Years ago I sat in a dark movie theatre and sat mesmerized by Prince in “Purple Rain”. As an impressionable teenager, Prince fascinated me with daring to be, completely and utterly, himself.

Today, as I continue to see his name in headlines, I’m reminded of his bravery and his devotion to authenticity. He was an iconoclast… a boundary breaker of race, gender, and sexuality. 5’4” in stature, but enormous in spirit. His legacy touches not only music, but fashion, pop culture and social influence.

Over the years, I went from fascinated teenager to admiring fan…and I’m not just a fan of his music. I am a fan of his metaphor.

In 1993, Prince changed his name to a symbol…and what a symbol! As a combination of the astrological symbols for male and female, it is full of powerful significance. The union of male and female is the sacred marriage, or “hierosgamos”, out of which all creation comes.

With this symbol, Prince tapped into the knowledge that we all have male and female energy. The striving, pushing, producing energy of the masculine and the receiving, flowing, emptying energy of the feminine. When these are in balance, like yin and yang, we step into our own creative life force.  

And when we combine balanced life force energy with our purpose and vision, we step into our sovereignty and wholeness. As women, we step into our Queen.

The idea of archetypes have been around since Plato and popularized by Carl Jung. They are the collective energy infused in an image or word. For example, words such as “queen”, “mother” and “wise women” all have a different feeling tone. We resonate with the feeling behind these archetypes and can immediately access their energy. Need a shortcut to transformation? Use archetypal energy.

Prince certainly embodied the archetypal energy of his moniker. Surrounded by purple, the color of royalty, from his purple robes to "Purple Rain, Prince "reigned".

With his passing, I’m not feeling the same type of sadness I felt at Michael Jackson’s death. After Michael's death I could not listen to one of his songs without bursting into tears. However, with Prince, I’m playing his music everyday. I want to be saturated in purple as a celebration of his excellence, his rawness and daring.

I want more of the music, more of him, more of life. As I listen to "Purple Rain", I remember wanting desperately to be Apollonia. Back then, my teenage heart just wanted to have the chance to touch his royal purple robes. Now, in my 40’s I want to wear them and be my own Queen.

The Queen archetype is rising in our culture as women around the world begin to claim their power and use their influence to impact the world. The powerful archetypal energy surrounding Queen has both light aspects (loving, nurturing, contributing) and dark aspects (power-hungry, cold, driven “Ice Queen”). As we step into this rising role of Queen, we can look to Prince for insight on how to create a new archetype of Sovereign Queen and thereby create our own noble legacy.

Inspired by Prince, here are 4 “Royal Decrees” of being a Queen... [trumpets blare]:

Dare to Be Your Full Authentic Self
Creative, sexual, silent, shocking, shy, rebellious, Prince was all that and more. Like a royal prince, he got what he wanted and he didn’t hide his voice or his message.

Own Your Worth
Prince knew his value and didn’t shy away from asking for what he deserved. He fought to own his music and did not give away his talent for free or allow others to define him or take advantage of his gift.

Live in the Now
In songs like "Let's Go Crazy" and "1999", Prince shared his message to live in the now. He knew that the present is a gift. He challenged us to be here now and live full on.

Share the Love
Though Prince was a quiet person, he was a great and secret philanthropist. In a http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/prince-the-secret-philanthropist-his-cause-was-humanity-20160425#ixzz47qGVefkE">Rolling Stone's article, his friend Van Jones said, "His cause is humanity. He cares a lot about people. Nobody went to a Prince concert and said, 'I don't belong here. I'm not black. I'm not white. I'm not cool. I'm not straight. I'm not whatever.' His cause was empowering and uplifting people. That didn't stop when he walked off the stage or out of the studio. It was a current of genius trying to move the human heart."

Sweet Prince, I celebrate you today and thank you for being a symbol of LOVE and reminder that we all have access to our own nobility, authenticity and wholeness. Thank you for the amazing music you left us and that lives on in our hearts and bodies. Your life was legendary. Thank you for the call to be legendary too.