7 Inspiring Quotes from Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés and Art that awakens the wild feminine.
Updated: Sep 26
Hi! I’m Naïma, a French artist inspired by the wild feminine. My work weaves together women, nature, wildlife, and poetry. Women Who Run With the Wolves is one of my favorite books, and in this article I share some of its most inspiring quotes, along with my reflections and a glimpse into my own artworks. You can explore and bring home your favorite painting here
What is the Wild Woman?
There is a calling, a little voice inside every woman who is ready to remember her wild soul.
To break free from the cages of perfection and reclaim her instinct, her intuition, her deep feminine knowing.
Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ book Women Who Run With the Wolves has inspired millions of women to reconnect with that inner power: the instinctual, creative, free feminine spirit. Her words have influenced my own art and the way I see women: as untamed, radiant, and full of sacred mystery.
Each of the following seven quotes has guided me in my journey as an artist, and each is paired with a piece of art inspired by that wild feminine energy.
✨ If this theme calls to your soul, I invite you to explore my Wild Feminine Collection →Paintings born from freedom, intuition, the wild feminine energy.
7 Inspiring Quotes from Women Who Run With the Wolves
1. The Wild Creature Within
“Within every woman, there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing.”* - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
My experience as a wild woman and artist:
For many years, I lived far from my own wildness. I grew up in a family where women had to suppress their femininity and their genuine selves. They were simply not free. But the wild woman in me never stopped burning. It took me a long time, and many tears, to find my way back to myself.
One step at a time, I began creating, following my intuition, and choosing what sparked something alive in my heart. And one day, I decided to live by my own rules, follow my heart, and most of all, believe in myself. That's when I began bringing my dreams to life. I stopped waiting for validation. I supported myself, worked for myself, and slowly became the woman I had always wanted to be.
2 - The Power of Tears
"Tears are a river that take you somewhere. Weeping creates a river around the boat that carries your soul-life." - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
3- Your Wild Nature
“When women reassert their relationship with the wildish nature, they are gifted with strength, intuition, and joy.”- Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
4. Accumulating Debris
"A body that has lived a long time accumulates debris." - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
That line from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés carries a deep truth: as we move through life, we inevitably gather experiences, stories, wounds, and responsibilities, some that are truly ours, and many that are not.
The "debris" is the weight of unprocessed pain, expectations from others, and attachments to things never meant to belong to us.
5. The Sensory Nature Within Women
"There is a being who lives in the wild underground of women's natures. This creature is our sensory nature, and like any integral creature, it has its own nature and nutritive cycles." - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
I think this quote points to the instinctive, untamed part of every woman: the inner wild being that lives beneath the surface. It is our intuition, our senses, our natural rhythm. Like any living creature, it has its own needs, seasons, and cycles of rest and renewal.
Honoring this part of ourselves means listening to our body, our instincts, and our soul’s timing, instead of forcing ourselves to live only by outer demands.
6. Remembering who you are
"Where are the places that must be remembered...must be blessed?" - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
I feel in the context of Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ work, is an invitation to remember the sacred ground of the feminine soul, the inner wild landscapes that society often teaches women to forget or silence. By blessing these places, we reclaim them.
Tthis quote reminds us that memory is sacred.
What we choose to remember and honor becomes part of our healing and our return to wholeness.
For me, this meant going back to the dreams I had as a child ... remembering who I was before the world told me who I should become. What did I love? What made me feel alive? What were my passions? In asking those questions, I found my way back to art. I remembered.
7. Where transformation begins
"The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door. If you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door." - Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés
The wild feminine is not something we need to become. She is already here, beneath the layers of who we were told to be. When we see her reflected in art, we remember. Naima
If something in these words awakens something in you, come wander into my world…
Stay Wild! Naïma
About the Artist
Naima Namaste is a French contemporary artist whose original paintings explore the profound relationship between women, nature and the wild. Inspired by symbolism, intuition and the beauty of the natural world, she creates soulful, collectible artworks that invite moments of reflection, connection and wonder. Every painting is created by hand in her atelier in the south of France.
