The Sacred Marriage Within

Balancing Masculine & Feminine: Tips for the Season of Beltane

Fertile Ground at Beltane

Creating & Destroying

The elemental nature of fire both destroys (masculine) and creates (feminine). All the elements have this potential, yet fire holds the ability to complete the alchemical process—transmuting matter.

From its original form, matter is first destroyed through the process of decomposition—earth element, and further through the process of purification—air element. Then re-creation begins with clarification—water element, and ultimately transformation—fire element.

Boiled way down, creation is essentially feminine and destruction inherently masculine. Even so, both have destructive and creative aspects—Earth and water are feminine; fire and air are masculine. This is natural law, also known as universal principles.

“We are only capable of creating at the level we are willing to destroy,” John Fulton, Aesclepion Healing Center.

The Sacred Marriage

The Sun and Moon dance with one another inside your body, supporting and sustaining the active and receptive balance of life with their primal rhythms.

Whether an allegory in nature, the human body or universal principles, the relationship between masculine and feminine is the essence of the Sacred Marriage, and it resides inside you.

A Human Map

In the physical world our bodies are equipped with a central nervous system that consists of the brain and the spinal cord; and an autonomic segment that governs our automatic responses. The autonomic nervous system has both a sympathetic—active and parasympathetic—receptive branch, and communicates directly with the endocrine system through the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

In the subtle realm of anatomy, our blueprint has a central channel—the main river, that includes the chakras and connects the root to the crown; as well as two secondary, side channels that link the right and left sides of the gonads at the 2nd chakra, to the right and left nostrils, and the pituitary gland at the 6th chakra.

The subtle anatomy is aligned with the physiological functions in its solar-active and lunar-receptive channels, which also relate to masculine and feminine energies respectively.

Ideally there is a rhythm—a balanced ebb and flow of interaction.

In the physical realm there is a constantly adjusting movement between the two branches which are not only linked to the endocrine system by stimulating both the flight/fight—sympathetic response, and the rest/digest—parasympathetic response, they are also connected to other neuro-chemicals—dopamine and serotonin for example.

In the subtle realm—yogic teachings suggest (in a very small nutshell) that when Sun and Moon rise together from the root chakra, eventually combining and filling the upper cauldron at the 6th chakra with both masculine and feminine wisdom, they ignite the crown and one becomes enlightened.

This is an evocation—calling forth the inner energies to create spiritual alchemy. It is a synergistic interaction far greater than the singular offerings of each—a recipe for enlightenment.

There are psycho-spiritual aspects to the sacred marriage as well, and postulated in the Hermetic philosophies of Natural Law, the Magnum Opus—spiritual alchemy, as well as Carl Jung’s body of work on spiritual alchemy and individuation—particularly the anima and animas.

Read more about Beltane and the Sacred Marriage here.

There are many ways we can analogize the interconnectedness between the Sacred Marriage and the Natural Law of Gender:

In Nature: Sun-Moon; Dark-Light; Day-Night; Tidal Ebb-Flow

Magnetics: The Poles; Atomic Charges

Energy: Masculine-Feminine; Body-Spirit; Earth-Cosmos

The Body: Male-Female; Fight/Flight-Rest/Digest; Subtle-Gross Anatomy; Yin-Yang

Psychologically: Logic-Intuition; Anima-Animas

Tips for the Season

Conscious Breath: Breath is Spirit, Manifest

......and (God) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7

Breath is spirit made manifest. With our first inhale, spirit descends into form; in our final exhale, it returns home.

Conscious breathing is the holy bridge between spirit and body.

Practicing mindful breathing honors the sacred marriage within—where the physical and the spiritual unite in harmony.

With each breath, remember: you are the living temple where heaven meets earth.

Breathe to affirm your aliveness, and let breath be your daily communion with source.

With each inhale, receive the breath of life.
With each exhale, release and let go.
Return to the stillness of your divine essence.

