Feminine Mysticism and
Women's Ceremonies
In general, the spiritual path is the same for men and women. The differences between men and women are bodily and to some extent mental due to the attachment of the mind to matter. But every human being is both masculine and feminine, everyone has both aspects. It is characteristic of people to come together in groups and develop their groups; thus, it is natural for women to identify with women and men for men, and thus to explore spirituality in the group to which they feel they identify to some degree.
The differences between men and women are primarily hormone-related and relate to a woman’s role as a mother, a parent of children - because a woman has the primary responsibility for these matters.
Women are not automatically more introverted, more timid to express their opinions, or avoid leadership roles. If this occurs, it is due to culture. Women and men alike are able to be stubborn, harsh, compassionate, self-centered, or aggressive. Men and women alike have these abilities, but in general it can be seen that women are more social, are more likely to be in a group, are more outspoken - but not always. Women resort to speech because it is an essential part of parenting: the mother teaches the child to speak; so the mother should want to talk to the child. He can’t be a silent person who doesn’t want to talk - it’s not good for a child. Thus, women tend to be more social in this sense, better in emotional intelligence and social intelligence.
Men are generally a little less social. This is, of course, a generalization and any individual can feel that they are anywhere within these variations. Men are better at mathematical and abstract thinking. This does not mean that men could not succeed in social skills or women in areas of abstract thinking, but in general it can be observed that more men than women feel attracted to that introvert and abstract world and women more than men to the social world. There are always big exceptions, but this is the general rule.
Thus, if one wants to explore mysticism in relation to women’s lives, it should not be limited to meditation exercises alone. A woman’s daily life can come under the mysticism when a woman reinforces aspects of life related to femininity through rituals and exercises, connecting them to spiritual life. And when we talk about female mysticism, we are talking about developing exercises designed to bring spirituality to all aspects of a woman’s life.
So there should be a ceremony for women to prepare the bride for marriage, a holy bride, a goddess for the husband, and a maternal output ceremony to prepare the expectant mother for childbirth: a purification ceremony that prepares her mind for the coming birth. During pregnancy, a woman should meditate, do light exercises, and go for a walk unless there is a medical barrier, and she should receive guidance in childcare from other mothers. As childbirth approaches, a certain ritual can be arranged that brings a sense of mysticism to the childbirth experience. When a woman is in the last month of pregnancy, she should be prepared for childbirth through a daily bath and massage given by women. When the birth is near, a blessing ceremony may be held for her, with the women who have already given birth,who consecrated her to motherhood.
A wide variety of rituals can be performed. I suggest a couple of hours just before the moment of birth comes with a warm bath and the scent of roses in the bath water, after the bath a gentle massage involving all the women so that the birth goes smoothly; provide the mother with warm milk with honey to increase breast milk secretion, have flowers and good scents, care for and put on the mother's hair, provide warm sweet sattvistafood (for subtle reasons) so that the mother receives in abundance love, blessing, and care; can be meditated together, conveying healing energy to the child, etc. so that the woman is fully prepared for childbirth. This creates a very suitable state of mind. Participants in the ceremony can meditate, visualizing the child healthy and happy. There are also breathing exercises in childbirth to relieve pain, and the company of women and husbands can be very desirable. This is just one example.
- Is the ceremony held at home or in the hospital?
At home if possible. But why not in a hospital or maternity clinic, but usually it is done before the birth begins, just before. Of course, it is not possible to predict when the baby will come, so there may be a week or two left before giving birth. It is essential that the woman feels that the women in her community are with her and that the mothers have guided her in caring for the baby. The young mother should be guided on a physical level to baby care and childbirth, but the birth itself should be seen as a mystical experience, a moment to touch the worlds, a moment to touch the gap between the worlds, a moment to have a direct connection to spiritual existence. Birth is a sacred moment, death is a sacred moment. Both touch the veil - the veil between the worlds opens.
Birth and death are very similar moments. So one should prepare the woman to realize that upcoming mystical journey so that she can pull aside the veil and lead the child’s spirit into life and spirit connection. The spiritual energy of life is very high before childbirth if childbirth is carefully prepared in this way. A breastfeeding mother also needs the care of others. The maternal community is very very important so that a woman does not feel alone in caring for a child.
All of these are part of female mysticism - that is the mystical path of femininity. One can walk the path of femininity without any experience of mysticism, while another can experience the feminine aspects of one’s life as a great mystical expedition. And that mystical aspect can be reinforced through the female community by spiritualizing a woman’s life. Menstrual cycle, sanctification of menstrual periods, full moon meditation, blessing of the Great Goddess; all of these practices respect divine femininity, they are all feminine mysticism, so feminine mysticism is not limited to any particular practice. Female mysticism is an expedition to explore a woman’s journey as a spiritual being in this world.
