Feminine Archetype: Earth Mother
September 13th 2007 23:14
We are all familiar with the Mother Archetype. She wants to nurture and grow everything in sight. She is the giver of life and sometimes the taker of life too.
The Mother focuses all her energy on her offspring whether the offspring are her children, her pets, her garden, her friends or her creative projects. She wants to feed you, make sure you are warm and look after you. Her job is to make sure you grow up properly, safely and happily. Expressed positively, the Mother archetype is great and highly necessary. But when a woman invests so much of herself in the Mother archetype without developing some of the other archetypes, then problems can arise when the offspring grow up and try to leave home. Women who have strong Mother archetypes have to learn to nurture themselves as well as those around them. They have to get some of their worth and value from other avenues apart from being Mother.
The Earth Mother also represents the archetype of the Wife. She longs to be part of a partnership, gets most of her validation and value out of being part of a couple and focuses most of her energy on sustaining her marriage'. The Earth Mother will support her man through 'thick and thin', happily foregoing her own needs in order to put the marriage and her partner first. She sees her identity as part of a couple and views other people as couples.
This archetype often does not develop lasting female relationships because. She tends to relate to other women as a part of a couple also. She simply does not see the point in nurturing female friendships. She believes that she will have all Her needs met through the primary partnership or marriage.
Earth Mother likes to support traditional, conservative social structures. In fact, she is often instrumental in the creation of the structure and social rules. She seeks security and stability through traditional views and family life. She has children because they are important for carrying on the family name and because it is the right thing to do. However, she will always put her marriage and Her husband before her children.
The Mother focuses all her energy on her offspring whether the offspring are her children, her pets, her garden, her friends or her creative projects. She wants to feed you, make sure you are warm and look after you. Her job is to make sure you grow up properly, safely and happily. Expressed positively, the Mother archetype is great and highly necessary. But when a woman invests so much of herself in the Mother archetype without developing some of the other archetypes, then problems can arise when the offspring grow up and try to leave home. Women who have strong Mother archetypes have to learn to nurture themselves as well as those around them. They have to get some of their worth and value from other avenues apart from being Mother.
The Earth Mother also represents the archetype of the Wife. She longs to be part of a partnership, gets most of her validation and value out of being part of a couple and focuses most of her energy on sustaining her marriage'. The Earth Mother will support her man through 'thick and thin', happily foregoing her own needs in order to put the marriage and her partner first. She sees her identity as part of a couple and views other people as couples.
This archetype often does not develop lasting female relationships because. She tends to relate to other women as a part of a couple also. She simply does not see the point in nurturing female friendships. She believes that she will have all Her needs met through the primary partnership or marriage.
Earth Mother likes to support traditional, conservative social structures. In fact, she is often instrumental in the creation of the structure and social rules. She seeks security and stability through traditional views and family life. She has children because they are important for carrying on the family name and because it is the right thing to do. However, she will always put her marriage and Her husband before her children.
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Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
another fascinating post. Love all this info.
~chuckle~ my mother always used to say this to me... 'I brought you into this world, I can just as easily take you out of it!'
Ash
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
HAHAHA! Glad that you are enjoying this post!
Mis
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
Okay, one more. I couldn't go past this one without reading it before bed.
Very interesting. I can see my mother in this one. But she did that whole preserve her marriage thing more out of duty I think. You could see that her heart wasn't in it.
But she would do anything for her kids. And I'm very much like her. But I do have outside interests because I did see how lonely/bored my mother got when we all left home.
I'm a believer that, even though my kids are just passing through and I'm with my husband for life (I hope), while my kids are young they are my first priority. That's even if it is possible to make one more important than the other.
My husband is old enough to understand that things get tough. My kids are young and they don't know so I will not sacrifice their well being to make my husband happy.
Not that Mr M demands attention over the kids....but my dad was like that. His needs had to be met first before ours. He had to be happy and if that meant that we were unhappy then so be it. Really hated that as a kid.
Jeez, I'm really letting it all hang out on your couch Mis.
But I always knew I wanted to be a mother. And I'm lucky that I married a man who is not threatened by the amount of time kids take up.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I think the scenario you described was very common in families in the 1960s and 1970s. Now that women have more "choices' the tide is turning. Having a supportive partner is key! parenthood is certainly not for cowards! Give Mr. M a hug and have him give you one too. Sounds like you crazy kids have found a coparenting formula that works!
Mis
Sorry to keep you up :0)