Posts in category: Divine Feminine

We’ve all heard a lot about the Divine Feminine as women have become more aware of how the connection to the “goddess within” empowers them, but what has happened to men’s awareness? Have they been so ensconced in their patriarchal positions that they haven’t needed to connect to divine masculine archetypes? Men, it seems to many women, have been the problem in their lives, not their divine counterparts.

Before the Western world congealed around the big three patriarchal religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—there were multiple gods and goddesses. Both had their roles, and both were divine reflections for men and women. Early Jewish tradition included the worship of the goddess Ashera along with the male Yahweh. Early Christianity gave far more importance to Mary Magdalene as the disciple Jesus loved best, before her subsequent demotion as a prostitute would indicate. When God became a distant, jealous, and vengeful male deity, women were relegated to supporting or demeaning roles.

In the last decades, the goddess traditions have come into their own for many women. And as these women grow stronger in their self-esteem and honor the divinity within themselves, they look around and wonder where the men are who will accompany them on their journey toward wholeness. What would those men be like? Even more than that, what does the divine masculine look like—in both men and women? Let’s take a brief look at the archetypal energies of the divine masculine, which include the King, Priest, Sage, Warrior, and Lover.

The King (in his fullness) has unyielding strength of character and inspires and unites his realm, which he serves alongside his Queen, who is an equal partner. He brings order and safety, combining strength with right action and wisdom. He is a stabilizing force and can calmly support and nurture the well-being of those in his care. He has a transpersonal selflessness, like a kind-hearted father. He knows that everything changes, everything is as it should be, and there is nothing to fear. This benevolent leadership is seen in men like Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and some CEOs of companies that take into account the well-being of their employees as well as the well-being of the planet.

The Priest archetype is that of spiritual awareness directed inward—the insight needed to aid in the enlightenment of the self. He facilitates between the physical and spiritual worlds, between the personality and the Spirit. He knows how to transmute energies and to reach a higher perspective. He is not pushed or pulled by inner or outer storms.

The Sage is closely aligned with the Priest, but adds the aspect of dharma, right action. He is detached from the flow of ordinary life, choosing to be wise about whatever is needed for harmony. He is connected with spirit while staying grounded in his connection with the earth, the source of his wisdom. While the Priest is focused inwardly, the Sage’s service is outward, manifesting the wisdom he channels.

The Warrior archetype is the most honored by the mainstream patriarchal society, but not in his fullness. The true warrior is a protector, not an invader. A true warrior has the courage to serve the highest good, even when it challenges him personally. In other words, he is loyal to the greater good beyond any chance of personal gain. He fights “the good fight”—the inner battle with his own ego. He makes you feel safe, not oppressed by his protection.

The Lover is a primal archetype, often misunderstood. In his fullness, the Lover is a man of heart and wisdom, combining Eros and Spirit—the urge to bond and unite. He is passionately engaged with life and interested in all forms of sensuality without shame. You can touch his mind, body, and soul. He appreciates beauty in all its forms. He may be a good husband and father, or head a non-profit working to heal the world.

Wholeness, of course, doesn’t separate the divine masculine and the divine feminine into the male and female genders. Wholeness requires that both our inner feminine and our inner masculine are balanced. It’s not just men who need to honor the divine feminine within themselves as well as in their women, but women also need to honor the divine masculine in themselves as well as in their fathers, husbands, sons, and lovers. Let us evolve in consciousness so we transcend the duality of male and female and honor both Isis and Osiris, Radha and Krishna, Mary and Jesus, yin and yang as they live within us in harmony and balance and true divine love.

Isis is a goddess who is a totally timeless expression of the Divine Feminine; she is as relevant today as she was in ancient times. Devoted to empowering others, Isis supports the awakening of humanity as we head into a new World Age. She brings value and respect to the roles of wife and mother, is the patron of magic, nature, and healing, and is considered a protector of the dead. As a matter of fact, the singer Rihanna recently had a very large tattoo done below her breasts of Isis with her wings outstretched as a tribute to her late grandmother. It is said that Isis stretches her wings over the foot of the casket to protect the dead.

Her compassion, love, and tenderness have made her especially dear to women throughout time. As the protector of women, Isis helped women in childbirth and comforted women when their loved ones died. She shows us that women have great reservoirs of strength and inspiration.

Isis reconnects us with our innate healing powers, and so is beloved by healers. She supports everyone’s quest to reclaim their individual power and take responsibility for their healing journey. She shows us our ability to heal ourselves and to heal others. Isis can help to awaken your healing abilities and healing intuition, your ability to communicate with the physical body and to intuit any needs you may have for healing. She empowers you to use the healing power of love and gratitude and to raise the energy level of the physical body by connecting to Source.

In the myths of ancient Egypt, Isis and her brother/husband Osiris were the divine rulers of the gods. Overcome by envy and seeking to gain more power and control, her brother Set killed Osiris. Everything Isis does is done with great power and intention. Her grief over the death of her husband was so great that it was said her tears of sorrow caused the Nile to flood. Isis is actually one of a very few deities that have wings in Egyptian mythology, which in her case may represent the wind. In the Osiris legend it is said that Isis wailed and moaned like the wind. These days, we often conceal our grief, and are expected back at work the day after a funeral. We have forgotten how to mourn, how to honor the process of grieving. Isis reminds us that grief is a powerful part of our experience in life and should not be repressed. Grief that is not expressed can eventually become physical illness.