Thus, the journey in a woman’s body can become mystical. Starting when a girl gets her first period, realizing the potential of life in herself, when she experiences pregnancy and all the changes it brings. This can be scary if a woman doesn’t get guidance. But if there are older women around who have experience and organize special rituals that meditate and position themselves for change rather than a spiritual journey, then change becomes a spiritual adventure rather than a frightening bodily change.
Also, preparing for marriage is a mystical adventure that can be prepared among women. The night before the wedding ceremony, the women can arrange a ceremony for the bride in the following way: The bride is placed in the center of the district, flowers are laid around, poems are read, mantras are sung or songs for holy femininity. The petals of the flowers are sprinkled on the bride and all the women in turn bless the bride, dance, etc. The ritual should emphasize that it is a stage of change in a woman’s life, a stage of spiritual change blessed by close women.
For a young girl, appearing in her first period can be scary if she is not prepared for them. Thus, the mother, female family members, and relatives should prepare the girl. She needs to understand that this is a gift from life, part of her woman’s power. She should not experience menstruation as a weakness, a bad time, but as a manifestation of her feminine power. So one has to prepare the girl in the right way so that she experiences her first menstruation as crossing the border, a border that leads to femininity. A full moon night after the first menstruation can be considered a ceremony in the light of the full moon, outdoors or indoors. The candle light also comes on if the moon is in the cloud. The content of the ceremony may vary, but it should emphasize that it is a change; singing songs to the Goddess and the Holy Mother,and the girl is welcomed among the women - she has now attained the status of a woman. This ceremony is open to girls who are already menstruating, mothers and other women.
Rituals should be organized at the beginning of menstruation, before the wedding and before the birth. A ritual can also be associated with starting breastfeeding. And when menstruation ends, there is another moment of ritual, the celebration of maturity. The woman relieves herself of her obligation to give birth, and thus she takes on a new task.
The onset of menopause is a very powerful change: In a menopausal ritual, a woman should symbolically leave behind her mother’s responsibilities and related housekeeping duties. And while she is still the mother of her children and will always love her children, she will no longer give birth to new children in the world. She takes on the broader role of mother, a mother who takes care of all beings. When he enters this stage, he has life experience, the menstrual cycle is over, he enters a mature age and dedicates his life to the Holy Mother, the Holy Father, the Supreme. From now on, his task in life is to take care of the well-being of all living beings. He has completed his duty to his family and now he devotes himself to a spiritual goal, he begins to embody the archetype of a wise woman; compassion,a woman who cares for all beings, and she attains wisdom and spiritual liberation.
Every stage of a woman’s life has its own special perspective. If one wants to apply feminine mysticism, one must examine all these stages. One must travel through a woman’s life, embark on a mystical adventure - from the maturation of a girl to the power of a young woman, to a wife, to motherhood and finally to the character of a wise woman. All of this leads through a woman’s cycles, increasing her spiritual understanding of a woman’s life. Life is not painful and boring, it is a mystical adventure.
For a woman, these special stages of life are unique due to her physiology. Therefore, awareness, spiritualization, and understanding of these aspects in a spiritual light form the basis of female mysticism.
Brahma Sadhana(meditation) is for everyone and is also the foundation of female mysticism. But these certain aspects of a woman’s life should be shared with other women, they should be inspired by other women. The compassion of women is very weak in much of today’s world and has caused the decay of modern society. Women are in such a hurry to become like men that they do not value those rituals that protected them as women. There is no partnership between women, so women are on their own. That should not be the case.
There should be women’s communities that women could turn to during these stages of their lives. Without them, it is too difficult for women to face the changes caused by pregnancy, even during the first menstrual period, to take care of children alone without others to follow, and thus the woman becomes depressed. There is a lot of talk about postpartum depression, but let me say that if a woman has other women around her who care about her, she will not get depressed, and postpartum will be very rare. But if women are isolated and don’t have the company of other women or a proper safety net, they are prone to depression, and when they raise their children they often feel very isolated.
In today’s world, families have broken up here and there; mothers, grandmothers and sisters are not present. A woman may have one friend she can go to visit once a week if she is doing well. The man is at work and the woman is alone with a small baby and is depressed. She is lonely and has no one to show how the baby is cared for properly. This situation is not good for the mother or the child. Even if relatives could not be present, the mother should at least seek the company of other mothers. There should be some kind of collaboration for mothers.
