Witch Wound: a deep scar hidden in the Feminine psyche from centuries of disempowerment and invalidation and the terror of 15 generations of Witch hunts and executions.
The violence against all things Feminine targeted our connection to both the Earthly and the Divine, the intuitive, emotional and creative.
Much of our innate human nature was declared heretical.
It was dangerous to claim a direct spiritual connection, to dispense healing knowledge, to be different or sexual in ways the church condemned.
The Earth-based practices and rituals of daily life that for generations prior had connected us to the land and the seasons, to life as a part of the natural world, became heresy.
If you’ve been reading my posts or attending my events, this may seem like a detour away from conscious relationships and sexuality…to me though, this is a vital part of the conversation.
The hurt, frustration and confusion I still see present between men and women, is due, in part to our very different conditioning in a society with deeply ingrained beliefs about gender, that come directly out of centuries of extreme power imbalance.
Much of this conditioning is unconscious and unfortunately it’s proving to be not as simple as making some new rules and laws to heal the divide.
A look at even recent history will show the extent and lengthy duration of the repression, invalidation and demonisation of feminine energy and of women, which has and, I believe, still is, deeply hurting many people and our planet.
Over the past 30 years, I have had my own transformative healing and reclamation journey with the Witch Wound.
Talking to other women, I heard stories of vivid recurring dreams, where events from other lifetimes were witnessed.
I heard stories of shame around bodies and sexuality, crippling fear of religious, legal and medical institutions, hiding of true beliefs and opinions. I heard of internal glass ceilings constructed of a seemingly irrational terror of being truly seen, of voicing the innate wisdom and spiritual knowledge we hold.
Historically, respect for feminine energy and women’s autonomy, power and status, was already eroding for centuries prior to the Witch trials. However during this time, from 1478 to 1782, it was decisively crushed in the most extreme and brutal ways.
This period of history, commonly known as ‘The Burning Times’, was a 300 year campaign of terror by the Spanish Inquisition. Ordinary citizens could be and were, subject to torture and execution to enforce religious and social rules, often on as little evidence as gossip, or the confessions of others extracted during torture.
To have beliefs that did not fit the proscribed reality, or to be seen as intuitive, powerful, sexual, to have healing capacities, or to have enemies was dangerous.
While the Inquisition didn’t exclusively target women, they were the vast majority of victims, not only in the numbers tortured and killed, but also in terms of the demonising of the very nature of women. The spiritual authorities of the day depicted women as inferior, deceitful and even the instruments of evil.
Scientific method, ‘rational thought’ and industrialisation came to dominate over the traditional embodied, intuitive and spiritual wisdom that had supported life for eons.
We became separated from our indigenous knowledge and our larger sense of self. The accepted world view became extremely limited, repressive and mechanistic.
I believe the profound terror people lived through during these times, and the resulting enforced disconnection from much of our human nature, constitutes a deep collective cultural trauma.
Individuals survived by hiding and complying, staying silent and invisible. Today we continue to live within the political, legal, medical, spiritual, academic and economic institutions that are the legacy of that time, and so this way of being has largely persisted ever since.
Many of us, both women and men, are still hiding.
The fear of being judged, cast out, labelled as crazy, deluded, too much’, too sexy, too powerful, the fear of betrayal and persecution for our beliefs and experiences, the fear of speaking out against injustice, or simply speaking what we believe, are all faces of this Witch Wound.
So we hide, fly under the radar, fit in, stay small, don’t rock the boat, don’t get too visible.
We have learned that being Powerful is dangerous. We fear to use our voices, to reveal who we really are, to give our true gifts to the world…
Don’t you think it’s time we talked about this?
Let’s look the fear in the face, and support one another to claim back our own connection to life, to our bodies, our potency, our visionary natures and our magic.
I believe that right now, our heart-felt feminine wisdom, strength, passion and power is much needed in the world, both in our immediate circles and in the bigger picture.
Gathering together, telling our stories, allowing ourselves to be seen and heard, empowering one another into our fullness and power, are steps we can take to both individual and cultural healing.
© 2022 All Rights Reserved
On February 8th 2022 there will be an open women’s gathering circle and on 15th Feb the beginning of a 5 Session Reclamation Journey as a small closed group, exploring and healing the Witch Wound.
These are in-person gatherings near Mullumbimby in Northern NSW, Australia.
In gathering, we seek to be whole, to re-member, to celebrate all of who we are.
We seek to be known, to see our reflection in the eyes of another.
We seek to find the parts of ourselves we sense are missing, to overcome the fear, heal the hurt and regather our Power.
These gatherings access the power of women’s circle, ritual space, movement and guided exercises to gain insight into your gifts and inner power, into what is blocking you, and together, to take steps toward change and healing.
You will have the opportunity to:
- Experience deep connection with and support of other women
- Regain trust in your own nature, your inner guidance and intuition
- Free your voice and speak your truth
- Connect to your own vision and purpose
- Release the fear of being powerful and step into sovereignty…and much more!
Author: Martina Duel Dip Couns, BScPT is a Counsellor and Workshop facilitator with a life-long curiosity and passion for understanding and healing the wounds between the sexes and creating healthy, joyous relationships.
Martina consistently delivers refreshing new points of view on all aspects of love, intimacy and human connection.