Wild Woman Archetype Archives -

Véineas agus an Ghealach

By Simone Lipscomb | October 19, 2017

*Pre-dawn in Árainn, Ireland….I’m still dreaming of being there.*

I woke at 5am and rushed to put on my cycling clothes along with a Smartwool undershirt. It was the first crisp day to ride of the best riding season of all on the Alabama Gulf Coast….which is ANY time the humidity drops below 80% and the mornings are crisp.

As I pulled onto the highway with my bike loaded on the back of the car, the sliver of the crescent moon hung very low in the eastern sky with venus in perfect alignment beneath it. The crescent was horns up with the dark of the moon creating a perfect circle above it. And there was a red planetary body to the right of the moon. The triangular alignment was spectacular. It made me think of a delicate silver moon necklace with a small chain hanging down dangling a brilliant diamond beneath it.

All the way to the state park I watched the beautiful firmament. Stars twinkled and all seemed to point to the incredible dance of the moon, Venus and Mars.

When I stepped out of the car, the chilly wind caught me by surprise but not nearly as much as the constellations shining so brightly overhead. I attached lights to my bicycle, put on my shoes, helmet and jacket and took off into the darkness.

*One of the many, many moments of bliss I discovered within myself in Ireland.*

Immediately I recognized the feeling and it was the first time, since returning from Árainn, Ireland, I felt it. Stars, chilly air, darkness, nature…..ah…..laughter erupted as I pedaled. It was awesome to be able to find my bliss again and find home in my skin.

After such a powerful time of travel and adventure, there is often a time when the big energy that built with the experience collapses and life returns back to a place that wasn’t so awesome. But the changes and leaps made in Ireland continue to propel me forward. The energy of change and growth remains strong and the renewal gained there is clear and bright.

Véineas agus an Ghealach….Venus and the Moon reminded me how my wild woman self loves stars whether under pine trees with a humid breeze or on rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean. May I continue to dance with wild abandon to the untamed heart within me.

Elemental Magic

By Simone Lipscomb | June 6, 2014

Being underwater is like home to me but being in the desert in Washington Slagbaai National Park is where I feel elemental energies of the planet the strongest.

The dirt roads of the park are filled with rocks, ruts, cactus bits, lizards and dust. The three hour drive through the park takes much patience to navigate the terrain. But to me the heat, dust and bumps that can make it uncomfortable only add to the uniqueness of this special place.

The island is shaped like the number ‘7’ and when visiting the north end of the island you begin in desert, connect with the Ocean on the east side of the island, north side and finally the west side while navigating through cactus and other desert vegetation. I could go on about the geology and natural history of it, but the reason I return every year is the way it affects me, the way it makes me feel, the strong sense of primal Earth energies that are still potent here.

My inner wildness feels drawn out as the sun’s heat draws moisture from my body. As my sweat mixes with salt spray blowing from the Ocean and across knife-sharp iron rock, my spirit is released to dance in strong winds–strong winds, strong spirit. There is no room for weakness here. Strength calls forth strength.

Shade only exists beneath thorny trees and near rock outcroppings made of ancient, fossilized coral so life is harsh, intense. Few humans exist here and efforts to establish dwellings have mostly failed. There are some places that should be left wild and untouched for the spirits of nature to roam and play and be untouched by humanity.

I too want to maintain wildness within me, never to be domesticated or tamed. Anyone who tries to tame my wild spirit soon understands the futility of the effort. I cherish it and love it and nurture it by connecting with places that sing to it through the dance of elemental magic.

Pigs are Not Domesticated and May Bite

By Simone Lipscomb | September 5, 2013

There is a certain place on the highway toward the mountains where the forest opens up and there are the beloved mountains! It always makes me smile in my heart. Today was no different.

I haven’t visited the Smoky Mountains in a while due to the move last year and the process of getting settled. But a few weeks ago they were calling me and so I decided to visit after summer crowds were gone and before the masses of tourists in October–the busiest month of the year there.

It’s really a visit home for me. As a kid I loved these mountains with a deep, heart-felt joy. That hasn’t changed. I always feel ‘right’ here…in balance, at peace. Anchored in my skin. I feel that way on the Alabama Coast as well….but they are distinctly different ecosystems. And the mountains are not nearly as developed as the coast…which is almost totally developed, almost totally choked with houses, condos, restaurants….and on and on.

Like all wild areas, the Smoky Mountains speak to a part of me that is still wild and undomesticated. The wild woman within who likes to feel the squishy mud between her toes, warm sand underfoot, gaze out over a vast horizon at the edge of the sea and stand on mountaintops and feel the immenseness of space.

Today, while visiting the mountain farm near Cherokee, NC in the Smoky Mountain National Park, I saw a sign attached to the pig pen: “Pigs are not domesticated and may bite.” I thought of my wild woman self and realized she has that same potential. Don’t try to pen me up as I will bite…no ‘may’ about it.

I began to ponder the idea of domestication and immediately thought of computers and email and social media. While all can be useful tools, they can also be thieves that steal our wildness and keep us chained to a plastic box that squawks at us when someone is trying to contact us.

Sometimes we need to unplug and attune ourselves once again to the rhythms of nature…that magical, mystical web of life from which our physical bodies arise. It is home to us…it helps us reconnect with that from which we came.

I didn’t know what the day would bring as I motored closer to the most amazing biosphere of the Smokies. As I crested a ridge near Franklin, NC the fog–that living, breathing beast of white mist–rolled over the mountain to kiss my cheeks with moisture. Welcome home, daughter. Come play in the wildness. Come feel your Mother nurture you. Rest…explore…absorb the limitless beauty.

For the next few days, I am not domesticated and I will bite….but only if someone tries to put me in a pen.

It’s time to fly!