Hello, beautiful souls of the Siren Song community. Today, I want to dive deep into the mystical waters of myth and the transformative power of love as seen through the eyes of the great Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Much like in my previous blogs we are about to embark on a journey that will challenge our perceptions, expand our minds, and touch the very essence of our souls. Let's unravel the truths behind the myth of The Skeleton Woman.
In her timeless work, "Women Who Run with the Wolves," Dr. Estés weaves the hauntingly beautiful tale of The Skeleton Woman. It's a story that speaks to the life/death/life nature of love, a concept as old as time itself. In the narrative, we encounter a fisherman who stumbles upon the skeletal remains of a woman hidden beneath the sea. She is bereft of flesh, stripped down to her essence, her soul laid bare for all to see.
Isn't that a metaphor for the vulnerability we experience in love? How often do we hide our true selves, our fears, and our wounds, burying them deep within, just as the Skeleton Woman was hidden beneath the waves? We put on masks, build walls, and pretend to be something we're not, fearing that our authentic selves will be too much for others to handle.
But here's the beauty of the story: eventually, the fisherman stops running. Instead of retreating in terror, he stays and slowly, painstakingly, brings the Skeleton Woman back to life, one piece at a time. He cradles her bones, weeps over her, and in doing so, he resurrects her. He embraces the life/death/life nature of love, understanding that to truly love someone is to love their brokenness as much as their beauty.
In the same way, women need time to embrace this cycle of life, death, and rebirth within themselves. We often rush through life, trying to fit into predefined roles and expectations, ignoring our own natural rhythms. We deny ourselves the essential process of self-discovery and self-acceptance that can only happen with time.
Time allows us to shed old skins, to confront our own Skeleton Woman—the parts of us we've buried deep—so we can heal, grow, and love more deeply. Just as the fisherman's patience and love resurrected the Skeleton Woman, our own self-love and self-acceptance can bring us back to life, enabling us to love others more authentically.
As Clarissa Pinkola Estés beautifully reminds us, "To love means to embrace and at the same time to withstand many endings, and many, many beginnings—all in the same relationship." Therefore, let us set aside time to honor the Skeleton Woman within, and in doing so, discover the transformative nature of love that can only be found in the depths of our own souls. Until next time, may your hearts be open and your spirits free to dance with the wisdom of the wild.
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