My muse for some time now has been Circe, the first witch of the Greek Gods.
Circe was born to Helios, a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and brother to the goddesses Selene and Eos. She is also cousin to Zeus, the King of the Olympians. So you could say that Circe was born into quite a noble family. A granddaughter of at least two Titans and related to the sun, moon, and dawn, big things should have been laid out for her from birth.
Except, thatās where her ancestry gets indistinguishable and a little problematic. One possibility is that she was a daughter of Hecate, an ancient deity that pre-dates the Olympians and whom Zeus honored above all.
Circeās other matrilineal probability is Perse, an Oceanid nymph and one of several thousand daughters by the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Perse is also the mother of Aeetes, keeper of the Golden Fleece; Perses who was killed by his niece Medea; and Pasiphae the Queen of Crete. What makes her lineage a bit tangled is that Perse can also be closely identified with Hecate, a virgin goddess who had no regular consort.
My very own painting of Circe by John William Waterhouse:
Growing up, Circe was all too aware of her shortcomings. Unlike her sister Pasiphae, she would not be married off to a mortal to rule over humans and bear mythological beasties (see my previous article on the Minotaur). Also, unlike her brothers Aeƫtes and Perses, she was denied a kingdom of her own. So she stayed with the throng of Titans and Olympians and kept to herself.
It was during this isolation that her gifts were developed and honed. Whether it was due in part to her maternal parentage, or whether it was her fate, Circeās magical abilities manifested into both potion making and spell casting.
Ulysses and Circe. Illustration for A Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Harrap, c 1930).
Sheās been both muse and subject for many, but sadly sheās almost always seen as a villain.
Was Circe really to blame?
This is popular opinion and aids the narrative that permeates much of classical mythology and history, and fulfills exactly what Steven Sora ( The Triumph of the Sea Gods ) and Sigmund Freud (the Madonna-whore complex) refer to in their works. It is the old trope of women interfering or causing good men to go bad, and Circeās story is merely one such example.
But Circe is, at least, in fine company. She sits quite comfortably alongside the likes of Helen of Troy, Pasiphae, Clytemnestra, Hera, Hecate, and a host of other ladies whoāve all been labelled as troublesome. Perhaps itās finally time to view Circe in another light, that of being considerate and generous, intelligent, clever, headstrong and independent.
Image Source: Circe - After Dulac from the collection of Erica Berkowitz | Artwork Archive
For me, Circe worked hard and developed her craft. She did it in exile through trial and error until she became a master at herbal knowledge and spell casting. I spent this week channeling Circe as I studied and restudied herbal knowledge. I have a goal of learning recalling from memory, the medicinal and magickal properties of 100 herbs by the end of this year. This week I studied Angelica, Aloe, Basil, Bay leaf, and Catnip. Circeās relentless pursuit of her witchcraft has been a wonderful inspiration for me this week!
References:
āCirceā by Madeline Miller, fantasy novel published April, 2018
Sensitive information may be triggering!On Pinterest I found a good pic of the 9 muses and I picked Melpomene tragedy like a infinity sigh it goes up and down and well this year feels like Iām going down on the infinity symbol so I chose to make a Athame while I do my shadow work! I got a picture of my Athame, you can see a coffin piece at the bottom. It turned out okay for the first time. I am happy and my husband joined me for this challenge!
Thank you so much for kind words and also for the perfect offerings- so many wonderful things, how did you know all my favorites?! 
Many thanks back to you, Jeje, and a huge congrats on your artwork- I hope your painting went/is going well and that you had fun bringing it to life! Great job!
I hope inspiration continues to flow for you, and should you reach the publication stage I would love to read the whole thing! Great work! 
You found your freedom and had a really lovely dance session- Iām proud of you for letting go and allowing yourself to rock to your own beat! Sometimes the unplanned things in life are the most meaningful- especially the things we donāt know we need until they happen 
And ohhhh~ what a prayer 
The prayer made me smile- itās such a beautiful play of words and humor all wrapped in a gorgeous and flowing rhyme. I hope Calliope sparked something for your writing, but even if not- this prayer alone is a huge writing success in my book! Bravo! 
And even if it is difficult to find recorded ways to honor a muse, I think that could be a blessing in disguise- you are free to build your own bond and connect with them and what they stand for in your own personal way 
May you continue to thrive with your love of music, and may Euterpe always watch over you as you jam! 
Those are some lovely journal prompts and it sounds like theyāve helped you gain control over tragedy and find your harmony once again. Well done! 
But perhaps it is a blessing in disguise- you are free to pursue your work with Urania in the way that you feel is best! Thank you for sharing what you uncovered, and I wish you all the best with your continued studies of astrology 
Youāve done such great work exploring her background- I hadnāt heard of her possibly being a daughter to Hecate, that is really interesting 
Really great job here- thank you so much for sharing! 
Great job and thanks for sharing!
thank you1
Travel Witch,
like a seed that needed the water 
to grow! When I feel the worst you remind me to keep shining!
and healing!
Iām cheering for you!
for the day & I honestly at first (it was before 7 AM when I drew it) was a little confused, not that I donāt need strength on a regular basis, but I couldnāt see why I needed divine assisted strength to get through. I had made oodles of progress forward but I felt like I was abruptly shoved backward a few steps. By the end of the day I felt like I had this huge relief, a tremendous weight lifted, but I was raw & open still.
my hubby will be walking through the door soon I hope!
I think I got it down, Iām pleased you enjoyed all your offerings. Thank you again sweet 
