I have to start by clarifying that when one talks about "Masculine" or "Feminine" in regards to energy, it isn't meant to be gendered as male and female or Man and Woman. It is simply referring to the extreme sides to the pendulum swing of the type of energies to exist within all creatures and systems of the universe. It incorporates and entire spectrum of vibes in every dimension and level. The imbalance of these energies are felt from the individual within their own Self and expanding all the way out into communities and societies. This is what we will be talking about here. In this episode of the podcast, I outline the significance of balance within and without.
Ancient cultures often refer to these archetypes as Masculine and Feminine characters of their folklore and mythology. Every culture is different, but similar in how those energies are expressed. A lot of them will refer to the ruling forces of the Sun and Moon. Mostly, not always, the Sun refers to a divine Masculine character and the moon that rules the tide and women's cycles are the Divine Feminine. If you'll allow me to use these symbols as a demonstration of imbalance, it would help in understanding why we need and cannot tolerate each. If the Sun were not present, we would have non of the life and growth on our planet. We can all agree to the usefulness of the Sun and how it makes us feel, especially with its absence for great lengths of time. In the hemispheres of the earth that experience darkness for months at a time, or ecosystems with cloudy and rainy weather, the very mood is a shift towards depressed. However, too much Sun and it will scorch a burn the earth with no hope for life and growth to survive and thrive.
The Masculine energy is often associated with the Sun because it coincides with productivity. It is on a daily and yearly cycle. In Summer Months, humans are prone to work harder and longer. Energy is high, so we we use that energy to maximize prophet, production, and efficiency. I experienced this while visiting Alaska in Summer. The strangeness of seeing people out and about, mowing their lawns at 10pm in daylight quickly calibrated the longer I was there. I felt invigorated and easily stayed active on only 6 hours of sleep!
Feminine energy is often associated with Moon because it represents a monthly cycle. It represents the darkness, state of rest, and pregnancy. I say pregnancy metaphorically, not literally. When the Empress card comes up in a reading, it is a feminine card with a pregnant woman figure. I often take this message to mean, "Honor the gestation period". Not all productivity and power look like the masculine way. So much "work" happens unseen. No one is telling a pregnant woman to "Hurry up, get to work! You are supposed to be growing a baby and your just SITTING there!" That is because physical or mental labor isn't necessary to grow a baby. Care and nurturing and allowing natural flow to happen is what is needed.
You don't have to be a mystic to understand that our most recent societies have often favored the Masculine energy over the Feminine. We can see the imbalance in the way work places and corporations and Capitalism are driven by profits so much more so than impact. The more we step away from honoring the Feminine Power, the more out of balance our entire world leans toward collapse and destruction. Humans have not taken enough consideration in the impact of innovation and technology on our Earth, on our fellow Kin, and the future of our planet. Families struggle to keep up and squeeze in any time for Self Care, Rest and relaxation, stillness, quality time together to connect, and all the missing parts that need to be prioritized just as much.
As the society at large (governments, policies, corporations, etc) prioritizes the Masculine values over balance, so it effects every individual. When every person feels pressured to be constantly productive and outward thinking, we pass that onto the next generation. Each generation gathers anxiety and self image issues, patterns of co-dependency, and depression trying to keep up and constantly burning out. The work begins on an individual level as we work to effect change in our society as a whole. This means that no matter what GENDER or sex you identify, to deny the feminine within is to reject a very important part of the SELF. Man, woman, non-binary, etc. needs to prioritize balance to achieve wholeness. Some ancient matriarchal societies (see Egyptian societies before the Patriarchal Ra) were shown to revere individuals that embraced both masculine and feminine identities as as the most enlightened beings among humans.
The good news, most experts agree we are in the midst of a "Feminine Awakening". The generations of children born as Indigo and Rainbow children are standing up against the harm that toxic Masculinity and toxic Masculine systems have caused us. We are activists for change when we put the To Do list aside for a day and rest. "Mental Health" days as a sick day at work are becoming commonplace. Of course, older generations are extremely resentful that this change looks like laziness and calls us "Snowflakes". We are simply working to bring balance.
This brings up the subject of Ecofeminism. This is the concept that we treat the earth and land as we do the feminine aspect of ourselves and each other. As the ancient Celtic people believed, the land itself was treated as that of the Lady or Mother. The term Mother Earth or Motherland is derived from this idea. When we participate in the concept of animism, it shifts our relationship with the land and its creatures from objects to kin. This kinship with land deserves a respect like we would show our equals and family members. The King of a land would have a sacred marriage ceremony at Beltane that he would marry a woman (engage in fertility rites, most likely) as she stood as a symbol of the Goddess and land itself. His vows were to respect and honor the LAND. As we have evolved to treating land as our own God-Given right to own and use and abuse for profit, we've veered away from treating the land with the respect our own Ancient Mother deserves.
It has been really interesting to study religious influences on cultures all over the world. Some Christian scholars believe that the Atonement of Jesus Christ was NOT his dying, but in the sacred union he held with Mary Magdalene as a partner. The Celtic Kings in mythology were often told in stories with a Queen or Sovereignty Goddess that played the role of the union with the King and granted his authority. If the king proved unworthy or incapable, the Queen or Goddess plays the role of stripping him of his sovereignty. The Sacred Union of Masculine and Feminine are represented in these stories as a symbol of the energies existing within oneself. When you as an individual come into balance, you can establish a path to ascending vibration to align with enlightenment.
Feminism is a movement to bring about equality in society. The feminist movement does not seek to bring power to the feminine only or even to only women. It is a advocacy for all individuals and societies to raise up Feminine energy as an equal priority. Men and individuals that think "feminism" is a bad word or are threatened by anything feminine or not purely masculine (LBGQT+) need to understand the role they play in their own destruction. Getting triggered and threatened by the feminine power is and only shows unhealed parts of the soul.
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