In European and Chinese thought, the feminine principle is associated with passivity and the masculine with action. In Hinduism, however, the feminine is associated with creativity and action, and the masculine with manifestation.
The primary image of the feminine principle in Hinduism is the goddess Durga. In a myth called the Devi Mahatmya, a buffalo-headed yogi has become a monster whom none of the gods can overthrow. So the gods stand in a circle, send their energies back to where they came from, and a great black cloud appears. Out of it comes Durga, the goddess with eighteen arms. In each hand is a symbol of one of the gods. With the combined power of these symbols, she alone is able to defeat the monster.
In this story, the power these gods have to destroy the monster is a specific form of the life energy that originates in their source, the Mother. As Joseph Campbell says in Pathways to Bliss, the feminine is the source of the energy and the masculine is its specification in any particular direction. She is the energy out of which creation arises, he is every visible manifestation of that energy. She is the whole; he is each individual part. This intuition from many spiritual traditions is probably why the feminine has long been associated with the dark sea of the unconscious, and the masculine with the ego consciousness which emerges from this maternal matrix.
Although the masculine and feminine principles are metaphors for the basic energies of every psyche, most of us associate them with the genders. As a result, Campbell says it’s much easier for a woman to identify with masculinity than for a male who is committed to his particular form to identify with femininity. All she has to do is take on a specification of the power that is already hers, but he has to give up his ego identity and personal field of power which feels like disintegrating into a formless void. This, of course, is exactly what the Buddha did, and that, says Campbell, was a heroic act of the first order.
In a perfect world, both forms of energy would be valued equally and every child would be helped to discover and activate his or her own unique blend of interests, skills and powers without regard to gender. But most of us have not yet attained that heroic level of consciousness. An immature ego with limited consciousness equates power with physical prowess and power over others. Sensing the magnitude of feminine power and fearing anything more powerful than itself, it represses the feminine principle in the psyche; and if it identifies with maleness, it will also tend to dominate and exploit females.
A well is a symbol of the feminine principle, the womb of the Great Mother, the human psyche. We all contain Durga’s power: the totality of human potential. Our ego is only one form of that potential. We can choose to identify only with the familiar and comfortable qualities that our families and cultures assign to us according to their ideas about gender. For most people, this is the easy way, the way of the collective. In patriarchal cultures, this way has long been defined by qualities and values associated with the masculine principle.
But if we want to, we can choose to activate our fullest power by accepting everything about ourselves we associate not just with the masculine principle, but also with the feminine principle. Jung called this the process of individuation. This would include accepting our emotions and tender feelings, following our instincts, nurturing, acknowledging our suffering, using our imagination and capacity for caring and cultivating intimate relationships, an understanding heart, intuition, and creativity, exploring our dreams, using symbolic thinking, acknowledging our shadow and the disowned aspects of our true inner selves, accepting change, etc.
In empowering Durga we can attain our destiny. What monsters hold you back from attaining your destiny? What do you have to lose by enlisting Durga’s help to overcome them?
Paper and E-book versions of The Bridge to Wholeness and Dream Theatres of the Soul are at Amazon. The Wilbur Award-winning Healing the Sacred Divide can be found at Amazon and Larson Publications.com. Jean’s new Nautilus Award-winning The Soul’s Twins, is at Amazon and Schiffer’s Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit. Subscribe to her newsletter at www.jeanbenedictraffa.com.
16 Responses
Dear Jeanie,
Excellent Jeanie! Sometimes the right words and stories come at the right time … as yours have done for me today! Thank you so much for sharing more love, inspiration and wisdom from your ‘Well of (Divine) Feminine Power’! I’m so very pleased to have all four of your books sleeping and dreaming on my shelves.
What perfect timing! Two nights ago I dreamt that I had a long grey beard. In my dream I went to the hairdressers to have it washed and trimmed. The androgynous woman (let’s call her Durga!) who styled my beard was delighted … the young girls at the reception desk, however, were horrified … as they had never seen a ‘bearded woman’ before! A woman shouldn’t have a beard they pronounced, while me and Durga knew it was perfectly natural.
Later, feeling uncertain and worried that I would be judged by others, I tugged at my long grey beard and eventually it came away in my left hand. Yet beneath where the beard had once been, I saw that the bottom half of my face was covered in short silver hairs and my beard was already starting to grow back! I woke up ecstatic in the knowledge my feminine and masculine sides were, hopefully, a little more integrated. Tis the way of the Crone I told myself!
There’s a little update on my website re “Croneology”.
Love and light,
Deborah
Thank you, Deborah. I love it when the right reminders come at the right time. The synchronicities pile up rapidly when we’re paying attention to the feminine. Just this morning I ran across a quote on one of my Jungian sites on Facebook that shed some light on what I was feeling at the moment and why. It was enormously comforting.
Your gray beard dream is classic. I immediately thought of the Sage archetype! Years ago when I was consciously working with my masculine and feminine energies every day I dreamed I was standing in front of a full-length mirror looking at myself, but instead of seeing my usual persona, I was looking at my Animus. As I recall, he looked ordinary, just a regular guy about my age in blue jeans and a shirt. It was a bit confusing and worrisome. When did this happen? But when I woke up I was fascinated. I thought to myself, well okay! This is also who I am. It felt like a milestone.
