Twinn Swan

Within Shaivism, the soul does not undertake obstacles as a test or due to a deliberate choice, but rather, the soul is fundamentally immersed in a field of opposing forces—creation and destruction, nectar and poison—embodied in Shiva’s iconography. There exists a subtle energetic reality in which souls are bound in subconscious patterns which block the energetic flow of an individual. While these can be karmic, they can also be ancestral or cosmic.

Some souls incarnate with deep-seated karmic imprints from ancestral and past life actions. The serpent—as primal life energy and kundalini—is an archetype for these unresolved ancestral energies that tighten around the subtle channels (nadis), causing constricted energetic flow, emotional repression and restriction in the self-concept. A constriction in the subtle body arises primarily through psychospiritual and energetic mechanisms.

The Career Barricade

In Shaivism, the emphasis on equality is fundamental—every soul is inherently divine and equally capable of realising its true nature as Shiva. Therefore, when analysing why a woman faces constrictions or barriers in her career from a Shaivite perspective, it is important to acknowledge that these obstacles are not reflections of any spiritual inferiority or destined inequality.

Instead, career barriers for women can be understood as part of the manifest social and karmic conditions that the soul encounters in the world. These conditions often arise from entrenched societal structures, cultural norms, and gender roles that create external challenges—such as gender stereotyping, limited access to education, professional inequity, and social expectations about women’s roles—which in turn influence and shape the subtle energetic and psychological field of the individual.

Shaivism recognises that the soul transcends these external forms and roles, and that spiritual equality is inherent. From this vantage point, the barriers a woman faces in her career become part of the dynamic life-field where her consciousness engages with outer realities as well as inner samskaras. These experiences offer opportunities for conscious transformation and empowerment, inviting her to embody Shiva’s principle of fearless presence, equanimity, and creative engagement with paradox within the context of social realities.

Thus, while Shaivism holds that all souls are equal in their divine essence and potential, it also acknowledges the complex interplay of social conditioning and karma that manifests as real-world barriers. From a Shaivite viewpoint, barriers faced by women in career are temporary conditions in the soul’s journey, opportunities for awakening to inner freedom and strength, and calls to participate in the wider transformation of worldly inequities. Each soul, regardless of gender, is equally capable of manifesting Shiva’s all-encompassing wholeness in life and work.