"Like the Phoenix, She has risen from the ashes!"
Well, it's THAT time of year again, when Christians of every denomination ( ? ) gather, to whatever extent, to worship ( again, "to whatever extent" ) the Risen Christ. To be honest, many Pagans worship ( honor ) the Risen Christ as well, though they see this process quite differently than Christians. More on this later. The Jehovah's Witnesses actually celebrate His Death, to my understanding, rather than His Resurrection. Whatever one believes about Jesus, whether he actually died on that cruel cross & therefore his supposed resurrection was actually just an elaborate production designed to further the concept that he was truly 'the Son of God', or indeed, if he even ever LIVED; the fact that His very Resurrection is metaphorical for our own ( as I have previously explained in this blog ) is inescapable. As a Christian, I perceived this glorious truth years ago, but as a Pagan, I now see this even more clearly!
Among the Eastern religions, even among those Christians who are open to certain aspects of these religions, for instance yoga & meditation, the word 'Kundalini' has experienced a rise in popularity of late. In my understanding, it goes something like this; "as the Kundalini rises up the spine, like Jesus was raised up on the cross, It is crucified somewhere between the heart chakra and the throat chakra, where the old ( ego-driven ) man dies and the new ( Spirit-led ) man is (re ) born." Yeah, I know; I just said "Spirit-led" like a Christian, but as I was writing a fairly lengthy email to my siblings the other day, I realized, rather 'punnily', that the famous initials ( H.S. ) often applied to the so-called 'Holy Spirit' of Christianity also apply to our 'Higher Self'. This is not to say that our Higher Self is our ONLY recourse, for we have the Wisdom of the Ages at our spiritual fingertips!
To the Pagan, however, the phrase "She is Risen" means two things! One is that our Mother Earth, whose rebirth we celebrate around this time of year, has re-awoken, as the browns of Winter are quickly turning into the greens of Spring. 'New' Growth that has been silently gaining strength during the Dark Season, is now bursting forth into the Light of the Sun! The other turn of the phrase of which I speak is that of the Rise of the Divine Feminine. In times past, with the Rise of the Patriarchy, the Divine Feminine has been squelched: "Valiant effort, boys, but She will not be hid!" Take the Bible for instance; according to most of the modern transliterations extant today, it would seem that the Hebrew culture was, for the most part, a very patriarchal society, though this blogger isn't so sure about even that anymore. Further study on the matter, if one was so inclined, might well reveal a hidden Matriarchy! Whatever the case may be; though figures like 'Lilith' have all but disappeared from the text, there is still 'the Mother of all Living' to deal with, as well as 'the Mother of God', the Virgin Mary Herself. Then of course, we also have numerous examples like 'the disciple whom Jesus loved', which some surmise refers to the other Mary, the Magdalen. The Divine Feminine has been hidden in plain sight, if you will, for centuries, even maybe millenia, except of course, to the Pagan!
The Divine Feminine is embodied, of course, in our blessed Mother Earth! Though there is definitely a Divinity in our Mother Herself, the Rise of the Divine Feminine referred to in this post speaks of the human animal, the creature of Mother Earth. I say "the human animal" because it is not only the female, but the male as well, in which the Divine Feminine has Risen! Patriarchal Christians, in particular maybe in this country, have long decried the radical 'free-love' 60s, which also, strangely, heralded in the era of female independence! Actually, I should amend that, for though it was hidden from early on, and for the most part squelched, the world wars showed us how women could easily do the work popularly known as 'men's' The role of the woman in helping tame the Wild, Wild West must not be forgotten either! This, of course, is not to say that men, both in the Taming of the West & in both World Wars were not of equal importance, for thy most definitely were!
The Rise of the Divine Feminine in the male as well as female human being means that a Shift has happened & is happening! A Balance is occurring. Men are realizing that the hidden parts of themselves which they have been taught to squelch, even to some extent fear, are rather to be nurtured & expressed freely. Women are, for the most part, enjoying the freedom they've always felt they had & freely showing proficiency at what has always been the realm of men, though it's been a long, hard struggle!
These however, are merely some of the outward indications of this Rise: this Rising, like the Phoenix, is primarily a spiritual & metaphorical one! We are not looking to welcome back the Matriarchy, though this would arguably be a sight better than the Patriarchy we have borne witness to for the last several hundreds of years. What we are seeing in this country in the last decade or so with the female presidential campaigners is an indication that some have seen that men aren't the only ones qualified for such a demanding job, but that certain women possess certain qualities that make them viable candidates as well. ( It really is JUST a job; however important it may be! ) Of course, the Patriarchal Powers that Be have decided, in their finite wisdom, that we should keep men in the driver's seat of this old 'Bus'!
No, what is needed, both in this nation & across the world, is Balance; neither Matriarchy ( though things might look a lot different ) nor Patriarchy ( "Haven't we had enough yet?" ), but leaders, male & female. who have awakened to the fact that we all possess feminine & masculine qualities. When these leaders exercise these qualities in balance, as they must, we might start to hear of fewer wars & rumors of wars. We'd most likely hear about better equality in the workplace, even less crime on the street! Yes, what if I told you that much of the Crime we witness on a daily basis is due to this Imbalance?!
The role of Women, both in the shaping of this fledgling nation, as well as in the history of the 'civilized' world cannot be denied! In order not to make this post too long, I would simply invite you to do your own research ( before the Patriarchy rewrites the history books or shuts the internet down ) or simply search your own memory banks. It will not be hard to find the Divine Feminine in the history of both our world & our own country!
So, this Easter, or Ostara, whether you are celebrating the coming of Spring & the Resurrection of Mother Earth or the Resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah of the Jews & whether you choose to look to the Holy Spirit of some 'God' out there for succor, or look to your own Higher Self & the Wisdom of the Ages ( The Akashic Records ) for all your needs; may you be blessed in all your endeavors, as long as they include the Peace of All of Mother Earth's ( or 'God's') Creatures!
Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Sage Charles
