Man and Woman: Let’s Write a New Story

All of human history, written and unwritten, can trace back to an origin story. Like roots of ancestry reaching back, playing out similar themes and patterns to repeat itself again and again throughout time.

Christianity as an institution attempted to wipe out all prior belief systems through a form of spiritual cleansing, genocide, and conquering of people and land. ‘Paganism’ is a blanket label for the spiritual belief system that was long held in ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, India. Not to mention the many spiritual belief systems around the world. Many belief systems, pre-organized religion, were centered around worship of the divine feminine energy and divine feminine goddess. Institutionalized religion changed the narrative and focused on the masculine, labeling God as male, and demonizing the feminine. In this restructuring and organizing of people and society, it redefined the way humanity would live and build for the next two thousand years. And the values and beliefs we live by to this day are largely based off the stories written only two thousand years ago.

The most commonly known creation story is outlined in Genesis 1 and 2 of the Bible. It is the one we all know well — the story of Adam and Eve.

In Genesis I - the first; heaven and earth, light and night, ocean and land, animal and then the first man and woman were created.

1:27   So God created man in its own image… male and female created them.
1:28   And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
1:29   And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

In Genesis II - the second; God rested on the seventh day and ended its work.

2:6   But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
2:7   And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
2:8   And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
21   And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22   And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

There are two creation stories. The first story speaks of the creation of both man and woman as equals in the image of God. Bestowing upon them the entirety of Earth. To have dominion over and to replenish. The second story speaks of the creation of a woman from a man—a man not created in the image of God, by Lord God. Bestowing upon them the garden of Eden.

There are other stories of a woman that came before Eve. A woman named Lilith. The stories of Lilith suggests that she was the first woman. Created not from man, but created separate and equal, and in the image of God. The stories tell that she left because she did not want to submit to Adam and Adam did not want to submit to her. It is said that Adam sent for her and she refused to return, instead choosing her own path. Many stories have labeled her as a demoness throughout history. Whether or not it is true, her story is unclear. Then there is Eve, thought to be the second wife. Eve was made out of Adam, made to be his helper. And he was re-made not in the image of God, but from the earth.

We can never know what is the Truth as these are ultimately stories translated and written by humans. And all humans are fallable and limited in perspective. And many interpretations can be derived from such stories. But the prevailing interpretations dictate what sort of message and set of values are passed down through the generations.

What can be noted is that the story we know and have embodied through the ages is based on the second creation story—the one where man and woman are created not as equals, and not in the image of God but from the earth. Which implies they do not embody the highest Truths of God. It is why they were placed in the garden of Eden. Eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge in order to move beyond the garden. Interpretations of this story have generated a narrative that because woman was created out of man’s rib, the woman is inferior and exists solely to serve as his helper. It too frames the woman as dangerous because Eve reached for the fruit of knowledge. It implies that knowledge is dangerous too, and that it would have been better to remain ignorant and safe in the garden, unable to expand beyond.

The war against the feminine is reflected in the Bible and is seeded in the valies, beliefs, and attitudes in our society. We have become a masculine-driven society and people, Devoid of balance and honor of the feminine.

At the most basic level, we still see two narratives continuing to today. 1. the war between genders: Man and Woman, and 2. the archetypal war within Woman: Eve and Lilith. How often do we still see power dynamics play out in relationships between men and women? How often do we expect women to be an Eve, and not a Lilith? And how often do we demonize women like a Lilith?

To this day, we are still in a war between genders. Some men still believe women are inferior and should submit to them. Some women believe they must be more masculine to get ahead in a ‘man’s world.’ Old world countries and cultures still hold the belief that woman must be submissive. New world countries and cultures believe that woman and man should be more equal, yet woman must act more masculine for this to be the case. There is too much control between the genders. Too many gender roles, rules, and expectations. Too much trying to get ahead of one another. Much of this stems from the impretations of Genesis 2, the second creation story. Yet, if we are to look to Genesis 1, the first creation story, we can derive a very different set of values and beliefs, if we must. In the original first creation story, man and woman were created equal, both in the image of God, to have dominion over the creatures of the Earth, but not over each other.

Lilith and Eve represent two archetypes of women. Lilith representing the equal woman. Eve representing the submissive woman. These two archetypes represent the two seemingly opposing definitions of femininity. Is femininity soft and submissive or fierce and strong? Well it’s both. Women are trained to believe they must be an Eve: soft and submissive—the preferrable socially accepted archetype. We are also trained to believe that to be a Lilith is to be rebellious, maybe even considered dangerous or volatile. But those are just the interpretations and framing of a very focused agenda to violate the divine feminine. Women unfortunately believe they must choose between the two, when in Truth, the feminine is a lot more nuanced and dynamic than humans understand. What we can perceive on the surface as gentle and still, can also be powerful and dynamic beneath the surface. After all, feminine energy is the energy that creates new life. Feminine energy is powerful.

It is important not to oversimplify the concepts of feminine and masculine energy, and tie them to the forms of woman and man. Woman does not equal pure feminine energy. And man does not equal pure masculine energy. Women and men are made of both feminine and masculine energies. In the energetics of life, feminine and masculine energy are both necessary. ‘Feminine’ and ‘Masculine’ are merely labels to describe the dualistic nature of energy that work together to create life. Divine feminine is limitless, boundless energy flowing all around, giving way to creation. Divine masculine is structured form, the output of boundless divine feminine energy. Both energies inherently deserve equal respect, because both energies are the foundational blocks of all life. We need both. So there is no point in trying to repress the other or argue which is better or which is superior.

It is time for us to write a new story. With a higher perspective and a renewed commitment to Truth and unity. We can stop re-creating the past. We do not need to continue to sow the seeds of division, for it does not benefit us as a whole. Stories, interpretations, perspectives come and go, but through time we must believe we are capable of evolving, expanding, and shifting our prespective to a higher plane of consciousness. To see more and realize higher interpretations and perspectives of what we once thought we knew or understood. We do not need to remain chained to outdated perspectives and stories of the past, that only serve to limit our understanding. We must move forward and write new stories that reflect our progress.

Let us write a new story of man and woman. Two forms that are symbolic of the dual energies of divine feminine and divine masculine. They too hold both energies in opposite directions. They too exist to work together in harmony. Two sides of the same coin, yin and yang, a cycle of energy. Regardless of form, we all desire and deserve respect, to be heard and accepted, to be loved, We can embrace the ability to forgive each other, come back to center, and find a way to work together as guardians of this planet.