Don’t Just Fight Patriarchy; Empower the Matriarch Within You
Many of us dream of a non-patriarchal world where gender and race equality, respect of the earth, and peace reign.
Even centuries of striving for equality and proving women’s worth hasn’t loosened the patriarchy’s grip to outmoded ideologies that keep them in charge and unevolved.
Perhaps focusing on matriarchal ideologies will help to make the shift swifter.
Matriarchy is defined as “a system of social organization in which descent and inheritance are traced through the female line.” (Miriam Webster Dictionary)
Vicki Noble, feminist artist, writer, and scholar of women’s studies, notes “Women in matriarchal societies do not rule in the reverse sense of patriarchy, but the maternal principle is the governing force.”
Matriarchy respects and honors the qualities of both feminine and masculine because both contribute to humanity’s survival and evolution.
Archaeological and anthropological findings have shown that prior to the rise of Abrahamic religions about 2,500 years ago (which influenced the onset of patriarchy), most cultures around the world were matriarchal or egalitarian. Women and men lived and governed their societies equally, and honored the masculine and feminine qualities that allowed humans to survive. The world was much more peaceful back then.
Today only six matriarchal cultures exist in the world.
Yes, we want to return to that world in which women are honored and respected. We want a world of love and peace. True matriarchs actively demand their rights, and we must also also cultivate the energetic equality within ourselves. We must create equality, love and peace within us. Quantum physics tells us that our personal energy can influence the energy around us. Bringing your own inner energy into balance can bolster equality within the collective energy.
Matriarchal Power is a combination of knowledge, energy, and action. Take time to educate yourself, tend to your body, and spirit can contribute to the balanced, Matriarchal Power within you.
Following are a few tips to get you started.
Learn About Your Goddess Roots
Long before patriarchy, Goddess was worshipped by every culture around the globe. Goddess was believed to have birthed the universe and governed everything in it. Goddesses in various forms and possessing infinite cosmic abilities were venerated and celebrated by women and men. In these goddess-revering societies, women were honored the women in their communities for their life-giving and life-sustaining natures and abilities.
Discovering the Goddesses and the ancient societies who worshipped them positively empowers your spirit. Learning about the magnificence and reverence of female gods helps to balance what we were taught in our patriarchal churches. God is not a man. Man is not superior. Eve did not bring down humanity.
For a jolt of Goddess energy, go online and explore various goddesses, and learn about their qualities and the people who worshipped them. Magellan TV posted a great article to get your Goddess research started.
Read books about pre-patriarchal history. Important books and eye-opening books include the classics When God Was A Woman, by Merlin Stone and The Great Cosmic Mother by Monica Sjoo and Barbara Mor.
To learn about the Women’s Spirituality Movement and Goddess history, watch the series Rise of Venus.com
Balance the Feminine and Masculine Energy Within You
Ancient India’s Vedic (pre-Hindu) observations were that the universe was governed by both feminine and masculine forces and that every human contains male and female qualities. Tantric philosophy believes the balance of feminine and masculine energies is a key to obtaining enlightenment.
Feminine qualities are generally described as nurturing, receptive, active, intuitive and earth-based. Masculine energies are generally held as aggressive, static, logical, and cosmos-based.
An inner balance of all these qualities – both feminine and masculine – helps us to survive and thrive in this world, and actualize our dreams, goals, and relationships that contribute to our healthy world.
Become an empowered Matriarch who honors and attends to both the feminine and masculine energies. Notice and appreciate the nuances of your own energy, and don’t judge yourself for being “too masculine” or “too feminine.” If you’re out of balance, just recalibrate.
For more feminine energy, dance and perform Yoni Yoga practices. Become aware of the sensual nature of life. Enjoy flowers, fabrics, essential oils, and music. Act on your hunches and intuition.
To increase masculine energy, lift weights. Structure your life by mapping out your plans for your day, vacation, or your next career step. Attend rallies and yell out your beliefs. Learn the Superwoman pose and strike it several times a day.
For overall energetic balance, practice the Nadi Shodhana breathing exercise. This is a wonderful technique to equalize your emotions and thoughts, too.
In general, we must honor our body temple and love the practices that keep us physically and energetically vital. This is our key to longevity, vitality, beauty, confidence, sexiness and vigor. Being a healthy and balanced energetic force is key to your power.
Acknowledge Your Matriarchal Power and Use It to Serve
Do you notice more and more people are coming to you for insight, advice, direction or wisdom?
At this time, your confidence and power are peaking, and the world is noticing. Your wisdom, insights and power are beaming as a beacon for those who need support or guidance.
You’ve been in the trenches for years, becoming an expert at your craft, raising children to become world-class citizens, and engaging your skills and gifts. You’ve developed deep wisdom from epic-level life experiences and lessons. You’ve thrived in a world of hyper-changing history and dramatic cultural shifts that younger generations will never have the privilege of having experienced.
Now is not the time to shrink, but now is the time for you to strap on your booster jet packs and zip into a higher level of service. Become the wise woman or council leader your community needs. Take time to counsel your friends, volunteer for causes you believe in, and help others in times of need. Contribute to humanitarian organizations that support the rights of women and girls around the world. Write down your insights and lessons and share them so that others may learn from you. What may seem like a small gesture to you may be the life-changing insight someone else has been seeking. Help them bolster and balance their energy.
See Others as Equals
To be a true matriarch, you must walk your talk. Love and honor everyone equally. Everyone on the planet is here to serve a purpose and enhance the planet with their special gifts, and your acknowledgment of them helps to balance the world. Take your time to see the beauty in everyone, from the male stranger on the sidewalk asking for money, to the female world leaders who strategize peaceful treaties. They are all humans worthy of love and respect.
Harboring hate and resentment, harshly judging everyone around you, reliving past injustices and allowing them to define you diminish your authentic power. YES, we may be upset with the patriarchal leaders and injustices of the world, and YES, we may rally against their injustices, but we can’t stay stuck there. We must look toward what we want and envision a world in which humanity lives equally and harmoniously. We must embody the qualities we wish to see in our society. It starts within. As Mahatma Gandhi "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
So as we continue to strive to bring equality to the planet, remember – it all starts by empowering the Matriarch within you.