An Irish friend told this story in an online group conversation.
The powers-that-be wanted to build a motorway through one of Ireland’s ancient sacred sites. A woman called on other women to come to the site to stop the work from happening. But not only did she call the women, she called the men too, and asked them to come and protect the women. At the critical juncture, the women were on the inside of the circle and the men were on the outside, surrounding the women and facing out.
But the most interesting thing is what happened after when the women who’d been inside that circle talked about it among themselves: They described themselves as being “stunned” at how they felt being inside that circle, protected by the men.
At the time this image resonated deeply with me and I think with the others who heard it. We immediately recognized powerful elements in the story, but what were they exactly?
To answer that question we can imagine how it would have felt if the women had have been on the outside and the men on the inside when under attack. That similar geometric pattern would have lacked what gave the story power, the resonance with the traditional strengths of women and men.
The story emphasizes the nurturing, inward, caretaking strength of women together and the protecting and outward-facing gift of men together. This isn’t to say that men can’t be caring and women aren’t powerful agents. But the story is powerful because it resonates with something true. We recognize it.
The men felt proud and useful putting themselves on the line. The women felt cherished and protected.
Further thoughts arose in the group hearing the story. How cool it would be if women felt cherished for their gifts as they walked down the street! Or if the men on the street knew the women supported and respected them. What if that was the vibe we walk around in?
As we spoke of this in the group, even if the street scene was not here yet, a good vibe arose.
And yet, and yet, in some way maybe it is here. The lifegiving complementarity and mutual respect and cherishing between the sexes is the real case. The story resonates with us because it reflects a reality.
The Presence of the Past
I think it’s like this. The psyches of men and women are ancient consciousnesses that became dual about the time our bodies did. Just as our bodies evolved complementarily, so have our psyches. Hormonally, biologically, emotionally and psychologically we’ve evolved as two sexes for literally millions of years. Parts of our modernity have been tearing away at this and telling us for generations that we’re only products of our conditioning and that we can be reshaped easily and often - presumably with their kind help. I see this as a part of a debilitating erasure of history and the past.
Here’s a metaphor that may make the relationship between the past and the present more clear. Humans are like a ship. It’s the presence of the past that acts as ballast to keep the ship upright in the water and stable with its keel deep in the water. Without that ballast the ship is top heavy and falls over; there’s nothing to keep it upright and steady.
The current widespread gender dysphoria is a product of this lack of ballast from the past. Kids and many adults imagine that people can become whatever sex they imagine themselves to me, that people can be reassigned - and all that before they’ve reached puberty. (And who among us is wise and knowing at this age, especially given the raptures of pubescent hormones!)
Some will recognize the idea of the presence of the past in our psyches as a subset of the big idea of “morphic resonance,” a theory proposed 40 years ago by scientist Rupert Sheldrake and slowly traction in many fields. It’s the idea that the laws of physics and the universe, and us, are best understood as habits formed out of the long reaches of time. Our male and female natures are habits of the past too.
There’s lots of empirical evidence for morphic resonance and lots of Sheldrake talking about it in books and youtube. Here’s a single example: When rats have learned to navigate a complex maze in one part of the world, and established it, rats of the same species in different parts of the world learn the maze more rapidly. This implies, and I think it’s true, that we can access the strengths of the people of the past. We’re not abandoned to the whims of the moment. The great ideas and inspirations of the world’s spiritual traditions are still alive and still there.
So are the traditional strengths of women and men. Their mutual flourishing is the foundation for the evolutionary future. We’ll need it for challenging times ahead.
Dear Reader, Thanks for being here. Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a simple way to work with the archetypal perspectives of the Magician, Sovereign, Warrior and Lover. It’s suitable for either sex. There are questions - I just noticed that “quest” is in there - that you can explore in each quadrant. There’ll be practice opportunities for those who want.
Do comment and like if you do, as it helps the writing find its way in the world. Being a paying subscriber is a wonderful encouragement!
Good one Andrew! Thank you. Warmly ... John