Exploring the Concept of The Deep Feminine

The Deep Feminine is the principle of Yin. Yin is an elusive concept because Yin deals with that which is unseen and unformed. The Deep Feminine is the vast infinity of potential energy, the womb space, and the emptiness that allows new possibilities to take form.

The energies of the Deep Feminine are deep and profound. As human beings we gain access to our infinite being through our contact with the Deep Feminine.

The modern, Western world is out of alignment with the power of the Deep Feminine. Without honoring the Deep Feminine, we unconsciously and violently deplete the power behind that which nurtures us with out realizing how dependent we are on that sustaining quality to support everything we call life.

The Deep Feminine is the source of our deepest creativity. She can create another human being or actualize our ideas in form. The Deep Feminine is the source of our relationships and communications with others. She creates who we are at every moment. It is so easy to forget her when we bring our attention to ourselves. Our habit is to take her for granted. When we forget to honor the Deep Feminine we become over controlling and seek satisfaction by manipulating and consuming our world. She invites us to create our world anew in each moment. The Deep Feminine is actually the deeper source of Yin energy in our body.

Defining Yin and Yang in Taoism

I am an acupuncturist trained in diagnosis of imbalances of subtle energy in the body. The philosophy behind acupuncture is based in Taoism.

Taoism is an ancient system of thought that developed to help people find healthy and balanced relationship with the world. Taoist believed that the natural world was inherently balanced and that humans could learn balance by observing nature. To be able to better understand what they were experiencing, Taoist divided the world into two categories; Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are two words that are used to describe the dance of the basic polarity of life.

To help my reader understand the two categories of yin and yang I line them up with their correlates:

Yin: Feminine, negative charge, dark, night, unformed, potential, empty, yielding, nurturing, sustaining, quiet, supportive, passive, follow, earth.

Yang: Masculine, positive charge, light day, manifest form, full hard, moving controlling, active, loud, challenging, lead, seed.


In Chinese medicine, a patient is diagnosed by their systemic balance of Yin and Yang. Yang’s tendency is to become excess and Yin’s empty nature is to become Deficient. When the two forces dance in balance, life generates a flourishing. When the Yang becomes too exuberant it feeds on the Yin resource, inadvertently depleting the Yin energy supporting it. As the Yin grows weaker, the Yang is no longer contained and limited by the Yin. Instead it eats the Yin to grow as big as it can. As the Yang grows bigger, the Yin gets smaller until there is no more Yin to support the Yang. At that point the bloated and overheated Yang collapses and the patient dies.