Celebrating Big Vulva Energy

By: Dr. Denise Renye

Embroidery Artwork by Denise Renye

Have you ever noticed all the phallic symbols in the world, the monuments, the figurines, the everything that pay homage to the penis, and wondered where the corresponding vulva tributes were? I know you have. And if you haven’t, perhaps you now will. Like most things pertaining to the divine feminine, they were hidden away. And while that can feel unfair and just plain wrong, it also makes a sort of senf because  the physicality of the vulva and vagina themselves are hidden inside of tissue folds. The vulva has been a mystery, a sacred mystery, since this is where life is birthed through. But the ancient “Sheela Na Gig” brings this mystery out in a very bold way.

These figures encapsulate “big vulva energy” as they  are figures of old women (perhaps crones!), squat, naked, and holding open their enlarged labia majora. The oldest discovered figurine dates to the 12th century and the youngest to the 16th. Sheelas are found predominantly in Ireland but are also present in England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, France, Spain, and Norway.

Their origins are a mystery, including why they’re named what they are. One theory is “sheela” could mean an old woman or crone and “gig” was slang for genitals. Why were they created? What is the purpose of a sheela na gig? The patriarchal, women-hating perspective is that sheelas were created to warn against the sins of lust and keep the minds of churchgoers pure as they are often found in old churches. Others say the sheelas were an attempt to scare off demons. The Sheela has been considered by some to be a symbol of the dark sacred goddess, perhaps trans-theoretically like Kali-Maa. So many sheelas are very high up in churches and castle walls you need binoculars to see the detail in them from the ground so warning against the sins of lust doesn’t make sense.

The perspective that makes more sense to us, and is now re-emerging, is one that celebrates womanhood. Now academics say the sheela is a pre-Christian folk goddess who symbolizes life-giving powers and fertility. When they’ve visited rural communities containing sheelas, the people there always use the word “fertility” when talking about sheelas. In fact, at lambing time, the farmers in these rural places still present a ewe to the local sheela in the hope that it will lead to a fertile spring, according to the Guardian.

The sheela theoretically has life-giving powers and given when they gained prominence (medieval times), it makes practical sense people would want a little magic boost given the high maternal mortality rate. They considered that a big vulva meant a child came out quickly, which they wanted because if the birth didn’t happen swiftly, that could mean the death of the child and the mother. Childbirth aids at that time included putting butter in the vagina to make it slippery and support swift labor.

While the sheela may have ancient roots, it’s experiencing a modern resurrection, not only are these relics being rediscovered and brought out from the back rooms of churches, but artists are creating modern versions. Project Sheela seeks to reclaim these symbols as powerful, important, unashamed depictions of female genitalia and inner strength. A ceramicist has created 22-carat gold-lustered labia with colorful glaze and is placing them (along with the help of a street artist) in sites that are significant to women’s struggle.

One such place is a “Magdalene laundry,” or a place where thousands of unmarried mothers and their young children were subject to horrific cruelty and abuse by a network of institutions run by the Irish government and the Catholic church. The Project Sheela spokesperson said in the Guardian article, “We wanted to honor the women who suffered there. The reason women were sent to these laundries was because of the Catholic church seeing women’s sexuality as dangerous and sinful – the women were punished and abused by the nuns, who believed they were evil.”

At Whole Person Integration and Psychology, we engage deeply in our work to continuously celebrate pleasure in sexual expression as we don’t believe sexuality is evil or dangerous. We are all for celebrating the power of sex and sexuality and being as bold as you like about it.

If you would like to explore yourself through a process of vulva gazing and would like a guided meditation as accompaniment, please find your way here.

Journal Prompts

·      What is my relationship with my inner Divine Feminine? How am I aware of it?

·      How do I notice internalized misogyny showing up within myself?

·      How does the Divine Feminine express in my relationships?

To set up an appointment with me (Marin County Sex Therapist), click here.

References

Freitag, B. (2004). Sheela-na-gigs: Unravelling an Enigma. Routledge.

Goode, S. (2016). Sheela na Gig: The dark goddess of sacred power. Inner Traditions.

Project Sheela. Instagram.com. https://www.instagram.com/projectsheela/?hl=en. Accessed May 5, 2023.

Stevens, Jenny. “Big vagina energy: the return of the sheela na gig.” The Guardian. March 8, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/08/big-vagina-energy-the-return-of-the-sheela-na-gig#:~:text=More%20recently%2C%20researchers%20have%20leaned,gig%E2%80%9D%20was%20slang%20for%20genitals