By Gonny 
There’s a lot of talk about emancipation these years. Equal rights, equal pay, equal opportunities. And that’s a good thing. A very good thing. Because no one should be excluded based on a body with slightly different appendages. Whether you wear a dress or a tie, you deserve to be heard , literally and figuratively.
But somewhere along the way, something strange happened. We went from “equal rights” to “equal roles.” And that’s something else entirely. Because being equal doesn’t mean being the same. And this is exactly where the ancient Hermetic principle (take a look on our webisde nullity.nl where you can read about these principles) walks in, like a Greek philosopher in flowing robes:
“Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes.”
The Seventh Hermetic Principle: The Principle of Gender
In other words: everything,….yes, you and me too….,contains both masculine and feminine energies. You don’t need to be biologically male to be decisive. And you don’t need to be biologically female to be nurturing. These qualities are universal, archetypal, built-in. But… they shine brightest when they dance together.
Emancipation = equal, not identical
What we sometimes forget in the quest for equal rights is the difference between equal value and identical form. A woman doesn’t become a better human by becoming more like a man. And a man doesn’t become more “evolved” by mimicking feminine traits. We are at our best when we stay true to the natural movement within us.
A man has an ancient, deep-rooted instinct: to protect. Not to dominate or control, but to safeguard what he loves….his partner, his children, his tribe, his vision. That’s strength in service of love.
A woman, in turn, has an equally profound impulse: to nurture. Not from weakness, but from that mysterious power that gives life, nourishes it, and heals it. She is the still center around which everything revolves. Not in the sense of “command,” but of presence. Think of a campfire: the woman is the flame, the man is the circle of stones that shelters it.
And here is where A Course in Miracles lovingly joins the conversation. The Course teaches us that we are not bodies, not genders, not roles. We are Spirit. And yet, we use the forms of this world to learn what we truly are. Including these masculine and feminine qualities within us.
The goal? Holy Marriage. Not with another, but within yourself. When your inner masculine (protective strength) and your inner feminine (caring wisdom) love each other, peace is born. And that radiates outward. There’s no need to prove who you are. You simply are.
Sometimes, I see women trying so hard to prove themselves in a “man’s world” that they lose touch with their softness. As if they’ll only be taken seriously when they swing a hammer instead of whispering wisdom.
And I see men so afraid of being labeled “toxic” that they suppress their natural instinct to protect. That creates confusion. In everyone.
Even in relationships, this shows up. A woman who longs for a man to protect her may feel guilty: “Am I allowed to want that in today’s world?” Yes. Of course. If that desire comes from love and not from fear, it is sacred. And the same goes for men: they may long to be held, to rest in her strength, if they dare to trust it.
Back to Hermes (and to ourselves):
Hermes didn’t say we are gender. He said we contain it. It’s a principle, not a prison. Just like yin and yang complement each other, our inner forces are designed to collaborate. Not to compete, but to co-create.
So yes: let’s keep advocating for equal chances, equal rights, and equal dreams. But let’s also dare to feel who we really are. Let women be women, whatever that means for her. Let men be men, in their own unique way. And let each of us embrace both the masculine and the feminine within, with compassion and curiosity.
Or, as A Course in Miracles puts it: “In truth, there is no difference.”
(Except maybe when it comes to who picks up the socks.)
With love and light,
G.