Who is the Warrior Archetype of the Sacred Masculine for Women?

In the wake of another mass shooting, in Pittsburgh this time, my heart is heavy, again, with the realization of the potential we all carry inside us for acts of brutality and terror.

Which is precisely why I feel such passionate need to talk about this idea of the sacred masculine for women and in particular, the warrior archetype.

“What?!”, you say. Isn’t what happened another clear reason to condemn masculine energy?

I see it as more evidence of the wounded masculine at play, yes.

But my invitation for you is to consider that the wounded masculine energy is not the highest level Sacred Masculine. And that his energy is vital to your health, wealth, and happiness.

Why?

Because as a woman, you also have masculine energy running inside you. It’s part of your dual nature. And ignoring it or fighting against it is not going to bring the internal peace and alignment you’re looking for.

Let’s see who this warrior is.

The Sacred Masculine Warrior Archetype

This is the one that gives many of us the most trouble… we reject it, fear it, pretend we don’t know what our power is. Or we’re constantly in fight mode, always fighting against what’s in front of us. Or we find ourselves sucked into circumstances where we abuse it. Working in the corporate world often feels like a war zone.

But how can we be moved to tears of pride, cheering while watching Wonder Woman swing her sword … and condemn male aggression?

Here’s the thing…

We have all been abused by the wounded warrior energy… whether from our parents criticizing us, a boss humiliating us or literal physical violence against us.

Yet, we’ve also all abused our warrior energy… speaking sharply to someone, hitting our kids – even if we didn’t mean to, stepping on someone’s toes while we climbed the ladder, projecting our anger onto other people, and being bullies in this or other lifetimes. In fact, it’s my understanding that we’ve all played out the roles of murderer, rapist, thief in one lifetime or another. It’s part of our living out the entire spectrum of human nature.

Plus we watch others abusing this warrior energy every day on the news. It’s so embedded in our culture that violence is the way to solve problems, we’re pushed to accept it as normal. Our kids – both boys and girls – grow up on violent video games and it’s just the way it is.

I think this is the biggest question…

Where and how do we find the balance in being powerful and not abusing it?

What if the high level sacred warrior archetype could help us reframe what this is all about?

What if we could see the positive sides of this that we can embrace within ourselves?

If we’re going to make peace with power… this is the key archetype we’re being asked to come to terms with.

This information comes from the book, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, rediscovering the archetypes of the mature masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette. You can read the past two articles on the Lover and Magician archetypes if you haven’t done that yet.

The authors begin by exploring the evidence that humans have a deep, instinctual aggressive drive. It’s embedded in us. And we ignore it at our peril. Because any repressed archetype or energy becomes twisted and erupts into the emotional and physical violence that we see all around us.

Remember when Jane Goodall discovered that her beloved chimpanzees, actually murdered one of their tribe? For years she thought they were peaceful, loving creatures. Then she saw evidence of warfare, child abuse, infanticide, kidnapping, theft and murder. It shocked us. Yes they’re animals. Yet they are 98% matches for our genes.

While it is my belief that much of the shadow warrior comes out of the very structure of our societies and how we raise our children, it does not take away the awareness that, indeed, there is this aggressive drive in all of us. And to equate the Warrior with rage is not the truth.

Ok so what is this high level Warrior all about?

First of all, the Warrior path is a way of life. And yes, aggressiveness is one of the characteristics. But what this means is “a stance toward life that rouses, energizes, and motivates. It pushes us to take the offensive and to move out of a defensive or ‘holding’ position about life’s tasks and problems.”

So many of us women live in that holding pattern, both in our personal lives and in our businesses. Can you see how allowing more of this warrior energy to come forth would benefit you?

The Warrior knows what actions to take through clear thinking and discernment. He’s always alert, always awake. He does not sleep through his life. Through his training, he can focus his mind and body at will. He knows what he wants and strategizes to create the best plan to achieve it.

