Flight of the Divine Feminine

 

Women Who Fly

By Serenity Young

 

Flying about throughout the world in the skies overlooking the ground, someone in the air can see everything from the Americas all the way to the far east. This book does precisely that albeit from a valid feminist perspective. With the coming of religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, early Pagan religions, Taoism and Buddhism have all reduced the once prominent role of women to the sidelines. Ousted from power they were subjugated, dominated and used as accessories for men. A travel through the mythologies one finds that certain women were able to escape the prison of patriarchy.

Women like the European swan maiden are shapeshifter par excellent and take the form of whatever they want. These women chose to be swans. Most of the stories go that a man abducts a swan maiden and forces her to marry him. In some tales she finds her swan suit and manages to escape leaving behind her children and husband. Sometimes it is a willing marriage but the man must honor certain conditions like never hit the wife, yell at her etc. in these tales the man usually breaks the prohibition. These tales represent the feminine being subjugated by male power.

In the Western World during modern times, we have Emelia Earhart, Wonder Woman and Hannah Reiche. Their stories are indicative of the patriarchy attitude for women. During the war years when there was a shortage of pilots women were allowed flying jobs for the time being. They were not allowed to fly when menstruating. If there were problems during a flight, if the pilot was a man it was blamed on mechanical failures. If the pilot was a woman it was blamed on her incompetence. Once the war was done the women were dismissed an never allowed to fly again. That is until the 1970’s and a limited but growing basis.

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the world, in fact the first person. Her plane went down and she was never found. She did not live a conventional life. She was seldom with her husband and did not have children.  Hannah Reach was a German who loved Germany during World War 2 . She was a fighter pilot and learned how to use gliders when the Germans were not allowed to have an air force. She later became part of the Luftwaft. Wonder Woman flew an invisible jet.

Other Flying women in Europe were more fairy like and magical. The Valkyries of the Norse arrived after a battle to escort dead warriors to the realm of Valhalla. Sometimes they are mates to loyal warriors. Women used to be powerful warriors and leaders. Now they are reduced to being rewards for brave male warriors. The women who stood outside the fold are often most degraded by the patriarchy. Women who were independent, mate freely with who they want or who have ability beyond man were shunned and persecuted. One group of the women was the Witches. Know one really know if there were even any of these do called witches. They were said to fly to sabbat by putting on an ointment and riding a broom to the sabbath where in they would cavort with the devil . Later it was learned that they would make an ointment and fall asleep inn their beds and astral travel. Further on it was realized that they were hallucinating. The gist behind this was to target old, widowed and disagreeable women.

There are further myths of flying women that run throughout the far east and India. If women can ever equal men it is not because they are mortal women but they have to be supernatural. Many time  they do not meet with good . The Patriachy hates strong women.