6 Ways to Harness the Power of the Sacred Feminine

A few years ago I stayed at a wellness center in Central America. There was a group of women about my age (late 30s at the time) participating in the same healing retreat. Every time I was around them, I felt annoyed, frustrated, and flat-out angry. For no tangible reason, everything about them seemed to bother me: their tight sisterhood (you could tell they were best friends and had been for decades); the ultra-flowy, feminine clothes they wore; their ability to command the entire room’s attention with their soft sexuality and wise focus. Everything they did was with grace and ease—they embodied the Sacred Feminine—and it frustrated me to no end.

Facing the Fierce & Sacred Feminine

I’ve been on my spiritual journey long enough to know that what bothers us most is our greatest teacher, so I saw this as an opportunity to learn more and dive deeper into my own journey. The shamans at the retreat asked us to set an intention before each healing ceremony. So, I asked myself: Why am I so triggered by this group of women? Whether it was my inner voice, my higher self, or the voice of my guides or God, it was loud and clear, and I heard back: “Because they represent what you are afraid to embrace: fierce femininity!” As soon as I realized they were living what I was hiding, my frustration toward them disappeared completely.

For decades I’ve been afraid to embrace the Sacred Feminine within, worried I’d overpower others or become too “goddessy,” lose my sense of groundedness, or, worse, invite unwanted attention. But I’ve since come to realize that harnessing the power of the Sacred Feminine is not overpowering, obnoxious, or righteous—it is our birthright. It is a quiet, heart-centered confidence full of grace, wisdom, and sophistication.

So, What Is the Sacred Feminine?

Amy Peck describes the Sacred Feminine as a paradigm of Universal Motherhood. It is a principle that embraces and weaves concepts of the Holy Mother, the Goddesses of ancient mythologies, the angelic realms, the Divine Self within, Mother Earth doctrines, and the lore of indigenous peoples. The Sacred Feminine is the nurturing, welcoming, accessible, kind, gentle (yet firm or fierce when necessary), compassionate, accepting, forgiving, patient, and wise attitude of the Loving Mother Essence.

We are living through a time of great expansion and growth. As we move through the age of information, or the Piscean Age (masculine), and move deeper into the age of intuition, or the Aquarian Age (feminine), many of us are hearing the inner call to reclaim our Sacred Feminine gifts. Awakening to the divine beauty of your creativity, sensuality, and receptivity is essential for all of humanity to thrive.

6 Ways to Harness Sacred Feminine Power

Through honoring the Sacred Feminine, we find natural access to spiritual qualities like receptivity, patience, the ability to listen, and the care for life. Here are six powerful ways we can harness the power of the Sacred Feminine.

1. Drop From Your Head Into Your Heart

Divine feminine energy embodies the nurturer, the healer, the compassionate peacemaker. She makes choices from her heart and compassion is her compass. While the masculine energy is focused on doing and achieving, it is important to balance and understand the two aspects of ourselves. We’ve been living in a system that has suppressed the Sacred Feminine. We’ve been taught to do more, get more, achieve and push, but this imbalance has us exhausted, leaving so many of us feeling empty, depleted and burned out. Move from your head, the overthinker, the answerer, the rationalizer, into your heart space, the way of oneness, unity, compassion and kindness, and you will see a shift in your life. Things that used to cause struggle will be more manageable, and you will have more clarity and confidence.

2. Connect With Nature

Spending more time with Mother Nature is one of the best ways to connect to this loving, omnipresent energy. In nature the feminine creative energy runs wild. Its physical beauty is visible. One of the most transformational tools for awakening to your inner light is grounding (also known as earthing): directly connecting our body to the earth to restore the electromagnetic balance we need to maintain optimal health and healing. Even five minutes of fresh air or a short walk barefoot in the grass can be enough soul food to awaken your divine feminine energy.

[Read: "15 Affirmations to Embrace the Great Outdoors."]

3. Find Balance

The Sacred Feminine is not about gender, as this energy lives in all of us, but much of our society operates from a masculine “hustle and do” mentality, which doesn’t allow for much room to just be. The energies of action (masculine) and allowing (feminine) coexist, and we must find the balance between the two. Embodying just one of the two will either lead us nowhere or cause us to push so hard that we are left frustrated and exhausted. Balance is key. When we find it, we are both taking inspired action and receiving and appreciating all of our desires.

4. Honor the Stillness and Reclaim Rest

Because we are fueled by a “get-more-done” mindset, constantly on a mission to achieve more, do more, get more, the masculine energy is fed more than the feminine. But the divine feminine energy revels in being. Many of us don’t take enough time to relax, to literally revel in the art of doing nothing. Sit in silence for five minutes and observe what comes up for you. Taking time to be one with yourself in each moment can help you connect to the Sacred Feminine and divine light within.

[Reclaim Rest: "A Rest-Guided Meditation to Help You Connect to Calm Instantly."]

5. Live Your Values and Make Choices With Intention

The divine feminine energy wishes to “deepen into the fullness of existence,” which means she’s a seeker of growth, expansion, and new experiences. Invite yourself to push outside of your comfort zone. What can you do today that is new? How can you live with more integrity and make choices that honor your own soul’s deepest desires? What have you always wanted to do but have not given yourself permission to do? Making conscious choices to enjoy new experiences will not only help you feel more balanced and joyful, it will help you harness the true power of the Sacred Feminine.

6. Practice Self-Love and Compassion

Self-love is misunderstood because it isn’t a state of being but rather a decision you make when you finally realize that anything you experience is a direct reflection of your relationship with yourself. The ultimate way to embrace the Sacred Feminine is to practice self-love and embrace yourself fully. Start with loving yourself as you are, not as you think you should be. One of the biggest components to self-love is self-compassion. The relationship we have with ourselves sets the tone for everything in our life. Learning how to see yourself in the eyes of source energy, God, is one of the best ways to live in the energy of the Sacred Feminine. Once we master this, we will feel free.

Because humanity has neglected and disregarded the feminine for millennia, women have a particular role to play in reclaiming the feminine in our spiritual work and practice. We all have this energy within us. Embracing the Sacred Feminine is an indispensable contribution to the healing and transformation of the world.

Power on: Explore these 8 paths to the Goddess.