Reclaiming the Crown - The Archetype of the Queen

by Yolanda McAdam

© Yolanda McAdam - published by The Evolving Astrologer, December 2022 / 28.02.2023

Most of us are familiar with the three phases or archetypes of the Divine Feminine known as Maiden, Mother, and Crone (MMC). These “faces” of the feminine have passed to us through the years as representing the Triple Goddess and the Moon’s three phases. In this article, I will explore why we need to retire this triune and work instead with a tetrad of Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone.

Dissecting the Triad

There is no symbol more ubiquitous to pagan and Wiccan culture than the Triple Moon Goddess: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. I’m not a fan of this triad for many reasons. From the moment I first saw it, it felt incomplete to me, probably because I came to paganism after astrology. I was struck by the notion that there are three primary moon phases, which is incorrect.

The moon has four distinct phases:

1. New
2. Waxing
3. Full
4. Waning

The MMC triad, created by Robert Graves, was quickly adopted by the collective (psychoanalysts et al.) as representing a woman’s life cycle: birth, growth, and death. (i) It is commonly represented as:

New Moon = Luna/Artemis, or Maiden
Full Moon = Diana/Demeter, or Mother
Dark Moon = Hecate/Persphone, or Crone

While I understand the magical significance of the number three and its connection to tri-formed Goddesses like Brigid and Hecate, a three-phase cycle does not offer a realistic representation of women’s evolution in the modern world.

In Ancient Greece, girls between the ages of five and puberty served the Goddess Artemis and ritually acted as untamed “little bears” that would be domesticated through marriage. The culmination of a woman’s socialization was her marriage which occurred between the ages of 13 and 15. Women were expected to bear children, and the life expectancy of an average woman in Ancient Greece was forty. (ii)

The three faces of the Goddess aligned with feminine roles in ancient times. While I am not implying that we have moved on from a society of domination, femme-identifying people no longer subscribe to traditional definitions or roles.

Furthermore, during the Hellenistic period, only three seasons were recognized. Spring, summer, and autumn (represented by the three Horae) were the seasons, and a month consisted of three periods of ten days each. (iii) By contrast, we recognize four seasons in contemporary times, and our month consists of four weeks.

I want to pause here and clarify that I am using the word “feminine” as a principle or energy inherent in all sentient beings. The masculine principle is outgoing, rational, and differentiating, while the feminine is the intuitive, receptive, and relational part of us.

Exploring the Queen archetype

I am not the first to bring up the Queen archetype, but I will expand on it. Four feminine archetypes (Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone) feature in countless fairy tales and myths. For our purposes, I will briefly recount the myth of Demeter and Persephone because it encompasses all four phases.

Demeter, the Goddess of grain and agriculture, had a beautiful daughter named Kore. Kore means “maiden” in Ancient Greek (the Maiden). Kore’s father was mythology’s most well-known philanderer, Zeus. Kore was out one fine Spring Day picking flowers when she was abducted by Hades, her uncle and God of the Underworld. Although she cried out, only Helios, the Sun God, and Hekate (a Titan and Goddess of magic and witchcraft) heard Kore’s cries. For nine days, Demeter (the Mother) searched for her daughter, and on the tenth day, Hekate joined her in her search. When Demeter learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction, she was furious and refused to let anything grow until Kore returned. Zeus consented, but because Kore had eaten a pomegranate seed while she was in the Underworld, she was forced to spend one-third of the year for eternity with Hades as his consort and Queen of the Underworld and two-thirds with her mother, Demeter. While Persephone (the Queen) walks the upper world with her mother, Hekate takes her place as Queen of the Underworld. A close reading of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter also reveals that it is not Hekate who is Crone but Demeter who is both Mother and Crone. The cyclical nature of archetypes is illustrated in this myth. (iv)

This myth gives us a window into Greek life, where a marriage was a contract between a husband and the bride’s father, and it was acceptable for a young girl to marry her uncle. The connection between death and marriage is symbolic because mothers and daughters had limited access to one another after marriage. While access to our mothers or caregivers may not necessarily be limited nowadays, when a young person leaves home, there is a symbolic and psychological breaking away.

