Feminine Energy and Mother Earth - response to Australian Bushfires
We sat in circle this afternoon to delve into the theme of Mother Earth and the Feminine. The theme was chosen in direct response to the energy that’s around us right now, and I drew on a few poignant aspects:
Astrologically: The first circle of the year fell on the cusp of the first full moon for the year and the decade, and also the penumbral lunar eclipse, a partial eclipse.
From an astrological or esoteric stand point, the full moon represents a time of heightened energy and the shining of light onto the areas of dark. This means that it’s a time when we can best identify what we don’t need, what holds us back from being our true or higher selves. An eclipse is believed to be a harbinger of change. All in all they culminate in an emotionally charged and turbulent time when emotions can get a little heightened. These times are necessary and cyclical, for things need to rise in order to stabilise. But it does require us to embrace change in the name of healing.
The eclipse falls in the sign of Cancer, which is believed to be the sign of the mother. The lunar eclipse then calls us to mother and nurture ourselves.
Environmentally: In Australia we are caught in raging bushfires, as is the Amazon, and there are other areas of the world facing heightened climate and natural disasters. We can’t escape them and the earth, Mother Nature is really asking for attention. The bushfires in Australia are really asking the nation to look more closely at our relationship with the earth. There has been obvious disconnection. We’ve been acting like the natural resources are something at our easy disposal, that her riches are to be freely exploited, and that we can improve her aesthetic with buildings, bridges, twinkling lights and waterparks without consequence. Except there are massive consequences, for even the smallest of actions and purchases and the Earth is suffering under the weight of them. I find these fires in Australia to signify the roaring rage of nature, asking for attention, and calling for action. Mother Nature is purging and cleansing herself, and the fire is bringing light to our destructive and unconscious ways of living and pillaging.
Interpersonal level: We’re also being asked to pay attention to ourselves. The media, being the beast that it is, fuelled the drama around the fires, and not long afterwards social media went crazy. It seemed like over the course of 2 to 3 days everything was hyped. People are still being called to donate, and posts and reposts have been going crazy. It seems like normal social media activity stopped. I think it’s highly unlikely that the fires are so all-consuming to the general public directly unaffected by the fires. Rather, I believe it’s because people fear being judged, or feel guilty for enjoying their lives and moving forward in a time of such desperateness. Of course, the fear is warranted, we have seen backlash, rising toxicity, and judgement.
The calls for donations and fundraising haven’t sat well with me. Partly because the content and coverage on social media seems far out of proportion to the scale of what we are experiencing compared to other emergencies and natural disasters I had seen or been involved in in my previous career as an international development professional; Partly because of the hype which made everything feel so pressured, forced and unnatural, partly because I was witnessing so much emotion and reactivity – not seated in consciousness; Partly because the drive to respond has predominantly focused on monetary needs. Now I’m not saying that people’s efforts are wrong, nor am I saying that the fundraising is not helpful. Rather the community rising up out of this is incredibly beautiful and promising for the future. What I am saying is that this is a time for us to stop and think and feel first. What we feel driven to do, to publicise, or to reflect upon about should come from a place of real connection and intention, from a place seated in consciousness and an awareness of what our gifts are and what we have to offer ourselves, our community, our earth– now, and for the future. Nothing we do should come because of hype, or tugging of emotional heart-strings, reactivity, or pressure.
Energetically – the feminine: Linking directly to all of the above, many of us are feeling fired up right now, and it’s no coincidence. A long time ago the term Mother Earth was of spiritual significance and was spoken with reverence, but then co-opted by the current ideology it became just another synonym for this planet of ours. A long time ago, the mother earth was worshipped – Gaia in Greece, Pachamama in the Inca’s, as was the Goddess and her incarnations and women were equal with men. But then came the rise of the patriarchy whose success balanced on the subjugation of women. With the subjugation of women came the attempted subjugation of mother nature, and for thousands of years man has tried to tame, control and dominate. But it is obvious that neither the feminine, nor nature can be successfully dominated for too long. A shift is happening, the status of women grows every day and the feminine energy and associated traits and values are rising. This shift is coinciding with Mother Nature rearing her head, and it is no coincidence.
While seated in circle we discussed these aspects, and where we each sat in the current climate. We shared the emotions that were coming up for us, the discomfort we felt, the discombobulation, and disconnection. Each coping in various ways, apathy, stress, lost, rage, comfort seeking.
Ritual for Release
We then took cues from the bushfires, and the purification process of Mother Earth as she ready’s for regeneration. Acknowledging that change can be a painful, and can occur during the most turbulent time, but sometimes it is necessarily so. And so we engaged in a ritual to cleanse and release what no longer served us.
As we watched our words burn in the candle flames we released ourselves from the constraints, judgements, fears and limiting beliefs, and cleared the space we need to step into our power.
For fire can be the threshold of birth. Bring to mind the phoenix, who rises from the ashes, transformed and more powerful than before. Bring to mind the green life that shoots forth so brilliantly after the trees and grasses are blackened. Nature will always rise again, as do we.
Rising Again
It is a scary, and uncomfortable time, but it is necessary as it’s waking us up, and breaking spirits of women free to find new images of ourselves, we as women and nature, with mended relationships with each other and with the earth.
As the circle begun to come to a close we naturally cycled back to the feminine energy, and what it is to sit in our feminine. We discussed men, and intimacy, and relationships, and surrendering, and vulnerability, and compassion, and allowing. We discussed how foreign it feels to be in our feminine when we’ve been socialised to believe that it is better for us to step into our masculine and be competitive and independent and rational and strive for success. Being emotional, or soft, or vulnerable, or wild was strongly discouraged and met with disdain. We discussed how being in our masculine for so long means we don’t know how to soften into our feminine, or we are scared to for fear of being overrun by the masculine. This reflects just how much we are out of touch because the feminine energy isn’t weak. It is just different.
We women need to listen to the call to step into our feminine. In doing so we provide the space to men to shed the toxic and distorted masculine energy and step into their true masculine.
For when the feminine is celebrated, and the feminine loves the masculine we have a society of partnership. With this we can let the feminine provide her natural healing, nurturing, caring, compassionate energy for a more harmonious, peaceful existence amongst ourselves, and with Mother Earth.