‘Satan Watching the Caresses of Adam and Eve’; watercolour by William Blake for John Milton’s Paradise Lost, 1808
During one of my workdays, I had a guest in my car – an intelligent woman who left a lasting impression on me with her profound awareness. We delved into a conversation about various topics such as God, the world, and eventually, my birthland, Iran. I shared my views on equality between men and women. Then I dared to discuss Femininity, Anima, Animus, and Dr Jung’s idea of their existence, which are present in every human. She listened attentively, found my words intriguing, and even agreed somewhat. However, she expressed her preference for being a “pure woman” and did not desire to have any masculine traits in herself!
I believe the current wave of feminism is a form of emancipation fueled by frustration toward men. This frustration stems from the fact that men have dominated the world’s history. However, I wanted to discuss this further to convince her to understand my perspective.
Unfortunately, we arrived at her destination before we finished, and she got out of the car and left.
I have gathered here some words and quotes on femininity, body and soul, which I believe has very little to do with gender (as Marion Woodman says so well), and we might need a vested development to comprehend it.
The Body and The Soul
The Garden of Love – William Blake
I went to the Garden of Love and saw what I had never seen: A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut, and “Thou shalt not” writ over the door; So I turned to the Garden of Love that so many sweet flowers bore; and I saw it was filled with graves, and tomb-stones where flowers should be; and Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys & desires.
“Do what you will; this world’s a fiction and is made up of contradiction.” William Blake (UK 1757-1827) Infant Joy – Infant Sorrow – by William Blake
William and Marion
“William Blake says the body is ‘that portion of soul discerned by the five senses’ I live with that idea. I sit and look out my window here in Canada, and the autumn trees are golden against the blue sky. I can feel their “food” coming into my eyes and going down, down, down, interacting inside, and I fill up with gold. My soul is fed. I see, I smell, I taste, I hear, I touch. Through the orifices of my body, I give, and I receive. I am not trying to capture what is absent. It’s that interchange between the embodied soul and the outside world that is the dynamic process. That’s how growth takes place. That is life.”
~Marion Woodman, Conscious Femininity, P. 44-45
Award-winning author Teri Degler quoted:
“….embodying the divine feminine is critically important for our times. (Teri Degler: The Divine Feminine Fire)
It shows you how to accomplish this by getting to know your body, bringing your body and your dreams together, and uniting body and soul. Marion Woodman, author of Dancing in the Flames
This issue might have a long way to go, and as I am involved in something more primitive like the situation in Iran, I can see those women who are beyond all boundaries and fighting for their rights; I discern light at the end of the tunnel! Thank you all for your interest. Have a lovely weekend, everybody.🙏💖🥰
lampmagician 
Aladin, I love how you’ve woven the love and wisdom of Carl Jung, William Blake and Marion Woodman together in your article today. For me, the balance and integration of our feminine and masculine sides, irrelevant of gender, feels key to the future. We need both! This way of being is how I intuit that my own soul is evolving and helping me step onto the archetypal Crone’s path. Many thanks for all that you do and share my dear friend! Love and light, Deborah.
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Deborah, my dear angel, your wisdom always helps me look deeply at the core of things and understand better. As you said, finding balance is the key! Thank you for your profound and kind words. I really appreciate our friendship, and I wish you all the best in succeeding in the challenge of the archetypal Crone’s path.🙏🤗💕🌹
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Dear Aladin amazing post here, I too love how you’ve included reflections on Iranian women, the woman you briefly met and these insightful quotes. I haven’t heard of Marion Woodsman she sounds fascinating through her words. Personally I believe we cant be masculine and feminibe but all of us have to embody both to be in balance. I heard from an expert in violence against women talking at a conference recently and she said that basically anywhere you have very entrenched traditional beliefs about gender and the roles of women and men you are more likely to have a lot of voilent crime against women. If we became less gendered or worried about expectations of our gender maybe it would help with this? I’m no expert but perhaps its true? I loved your thought provoking article happy Sunday and big hugs, Athena
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It would help, my dear wise Athena! One does not need to be an expert on such issues; a woman who is open-minded and brave can say the right words. Your mentioning of being less gender is the solution, though, for some men, it is not acceptable because they don’t want to lose their dominance in life.