Let's take a closer look at the four phases and their associations:

• The Maiden phase is associated with spring when we start separating from our families. The journey to selfhood begins.
• The Mother phase is when we give birth to our creations. This phase corresponds to the summer season and is “fruit-bearing.” This can literally mean giving birth and raising children, but it is also the act of “birthing” creative projects. During this phase, the Mother sacrifices and caters to the needs of others.
• The Queen is associated with autumn and is the phase of integration and sovereignty.
• The Crone is the wise elder and ‘midwife of spiritual truths’ and is associated with winter.

Personal or Individual Sovereignty

Sovereignty, also known as self-ownership, is a concept that describes a person’s inherent worth and natural right to their own body and life. Sometimes confused with agency, which has to do with ability, (what you can and cannot do), sovereignty is the right to rule your life.

Jordan Hall, Ph.D., describes sovereignty as

the capacity to respond to the world. It is the ability to be present to the world and to respond to the world rather than be overwhelmed or merely reactive.

In other words, when we accept our sovereignty, we realize we have the power to affect change in our personal lives and in the lives of others. Sovereignty comes from being conscious and aware of our needs and desires and what is happening around us. A sovereign does not reign in isolation and is protective of the realm.

One way to think of sovereignty is to imagine yourself as the ruler of a country or place and consider the actions you would take as a “good” sovereign. A sovereign has physical and spiritual ties to the land, a point often emphasized in fairy tales, and feels responsible for the wellbeing of not only the land but all beings that occupy the land. This translates into advocacy and stewardship.

In astrology, Pluto and Saturn are the two planets tasked with generating our sense of sovereignty and personal authority. Jupiter also plays a key role too in helping us live our truth.

What Sovereignty Is Not

Sovereignty should not be confused with bloated self-importance, elitism, pride, or feelings of superiority. A true sovereign does not treat others as property but as beings worthy of dignity.

Reclaiming the crown

Dr. James Hollis suggests that the most crucial task of the second half of life is the recovery of personal authority, namely, discovering what is true for us and mobilizing the courage and resources to live our truth in the world. (v)

Many of us reach middle adulthood and become aware that we have lost our sovereignty. These losses, according to Den Uyl and Rasmussen in their journal article on Self-Ownership, include:

• Loss of voice (feeling like we are not heard or understood)
• Loss of clarity (not knowing what we are supposed to do with our lives)
• Loss of self-belief (lack of confidence in our abilities)
• Loss of choice (feeling like we’re limited by our abilities or by culture) (vi)

Power in astrology is associated with Pluto. Pluto transits always have something to do with making us aware of where and how we give our power away, and where and how we can call it back.

I will demonstrate with two case studies how these three planets encourage the reclamation and retrieval of those qualities lost because of sociocultural conditioning and trauma. I will highlight significant transits that speak directly to the concept of sovereignty and the Queen phase. Qualities that commonly arise during these transits that can be correlated with the Queen archetype include:

• Personal Sovereignty
• Courage
• Protection/ Stewardship
• Advocacy/ Leadership

Critical developmental transits

I weave in two client stories as I describe the critical developmental transits. The names have been changed to protect privacy, but their birth details are as follows:

• Marla was born May 25, 1974, 6:45 am at Fort St John, BC, Canada
• Sharon was born December 16, 1963, 5:00 am at Deep River, ON, Canada

Pluto Square Pluto (Age 37-46)

When it comes to archetypal astrology, I don’t work with exact degrees or even an orb of 3-5º. In my experience, the square transit begins when Pluto is in a square by sign. This time of intense transformation can start in the late thirties and extend into the late forties. Pluto is at work when “things begin to fall apart.”

When my client Marla, a single mother of three, first came to see me in 2018, she was in a new relationship after a decade of celibacy. Pluto in Capricorn was transiting through her 7th House. In a short duration–less than three years–Marla was promoted (gained power and status), then laid off (lost power), and she got engaged (new beginnings).

Soon after her fiancé moved in with her, it became apparent that there were fundamental differences in their values, and she broke off the engagement. In January 2022, Marla fell ill when her kidney disease returned after 30 years of remission. She was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism and developed a hernia.

I encourage all my clients to keep a journal, and Marla has kindly shared the following short journal entries with me.

