The Great Mother Archetype holds one of the most powerful energies in the world - the power of feminine energy!
We witness it when we look at Gaia the Greek Goddess who created the world out of void and mass and darkness.
We witness it in Isis the Egyptian Goddess whose ability to heal could bring the dead back to life.
We witness it in Sophia the Goddess of Wisdom who showed people the best way of living by connecting them to their higher selves.
We witness it in the Virgin Mary as she protects and nurtures the Son of God.
As humanity we all have a deep connection to the Great Mother Archetype and the incredible energy that she holds because we have all been the recipients of her great gifts.
We come into this world vulnerable, and weak, and in need, and without the nurturing and life-sustaining energy that the Great Mother brings into the world none of us would have survived!
For some of us this energy came in the form of a traditional mother, for others of us it came in the form of grandma's, aunties, sisters, nannies, babysitters, or even in some cases the men in our lives.
This life force offers us:
Nurture
Support
Intuition
Creativity
Wisdom
Persistence
The list goes on and on!
But there are three beautiful gifts that Great Archetype offers us that I think are really worth highlighting!
She gives us the gift of collaboration
So many of us have been taught that competition is the only way to have success. That in order for one of us to win than others must lose - and this has created a world that is unkind, unforgiving, and in so many ways cruel.
But when we connect with the feminine energy that the Great Mother offers us we see that there is another way to live - That we can live in the spirit of collaboration and that it is the real 'secret' to success.
She offers us the idea that it is by working together that we move out of the mindset of scarcity and into the mindset of abundance - And from a mindset of abundance so much of what we thought was impossible becomes possible!
She gives us the gift of intuition
We live in a world that glorifies the mind and its ability to rationalize, analyze and justify.
We all spend so much time living in our heads that we forget that our bodies are our first line of communication - that our bodies carry wisdom that goes beyond anything our minds can sort or understand.
Because we have all had the experience of walking into a room and getting a 'vibe' right?
But so many of us, instead of listening to that vibe, begin the process of explaining that vibe away. And the results of that are often painful! We find ourselves in relationships that aren't good for us, partnerships that don't work, and in experiences that can take us years to process!
But our Great Mother offers us another way to be - she encourages us to get in touch with our bodies, to listen to them, to use the sensations we feel as guides and as arrows that move us in the direction that is right for us!!
She gives us the gift of creation
We are all giving birth to something - a family, a new friendship, a business, a technology, or an idea. And our Great Mother gives us the power to nurture and sustain these things.
One of the things that we are creating that we seldom think about is our inner voice!
When we are not tapped into our feminine energy we tend to create a voice that is so critical and that focuses on tearing down not building up.
But when we connect to our feminine energy we create a voice that is kinder, that brings life, that tells us what is possible, and points out how very worthy we are.
It's a voice that heals us and when we share that voice with others it's a voice that can heal our communities and can heal the world we live in!
Pause and Reflect:
In what areas of your life would collaboration be beneficial? In your relationships? In your business?
What would you see if you had an abundant mindset?
What would change if you trusted that the creative nurturing energy that is inside of you?
Where do you need some guidance?
In what area of your life have you thought about things for so long but you still have no answers?
What seems to be beyond your ability to understand right now?
If you tap into your body what does it tell you about these things?
Where do you feel like you are giving birth to something but you have a voice of destruction that is threatening it?
What in your life do you need to encourage and nurture? What do you need to speak life into?
Now of course The Great Mother, in all her feminine glory has more than one side to her!
She is life-sustaining and nurturing and wise and creative.
But she also has another side.
We know that the Great Mother is best seen as Mother Nature and Mother Nature comes to us in seasons.
She brings us spring and summer - but she also brings us fall and winter.
And when she brings us fall and winter she comes to us as the Terrible Mother.
And even when she comes to us as the Terrible Mother she comes to us as a gift and baring gifts.
She gives us the gift of letting go
The Terrible Mother comes to us when things that we have held on to for too long need to die -when it is time to let go and to make room for what is new.
An amazing Goddess that exemplifies this is the Goddess Kali.
She is a fascinating Goddess with multiple arms and legs that wears a necklace of skulls and a skirt made of arms. And her whole purpose is simply to find things in the world whose time has come and to help them through the 'dying' process.
And we all have things in our life that need to die, don't we?
Old ideas
Old stories
Old belief systems
Relationships that harm us rather than serve us
Partnership and connections that are holding us back
And when we let these things go the seasons change again and the Terrible Mother transforms and becomes the Great Mother again bringing with her spring and summer, bringing with her new ideas to nurture, new relationships to enjoy, new adventures to embark on!
The power of the Great Mother/Terrible Mother and the incredible life-changing energy that she brings are available to us at any time and she is always ready to walk with you on your life journey!
If you are interested in learning more join us for an in-depth study of the book 'Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes