The Heroine's Journey

...she is not all sweetness and light; just as when a woman comes out of voluntary isolation to assert herself, it is often not a pretty sight. Beware family and friends that want her to go back to the way she was before. She now realizes the extent to which she has sacrificed herself in pleasing others, and she is not willing to do things the old way. She ruthlessly cuts away people and situations that do no support who she has become...

...she makes her descent not for accolades and approval but to experience the full cycle of her feminine nature. She gains the wisdom of the cycles of changes, accepting the dark, instinctive side which helps us find meaning in suffering and death as well as the light, joyous side which reaffirms our strength, courage and life."

- Maureen Murdock, The Heroine's Journey

[unsure who to credit for the image, I traced it back to this site but no further. If you know, please contact me]