Witchcraft and the Divine Feminine

With the popularity of the Abrahamic religions it may seem almost novel to suggest the existence of a Divine Feminine, that in fact standing beside the patriarchal worship of a masculine all-powerful God there is an often ignored and equally powerful partner. However, at the core of spirituality, there is an equality between the two and the highest of powers would either have to transcend both aspects or be carried dichotomously. If you can escape the myth of monotheism we find the Divine Feminine across a multitude of cultures.

The Myth of Monotheism

Something you will find across the religious texts of monotheism is the mention of multiple deities. Although I don’t really understand what I have read from the Qur’an to the extent that I wish I do recall the mention of Pre-Islamic Gods who are to be perceived as false idols. Similar statements can be found in Christianity and Judaism such as: “The King of kings, The Lord of lords,” and “Thou shalt put no gods before me.” Bold often overlooked statements that imply the existence of others. Monotheism is the belief in one God but at the basis of these beliefs, we find that this idea is not even defended by the texts. Monotheism asks its followers to reject all Gods except the one outlined by a book’s correlating institution.

When we look at the ancient texts of Judaism (that were later translated and picked apart to create the Old Testament of the Bible) we even find that there is not just one worshipped God. This brings us back to our previous discussion of the Divine Feminine. Both in Christianity and Judaism, we see that there was an abandonment of the feminine deities that once stood beside or outside of the male God. Two of my personal favorites to reference are Sophia (we see more about her in Christian Gnosticism) and Asherah (often referred to as God’s Wife although there’s a deep history there.) These are just two goddesses that we see removed from these texts and turned into false idols or myths. In fact, Asherah and Yahweh can be traced to the polytheistic Canaanite religion.

This rejection of gods that were never truly seen as nonexistent shows that the switch from polytheism to monotheism was not really a simple conversion and may not have truly happened. What we are truly looking at is Monolatry disguised as Monotheism to avoid people doing research into their own religions.

Because God was derived from a masculine God amongst many other Gods and Goddesses it makes sense that there is an active association with God as a Father. However, a father can not be made a father until there is a mother in the picture.

Divine Feminine

Throughout spiritual and religious history, the Divine Feminine is often split into three. (Another number adopted by “monotheistic” Christianity). In Celtic Lore we see this depicted through the triple goddess. In Ancient Greece, we hear the stories of the Fates. In Northwestern Europe we saw the Matronae, a group of goddesses almost always depicted in groups of three. In the previously mentioned Canaanite beliefs, we see Asherah alongside Astarte and Anath. This ideal was clearly taken to heart at the rise of Wicca when we saw the adoption of the Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

What we can derive from these distinct cultures is an image of what the divine feminine is meant to truly encompass: Sex, Fertility, Nurturing, Intuition, Leadership, Wisdom, and Warrior. Two of these ideas (Warrior and Leader) tend to be attributed solely to the divine masculine, but I would argue that this is a pretty novel idea considering history is drawing in female war goddesses, and at the forefront of all belief systems we have a mother of the universe (the ultimate leader). While I believe that both the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine can be seen as warrior-types I do believe how this role is carried out is what differs. Divine Masculine Energy thrives on taking action, jumping straight into the battle to see the results, whereas the Divine Feminine relies on strategy which they develop through their knowledge and intuition.

Incorporating the Divine Feminine into Your Craft

At the core of the Divine Feminine, we find a knowledge that can only be achieved when one truly connects to their spiritual sensations. This is why witchcraft circles around the idea of sisterhood because witches have the ability to reconnect to nature through sentience.

The female healers throughout history always seemed to be in competition with the male doctors, a competition that society especially hated because the women were seeing actual results which were one of the many factors that led to the witch trials (not Salem). The Divine Feminine has always been masked by our patriarchal society and religions. When we turn towards witchcraft we are forced to look deeper into this energy (whether you believe a physical Divine Entity or just believe in an energy that science will one day understand and exists outside of spirituality).

Here are some ways you can access this energy in your craft.

1. Shadow Work - Yes I know everyone keeps avoiding it, but Shadow Work is a great way to tap into the knowledge you keep hidden in your soul. It allows you to open up your intuition and connect to your dark femininity which is what I believe makes the Divine Feminine an amazing lover and capable warrior. A few prompts that will help you connect with this energy:

   1. What’s something that you knew but don’t remember reading about or studying it.?

   2. What sensual feelings has society forced you to repress?

   3. Do you feel like you prefer to be more or less sexual? Why do you think that is?

   4. What is a topic you feel drawn to learn more about that you would definitely google using incognito mode?

   5. Someone you felt an indescribable need to protect? Do you think they needed that protection? Do you regret providing that protection?

2. Isolation - I know it may seem weird to tell you the energy that leads you to care and nurture others is connected to through isolation, but it makes sense once you look closer. Divine Feminine Energy is what gives people their clair and empathic abilities. These abilities are best honed when you take the appropriate “me-time.” Spend time alone in your thoughts focusing on what you want to bring about. Understanding your goals and morals as an individual helps you better understand and accept your emotions.

3. Self-Love Rituals - Learning to love and trust in yourself is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks in your journey to reconnecting with your inner Divine Feminine. If you want to reach your highest potential you have to trust in your ability to get there which means stop second-guessing yourself, be more assertive, and know that all humans are beautiful. A practice I highly recommend is writing yourself a love letter (or if you are really creative maybe you can write a love song.)

4. Meditation - I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory, so I am just going to tell you a bit about meditation. Meditation does not only have to be you laying in a stagnant spot listening to the ocean waves. Perhaps you meditate best while you’re on your morning jog, or even meditate in your lucid dreams. Meditation is the practice of relaxing your mind and refocusing your energies on positivity. The setting and manner in which you do it is up to you.