I used to shy away from the term Sacred Feminine. Three reasons. One: It so often seems to elicit only religious connections for folks. This is fine if that’s your frame of reference for viewing the world and expressing your truth. But if it isn’t, then the term doesn’t resonate and you read no further. Two: Sacred Feminine can be considered New Age-y. Remember New Age? Again, it isn’t bad if that’s your language for seeing the world. It’s just that if it isn’t, then the whole concept can feel wrong or outdated. And three: It’s often linked with white feminism and we certainly don’t need any further separation there.
I’ve tried to find other names for her to avoid alienating and offending. Something that felt neither dated, loosely tethered or biased, nor secular or sacred in the traditional senses. But I’ve given up on the labeling and instead have worked at embodying and expressing my own vision of what she is and how she looks as she walks in the world today, in this NOW age. Here goes…
She walks with an open, honest heart as much as she possibly can. This makes her vulnerable to being seen in full and potentially rejected for who she is. And it makes her very sensitive to the pain and sadness she witnesses as well as the hard truths she learns. It’s so tempting to close her heart to hide herself and stay in her bubble in an effort to get some relief, but she knows that seeing and feeling as well as being seen and felt is critical for everything that follows – connecting, witnessing, allowing, healing.
Connecting. She seeks to understand the layers upon layers of connectedness. Connections between humanity and the world with all its seen and unseen entities. She knows that every move, every thought, every decision affects this intimate, extensive web of connections. And she tries to do whatever feels necessary to remember and really see those connections so she can help repair them when needed.
Witnessing. She’s willing to see everything and everyone and doesn’t push anything away as ‘other’ – not the emotions or behaviors seen in others or in herself, or the thought patterns and beliefs that get settled in cells and bones, or the bias and inequity that lead to injustice. She knows that her purpose is to face and unravel, forgive and heal whatever she sees that gets in the way of connecting.
Allowing. There’s no thinking, no calculating, no balancing, no trying to figure it out. Rather there’s just allowing. Opening to the deep wisdom that is rooted in trusting her intuition and open heart and then following the organic path that results.
Healing and protecting. She seeks to heal and protect with deep compassion and love and a fervent opposition to harmful. Sometimes she does this with firm and uncomfortable self-assessment that elicits both simple and profound personal transformation. Sometimes she does this by marching because loud, firm footsteps are needed to demonstrate truth, shed light on obstacles, jar them loose, and let them fall back together to emerge in a new way. Sometimes she meditates instead and feels the flow of the earth and world and nation – long established, healing in its own way, evolving – offering up her own peace and healing to whomever or wherever it is needed. Sometimes she speaks – quietly or loudly, in written word or voice, choosing her words carefully so as not to diminish or dominate, but rather to serve and heal, sharing what she’s learned and feels to be true. And sometimes she stays quiet and listens with varying intentions – to learn where someone is struggling, to open to something new, to feel an idea ignite or an awareness awaken her so she knows where to reach next.
All of this sacred. And all uniquely feminine. The Sacred Feminine.
This is beautiful, Ellen.