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The False Feminine: Devouring Aphrodite (reaction to the Conquering Masculine)
Following from my previous article, the recognition of the subversive and manipulating feminine aspect of the immature human psyche is in as desperate a need of discussion as the conquering and consumptive masculine aspect. The dawning of the 7th Ray age is bringing forth the emergence of Holy Feminine Intelligence and Heavenly Creativity. We must also acknowledge too that there will be challenges of great distortion as a consequence of the separative and reactive aspects of irresponsible human consciousness.
If the separative masculine attempts to have dominion and control of the power of creation through brutal force, rape, violence and dogmatically hierarchical systems, then the separative feminine attempts to hold on to her relationship to the manipulative use of power through the denial of truth and any aspect of consciousness. Both of these destructive forces hold the devastatingly sad wound of being separated from one another: the masculine feels powerless in his separation from the feminine, leading him to the need to have power-over (the conquering rapist), while the feminine feels unloved and banished from the light of consciousness, unable to express her radiance and splendour in the realm of the Seen, leading her to use her power in the shadows to manipulate consciousness from the underlying assumption that she can never be loved (this is the true source of her great rage, with the tears of devastation resting beneath).
Due to the lack of discernment around these aspects, many women and men who have built identities from the reactionary subversive feminine are being crowned as great oracles, priestesses, and leaders of the feminine wisdom in our time. Honestly, putting these people on a pedestal is as much of a joke as calling a megalomaniac rapey cult leader a wonderful saviour and example of masculinity. Yet, this is happening – a lot. Unfortunately, due to the remaining immaturity of the masses and a lack of interest in accountable self-reflection and sacrifice, we will likely have to wait until the disasters of the romanticisation of this particular form of egocentricism reek havoc in the form of abuse towards students and especially men. It will be but a matter of time before these 'divine feminine' teachers reveal their face of hatred and inability to take responsibility for their own crimes against the human soul.
The most ironic thing about this, however, is the fact that while these individuals are operating from this disconnected place, they are the ones who remain afraid of the holy feminine. (No wonder they tend to be so obsessed with the distorted masculine expressions: their own feminine is pissed off towards the lack of maturity of their own masculine!) And this will always be the case for those who refuse to integrate the inner masculine, for without the seed of consciousness, eyes remain blind to divine feminine beauty, and immature masculine fear remains dominant in the consciousness of not only the conquering masculine types, but indeed within these leaders who claim loyalty to Her. For He is Love, and the Will to Serve, and you cannot be loyal to something you cannot Love.
Let us explore some of the central ways in which the imbalanced feminine expresses (you will notice that many of these correspond to the 7th Ray shadows spoken of in my previous article):
The Misinterpretation of All-Inclusion: often expressed as a reaction to the immature masculine expressions of avoidance and dismissal of human aspects. The shadow of all-inclusion in its stupid way is that it excludes the fact of DEATH (Shiva) and of Higher Principles, such as Love. If you choose to live a life of Truth, many old ways of operating, thinking, behaving and relating to self, others and the world must be sacrificed to the Sword. Idiotic all-inclusion leads to the inclusion of distorted, abusive and false modes of operation. Blind adherence to 'all is well!' breeds a particular kind of selfish narcissism. These people often have unprocessed shame and as a result are unable to have a healthy relationship with a principle that invites for their own betterment: all forms of acknowledging humbly ones imperfection is now seen as 'shaming/rejecting' of the human self, which is of course not the case in the healthy individual.
Sacred Rage: I don't care much for for this expression. Again, its motivation is still based upon a reactionary (not responsive) movement against the oppression of feminine pain. Rage is an energy of destructive hatred that is a consequence of repressed anger, which when properly embraced with Love becomes a motivating force of mars-activity, as inspired action and personal power. We must be honest with our feelings of rage and allow them to pass through, but to ride on the feeling itself is to give validation once again to the very separative force that turned anger into repressed rage in the first place. Alchemised rage becomes intelligent activity. Many fall into the trap of believing their un-held rage to be equivalent to Holy Fury, which is an impersonal expression of earth-energy, not a personal expression of individual wounding. This is the Kali and Lady Justice Archetype (though accessing both these forces is directly dependent upon the maturity of ones Shiva or masculine aspect – justice hold the sword of discernment). Ironically (once again), giving specialness to rage in this distorted way actually prevents the true feminine from revealing her desired activity.
False Vulnerability: here, we find a preference for an artificial image of feminine softness and compassion, that is based on a refusal to integrate any aspect of clarity, directness of communication, and any actual love that allows for the dissolving of the very protective walls that prevent authentic vulnerability and human connection. What I find most concerning about this particular fallacy is that doctrines of this nature are so potently attractive for pathological personalities that fall along the narcissism/sociopathic spectrum. (This is because it gives the sociopath a constructable image of vulnerability – whereas true vulnerability would make it impossible for the sociopath to thrive in the space at all.) There is a true softness that comes from authentic openness, but this is the result of opening ones deeper self through the integration of Truth and Love as the Masculine aspect. Without the latter, this superficial softness serves as an avoidance of true openness and is rooted in a fear of standing strong in ones honesty, and a fear of personal power.
