Last week, I started a blog series on the Divine / Sacred Feminine that asked readers “…to think about this paraphrased quote from Mary Daly: When God is Man; man is God (anonymous).When you hear this phrase,
1. How do you interpret it?
2. What feelings arise?
3. Have you been / were you indoctrinated to believe this?
4. How does it affect your daily life?” (qtd. in https://www.reimaginelifecoach.com/post/the-divine-feminine-~-part-i).
This week’s post continues with sharing the responses from readers. It is interesting, but not surprising, to note that the responses from readers who were born, as and identify as male, and people who identify as their birth genders & claim conservative religiosity differed from those readers who identified as female. Here are sample responses from readers; they are quoted anonymously and verbatim. If anything is underlined, it was done so by me for emphasis:
* [born female and identifies as female] “‘When God is Man; man is God’ (anonymous). When you hear this phrase:
1. How do you interpret it?
By excising woman/the feminine from the divine, you are attempting to make women less than, inferior, and subservient. It gives a platform for the unbalanced masculine to stand on and strive to rule over from. The idea also strives to erase the Divine Feminine from the collective conscious, which has, in a large part, happened. However, She is rising in that same consciousness, in ripples and waves.
2. What feelings arise?
The shout of NO from every atom of my body and fiber of my soul. Silence in the face of power over of patriarchal standards is no longer an option for me. Texts that have been considered ‘holy’ have been a stamp of approval on the suppression and degradation of women and the Divine Feminine for too long. Texts that I see in part as misogynistic rhetoric written by men who were afraid of women in their power.
3. Have you been / were you indoctrinated to believe this?
I was flooded and spoon fed this growing up. And yet, it never sat well, feeling like a rock in my stomach, and a thorn under the skin. I had always believed in a Goddess presence, dubbing her Mrs. God when I was tiny, and then fully embracing the Divine Feminine as I grew up.
4. How does it affect your daily life?
The shadow of patriarchal standards setting men and the masculine as having ‘power over’ the feminine in all Her forms affects us all. It has created generational trauma which shows up in a thousand ways, promoting fear and anxiety and a need to people please in order to feel we have worth.
This indoctrination encourages the idea that qualities generally perceived as Feminine are less than as well.
Qualities which include compassion, love, gentleness, empathy, and openness. And this is seen profoundly in many of those in government, which is chilling.
On a side note, the death of a thing is violent, with that thing, whether animal or idea trying desperately to stay alive, afloat, and in control. The Divine Feminine IS rising, and the patriarchy is fighting for all its worth. Balance is coming. We may not see it in our life time, but we are here to help Her emerge. And I can hear my soul whispering-screaming to her, ‘Push!’”
[born male and identifies as male; identifies as a conservative religious person] “ The Bible refers to God as male and God is male. Anything else is against the Bible and is witchcraft and pagan.”
[born female and identifies as female] “Women are not higher than men. Women should not be religious leaders because the Bible puts men in leadership positions in the church. In ancient times, before Jesus was born, people believed in many gods and had female priestesses. That was not the natural way of things and Jesus corrected that. Men have a role to play and women have a role to play. If they play out their roles things work better.”
[born male and identifies as female] “When I pray and meditate, I always call on the Divine Feminine because she represents calm strength, kindness, peace, caring, loving, acceptance, non-violence, growth. I identify with her rather than the judgmental warmongering Divine Masculine. I grew up in a church that made women ‘second class citizens’ and allowed them to make coffee for their meetings, but didn’t allow them to participate in the leadership of the church. Their voices were heard only if they wee singing in the choir. Oh yes! Mary Daly’s quote is not only perceived to be true in many popular religious organizations but also in the American culture, especially in the deep south. That’s [explitive removed] wrong! I don’t think women or men are better, they are only different and bring collective and individual gifts and skills to be used to craft a better world. They are equal and need to be treated as such. Because I’m a trans woman I am more comfortable with the divine having feminine energies because the male energies are [expletive removed] too aggressive and violent. My view of the Divine is the opposite of that. Having a penis doesn’t make you a god. The female energy creates more harmony when it’s not supressed.”
Please share your thoughts and insights by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com. Next week, we will explore the history of the divine / sacred feminine.
Thank you for reading and participating in this blog essay; I invite you to subscribe to my blog at www.reimaginelifecoach.com.
