What is the Divine Feminine?

The Divine Feminine is the subject of many conversations and the object of much veneration and worship. What qualities and attributes are revealed in the Divine Feminine? How does she “show up” in the world?

The Divine Feminine represents the supreme level of feminine expression and manifestation in the world. Women who have been subjugated to male thinking and ideals seek models to nurture their natural connection to divine source energy. As men open to their inner feminine aspect, they can reach for this divine ideal to emulate and integrate.

The following is written as embodied by a woman, yet is equally valuable for men to contemplate and integrate these “feminine” qualities into their awareness of their inner feminine -“anima.”

Developing the inner harmonic relationship of the divine masculine-feminine is our evolutionary process finding fruition -none too late for our species survival- for it is through this integration and harmonization that we reach the higher possibility of integrated holistic consciousness. By developing healthy, integrated aspects of the divine masculine and feminine, one drops egoic fetters attached to the soul and ascends to spiraled heights of consciousness and new expressions of being.

Goddess, Queen, Priestess, Warrioress, Lover, Wise Woman
The Divine Feminine comprises a group of archetypal energies that drive one’s consciousness and felt sense of being. SHE is “anima,” the spark of inspiration, catalyst of change, siren of desire. There are many “feminine” archetypes present in the psyche/soul, six have been chosen to represent those with the strongest influence and most importance to our psycho-spiritual evolution. With conscious “feeding” of these archetypes other weaker energies are passively nurtured to fullness.

Those seeking to discover and “grow into” their expression of the Divine Feminine will want to contemplate the full-expression of these archetypes and perceive how these show up in their life. One way to do this is to study and ponder at length each archetype description seeking its current expression in one's life and discovering new aspects to incorporate into one's mind set. New aspects can be integrated by imagining what it would feel like to think or behave in this new way and see what circumstances or opportunities already exist that could be positively affected by adopting these higher concepts, principles and motivations.

The Goddess connects one to a constantly shifting transcendent flow of possibility and newness. She inspires one’s soul to new heights of expression and connection with life in its magnitude and fullness.

The Goddess archetype is the transcendent, connected-to-all-that-is, aspect of self. SHE resonates transpersonal, harmonious love for everyone and all beings. The Goddess archetype is the domain of spirituality, mystical experience and intuition.

Expressing this archetype in its fullness feels like this:

She is a leader who is gracious and welcoming by being a shining example of higher possibility for love and compassion. While she is the originator of ideas and solutions she seeks collaboration and consensus in their outworking and manifestation.

The woman in the state of fullness of the Goddess shows up as compassionate, welcoming, creative, non-judgmental, open, heart-centered, spiritually focused, supportive, inspirational, erotic, loving.


Queen (Mother)
Perhaps the strongest archetype, and most over-whelmed with expectation and duty, is the Queen (and/or Mother). It is she who is the authority and stewardess of the “living space” and primary care-giver of progeny.

To give birth is the most profound accomplishment one may experience, life giving life, nurturing and guiding this life into self-sufficiency and fullness of physical/mental/spiritual being. The most significant relationship one has is with the mother of one’s birth. No other bond is as close as this in connection, attachment, and enmeshment.

It is the Queen who brings order and blessing, benevolence and fertility, strength and balance, compassion and unconditional love. While the Goddess archetype is the Creatrix -inspiring vision and imagination, the Queen births the idea/vision/inspiration and actively looks to its growth and manifestation into existence—being the steward of these.

The Queen archetype is the domain of material manifestation, family, “kingdom” (your sphere of life influence including your relationship to individuals and physical locations: home, neighborhood, community, city, state, country, world), also material wealth and abundance.

Expressing the fullness of the Queen archetype feels like this:
She is concerned with the well-being and happiness of her “household.” She is a nurturing, stabilizing and calming influence in all circumstances that supports the highest good and fulfillment of those in her “household.”

Her demeanor is “seasoned” and carries wisdom with it, not adolescent, fickle, impulsiveness. Her wisdom carries a transpersonal selflessness. She is benevolent, evenhanded, calm, strong, caring, present, passionate.

The Priestess has a magical connection to the unknown, the void of creation, source energy. She is the trans-connector, the facilitator, between the material and the spiritual, the mediator of powerful energies that make up the being that we are. The Priestess calls forth, transmutes and directs energies between unconscious and conscious awareness, affecting our material and spiritual felt sense of being.

