Honour our female lineage

Words JANET McGEEVER

It is said that within the womb of an unborn girl are all the eggs she will ever carry, some 20 million, which is more than she’ll ever need in one lifetime.

This means that while innocently developing as a foetus in her mother’s womb, a girl child already holds the potential for her future children and her mother’s future grandchildren within her own womb; life begetting life, begetting life.

Thus, three generations simultaneously exist over the 40 weeks of gestation: the mother, the unborn child, and the unfertilised eggs of the future generation.

The modern study of epigenetics now tells us that it is not only genes that determine our tendencies, but also external and environmental factors. So whatever your grandmother carried in her experience of life has a considerable influence on you, your tendencies, your unconscious cell memories and the like.

And if you want to take this further, she also held her own grandmother’s, as well as her mother’s genetics and tendencies. We cannot escape the influence of our ancestors. As women, we are infinitely connected to our female lineage.

It is said in family constellations that we inherit up to seven generations of our ancestors’ cell memories. We are inherently connected through our DNA to their lives, their hardship, their environments and, consequently, to their suffering, grief, sadness and loss.

This is something to think about. Contemplate your grandmother’s or your great-grandmother’s life. Where she lived, how she lived. How has this connection influenced you?

We can fall into focusing on the suffering that has been passed along, but what about the resilience, bravery, power, courage, love and inspiration that we can take from those women who lived before us?

Draw on them and their positive qualities to take you forward. They experienced hardship, many experienced war. They know what it’s like to have their whole world turned upside down. In this current time, if you are having difficulty finding your inner compass, sit quietly for a while. Energetically call on these women for inspiration and know that they lived through things we may have never even thought of and yet, they survived and perhaps even thrived.

And know that the one thing the fabric of this world is made of is love. Love is inscribed into every cell of your being, and this vital life-giving thread has been passed down the generations.

Janet is co-author of Tantric Sex and Menopause, co-presenter of The Making Love Retreat in Australia and creator of Womantime, Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Day Woman.

www.janetmcgeever.com