had known, previously. However, the young married woman eventually creates a family of her own and becomes queen of her own home, just as her mother-and Persephone-had to do.

When we step out of childhood and become queen of our own lives, we must take on the responsibilities that accompany that new role-compassion, compromise, cooperation, justice, leadership, wise rule-so we will govern well and fairly. There are many stories about evil queens in mythos. We must learn from their contrary example and take care to use our own powers for the good of all.