Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-Valentine's Day. It's just I have done a series already for Valentine's Day where I focused on using magick to find love. It was called 14 Days of Love and Magick. If you need some ideas for ritual and magick so that you can attract a date by Valentine's Day, then you'll want to take a look at that series. I will probably even repost a few of my favorites as V-day approaches.
However, I have wanted to tackle the topic of feminine empowerment on this blog ever since I started it! While the label I use to describe myself is pagan, this blog is based on Goddess spirituality. A fundamental idea in Goddess spirituality is feminine empowerment. Please understand that this is not the exact same thing as feminism. To me, feminism is the fight for women to have equal rights as men and to be treated fairly. Feminine empowerment is different because it's about finding the power of being a woman that is within, not fighting the powers that be in the outside world. I do admit the two topics are deeply intertwined and it is nearly impossible to discuss one without the other.
WHY VALENTINE'S?
I chose the time surrounding Valentine's Day because it seems to be a time when single women do one of two things: either they wallow in self pity because they don't have a man or they embrace the idea that they are a strong independent woman who doesn't need a man. If they aren't single, then their relationship tends to take center stage. Even if they don't want it to! There are Valentine's gift displays in every store. Every source of media, internet, radio, and television advertises for Valentine's. Day. Even if you want to forget about your relationship issues, the time leading up to Feb 14 makes it nearly impossible!
But let's be honest here. It's not only around Valentine's Day. It's just the worst around Valentine's Day. As women, we start to get bombarded with the idea that we need to find a man and get married so we will be happy when we are little girls! We are told fairy tales about finding the handsome prince and living happily ever after. We play with Barbie, baby dolls, and begin to learn about all the different ways girls are different than boys. As we get older, we encounter a society that tries to define what our place is in the world, who we are supposed to be, and why we are limited as women. The media and Hollywood shoves their ideas down our throats about what beauty is and how we have to look a certain way. "All for one goal, to find a husband!"
How did we get this way? How can we overcome this idea that we need to belong to a couple in order to be loved and worthy? How do we find the courage and the power to declare ourselves independent and realize we are strong enough to take care of ourselves on our own? Is it really in our nature to want to be rescued and marry Prince Charming or are we conditioned to be that way? If we do want to be married, does that mean we aren't really a feminist? How does Goddess spirituality help us address all these issues?
Join me for the entire month of February when I will explore these questions and many others. The biggest question of all is of course in the title of the series: Why didn't Diana need Cupid? (Hint: It isn't just because Diana also carried a bow and arrow.)
If you're willing, grab the button and place it on your blog to let others know about the series. Then meet me back here at The Domestic Pagan on February 1st!
*Additional InfoA comment was left that implied "I will follow along...even [though] I am getting married." Please understand this series is for everyone, single or in a relationship! If anything, we need to make the effort to preserve our self-auton0my even more so when we are in a serious relationship. When we are in love, many of us tend to get overwhelmed with thoughts of the other person and are at risk of forgetting our own wants and needs. We also may love so deeply that we worry we will not remain whole if the person leaves us. This series is about accepting that "we are whole whether we are single or in a relationship."
