Take off the Mask: Reclaiming and Integrating the Sacred Feminine Archetypes
By: Raechel Morrow
Everyone, in their own way, is wearing a fake mask and hiding themselves for what they are. Joseph Campbell, a renowned mythologist and writer, first identified the concept of these masks we wear in his exploration of the ‘monomyth’ in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. His theory – a culmination of research he conducted into the concepts of Jung, Freud, Greek mythology, and religion – has been played out in countless popular novels and Disney movies. Campbell’s book explores that most stories share a similar structure. It’s a story we have heard often, there is a prince and his imaginary kingdom is ruined. It’s where the prince, the hero sets off on a journey to kill the dragon and find magic to save his people. He returns home and brings prosperity back to his people, and everyone lives happily ever after – the end.
Oh but wait…
You’ll recognize the protagonist in these stories in an instant, for she is you! You are the hero. But before we delve into the characters, let’s first understand our protagonist and the duertoagonist to understand this profound step in your spiritual journey’s. The masked hero vs the heroine. In this journey, you are someone who surpasses the ordinary. You venture into territories or undertake tasks that most people shy away from. You have built many masks, costumes, and capes that have assisted you in success in some way. You have built and contributed much to the world. You know you are far from ordinary and are the best-kept secret. This is because most people avoid this journey; it is too much work and risk. Most people’s inner critic keeps them from meeting their potential, becoming the hero, and becoming unforgettable. But not you. This journey is important and much needed. You will befriend your inner shadow, fight against limitations from your inner critic, and explore your potential to unearth profound wisdom, only to bring it back and share it with the world. You may have already been on this journey or find yourself on it now.
Here is the magic of what is missing, which has been or will change everything for you and invite you into a world more uninhibited than ever before.
Not all heroes wear masks, costumes, and capes. The deuteragonist supports the protagonist or acts as a confidant- the heroine. The journey I share connects you to your inner heroine and all your vast parts. There are heroes of two kinds; there is a physical masculine hero that saves the city, slays monsters, defeats evil, and saves the village. And the heroine, who is the spiritual hero, the one that slays her inner demons and who explores the most inner parts of her psyche to reclaim all her missing parts, only to bring herself peacefully back into love, with the wisdom to guide the hero and be in service to her community. Both heroes and heroines must bring their gifts back and share them to help improve society.
However it is the heroine that needs to guide the hero.
The heroine’s journey is what Campbell referred to as “she is the place all people are trying to get to.” Most humans find themselves disconnected from the internal sacred feminine. But he had it right when he shared that we already are the Goddess. We are already enough when we listen and feel. Instead, most people wear a mask. But understand my friend, these stories tell us in order to be the hero, you must wear a mask. However, the mask ultimately hurts you. Most people perform in front of the audience, aka life, without questioning the mask or ever taking it off. In this case, the mask may become a curse to you, especially if it is far from your nature you become the mask, leaving the real you lost in your unconscious forever. So, it will always be your decision to wear the mask and your responsibility to take it off.
When you stop and listen as opposed to overdoing, pushing away, or controlling against, she becomes your inner guide. She is wise and knows that the warrior approach to wearing a mask has limitations and must be reintegrated with the feminine heroine.
My mask was suffocating me. I could not continue hiding and silencing parts of myself to belong, be liked, or have security in business. I had to figure out my own path, and I would not waste another day. As time passed, allowing my hidden parts to rise became as essential as breathing. I would rather let people see all the parts of me and be shunned than be falsely admired or adored because I was living out a lie. My worthiness was not something to be earned. I would rather be rejected for being my whole truest self than be liked for the mask I was wearing. If you do not like me, it is none of my business, nor will I change anything to suit your needs, insecurities, or expectations. I have nothing to hide. What you see is what you get. I am human and have acted out of character at times in my life-especially when I was figuring out who I really was. Therefore, I say take off the mask and stop performing. Do not waste another single day. Stop pretending and engaging in insecure coping strategies to keep yourself artificially safe that are not nourishing your soul. Your masks and capes are what are blocking your feminine archetypes from surfacing, allowing you to be fully integrated. At one time, you followed the status quo. You believed the capes and masks you wore kept you safe, worthy, and enough. They worked for a while until they didn’t, and now you find yourself more lost than ever. You cannot buy back time, and there are parts of you that want to come out to play and experience more than the mundaneness of your current existence. So, who cares what the status quo is doing or what others think. So, take off the mask and be seen.
In our current Western culture, many people are unconsciously taught to hide their true selves. You may resist taking off your masks or not knowing where to start. From a young age, we learn that being who we are is unsafe. As a result, certain parts of ourselves are forced to hide in a cold, dark Michigan basement to never receive light, symbolizing the lack of nurturing and growth in these parts.
