“I am the sovereign queen, the treasury of all treasures, whose breathing forth gives birth to all

the worlds, and yet extends beyond them - so vast am I in greatness.”

{ Devi Sukta, Rg Veda }

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You too, have the power to create and destroy worlds.

Can you feel it?

That silent power that lies at the bottom of your belly, waiting?

It’s the outrage at injustice, the fiery passion of love, the darkness of destruction, the mysterious power of the wielder of magic that all women naturally are. The intuitive knowing, the fierce protectiveness, the delicious seductress.

We live in a culture where only a very narrow definition of the feminine is accepted and honoured.

Through conditioning (we all grew up in the Princess Paradigm), and a lack of ‘whole’ feminine role models, many of us are not even aware of the range of qualities that are available to us as women.

But we sense that there is more.

That we are more, much more than we are currently expressing. Often these subconscious aspects will emerge under circumstances that force us to reach for resources we weren’t aware we had - but what if we had conscious access to them all the time?

The mature feminine is a fully integrated woman.

She owns her power and her vulnerability, her wildness and her wisdom, her sensuality and her sexuality, her darkness and her mystery, her intuition and her vision, her love and her rage.

She is the one who lives turned on, fierce, unashamed.

Who has set herself on fire, and burns in her truth, awakening in every moment to who she is and in turn, awakening the world.

She is a gift to herself, and a gift to the men and women who encounter her - because by being all that she is, she gives permission for them to embrace themselves in their wholeness as well.

A useful way of exploring feminine qualities is to look at archetypes. Archetypes are ideals that are found across cultures and epochs that have shortcut access to our subconscious minds; they are collectively inherited memes that we resonate with at a pre-verbal and pre-logical level, meaning that we can easily tap into the qualities and energy associated with them without rational analysis.

When we distill the cross-cultural archetypes of the feminine, we come to four core expressions: the Mother, the Lover, the Wise Woman and the Queen.

As you read the descriptions below and go through the questions, notice how your body reacts - if there are any twinges, contractions, excitement, goosebumps, or other sensations. Notice any emotions that come up, and listen for any underlying thoughts and judgments that might be present.

△ △ △

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The Mother Theme: Creation

Being the most acknowledged archetype in Patriarchal society (which, despite the giant advances in women’s liberation, we are still living in and even tacitly enforcing ourselves) the Mother archetype is often the one we have the most and the strongest associations with. She has access to immense creative energy, and can nurture the world through her selfless love.

Positive Aspects

Creativity, fertility, nurture, life, self-sacrifice, beauty, soft, gentle, fierce, protective, warm, supportive, selfless love, encouraging, guiding, giving

Shadow Aspects

Cold, withholding affection, sadist, masochist, careless, abandoning, aloof, controlling, narcissistic. Smothering, overly controlling, hysterical fear, over-attachment, devouring, demanding,

manipulative, guilt-inducing

Which of the qualities do you identify with most, or feel most comfortable with?

Which of the qualities do you identify with least, or feel least comfortable with? How have these been present in your life? What examples of them have you had?

What stories do you have around these qualities?

Which qualities would you like to integrate more into your way of being and expressing yourself in the world? What would change?

Think of one or several ways you can integrate those qualities in a practical way this week

Create a mantra or intention to use as an anchor for this practice

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The Lover Theme: Eros

Western women are in the process of reclaiming the Lover archetype, and are largely being held back by the burden of residual shame and fear. Sensuality and sexuality have long been used interchangeably, and yet they are not the same; the Lover delights in being in a body, and though that connection to herself is also able to delight in the connection with other bodies.

Positive Aspects

Love, passion, compassion, seductress, hedonism, sensuality, sexuality, generosity, surrender, fertility, values, longing for unity, playful, uninhibited, embodied, inquisitive, emotional, devotion

Shadow Aspects

Poor boundaries, obsessive, disembodied, body shame, disconnection from own needs, frigid, aloof, emotionally disconnected

Which of the qualities do you identify with most, or feel most comfortable with?

