We are nearing the end of the festival known as Navaratri, the nine nights (and ten days) in celebration of the Divine Feminine. Each of the nine nights is dedicated to different forms of the goddess Durga. Western culture has evolved around a patriarchal system which has distorted the definition of the Feminine. In honor of this beautiful festival, I’d like to share a bit about its true meaning. The Feminine is not weak Unlike the archetype of the damsel in distress we’ve all been fed over the years, the Goddess Durga, which Navaratri honors, is no fainting princess. Riding a tiger or a lion, she embodies the female warrior. She or any other form of Divine Feminine is not subordinate to the Masculine. In the Vedic world view, the Feminine is extremely powerful, in some ways, even more powerful than the Masculine. It is even said to be the Feminine in the form of Kali who dissolves the Universe at the end of time. From now on if someone says you throw like a girl, you can respond with, “thank you.” Everyone is Feminine In our dualistic society, there’s black and white, right and wrong, male and female. The truth is, everyone and everything has masculine and feminine qualities. While women in general tend to embody the Feminine more and men the Masculine, this is not a rule and we all have both within us. Healthy relationships have a balance of feminine and masculine energies regardless of if the union is between a woman and a man, a man and a man or a woman and a woman or between non-binary individuals. Masculine and Feminine are not in opposition Men aren't from Mars and women from Venus, it's more like they're on different sides of the same planet. When unified consciousness curves to manifest, it makes a wave. The masculine and feminine are two sides of that same wave–Shiva and Shakti. The masculine is defined as “pure knowledge and the feminine means “infinite organizing power.” One is pure consciousness and the other is the elaboration of that consciousness. One penetrates, the other envelops. In balance, they honor and support each other. The Feminine has many facets Have you ever noticed how women tend to wear a thousand hats? They can do tasks and be so many roles at once. The reason the Divine Feminine is depicted by so many goddesses and even versions of the same goddess in the Vedic tradition is because the Feminine has so many qualities. It is protective, soft, nurturing, creative, supportive, collaborative, sensual, kind, compassionate, wise, fierce, terrifying, mothering, disciplinary and most of all, loving.
My little goddesses