The most significant question to be answered is living a life that is sacred. A life lived from all parts of one’s soul. Will you have the courage to reclaim the buried gifts within you? To then experience authenticity and the deep longings of your soul, which in its very nature embodies mystery and freedom. You are greatly supported in this life when you come to a point where you know you need a deeper and more fluid relationship with your inner unconscious, which requires unburying memories, unveiling parts we disowned, and aspects of our own human shadow. The heroine within begins to hunt to uncover these hidden archetypes living in mystery. To wander in the unknown step out of their comfort zones by confronting uncertainty. This journey is one of self-discovery without the mask.
The mask tends only to support two of the seven archetypes- the Maiden and the Queen. In Jungian theory, archetypes are collective unconscious representations that stem from primitive mental images inherited from our ancestors and passed down through generations. They carry stories and lived experiences. They represent an internal persona that we can relate to and get close to when we become conscious of them through experiences. In this blog, I offer insights from four of those seven archetypes.
The Maiden
The maiden in us is similar to Cinderella. She had to fight and work hard to find the right clothes, the right shoes, and do the right things to be able to go to ball at the palace. She then is transformed and suddenly becomes someone else, with slippers of glass and the most beautiful dress. She becomes someone she was not before. She has made it, not only that she caught the eye of the prince. Outwardly, all has changed. There is no trace of the cinders, but that is not her true self. It is a trick of the worst kind, which is why we still see women in their 60s and 70s still heavily stuck within the maiden archetype.
Trapped in her unconscious is her inner child, unknown yet not silent. She is expressed often and yet rarely supported and nurtured. She carries and responds to all of her unresolved traumas from what she could not experience from being separated from the feminine. She tries on many dresses and mirrors many paths as she does not know her own. She embodies innocent aliveness, a state of being that is full of curiosity, wonder, and joy, which can be infectious and can support her in creating a creative life. However, what often happens instead is she is imbued with a lack of self-awareness and does not trust or have access to her intuition. She prefers being a daughter of the patriarchy or finds herself leaning into The Father Archetype. Think of the Father Archetype as a caring father-like voice of authority in your mind that you want to please. Similar to caring around you, an internal rule book of authority, righteousness, and logic. She doesn’t know her most authentic self or her needs, feelings, and values. She overly listens to her inner critic, and many of her actions stem from proving herself worthy of belonging. She lacks emotional intelligence and has a hard time generally being with others’ emotions. Avoidance and bypassing are the lucky coping strategies and do not have boundaries.
It is recommended that you spend a month with each archetype, engaging and exploring the inquiries that correspond with each one.
Tools and Experiences to Heal the Sacred Maiden
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Spend two weeks with your inner child: Ask her the questions below and consistently respond to her request. Begin by feeling and visualizing your inner child. What is her personality and demeanor, what does she wear, what does she like to do, and when is she afraid? You can express compassion to your inner child through a hug, rocking them, putting them to bed, feeding them, letting them sit in your lap – however, you wanted to be nurtured by a loving caregiver when you were small!
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Spend the next two weeks or longer asking your inner child:
What do you need?
What do you want?
What’s in the way – how do you feel unsafe?
What are you hiding from everyone, including me?
What do you need from me?
How can I help cherish, accept, and nourish you?
What are your secret dreams?
What kind of play, fun, and exploration would you like to do today?
3. This month, embrace and be intentional about trying at least one new experience: Step outside your comfort zone and learn something new.
4. Your intention for this time is to be curious. The maiden innocence and wonder are something to be cherished. Be open to magic without any expectations or outcomes put on her, and allow her the space to feel more safe and play.
5. Now, you cannot control or stop your thoughts. However, you do have control over how you respond to them. Be VERY clear with your inner critic; negative thoughts or judgments towards yourself or others will not be entertained. They will just have to sit in the bleachers and watch your life from the sidelines. No longer will they be in the driver’s seat or even allowed in the car altogether.
The Wild Women
Only this archetype and this archetype alone will breathe life back into your soul. She is the medicine that supports you in expanding from the hero’s journey to the heroine’s. She is wild, liberated, expressive, embodied, connected, sensual and intuitive. This archetype doesn’t feel the need to ask permission. She moves through the world knowing her power and her place, which has no restrictions from her view. She is not wild because she is untamed in a harmful sense but somewhat instinctual and can trust her strong instincts and take action. She is fully and passionately in her body. She understands the power of moving her body freely. Her gut and her body know before she knows. Her decisions are governed by a heart-womb connection. She listens to her womb and knows its power. She perseveres and fends for herself, connecting to the natural world. Her life is lively and far from boring, with a healthy dose of adventure. You may find her dancing and singing by a fire, telling stories of her dreams and adventures.
