Reclaiming your Sacred Femininity
“Reclaiming the feminine. It is about reclaiming our intuition, the voice that speaks in the dark. About reconnecting with the one who reveals herself in the moonlight, in the whispers of dead leaves crackling under our feet. She, the impermanent One, shining in the eyes of a newborn child and in the creases of an old man’s hands. She, the force of change. Powerful beyond measure. Forever untamed. We must accept her in the fullness of her glory, fierce and gentle, soft and wild. Only thus will we be showered with the grace of Her presence. And to do that, we must start by remembering that we are also made of flesh and bone, that we have the capacity to know by feeling, to know through this amazing body of ours.”
— The Heart of the Labyrinth
Growing up as a woman in the west, I have been taught that I am empowered, equal to men and have true freedom. As a little girl I never thought there was any inequality between the masculine and the feminine, it is only as a fully grown woman that I , like many others , have come to the disturbing realization that we, even in the west, live in a masculine dominated society. The symptoms of this masculine dominated society may seem irrelevant and small at first glance but once you take a closer look it becomes blatantly obvious that we still have a long way to go in order to achieve true equality.
Now, I am not solely talking about the obvious like that for example in most industries women are still being paid less than their male counterparts and that in many industries females are still underrepresented, but would like to address the fact that “femininity” or traditionally feminine qualities(divine femininity) are seen as less worthy in our society than masculine qualities(divine masculinity) meaning that the energetic balance between the divine masculine (yang) and the divine feminine (ying) are out of balance.
Some divine masculine traits include logic, reason, firmness, action, survival and discipline while some divine feminine traits include emotions, nurturing, flexibility, healing, and creativity. Now obviously most of us are a mix of both divine masculine and divine feminine qualities, however, in order to succeed in the society we live in, we are conditioned to value the divine masculine qualities more than the divine feminine qualities.
This imbalance has led to a subconscious suppression of our divine feminie qualities for many of us, whether male or female, which can yet again make us as individuals feel “ out of balance” or even depressed. Just ask yourself what are some of your own qualities that you have been praised the most for (by society) and whether they would fall into the divine masculine or divine feminine category? Most of us will find that they have gotten more praise for their masculine qualities.
Embracing our divine femininity and divine feminine aspects while living in a masculine dominated world is more important than ever. There are many ways in which we can activate or practise our divine femininity, so here are some ideas of how you can embrace, awaken and practice your divine feminine side.
1. Feel your feelings
In a male dominated society, emotional connection and release are often portrayed as weaknesses leading to many of us trying to oppress or run from our feelings. It is important to accept, fully feel and release our feelings. Living through our emotions fully and allowing us to feel them without shame and judgment plays an important part in embracing our divine femininity. If you are the type who often suppresses your emotions this is easier said than done. Try to set aside 10 minutes each day in which you simply sit down and reflect on how you are feeling. Maybe grab a piece of paper and write down what kinds of emotions you are feeling that day. If you feel “ nothing” this is a huge sign of repressed emotions and that you have numbed yourself down emotionally. In this case I recommend trying to describe this “nothing” you feel. What does it feel like to feel nothing? Does feeling nothing have a color? Do any visuals come to mind? Slowly you will be able to discover and release some of these hidden feelings.
2. Connect with your body
Being connected with, honoring and nurturing your body is another way to embrace your divine femininity. Being connected with your body can mean that you engage in movement which feels good for your body and which your body craves such as for example dance, yoga or swimming. For this specific purpose of body connectedness through movement it is important that you engage in activities which you truly crave , feel good and make you happy, not physical activities which you feel you must do or you ought to do. For example if I love to dance but end up spending more time in the gym rather than dancing because I feel the societal pressure of looking a certain way this wouldn’t be an example of connecting with my body through movement(Unless I was someone who truly craves and enjoys the gym which I know some people do). Another way of being connected with our body is nurturing it with delicious healthy food and plenty of water. It is hard to feel your best and to feel good in your body if you don’t eat well. In my opinion putting loads of unhealthy foods into your body is a gesture of not loving and respecting your body. Nurturing yourself is an important aspect of connecting with your divine femininity.
