6/26/12 Ask yourself this: when you listen to the news or watch a  program or movie.... Where is the feminine principle seen? Is the wounded feminine rising or is it being buried alive?

Perhaps the time has come: this is the rise of the wounded feminine. And patriarchal power fears it.  Our collective unconscious  is enthralled with strong women such as Lisbeth Salander of the Larsson trilogy, and Katniss of The Hunger Games,  and we relish the  gentle men   that are their counterparts, Meanwhile Catholic bishops cover up sex abuse scandals of their clergy as they  simultaneously rail against the nuns for caring more about the poor than they do about contraception.


What do I mean by wounded feminine? I define this as the way of being in the world that has been buried alive  by the powers that be  that embed every aspect of our lives  .The feminine principle has been articulately addressed by Riane Eisler, Richard Rohr, Thomas Berry, David Richo  and multitudes of others.The feminine principle is the model of partnership, collaboration and compassion in lieu of domination, hierarchy and control.The feminine principle is to be lived by both men and women.


However, I believe to claim the feminine principle we must name it as it is now--the wounded feminine rising.


"Wounded", because girls, women, and the feminine principle itself have been hijacked, embattled, suffering and  even entombed--sometimes literally as well as figuratively left for dead.

"Rising" because even the feminine energy that has been left for dead by the murderous patriarch, is coming back to life.


Just as Lisbeth Salander, buried alive by her killer half brother and ruthless father, digs herself out of her own grave, so too the wounded feminine principle is rising. Unfortunately the metaphor goes beyond book and movie to the reality of such persons as Gabby Giffords, shot by a young man whose mental illness found a rallying cry in right wing venomous rhetoric.While Gabby physically survived the gunfire, and made a valiant personal comeback, her career has been derailed. Where characters in novels may have miraculous recoveries, reality is less forgiving of what guns can do.