The Handless Maiden

"The maiden is like a postpartum woman. She rises from the underworld birthing chair where she has

given birth to new ideas, a new life view. Now she is veiled, her babe is given to breast, and she 

goes on. In the Grimm brothers' version of 'The Handless Maiden,' the newborn child is male and is 

called Sorrowful. But in the Goddess religions, the spiritual child born from the woman's venture 

with the king of the underworld is called Joy."

- Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. "Women Who Run With The Wolves," Chapter 14- La Selva Subterránea: Initiation in the Underground Forest. "The Handless Maiden," The Fifth Stage-- The Harrowing of the Soul,  p. 441.