The Resurgence of the Feminine Today
Over the last sixty years there have been certain events which herald a change of consciousness comparable to that which took place in twelfth century Europe with the building of the great cathedrals in honour of the Virgin Mary and the pilgrimages to the sites held sacred to the Black Madonna, but this time round, the change of consciousness is not confined to Europe but involves the whole world.
The theme of the lost Feminine Value weaves like a golden thread through the mythology, poetry and literature of Western civilization, waiting to be redeemed at this present time when so much is at stake.
Like a multi-faceted diamond, there are many aspects to the emerging influence of the Feminine. All are contributing to the healing of the long-standing dissociation between spirit and nature during the solar era.
Each is intrinsic to a psychic impulse which might be called the recovery of the soul—an evolutionary impulse arising from the very heart of humanity and perhaps even from the heart of the cosmos. I mean recovery in two senses: first, the sense of something that was ailing, diminished or neglected being restored to health; secondly, the sense of something of great value being recovered.
A Reorientation of Consciousness
The influence of the Feminine is responsible for the growth of the Environmental Movement; for the determination to free women in every culture from their long oppression and encourage their increased participation in society; for the interest in the so-called non-rational; for many new approaches to healing both psyche and body. It is reflected in the mounting revulsion for our weapons of mass destruction; in compassion for the helpless victims of our addiction to war; in the engagement of hundreds of thousands of people in the work of helping both the planet and the victims of oppression. These different channels of influence are creating new perspectives on life, new ways of connection that bring together body, soul, mind and spirit.
The recovery of the Feminine invites a reorientation of consciousness, a receptivity not only to the events occurring in the external world but a receptivity to the long-ignored voice of the Soul.
All this is being accelerated by the connections between people facilitated by the Internet and by online organizations like Avaaz which now has many millions of subscribers. The activation of the Feminine is helping us to relate to the deep cosmic source of our psychic life and draw up the living waters from those depths. This enormous shift challenges every aspect of our beliefs. It immeasurably deepens and broadens our perspective on our presence on this planet. It gives deeper meaning to our lives. It is changing everything.
A new Understanding of the Instinctive Intelligence
It may be that the new epoch we are entering will see the birth of a very different image of God or Spirit, a new understanding of the instinctive intelligence within the processes and patterns of nature, and how the unseen or inner dimension of reality influences and interacts with this physical dimension.
This new understanding may help us to recover an authentic spirituality that takes us beyond religious and secular beliefs into a new sense of relationship with a sacred Earth and an ensouled Cosmos.
From our work on The Myth of the Goddess and its last chapter that Jules and I called “the Sacred Marriage”, I know that this emerging phase in the story of our species could herald an evolutionary advance as Spirit and Nature are reunited and humanity enters into a conscious relationship and partnership with life, seeking to serve it with insight, compassion and wisdom.