Why Menopause is the most powerful expression of the Deep Feminine, and why it's so important women claim the crown the of Crone
Don't let anyone tell you the onset of menopause is predestined misery: headaches, hot flushes, mood swings, depression, dry vagina, frizzy hair, weight gain, memory loss, paper thin skin & loss of libido. And that the only relief from all of the above is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This is not the endgame of menopause!
Of course, most women in today's consensus reality do experience many, or all, of these symptoms, but the question is, are they inevitable, or are they the result of core beliefs developed over centuries of patriarchy that sought to disempower the most powerful phase of a woman's life?
I am sixty-one years old, & entered menopause at exactly 50 years of age. As I had been on the path of reclaiming the divine feminine within myself, as well my sacred sexuality, for many years prior to menopause, I knew better than to accept wholesale the popular myths around menopause. I had already healed myself entirely of a so-called incurable, chronic women's dis-ease - endometriosis - and given birth easily & naturally in water at age 39, without a single painkiller, after being told by the best fertility specialists in Johannesburg, Dubai & London I could never have children, not even with intervention.
Again, I refused to buy into the widespread image of women in labour screaming blue murder in agony while doing what our bodies have been designed to do naturally since time immemorial. If animals can give birth without all that drama, why can't we? I distinctly remember walking home from school one day in Kloof, KZN, & seeing a Zulu woman quite some way ahead of me. At one point, she squatted down, her legs wide apart, & pulled a newborn baby out from below her, wrapped it in a blanket, bit the umbilical cord, and kept right on walking in one poetic, fluid motion. Witnessing that exquisitely beautiful sight has stayed with me for life, & I now know that women who believe & trust in their bodies can experience full body orgasms in the final push, & yes, it’s natural & entirely possible.
As I approached peri-menopause (which can commence as early as 35 in some women) I realised my body was a mystery no linear intelligence could possibly contain. I began researching holistic approaches to the final rite of passage as an embodied Dakini, & discovered menopause can be the most mysterious, magical & powerful time for an awake woman. Not only is this the time when the menstrual blood is contained within, dramatically heightening our intuitive, psychic powers, it's also when the hormones produced in the ovaries can be transferred to higher glands in the body - so whilst there is indeed a drop in the production of oestrogen & progesterone, it does not need to be anywhere near as dramatic as popular myth would have us believe.
If a woman makes time for this sacred phase of her life; if she prepares herself mentally, physically, emotionally & spiritually, there is absolutely no need to experience the extreme menopausal ailments we've come to dread.
Conscious women can, and do, lead rich, empowered lives in menopause, & many report their sex lives to be better than ever, once children have grown up & there is more time to slow down & invest in ourselves.
The word 'crone' is derived from crown and denotes QUEEN. A crone is a magician, a witch, a shape-shifter & the embodiment of every face of the feminine, because she's lived the 100 000 faces of the feminine. Yet of the 3 major phases of the feminine - maiden, mother, crone - the crone queen is the most invisible, and the least valued. Instead, in patriarchal societies, youthful beauty is placed on the alter worshipped. Why? Because the maiden is the least fearsome, least threatening, least powerful expression of Her.
If the earth is our body, and our bodies are the earth, then we can look to nature for true guidance. We've all heard about global warming, but have we ever paused to hea the deeper message of the earth? In the 1800s, very, very few women reached the age of menopause. Most died before reaching this sacred rite of passage. Two hundred years later, and there are literally millions of menopausal women of menopausal across the planet. And what is one of the primary modern-day symptoms of this phase of a woman's life? HOT flushes! What is currently happening to the earth? GLOBAL WARMING! If this isn't evidence of the intimate relationship between a woman's body and the body of the earth, then I don't know what is. And the message might be, 'Wake up, or die! Restore a reverence for life and feminine wisdom, or pay the price of extinction.'
This is why I devote my life to awakening the feminine embodied in myself, and the women who come to me for guidance. It is up to women to channel Her wisdom through their womb connection to the earth, and guide humanity back home into alignment with natural lore. When women heal, families heal; and when families heal, communities heal; and when communities heal, countries heal; and when countries heal, the earth heals.
Crones must reclaim their crowns, and lead the psycho-sexual healing revolution of humanity. The world, and all our relations, depend upon it.