A key aspect of the Warrior is the awareness of his own death. Rather than being fearful or depressed, this spurs him on to engage with life, to not hold back. He doesn’t sit around getting lost inside his head. He knows that leads to self-doubt and inaction. Every act counts with him.

“The Warrior energy is concerned with skill, power, and accuracy, and with control, both inner and outer, psychological and physical. … This all means that he has an unconquerable spirit, that he has great courage, that he is fearless, that he takes responsibility for his actions, and that he has self-discipline.”

His driving force is a “transpersonal commitment” – a loyalty to something greater than himself. This might be a cause he believes in, his god, a business, a group of people, his nation. This makes his personal relationships less important that his commitment to his cause. And this creates an emotional distance with other people unless he tempers himself through the Lover archetype’s energies.

It’s important that the Warrior come into relationship with the other archetypes if he’s not going to swing into the Shadow Warrior.

So the King’s energy helps him steer the course of his “realm”, and makes sure his clear thinking, courage and decisive actions are in service to generating a positive outcome.

The Magician’s energy gives him the ability to master himself and direct power to achieve his goals. While the Lover brings him compassion and connection to other people and life.

In his fullness then, the warrior is “energetic, decisive, courageous, enduring, persevering, and loyal to some greater good beyond personal gain.” While he’s “detached”, he’s also “warm, compassionate, appreciative, and generative.” He fights good fights to make the world a better place for all, aware that destruction can also be a sacred act.

How does all this apply to you and your business?

What qualities of this Warrior energy could you embrace to help you stand more easily and naturally in your personal power? To run your business with decisive actions and a greater sense of purpose?

Where are you holding back and letting yourself get lost in your head, spinning around in self-doubt?

How can his energy help you step up with courage and commitment to your goals?

Can you see how embracing these qualities are truly vital to creating the life and business you love?

We’ll talk about the shadow sides of each archetype at another time. For now, I ask you to set aside your fears around calling in this sacred masculine archetype. He is there to clarify and support your actions, but he needs to be invited in.

And for those of you who are very comfortable with male energy, I invite you to renew your Sacred Masculine Warrior’s acquaintance. How can you strengthen his qualities in you to be in greater service to your own higher cause?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Listen, I know what I’m writing about is controversial.

I had a long talk with a dear friend recently who wants to keep reading my newsletter but this talk of masculine energy just totally puts her off. Why can’t I just call it something else? Yin and yang for example?

Well, I feel like her resistance is the very reason I need to name it out loud.

Learning how to recognize and love these parts of ourselves that we can call male energy is the first step to admitting they live inside us too. It’s a very powerful experience to really let that high level male energy support you, to feel that guiding you.

But the deeper work is uncovering the shadow sides of the masculine. Because that energy is what has run the world for centuries, we are all affected by it. Pretending we can simply turn that off and claim our female power does not release those wounds of the masculine shadow that’s also living in us. This is ultimately what this work is about. A coming to terms with how we’ve been affected by and lived out our shadow male energy so we can stand united in our male-female powerful self.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes about the art work

The image at the top came out of my own first encounter with my warrior archetype. As I prepared to meet him in a visualization, I was filled with fear and dread. I just did not want to have anything to do with him. These are the words he spoke to me:

“You have absolutely no need to fear me. I am here to protect you, to keep you safe, to set your goals and boundaries and help you meet your goals. I am not here to abuse you in any way. You are invited to make peace with me – for I truly will not harm you. It is my energy in its shadow defense that harms. Unless and until you embrace my sacred role as warrior, you yourself are living out of the shadow defense.”

An image came up of an undefended heart – open and vulnerable, protected by his energy and love. In the art piece I did, I added the sword of truth that cuts through lies and BS.

I welcome your comments on this topic. Please share your thoughts below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, 1990

Click the link if you’d like to know more about my Make Peace With Power ~ Leadership Playground. And be sure to download your free guide below: Meet Your Sacred Masculine-

Women on a Mission: Meet Your Inner Partner in  Creativity, Power, & Leadership