Divine Androgyny & the Power of Integration

Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics into an ambiguous form. And yet some people define androgyny as the state of being neither specifically feminine or masculine. So which is it? 

One of the things I love about androgyny is that it leaves people with ambiguity. Ambiguity says there’s not one obvious meaning and that there is more than one interpretation.

Yes, but are you a boy or a girl? People want certainty and want to be able to pinpoint you. Ah well… Maybe the two co-exist. 

Recently, we explored cultivating masculine energy and cultivating feminine energy. In my queer tantra journey, after leaning into the masculine and then leaning into the feminine, I went to work on integrating both gender expressions into my being.

This is not a new concept. The half-half expression can be seen in the freakshows of the 1920s and 30s with entertainers wearing half-man and half-woman costumes. In tantra teachings, you’ll find the deity Ardhanarishvara who is half Shiva (the divine masculine) and half Shakti (the divine feminine). 

My presence bewildered a man who walked into the raw food cafe I was sitting in and approached me. “What are you?” he asked with a curious yet delighted smile on his face. “You’re handsome… and you’re beautiful!”

The gender we are assigned at birth is not a prison sentence. If we are human then we have access to any and all gender expressions. We can explore these expressions and integrate them into our whole being. Being a whole and complete human feels better than being splintered into different energies.

How to integrate divine androgyny:

• Practice switching between masculine and feminine expressions – in life and in lovemaking
• Be Shiva or Shakti when your relationship or lover needs it, not just because you feel like it.
• Practice Nadi Shodhana, Alternate Nostril Breathing. Here’s how.
• Infinity Symbol Drawing Meditation (See below) 
• Heart Infinity Breath Integration (See below)

 Infinity Symbol Drawing Meditation:

Draw your body. This is a representation of your body. It does not need to be a work of art. Across your chest, draw the infinity symbol in the colours that you imagine it flows in. You can also map out the areas of the body that need integration. 

Do this as a drawing practice. Draw your body, and repeatedly draw the infinity symbol across both sides of your chest, integrating the sides into one whole. Traditionally the right side of the body is known as the masculine side and the left side of the body is known as the feminine side. Here you are integrating the two into divine androgyny.

Leave the drawing and pencil/pen out on the table and every time you walk past it, trace the infinity symbol again and again.

You could trace the infinity symbol across the palm of your hand. Whenever you feel a little lopsided, draw the infinity symbol in front of you in the air, to integrate energetically. This is a powerful exercise. You will feel grounded and whole, within yourself. Present. Alive. Met.

Heart Infinity Breath Integration:

Turn off your devices. Find a comfortable seated position, close your eyes, and prepare to sit. Breathe in and follow the infinity symbol around your chest. Breathe out as it swoops back around. Repeat. 15 minutes is good. And any time is better than none.  Infinity symbol breathing is how to integrate the left and right sides of the body and the feminine and masculine energies to become one whole being.

As you practice, it will become more and more obvious when what’s required is getting your Shiva on or opening into Shakti or calling on Adhrinarsvara. This can be in your relationship or for yourself. Be so integrated that you can call on any gender expression and energy at any time. This is the power of integration.

Love,

Danica

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