The Call of the Divine Feminine
What is the Divine Feminine? - By Ceri Lee
Reading time: 4 minutes
Attempting to confine the divine feminine in the construct of words is an impossible task. As an energetic power connecting us to the natural world, she is beyond the written form and can only be truly appreciated when felt. Yet, somehow understanding needs to be conveyed.
The time has come when, as custodians of the planet, the damage that has been inflicted on the earth needs to be reversed, and we can draw upon her qualities as a key towards individual and collective healing.
What is the Divine Feminine?
The divine feminine* is an energy prevalent in all of us that connects us to the earth. She reveals herself in the cool waters of intuitive knowing, through a gentle touch, and the cyclical rhythms of the seasons and moon.
She is mother nature who speaks to us in the whisper of the wind, the scent of a flower, the musicality of bird song, through the powerful eruption of the volcano, a raging tempest, she dances with the majesty of the trees. She is boundless and free, a warrior and healer, in constant fluctuation as the ebb and flow of the ocean.
In ancient cultures she has been given many names such as the Egyptian goddess Isis or Shakti in Hinduism. These goddesses embody the fecundity of creation and hold the mysteries of the celestial realms.
In Welsh folklore Cerridwen, the goddess of poetry and inspiration, archetypal mother, magician, enchantress, and crone is an emblem of wisdom, inspiration, and truth. She embodies the light and dark of the divine feminine and is a powerful force symbolising rebirth, change, and potential.
In the modern world the cyclical energetic force of the divine feminine has been stifled in the hierarchical constructs of society. For many years the western societal paradigm has been governed by patriarchal leadership where women’s talents and efforts have often gone unrecognized.
The power and grace of the divine feminine has been quelled in the frantic quest to achieve power and dominion in societies all over the world. Today we are witnessing the unsustainability of such structures and see these systems beginning to collapse.
It is time to expand our awareness and bring the world into balance. In drawing upon the divine feminine, and holding sacred spaces to listen, learn, and receive her once again, women are valued in mind, body, and soul, and in becoming embodied with the divine feminine may merge with masculine energies to restore equilibrium.
The Circle of Life
From the birth and blossoming of spring, and new growth, we bloom with the flowers of our life in the summer, reaching a peak with vivid sensual colours, before letting go like leaves in the autumn, gracefully caught in the wind returning to the earth, and reabsorbed into the eternal cycle of life and death.
The planets like the seasons move in circles and women are innately connected to the moon with her menstrual cycle. Every month a woman’s body journeys through a birth and death cycle in sync with the waxing and waning of the moon.
From the release of an egg in her monthly cycle, ovulation begins, reaching its peak time for ovulation, and if unfertilised, is then surrendered in the padding of blood and released back to the earth.
A circle has no beginning or no end. It is eternal, beyond space and time, and it is here, in sacred space, that we may connect with the divine.
“In celebrating the Divine feminine, you will know the true beauty of life.” - Sadhguru
Many ancient cultures all over the world were built on the premise of a circle, and still are today in some smaller social groups. Gathering around a fire together, the keepers of knowledge share stories of their culture brought to life in their telling.
Rituals and ceremony were and still are a way to articulate profound experience, support the narrative of their heritage, or act as portals to connect with esoteric mysteries.
The Red Tent women’s circle acknowledges women’s connection to menstruation and the moon cycle. In some cultures, such as the indigenous native Americans, or the nomadic peoples in the middle east from biblical times, tents were erected for the community of women to bleed together, restore energy, and learn from each other in the sharing of stories and crafting skills.
From the time of menarche, young women would be introduced to the tent with women elders as the upholders the wisdom of the feminine mysteries. Red Tents or huts are still used by women during menstruation in some parts of the world yet are not necessarily the sacred spaces as from days of old.
The modern Red Tent phenomenon, inspired by our ancestors, was reinitiated in California in the 1990s with a return to ancient practices embedded with ritual and ceremony built on the premise of a circle.
Guided by hosts or elders experienced in holding space for women, there is no hierarchy. These women are the wisdom keepers who weave the subtle intricacies and sacred crafting of a circle where all beings are equal with the depth of awareness she has absorbed through the tapestry of her life experience.
In the circle we call in the women who have come before us in our bloodline, and who we collectively hold in our hearts, giving space in quiet contemplation to reveal her wisdom.
Women express the truth of their experience through the spoken word or in silence, and that which she chooses to share or not to share is accepted and respected as her truthful expression. The circle is upheld with four key codes of conduct, which when applied invite opportunity for a woman to heal or become enlightened.
Sacred Feminine Codes of Conduct
- We respect confidentiality. What is said in the circle remains in the circle. This is very important as we consider trust a continuing developmental practice.
- We speak authentically from our own experience and never refer to another woman’s story of her experience unless she requests advice or support.
- We actively listen without judgement or interruption, and in this open-minded space respecting her truth, we may find a universal connection beyond the stories that influence our perception and limited understanding.
- We take full responsibility for ourselves and how we show up, with pause for mindful, expansive, and authentic communication of the divine feminine.
Inspired by the modern and ancient Red Tents, The Fire and the Feminine is a seasonal circle in North Wales for those women called to join a community whose hearts and minds, with respect for the earth as for herself, is at the core of this practice.
A space where you will be safely held and gently guided to connect with the divine feminine and discover your own empowering feminine energy to forge and embody a return to wholeness.
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