This feels like a time of letting go – of emotions and memories and dreams and hopes and relationships and things. (2019)

I’m in the mucky in-between stage of caterpillar to butterfly, where the magic happens. (2021)

It never ceases to amaze me how the planets speak directly to us in journaling. It is remarkable how Marla’s journaling includes Plutonian words and phrases like ‘letting go’ and ‘magic.’

A square aspect externalizes frustration, stress, and struggle. Transiting Pluto square natal Pluto brings issues around control and power. These themes speak directly to the Queen archetype. During this transit, we realize we have either given away our power or manipulated others for dominance, as sex and money are Plutonian tools. This is a period when many of us are promoted to positions of power. Pluto is the planet of death and rebirth, and many endings and beginnings often punctuate this transit.

Pluto tends to bring up repressed trauma, so a person may begin therapy or commit to shadow work. Donna Cunningham believed that Pluto’s adverse effects are related to a negative response she called holding on, and a positive response called letting go. (vii) Holding on, of course, also relates to repressed emotions that can manifest as serious illness. The Pluto square Pluto transit helps us identify what is worth holding onto (for example, marriage or partnership) and what must be released, which can include an outdated version of ourselves.

Many of my clients who were previously reluctant to pat themselves on the back and express a sense of pride begin to do so during this transit and openly acknowledge their excellent work (self-empowerment). It is also when people leave a career to follow their passion or are promoted to a position of authority. Around ages 46 and 47, when (for some) children leave the family home to go off on their own, many begin building a realm rooted in authentic self-expression.

Saturn Opposite Saturn (Age 44-46)

Saturn’s cycles are related to career, leadership, and parenthood. Saturn also represents authority, boundaries, endings, limitations, and order. I find it helpful to recognize Saturn’s feminine qualities and recommend Charlie Obert’s blog posts on Saturn and Jessica DiRuzza’s (nee Garfield-Kabbara) essay Re-Visioning Saturn. (viii)

Jessica DiRuzza describes Saturn “as regal, erotic, powerful and many-sided” and, therefore, “co-creative in nature.” Oppositions bring challenges, and the challenge during this transit lies in answering the question what do I really want? As opposed to what does everyone else want or expect from me? This question is not answered in one quick sitting with a coach or therapist, as anyone currently navigating this period can attest. To get to the answer, Saturn either gifts us with pockets of time or upends our lives so that time is made available for self-reflection. For example, we may find ourselves in positions of leadership at work where we have “earned” more free time or our children have left home.

The opposition is the culmination of the so-called “mid-life crisis.” Author Ann Douglas suggests that we reframe this period as life-enhancing instead of life-upending. Instead of “mid-life crisis,” she asks us to refer to it as “mid-life check-in.” (ix) This new way of thinking ties in beautifully with Saturn’s invitation to reflect on our lives at this midpoint.

Oppositions tend to have an energizing effect which explains why there’s a new commitment to taking the lead in our lives during this transit. We may return to school, leave unfulfilling relationships, re-commit to our career goals or strike out on our own. Saturn reminds us that we are the authors of our own lives (the word authority contains the word “author”).

Unsurprisingly, since Saturn rules skin, clients describe this period of their lives as “settling into themselves” and feeling “comfortable in their own skin.”

During the Saturn opposition transit, Marla’s two eldest children left home (an ending), which freed up more of her time for deep self-reflection.

Jupiter Conjunct Jupiter (Age 48)

Courage rises during the Jupiter return in the late 40s, as we begin to look outward and towards expanding our realm, which often translates to educational and spiritual pursuits and creating a stronger bond with Nature. If a person has been chasing material success and status, they may experience a crisis of faith that opens new spiritual pathways. Around this age, many people become caregivers to their elderly parents. We may feel inspired to take up daily practices like meditation and gratitude journaling.

During this transit, Marla qualified as a yoga instructor and nutritionist. She also described having several mystical experiences and feeling “divinely guided.”

Saturn Sextile Saturn (Age 54-56)

Bernadette Brady describes a sextile transit as “encountering a chance which may or may not be used to gain what is needed.” (x) When transiting Saturn forms a waning sextile to natal Saturn, people may encounter opportunities to take responsibility for their choices, gaining a greater sense of self-acceptance and authority.

