The Sisterhood Wound
For those of us who identify as women, somewhere along our journeys, most of us have internalized that we aren’t enough and that there isn’t enough for all of us. This feeling of not being enough and that there isn’t enough is a core wound that exists within us, known as the sisterhood wound. The sisterhood wound often has us unconsciously competing against one another for what we need and desire. As a result, the wound manifests within us as a distrust for one another, which keeps us divided and separated. For if we knew that we were enough and that there was enough for all of us, we would not feel the need to overexert and exhaust ourselves and compete against one another for attention and resources.
Like many of the wounds that we carry within us, this is an ancient one. It is a wound that most of us have inherited from our mothers and they from theirs, extending back to the first mothers at the commencement of the patriarchy more than 12,000 years ago. At this time, polygamy was introduced, and men began to take multiple wives. When the patriarch of the family died, the eldest son of the preferred wife would inherit the land and resources. As a survival instinct, women began to compete against one another to secure a future for themselves and their children. And so, the sisterhood wound was birthed amongst women.
If a wound is not healed within us, we pass it down to the next generation, until someone is brave enough to heal the core wound.
From one generation to the next, the sisterhood wound has been reinforced and exacerbated by the patriarchy of its time. During the European Witch Hunts, tens of thousands of women were targeted as witches and were often severely tortured until they provided names of other witches. The majority of women who were prosecuted as witches during this time were accused by other women under torture. This caused entire communities to turn on one another, creating a deep sense of mistrust and division amongst women. The patriarchy, in its modern rendition, has reinforced the sisterhood wound through capitalism, which is founded on fear and scarcity. It thrives on making us believe that we are not enough and that there isn’t enough for us all. We have been led to believe that what we need is in scarce supply and that we must overwork, hustle and compete against one another to meet our needs and fulfill our desires.
This has left us as a collective living in a state of fear, scarcity and mistrust of one another. It has led us to believe that we need to go at it alone, rather than together, leaving us divided rather than connected. As a result, we are living counter to our true nature and out of flow with the rest of the natural world, which is governed by love, abundance and connection.
But what if there was another way? A way where we could listen to, honour and respect our bodies and the body of Mother Earth and still have our needs and desires met. A way where our actions are taken out of inspiration rather than competition, and our decisions are made out of love rather than fear. A way where we rise-up-rooted and connected, rather than separated and alone. This way is not a fantasy or fairytale, but simply the way forward. It is a way that may seem new to us, but is ancient to the rest of the natural world. We see this way emulated to us in old-growth forests, where trees are interconnected, and mother trees ensure that everyone receives what they need.
You could say these forests are operating in sisterhood!
They live in the natural flow of abundance because they are guided by their true nature and connected to the true nature of Mother Earth.
We can live this way, too! We simply need to take the time to listen to our bodies and connect to Mother Earth. When we do so, we are fed the soul food that we need to live the abundant lives that we long for. This soul food comes in the form of intuition, inspiration and ideas. When we take action upon this guidance, we alchemize it into the abundance that we desire. In turn, we naturally give our abundance out into the world through our joy and what we create.
We begin to strengthen the roots of our own tree selves and connect to the pulse and flow of the rest of life. We remember the truth that we are enough and that there is more than enough to nourish us all. In returning to our true nature, we instinctively send our roots out to connect to, support and nourish one another. We heal the sisterhood wound and build the sisterhood that we have all longed for.
You could say that we create a healthy and thriving old-growth forest amongst us.
In so doing, we return to the ancient ways of knowing of love, abundance and connection, and simultaneously deconstruct from the old paradigm of fear, scarcity and mistrust.
As we are living in a time where Mother Earth is being raped of her resources, it is hard to believe that she is naturally abundant and can provide enough to meet all of our needs and truest desires. However, the truth of it is that we are not collectively tuned into what each of our hearts truly desires and acting upon those same desires. Rather, we are collectively tuned into a system of fear and act from those same fears. When we collectively act out of fear, we perpetuate the narrative of fear. When we act out of love, we create a system of love.
Each of us came here with a unique purpose and set of gifts that allow us to live in reciprocity with the rest of life and experience true abundance. When we connect to our true essence, we are gifted all that we need and desire to fulfill our purpose. For what our heart truly desires, Mother Earth’s heart desires too.
I promise you this is not a fantasy or a fairytale, but truly the way forward where we can rise-up-rooted in sisterhood once again.
But where do we begin? By taking the time to tend to the wounds of our own tree bodies and discovering what our hearts truly desire. In doing so, we remember who we are and what we came here for. We receive the abundance and love that we long for, and naturally share this abundance and love with one another.
Rise-up-rooted, Sister.
With love,
Laurel