The Aphrodesian Woman’s Suffering

Usually appearing calm, invulnerable, and fiercely independent, people romanticize the glamour of the Aphrodesian Woman and her life. Seemingly self-assured, without support and understanding she experiences intense dependency needs that lie just below this calm facade. These needs surface in myriad ways, often unexpectedly and out of her control. She may “act out,” landing her in extremely unhealthy, dysfunctional relationships and dangerous circumstances.

Those close to the Aphrodesian Woman are often shocked by her reactive behavior; she makes others uncomfortable and causes them pain. Even those who profess to love her eventually reject and ostracize her. Disgraced into believing that she is rotten to the core, she is guilt-ridden and tormented over her “sinful” desires.

Unable to make sense of her behavior and psychological issues, she attempts to disown her core to try and relieve her guilt and pain . Jung called this core our dominant archetype. He proposed that disowning one’s dominant archetype is impossible, and that attempts to do so inevitably result in neurosis. Our dominant archetype insists on makes its presence known, whether we want it to or not. Our efforts to disown our dominant archetype simply moves it into the shadows. This now “shadow self,” haunts us like a recurring nightmare, often leading to our self-destruction.

Just as society as a whole is largely unaware of the Aphrodesian Woman as a type, so is the majority of the therapeutic community. This leads to great difficulty in getting her therapeutic needs met. Aphrodesian Psychology helps the Aphrodesian Woman to reach an understanding of the Aphrodite Archetype and the way in which it rules her life.