A third way of connecting with your body is how you think about your body ( Talk to your body). If you constantly think negatively of your body and or are even ashamed of it this doesn’t resonate very well with being well connected with your body. I am well aware, that especially as women, we can have a hard time accepting our bodies the way they are, because after all we’ve been bombarded with ridiculous beauty standards throughout our whole lives. Something that has really helped me with appreciating my body and being kind to it has been to take the focus away from “ what my body looks like'' onto “ how well it functions and serves it’s purpose”. This means that I am grateful every day to have a well functioning, healthy body which enables me to be alive on this planet. I have feet that carry me where I want to go, I have amazing functional hands and I have eyes which function perfectly taking in the beauty of this world on a daily basis.
3. Tapping into your creativity
Explore your creativity and allow yourself to create. The divine feminine is naturally creative as it creates life. Make being creative a priority in your life by setting aside some time each week to do something creative. If you don’t consider yourself a “creative person” and can’t think of anything to create, sign up for an art class/ photography class/ sculpting /pottery/ singing/learn a new instrument - the possibilities are endless. The point is to express yourself and let your divine feminine energy flow through you by creating and being creative. At the end of the day we are all creative beings and many of us perhaps embraced our creative side when we were children but as we get older we often find that “creativity” isn’t a valuable skill. Just how many times have you heard statements such as “ creativity won’t bring you any money” or “ starving artist” or “ don’t study art you’ll never make money”. It doesn’t come as a surprise that many of us have given up our creative sides in adulthood when society has led us to believe how utterly invaluable creativity is. We need to unlearn this negativity around being creative and make space in our lives to create.
4. Embrace your intuition
From a very young age we are conditioned to listen to others rather than listening to our own intuition. As adults many of us have difficulty trusting our “ gut feeling” because it has been so instilled within us by society to not think for ourselves but rather to follow other people’s directions and adapt other people’s opinions. Divine femininity is all about trusting your intuition and going with your impulse. Now for many of us going with our intuition may not feel natural but there are practices which can help you find more trust within yourself such as meditation and reflecting on your true feelings. Intuition is all about getting “out of your head” and rational state of mind and into a much deeper level of knowing and understanding. If I am faced with a difficult decision and I want to embrace my intuition in the matter I take a deep breath, close my eyes and place my hands on my heart. I then envision the situation, visualize both possible outcomes and ask myself which one “ feels better” without bringing in the rational judgment of the mind. It often becomes very clear to me what feels right after doing this. Now I am not saying that you should never rationally assess situations and decisions because there are definitely moments when it is important to do so, however trusting ourselves and our intuition is an important skill which can help us feel grounded and more confident while embracing our divine femininity.
5. Spending time in Nature
Spending time in nature and connecting with nature can help us tap into our divine femininity. Earth itself represents “ the mother” and the Divine feminine. She is home to us all and nourishes us. Only sadly we haven’t been treating her very well. Many of us are very disconnected from nature and from living in balance with nature. I am well aware that in modern life it is difficult to have a proper connection with nature, especially for those who live in urban environments. I believe the less connection we have with nature, the less we tend to respect it. So the first step to a harmonious relationship with nature is to spend time in it. If you can’t do so, I recommend “creating nature” around you. Buy some plants and set them up around your apartment, plant some fresh herbs in a pot, grow some veggies in your garden or allotment if you have one. Personally I love spending time in nature and feel that she deeply nourishes me, builds me back up and heals me. I truly feel the connection between tapping into my divine femininity and spending time in nature. The earth awakens her, makes her dance.
I hope some of these ideas of how to embrace your divine feminine have resonated with you and that you’ll enjoy tapping more into your feminine energy with these practices. Remember that neither masculine or femine is good or bad, they are neutral and both needed to have balance in this world. Sadly the world we currently live is more dominated by the masculine which is why it is so important to embrace and tap into our divine feminine.