It is important to establish spiritual communities for women so that women can support each other in the stages of these different cycles. I suggest that such women’s communities be established around the world.
The differences between men and women are primarily hormone-related and relate to a woman’s role as a mother, a parent of children - because a woman has the primary responsibility for these matters.
Women are not automatically more introverted, more timid to express their opinions, or avoid leadership roles. If this occurs, it is due to culture. Women and men alike are able to be stubborn, harsh, compassionate, self-centered, or aggressive. Men and women alike have these abilities, but in general it can be seen that women are more social, are more likely to be in a group, are more outspoken - but not always. Women resort to speech because it is an essential part of parenting: the mother teaches the child to speak; so the mother should want to talk to the child. He can’t be a silent person who doesn’t want to talk - it’s not good for a child. Thus, women tend to be more social in this sense, better in emotional intelligence and social intelligence.
Men are generally a little less social. This is, of course, a generalization and any individual can feel that they are anywhere within these variations. Men are better at mathematical and abstract thinking. This does not mean that men could not succeed in social skills or women in areas of abstract thinking, but in general it can be observed that more men than women feel attracted to that introvert and abstract world and women more than men to the social world. There are always big exceptions, but this is the general rule.
Thus, if one wants to explore mysticism in relation to women’s lives, it should not be limited to meditation exercises alone. A woman’s daily life can come under the mysticism when a woman reinforces aspects of life related to femininity through rituals and exercises, connecting them to spiritual life. And when we talk about female mysticism, we are talking about developing exercises designed to bring spirituality to all aspects of a woman’s life.
So there should be a ceremony for women to prepare the bride for marriage, a holy bride, a goddess for the husband, and a maternal output ceremony to prepare the expectant mother for childbirth: a purification ceremony that prepares her mind for the coming birth. During pregnancy, a woman should meditate, do light exercises, and go for a walk unless there is a medical barrier, and she should receive guidance in childcare from other mothers. As childbirth approaches, a certain ritual can be arranged that brings a sense of mysticism to the childbirth experience. When a woman is in the last month of pregnancy, she should be prepared for childbirth through a daily bath and massage given by women. When the birth is near, a blessing ceremony may be held for her, with the women who have already given birth,who consecrated her to motherhood.
A wide variety of rituals can be performed. I suggest a couple of hours just before the moment of birth comes with a warm bath and the scent of roses in the bath water, after the bath a gentle massage involving all the women so that the birth goes smoothly; provide the mother with warm milk with honey to increase breast milk secretion, have flowers and good scents, care for and put on the mother's hair, provide warm sweet sattvistafood (for subtle reasons) so that the mother receives in abundance love, blessing, and care; can be meditated together, conveying healing energy to the child, etc. so that the woman is fully prepared for childbirth. This creates a very suitable state of mind. Participants in the ceremony can meditate, visualizing the child healthy and happy. There are also breathing exercises in childbirth to relieve pain, and the company of women and husbands can be very desirable. This is just one example.
- Is the ceremony held at home or in the hospital?
At home if possible. But why not in a hospital or maternity clinic, but usually it is done before the birth begins, just before. Of course, it is not possible to predict when the baby will come, so there may be a week or two left before giving birth. It is essential that the woman feels that the women in her community are with her and that the mothers have guided her in caring for the baby. The young mother should be guided on a physical level to baby care and childbirth, but the birth itself should be seen as a mystical experience, a moment to touch the worlds, a moment to touch the gap between the worlds, a moment to have a direct connection to spiritual existence. Birth is a sacred moment, death is a sacred moment. Both touch the veil - the veil between the worlds opens.
Birth and death are very similar moments. So one should prepare the woman to realize that upcoming mystical journey so that she can pull aside the veil and lead the child’s spirit into life and spirit connection. The spiritual energy of life is very high before childbirth if childbirth is carefully prepared in this way. A breastfeeding mother also needs the care of others. The maternal community is very very important so that a woman does not feel alone in caring for a child.
All of these are part of female mysticism - that is the mystical path of femininity. One can walk the path of femininity without any experience of mysticism, while another can experience the feminine aspects of one’s life as a great mystical expedition. And that mystical aspect can be reinforced through the female community by spiritualizing a woman’s life. Menstrual cycle, sanctification of menstrual periods, full moon meditation, blessing of the Great Goddess; all of these practices respect divine femininity, they are all feminine mysticism, so feminine mysticism is not limited to any particular practice. Female mysticism is an expedition to explore a woman’s journey as a spiritual being in this world.
