At the table sat a bowl, devastatingly empty.
Broth was poured, bread was offered —
yet nothing seemed quite right,
nothing seemed enough.
The Hero in me rose too far.
The Dominator took hold —
fixing, feeding, carrying more than was mine,
my marrow thinning as I tried to keep the fire alight.
And when I set the ladle down,
a shadow fell across me: Neglectful Mother.
But that was never my truth.
For I had brought Mother’s nourishment —
tending the pot for the sake of the circle,
keeping the fire of well-being alive.
I had brought Father’s discernment —
clear boundary, rightful carrying,
refusing to take on what was not mine.
And I had brought the Hero integrated —
courage enough to act,
and courage enough to stop,
to say no, to draw the line.
Yet beneath it all, another hunger burned.
Not for scraps, but for aliveness —
for flame to meet flame,
for presence freely given,
for sovereignty breathed into my own body.
When unmet, that hunger twisted.
Over-giving slid into depletion.
Over-carrying collapsed into exhaustion.
The Hero distorted into Dominator,
my light dimmed beneath projection.
I see now what was entangled:
the empty bowl, waiting;
my flame over-offered;
threads dropped,
the loom unraveling.
This was enmeshment, not sovereignty.
The Hungry Bowl reflected absence.
The Dominator drained my marrow.
The Neglectful Mother was only a projection.
Yet Mother, Father, and Hero in sovereignty
were present in me still —
though only half-seen, half-claimed.
And then came Hekate —
keeper of the Flame, threshold guide,
mirror of shadow and sovereignty alike.
She does not cast out the archetypes;
she integrates them:
-
Mother nourishes without depletion.
-
Father contains without rigidity.
-
Hero acts with courage, without domination.
-
Maiden holds aliveness steady, without collapse.
Her whisper:
Tend your own flame first.
Stand where light and shadow meet.
Do not pour your marrow into emptiness,
or carry burdens that are not yours.
Keep the flame alive.
Feed from fullness,
refuse from clarity,
and let your fire burn steady.
A Call to Reflect
-
Where do you find yourself over-giving or over-carrying, until your own flame begins to dim?
-
When projection casts you into roles that are not yours, how do you return to your own truth?
-
How do you bring Father’s discernment, Hero’s courage, Mother’s nourishment, and Maiden’s aliveness into balance within you?
-
What bowls in your life feel devastatingly empty — and how can you honour them without enmeshment or depletion?
-
What does it mean for you to tend Hekate’s Flame in yourself — to keep your fire steady, sovereign, and alive?
This is part three of a Trilogy: Shadows in Leadership — A Modern Myth.