Goddess 101: Elevating the Feminine Within You
Welcome to She Lives & Loves. A podcast for women who are ready to fall head over heels in love with themselves and life.
I’m Kerin Monaco, I’m a Conscious Life Creatrix, Self-Love Guide and Poet and in this episode, I’m doing a bit of Goddess 101 with you. I’ll be covering the four most commonly talked about archetypes and how to work with them on your self-love journey. I’ve been on my own journey for over 20 years at this point. I’ve experimented and explored a ton of different paths and teachings. You all know I’ve taught yoga, astrology, tarot, channeling, and mentoring but the one thing I always come back to is the Goddess. I was first initiated into the ways of the Divine Feminine back in 2017 when I went to a paint your inner goddess workshop. Before I left that workshop, I had also ordered goddess oracle decks and books from Amazon and I haven’t looked back since. The Goddess has led me to retreats and even called me to enter a 12 month mystery school this past year. Her love is unconditional and her blood runs through my veins. It also runs through yours.
A few things I want to presence before I launch in.
1) We are talking about energy within ourselves and in the world. I’ve had a lot of women who hold a religious background and belief system feel that this work can’t be held in tandem with their faith. Only you can make that decision for yourself, what I will say is that if you are curious, lean in. Take what resonates and blend it into your current belief system. You might be surprised at what arises for you.
2) Before we talk about these four common ones I want you to know that there are many different archetypal systems. I work with astrological goddess archetypes and those taught in the 13 Moon Priestess Lineage of which I’m an initiate of.
3) If you want to go deeper into this work, a great place to start is with some of my meditations. Use Episode #3, Full Moon-Goddess of Love meditation and also use the link in the comments to sign up for my newsletter where I am always sharing new ways to work with me and the goddess on your path.
Housekeeping is DONE, let’s hop into these archetypes. The four that we will talk about tonight are the Maiden, Mother, The Dark Goddess and Crone.
Learning about these faces of the goddess is going to make it easier to connect to these aspects as they live within you. Being able to connect to these parts when needed will allow you to understand how to tune into yourself, how to navigate forward, and really harness the power you hold. To be clear, when a specific goddess approaches us, it is a reminder to harness her traits within ourselves. It’s not about praying, working with, or honoring someone outside of us. She lives within us too.
The Maiden
First archetype is the Maiden. This is our youthful aspect that never goes away with us. You can be 16 and tapping into this part of you 106. She is connected to the season of spring, fresh starts, new beginnings, and the days just past the New Moon. When we work with the maiden, we tend to feel playful and connect to our sensual nature. When she is elevated within us, we are brimming with ideas, energy, and aware of just how much potential we really hold. She works with the element of AIR. That element that governs the thinking mind. The Maiden plants seeds, sets intentions, and dreams big. Everything is possible when looking at life through the eyes of the Maiden.
Something to remember is that there are also shadow energies within each archetype. We can play to the light aspects which I already shared or you might be falling into the Shadow side. Sometimes the Maiden energy can be ungrounded and therefore get lost in her ideas or daydream. You might be seeing a lot of potential but not taking action. When we are in our Shadow maiden we may become flightly, forgetful, and even a little oblivious. This archetype can be naive and make impulsive decisions.
When you are feeling that Maiden rise within you, you can stay in the higher expression by checking in, being curious about your ideas, goals, and dreams but not getting lost in them. There is always time to daydream but there is also a time to spring into action on those ideas. Simply identifying what you want to move forward with and asking “what action can I take to support this vision” is a great way to stay in alignment.
Usually we feel our Maiden rising after a period of time where things feel slow, silent, and on hold. She’s the fresh page of a new chapter. What do you want this chapter be about? For tangible practices to elevate her within, consider what you can start. It can be a journal, planting a garden, beginning a new course, honoring the new moon, making a fresh vision board, dance to music, move your body in new ways, play with your oils, dress up,… you get the idea. Stimulate your sense and start new things. To support you further with that next week, I’ll be sharing a New Moon Yoga Nidra with you.
The Mother
The Second archetype is the Mother with one of the most popular representations of this archetype being Mother Mary. This is deep nourishment, replenishment, and care. She is honored during the Full Moon. She is linked to the season of Summer and fertility. The seed is not only planted, it is blooming with the Mother. This is the archetype that takes the ideas and births them into the world. She plays with the fire element and that creative spark. She takes action that will support her goals in manifesting. She understands that some things take time so she is also the part of us that is patient. When we get all those messages to “be patient”, “have faith” and any message around self-care often times it’s because we are falling into the Shadow Mother aspects.
