What is the Divine Masculine?

The Divine Masculine is synonymous with Yang in ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, which is a concept of dualism that describes how seemingly opposing or contradictory forces are actually complementary, interrelated, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Shiva and Shakti are tantric version of these forces.

The Divine Masculine (or Yang) is not exclusively associated with the male bodies or gender identity. Every physical being on the planet, including earth and nature itself, exhibits qualities of the divine masculine, including beings with female bodies or gender identities. This is why it is considered divine: it is omnipresent. This concept is also found in Jungian psychology in the in the anima (the unconscious feminine aspect of a male’s psyche) and the animus (the unconscious masculine aspect of a female’s psyche).

In this way, one should view the embodiment of  polarity between masculine and feminine energies as a spectrum.

Concepts, qualities, and values associated with the Divine Masculine archetype encompass both creative and destructive forces:

• Structure and initiation
• Fire and air are associated elements
• Logic, intellect
• Protection, safety, integrity
• Motivation, incentive
• Ambition, action, exertion/ the application of force, assertiveness
• Control, planning, leadership, focus
• Analytical, detail-oriented
• Doing
• “Left brain”

The Masculine Is Not A Gender Role

The understanding that the Divine Masculine is a part of everyone regardless of sex or gender identity, and is a fundamental force observed in all of nature debunks the concept of gender essentialism. It is important that spiritual practitioners and followers understand that the concept of the Divine Masculine does not reinforce gender identity or gender roles, but rather, renders them inconsequential.

A person of any sex may identify anywhere on the energetic spectrum between masculine and feminine at any given time, and will always exhibit qualities of both. As spiritual practitioners, the goal is to learn how to consciously embody any masculine or feminine qualities necessary to create a balanced and harmonious energy. This process is described in the occult concept of alchemy, and is depicted archetypally by various hermaphroditic deities.