I have been thinking a lot about this Planet - Mother Earth, Mama Gaia, Pachamama, Terra Madre. Thinking especially of her body and all her children. Thinking of the Great Mother Goddess and the time when both women and the land were revered as bringers and sustainers of life. A time when women would sacrifice all to defend what they loved. A time so vastly different than where we now find ourselves.
I love the story of the Priestesses of Avalon, of Arthur and Excalibur, the story of a time when heroes and heroines came forward and risked all for the greater good.
In recent times, the archetypal energies of the Wild Woman, Wise Woman, Medicine Woman/Shaman, Priestess/Oracle/Pythia, Divine Female (and more) have all been re-awakened. Re-awakened and embodied by many women walking on this planet at this time. Still waiting just beyond the Veil - waiting to come fully forward - is the Amazon/Warrioress - She Who Protects and Defends.
Ready to step forward, She knows her time is now. Still, she waits for that inner stirring - the call - that says we are ready, for how this energy will manifest and how she will look is unique to each woman. There are though some common threads that weave the fabric of this archetype.
In these times, embodying the archetype of the Amazon/Warrioress is about standing in your truth, your sovereignty, protecting and defending what you love. It is not about battle, not about hatred, not about killing.
It is about power within, not about power over.
It is about gentleness and openness and allowing the full fluid flow of all emotions. An Amazon/Warrioress knows both her Dark and her Light. She knows both the place of stillness and the place of action, with discernment to know which place to move from at any given moment.
She knows fear and concern but, instead of allowing herself to become paralyzed, she acknowledges it... names it... and channels this energy into mobilized inspiration. She knows her fear can propel her forward and that fear is one component of the dark matter of Alchemy.
She knows her heart and mind and demands nothing less that pure authenticity.
An Amazon/Warrioress trusts in her deepest knowing with a willingness, a resolve, to accept the road less traveled. She trusts, honors and calls on the long line of Ancestors and Cosmic Forces that guide her feet and guard her back.
Being an Amazon/Warrioress is about focus, timing and the self-empowerment and self-discipline to draw the arrow back in the bow. It is trusting in that deep inner knowing that says you are prepared and ready to stand strong in your defense of all you love and hold dear.
Now is the time for the Amazon, the Warrioress - She Who Protects and Defends - to come forward. She is desperately needed on this planet at this time and is waiting to offer her wisdom, her gifts. However, it is up to each of us to step forward and declare we are ready to embody her. Ready to awaken her energy within.
It is time for us to remember and re-member the tradition of these hidden heroines. While women like Jeanne d’arc and Queen Boudicca of the Iceni - along with a host of other women across all cultures who stood up to protect what they believed in - come to mind, embodying this archetype is not only about taking huge stands or risks. Every day we have opportunities to stand up for what matters to us. Some days it may be the smallest gesture or comment that has the biggest impact. Other days we may have to dig deeper for the courage and resolve to stand in our truth.
Always, though... always... we can stand firm in our sovereignty and our authentic truth and, in so doing, send out the message we will not be silent while what we love is harmed or destroyed. Sometimes merely saying no... NO... awakens this archetype. That alone makes us an Amazon/Warrioress.
Does the archetype of the Amazon, the Warrioress resonate?
Are you ready to call her forward, accepting and embodying her gifts?
We are in a very different time and it is no longer only Arthur who can pull Excalibur from the stone.
Embodying the Archetype of the Amazon Warrioress, © Arlene Bailey
Resources on Amazons and Warrior Women/Queens in History
Warrior Women: An Archaeologist’s Search for History’s Hidden Heroines, Jeannine Davis-Kimball, Ph.D.
The Warrior Queens, Antonia Fraser
The Amazons, Adrienne Mayor
On the Trail of the Women Warriors, Lyn Webster Wilde