Nevertheless, I am pleased to find the power of femininity within me and hope to share it as widely as possible. I believe that men have caused enough harm, and it is time for them to relinquish their power to women! Thank you so much for your warm and kind comment. Blessing, Aladin.🤗🙏💖🌟
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A wonderful and important post Aladin. For me balance of the masculine and feminine is what I strive for – if only global so called ‘leaders’ would do the same, I am sure there would be less pain and suffering in this world.
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I wish there were more like you, dear Lin. That is the needed wisdom! Thank you. 🙏💖🌹
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Amazing and post which is nostalgic here.. and congratulations on 1k subscribers
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WOW! Thank you first for your appreciation. Secondly, I didn’t know I received so many subscribers; I can hardly believe it!😮 You made my day. Thank you! 🙏🤗💖
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You made it till here a long way to go
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You say that, dear friend. Thank you! 🙏🤗
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Beautiful post! Marion and her husband loved Blake. I saw a Blake exhibit in New York City because of her encouragement and it was powerful! Before she got cancer, Marion gave a series of workshops open to men and women at University of Toronto. If there were 30 people there, maybe only three or four were men. Vic loved these workshops and didn’t mind being one of the only men. He loved the fairytales we worked with and the dancing. Like you, Aladin, he was a macho appearing guy with a gentle feminine heart.
I also remember the Dalai Lama saying in a few different ways that Western women would save the world. We’d better get to work.
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This is terrific information, dear Elaine. Thank you! I would love to participate with you and Marion in these fabulous workshops. I think Vic and I could be excellent friends, and I believe women are the only hope. Please do it, and do it quickly!🥰🙏💖
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I understand that woman in the car having frustration toward men and that being why she denies having any masculine traits. However, I think that finding our way to equality is not to hate on men but instead to see how they can better understand where the imbalances are and how they might better support women. I think we all have bits and pieces of different traits and each person is uniquely beautiful, irregardless of gender. The future is strong, fabulous, and equal! 💗
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This is a beautiful world you describe, my dear Christy. I could dream of it. Thank you for your wise words about how to find out the imbalances. When men understand women, they will better comprehend themselves! I appreciate your knowledge and comment; thank you.🙏💖🤗
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Aladin,
You are a positive person. You see light at the end of a tunnel. Yet, there are politics at play wherein some see dark after the light. Another tunnel?
You have an understanding when you say that you see a woman’s frustration toward men when she expresses she only wants “pure woman”. I appreciate that.
In the 1971 essay I’m reading (Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists) Linda Nochlin describes The Anima, Animus in art without using those words. She uses masculine/feminine.
Anyway, she was quite well educated and has big words strung together in heady sentences. So, I have had to start at the beginning after 8 pages in.
I am now almost half way through. I am finding reading out loud, slowly is helping me comprehend and retain.
I’m going to go read now!
xoxo🌹❦🌹
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Maybe I’m an optimist on this topic—just for surviving! But when it comes to the nature of humanity, I’m entirely disappointed!
You already mentioned her name and that book in your last comment, which makes me curious to get it! I am also a slow reader; I think it is good to understand it better, though I wish I could read as fast as a robot: there are so many books to read! Then, enjoy your book—my heartfelt thanks for your appreciation.🤗🙏🌹🌹💖
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Thank you so much for this beautiful and inspiring summary of “the feminine”, Aladin. I agree wholeheartedly with you that the future is feminine. It will have to be if our species is to survive. Hopefully, the masculine parts of us will learn to accept the fullness of the feminine in us and others, and figure out how to live in partnership with it. If that happens, the excesses of patriarchy will be stripped away. We don’t need a matriarchy or a patriarchy. We need loving union between all our opposites. We need wholeness. Blessings, Jeanie
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Dear Jeane. I see and feel a harmony in your words with mine, which I would have no wonder. It is what I learned from you, and I am happy to succeed in showing my point of view. And yes! We must find the scale of balance to reach the fortune for all the people worldwide. Thank you for your encouragement and support.🙏💖🦋
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Anima is the future!
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You say that, my wise friend. 🤙🙏
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We have to make it like that. We need to be proactive.
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Exactly! 🤙👏
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