Rejection of Consciousness: all of a sudden, all forms of self-responsibility, shadow work and integration work is seen as controlling and dominating. This is the consequence of unhealed masculine wounds that create a very real hatred towards consciousness, clarity, direction, logos, and solarisation of any kind. Believe me, there are many celebrated 'divine feminine priestesses' of today who are deeply man-hating and hold complete denial to the fact. The inverse form of this in its extreme, keep in mind, is seen in the male psychopathic serial killer, often with an abusive mother that psychologically distorts him so completely, that the only form of consciousness he develops is an attitude of 'all women must be destroyed' – his reactive rage towards his distorted contra-sexual psychic aspect. This warping of consciousness-rejection creates a complete excuse against personal responsibility (a great form of narcissism). What is most hilarious about this, is that consciousness is literally required to translate and give form to any idea or form of communication. That is to say, consciousness is required to tell people that consciousness is not required! I find the level of ignorance here to be a combination of disturbingly remarkable and equally comical.
In reality, we all have tendencies of polarisation into imbalanced expressions of Him/Her, and this is all good and well upon the journey of inner androgyny and alchemy. This is in part why we emphasise the importance of True Relating in these times, as it provides a safe committed container for these distortions within ourselves as well as the projections within our partners to be seen and dealt with responsibly under real loving care. I speak to this greater distorted expression however because without awareness of this reactive pendulum swing into ignorance, many may fall into the traps that will create further separation rather than true healing, integration and unity.
Women building teachings and identities out of fear and hatred towards the masculine is equally as misguided and dangerous as the inverse (though keep in mind there are of course men and women who reside in both distortions, even though we may make a generalisation about the sex aligning with its particular pole). We may be able to appreciate why the serial killer became as warped as he did when we examine his origins, but does this make the murdering of innocents OK? The inverted destructive expression of the feminine force seeks to destroy innocent men (and women) with pure hearts and clear consciousness – do we excuse this abuse despite holding compassion for the less-than-ideal circumstances that led to such a hatred? I think the answer is clear...
THE POTENTIAL POSITIVE
I would like to make reference here some notes from Jungian Analyst Robert A. Johnson and the themes from his book "SHE: Understanding Feminine Psychology":
The Regressive Aphrodite is afraid of the True Feminine Kingdom of Heaven. She seeks to subvert the incoming Princess who will reign over the lands with her creative intelligence – Aphrodite attempts to destroy anything that will compromise her ability to manipulate existence. This force of the unconscious, while twisted in its motivation, actually serves a greater purpose psychologically by way of initiating true individuals into their own unconscious as a way to awaken and mature the conscious aspect. This happens through the surfacing of the old patterning – the mirroring and life-generating aspect of the feminine principle. In this sense, the twisted forces of the feminine are operating as such to invite for the transformation of the individual and to initiate the Holy Marriage. In this manner, we may see the sweeping shadows of the Aphrodite-feminine as an invitation into the tests required for the maturation of consciousness itself, at a collective level.
This is best illustrated in the fairytale "The Little Mermaid". Princess Ariel is the embodiment of the individual seeking awakening and realisation. She longs for marriage with a human man (the wedding of consciousness with matter), and to become a human herself – requiring an evolutionary leap from the watery unconscious into the land of the Sun. The two forces that thwart her evolution are:
Her Patriarchal Father (King of the mer-people): he is not so much a villain, but he represents the old cultural control structure that wants to keep things in the traditional manner. He is the immature expression of the Saturnial/Capricornian energy, and the aspect of the limiting father-consciousness that must be challenged and disobeyed for the growth of the individual (people crossing this threshold will often have dreams of dying fathers, for example).
Ursula, the Devouring Aphrodite: she is the capturer of souls, using her magical ability over matter to manipulate consciousness and consume it. Remember, that she grants Ariel her humanity, BUT – she takes away her voice. Ariel here is not yet a fully formed individual with the consciousness required to speak the logos. Ursula also takes a *false form of the feminine*, manipulating the Prince and trapping him (as the consciousness principle) in her web of deception through stealing Ariels voice. (This last note is worthy of specific contemplation.) Ariel eventually finds her voice – her conscious ability to speak Truth – and the manipulative force of Ursula is defeated. (That is to say: the one who speaks Truth dispels the veil of illusion.)
In this narrative, we can see that while Ursula is a destructive force, the challenge she presents is exactly that which begins the initiation into higher learning. This is what I mean when I refer to seeing this greater movement of evolution within the collective sphere. While we can appreciate this archetypally, however, the issue arises when a person falls into identification with this subversive principle, and in doing so becomes the destructive agent towards consciousness itself, without recognising that the true feminine really wishes to awaken consciousness so it can meet her, and allow for the True Divine Feminine forms to be free in radiant, perfected creation. In this sense, any one person (women in particular) can have within them the "Ariel" or the "Ursula" aspect. If she becomes identified with the latter, however, she will corrupt the evolution of her own inner Ariel – the TRUE voice of her longing feminine – and sabotage her chances at psychological maturation, individuation and healthy loving relationships. This is truly a devastatingly heartbreaking manifestation of the unconscious feminine psyche. A very lonely road is the one of control and manipulation...
And so: be wary as a learner on the path of falling into the traps of Ursula, who may be weaving her magic to appear as Ariel, trapping consciousness into believing that her manipulative force is in fact the true wisdom of the Divine Feminine Godhead herself. This is a test that all men and women are presented with in various forms, subtle and overt. It is a large part of our collective journey during these times as the push of the True Feminine is seeking to burst through and generate abundant forms of Life and Love.
Stay connected to your Heart, learn how to wield the Sword, and listen for the True Song of Her Voice...
"Up where they walk, up where they run, up where the stay all day in the Sun... wandering free, wish I could be, part of that world..."
With Tender Care,
Risa.
#byrisa #archetypes #relating #feminine #embodiment #psychology #aphrodite