“A woman’s highest calling is to lead a man to his soul, so as to unite him with Source. …
A man’s highest calling is to protect woman, so she is free to walk the earth unharmed.”~ Cherokee Proverb

My first reaction to reading this quote today was to ponder the literal aspect of it. It seemed at my first judgement sexist, but that’s just my overly masculine feminist coming out. In my therapy, though, I am in the process of identifying with my feminine side, and learning to honor that part of me.

Ah, but to see this symbolically, as a way of honoring both the yin and yang aspects of our selves, changes everything. Honor the roles of both masculine and feminine within your Self.

The feminine aspects of us are non-linear, non-rational, and passive, while the masculine aspects are linear, rational and focused on action. One cannot access Source through rational thinking, nor through “active” meditation, yoga, intent, etc.

One must let go of the rational approach in order to know Source. It takes trust in what is not tangible, but sensed, and a surrender into what cannot be perceived by the rational mind, to allow oneself to Be. I say this, and yet the act of putting this all down in words is rational and masculine in nature.

Women embody intuition. We have an intimate connection with our insides. How can a creature that carries it’s young inside for so long not have a deep connection with all that is round, intuitive, and unseen? We do not see our young for 9 months (give or take a bit), but we are deeply attuned to them.

Our feminine nature (and both men and women have both aspects), being intuitive and receiving in nature, can not alone help us survive. We need the masculine aspects of our selves to honor that intuition and integrate it into our lives. When we sense danger, our masculine aspect can take action.

Our masculine side can also defend the feminine to those who doubt our intuitive nature. For it is when we are told not to trust our intuitive nature that trouble arises. That is when the masculine becomes dominant, and trouble arises. Things become black and white, leading to strife and wars (be they external or internal).

Just like a beautiful marriage, when our feminine and masculine aspects are in balance and support each other, there is harmony, and that harmony is echoed in the world around us.