Why The Patriarchy Cycle Is Coming To An End
When was the last time you had a real, honest, and vulnerable conversation with someone about the taboo topic of death? I did just that last night, in Santa Monica at dinner with nine strangers and my friend Stella, one of the two hosts who are starting research for a new docu-series on death. I accepted the invitation immediately, for I found the motive intriguing. A leading personal theme in my own life, both symbolically and literally.
The conversation around death also reminded me of the importance of the natural law of cycles, the principle that helps us make sense of the roller-coaster times we are living in. Archaeological evidence seems to indicate that about 5000 years ago there was also a period of chaos and disruption, when humanity shifted from a life-giving and regenerative model of partnership to a model of life-grabbing competition and domination, a model we have defined as the patriarchy in which the primary wielding of power has been ‘power over’.
Various indigenous cultures have long predicted that a new era — new cycle — would begin at the end of the 20th century, calling for the reinstating of the older partnership model based on the honoring and integration of the feminine and masculine principles in both men and women. A model that would put ‘power to’ or ‘power with’ as the primary way of wielding power. The rise of women’s power over the last decades, the advancing of female leaders in business and politics, the call for the rights of women and children, the awakening of consciousness, and the outcry for caring, compassion, equality, and the healing of our planet are surely signs of the predictions’ merit.
The law of cycles teaches us about death — endings — the precursor to new beginnings, just as in the cycles of the moon: waxing, full, and waning, or the cycles of the seasons. The three phases of the natural cycle are creation, preservation, and destruction. If we are coming to the end of an era, it would explain the polarization in societies around the world. Part of humanity wants to hold onto the old while the other half is ready to demolish the existing systems to create space for the new that wants to emerge. The transition — the rebirth — is painful and messy.
The death passage of the cycle has stripped me bare personally, time and again. What I’ve learned is to let go of control and to surrender as I am thrown into unchartered waters. I’ve learned that I can trust the process as I stay in curiosity and wonder. And I’ve learned to embrace changes, steer my boat downstream, and fuel myself with excitement for the reveal of what is to come.
Where are you in the 3-phase process of creation… holding on… and destruction? Wherever you are, the times are calling for you to BE Power — TRUE Power.
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First published in the monthly column “BE Power — TRUE Power” in the Luminous Wisdom: SOPHIA magazine by Sibella Publications on July 1, 2019.
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