That’s the part of us that hovers and acts like a big ole helicopter over our desires. This is the part of us that sometimes takes care of everyone else while neglecting our own needs. She can be protective but to the point where she doesn’t allow others to learn their lessons. If you are feeling tired, burnt out, bitter or frustrated, the lower expression of this archetype may be running within you.
Here’s the thing, understanding if you’re in the Shadow illuminates a path to taking your power back. When I work with clients in these patterns, my suggestion is to STOP. Take a deep breath and a break. Consider what your needs are right now. It might be that you really need time to just sit and be in your own thoughts. It may be that you need to get your doctors appointments be a priority just as much as your partner and kids. Sometimes you might need to just start saying NO.
Practices that nurture the Mother are self-care, self-love dates, time spent with loved ones in a mutual energy exchange… meaning it’s a time where you get just as much as you offer, using your creativity in your favorite ways. Where the Maiden plants the seeds, the mother waters, weeds, and maintains the garden into full bloom.
The Dark Goddess
This is by far my favorite archetype. The Dark Goddess. She is the Phoenix Rising, the Butterfly, the great transformer. The Dark Goddess dives deep within. The dark goddess knows that her greatest magic has at times been stifled, suppressed, denied and she takes responsibility in changing that. Connected to the season of Autumn she is incredibly gifted at allowing things to fall away. She is accepting of life’s dark, challenging chapters… because she knows they don’t last. She will live to tell another tale and she will see the dawn of a new day. She is the archetype we feel when we are going through painful endings, called to let go, and experience a metaphorical death and rebirth.
The Dark Goddess also is the energy we use when we are exploring our darkness within. We take a look at our wounds and repressed feelings or traits and she helps us integrate them so we can experience our true wholeness.
Practices that support the embodiment of the Dark Goddess is an honest look at what is causing you pain, struggle, and frustration in life. Allowing those challenges to go will be the greatest and sometimes hardest gift you give to yourself. Sometimes this can happen in a very symbolic way. An example may be letting go of your wedding dress when you begin the process of divorce. A example from my own path was letting go of past failures and mistakes. At one point in time, I worked for a children’s book company. I had bought so many books that sat in my closet untouched and brand new for years. Eventually I realized when I was about to move for a third time, I recognized that I was moving around a past “failure.” I gave them to Good Will and instantly felt so much lighter. Decluttering of any kind will usually have an energetic and emotional impact. Sometimes it’s not so symbolic. It’s handing in your notice at a job that is toxic or ending a relationship that you’ve outgrown.
Often times when we are in the Shadow of this archetype we cling; to what and who is not good for us. This may be out of fear, habit, or resistance to change. The Dark Goddess understands that the only constant in life is change and she surrenders to it. Speaking of surrender, that will be one of the messages you get when you are running this archetype.
The Dark Goddess within us all knows that these are necessary endings that enable us to receive something far greater.
The Crone
Finally the fourth archetype I’m sharing with you is the Crone or otherwise known as the Wise Woman. She is connected to Winter, the water element, and the Dark Moon. The Crone is the aspect of ourselves that holds sacred wisdom. We are highly intuitive and knowing. When working with this aspect, we see how we have everything we need is within. There is a stillness and silence when working with this archetype. She knows when to rest and that chapters where we feel empty or this void in life are a necessary part of the process. She holds the liminal space; the season or energy between the Dark Goddess where things are falling away and entering the chapter of the Maiden where we have the gift to start over.
In the Shadow, the Crone can be a bit of a hermit. She takes isolation, stillness and rest just a little too far. And because she has gathered so much wisdom and seen a thing or two, she can sometimes have little patience for others to catch up. She may also forget that at some point she didn’t know, what she know expects others to know.
You can deepen into this archetype with my recent episode, Winter is Coming. Other ways to nurture this energy within yourself is to find stillness. To consciously slow down. Meditation, Journaling, Using tarot/oracle cards, joining my Dark Moon Temple. Those are just some ways you can nurture this energy within yourself.
Now those are the four archetypes. If your interest is peaked and you want to go deeper into this work, definitely sign up for my newsletter here. You’ll get notified every time I release a new episode of the podcast, an offering, and some bonus teachings.
Next week I’ll be sharing a New Moon Yoga Nidra but for now I’m Kerin Monaco and thank you so much for being a part of the She Lives & Loves community.
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