There was a great article published by Goop called “Healing the Mother Wound” where Dr. Oscar Serrallach explains what Mother Wound is and answers questions like “What’s one way we can empower girls?” Here is an excerpt from the article you may find interesting.
Healing the Mother Wound
Does the mother wound have roots outside of modern Western society?
The mother wound has been around for thousands of years—we see it in ancient stories through the trials of figures like Persephone and Inanna—but it has changed greatly over time. The four fundamental functions of mothering are: to nurture, to protect, to empower, and to initiate. In the ancient legends, archetypal stories show daughters that have been nurtured, protected, and empowered, but denied their initiation or final transformation into womanhood—by their mother or a person representing the mother figure. Think the stepmother in Cinderella, or the queen in Snow White.In these archetypal stories, the mother wound more so manifests as a mother figure thwarting the attempts of a daughter to become a full majestic woman. In modern society, the daughter’s attempts are thwarted by everyone and every aspect of society—daughters are not given the avenue to become full majestic women. We have had generations of unprotected, disempowered, uninitiated woman.
“In modern society, the daughter’s attempts are thwarted by everyone and every aspect of society—daughters are not given the avenue to become full majestic women.”
Within this lies the challenge of facing issues around the mother wound, which is really a re-wounding—a multigenerational issue of “wounded mothers” subconsciously wounding their daughters, entrapped by the patriarchy.
“In modern society, the daughter’s attempts are thwarted by everyone and every aspect of society—daughters are not given the avenue to become full majestic women.”
Within this lies the challenge of facing issues around the mother wound, which is really a re-wounding—a multigenerational issue of “wounded mothers” subconsciously wounding their daughters, entrapped by the patriarchy.
Can you think of a woman who has not been given the fundamentals to be a full majestic woman? Many of us can either relate or know of someone who fits this description. Help is available for women who struggle with the Mother Wound or feel the painful issues born out of “Mother Hunger“, the title of Kelly’s new book (coming in 2018), that addresses the unique plight of abandoned, abused, enmeshed, and orphaned daughters as they struggle to love themselves, their friends, their partners, and their born or unborn children. Watch for the new book on amazon, and remember to visit the services section of this website while you’re here.