Rise of the Feminine Spirit

Venus of Willendorf

I haven’t been blogging much recently because I’m still in a state of transition after the death of my uncle.  In my last post I wrote “I truly feel that a cycle that began with the passing of my own beloved mother many years ago has been brought to completion by the death of my uncle.  I am looking forward to my new beginning – it has already begun!”  I wasn’t really sure what I meant when I wrote this, but it felt right at the same time.  The truth of this statement is becoming clearer to me day by day.  

My mother died in 1990, and my uncle just passed away in March of this year.  I recently realized that is a time span of 21 years.  In many traditions 21 is considered a sacred number and many people go on retreats for 21 days because it represents a complete energy cycle.  The founder of Reiki discovered the symbols and system of Reiki after 21 days on the sacred Mount Kurama.  I trust my feminine intuition that a cycle that started 21 years ago with my mother’s death has completed, and the circle is closing with the death of my uncle.  When one circle or door closes, another opens, and I can feel deep in my bones a change in myself and know that it will begin to reflect in my outer world circumstances.

 “The Divine Feminine is returning to collective consciousness all right.  She’s coming, and it will happen whether we’re ready or not”.  ~  Sue Monk Kidd

The main change that I feel is the emergence of a powerful Divine Feminine spiritual consciousness deep within my psyche and being.  It is nothing like I have ever felt before.  When I reflect back on the past few years in my life – both my spiritual journey and the mundane everyday stuff, I realize that this has been deepening and ripening within me even though I was mostly unaware of what was happening.  I was longing for a connection with the feminine face of God (or whatever you want to call it). 

“At forty (or sometimes thirty or sixty), women grow ripe for feminist spiritual conception.  By then we’ve been around long enough to grow disenchanted with traditional female existence, with the religious existence women have been given to live out.”  ~  Sue Monk Kidd

I stumbled upon Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” over spring break and read it in a day or two.  I’ve long since left the Catholic Church (after the death of my mother) but this book made me want my own unique feminine journey.  The following week I went to see a living embodiment of the Divine Feminine, Sri Karunamayi, who just happened to be visiting Phoenix and I got darshan (blessings).  The following week my uncle died, and things have been in a state of flux ever since. 

“We’re seeing a dawning of the feminine now.  Women are beginning to realize that to follow the man’s way is not working.  We must develop our own capacities, not follow men.  The Black Madonna is beginning to break through.”  ~  Frau Kalff, from China Galland’s “Longing for Darkness”

I recently went to the library and got lots of materials on feminism, spirituality, and ancient Goddesses.  I’ve been devouring books, listening to audio discs while driving to and from work, and watching movies all related to women and spirituality.  I can’t get enough – I am obsessed!  Something has been unleashed in me that is not entirely explicable.  I am being flooded with images of God the Mother and my appetite is insatiable.  I just devoured China Galland’s “Longing for Darkness – Tara and the Black Madonna.”  It makes me want to have a direct experience and encounter with a Black Madonna myself.  It is so good to read accounts of women who have taken this journey before me and have left signposts along the way.

“Wild Woman is the health of all women. …This wilderwoman is the prototypical woman … no matter what culture, no matter what era, no matter what politic, she does not change.  Her cycles change, her symbolic representations change, but in essence, she does not change.  She is what she is and she is whole.”  ~  Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I’ve been listening to Clarissa Pinkola Estes on audio discs on the way to and from work each day.  One way to bring integration into your life and reclaim your Wild Woman nature is to do what she calls “psychic archaeological digs”.  On one of her audio discs she talks about reclamation and focus and what this means to a woman.  You basically need to examine your past (scar tissue and all!) and find all the lost “parts” of your soul.  When there is a death in the family it makes you reflect on your own life, and this is a perfect time for me to be reclaiming all the “lost” soul parts of myself and focus on what I need to manifest in the world. 

 “I found God in myself and I loved her/I loved her fiercely.”  ~  Ntozake Shange

All spiritual disciplines in one way or another tell you that what you seek is already inside yourself.  We hear such phrases as “…the kingdom of God is within” (Catholic) and “He who knows himself knows his Lord” (Sufi).  However this language and all the images one normally sees are all generally male.  In prehistoric cultures worldwide the Divine Feminine predated patriarchal forms of the divine.  Women were empowered and there was an equal balance between male and female power in the universe.    

“One is not born a woman, one becomes one.”  ~  Simone de Beauvoir

I’m so fortunate that this coming week will be the last week of school.  I will have two whole months off over the summer to dream, read, write, travel, paint, explore…  I am planning my own unique “journey” to encounter the Divine Feminine and will follow my feminine intuition and see what unfolds.  I’ll keep you posted!

Do the words “Wild Woman” stir some deep, primal feelings within you?

Do you long for an authentic encounter with the Divine Feminine?

Resources:

“Longing for Darkness – Tara and the Black Madonna” by China Galland

“The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” by Sue Monk Kidd

 “Women Who Run With The Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Related posts:

1. Embrace Your Feminine Side Earlier this week I attended a “glamour” night at our...
2. Meditation Benefits Body, Mind, and Spirit Many people are increasingly using meditation as a tool to...
3. Empowering Yourself: One Step at a Time Guest Post by Raja Kumara Elohim  Empowering Your Soul … ...
4. Yummy Yin! Sounds like a drink doesn’t it?  You can almost imagine...
5. V is for Venus: Love is All You Need Love:  It’s a simple four letter word, the source of...