I am Hera, my very name means courage. My title "Lady" refers to my sovereignty. My mother is Rhea, who squirted milk from her breasts to create the Milky Way. I manifest as a triple goddess. Hebe as my virgin self, and Theria as my crone self; I am the kingmaker and destroyer; I am the Queen. It was I who owned the apple tree that was guarded by my faithful servant, the wise serpent; it was my holy tree.

Every spring I still submerge myself in the regenerating pool of springwater in my old paradise. It was I who gave the drink of immortality to my children, the gods--the tasty ambrosia. On my head, I wear the crown of millions of stars, for my home is in heaven, and sometimes I wear crowns of cities, with their towers, landmarks, churches, and homes of my people, because my domain is also on Earth.

I protect the young and the weak; I control the powerful and mighty. I protect women especially, because they do my divine job--creation of new citizens. When women take consorts, I am there to bless the union. When they conceive their children, I am there to bless the seed so that it will be healthy.

If you call on me when you use power in the world, I will bless your ability to lead and I will send you good counsel. If you abuse that power, I will take it away from you. In my destroyer aspect, I have brought down haughty men with scandals, lost health, and lost loved ones. I lay low the proudest when my gift is used against the weak.

Some of you call on me for help in surviving. I bring you opportunities and am glad to aid. I am a gracious and generous queen--my main job is to exercise power. Without vision, you cannot aspire, you cannot grow. I bless the ones who give vision to those who lack it. I am the queen who moves the hearts of the prosperous to use their wealth in socially responsible ways, for all power originates from me. As queen, I rule human societies, I formed order out of creative chaos.

In Rome they called me Juno, the swarthy queen from the Mediterranean. So what is your business with me? Do you feel forgotten by power? Do you feel discarded, pushed aside, given the shaft? Meditate on me; visit me in your temple.

My season is midsummer, the height of the year. I delight in the orchards laden with fruit, and I adore the summer flowers that can drink deep from my rain. I am the summer queen, pregnant with the harvest, hopes, and opportunities of life on earth. I even appreciate the heat of cities, the flowers in flowerpots in concrete jungle windows. In this my season, take time from your modern life and jump into my rejuvenating lakes, oceans, and rivers.

You can find me in the prime of your life. I shall pose to you disturbing questions in your middle age. "What have you done?" I will ask relentlessly. "How have you used the gifts given to you?" Fullness of power is my blessing. The queen is always just and well attended. Her touch is healing; her blessings are redeeming.

by Zsuzsanna E. Budapest from The Grandmother of Time