A woman in the fullness of the Priestess archetype feels like this:
She is the master of her spiritual and material realities showing a confidence of bearing that knows how to call forth from spiritual storehouses what is needed to transmute, transduce, transform energies that would overtake or topple other women not in this fullness.

She is thoughtful, reflective, having depth to her presence and intellect. She knows how to detach from inner and outer storms and how to connect deep inner truths and resources with her experience of life. She sees a higher possibility and attunes to its resonance. She is not easily pushed or pulled around by faddish influences but brings power and confidence to difficult situations requiring change or shifting -with grace and insight.

The woman in the fullness of the Priestess archetype is transpersonally engaging with others, serving their need for love and acceptance and spiritual grounding through her presence and expression/interaction. She serves expansive consciousness, a higher possibility and the greater good with humility and grace, not from Egoic desire for prominence or position.

Warrioress
The Warrioress archetype is the least represented and understood archetype for women —being misapplied and distorted due to the dominant patriarchal society. A healthy expression of warrioress is met with condemnation, judgment, and belittling by male contraction and immature reaction.

Warrioress qualities are: decisiveness and clarity of thought, selfless service, genuine humility, strength of experiential “knowing,” courage to do what is “right” even when it is a personal challenge to do so, maintaining and supporting established systems and forms without rigidity, loyal to a greater good beyond personal gain.

She is detached while under challenge maintaining a warm and compassionate, appreciative and generous connection to whom she serves. She fights “the good fight” in favor of benefiting the greater good and making life more fulfilling for everyone.

A Warrioress in her fullness feels like this:

She “knows herself” and finds her place in collaborative projects, finding fulfillment and contentment in collaboration without ambition and competition. The woman in the fullness of the Warrioress makes you feel “safe” while not being oppressed by her protection. She is decisive and quick to respond while also being in control of her Ego.

The Lover archetype has been contorted into a selfish and dense expression that lacks breadth or spirit. Yet the Lover is the meeting and combining of sex and spirit, Eros, the universal urge to bond and unite. More so than the male gender, Woman naturally, organically, comprises the alchemy that infuses spirit into flesh with desire—prompting sensual engagement and erotic expression. While most commonly expressed in romantic and sexual form, the Lover archetype also contains a much fuller, divine, expression.

The Lover archetype in its fullness is the primal energy of passion, exquisite engagement with life and ecstatic being: an alive and vivid world view. The domain of the Lover archetype is the primal urges of being: sex, food, well-being, procreation and is manifested in creative adaptation and initiatory experience.

The Lover is the epitome of Sensual. She exudes sensuality in her mood, look, walk, bearing, and engagement. She is intimately interested in all forms of sensory contact, experiencing the world in all its splendor. She is the archetype of play and healthy erotic embodiment without shame.

Those seeking to discover and “grow into” their expression of the Divine Masculine will want to contemplate the full-expression of these archetypes and perceive how these show up in their life. One way to do this is to study and ponder at length each archetype description seeking its current expression in one's life and discovering new aspects to incorporate into one's mind set. New aspects can be integrated by imagining what it would feel like to think or behave in this new way and see what circumstances or opportunities already exist that could be positively affected by adopting these higher concepts, principles and motivations. The overarching focus is of transpersonal service and beneficence.

A man expressing this archetype in its fullness feels like this: You are with a man who feels connected to all that is, who has a spiritual balance and orientation, who emanates love to all in his sphere of life without passing over someone because they don’t fit his picture of who/what is deserving of his love. He embodies Love, expressed to whomever is before him.

He is a man that, when in his presence, you find yourself inspired to make new connections and source new experiences. He stands for equality and the divine-right of happiness for all races, genders, sexual preferences.

He is a leader by example and not words alone. He is spiritually motivated supporting transcendency in all its forms. He seeds thought forms and ideas while not “holding on” to them as proprietary —releasing ownership for the greater good.

The man in the state of being “Divine Masculine” shows up as non-judgmental, open, welcoming, heart-centered, spiritually focused, supportive, inspirational, loving.
King
Present in each man’s being is the archetype of the King who actively plays the central role of order and blessing, benevolence and fertility, strength and balance. While the God archetype seeds thought forms and ideas, the King births them and actively looks to their growth and manifestation into existence —being the steward of these.

The King archetype is the domain of material-manifestation, family, “kingdom” (your sphere of life influence including your relationship to individuals and physical locations: home, neighborhood, community, city, state, country, world), material wealth and abundance.