The basis of the Isis-Osiris myth is the wheel of life, death, and rebirth, with Isis as the Giver of Life as well as the Queen of the Underworld and the Guide to the Dead—representing the deep mysteries of the feminine ability to create and to bring forth life, even from death. Isis couldn’t accept the death of Osiris and used her abilities to resurrect him, at least long enough to conceive their child Horus, who became the God of the Sun as Isis was Goddess of the Moon. When Set “killed” Osiris a second time, Isis collected the remains and performed the very first embalming.

Isis is also known as the Lady of the Words of Power. In another myth, Isis tricks Ra, the God of the Sun, into revealing his secret name by making a snake bite him, and she is the only one who can cure him. Ra was an uncaring deity, and the world suffered under his reign. When Isis uttered his secret name, Ra was healed, but she was able to claim his powers of life and death and soon became the most powerful of the Egyptian gods and goddesses, using her powers to benefit the people. Once she had his secret name, she had the power to manifest and create with words. So Isis reminds us of the power of our words and cautions us to choose our words carefully. Isis often is implored to “use the true name of Ra” during rituals.

Not much survives about the ancient Egyptian rituals for Isis, but it is clear that both priests and priestesses officiated at her cult. By the Greco-Roman era, many of her priests and priestesses were considered to be healers with special powers, which included the interpretation of dreams and the ability to control the weather by braiding or not combing their hair (the Egyptians believed knots had magical powers).

Isis had a central role in Egyptian magic spells and ritual, especially those of protection and healing. When her son Horus was wounded, she healed him with the power of her milk, and that became a standard feature of Isis’s healing spells that invoked the curative powers of the milk of Isis. As a healer, Isis also used spells, a healing rod, and sacred rattles and cymbals. Together with the god Thoth, she taught mankind the secrets of medicine.

The ancient Egyptian goddess has many gifts to share with modern men and women and is a symbol of the return of the Divine Feminine. Isis embodies the strengths of the feminine, the capacity to feel deeply about relationships, and the source of sustenance and protection.
The myth of Isis and Osiris also remind us of the need for renewal and reconnection in our relationships, as well as a reminder to acknowledge and accept our emotions.

July 22^nd is the Feast of Mary Magdalene and a good time to celebrate the archetype of the Divine Feminine. Actually, you could call the Magdalene the first feminist as well as the first and foremost of the disciples. Mary Magdalene is one of my spiritual guides, and a powerful presence!

Forget the story you heard of her being a prostitute. Even the Vatican has recanted on that one, although it took them until the 1960s to admit her image as a prostitute was not supported by the text of the Bible. An early pope, Pope Gregory the Great, mixed up Mary Magdalene with another New Testament woman who was a reformed prostitute, thus prompting the legend.

Serious researchers have been busy with various early Christian Gnostic texts, called “codices” that date to the second century. One fragment from a surviving codex is from the Gospel of Mary, where she tells the disciples about a vision she had of Jesus. Peter questions that Jesus would “speak privately with a woman and not openly to us?” Levi tells Peter to cool his hot temper and stop railing against Mary like an adversary—“If the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her?”

Indeed, the rock upon which the Church was built, Peter, and the men who changed the Gospels and the New Testament to suit their own purposes all rejected women. But it’s starting to be clear that Mary Magdalene was an important figure among the disciples, that she may have been a wealthy woman whose funds supported the ministry of Jesus in Galilee, and that she played a pivotal role as the first witness to the Resurrection. It also seems to be true that she went to live in France after the crucifixion and died there after many decades spent as a hermit in a cave.

Of course, the big question raised by Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code, remains unanswerable—whether or not she was the wife of Jesus and bore him a child, making her the Holy Grail, the depository of the blood of Christ. There are those who believe the Wedding at Cana was their wedding, and that Jesus supplied the wine, as was customary for the groom.

As time goes on, we will have more information from codices like the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Acts of Peter. Mary plays an important role in all three, and is often seen as the only one of the disciples to ask intelligent questions instead of being confused. It’s said over and over that Jesus loves her more than any of the others because of her spiritual understanding.

Rather than being the sinner who was redeemed by the love of Jesus, Mary comes off as one of the leaders of the early Gnostic Christians. But the Church is still reluctant to grant her too much of an uplifted status. If indeed Mary was such a potent female among the disciples, the traditional argument for an all-male priesthood gets shot down, and it becomes clearer that the role of women like Mary was eliminated as much as possible from the Bible.

One fascinating study mentions that the Hebrew word the Essenes used for their priestesses was Kedushah, which literally means feminine holiness, or holy woman. Unlike the Essenes, mainstream Judaism did not permit women to be priests. In mainstream Judaism, the term Kedushah is a slur against women who would enter the priesthood, conveying the idea that such a woman is a harlot. So the word means both a holy female devotee and harlot. We see where the confusion about Mary Magdalene could have come in.

My hope is that Mary will continue to be resurrected as a holy woman, the essence of feminine holiness, the one who never deserted Jesus as he went through his trials. And some day, perhaps, women in general will get the respect they deserve as the true holy grails of feminine wisdom and spirituality.