There is a story about Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell which expresses the heart of sovereignty well. Sir Gawain must decide whether he wants Lady Ragnell to remain beautiful by day and ugly by night, or the other way around.\u00a0He finally decides to leave the choice up to her and thereby grants her sovereignty over herself and she remains beautiful all the time.<\/p>\n
Sovereignty is about being centered in your own power and taking full responsibility for meeting your needs.\u00a0 Sovereignty sounds so archaic in some ways, and yet it is one of the archetypal energies we find within us.\u00a0 The reason so many myths and fairy tales speak of kings and queens is that these figures reflect back something of ourselves.<\/p>\n
Sovereignty is in many ways a midlife word.\u00a0We don\u2019t really begin to live into our own power until we have grown wise enough to recognize our limitations as well. In her book Queen of Myself: Stepping Into Sovereignty at Midlife<\/em>, Donna Henes suggests that the traditional stages of maiden, mother, and crone for women is incomplete as women\u2019s life spans get longer.\u00a0She suggests the addition of the queen or sovereign archetype between mother and crone as a time to really live into a sense of your own power.\u00a0In the book King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover<\/em>, author Robert Moore describes the King as a primal energy in men\u2019s spirituality as well.<\/p>\n The sovereign is not a victim of life. Another favorite story is that of Persephone who was abducted into the Underworld by Hades. She eats the pomegranate seeds which will end up requiring her to stay there for part of the year. She becomes Queen, a movement from her victim role to stepping into her own power and fullness.<\/p>\n The sovereign accepts full responsibility for his or her choices in life.\u00a0One of our central questions in life is \u201cwhat is my task in this world?\u201d Living into what that is may take a lifetime, but the sovereign helps us to claim the call that is our birthright and step into life with confidence.\u00a0That gift is then offered with joy as a blessing to the world.\u00a0No apologies need to be made for offering this essential contribution. Our inner Sovereign knows that the world will not be complete without our part of the greater vision.\u00a0We participate in the co-creation of a more just and beautiful future each in our own unique way. We manifest the sovereign\u2019s energy through centeredness, confidence, and calmness.<\/p>\n When I live from my inner Sovereign, I act out of a sense of agency, which is a willingness to take action on my own behalf for the benefit of others, to exert my power or influence.\u00a0This is not what we think we should be doing for others, but emerges from the very deep and wise place within us.\u00a0My task is never determined by \u201cshoulds\u201d or shame.\u00a0I take full responsibility for choosing this path and there is a sacramental quality to this path as it is a response to a holy calling.<\/p>\n When we are living fully from our inner Sovereign, we embody a calm and assertive energy.\u00a0 It manifests as strength, centeredness, security, stability, vitality, and joy. It is the part of us that overcomes the disorder and chaos of life, allowing creativity to arise from places that feel difficult or challenging.\u00a0Sovereigns rule from their true self, the deepest and wisest parts of their being.\u00a0There they listen to the holy stirrings within already.\u00a0The sovereign calls us to fully claim our path in ways that are not anxious, but steady and sure.<\/p>\n A true sovereign blesses others by his or her presence.\u00a0When we live into our own power in healthy and life-giving ways, we witness to a different way of being that empowers those around us.\u00a0When we encounter someone who is deeply in touch with their sovereign, it does not matter their wealth or status in the world, we listen because they are in touch with their own wisdom and are not afraid to speak it aloud.\u00a0 Sovereigns create safe and healthy spaces for others to grow and develop their gifts and are never threatened by others living into their own power as well.\u00a0 Our world needs people of maturity, centeredness, wisdom, and peace to help us move into the next phase of our evolution together.<\/p>\n Of course Jesus embodies the sovereign as he enters into Jerusalem, claiming what he needs, and fitting the prophecies of royalty. To become fully mature monks in the world, we would do well to welcome our own inner sovereign as well.<\/p>\n – Christine Valters Paintner <\/p>\n * ***
\nAbbess, Abbey of the Arts
\n<\/strong>Galway City, Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDonna Henes is the author of The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife<\/em>.<\/a> She offers counseling and upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity. Consult the MIDLIFE MIDWIFE\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n