by Magi Even in today's world of so called equality, there is a generational conditioning about the role of male/female. But that doesn't make the stereotyping of male/female roles right. Womin have struggled long and hard to break down that sort of thinking. We are (or should be) aiming to achieve a balance of all things in our lives -- that is the feminine as the warrior and the masculine as the nurturer. Certainly there are many aspects of deity that cross the boundaries. And what's so bad about being nurtured by the God? I'd also welcome Artemis by my side in any battle. But maybe it's my old friend Athena who can help cast some light on things. Athena's warlike nature differs from that of Ares, the God of War. Ares represents disorderly conflict, the violence of war, while Athena taught mankind the techniques and rules of war. During the Trojan War, Ares was seriously wounded by Athena, thus proving that technique was capable of overcoming brute force and representing the concept of superiority of the mind over physical power and the violence of war So, I would suggest, that while the warrior is both male and female, the male tendency is go out there and strike out blindly, the female is a more measured approach to the battle. As a final point, if the female/goddess did not have a warrior aspect, then surely she would always be subservient to the male/god, rather than them both be equal in all things and in perfect balance. So, although both the Goddess and the God in many of their aspects are both nurturer and warrior, in their higher aspects they must be either one or the other -- they can't be both. Let me turn to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life to explain. All Sephira on the Tree both receive emanations from the sphere above them and give to the sphere below. Thus they are considered to be both feminine and masculine. The exceptions to this are Kether, the sphere at the top of the Tree which can only give as there is no sphere above it, and Malkuth, the sphere at the bottom of the Tree which can only receive as there is nothing below it. Thus Kether is masculine and Malkuth feminine. On the tree of life, Kether is the first emanation of the Divine which descends the Tree in what is known as the lightning flash, until it manifests in Malkuth as the physical or material plane -- Earth. The truth of this can be seen in many beliefs where 'god' is often referred to as father and the Earth as mother. Now, below Kether are the spheres Chokmah and Binah. Just to confuse things further, Chokmah can be considered as male/father and Binah as female/mother. And what's more, the first three spheres are not dualistic. Think of it like this. The divine first emanates itself in Kether as a single thought and so cannot be dualistic in nature. It cannot create, as such, in the same way that one person cannot create another by themselves/ Even cloning requires a cell to be fused with an egg. So, in order to create and transcend to the physical Kether emanates into Chokmah (the father) which, in turn, emanates into Binah (the mother). And so, the male and female, masculine and feminine, aspects are brought into being. It is important to remember that these are still not dualistic in nature. And it is to these that are the higher aspects of the God Goddess, Lord and Lady -- those unnamed deities. Sure, as the lightning flash descends the Tree, so other deities coming into being, but these can be dualistic in nature. And it is at this 'lower level' that we see certain goddess's as the warrior and gods as nurturers. But taken at it's highest aspect. But considered at their highest aspects, they can only be one or the other, not both. And it is from the lower spheres that we can also see women as warriors and men as nurturers. But it also needs to be remembered that the gender we have now, is only for this incarnation. For our higher self is hermaphroditic, that is both male an female. But I would conclude by saying this is not an excuse for chauvinism, quite the opposite. For as we strive to merge with the divine and know our higher self, so we must balance all dualistic elements of our nature, and this includes the feminine and masculine. So women must know what it is to be the warrior and men must know is to be a nurturer. Sorry if this is a bit confusing! At times you know exactly what you want to say and the concept is as clear as daylight in your mind (i.e. you 'know'). But try and put it down on paper… |
