Embrace Your Feminine

As we celebrate Mother's Day it's a good time to consider our femininity. The history of celebrating mothers goes back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals to honour their mother goddesses. The modern precedent is the early Christian festival known as "Mothering Sunday."

This article invites you to reflect on mothers and mothering and as part of that reflection explore the feminine within each of us, regardless of gender.

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung proposed the idea of feminine/masculine archetypes. In Jungian theory, women have a contra sexuality that's masculine in nature, which he called the animus and men have a contra sexuality that is feminine in nature, which he called the anima. In Jung's theory the anima and animus relates to our Soul or inner life as the divine energy force that animates us.

Part of the angst of being female in our modern culture is the eternal paradox: the nature of the Yin (female) is to yield, while the nature of the Yang (male) is to dominate. As modern woman has worked to develop her inner masculine in order to be successful in the paid work world, she is at risk of losing her subjectivity and the guidance of her Soul/Essence. It can be alluring to give ourselves over to the dynamic and loud masculine energy when it's so prominent around us. (Source: I Sit Listening to the Wind by Judith Duerk).

The masculine dominance and drive for power by many current world leaders represses feminine energy. It reduces freedom and undermines opportunities for peaceful outcomes. This has become alarming to many of us, both men and women.

The world needs strong Feminine energy. We need voices to reinforce the virtues that are essential if we are to live in peace with one another: compassion, tolerance, faithfulness, honesty, respect, and service. Our culture desperately needs the vision and courage of Feminine energy to counter the twisted way in which our societies are heading.

As a mother of sons and a grandmother of granddaughters and grandsons, I bear witness to the fact that feminine energy exists within each of us regardless of gender or gender identity. And I believe we need an infusion of that Feminine everywhere.

This Mother's Day how will you embrace your Feminine and be counted as a force for good!

I'd love to hear from you,

       Kathleen