Every mom knows the importance of a Grandmother in a child’s life. Memories of fresh baked cookies in the oven, and a haven of unconditional love come to mind when many of us think of our experiences with our own Grandmother. From an overworked mom’s point of view, the Grandmother is an indispensable respite from a whirlwind itinerary of errands, birthday parties, after school classes and car pool assignments.
However, according to Sharon McErlane, author of A Call to Power: The Grandmothers Speak, there is more to “Grandma” than most of us realize. While grandmothers are associated with unconditional love for their grandchildren, historically they have played an even greater role in society. In the not-too-distant past, councils of elder women in Native American communities sat together in circle, advising and contributing their wisdom. As one of the three archetypal phases of woman, the Crone is the Elder who shares her wisdom with the tribe.
However, beyond this traditional image of the grandmother or elder as the wise woman, another image stands out in all cultures throughout history—the archetype of the divine feminine or the feminine face of God. Called the Great Mother or Grand Mother, she was understood to love all children, all mothers and fathers and to seek the greatest good for the human family. Revered by ancient cultures in many forms from Madonna, to Kwan Yin to Gaia, in the last two thousand years the ascent of patriarchic religious structures replaced these time-honored traditions of revering God the Mother. According to Sharon McErlane, now is the time for this, Grand Mother to return to share her wisdom once again. Sharon has chronicled her inner adventures during meditation and shamanic journeying with these wise elders and now shares the Grandmothers’ message.
During this time of excessive aggression, violence, hatred and destruction, which, according to the Grandmothers, is a result of the now depleted energy of Yin on the planet, the greatest task before us is to return to balance. It is through women that this balance will be restored, as women are the repositories of feminine energy. The Grandmothers say, “As a woman fills with the energy of yin she affects all life around her. Everything benefits from a woman who holds this energy. Everything,” they say, “men, animals, plants and rocks will resonate and respond to you. All life needs this energy of nurturance and support. We have come to awaken you to the energy of yin within.”
In her book, A Call to Power: the Grandmothers Speak, Sharon relates the Grandmothers’ teachings she has received over the last ten years. Since then, “empowerment” groups as they are called have formed to help women rekindle the inherent yin within themselves and thereby restore the balance of yin to the planet. Recently the book has been translated into several languages, so that today Grandmothers’ groups meet all over the world, gathering to pass on the Grandmothers’ empowerment of the divine feminine to all who seek it.
Sharon McErlane is a psychotherapist from Laguna Beach, CA. who in 1996 received a vision that changed her life. Sharon has been sharing the Grandmothers’ message ever since. She speaks at churches, conferences, and travels the world spreading the Grandmothers’ message. For an anniversary edition special online offer for Sharon’s book, A Call to Power, please see: www.grandmothersspeak.com.