Let’s not be fooled - thoughts on the 'divine feminine'

The ‘divine feminine’ is a term that is appearing more and more in female spaces. It can sound quite innocent – a redressing of the imbalance of patriarchal society even. But what is the divine feminine exactly? 

The divine feminine is the concept that there are different kinds of ‘energy’, masculine and feminine, and through bringing balance to these energies, we can create peace and harmony on earth.   

Divine feminine energy is said to correspond to different attributes, including compassion, empathy and cooperation. Seen through the lens of this philosophy, patriarchy is an energetic imbalance that can be corrected when women ‘rise up’ and ‘reclaim their power’, allowing their positive qualities to have greater influence in our world.   

At first glance this idea can seem accurate. After all, in our fallen world women are often downtrodden by men and globally don’t have basic rights and freedoms. It can make sense that what women need to do is assert more control and influence. Also, who could deny that we need more positive, feminine qualities, such as empathy and compassion? 

The roots of the divine feminine

However, when we look at the roots of the concept, things are not all they seem. The idea comes from polytheistic religions, such as Roman, Greek and Hinduism, as well as occult traditions. At its heart, it is about goddess worship. The divine feminine is also present in the heretical Gnostic ‘Christianity’, and the concept that the universe was created by Sophia. 

The New Age draws on various different occult traditions and, through the spread of New Age spiritual practices, books and teachings, the idea of the divine feminine has sprouted in modern Western society too. 

The concept even shows up in some seemingly Christian spaces. Some people claim that the Holy Spirit is another name for the divine feminine. It has also been linked to Mary, who is believed by some to symbolise the divine feminine. 

This is one of the ways the New Age works, in that it is quite ‘inclusive’. It doesn’t reject all of the Christian story, but instead, moulds it and changes it, so that it fits in with occult ideas. But a closer look reveals that the divine feminine is definitely not compatible with biblical Christianity. 

The core ideas of the concept

In the divine feminine model, complete harmony and peace are achieved by the balancing of masculine and female energy. This is often symbolised by the infinity symbol, which in occult traditions represents a snake eating its own head.

It’s a model that doesn’t need Christ the Son of God, because we’re all ‘Christ consciousness’, a New Age term meaning we all have a divine in us. According to this philosophy, imperfection in the world isn’t the result of sin, but an energetic imbalance. When that imbalance is addressed, humanity can reach ‘god-like’ potential. It’s Satan’s old lie again: “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). 

In the book of Genesis, humans built the tower of Babel (Genesis 11) in order to try to reach heaven. They were trying to solve the separation from God in their own strength. The ideas associated with the divine feminine might look like a way to solve sexism, but they will only make things worse. 

It’s interesting to me that some of the earliest feminists were Christians. They recognised that humans do have a role to help to improve the situation for women. Examples from the 19th century include social reformer Josephine Butler, who campaigned against the sexual exploitation of girls, and activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who criticised patriarchal interpretations of the Bible.

However, for other feminists, the occult was inextricably linked to their gender ideas. For example, Madame Blavatsky, who founded the Theosophical Society in 1875, challenged gender roles and is widely regarded by many as the ‘mother’ of the New Age. The book Occult Feminism: The Secret History of Women’s Liberation by Rachel Wilson documents the links between feminism and non-Christian spiritual teachings, and how many of the early feminists attended seances and developed ideas about free love, as well as other occult-inspired teachings. 

Exercising discernment

When it comes to ideas that merge spirituality and feminism we need to be extremely careful about whether they are Christian or not. Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), and so destructive philosophies may masquerade as ways to ‘liberate’ women.

New Age occult ideas don’t come packaged and clearly labelled with ‘new age’ so they can sometimes be hard to spot. That’s why it’s so important we pray for discernment, read our Bibles regularly and turn to God for solutions on how to live better lives rather than embracing ideas from this fallen world.