Card 27 · Femessence Series · 2023
Transformation
Age 56 · Caucasian background · Vaginal birth: No
She grew up in a community where sex and body positivity were not spoken about. She was nineteen and already a mother before she ever really thought about her own needs. She spent decades using her body to feel loved rather than loving her body. She never even looked at her vulva until she was older. This portrait was the decision to change that — to come close, to appreciate, to honour what had been ignored for so long.
“She deserves, as I do, to be cherished and only receive energy that is high vibration and pure.”
As I grew up in a quite conservative community, sex and body positivity wasn’t talked about. I was an unwed mother at 19. As a young woman I didn’t ever think about my needs in sex — it was a way to feel loved. I didn’t appreciate my own body and the magnificent gift she was. I never even looked at my vulva until I was older.
As I have aged I am working on loving the older, softer, chubbier body, and finding the magic of my own body — including and in a big part, my vulva. To have the artwork done was a decision I made to bring me authentically close to my vulva, to appreciate the gift she is as a portal to bring souls into this world, the magic she brings to creation of my life and life itself.
I adore and love the magic of my vulva now. I am at a place in my life where I only want the energy of the best intentions and love to enter her. I will not feel pressured or guilted into sex with a man who only wants to conquer her. It will be my decision when it feels right to me. She deserves, as I do, to be cherished and only receive energy that is high vibration and pure.
To her teenage self
Enjoy your body, love her. You don’t owe her to anyone. Every stage is beautiful and every shape is beautiful. Don’t hide or dull your sparkle for anyone. Whatever makes you feel confident and whole, do that without shame or guilt.
Transformation is not who she was. This portrait is who she is becoming.
This portrait is part of the Femessence Women’s Celebration Series — a body of work by artist and arts therapist Caris Pepper honouring the sacred feminine through vulva portrait art. Each portrait in this series is becoming a card in the Femessence Vulva Portrait Oracle deck, coming 2027.
