Pallas was better known as Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, to the Greeks. She is claimed to have arisen fully grown from the crown of her father, Zeus (Jupiter), equipped in gleaming combat armor, and to have promptly assumed her place at his right-hand side.
She supervised over military strategies during conflict and justice throughout peacetime as patroness of Athens. She also promoted utilitarian skills such as spinning and weaving, ceramics, healing, and other fields where human talent and inventiveness improve the quality of life for everybody. Another art she encouraged was horse-taming and connected to the "horse-crazy" stage that many girls go through in early adolescence.
The classical Greeks considered Pallas Athene in a unique position of power and respect among all the goddesses. As their collaborator, advisor, equal, and friend, she moved easily and freely through the world of gods, heroes, and men.
She was glorified as Athene Parthenia, the virgin warrior queen, and she refused both suitors and consorts. She disputed her matriarchal roots in the tales, stating that no mother gave her life, despite the fact that she planned for the death of her sister Medusa. Except for marriage, she upheld masculine domination.
Pallas Athene is mythologically tied to an old lineage of goddesses associated with the serpent as a sign of wisdom and healing from the Near East, North Africa, and Crete. She confirmed this relationship by adorning her breastplate with the head of her dark sister, Medusa, the serpent-haired queen of wisdom.
Kundalini energy is portrayed in the yogic tradition as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine, ready to rise through the spinal canal and emerge from the top of the head as cosmic illumination. This is analogous to the wisdom of Pallas Athene, the daughter of Zeus who emerged from his skull.
Pallas within us
Pallas Athene's relationship with both the serpent and horse taming shows that her central theme is reason civilizing nature's energies for the benefit of humanity. As a woman, she represents the natural force that creates new life, the basic energy that underpins aliveness.
As her father's daughter, she carries out his wishes, channeling his power for the sake of society. She is able to detect the truth amid stormy emotions while administering justice. She heals sickness by redirecting the life force back into its rightful channels. As a weaver and potter, she employs dexterity and ingenuity to transform raw materials into useful products.
Women have made significant contributions to these civilizational arts throughout history. However, in some eras, such as the one we are coming from, many of the civilized arts, such as law, medicine, and manufacturing, were largely taken over by men, while most women's roles were limited to handmaiden and reproducer of the race.
Women that are clever, powerful, strong, and accomplished, like Pallas, may not be considered "real women" in our culture. They are frequently pressed to choose between a career and creative self-expression on the one hand, and a relationship and family on the other.
Pallas Athene reappears in the high-school girl who is congratulated on her debate team triumph but is not invited to the prom. The Pallas Athene archetype poses the risk of severing our feminine aspect and encasing the wounds in armor. This may cause us to pursue our goals with a cold, merciless, calculated, and expeditious strategy.
To cure ourselves, we must remember that even though Athene denied her female origins in Greek mythology, she was nonetheless made a goddess, one whose particular strength is rooted in nature's feminine energies. Her story broadens the options for women, teaching them that they, too, may channel their womanly life-creating Venus energy not only through their procreative abilities, but also through their intellects. This is how Pallas enriches and improves life.
Pallas Athene, the powerful and prolific goddess, demonstrates that women do not have to be males to be effective in the world. They can bring a unique kind of life-promoting vitality to intellectual and professional activities because they are women.
Pallas Athene, Zeus' favored daughter and the classic "daddy's little girl," brings up another point: our connections with our own fathers. She reveals the ways in which we copy them, seek their approval, wish to connect in their world, and give them control over our lives in our birth charts.
A powerful, well-placed Pallas in a woman's chart usually indicates a girl who was raised by her father and learnt important life skills from him.
Pallas, as a woman dressed in warrior clothing, speaks of summoning and expressing the masculine within women and the feminine within men. Through reclaiming our contra sexual identity, this movement toward androgyny balances and unifies polarities within the self, bringing completeness.
Pallas Athene's serpent symbolism links her to the healing arts as well. Hygeia, goddess of miraculous cures, was one of her guises. Her armor and shield are analogous to our immune system defending us from attacks. She exemplifies the ability of our brains to heal disease.
Jupiter’s favorite daughter vs Ares
It may seem counterintuitive for the goddess of art and wisdom to simultaneously be a goddess of battle, but it made sense in this case! Her brother Ares (a.k.a. Mars) was also Jupiter's offspring and was known as the god of war; yet, the term "war" meant two very different things to these two very distinct gods.
Ares (Mars) was the deity of bloodlust, ferocity, bravery, and bloodshed. Pallas, on the other hand, was the peaceful warrior and was the goddess of strategy, coordinated fighting, improved weaponry, and expert battlefield maneuvering.
Pallas was the defense against Ares/Mars' offensive. Pallas symbolized controlled might, whereas Ares/Mars represented pure force. The two were not enemies, but the warriors would frequently choose one or the other to pray to and seek for their favor based on their position in battle and fighting style. It should be noted that Pallas never lost a battle or a war! Her presence on your team ensured a great victory!
Pallas is a competitive, talented, and bright woman in a "Man's World." Pallas is still active in a man's natal chart, representing his feminine energies to bargain and win without having to lose someone else. Pallas can also represent girls in your life who model and teach such qualities for you to emulate, especially while battling for the underdog (including yourself)!
Pallas in our birth chart
The placement of Pallas may indicate how you relate to your father and what fathers stand for, as well as how you absorb characteristics of the opposite sex into your own makeup. It may also imply how life was for you while you were deciding on a career and striking out in the world.
The zodiac sign in which Pallas is in, indicates the mode of perception through which your creative mind operates, as well as your mode of applying your creative intelligence and inventiveness to life's issues. As a result, it may have a significant impact on your work and pastimes.
It also demonstrates the unique insight and talent that you bring to the world. In some ways, Pallas' placement demonstrates how you carry out the intent of the Deity (or the light within you) and make it manifest here on Earth.
Pallas' dwelling represents the areas of life that are most likely to provide an outlet for your creative brilliance and resourcefulness. When combined with the tenth and sixth houses, which traditionally represent your calling and everyday labor, the house that Pallas inhabits might be an indicator of your profession. In addition to the Fifth house, the house in which she is found can reflect your interests.
Pallas' aspects to other planets and asteroids in your natal chart indicate how her intelligence and talent become intertwined with other motivations such as your need to nurture, communicate, create, and assert yourself.
Pallas represents the part of you that want to channel creative energy in order to produce cerebral and artistic offspring, children of the intellect. She reflects your ability to think creatively and clearly, as well as your ambition to strive for excellence and accomplishment in your chosen field of expression.
Pallas is a model of the powerful, fearless, ingenious, artistically creative, and intelligent woman. She demonstrates how you utilize your intelligence to seek truth; how you achieve in practical, mental, or artistic disciplines; and how you work to gain worldly power.
She’s the military strategist and the administrator of justice, and her location in the horoscope indicates how you use your wits to defend yourself and maintain balance and integrity in your body, mind, and social interactions. This is not merely an issue of self-defense; it is also a fundamental healing element.
Pallas' position in your natal chart indicates the therapeutic modalities that are most likely to benefit you, either when administered to yourself or by you to others.