I’ll check out your website update today! Much love, Jeanie
This is a timely and powerful post, Jean. Thank you for the research, thought and contemplation that went into creating it. I will save it to re-read and encourage my own thoughts and actions in the days to come.
Much love,
Jenna
Thank you Jenna. I published this piece yesterday because I woke up yesterday morning from a dream in which I was writing about the return of the feminine. It felt like a message from the Self. Something I needed to do. Jung, Marion Woodman, and Drs. Bud and Massimilla Harris are only a few of the many Jungians who believe that one-sided patriarchal Western Civilization can only be healed by a return of the feminine. I’m convinced they’re right. Which is why I started this blog in the first place! May She return with enough caring, cooperative, healing energy to prevent the loss of the evolutionary gains we humans have made over the millennia! Much love, Jeanie
Thank you, Jeanie. I love and learn from your fresh review. I also love Deborah’s dream.
Some nights ago, I dreamed that my women’s mythology class was lined up at dusk to jump a deep dark chasm, one at a time. There was a mix of fear and anticipation–and by dream’s end, we settled in a circle together, sitting on the earth. It felt loving and powerful. Today in our mythology group, we used Bosnak’s Embodied Imagination techniques to connect my dream with the body. It was threatening to know I had to jump that chasm, but by the end, all eight of us were across and seated firmly in a circle. With love and gratitude for the sacred feminine. Blessings to you. FL sunshine sounds like heaven right now.
Wow. A circle of sisters who crossed the chasm together. Like-minded women friends are the best aren’t they? For many years I always had a circle of friends who learned together, shared together, dreamed together. For several years it was my Jungian study group. Then two different dream groups. Then it was women who attended the classes I taught at the Winter Park Jung Center. And so on. It was a fruitful time for us all. They gave me the grounding I needed to know there was always somebody to catch me. Now I have a circle of friends from around the world that meet here; women like you who regularly hold me in their thoughts and hearts. I’m so grateful. Thank you.
Your dream reminds me of one I had during that earlier time. I was at the edge of a cliff and had to jump off and land on a series of trampolines—-some floating in the air and the last one at the bottom. Other women were already down there waiting for me. I hesitated for a moment, took a breath, and joyously jumped off. I landed safely on the last one, surrounded by all those women. It was exhilarating to know and trust I’d be okay. I know you’ve always had a circle of friends to count on too, and still do. I’m so glad for you. It’s a rare gift. I share your love and gratitude for the sacred feminine in all of us. Blessings, Jeanie
Hi Jeanie
I loved this post of yours. I sent you an email with one or two questions for you which came out of this post. I know it’s an incredibly busy season, but I was just wondering if you received my email or not? Hope you and your family have a very blessed Advent season and a Christmas which brings you much joy.
Dear Jeanie
I tried to comment just now but I don’t think I did it correctly. (It didn’t seem to work). I live this post of yours. Thank you. It raised some questions for me which I sent you via email. Hope you received my email. Hope you and your family all have a very blessed Christmas.
With love and blessings
Cheryl de Beer
Hi Cheryl, Yes, I did receive your email a few days ago and somehow it slipped through the cracks. I hope it hasn’t been accidentally deleted. I’ll check and get back to you asap. It’s been an unusually busy time for us. Wishing your a joyful and blessed holiday season. Love, Jeanie
Thank you so much Jeanie. I do know how busy this season is, so I really appreciate your response.
Love to you and your family.
Cheryl
Dear Jeanie
Do you want me to resend my email to you? That way you can save it and reply to it in the new year when you have more time. I understand how busy this time of the year is.
Much love
Cheryl de Beer
I sent an email reply on Tuesday, the day I received your first comment here. Unfortunately, I’ve just realized I sent it to myself!! Oops. Check your mail now. I’ve just re-sent it to you! Blessings, Jeanie
Greetings, my lovely teacher. Thank you for this excellent, informative, instructive, and easy-to-understand article. I didn’t know about the fascinating goddess Durga.
Please excuse my late comment. I don’t know if you noticed that I’m really stressed at the moment, and I need to read your articles with peace of mind. It is hard to believe that this is the third time I’ve tried to write my comment; I hope I can finish it!! But certainly, I will read it more than once. Thank you again, my dear Jeanie, and I am sending my best wishes to you and yours for having a leisurely and peaceful season.💖🙏🥰🌺
Greetings, Aladin. Thank you for your kind comments about this post. I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through a stressful time right now. Please don’t apologize for lateness in communicating or anything else. We all have times like this. I’m in the midst of a bit of one myself. Friends understand this.
Joseph Campbell, like Jung, was brilliant at seeing the archetypal realities beneath the stories of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Like all mythological and religious stories, this one holds a wealth of wisdom about humanity. I wish you love, peace and joy during this holiday season. Jeanie
I love that you say that feminine energy is the source of creation and masculine energy the manifestation of it. Thank you Jeanie for this lovely post. Season’s blessings to you and family. Love, susan
I love it too, Susan. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Jung says the source of creativity is the feminine unconscious. Nature shows us that creative new life is birthed from the feminine with cooperation from the masculine. Season’s blessings to you and your family too. Love, Jeanie