In the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is the time we celebrate the work we have done in preparing the soil and planting the seeds of that which will bear fruit in the fall. While there is still work to be done – keeping our germinating seeds free from the harm of pests and weeds, protecting our growing crops and keeping them watered, the most challenging work is done. As we continue to nurture and tend our seedlings, we anticipate the fruits that will be born out of our labors, and the live that will be nourished and sustained through the work of our labors. This time of celebration and anticipation is the perfect time to give honor to SHE who symbolically brought us all forth – Eve, the Mother of All the Living.
This is not the Eve that was maligned by patriarchy. This is the Eve who is the AWAKENER of the human race and through this awakening, the one who gave us life.
In the traditional interpretation of “the fall of man”, Eve was tempted by the serpent into disobedience by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She then convinced her husband to do the same. As a result of their disobedience, God banished them from the Garden of Eden and condemned them to a life of pain and suffering. This is the patriarchal interpretation of this tale – one that denigrates women and condemns the desire for knowledge and wisdom.
When we examine the Genesis tale through the lens of HERstory, we uncover a different story. Through this lens, the serpent (called “the most wise of all God’s creatures”) represents feminine wisdom, knowledge and power – the ability to discern good from evil, right from wrong, the ability to form a conscience and to “know what the gods know.” Here, the serpent offers to Eve the power to awaken – to awaken out of the sleep of ignorance into the power of her own wisdom and through this power to reach the fullness of her human potential where she will realize the truth of her Divine nature as it seeks to be embodied in her human form. In short, the serpent invites Eve to become self-actualized, the ultimate purpose and intention of the human experience. Once Eve tasted the fruit of this knowledge, she could not wait to share it with those she loves – in the tale, her partner, Adam. Adam then tasted of the fruit and humanity was fully awakened.
It is this awakening that we celebrate at the Summer Solstice and Eve, as the Mother of All the Living, is how we move beyond the suffering of the human condition and discover our real life through her – a life in which we have been awakened to our gifts and in which we are empowered to use these gifts for our own fulfillment and for the sake of the betterment of our world.
On this Summer Solstice, there are many ways we might celebrate Eve:
Create an altar to Eve and set our intention for welcoming her as guide to our continued awakening.
Engage in a chakra/kundalini meditation, harnessing the energy of the awakener within us. Suggested meditation on YouTube
Host an Eve picnic – inviting our goddess friends to bring a dish to pass that speaks to them or Eve and the invitation to awakening (a fresh Waldorf salad comes to mind! )
Read the story of “the fall of man” from the Book of Genesis and re-write the story from the perspective of Eve as the Awakener.
Eve is waiting for us to rescue her from the sins of patriarchy and restore her to her rightful place as Awakener and in this role as the Mother of All the Living. Let this Summer Solstice be the time we reclaim her once and for all.
For more on Eve and other powerful women from scripture, check out my course Discovering the Goddess through Biblical Women.
For your altar, or to support your own awakening, check out the EVE goddess spray from Red Wholistic.
Leave a Reply