A few weeks ago I wrote on Apollo in this blog, because I had been thinking about the archetypal qualities of the Greek god Apollo, and I hadn’t quite figured out why a dominant theme in Apollo’s stories is that he gets rejected by women. There were some thoughtful insights shared in the comments, and I think I got my head around what the answer was. Apparently, Apollo didn’t like what I had to say, because the post disappeared when I tried to publish it. I’m going to try again, but this time I appeal to Hermes (who has been a thorn in Apollo’s side since the day of his birth), to protect my post as the god of communications. All hail Hermes, god of mischief!

Now, having thought about the so-called “problem of Apollo”, this is what I’ve concluded about why Apollo is rejected by the feminine. Daphne runs away from him, preferring to be turned into a laurel tree than to accept his advances. Why? I believe that the answer lies in his aspect as the god of the sun, of light. Think for a moment about how it feels to be sitting in the noonday sun. It’s an intense experience. It burns.

The intensity of the sunlight we feel when the sun is glaringly in our eyes is what I’m talking about. Femininity itself contains aspects of darkness, and moisture, and the intense light of Apollo’s attention would destroy all of that if allowed to linger. It’s too much for the feminine.