Up: [[Greek Mythology]] Related: [[Snake]] Created: 2026-05-16 Medusa was a beautiful woman who was raped by Poseidon. Athena was furious that this happened in her court, but couldn’t punish Poseidon because he was a god like her. So she punishes the victim, making Medusa ugly with a head of snakes. Maybe snakes were chosen because they are a primitive animal. [[Snake]] is a dual image because sometimes snake holds creativity. In Egyptian mythology the snake is at the foot of the king on the throne and represents the mother, the beginning. Snakes are also a symbol of transformation. Medusa felt such rage that she was petrifying to whomever she looked at, turning them immediately to stone. Rage ends up isolating the victim and not letting anyone near to help. The rage comes up as soon as Medusa sees someone coming towards her. Athena recruits Perseus to get rid of Medusa, telling him to not look at Medusa directly, but to look at her in a mirror and to cut off her head. Using a mirror is precisely what therapists do. A therapist is an attaching person saying, “You’re okay, it’s not about you as a bad person.” The violence of the head being cut off may be about when something extreme happening, another extreme being required to mitigate it. Medusa’s head is ruminating and she is stuck in rage. Out of Medusa’s head, Pegasus has formed. Pegasus, connected to imagination, is formed when rage no longer prevents Medusa from her creativity. What was hidden behind all that rage was Pegasus, was imagination. That’s another way a therapist can work with someone who has been victimized, to access their capacity for imagination. Pegasus might be seen as instinct (horse) and spirit (wings) combined. And there’s an argument to be made for imagination coming from Medusa’s body, rather than her head.