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By Gianluigi Gugliermetto

6/20/2025

Patriarchy as a social system spread all over human cultures is at least 4,000 years old. Some scholars date it back even further. This information alone shows the depth of the issue and the enormity of the problem that radical feminism has revealed and has been tackling for decades. But, indeed, what are a few decades when one is confronted with several thousand years?

Perhaps one way of dealing with “toxic masculinity” — which unfortunately plagues almost all males, at some point, not always because of bad will but because of inherited behavioral patterns — is that of addressing first those bits which affect one more directly.

Image of God as Man: “Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel. Wikimedia Commons.

Jungian analyst Steven Herrmann has placed Walt Whitman as a foil to American puritanism, thus revealing more sharply the dualism which has damaged all Americans since the very inception of the colonial project of the English on the continent, some 400 years ago. He writes:

Whitman’s fight for spiritual democracy helped to make the evil in the American self conscious. The Puritan myth was based upon an unconscious projection of evil onto indigenous people, the life way of the two-spirits and a bi-erotic image of the soul’s wholeness. Consequently, the aim of bringing about a newly formed God image, patterned upon the principle of wholeness, failed miserably with the early settlers.*

In other words, no amount of good intentions or insistence on personal honesty and good behavior could make up for the original sin of Puritanism, that is, the expulsion for one’s consciousness of its shadow side, as well as the exclusion from the male self of those qualities perceived as feminine.

The “Two-Spirit Nation” was a recognized and honored voice at the international indigenous protests at Standing Rock. Photo by Phila Hoopes, published with permission.

I find especially enlightening, in Herrmann’s words, the notion that the Puritan projection of evil onto the Native Americans was tied to the sexuality and the gender complexities of the latter. 

That is, the shock of the “civilized” men when they were confronted with “two-spirit” individuals, whose particular shamanic powers were usually recognized and praised among

the tribes, is not simply the shock of the unknown.

Placed before a momentous possibility for themselves — that of effectively moving toward psychic wholeness and away from patriarchal behaviors — the male Puritans decided instead to demonize their own feminine inner core. Ostensibly they were looking for wholeness, for resemblance to the integrity of the divine. In reality, they failed to recognize the possibility that was placed before their own eyes.

In the long run, the results of such refusal, even compared to the English culture from which the Puritans came, is before everyone’s eyes. It has informed American colonialism, sexual repression, and racism. It has something to do with the perception of the male black body as extremely powerful, dangerous, and prone to evil behaviors. Obviously, it is directly responsible for the oppression of all non-conforming, i.e. queer people.

This is not just a historical matter, however, or something that affects negatively the so-called “minorities” only. If Walt Whitman “makes evil conscious in the American self” — as Herrmann aptly suggests — it is the normative male white heterosexual American self that is at stake. With 

The wild, shamanic side of Walt Whitman is captured in the Arrow Park Cultural Project sculpture by Bruno Lucchesi in Monroe, NY. Photo by Stanley Zimny on Flickr.

his queer behavior and his shamanic religious tendencies, Whitman could be taken as a medicine to heal the patriarchal dualism, the split in the soul which has so badly affected America and is at the root of the present crisis of its democracy.

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* Matthew Fox and Adam Bucko, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation, at page 214.

And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.

And Fox, The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages.

And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.

And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.

And Fox, Trump & The Maga Movement as Anti-Christ.

Banner Image: The Salem Witch Trials Memorial, dedicated in 1992 on the 300th anniversary of the trials. Created by Maggie Smith and James Cutler, the memorial consists of a low wall with 20 granite benches, each inscribed with the name of one of the accused and the means and date of their execution. Photo by Wally Gobetz on Flickr.

Queries for Contemplation

What does it mean “to make evil conscious” in your life?

Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field.

Recommended Reading

Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

Authors Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox encourage us to use our talents in service of compassion and justice and to move beyond our broken systems–economic, political, educational, and religious–discovering a spirituality that not only helps us to get along, but also encourages us to reevaluate our traditions, transforming them and in the process building a more sacred and just world. Incorporating the words of young activist leaders culled from interviews and surveys, the book provides a framework that is deliberately interfaith and speaks to our profound yearning for a life with spiritual purpose and for a better world.
“Occupy Spirituality is a powerful, inspiring, and vital call to embodied awareness and enlightened actions.”
~~ Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist and author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods

The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine

To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature,  to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God

The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages

The second book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series, The Return of Father Sky helps boys and girls to celebrate a new relationship with the masculine by way of Father Sky, whose return excites joy and wonder and possibility that enlarge the soul to welcome others and all creation. Written in a rhyming Dr. Seuss-like style, this full-color, beautifully illustrated book, written by world- renowned theologian Matthew Fox weaves together modern science and classic spirituality in a whimsical, entertaining format to illustrate important truths to readers aged 4 and up. With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet.

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them. 
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science.  A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story

Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election

Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE. 
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE. 
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world. In this 6-month immersion program with Matthew, you’ll explore what it means to be a modern mystic and prophet, integrating this sacred knowledge into your life through the authentic teachings of Jesus and other wisdom keepers. This journey births what Matthew calls Christianity 2.0 — based not on dogma, but on a spirituality that recovers the sacred sense of original goodness. By Application only - apply HERE Register for a free information session HERE

Join Matthew Fox in a 6-Class Course: The Great Christian Mystics, exploring some of the richest and most inspiring mystic-prophets in the Christian lineage, including Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Thomas Aquinas, and Meister Eckhart. Open-ended course includes six modules of pre-recorded lessons, live community discussions, and live conversations with Matthew Fox. Starts Tuesday, May 20; 10% off discount code: FOX-10

Register HERE.

MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT. 
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478  
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478

Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org  

July 18, 11:30 am PT -- Join Matthew Fox in Angelology: The Physics of Angels, hosted by The Fintry Trust. 

Learn more HERE.

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