Artemis: Cancer and Capricorn at once.
The mother and the breadwinner… Are the same person deep down.
Previous articles:
This last article in the series has potential for controversy. In case it happens, people will keep denying the real reason why, so let me tell you upfront: our society is still very misogynistic. A lot of people love pretending they’re for gender equality, and this struggle is a thing of the past, etc. But do they REALLY mean it? No. 9 times out of 10, they don’t. It’s shallow, it’s just a façade. By and large the masses agree (in the industrial west, anyway) that women deserve to work and be breadwinners today, but the emphasis is on “today”. If you go as far as mentioning an Ancient archetype that already hinted at that, they’ll say it’s fake. Why? Because of what I already said: sexist bias. It doesn’t matter how many times I remind you of Ancient female explorers and warriors and merchants etc and how archaeological evidence still survives for that — in a lot of people’s heads, that’ll go in one ear and out the other. They somehow think human History “doesn’t count” before the Classical period. And that’s exactly because the Classical period invented sexism as we know it today.
Do you think Greek gods were INVENTED in Ancient Greece? Hm, nope, they were just adopted by the so-called “civilised world”. Sorry to disappoint but a lot of them came from previous civilisations like the Myceneans and other Anatolian people; And those civilisations were a lot more egalitarian. This is not interesting for the greedy men who retain a disproportionate amount of wealth and power today, which is why our educational system has a very clear bias against powerful women when it comes to History, human and mythological alike (and even, funding for research. A can of worms for another post entirely). I mean… It’s pretty convenient to keep believing gender equality is a modern thing. Like “oh, we evolved to achieve it now. There’s no precedent, we just know how to be nice to women now”. No precedent my arse. Go fool somebody else with that disgusting bullshit.
Rant aside, on to the Mythology:
Artemis’ “virginity” does not mean what you think it means.
It’s just there to imply that she means business. And it works so well, that even to this day you don’t see objectified depictions of Artemis. (Infantilised sometimes, because people suck and can’t handle the concept of “woman you can’t possess” — they must make her into a child or elderly in order to protect their egos, I guess. But Artemis is not objectified, even in modern depictions. I guess that’s a win).
The entire concept of “asexual goddess” has been distorted over time to avoid hurting the fragile egos of men in power, but here’s what it’s actually supposed to mean: too busy for sex. NOT “too innocent and pure” for sex. There’s no childlike innocence in the equation. If you think there must be, you’re part of the problem — you infantilise women who won’t conform to your expectation of seduction and lust.
Artemis is the quintessential adoptive mother archetype. Talk to any devotee and you’ll learn what it means in practice. She nurtures and cares for the people she reaches out to, without being a LITERAL mother to them. This is no different in the myths: Artemis is regarded as the first midwife, helping bring her own brother Apollon to the world (and this checks with Astrology, too. Cancer/Capricorn comes BEFORE Leo/Aquarius). She is also the god of nursing infants, which includes newborn animals.
On the other hand, Artemis represents the hunt. That’s her Capricorn side, and the one most people will recognise: killing wildlife in order to feed the living. It sounds paradoxical, but it’s necessary for balance. You can’t just protect everyone and everything all the time (do you hear me, Cancers?), just like you can’t always use everyone and everything all the time (do you hear me, Capricorns?). Artemis embodies the perfect middle ground. Kill too much because of excessive ambition and recklessness, and you’ll cause an imbalance; protect too much life because you’re a softie and don’t want to let go of that “caring” façade, and you’ll cause another kind of imbalance. Don’t just blame the other extreme when you’re an extreme yourself and forgot to look at the mirror to see that. Allow me to suggest that looking up to Artemis (a middle ground) could be healthier.
Cardinal vs Fixed: the bow and arrow metaphor
As you may know if you’re into Mythology, Artemis and Apollon are considered twins, but they’re nothing alike — in fact, they’re (literally!) like night and day. The only thing in common (other than parents) is the fact they’re both into archery. The thing is, they approach archery in different ways. I wish more people would mention this fact.
Apollon is all about practising the sport for the sake of achieving excellence. Sure, he’s known to actually shooting people and other gods alike in myths here and there, but that’s not the main reason why he does what he does. Artemis, on the other hand, takes a less idealistic and more practical approach to archery: she uses it for the hunt. Her targets exist out of necessity and will feed the mouths of those she’s nurturing.
You can compare that to the difference between sun and moon — sunrays not “caring” where they land because they’re more distant and supposed to light the bigger picture anyhow, whereas moonlight appears closer and more focused in one direction — or between cardinal vs fixed signs — one clearly targeting ONE objective at a time, whereas the other is more concerned with maintaining that which has already been “hunted”.