Tools and Experiences for the Wild Women Archetype
- Put your body on Mother Earth, and let her hold you. Take many opportunities to connect to the Sacred, Wild Feminine energy of Mother Earth. Find a place where you feel safe and nourished. Lay down on your belly. Feel your body breathing with Mother Earth. Listen, let her hold you. What does she want to do for you? What is she saying? She is communicating with your intuition. What does she want you to know?
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This month be in nature every day and in every way you can imagine being thoroughly at home in a world of trees, rivers, mountains, rain, moonrises, sun, and rainbows.
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Explore what feels good and brings you pleasure. Anything that brings words or sounds out of you, like “Yes!” “More,” “Ahhhh,” “Mmm-hmmm,“ and so on.
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This month is dedicated to putting your own needs before others. It is crucial that your needs, wants, and desires are acknowledged during this month to build and restore a relationship with this sacred part of yourself.
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Think of embodiment practices for your wild women. How does she like to move her body? What helps her feel alive? What bodily postures, speaking, or ways of being supports her? How does she want to dress, eat, and spend her time?
The Lover Archetype
The lover archetype represents the pursuit of pleasure, passion, and intimacy. It also embodies sensuality, sexuality, presence, and creativity. Her life force energy is magnetic (to both men and women) and charismatic, and she has an irresistible appeal. The energy of the lover archetype is expressed through a woman tapped into her senses. She is at home with pleasure. She is confident and aligned, enjoying being in full presence within the moment. The Lover is filled by creating lasting, meaningful relationships. They thrive in situations that bring them closer to the things they love.
Tools and inquiries for the Lover Archetype
- One aspect of the Lover archetype is how we feed and nourish ourselves: What does this currently look like in your life? Is there any way you would like this to be different in your life?
- The Lover archetype is primarily concerned with our innate need to form deep emotional connections with others. This need is present from the moment we are born, as we require a strong emotional bond with our mother in order to survive. Your relationship with your mother may have played a crucial role in shaping this aspect of your personality. It’s worth considering whether your bond with her, or lack thereof, has made you more connected or disconnected from this part of yourself.
- The Lover is vulnerable. When we’re in this receiving place, we’re totally vulnerable. If we’re allowing ourselves to be in that open place of yielding, receiving, taking, we’re very vulnerable to the other person. So in a relationship if we want to protect ourselves from that then one thing we tend to say is ‘I’m going to always be the one who’s giving. Some pleasure, some joy and some sense of connection by giving to another person. But we’re slightly by passing something – we’re bypassing being in that Lover place and just ‘being with’ and being vulnerable to another person. So it’s good to be conscious of that and to sometimes come into this Lover place. This is also played out with sex. How may you explore this archetype in your intimate relationship?
- My favorite part of this archetype is the imagination. The Lover, as I’ve said, is a very child-like part of ourselves, and gets developed – or doesn’t get developed – in childhood. So play is a very big part of the Lover. How does play look in your life? How may you bring playfulness more into your life?
- Our Lover is very much about our body, so it’s about ‘feeling’ rather than ‘thinking’. We’re not really thinking when we’re just going with the feelings that our body likes – ‘Oh I love the soft rug.’ or ‘I love the cool feeling of the smooth stones.’ We’re being guided by our bodily response rather than any kind of intellectual thought and we’re just really being in the moment and enjoying those feelings. How do you experience this is your life? Would you benefit from more feeling in your life?
The first step on your heroine’s quest will be is let go of fear by reclaiming the nutritive, generative mother archetype waiting to mother you, accept you, and lead you to a greater love than you ever imagined. This part of you is waiting to nurture your well-being and that of others, nature, and earthly inhabitants. This part of you is anchored in love, not judgment. This part of you knows through experience how to practice unconditional positive regard for yourself and others. This part of you can empathically listen over being jealous or competing with other women for attention. This part of you is a benevolent leader, mentor, healer, and teacher.
When we are conscious of our nutritive generative mother, we are able to accept everything about ourselves and others. Every part of a person deserves to be here. Every experience, belief, trait, and part makes a person who they are. She can see someone from the view of their soul and respond in love. She understands your need for acceptance and to be loved.
Tools and Experiences for the Nutritive Generative Mother
Allow the nutritive, generative mother to hold space for you when you are afraid. Allow her to hold you and whisper words of affirmation, love, and encouragement into your life.
- When you notice fear and any manifestation of fear like anxiety, jealousy, anger etc. Let her soften the inside of your body. Have her scan your body, searching for areas of holding and tightness, and recite, “I relax and release”.
- When you notice fear and any manifestation of fear, notice your breath—just noticing your breath will slow and calm you a bit. If negative thoughts are robbing you of connection with the nutritive generative mother, count to ten and recite the mantra “ I accept and allow.” For three minutes, to calm your nervous system, inhale through your nose, expand your belly, and exhale slowly, narrowing your belly.