Also known as the huntress, the wild woman archetype calls when you’re ready to dance barefoot through life. She invites you take off your masks and embrace your rawest self.
Maybe you’ve been hearing the call of nature. Maybe you’ve been welcoming more of your feminine. Maybe you don’t want to just fit in anymore. Maybe you’ve started hearing your intuition. Or maybe, you’ve been exploring your creativity.
Then my dear, your inner wild woman has been waiting for you to set her free!
So as Chelan Harkin would say, “Leave your shoes and your old concepts of God at the door” and step into your full power!
How to embody the Wild Woman Archetype?
Reconnect with Nature
This is often the first image that comes to mind when picturing the wild woman. An embodied creature attuned with nature.
But let’s not get too literal here. There are many ways for you to reconnect with nature without moving to an off-grid cabin in the woods. Although we do like this option very much too.
If you live in a big city, maybe just take a walk to the nearest park. Close your eyes and hum the delicious grass smell after a humid winter night. Listen to the song of the birds. Admire the bravest flowers that have been resisting the hostile weather.
Have you ever thought of planting your own herbs? Get a bunch of small pots that can fit in a corner of your kitchen and fill them with rosemary, thyme, and mint plants. Add them to your meals or infuse them in hot water the old grandma’s way.
But most importantly, take off your shoes and feel the beat of the earth wherever you are.
Reclaim your Feminine
In this man’s world, allowing our feminine can be challenging. Women are expected to do it all without ever considering their feelings, their personality, or their energy levels.
The wild woman has not been contaminated by the modern society yet. She has a free-will. She listens to her body and trusts her instincts. Just like the moon, the sun, and the trees, she observes her cycles. She rests so she can rise again. She recharges now so she can be of service then.
The wild woman is in an intimate relationship with her emotions. She does not try to bury them under layers of shame and guilt. She welcomes, she embraces, she feels all of it. Because she knows the only way out is through the body.
Move, shake, scream, cry, crawl. Find your very own way to express it and let it out.
It takes courage and strength to be soft.
Set boundaries
As scary as it can be, setting boundaries is a necessary step when taking ownership of your life. We are not here to please others. Enough of the good girl’s act, the wild woman knows better!
If you feel hesitant about it, try a different angle. What if a no, was a yes to yourself. What if a no, was a yes to a healthier, more meaningful relationship, whatever its nature.
A no doesn’t have to be a full rejection. A no can be a delimitation, a framework to operate within. A no is a way of making sure that all parts involved are aligned and walking hand in hand towards the same direction.
So, take a deep breath, and say yes today, to more connected relationships in your life.
Trust your Intuition
Do you think intuition is an abstract concept reserved to psychics? You’ll be happy to learn that we have all received this gift the moment we were born. We have simply forgotten how to use it because we have been taught not to trust it.
Once you are aware of it, your goal is to reestablish that connection between the visible and the invisible. Between the matter and the ether.
Intuition can use different languages. She will choose the channels you are most receptive to. She works with dreams, plants, animals, numbers, or anything else that makes sense to you.
A good way to start listening is through the body. This is one of the main principles of Raindrop Movement. We offer a free, online practice every first Wednesday of the month. Join us to reconnect with the wisdom of your body.
Embrace your creativity
If you’ve been told in school that you were not creative. If you’ve been repeating it to yourself all these years, now is your time to embrace it.
In her book Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estés states that “Art is important for it commemorates the seasons of the soul”.
Think of it as an embodiment practice. Don’t put too much thought into it. Feel it instead. Let it arise from the inside. What is it you want to express? What emotions? Give them shapes, colors, and textures. Bring them to life.
There are different practices you can choose from. What do you feel called to? Whether you decide to paint, write, sculpt, or cook, pick the one that speaks to your heart.
Who are the most inspiring Wild Women?
Aurora
Aurora is one of the wildest women alive. Some still wonder what planet she is from. Try and look her in the eyes, you might get hypnotized.
She feels the earth. She never loses balance. She speaks her truth. She sings it with her voice, her eyes, and the tip of her fingers. You can see the interconnection of it all. She makes it visible that all is one and “all is soft”.
She’s a fully embodied artist. She dances her soul.
“All I have ever known is the Universe is Wild”, and so is she. And so we are. Part of a complex yet marvelous system. Aurora invites us to simply surrender and spin with it.
Mata Hari
Although most of her existence remains a mystery, Mata Hari knew perfectly who she was in her heart. She was a dancer, an artist, a performer. She was born to entertain, to seduce, to enchant. She was born to be free. Nothing else really mattered, neither her name, her origins, or her story.
She found inspiration along her travels in ancient practices and sacred arts.
She owned her femineity, her sensuality, her sexuality. She could not be tamed. Her beautiful body was for all to see, but for no one to possess.
She was a wild creature pacing the world with a dangerous smile.
Pocahontas
We tend to remember the obedient princesses because this is how our patriarchal society would like us to grow. But Pocahontas might be the most inspiring Disney character.
She cannot be bought. Her only gold is the sacred corn. Not even love could take her away from her native land. She knows where she belongs and where she is needed.
Ancient wisdom is her religion, and nature is her temple. She runs wild with the wind. She talks to the trees. She prays by the river. She can hear the music of the elements, and she invites us all to join and dance with them.
“Listen with your heart, you will understand.” We all have an inner compass. The answer is always within us. If only we could slow down and open our heart, our path would unfold before us.
Artemis
Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon, among other wild things.
She is independent and strong enough not to want any man in her life. In fact, she wished to remain a virgin for as long as gods can live.
She prefers the darkness of the woods to the comfort of the Olympus. Luxury to her is a free dance in the forest with her nymphs’ friends.
She is known as the protector of all animals, but she is often associated with the deer. As for her keeper, this peaceful animal won’t hesitate to fight back when necessary.
In the Cosmic Creatures Deck by Grace Duong, we can read “The tranquility of the Deer is available when we receive the blessings of Mother Nature.” Let’s walk together in Artemis’ steps to find our way back to our wild nature.
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is most famous for her work with the chimpanzees. She spent her whole life studying them. But we are not talking about lab research here. She travelled to different places in Africa to meet them in their natural habitat.
She was patient and brave enough to sit among them until they would trust her. She considered them not as savage creatures but as pairs. She gave them names. She bonded with them as she would have with any human.
Jane Goodall turned her passion into activism. She militates for the well-being and conservation of all living things. She inspires us to be bridges between the modern and the natural world.
Who comes to your mind when you imagine an embodiment of a Wild Woman?
What qualities does she carry? Those are your qualities wanting to be seen & expressed more!
Are you fascinated with the Wild Woman? We are too! If you wish to embrace her wisdom even more, join our next free, online summit Reclaiming the Feminine. 7 speakers including Nada Mesqui, our Founder, will guide you through an exciting day of empowerment and self-discovery. Claim your spot now and we’ll see you on Wednesday, March 20th!
