A dear friend has commented recently on the rare Instagram posts where I use a photo of myself with the word “Queen!” “Yas Queen”, “queen” or the crown emoji has become a popular way to express enthusiastic support or celebrate someone on social media. According to this article, “Yas queen” originated in the ball culture of the 1980’s. Balls are underground drag fashion competitions. Queen was once a slur for gay men, but the LGBT community, drag queen and ballroom scenes have embraced it as a sign of encouragement and term of endearment. “Yas queen” became “the ultimate compliment for performers” and went viral in recent years.
With Queen Elizabeth II’s passing recently, coupled with this new (to me!) use of the word queen, I’ve been wondering what all this means. What does it mean to be a queen?
I studied Jungian psychology for a few years and learned about archetypes as a kind of model or pattern for human behavior. You can think of it as a software program that gives pattern to behavior and personality. Examples include mother or father archetypes, the warrior, lover, crone, magician, trickster, and the hero. We tend to play out archetypes in the roles we play out over our lifespan. We see archetypal themes played out in the movies and in the public sphere all the time.
What’s missing? The Queen Archetype
I am wondering if an inner Queen can be a central or organizing force for us to find our sovereign Center, our innate wholeness. Maybe it is the Queen archetype that is missing in all of us and the world after all these centuries of male dominated patriarchy. Owning this inner Queen will help you balance the masculine (yang) energy of doing, working, fighting, striving, analyzing, and competing that dominates our society. This is truly a key to finding balance and improving not only your physical and mental health but relationships and career as well.
Use the following description to imagine this Inner Queen at your Center: (how you identify your gender matters not – it is only an energy) and feel how it lands in your heart:
- The Queen is sovereign over her dominion, a gentle but firm leader, and is compassionate towards all she encounters (especially herself!). She accepts responsibility for past choices and sets clear boundaries.
- She is an aspect of yin energy which seeks self-knowledge, introspection, and creative expression.
- She is in the now and in the flow and is in touch with nature and the symbolic aspects of life.
- She is a connector – connecting with others and within to our spiritual nature.
- She embraces emotion and feelings as a pathway for personal growth.
- She is not political. Therefore, the inner queen remains neutral and does not get caught up with our inner conflicting voices and parts of ourselves.
- She receives love, appreciation, and assistance from others.
- She is our intuitive nature and knows the truth about a situation. She is your deepest knowing about yourself and what you really want and what is best for you.
- She knows she is free to make choices and isn’t dependent on anyone else for her balance, peace of mind or happiness. She chooses the highest for you.
- The Queen partners with the King archetype for getting projects done, creative expression, finding purpose in making the world a better place. She helps us find balance between doing and being, human and soul.
How Do We Access the Queen?
- Spend time going within and for reflection
- Set clear boundaries at work and in your relationships
- Get in touch with your emotions, your creative side, nature, and dreams
- Drop out of your thoughts and get in touch with the body through movement
- Make your home in your breath and your felt sense experience
Set the intention to claim the queendom and she will find you!