In before pedantic Hellenists come lecturing me here: yes I KNOW Artemis is not an embodiment of the moon, or Apollon of the sun. But does it matter that much? They are the ones who use these energies in a way that is relatable to us human beings. Try relating to Helios or Selene. That’s a lot more difficult. They’re simply there existing and don’t “care” (as directly anyway) about us “down here”. Now if you’ll excuse me, back on topic:
The “lone wolf” aka “hero werewolf”: a fictional trope for Artemis
I tried, but did not find one single article, or video, that summarises the lone wolf trope without focusing too much on the romance aspect of werewolf stories (because, surprise surprise, people enjoy that spicy stuff — although we’re not talking about it today). So I’ve settled for two videos, each discussing a different hero we all know and love.
- Wolverine
Essentially, the compelling storytelling behind “lone wolf” and why it works so well is the fact this character fends for himself, yet longs for the pack of wolves he’s been denied. The conflict is at his core, not just some external plot device.
Wolverine is a very zero frills character, able to survive on his own and maintain a façade of “no fucks given” most of the time; But that’s the conclusion you’ll take if you only look at him on a surface level: like “oh, I get it, he was the victim of an experiment and hates how people dehumanised him, so he hates people, period”. That’s not the full story, though. He can pretend not to care about others as much as he wants, I’m not buying it. In fact, this is the entire reason why his character’s name is reminiscent of wolf, even though he doesn’t look or function like a werewolf — he doesn’t howl at the moon or get completely irrational when wolfing out; it’s not “moonlight” that activates his powers, and yes, it’s a thing he can’t help to some extent, but it’s not necessarily a power that reminds you of a wolf. Is it? I think there’s another reason entirely: the lone wolf personality. The longing for connection underneath the tough guy façade. But in order to see it, you need to actually CARE about him. It’s not enough to simply reduce him to a stereotype.
Wolves are communitarian creatures. We often forget that during the writing of werewolf stories (and that’s also, in my view, the reason it’s hard to find GOOD werewolf stories — Wolverine being a rare exception). Sure, they’re scary animals and they’re capable of destruction… But among themselves, they’re always caring for and nurturing each other; Just like Artemis.
If that wasn’t true, Wolverine would never bother trying to be the hero; would never join fellow X-men or show he cares about the well-being of others at all. So no, the façade doesn’t fool me. It’s there for a reason, but it doesn’t fool me.
2. Enid
On the other side of the spectrum entirely (but still a lone wolf nonetheless), we have the adorable Enid from the Netflix series Wednesday (2022). Another Artemisian werewolf, she’s not necessarily interested in “mating” (or not to the same extent those badly-written werewolves in romance stories are, anyhow). That’s not her main priority in life. Instead, she places more importance in making friends and finding her own pack of misfits because her original family doesn’t quite get her.
By the way, let me be a pain in the arse again: do you see the difference in age, comparing her to Wolverine? That goes to show the problem I ranted about: for some absolutely stupid reason, male lone wolves can totally be adults, but FEMALE ones have to either be children or look childlike. God forbid they’re mature! That’d hurt the egos of sexist men in charge of funding fiction (and a lot of other industries, too), because how dare a fully grown woman refuses objectification. Holy Artemis! We need to make that stop.
So, Enid is not edgy or aloof. Quite on the contrary, she’s a bit of a social butterfly. She actually WANTS to develop her wolf powers — again in contrast with Wolverine — but won’t submit to others in order to achieve that. It’s that good old Cancer/Capricorn quality playing out all over again: nurturing and caring? Yes. Sociable? Sure, some of these characters can be. Submissive? NEVER. Wolves are hunters, in the end of the day. It doesn’t matter how cute they look when young.
In a way, the metaphor of “Virginity” alludes to that independent streak: you can’t bend a lone wolf to make them cater to your whims. Not even in bed. We see motherly people as wholesome lifegivers, but forget to note that in order to mother, you need leadership qualities. Hence, they’re Cardinal signs (in a zodiac context).
Cancer and Capricorn can be badass, too. The only reason we forget that is, again, sexism. They’re a feminine kind of badass. Let’s learn to appreciate that.
No, they’re not in fact “conservative”. You’re thinking of Taurus and Scorpio (we’ve talked about it already).
Cancer/Capricorn is an opposition that teaches discipline: practical on one side, emotional on the other. If we’re to use a werewolf metaphor, the quest for balance involves embracing both sides of the spectrum in equal measure: both Cancer and Capricorn. Cancer, in order to learn how to master the emotions as a “wolf”; Capricorn, for learning how to still survive during the day without the supernatural powers.
This is a forgotten art, given how the world has a bias against it; But just because so many people pretend not to need it, it doesn’t make it true.
