Melanated women are dynamic. It’s great to see us finally claiming it with hashtagged phrases such as #blackgirlmagic and creative masterpieces like Beyoncé’s Lemonade, an ode to melanated women’s spirituality. Yes! It’s time and on time as the divine feminine, in all her glory, has risen. For some, this means a walk in the part of the new age parade dubbed the Goddess movement, but for others it’s a walk in a reality that speaks to the way we exist.

There is hardly ever any credit given to our contribution as melanated women to all of humanity on a mainstream scale, largely because we don’t acknowledge it ourselves. There are small circles of us who gather and share this truth in quiet, careful not to scare or anger anyone. Let us scream it; we are the mothers of humanity. We are the embodiment of Goddess herself.

In an earlier article, I offered 10 ways to know one is an actualized woman/goddess. The list included everything from confidence to full embodiment of sexuality. What I didn’t add is the knowing that you are what God is. I don’t mean this in the sense that you personally are all-powerful and mighty over the universe and everything in it, but that you are the highest authority over yourself and that women collectively are vessels of life, love and mysticism.

Love Coach and Metaphysician Kenya K. Steven eloquently articulates this point in her article, ““The Metaphysics of Lemonade & Beyonce’s Polyamory.” After reading it I was thankful all over again for Beyonce’s courage to use her art to remind women how to journey ourselves through life’s happenings that might otherwise keep us stifled and small. I began thinking about how many of us do not fully ‘innerstand’ the necessity of accessing our own spirituality or process for self-healing, growth, and learning beyond a system that requires relinquishing of personal power and magic, a system that seeks to place its subjects in a subservient position to borrowed power.

It’s time we embrace ourselves as giants of our own lives, saviors of ourselves without any feelings of doubt or concern for disturbing the collective agreement of the status quo. Claiming the throne from those who have been wrongfully seated on it will never be embraced when there is still confusion about where the throne belongs.

Though they are strong, my words are laced with love and filled with truth. We know that often the truth hurts when served on a plate of denial. The denial in this case is western, patriarchal culture — it’s a false depiction of beauty as portrayed via media has too many of us swimming in fatal delusions as well as its religious narrative, which has placed father God and his son at the head of the spiritual and earthly realms while diminishing the role of the mother. I think we can no longer afford these stories. They’re actually bad for our health.

The truth is religious traditions placing male Gods at the head of any throne while willfully dismissing the role and honor of his divine mother and wife is blatant disrespect to the divine, sacred feminine, creation, life and all of humanity. Don’t just take my word for it. Dive deep into the research of master scholar Mama Zogbe in her book The Sibyls: Demystifying the Absence of the African Ancestress: The First Prophetess of Mami (Wata). What you will find is evidence of a powerful tradition stolen from the foremothers of Africa and claimed as the traditions of Abraham and his lineages. Kings weren’t crowned nor were Gods created without the blessings of women.

Historically this mother/woman has always been dark, black, melanated. She is the beginning and the end. There is no life without her and yet we’ve somehow slipped into a reality that seeks to tell us differently and wonder why we experience life as hardship and pain. But we are out of order. Beyoncé reminds us via Malcolm X on her song, “Don’t Hurt Yourself,“ “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” I’m going to apply this statement beyond America and proclaim this is true all over the world.

I believe one of the reasons this is happening is because we’ve forgotten how to worship that which is our mother, that which is ourselves. Many women only worship men and their sons, which creates disharmony when there’s no praise and worship for women, too. We’ve forgotten the ways of our own spirituality, women’s spirituality, one that reminds us of the power of nature, of our blood, our intuition, communion with the spirit world and reverence for our ancestors. This is what some call African spirituality. It is what I call indigenous medicine.

Just as black people can’t claim full possession of ourselves in a world shaped by white supremacy without first knowing ourselves outside of that construct, melanated women can’t expect to access full capacity of ourselves within a patriarchal spiritual belief system. If you are a melanated woman and your only God is male, you might feel out of order.

Women, because we exist as a portal between life and death, embody the divine. We are what God is, we’ve just forgotten.

So let’s remember! Start here.

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