Being with a man who is in the fullness of the King archetype feels like this: He is supportive and nurturing of the well-being and easeful participation and happiness of those he engages with. He is a stabilizing and calming influence in all circumstances. By his balance and “potency” (strength, effectiveness) others are comforted and influenced to imitate his example. His demeanor is “seasoned” and carries wisdom with it, not adolescent impulsiveness.

The man in the fullness of his King archetype is complex with multiple aspects that comprise his unique expression of the divine. His wisdom carries a transpersonal selflessness, like a kind father, he is an agent of the divine having reverence for all life. He is benevolent, evenhanded, calm, strong, caring, present, passionate. He is settled in the knowing that everything is as it should be, everything changes, and there is no lack or anything to genuinely fear.

The Priest is the trans-connector, the facilitator, between the material and spiritual world. He is a mediator of the powerful energies that make up the being that we are. The Priest calls forth, transmutes and directs energies between unconscious and conscious awareness, affecting our material and spiritual felt sense of being.

Experiencing a man in the fullness of the Priest archetype feels like this: You are with a man who is the master of his spiritual and material realities and knows how to call forth from spiritual storehouses what he needs to transmute energies that would overtake or topple other men not in this fullness. He is thoughtful and reflective, having depth to his presence and intellect. He knows how to detach from (become neutral to) inner and outer storms and how to connect deep inner truths and resources with his experience of life. He is not easily pushed or pulled by faddish influences but brings power and confidence to difficult situations requiring change/shifting with grace and insight.

The man in the fullness of the Priest archetype is transpersonally engaged with others, serving their need for love and acceptance. He provides spiritual grounding and consciousness expansion through his presence and expression of higher principles. He serves the greater good with humility and grace, and not from Egoic desire for prominence or position.

Other Warrior qualities are: decisiveness and clarity of thought, selfless service, genuine humility, strength of experiential “knowing,” courage to do what serves the highest good even when it is a personal challenge to do so. He serves to maintain and supporting established systems and forms without rigidity, being exemplary in loyalty to a greater good beyond personal gain.

He is detached (neutral to outcome) while under challenge but warm and compassionate, appreciative and generous. He fights “the good fight” in favor of benefiting the greater good and making life more fulfilling for everyone.

Being in the presence of a man in the fullness of the Warrior archetype feels like this: His strength of stature is evident and unheralded. He contributes without fanfare or needing to direct others, nor does he require attention for his service. He promptly responds to requests of service showing respect to all, especially to those “elder” to him, as well as other men, women, and children, animals and the earth.

He “knows himself” and finds his place in collaborative projects, finding fulfillment and contentment in collaboration without ambition or competition. The man in the fullness of the Warrior makes you feel safe while not being oppressed by his stature or protection. He is decisive and quick to respond while also being in right-relationship with his Ego.
Lover
The Lover archetype is perhaps the most misunderstood -and yet familiar. The Lover archetype has been contorted into a selfish and dense expression that lacks breadth or spirit. Yet the Lover is the meeting and combining of sex and spirit, Eros, the universal urge to bond and unite. He comprises the alchemy that infuses spirit into flesh with desire -prompting engagement and erotic expression. While most commonly expressed in romantic and sexual form, the Lover archetype contains a much fuller, divine, expression:

The Lover archetype in its fullness is the primal energy of passion, exquisite engagement with life and ecstatic being -an alive and vivid world view. The domain of the Lover archetype is the primal urges of being: sex, food, well-being, procreation and is manifested in creative adaptation and initiatory experience.

The Lover is the epitome of Sensual. He is intimately interested in all forms of sensory engagement, seeing the world in all its splendor. He is the archetype of play and healthy embodiment without shame. The Lover archetype has a mystical quality that seeks to experience beauty and unity in daily life.

The man experiencing the fullness of the Lover archetype feels like this: He is sensual. He is open and invites you to touch—his mind, body and soul. He is "connected" (integrated) and relishes physical, psychological and spiritual connection with others that highlights integrated expanded awareness and experience. He is immersed in the experience, present in the moment, focused on the quality of the connection and engagement. He appreciates beauty in all its forms and makes each moment a “work of art.” He appreciates the “sensuous” experience of life and resonates deeply on many levels of being. He is sensitive to others needs and moods and is intuitively responsive. He is “in his body” —animating it with vital energy through dance, yoga, or movement. He brings a “joy of life” to any engagement or conversation. He has stopped “performing” and has relaxed into “being” -feeling without pressure to “accomplish” or “gain.“

The Sage observes, tracks, scans, monitors data from all sources (within and without) and channels wisdom leading to “right action.” The Sage is detached from ordinary life flow, watching and engaging energies with wisdom and toned action as needed for synchronistic harmony of life.

