The Return of the Feminine

We’re living the end of time. Not the end of the world, but the end of a world age—a 5,125 year cycle of time—and the way we’ve known the world throughout that time. The present world age began in 3114 B.C. and will end in A.D. 2012. Because the end of anything also marks the beginning of what comes next, we’re also living the start of what follows the end of time: the next world age, which ancient traditions called the great cycle.
Fractal Time, Gregg Braden

As this is 2012, I decided to begin the year by sharing how I have come to think about this point in time. On December 21, 2012 we will be completing not only a 5,125 year cycle but also a larger 26,000 year cycle. That is what makes 2012 so significant.

A 26,000 year cycle is a journey through all 12 signs of the zodiac. The five smaller 5,125 year cycles nested within the larger 26,000 year cycle are called world ages. Within these macro cycles are the smaller annual, seasonal, monthly and daily cycles that inform our lives.

Marija Gimbutas is credited with giving us the rosetta stone for understanding the goddess cultures. In her book, The Civilization of the Goddess, she describes the high level of civilization the goddess communities attained before coming under assault by a series of invasions. These invasions, which began around 4400 B.C., created massive dislocation of ancient settlements and introduced a culture that included violence, a religious system that revolved around a sun god, and a hierarchical organization. In time, the value system and lifestyle of the goddess cultures became dominated by the new invaders.

Out of the last 26,000 year cycle, only the 5,125 year cycle that is coming to a close seems to have been defined by a detour into patriarchy. Understanding this gives me some perspective in a world where patriarchy seems endless and unchangeable.

Patriarchy is a fundamental abuse of power and a distortion of the divine masculine. We know this in our bodies. We are socialized to participate in a system that we know is a lie. This is system that does not place value on all of life and our connectedness. It is a system that has lost its spiritual grounding into the feminine.

In Dorothy Atalla’s book, Conversations with the Goddess, the presence she communicates with says, “The feminine is rising to restore balance, but this is not merely a recurring cycle. This time a new reality will emerge, completely transcending the old yin/yang cycle. This new cycle will span 26,000 years.”

This year, not only are we beginning a new 5,125 year cycle, we are beginning a new 26,000 year cycle. Just as old cycles do not end abruptly, new cycles do not begin abruptly. The rise of the feminine has been occurring for a while. The counterculture movement of the 1960’s was an aspect of this. The environmental movement, feminism, and racial equality, are all aspects of the inclusive nature of the divine feminine.

For me, embracing this unique time on our planet means continuing to open myself to the work of unearthing the divine feminine in my life; to deepen my understanding of the gifts of the feminine that are grounded into the elemental energies of Mother Earth; and to learn to own the power of the sacred feminine in my experience. I hope you will join me.

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