By nature, sextiles are a 60-degree angle between different elements and can offer outlets for fruit-bearing creative expression. For Sharon, Saturn transiting in Sagittarius (mutable fire) was sextile to natal Saturn in Aquarius (fixed air). She describes this period as when she gained “a backbone” (Saturn speaks!). She took up new creative hobbies of crocheting and knitting.

Saturn Conjunct Saturn (Age 56-60)

Saturn makes a complete cycle around the Sun every 29.5 years and spends 2.5 years in each zodiac sign. Saturn returns to the same sign in which we find our natal Saturn when we are roughly 27-31 years of age and 56-60. A conjunction is an aspect of concentration and emphasis. Saturn returns are marked periods of heightened awareness, frustration, and suffering but also, and this is important, of healing and cathartic release.

The first time around, Saturn makes us face what we deem “undesirable” and have done our best to avoid. Saturn is a teacher, and teachers know when we’re holding back. Saturn asks us to live from our center, which is hard to do when we are living someone else’s storyline, or we’ve allowed social conditioning to shape our lives. Think of Saturn as the force that peels back layers of psychic skin; until we get to the bare bones of who we are (Saturn rules bones, skin, teeth, and the body’s center of gravity or balance point). Saturn asks us to live our true nature.

Suppose we have uncovered our gifts in the period between returns, and we are living our Saturn by sharing these gifts and perhaps even mentoring others. In that case, the second Saturn return can be described as a period of rebirth, the ushering of elderhood. If we have not done so, then the second time around, Saturn asks us to do two things:ace our ‘shadow,’ a Jungian term used to describe the unacknowledged or unconscious parts of our personality

• Face our ‘shadow,’ a Jungian term used to describe the unacknowledged or unconscious parts of our personality
• Claim our sovereignty and live our truth

Struggling with unexplainable neurological symptoms that her doctors blamed on stress, Sharon took early retirement soon after Saturn entered Aquarius in 2019, which is home to her natal Saturn, and “learned how to set boundaries.” You will note from my case studies that Saturn finds creative ways to stop productivity and a sense of progress if we are still following an external storyline for our life. This does not mean that things aren’t happening at a deeper level. Saturn asks for our sovereignty’s reclamation, which is an inside job.

Our second Saturn return prepares us for the next cycle. The next cycle is elderhood/cronehood. Sharon sold her house this year (early 2022) and moved back to her hometown. Her health has improved, and she is excited to start working on her “passion project.”

Conclusion

The time has come to retire the Maiden, Mother, and Crone triad and adopt a more contemporary and empowering tetrad that includes the Queen. I have used excerpts from two clients to illustrate how critical transits of Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto facilitate a process of reclamation that, for those of us willing to do the work, results in a sense of sovereignty in our middle years. As agents of transformation, all three planets invite us to rediscover our power and cultivate the splendor within so we can help create a better world.

References:
 (i) Graves, Robert: The White Goddess. 1984.
 (ii) Women in Ancient Greece
 (iii) Harding, Esther: Women’s Mysteries
 (iv) Homeric Hymn to Demeter
 (v) Hollis, James Dr.: What Matters Most: Living a More Considered Life
 (vi) Self-Ownership by Douglas J. Den Uyl and Douglas B. Rasmussen, The Good Society Vol. 12, No. 3, Symposium: Natural Law and Secular Society (2003), pp. 50-57 (8 pages), Penn State University Press
 (vii) Cunningham, Donna: An Astrological Guide to Self-Awareness, CRCS Publications, 1978. Pg. 119
 (viii) Re-Visioning Saturn, Jessica DiRuzza
 (ix) Douglas, Ann: Navigating the Messy Middle. Pg. 49
 (x) Brady, Bernadette: Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark. 1999, Pg. 27

Published in: The Evolving Astrologer, December 2022.

Author:
A consulting astrologer since the late 1990s, Yolanda McAdam’s approach is primarily Humanistic and Archetypal. A lifelong student of occult philosophy, mythology, fairy tales, and depth psychology, she’s a dedicated teacher of the Sacred Feminine. Her articles have appeared in magazines like Elephant Journal and Spirituality & Health. She can be found at www.yolandasastrology.com.

© 2023 - Yolanda McAdam - The Evolving Astrologer

All articles at a glance