The Sorceress Archetype
The Sorceress is the first archetype in the Crone’s trilogy - Sorceress, Crone, Dark Mother. She is associated with the phase of the moon from the waning crescent through the dark moon.
The Sorceress phase of life is marked by the blood rite of menopause, the time we step out of time. Women with wombs at this time release the monthly cycle that has defined a lifetime and step more fully into the universal cycle of life-death-life.
The Sorceress is an alchemist, she specializes in transformation through unification. She is able to bring together her inner masculine and feminnine and command opposing elements in service to universal love.
Two important reproductive hormones FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) and LH (Luteinizing Hormone) that are typically used to enable conception do something very interesting at menopause. They are not greatly reduced as we might expect but have been recorded at 1,000 times higher levels in menopausal women. Studies have found that these hormones in menopausal women are active not in the reproductive system but in the right hemisphere of the brain causing high levels of creativity and intuition.
This is a time of deep introspection and deep connection to the Mystery. The Sorceress in her full expression has returned from her soul descent with the ability to unify all her parts that may have been at war internally. She knows how to integrate all the parts of herself. She carries fire and uses it to forge together her fragmented parts into a cohesive whole, to temper the steel of her will and previously gained power to move into a deeper wisdom.
She wields this skill in society. She is the bringer together of people, of groups in conflict. She is the one who can hold space for the hardest of human interactions and uses her sexual energy to initiate social change.
Her place in the final waning crescent phase of the moon is a threshold. A crossing point from light to dark from fertility to menopause, from power to true wisdom. She perceives the spiritual superstructure of the universe, able to enact in real time the events she has foreseen.
As the moon wanes into the dark phase we invite you to turn your attention to your inner Sorceress, no matter where you are in chronological age, we each have a Sorceress ready to be called on.
In what ways does the Sorceress show up in your life?
What areas of your life would you like to call on the energy of the Sorceress?
How does your understanding of the Sorceress differ from our culture’s notion of menopausal women?
A Ritual Invitation
Go outside and find a stone, one that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.
Create a sacred space in whatever way you know to do.
Sit comfortably, close your eyes and become aware of the areas of your body touching the floor or seat.
From those areas visualize roots growing down into the Earth. With each exhale see them growing further down until they are anchored firming in the molten heart of the planet. As you breathe in, draw up energy from the earth into your pelvic bowl. Do this at least three times or until you feel grounded and rooted.
Hold the stone in your left hand.
Scan your body until you find some fear, something you are afraid of. Be aware of the story attached to this fear but don’t dwell on it, instead focus your attention on the physical sensation of fear. Does it have a texture? A color, shape? Is it moving? What are the sensations in your body?
Hold in your mind the story associated with this fear and blow it, three times, into the stone. Put the stone down on the ground beside you.
Once you have located the fear in your body and have a clear sense of how it feels, great it. Tell it you see it, you feel it and you welcome it. Yes you read that right! Tell the fear you welcome it and want to know what it has to tell you. Then listen.
Allow whatever thoughts, sensations or images come to be there and pass through your awareness. There is no need to hold onto any of them. If you feel confused, re-focus on the fear sensations and ask, “what are you here to tell me?”
Keep listening until some message emerges.
Once you have received the message, focus your attention on your heart. Generate a feeling of deep gratitude and send it to the place in your body where you felt the fear. Send it gratitude and love and thank it for its wisdom.
Open your eyes and record in your journal the message you received.
Then take the stone outside and return it to the earth in some way, you can bury it or lay it under a bush, put it somewhere you won’t see it again. As you offer it back to the Earth do so with a prayer of thanks.