Being with a man in the fullness of the Sage archetype feels like this: Unheralded, he quietly and deftly shares with others wise counsel and channeled direction that shifts the receiver into new possibilities and pathways that reflect “right action” for their life path. He quietly supports the wisdom of others, not seeking acclaim or notice for his contribution. He is thoughtful and reflective and rests in his felt connection with spirit and grounded connection with the earth, Gaia, the source of his wisdom and insight.

The Sage’s importance comes to the fore during crisis and intense need. Through the uniquely formed conduit that the Sage embodies, wisdom and “right action” become clear. With the Sage’s contribution we feel confident and assured that our path is the right one for us, we respond to life with a calm easefulness that transitions crisis and change with grace and wisdom.

Where the Priest archetype has a primary focus on the "inward" realm, the Sage archetype has an "outward" focus of service —to manifest channeled wisdom into being.

http://www.mythiclove.net/sunyata/divine_masculine.html
Gods and Goddesses in Everyone

(taken in part from Jean Shinoda Bolen)

Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love -- the sexual, romantic, platonic, soul connection, deep friendship, rapport, and empathic understanding type, with a desire to know and be known. Her consciousness was focused, yet receptive, taking in what was attended to, what was affected by. Her style was to be genuinely, momentarily involved in whatever interested her. She attended to another person as if he or she were fascinating, beautiful and profound. She was always present in creative work (including solitary work), and facilitated change and growth. “Whenever Aphrodite consciousness was present, energy was generated: lovers glowed with well-being and heightened energy; conversation sparkled, stimulating thoughts and feelings.”

Aphrodite as mentor was [and as archetype, is] possessed of the power to transform and was never victimized, valued emotional experience with others more than independence from others or permanent bonds, sought to consummate relationships and generate new life, was a vision carrier with the power of positive expectations on the behavior of others, enjoyed love and beauty, sex and sensuality, was demanding, creative, fell in love often and easily, was loaded with sex appeal, and became a tremendous force for change (because of her passionate creativity), had intense relationships, enjoyed the moment, attractive with a natural unselfconscious sensuality, an innocent flirt, not focused on long-range academic goals or career, unemotional work of no interest, preferred variety and intensity, gravitated toward men who were not necessarily good for her or to her (but may have made major changes at mid-life: ready to settle down with a better choice of males), and had a tendency to act on desires without considering the consequences.
Artemis -- another of the virgin goddesses. Artemis was independent, nonrelational, untouched by the heat of emotion or passion, not moved by love, sexuality, or infatuation, one-in-herself, belonging to no man, with an active, focused consciousness, with little apparent need to become vulnerable (to give and receive love and comfort and support growth in others). Artemis’ adaptation mode had been to separate from men and their influence, and join other feminists.

Artemis was [is] the personification of the independent feminine spirit, capable of feeling whole without a man, seeking her own goals on terrain of her own choosing, the ability to concentrate intensely on whatever was important to her and to be undistracted (either by the needs of others or by competition from others), competent, capable of achievement, concerned for victimized and powerless women and young (including her mother), safe childbirth goddess, sister, back-to-nature, capable of at-oneness with herself, “moonlight vision”, active rather than passive, felt strongly about her causes and principles, interests of no or limited commercial value, competitive, individualist, recreational sex advocate, where relationships were secondary, sexual intimacy as another dimension of friendship, “Wonder Woman”, a female bear (protecting girls on the threshold of being women), could be very vengeful, could be merciless, needed to develop compassion and empathy, and “the Far-Distant Artemis”. Mid-life made her more reflective (as the Goddess of the Moon, vice Goddess of the Hunt). While Artemis might rescue women and feminine values from the patriarchy, she could also require women to sacrifice and devalue what had traditionally been considered feminine (receptive, nurturing, related-to-others and willing to make sacrifices for the sake of others). “Outrage at wrongs done, loyalty to others, strength to express a point of view, and a propensity to take action can be very positive characteristics of Artemis."

