Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Today’s post is about Femininity and receptivity. As I focus so much of my writing and my spirituality on the Divine Feminine, I have also very much worked with the balance of the Masculine and the Feminine!
This post is about something that I often discuss in my daily life with my loved ones: the fact that I do not call Feminine ‘passive,’ instead referring to the Feminine as ‘receptive.’ Now, you may not see much of a difference in these words. However, there is a large difference in how people perceive these terms. When we hear the Feminine aspect is the passive aspect, that gives the impression that the Feminine simply meekly stands aside as the Masculine takes action, giving a meek and mild persona that does not truly embody Feminine energy. Instead, when we hear receptive, it gives us a more nuanced understanding of what the Feminine truly is.
The Feminine is the aspect that receives the blessings of the Divine and the blessings of the actions performed by the Masculine. Just like Feminine bodies are receptacles for the Masculine bodies to conceive children, so too does the Feminine aspect receive the energy drummed up from the Masculine action. This does not only apply to gender or sexuality because we all have different levels of Masculinity and Femininity within us.
In fact, in order to achieve anything, we need to work with the balance of Masculine and Feminine qualities. We see this in magick, in manifestation (even if that term is overused), and in alchemy. The Masculine is the action taken to push forward in the outer world, to create something from nothing. The Feminine is the time spent waiting to see your desires be made manifest. We cannot simply push, push, push; we need to take a step back and wait to see results. It is this act of stepping out of the active and waiting to receive the results of our actions that is the Feminine part of the process of creation! Creation needs both Masculine and Feminine energy to make anything, just as nature needs Masculine and Feminine elements to create a new being. While it is easy to just think that the first part of the action is all we need for creation, the truth is, without the Feminine aspect of receptivity and nurturance, nothing can fully come to fruition!
All of this is why I hate thinking of the Feminine as ‘passive’ because the word does not truly encompass the nature of taking in the Masculine action to alchemize change, which is what is truly happening. Therefore, the true opposite of active is not passive, the true opposite of action is receptivity when we look at the balance of Masculine and Feminine!
I hope that you have enjoyed this short exploration of the balance of the Masculine and the Feminine and why Femininity should be seen as receptive instead of passive. What is your relationship to the balance between the Masculine and Feminine, especially the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Mars and Venus symbols intertwined, representing this Masculine and Feminine balance. I found this image on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Symbols-Venus-Mars-joined-together.png.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Further Reading
- Goddesses in Everywoman by Jean Shinoda Bolen
- Gods in Everyman by Jean Shinoda Bolen
- Persephone Rising by Carol S. Pearson