“To the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth: in pain you will give birth to children; still your desire will be for your husband, and he will be your master.”
— Genesis 3:16
This verse, when viewed symbolically through the spiritual psychology found throughout Scripture, reveals something deeper than a pronouncement upon women. It speaks of the pain experienced when the creative power of the mind—symbolised by woman—is joined to falsehood. The sorrow is not divine punishment, but the anguish of birthing states of consciousness that deny the truth of “I AM.”
The Woman as Creative Embodiment
“This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman…” (Genesis 2:23)
The woman, drawn out of man, represents the subconscious mind as the creative womb—the power that gives form to assumption. She is not a separate being but the embodiment of the inner man’s belief. To name her “Woman” is not to label, but to call into being—to declare, “this is my assumption made flesh.”
The man is awareness of being; the woman, its visible expression. Every outer condition in your world is Eve—your imagination born into form. And when the man forgets his origin and instead identifies with externals, the woman suffers. The womb of the mind is then governed not by divine knowing but by the outer man, who himself is ruled by appearances.
Genesis 3:16 Reconsidered: The Shift in Inner Order
“Still your desire will be for your husband, and he will be your master.”
This moment in the narrative marks a fundamental inversion. The subconscious, once ruled by inner awareness, now turns toward the outer self-image for instruction. Desire becomes misplaced; she yearns for the outer, and it dominates her. This is not a story of male and female roles—it is a description of the creative faculty of the mind falling under foreign governance.
It is also where Baal—master—enters symbolically. To turn from “I Am” toward appearances is to be ruled by Baal: by the idol of outer fact, by the illusion that power lies beyond rather than within.
Pain in Childbirth: The Fruit of Misaligned Assumption
“In pain you will give birth to children...”
This pain is symbolic of the suffering that results when we bear states formed from fear, doubt, and lack. The subconscious accepts impressions without resistance. If the outer man is dominated by unworthy thoughts, the woman—the subconscious—will conceive them just as readily as she would a noble ideal.
And because “every seed bears after its kind,” what is born will reflect its origin. False assumptions give birth to unwanted realities. And because the subconscious is joined in sorrow rather than joy, she experiences anguish in manifestation—not because she is cursed, but because she was joined to a lie.
Rachel and Benjamin: Sorrow Transformed into Power
“And in the hour when her life went from her... she gave him the name Ben-oni: but his father gave him the name Benjamin.”
— Genesis 35:18
Rachel’s death during childbirth marks one of Scripture’s most potent symbolic crucifixions. She names her son Ben-oni, meaning “son of my sorrow.” Here, the subconscious—Rachel—gives birth in agony, a state reflecting the sorrow of bearing something through struggle, through human effort rather than divine rest.
But Jacob—the conscious mind—refuses to leave the manifestation with that name. He renames him Benjamin, “son of the right hand,” a title of dominion, strength, and favour. The moment of death becomes a moment of transformation. Even what was born in pain can be claimed and renamed in truth.
This is the shift from crucifixion to resurrection—from false assumption to divine inheritance. The outer world can be renamed. Sorrow can be rewritten as strength.
Legion: A Mind Fragmented, Yet Still of God
“And all the time, by night and by day, he was in the place of the dead and in the mountains, crying out and cutting himself with stones.”
— Mark 5:5
"And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for WE are many."— Mark 5:9 (KJV)
Legion represents a mind overtaken by conflicting assumptions—“WE are many” - reminds us of the plural description of God. He lives among tombs, clinging to dead states, self-harming with the very thoughts he identifies with. The stones he cuts himself with are hardened ideas—beliefs turned against the self.
But even here, a mystery is hidden.
The voice of Legion says, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And yet even this multitude stems from one origin. It is a distorted echo of the truth that God is one, expressed in many forms. The fragmented mind is still divine in origin—what we see in Legion is not possession, but a misaligned reflection of the manifoldness of God, whose name is I Am.
The moment Legion meets Jesus—awakened awareness—all distortion is cast out. The many are brought to rest in the One. The subconscious, no longer tormented by contradiction, becomes whole again. This is not just healing; it is restoration of divine order.
Naming as Resurrection: Every State Can Be Rewritten
“She shall be called Woman…” The naming of the woman is not a passive act—it is the claim of awareness over its creation. To name is to fix an assumption. Every outer condition is a child of a named state. Eve, Ben-oni, Benjamin—these names are more than titles; they are declarations of meaning.
To name something from sorrow is to continue the pain. But to rename it in love is to resurrect it. The subconscious is ever-ready to reflect the name it is given. It does not protest—it simply performs.
Conclusion: The Woman Will Not Always Weep
Genesis 3:16 is not a curse but a map. It reveals the sorrow of a creative power enslaved by false masters. The woman—your subconscious mind, your outer world—bears what you impress upon her. If she is ruled by the outer man, she will produce in sorrow. But if awareness reclaims its place, she will once again bear in joy.
Rachel may die in the process of bringing something forth, but Jacob may yet rename it. Legion may cry out in the tombs, but I AM can restore him. The crucifixion of truth by illusion is not the end—it is the turning point..
Bible Verse Analysis | Child Birth Series | Genesis 2:23 Series