The Archetype of the Mother: Cancer Season (Zodiac Archetype Series)
/Welcome to Cancer Season - the archetype of the Mother Within.
Some of us will mother or have mothered humans but regardless, we’re all always in the process of nurturing and caretaking various elements of our lives - our relationships, our work, our bodies and health, our creative pursuits. To mother is to be a channel through which life gives birth to more life, through which life creates itself. The energy with which we mother carries the seeds not only of our personal future but of the collective future.
What are you mothering at this time in your life? What energy are you bringing to your creations?
We Carry the Seeds of the Future Within
Ancestral karma is the ways that the patterns of our ancient and modern ancestors show up in our own daily lives and actions. As we dive into our own energetic relationship to mothering it's worth reflecting on How were you mothered? How was your mother mothered? How was your father mothered?
In the same way that our ancestors habituated interpersonal patterns live on in our own lives, the most mundane moments of our day carry the seeds for future generations. Each second 3.8 million cells are born in our body and each of them is imprinted with the thoughts we are thinking in that moment. Does it make us more present when we remember that everything we do impacts the future of the world?
If you have a womb, the eggs inside were already present when we your own mother was a fetus inside of your grandmother. What your maternal grandmother ate while pregnant with your mom programmed epigenetic changes into the egg that became you.
The Shadows of Mother Within
One of the hardest things for the mother within us is to let go of her creations - releasing the book to the publisher, dropping your little one off at kindergarten then university, launching the business or releasing partnerships or friendships when it’s time to let them go. To avoid these challenging moments sometimes we’re overbearing, controlling and unwilling to let our creations express their own unique life-force independently of us.
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love, but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
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Cancer is the sign of our emotions. Our emotions carry our power but when we aren’t anchored and grounded in our self care practice, our emotions can sweep us away. Like a river without strong banks - strong emotions can cause a flash flood in our lives and deteriorate our mental health. only by grounding, anchoring and carving out sacred self care time to decompress and look within do we create the container we need to honor the guidance of our emotions and take action on our intuition.
Another shadow of the mother archetype within is to put everything else before ourselves. When there’s so much do it’s hard not to! Here the proverbial oxygen mask comes in handy - we must put it on ourselves before putting it on the person next to us. We can’t give from an empty wellness bank account.
It’s all too true that our current culture isn’t set up to provide sufficient time, space and support for mothers or women generally. At the same time, we can call on the warrior within (Aries), remembering that our creations and children can only be as healthy as we are. A helpful mantra here is:
We’ll never have time to practice yoga - we make the time.
We never have time to exercise - we make the time.
We’ll never have time to meditate or take a walk - we make the time.
It Takes a Village
Another necessary way to work with is shadow element of mother is to ask for help! The bigger the goals we want to accomplish in this lifetime - the more help we’ll need.
It truly takes a village not only to raise a child but to have a happy life. The process of revillaging requires we heal from ancestral sister wounds of patriarchy and colonialism that disempowered women by pitting them against each other. The heavy work and responsibility of being a mother is too great - we absolutely need eachother - all hands on deck to support the mothers! When we show up for others, they tend to show up for us. How can you reach out to support another women right now?
Mother Earth Is Always Supporting Us
As creators we must never forget that we aren’t in this alone, the Earth Mother, Gaia, is always supporting us with the air we breath, the water in our blood, the earth of our body and the fire of our soul and our desire guiding us in each moment to what is most important as life channel through us, as us. When we’re overwhelmed we can go outside, get close to the earth and allow ourselves to be held. We are always loved and supported by the Divine Mother.
Happy Cancer Season, Mother Creator!
Join us as we practice growing strong and releasing stress
through the moon cycle each month in the
Earth - Body Wisdom Collective.
Cancer Season Reflection Questions:
Where we spend our time is generally what we are nurturing. How well are you nurturing yourself? What relationships with others are you currently nurturing and which could use more nurturing? In what ways do these relationships want to be nurtured? What areas of your life want more nurturing?
Let us know in the comments below.