In the dark of the moon we're given the opportunity to explore our shadows, what Jung referred to as the unconscious aspects of our personalities or the unknown, “dark side” of ourselves. *Lucky for us (yes, said with a hint of sarcasm) this month we have two New Moons (known as a "Black Moon") which means we can get *extra cozy with our shadows ... (aka all the parts of ourselves we try to ignore or avoid).
In terms of The Feminine Shadow, Lilith most represents the archetype hidden within our psyches.
As the story goes, she was shamed and shunned by Adam for standing in her power, for not submitting or consenting to him governing over her, and then she was accused of birthing demon armies that would come to slay Adam’s innocent lineage in the night.
Far from being “evil” or cavorting with demons and devils, Lilith was actually just standing for her sovereignty. But the birth of patriarchy had a different perspective that disagreed with a woman who would not submit, and so she was shamed.
The power of this archetype continues to create discord in our psyche’s to this day, because just like Lilith, our shadows most often emerge out of shame.
Shame is born from many things, but most often it stems from abuse, trauma, conformity and lack of self worth ... and as women, this shame most deeply extends to our bodies and sense of self.
As women we are taught to be “good girls” which means to suppress our natural sensuality and sensual connection to the natural world. We are taught to suppress our sexuality and to only express it in ways that are “appropriate” (in which we receive really conflicting messages from the media that sexualizes us from the time we are young). We are taught not to be bossy, not to be too smart or too loud.
This world is a very confusing place for a woman’s psyche because we are engrained in shame but expected to pretend like we're not.
In the face of shame, we try to conform elements of our identity to fit in - and unfortunately in the process - we disown and distort our relationship with ourselves by trying to keep the shameful parts of ourselves buried under happy looking masks pretending to be: smart enough / thin enough / pretty enough / like we have it all together / like we haven’t ever fucked up or felt a debilitating lack of self worth or misused or abused our bodies along the way.
Amidst all the confusion, what this moon wants to know is: how have you misused your femininity?
How you have sacrificed your sovereignty?
How you have neglected your wild feminine nature?
Maybe you’ve used your body as a tool to get what you want. You’ve dumbed down, sat out or tolerated mistreatment. You’ve had one night stands, stayed silent or forsaken yourself. You’ve conformed to capitalism in how you look, feel and think.
This moon says NOT IN MAMA’S HOUSE.
The archetype of Lilith immediately brings up people’s judgement of her - mostly because she is a wild woman - and instead of being taught how to nurture the natural elements of our wild nature as women - have been taught to live tame (which usually equates to lame) lives.
A really key example of how we deny our wild side is expressed in our monthly cycle. We are expected to show up our entire cycle as we do in the first half.
The fist half, when we are in our waxing energy as women we are confident, energized, communicative and social. But the second half as our hormone production shifts and we wane, we become receptive, sleepy, intuitive and desire isolation.
As women, the second phase of our cycle is where our shadow side lives. It's where our WILD NATURE needs to breathe, but when we don’t give our psyche’s and our bodies what they need in the second phase, our body, (beyond our logical mind) revolts. The truth is, we wouldn’t be nearly as emotional, depleted or “bitchy” if we had the societal permission to recede, rest and honor the wild nature of our body instead of continuing to shame and abuse it the second half of every month.
But back to your feminine core. We already know the affect society and shame has had on you ... and so what we need to know now is ... how have you misused yourself?
Have you given your body away too many times? Have you ignored your sensual and intuitive connection with nature? Do you ignore your cycle and burn your body out every month on booze and caffeine? Do you avoid the parts of yourself that demand your attention and love? Do you feel shame towards your bleed or numb out your body’s messages throughout the month? Have you been living as a victim instead of taking responsibility to heal whatever wounded you?
Lilith begs you to get real with parts of yourself you've spent your life avoiding.
She wants you to channel your wounds into worth by claiming the sovereignty of your wild side. She doesn't care how it looks or what other people think, all she cares about is what the word WILD means to YOU as a WOMAN.
Because what is wild to me might be tame to you. What feels tame to me might terrify you. She wants you to stop conforming and start being TRUE to what your wild nature needs.
Think on this. Feel into it. The only thing you need to know is that underlying your personal definition, YOUR WILD NATURE is the innate essence within you as a woman that connects you to your feminine nature. It doesn't have to look like anyone else's interpretation.
For me wild means natural and cyclical. It means sacred. It means intuitive. It means fierce and feminine. It means connection to my body, my sensuality, my sexuality and my bleed. It means nurturing the inter-dimensional depth of my spirit daily. It means getting out of town, away from concrete and cars. It means being barefoot with salt water in my hair + sun and wind on my skin. It means attuning to the subtle realm of energy that courses through my body and the cosmos. It means knowing that my greatest gifts are not linear or logical and that the meaning of my life is not about how my body looks, what my job is or what others perceive of me …. FOR ME BEING WILD IS ABOUT WHO I AM beyond material definitions. And because I'm being real, the thing I come to most often these days is, my wild side not giving a fuck about all the things I've been taught to give so many fucks about.
So in the fertile darkness of this Black Moon, knowing that your wild might, but doesn't have to look anything like mine, light a candle, sit with your journal and ask yourself:
Where have I sacrificed my sovereignty?
Where have I misused my femininity?
What does wild mean to me?
What do I need to do to nurture my wild side?
Let this Black Moon be your call back to the wild. Ask yourself these questions and then ask yourself what steps you need to take in order to reclaim your wild feminine sovereignty (aka your supreme, unrestricted, unlimited nature). If you feel weak, let Lilith slither in and lend you some of her sovereignty … but most of all, let yourself have compassion for your shadows and be open to the wisdom you receive.
The world is in a state of pain and chaos. Out of balance and aching for justice in a way that gives us all the permission to be ourselves and to not be persecuted for it. This moon stands for justice and intimacy in our sense of self expression, our lives and our relationships ... most of all, it stands for you being just with yourself.
We need you wild and free, Ashly xx.
... PS if you aren't following me on Instagram yet ... WHY NOT?? Haha! But really, if you aren't, you might wanna hop on over ... because not only is @femme.rising where I share daily musings ... but it's where I'll be sharing some really juicy sensuality practices over the next few weeks!
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