Cultivating Wild Wisdom

One of my favorite books, “Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. is one of the most helpful, femme centered books I've read. I spent about 6 weeks reading this because I wanted to soak in the message of each chapter. Her analysis of myths and stories from a female perspective gave me a whole new appreciation for the stories and fairy tales of my childhood. I never read much into the meaning or message behind most fables and fairy tales when I was younger. I consumed them as pretty straightforward adventures. The book is centered around the Wild Woman archetype present in those tales.

Connecting my cycles with the natural “wild woman” cycles of our eco-system is a focus of mine that has helped a great deal in my healing journey. Her theory that we all have a wild woman inside of us resonates with me because over the last several years I have been uncovering my own wild self and releasing the suffocating and harmful ideals that our culture has pressed upon me while healing my trauma and pain.

The very first page starts with this: “Wildlife and the Wild Woman are both endangered species. Over time, we have seen the feminine instinctive nature looted, driven back, and overbuilt. For long periods it has been mismanaged like the wildlife and wild lands. For several thousand years, as soon and as often as we turn our backs, it is relegated to the poorest land in the psyche. The spiritual lands of Wild Woman have, throughout history, been plundered or burnt, dens bulldozed, and natural cycles forced into unnatural rhythms to please others.” I felt my inner self crying out in exasperation about why hadn't I read this book sooner. I clearly remember my mother telling me about it!

On page 13, I read the following description of who is the Wild Woman. “She is the one who thunders after injustice. She is the one who turns like a great wheel. She is the maker of cycles. She is the one we leave home to look for. She is the one we come home to. She is the mucky rot of all women. She is the things that keep us going when we think we're done for. She is the incubator of raw little ideas and deals. She is the mind which thanks us, we are the thoughts that she thinks. Where is she present? Where can you feel her, where can you find her?”

That hooked me. The first chapter was singing to my soul.

The wild woman, my wolf side is a part of me I have been cultivating for a few years now. This book for me is powerful and I feel that most women would benefit from the traditions and wisdom she shares.

Each chapter focuses on a different theme of lessons to learn or unlearn and stages of life women progress through on their journeys. And each of these felt like my own journey; including learning to love my body after accepting the unhealthy beauty standards of my culture; being aware of the darkest parts of my psyche that was the place my depression took root and flourished for 17 years; resurrecting my self-worth from years of doubt and bullying; learning to hone my intuition and listen to what felt right or wrong; letting my scars heal instead of picking at the scabs; understanding that all of these aspects of myself, my growth, my healing are stages of my journey that are felt by most other women, even when our environment and cultures differ greatly.

Overall this book inspired me to ponder the following questions.

1. How can I cultivate more wild woman wisdom in my life?

2. How can I lean into being more focused on my most precious goals?

3. When can I take time during my every day life to howl at the moon?

4. Who in my tribe would be willing and able to understand the wildish parts of myself?

I hope this inspires you to pick up this book, or find the audio version. Many libraries offer e-books you can check out as well.

Check out the Healing Journey podcast on Breaker.com.