Which of the qualities do you identify with least, or feel least comfortable with? How have these been present in your life? What examples of them have you had?

What stories do you have around these qualities?

Which qualities would you like to integrate more into your way of being and expressing yourself in the world? What would change?

Think of one or several ways you can integrate those qualities in a practical way this week

Create a mantra or intention to use as an anchor for this practice

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The Wise Woman Theme: Wisdom

The most repressed of them all, the Wise Woman or Witch archetype is strongly connected in the feminine unconscious to severe punishment (the witch burnings of the 17th century left their mark). It is the wild, unpredictable force of the feminine - extrasensory perception, the deep connection to natural (and supernatural forces), the earth-bound connection to the mysteries of life and death.

Positive Aspects

Spirituality, magic, death, feminine mystery, intuition, vision, prophetess, mediator, healer, counselor, elder, the unknown, shaman, receptive

Shadow Aspects

Hypersensitivity, hyper vigilance, lack of trust in world, overvaluing the rational, fear of psycho-spiritual energy, self-serving, manipulating, controlling, egoic use of abilities

Which of the qualities do you identify with most, or feel most comfortable with?

Which of the qualities do you identify with least, or feel least comfortable with? How have these been present in your life? What examples of them have you had?

What stories do you have around these qualities?

Which qualities would you like to integrate more into your way of being and expressing yourself in the world? What would change?

Think of one or several ways you can integrate those qualities in a practical way this week

Create a mantra or intention to use as an anchor for this practice

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The Queen Theme: Power

The Queen is special because in her mature form she transcends and includes all of the other archetypes of the feminine. She brings responsible warrior energy together with feminine awareness of the community and collective - as such her potential to shift cultural paradigms is immense.

Positive Aspects

Power, leadership, wisdom, dignity, justice, grace, grounded, balanced, protector, semi-divine, responsibility, benevolence

Shadow Aspects

Tyrant, arrogant, controlling, aggressive, destructive, authoritarian, demanding, power-crazed, self-serving

Which of the qualities do you identify with most, or feel most comfortable with?

Which of the qualities do you identify with least, or feel least comfortable with? How have these been present in your life? What examples of them have you had?

What stories do you have around these qualities?

Which qualities would you like to integrate more into your way of being and expressing yourself in the world? What would change?

Think of one or several ways you can integrate those qualities in a practical way this week

Create a mantra or intention to use as an anchor for this practice

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What do you notice now, having gone through that exploration? Have any larger themes emerged? Have any connections to your female lineage arisen?

What do you feel now about your connection to your feminine?

We are empowered when we are truly honoring everything that we are.

Empowering ourselves to be fully self-expressed and to bring our biggest dreams into reality requires us to tap into our Queen qualities.

How would your life be different if you showed up as your inner Queen?

Knowing that you are a queen, and that you have the power to rise up and live this role…

What is the BIGGEST VISION you have for your life?

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We are the ones who are turned on, Fierce, unashamed, untamed -

Who live from the fire, Uncompromising, unrestrained -

Who are bold, passionate, Raw and messy;

We are the Wild and Free.

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ABOUT STEPH

Stephanie Lisa Kelly is a Coach, Writer and Facilitator who helps women live more embodied, empowered and delicious lives.

She’s also a restless creative, (r)evolutionary, bold adventurer, wildhearted dreamer, free spirit and international vagabond. She hosts workshops and retreats and facilitates transformational containers at meetings, conferences and other events.

She believes the world will be saved by women who dare to become powerful agents of change, that surrender leads

to magic, that goofiness is medicine and that campfires and mountain tops are sacred.

She’s the creator of the WILD&FREE retreat and the Into The Wild adventure, has written several eBooks, co-hosted the 2015 Lifestyle Design Convention (now the Inside Out Movement) and facilitated at the 2015 Leaders Connect Congress.

She has a BSc. in Psychology, is a Certified Coach, Facilitator & Way of Council Practitioner as well as a Flower Essence Therapist.

CONNECT

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Copyright © 2016 Stephanie Lisa Kelly All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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