Hera -- One of the vulnerable goddesses. She was [is] relationship-oriented (dependent upon a significant one), had a need for affiliation, tended to experience powerlessness and responded with rage and jealousy, accepting, diffuse awareness. Fundamentally incomplete without a marriage partner, Hera yearned to be a wife, stately, regal, a Nancy Reagan, beautiful, honored and humiliated, with the capacity to bond, loyal, faithful, enduring, committed, predisposed to displace blame from her mate (on whom she was emotionally dependent) onto others, vindictive (a mental sleight of hand which made her feel powerful rather than rejected), derived emotional security from a high-status male, work was secondary, placed minimal importance on female friends (husband’s primary friend), preferred a man who was emotionally dependent upon her, saw sex as a duty, could oppress other women, could be very destructive, and judgmental of other women (and really hated Aphrodite types!). He style of “limiting herself to being a wife results in limiting her growth and ability to adapt, if death or divorce brings her wife role to an end.” She is only a half of a whole, fulfilling a culturally determined role.

Ares -- The rejected son. He was physical, manual rather than mental, and motivated by emotions -- did not use his mind or words. “Ares could be stirred to fight by rage or loyalty, using weapons for a destructive purpose.” Often ridiculed or called names by others, his self-esteem was affected. He was the son of a devalued, angry, impotent mom. Ares is the image of masculinity, physical power, intensity, and immediate action; dancer and warrior, lover, loyal, in touch with his feelings and his body (good for lovemaking), often uncontrolled and irrational, brawler, emotional, protective of his children, assertive, active, embodied, reacted before thinking, capable of licking his wounds and going on, success often depended on luck (which then became a surprise to everyone, including himself), here-and-now, most compatible lover for Aphrodite, exuberant lover, neither planed on marriage nor avoided it, generous father, impulsive, lost out to his siblings, discouraged, and repressed. As a developed lover, he was a man who loved to make love, a man who loved women’s bodies, a man who could spend hours making love, a man who preferred a grownup, sexually liberated woman who enjoyed sex as much as he. In the patriarchy, his fate was often sealed by mid-life.

Dionysus was close to nature and women, familiar with the mystical realm and feminine world, often an unwelcome and disturbing element, a cause of conflict and madness, “the god of ecstasy and terror, of wildness and the most blessed deliverance”, mystic or murderer, divine child (specialness of person or destiny), actively repressed in men, regularity and constancy were foreign, shaman, psychological androgynous, capable of major emotional shifts precipitated by minimal events, focused on the moment, dancing and lovemaking were especially important, intense, spontaneous, sought full sensual experience (all five senses), tantric yoga advocate, individualistic (not a team player), non-competitive, wildly promiscuous or celibate, erotic nature easily evoked, impersonal in lovemaking, sex experience more important than conquest, anorexic?, needed to leave behind the divine child image and become the hero. Rescued his mother from Hades.

Poseidon’s temperament was his most characteristic feature. Bad-tempered, violent, vindictive, destructive, and dangerous, not content with his lot, lost out to others, plotted unsuccessfully against them, philanderer, rapist, fiercely loyal to his children, grudge holder, a placid sea which might erupt in fury, not a good loser, strived to be important (if not in the world, then in his home), sexually potent, indiscriminate and promiscuous, made no distinctions between young and old women, “the wild man at the bottom of the pool”, felt deeply and intensely, spontaneous, directly in touch with his feelings, physically demonstrative, didn’t plan (“It wasn’t raining when Noah built his Ark.”), academic achievement had little meaning, patriarchal attitude and emotionally powerful, capacity for loyalty and emotional depth, insensitive (he actually raped Demeter while she searched for Persephone), and vengeful (“an eye for an eye”). Poseidon wanted to achieve positions with status and power that would be the envy of others, only to find that the power was personally meaningless. Poseidon was Zeus’ shadow -- the emotional aspect of the father archetype that was repressed or buried, undeveloped and inaccessible in a man whose conscious identification was with Zeus.

Hades -- God of the Underworld. He was [is] grim, inexorable, sternly just, irrevocable in his decrees; he was not evil in himself, not an enemy of mankind, nor a tempter of evil. His realm was the unconscious. He was the god of riches, the cornucopia or horn of plenty, the unseen presence. Human recluse, unaware of what is happening in the world, without a persona, invisible, without position or wealth, preferred the subjectivity and richness of his interior world, capable of “doing nothing”, a source of creativity, good counselor, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Zeus and Hades), introverted, weak will or simply didn’t get-into-an-uproar, autistic, secretive, “different”, but with an inner orientation which conveyed strength and thus did not make him a victim, cut off from the realm of emotions, emotionally illiterate, dreamer (“Fantasies and active imagination are voluntary descents to be entered and left at will.”). Both Zeus and Poseidon forced women sexually repeatedly, yet it was Hades who got the bad reputation; the others got away with it.