The Way Back Home: Six Pillars of Self-Sovereignty

It's that time of year again—Resolution Season. It starts January 1 and continues relentlessly highlighting our alleged imperfections until the messaging switches on February 1 to the other tired trope of romantic love solving all of life's woes. 

Let's create a moment of countercultural awareness together right here in this blog post, shall we?

ORIGINAL GOODNESS VS. ORIGINAL SIN

What if we operated under the assumption that we arrived in this lifetime with everything we need for a fulfilling life instead of buying into the notion that we were born flawed?

I am here to affirm your original goodness.

That is a hard one to internalize when we live in a culture built upon a religion who believes people are wretches in need of saving. And if you live as a woman in this culture, you also have to battle myths that have been twisted and used to convince us that we are the problem and to distrust ourselves.. For more on that, download a digital copy of Patricia Lynn Reilly's Eve—Our Mythic Mother: Exposing the Lies of Patriarchy. 

RECLAIMING WHAT'S BEEN LOST

So, if we were born with all we need, but we can't seem to access it, how do we reclaim it? 

There are as many paths to reclamation as there are people on this planet. What I'm going to offer here is a six-pillared approach based on the work we've done with women over the past three years. Each of these is an antidote to the indoctrination of patriarchy and capitalism. Incorporating these pillars into your life will create a container for your reclamation.

1. PERMISSION TO REST

Capitalism creates a false belief that lives inside of us, convincing us that productivity is the end game. The thing that will bring financial security. Women get a double-edged sword with this belief, internalizing it in both work and in their familial obligations, meaning rest of a mirage they never reach. Intellectually knowing this idea of productivity as the holy grail is a false construct is helpful, but shifts begin when we actively choose rest, prioritizing it as a need—not as a bonus we must earn.

We bring this to our community through a Rest & Liberation Circle on the third Friday of each month. Our next one is this Friday, 1/19 at 7 pm ET.

2. WOMAN-AFFIRMING SPIRITUALITY

Notice we didn't specify what you honor or how you honor it. The key is to do it from a place of alignment, not of enculturation. In other words, find what feels sacred to you and create a way to express your spirituality authentically. If it feels like a "should" or like you're doing it for "show," you are stuck in someone else's idea of sacred practice.

We bring this to our community through a gathering called Meet Her At the Altar on the second Sunday of each month. Our rotating team of priestesses and leaders brings in different practices and voices to help you find a sacred way that works for you.

3. YOUR VOICE

Women are discouraged from using their voices in any way that is not pretty, pleasing and polite. If they do speak up in meaningful ways, they are labeled "bossy" while a man doing the same would simply be a boss. They are called difficult, "too much" or bitchy for expressing their needs in a way that would get a man called authoritative or assertive. We can know this, but we must practice it in a safe place in order to regain this lost ability.

We bring such a container to our community quarterly in our She Speaks open mic. This is a space for women to read or sing words that tell their unvarnished truth. Words we've written or words that inspire us are all welcome here. 

4. WISE WOMEN'S WORDS

The works considered "classics," along with the literary and religious canons were written almost exclusively  by men. Those texts that are considered foundational to Western culture's philosophy, also uniformly masculine. Reclaiming a sense of our own authority requires that we read and hear from women writers and thinkers. Read women's words and share them widely.

We create a literary salon of sorts quarterly, inviting a woman author to join us in conversation around her work and her words. In this way, we support our own internal shift toward embodying feminine authority (not coincidentally sharing the same root as author).

5. WOMAN-TO-WOMAN SUPPORT

It is not in patriarchy's best interest for women to support one another. The system thrives when women are pitted against one another, vying for the adjacent privilege that comes with attracting powerful men or competing for one of the few seats at any given table allocated to them. Reclaiming our self-sovereignty is not a solitary pursuit. Creating or joining a supportive group of women dedicated to helping one another in healthy, non-fixing ways teaches us to tap into a web of feminine energy that vibrates toward collective liberation. 

We are so committed to this crucial pillar that we hold weekly Wisdom Circles that foster this kind of woman-to-woman support. We circle every Wednesday at 7 pm ET. 

6. PERSONAL MYTHOS

Patriarchy favors the rational and logical above the intuitive and mystical, conflating fact with wisdom. There is a deeper kind of knowing embedded in mythology. Like the rest of the literary canon, mythology has been coopted by the oppressive systems within which it was translated. Reclaiming myth means freeing old tales from their patriarchal overlays, so that the truth embedded in them can take root in women's lives. It also means embodying a personal mythos in your own life, recognizing wisdom in the form of synchronicities, poetic pairings, recurring symbols and more. 

We meet quarterly in circle to explore ways to tap into this highly intuitive form of wisdom in our lives. Legendary author and thinker Charlene Spretnak will join us on Sunday, 1/28 for our inaugural Myth & Symbol Circle. 

Find ways to incorporate these pillars into your life and watch yourself reclaiming, bit by bit, all that has been indoctrinated out of you. If you want a community to walk with on this jo urney, we would love to have you join our Sovereign Sisterhood. A rhythm of reclamation and a group of kindred spirits is waiting for you.