She is free
Once demonised and displaced
Her mantle being rebuilt
Once strangled and silenced
Her roar being released
Once patted and preened
Her body finding her own grace
Once ignored and flattened
Her place standing tall and strong
Once subjected and bruised
Her protection being offered to all
Once scared and confused
Her spirit gaining form and speed
Once hated and spat on
Her love forgiving the guilt and shame
Once unknown and forgotten
Her return blazing through the world
Lilith has returned to Eve
Her sister soothes her angry soul
She shines her armour and dresses her wounds
She holds her close, heart full and complete
Their time has come
They can start their journey together
The Goddess is restored
I wrote this poem for International Women’s Day 2018 inspired by one of my favourite goddesses, NOT demoness, Lilith. I often see Lilith as the part of the sacred feminine which makes us uncomfortable. She is not the passive, receptive, all-loving, all accepting female we may unconsciously hold as our archetype which we may have named Eve, Aphrodite, Mary, Parvati or Kuan Yin.
Lilith is not like her sisters in that regard but neither is she evil or deviant. Rather I see her as the missing female archetype that has been deliberately disenfranchised and dethroned, redressed as a demonic spirit because she dared women to be independent, a warrior, outspoken, fierce, unruly and, of course, uncontrollable. She represents those of us that have been abused, ignored and maligned and last year she came out fighting , speaking through the #metoo movement. She was mightily pissed off and her angry voice is still being felt around the world. She has every right to be angry too and it will take some time for her rage to dissipate. The transgressions against her are almost immeasurable.
Yet she is part of the Goddess not the whole. To fully move forward we have to embrace both archetypes as essential to the sacred feminine. Nurturing and unruly, warrior-like and receptive, full of compassion and speaking out.
I feel this time of integration is coming. It’s not here yet but the ground is shifting. And the Goddess is preparing to take back her place.
Writing and M.E. 