Divine feminine vs masculine, or the Sacred Union

“… we are experiencing a profound division between masculine and feminine that is evident in our bodies and lives. The absence of the feminine and the domination of a distorted masculine is both destructive and unsustainable, manifesting many structures that are harmful to the earth and our very existence. As we restore our connection to the feminine, we will witness the rise of a vibrant masculine.” Tami Lynn Kent in Wild Feminine

My interest in the divine feminine was sparked about 15 or so years ago, initiated first by my readings and a thirst to find healthier feminine role models. I was following a need deep inside to find a softer side to myself and to heal my wounded feminine. Because let’s be honest this is a man’s world. A world that has focussed all its energy and respect to a very specific set of male qualities, not only denying the feminine but also strip-ing the masculine from its full potential by only recognising value in an action-based, result-driven, forceful, pugnacious, combative hunter kind-of-guy.

I’m still trying to work it all out for myself but it is very satisfying to see today women all around the world rising together with a similar collective message.

“Women being Nature’s impulse to manifestation, the man who values manifestation will respect women as Nature’s greatest boon, but the man who fears life will regard the female as the worst thing in the world.”  Dr Robert E.Svoboda in Ayurveda for Women

Witnessing the events of the world the past year it couldn’t be more obvious to the general onlooker that the world has a profound need to reclaim the feminine, to acknowledge the values of education, family bonds, home-making, love, care, sustainability, connection, cooperation and a subtler kind of politics. Women and feminine qualities have always been at the heart of healthy communities, birthing culture, creating art, making medicine, preserving the earth and our food sources, allowing evolution.  Monica Sjoo & Barbara Mor in their book The Great Cosmic Mother go as far as claim that evidence is there tangibly to show that many basic life industries were the invention of women. Industries that are still all around us today though mostly exploited and mechanised to fit the modern male-led world.

So again it is a positive movement in the right direction to see women everywhere rise in solidarity to bring change and reign in on the patriarchal model of society that’s been the norm for too long.

“The feminine and masculine parts of the self must be united and balanced for your soul to be fully realised. And it’s your relationships that hold up a mirror showing you the wounded or unfinished parts of your soul that are missing, that need to be healed, discovered, transformed.” Phyllis Curott in The Love Spell

But the feminine alone cannot bring wholeness. For us as individuals and communities to heal and grow we need to bring forth the feminine as well as allow the masculine standards to widen and regain their full stature. When the feminine gets acknowledged and integrated then the masculine instead of being a shadow mirror of the womanly arts we have denied can finally become its full self, embracing all aspects of itself. The masculine will be allowed to embrace its feelings and emotions, not shut them down. It will recognise that there is more to life than the accumulation of possessions and climbing the corporate ladder, reclaiming it’s true nature without the masks. It will understand that the ways of controlling and taming are limited and fail to bring long term prosperity. And it will be given the opportunity to re-align with the Earth and her cycles, gaining deep soul nourishment.

“But until Shiva and Shakti met, their respective qualities had remained barren, devoid of dynamic creativity. Each was waiting for the missing energy that would awaken his or her enlightened completion and allow them both to realise their unique mission…” Margot Anand in The Art Of Every Day Ecstasy

The idea of healing the relationship between the feminine and the masculine within oneself is not new.

Jung talked about the Anima and the Animus, similar to the Yin and the Yang, the old myths of Ariadne and Dionysus, Isis and Osiris. It is the right & left hemispheres of the brain, and the Ida and the Pingala channels in the body. It is at the root of Hatha Yoga. Ha representing the sun or solar (masculine) force and tha representing the moon or lunar (feminine) force. The deeper work of Hatha yoga is very much to do with balancing the masculine and feminine energies in the body.

“The heroine’s journey begins with separation from the feminine and ends with integration of masculine and feminine” Maureen Murdoch in The Heroine’s Journey

It seems to me women have an innate way of understanding divinity as immanent, not placed outside of us on a stark pedestal, but understanding that we are the sacred embodied, the whole of creation is. A message worth sharing in these sad times following the terrorist attacks in Paris. I understand the French (well I am French after all) bringing a message that they want nothing to do with religion and that they do not care for other religious messages to counteract the evil that was done. And I am not talking religion, I am talking spirituality.

“The inner man and woman are psychological, emotional, and spiritual realities alive within us” Margot Anand

Internalising the feminine may very well help us all clear some deep old wounds and “mend the fragmented places inside” that Sue Monk Kidd talks about in another great read The Dance Of The Dissident Daughter. The repression of the values of the feminine have created some real imbalances in men and women alike which are generating some of the real life crisis that are arising now.

“… we have no need for a society of fretful man-children and women-children who are divided into hostile “feminist” and “men’s movement” camps, continually tossing stones at one another.” Dr Eric E.Svoboda in Ayurveda for Women

But it won’t be enough to re-ignite the feminine. Again this is all about balance and harmony of both the feminine and masculine – supporting both equally in their more honourable expressions out in society and firstly within ourselves. The work begins at home.