And as a grounding mantra:

Inhale softly: I AM

Exhale softly: I AM

Feel your breath aligning body and spirit

Breathwork & Intuitive Readings

Feng Shui for your Insides: Active & Passive Rooms

Walk through your home and take note of each room and the activities you do in those rooms. An active room is masculine and suggests a lot of sunlight or brightness and maybe a masculine palate and style. A passive room is feminine and requests subdued light—even darkness and feminine energy.

Active rooms are those in which you accomplish things—like the kitchen, office, and family or game rooms. Try enhancing these rooms and the related activities with bright colors and lighting.

Bedrooms and other rooms in which you relax, meditate or sleep, are passive and can be enhanced with earth tones, muted colors, blanket throws and subdued lighting.

Some rooms, such as the bathroom, dining and living/entertainment rooms may be both passive and active and can be enhanced with a neutral palate of style and color; window shades, shutters or curtains; and dimmer switches.

Intuitive Alignment & Readings for Home & Body

Herbal Healing: Fertility of Divinity Embodied

In many Celtic traditions the blooming of the hawthorn tree marked the beginning of Beltane, celebrating the fertility of the land. Hawthorn is also a sacred tree in many traditions, seen as a gateway between the human and spirit worlds.

Hawthorn is a very gentle yet potent herb for the heart – physically, emotionally and spiritually. It can help heal unresolved emotional wounds, creating greater self affinity. As we begin to accept and care for ourselves, a greater opening is created to trust the connection with our own divinity, and to see how we can express in our lives the guidance received from spirit.

The Alchemy of Herbs by Rosalee de la Forêt is a great reference book for the healing properties of hawthorn and has several fun recipes. Visit your trusted herb store for a tincture, or enjoy a cup of hawthorn tea. If you feel adventurous, make your own hawthorn fruit leather. Be sure to use the herbal expertise of someone who knows when preparing any remedy or food.

And if you are lucky enough to have a hawthorn tree in your life, place a small cutting with blossoms on your alter. Sit near your tree and listen with your heart to hawthorn’s messages for you.

Herbal Healings & Readings

Pathworking Tools: The Riverbed

Sit comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor—your posture is open, aligned and relaxed. Feel your breath moving through your body as you come into center. Breathe for a while, becoming aware of golden energy moving between head and tail with the ebb and flow of your breath.

Simply breathe and feel.

-Continue breathing, becoming more and more aware of the connection between your head and tail. This is your central channel—the main river.

-Now imagine two streams running alongside the main river.

-Breath consciously, inhaling from your root at the tailbone, calling your breath up the two side channels— streams, into your brain. Exhale back down again through the central channel.

-Golden energy flows from tail to head through the streams, circulates inside your brain and flows back down through the main river again.

-Each of the side channels carries masculine or feminine energy, together balancing and creating the sacred marriage inside your body.

-Repeat this breath cycle several times, inhaling up through the side channels, exhaling down through the main river of your central channel.

-Be aware of your inner river and streams as your breath circulates up into your head through the two streams, and downward through the main river into your chest and then your belly before it rises again.

Intuitive Guidance to Map your Evolutionary Journey

Special Events During Beltane

May

Aura Healings—Tuesday, May 6th, 5:30-7pm; Donation; Text 505-603-7137 for info.

Feng Shui Tips for Heath & Home—Tuesday, May 13th, 5:30-7pm; Donation; Text 505-919-9611 for info.

Psychic Readings—Saturday, May 17th, 11am-2pm; $25/20 minutes; Text 505-603-7137 for info.

June

Aura Healings—Tuesday, June 3rd, 5:30-7pm; Donation; Text 505-603-7137 for info.

Feng Shui Tips for Heath & Home—Tuesday, June 10th, 5:30-7pm; Donation; Text 505-919-9611 for info.

Psychic Readings—Saturday, June 14th, 11am-2pm; $25/20 minutes; Text 505-603-7137 for info.

Readings and Guidance

Spring is perfect timing for a spiritual hello about your next step and intentions, and maybe some guidance too. Our vision as a team is to serve the community by acknowledging and supporting your unique contribution! Each of us at Sacred Gateways offers intuitive readings and healings as part of our personal soul intention. Click on our About Section or Readings & Healings for more information.