The Wise Woman archetype, the one who knows
Female archetypes, an introduction to connecting with your ever-changing, cyclic feminine nature. December’s female archetype : The Wise Woman, the one who knows.
Here we are, slowly heading into winter. When nights are becoming long and full of mysteries. This is where we meet the Wise Woman, rooted and stable. She is the guardian of our soul. Time has taught her lessons. She has gone through the cycle of the seasons many times. Calm and balanced, the Wise Woman invites us to slow down and listen to the hidden messages of the cold season and its silences.
The Wise Woman simplifies
Like the trees that shed their leaves, the Wise Woman gets rid of in what is not essential. She reduces her activities in order to declutter her life from the superfluous and the mundane. She saves energy because she knows that sometimes, one just has to be less agitated, to obtain what one has been looking for a long time. She slows down to keep pace with the wintering grounds.
The Wise Woman is reassuring
She brings a cloak of calm and equanimity to our lives. She takes us in the depths of our being so that we can find our tenderness. She knows that our dreams, projects and visions are in process. She asks us to close our eyes and to visualize the ones that we will bring to life next spring.
The Wise Woman is a prophetess
She is the one who hears the messages in the winter’s silence. You can meet her in slowness and immobility. Listen carefully to your dreams and intuitions during this season. Practice writing in your diary and accompany this moment with a warm comforting drink. The Wise Woman is your internal counselor, your spiritual guide. She is the one who knows, the one who knows your journey.
Create a sacred space to welcome the Wise Woman into your life
I invite you to create a dedicated sacred space in your home to awaken the Wise Woman in your psyche. The female archetypes are already part of us. The creation of spaces and rituals allows us to reconnect to them so that they can take their rightful place in our lives.
Choose a space that inspires you: your bedside table, above a chest of drawers, a shelf. Clear and clean the surface so that the energy is fresh and new. To energetically purify it, you can practice a fumigation ritual by burning incense, sage or palo santo before laying down your objects.
Select women illustrations who evoke wisdom, balance and grounding for you. It could be an image of a goddess, a famous woman, or simply a member of your family like your grandmother. Place these images on your altar. Make an offering of flowers, seasonal foliage (eucalyptus, pine branches), seasonal fruits (tangerine, pomegranates), nuts.
Also place elements that symbolize stability and solidity such as wood and stones. If you enjoy lithotherapy, I recommend the following minerals to connect yourself to the attributes of the Wise Woman: Agathe (anchoring, stability), Brown Jasper (support, serenity) and Speckled Obsidian (truth, clarity). Finally, place a white candle to symbolize the inner light that guides you through winter.
Be inspired by your intuition and keep your altar for a few weeks. You can gather there whenever you feel like it, to meditate or to place your thoughts and writing pages.
Ritual: Take a long walk in the winter nature
The Wise Woman is similar to winter. She has the same strength and endurance as the wood that can withstand the freezing cold. To invoke your inner Wise Woman, I invite you to take long walks in nature.
Put on good shoes, warm clothes and take walking sticks, and venture out into the a forest’ paths or into the mountains. Face the elements. Observe nature, listen to the the trees’ voices in the silence. Let the magic of winter infuse you. Take a step back in your life and visualize the year ahead.
If you have any questionings, sit in the hollow of a tree, place your back on its trunk and tell it what is on your mind. Close your eyes and ask him to guide you. Listen to his answers. When you’re finished, stand up to thank it by wrapping your arms around it. Silvotherapy is a great resource for developing our intuitive wisdom!
I will meet you in January to meet our following archetype: The Midwife in Capricorn.