Thus, the journey in a woman’s body can become mystical. Starting when a girl gets her first period, realizing the potential of life in herself, when she experiences pregnancy and all the changes it brings. This can be scary if a woman doesn’t get guidance. But if there are older women around who have experience and organize special rituals that meditate and position themselves for change rather than a spiritual journey, then change becomes a spiritual adventure rather than a frightening bodily change.
Also, preparing for marriage is a mystical adventure that can be prepared among women. The night before the wedding ceremony, the women can arrange a ceremony for the bride in the following way: The bride is placed in the center of the district, flowers are laid around, poems are read, mantras are sung or songs for holy femininity. The petals of the flowers are sprinkled on the bride and all the women in turn bless the bride, dance, etc. The ritual should emphasize that it is a stage of change in a woman’s life, a stage of spiritual change blessed by close women.
For a young girl, appearing in her first period can be scary if she is not prepared for them. Thus, the mother, female family members, and relatives should prepare the girl. She needs to understand that this is a gift from life, part of her woman’s power. She should not experience menstruation as a weakness, a bad time, but as a manifestation of her feminine power. So one has to prepare the girl in the right way so that she experiences her first menstruation as crossing the border, a border that leads to femininity. A full moon night after the first menstruation can be considered a ceremony in the light of the full moon, outdoors or indoors. The candle light also comes on if the moon is in the cloud. The content of the ceremony may vary, but it should emphasize that it is a change; singing songs to the Goddess and the Holy Mother,and the girl is welcomed among the women - she has now attained the status of a woman. This ceremony is open to girls who are already menstruating, mothers and other women.
Rituals should be organized at the beginning of menstruation, before the wedding and before the birth. A ritual can also be associated with starting breastfeeding. And when menstruation ends, there is another moment of ritual, the celebration of maturity. The woman relieves herself of her obligation to give birth, and thus she takes on a new task.
The onset of menopause is a very powerful change: In a menopausal ritual, a woman should symbolically leave behind her mother’s responsibilities and related housekeeping duties. And while she is still the mother of her children and will always love her children, she will no longer give birth to new children in the world. She takes on the broader role of mother, a mother who takes care of all beings. When he enters this stage, he has life experience, the menstrual cycle is over, he enters a mature age and dedicates his life to the Holy Mother, the Holy Father, the Supreme. From now on, his task in life is to take care of the well-being of all living beings. He has completed his duty to his family and now he devotes himself to a spiritual goal, he begins to embody the archetype of a wise woman; compassion,a woman who cares for all beings, and she attains wisdom and spiritual liberation.
Every stage of a woman’s life has its own special perspective. If one wants to apply feminine mysticism, one must examine all these stages. One must travel through a woman’s life, embark on a mystical adventure - from the maturation of a girl to the power of a young woman, to a wife, to motherhood and finally to the character of a wise woman. All of this leads through a woman’s cycles, increasing her spiritual understanding of a woman’s life. Life is not painful and boring, it is a mystical adventure.
For a woman, these special stages of life are unique due to her physiology. Therefore, awareness, spiritualization, and understanding of these aspects in a spiritual light form the basis of female mysticism.
Brahma Sadhana(meditation) is for everyone and is also the foundation of female mysticism. But these certain aspects of a woman’s life should be shared with other women, they should be inspired by other women. The compassion of women is very weak in much of today’s world and has caused the decay of modern society. Women are in such a hurry to become like men that they do not value those rituals that protected them as women. There is no partnership between women, so women are on their own. That should not be the case.
There should be women’s communities that women could turn to during these stages of their lives. Without them, it is too difficult for women to face the changes caused by pregnancy, even during the first menstrual period, to take care of children alone without others to follow, and thus the woman becomes depressed. There is a lot of talk about postpartum depression, but let me say that if a woman has other women around her who care about her, she will not get depressed, and postpartum will be very rare. But if women are isolated and don’t have the company of other women or a proper safety net, they are prone to depression, and when they raise their children they often feel very isolated.
In today’s world, families have broken up here and there; mothers, grandmothers and sisters are not present. A woman may have one friend she can go to visit once a week if she is doing well. The man is at work and the woman is alone with a small baby and is depressed. She is lonely and has no one to show how the baby is cared for properly. This situation is not good for the mother or the child. Even if relatives could not be present, the mother should at least seek the company of other mothers. There should be some kind of collaboration for mothers.
It is important to establish spiritual communities for women so that women can support each other in the stages of these different cycles. I suggest that such women’s communities be established around the world.
