Artemis or Animus?

Nā Pali Coast, Kaua’i, Hawai’i

Artemis or Animus?

To define the feminine is too tall a task. To do so would blemish her rich complexion & limit her accessorized expression. To celebrate woman is to celebrate her in all her shapes, sizes, & colors — in the physical sense as well as in the psyche.

Her landscape is as varied as Mother Nature’s. Who is another person to tell us what is unnatural & what is natural to us? Is a desert dweller who comes upon a waterfall to revel in the mysterious cascade of such a rare resource or blasphemize its presence as alien land, a terrestrial impossibility, a land to be forbidden?

There is a haunting truth that many women overdevelop their masculinity as a means to shun their femininity & rid themselves of shame for being she. To undermine our femininity and overdevelop the masculine, or animus, leaves us less alive, our senses and sensuality deadened, our souls weary, and our spirits sparkless. 

It leads to over exhaustion and burnout.

But many traits that are associated with man are actually quite natural & enlivening to woman. Such traits are not masculine at all, but belong to a different archetype of woman.

Long before any women’s movement or reformation there was a whole civilization that recognized this truth. The Greeks sang songs & told tales of such goddesses. Each goddess represents an archetype that lives within the feminine collective, within every woman.

Who we are is not based off of the who we should be  but who we naturally are. To be aligned is to feel at ease, full of love, joy, passion, inspiration, pride for oneself…we need only feel to know what is our sacred soul expression, our arrow due north.

Where do you feel most at home?

For me, it’s the wild. The virgin spaces in the world that have not aged nor been tainted with the coming of man. The places where natural beauty and body has been untouched. The dirt, the physical exertion, the lack of civilization may make some associate such with the masculine, but…

Isn’t the earth woman after all? Do we not call her Pacha Mama, Mother Nature, Mother Earth? Is she not round like a womb? Does she not provide us with sustenance to survive and beauty to thrive?

Women are intimate lovers of the Wild. Hiking expeditions are filled with vivacious vixens that summit heights not to impress man, but to glorify herself, to honor that which she finds holy.

To give life where she finds life.

These women, like myself, represent women who have a resounding Artemis archetype that lives within them. She is Goddess of the hunt, the moon, the wilderness. The Big Sister archetype. Her expression is as vast as her dominion.

She is one of 7 Greek goddesses. It matters not which you identify most with but how.

How does it feel to live?

How does it feel to be? Different times & different cycles call for different goddesses to take the stage. Does life call for you to be a mother, a lover, a career woman, or a woman of deep solitude?

Upon which string does spirit want to be strung?

Does Aphrodite beckon you to be a sensual, devoted lover?

Does Hestia implore you to seek solitude and create your home in which to hibernate?

Does Hera demand you hurry to find a husband?

Does Persephone persist you to stay a good girl and be the dutiful daughter?

Does Athena rally you to accelerate your career?

Does Demeter yearn for a child?

Does Artemis howl for you to join her in the wild? Or maybe….

Do you need an Artemis sister to show you how?

To understand the feminine archetypes is to honor the woman within you. As we recognize the commonalities of archetypes and celebrate them, we are filled with such love and pride that we can love and celebrate the others. 

To be proudly Artemis is to fully honor the Wild Woman archetype and to become immune to such cultural expectations to have a Mother, Demeter, archetype within us. 

To be so in love with ourselves allows us to love all the archetypes of women and, conversely, all the archetypes of men. 

To honor the self is to honor humanity – in its individuality and as a collective.

I’m hosting a Sacred Sisterhood Celebration in April to explore feminine archetypes to CELEBRATE THEM ALL.  Email me if you’d like to receive a synopsis – of all the innerwork I’ve done, archetypes have been THE MOST empowering, so I’d like to share the LOVE, joy and empowerment.

Digging into masculine archetypes is coming up!