Embracing the Dark Goddess
The dark goddesses are women of immense personal strength known to be both chaotic and reconstructionists. There are those who warn against using the dark goddesses out of fear, they can be prickly, to say the least, and shouldn’t be taken lightly, but the benefits of embracing the dark goddess –and your dark side- can have a very positive impact on your life.
By facing our fears, being honest about our darkness and embracing or changing those aspects we keep hidden from others, and even ourselves, will rise out of our private underworld a whole and healed woman. Embracing the dark goddess will not harm you if you are honest, patient, and respectful of yourself, the dark goddess you are working with and the things that are important to her. She will reward you for your efforts, and you are expected to honor her back.
Embracing the dark goddess allows you to face your fears, even yourself and come back a better person.
When you open your heart and mind to embracing the dark goddess, you allow yourself permission to love the side of you that you hide not only from others but often from yourself as well. Kali is a beautiful creationist, but she realizes that to birth a beautiful world you must first destroy the old one. Inanna teaches us that once you’re stripped of ego, you are reborn a stronger, wiser, more complete woman.
The dark goddesses are potent reminders of our inner weakness. But, as destructive as Sekhmet was, she is the protector of justice, and if you’re innocent, she can help you overcome whatever you’re battling.
Embracing the dark goddess allows you to face your fears, even yourself and come back a better person. Their death and rebirth are symbolic of the discarding of what holds you back and embracing what makes you a complete and better person.
The dark is a frightening place. We’ve learned through societal conditioning that the darkness is where bad things happen. In the dark, predators wait on their prey, evil plays and ghosts haunt. Our inner dark could be anger, depression, a deep-rooted wound from childhood, a bad marriage, or anything else that holds us back and prevents us from obtaining our potential. Finding our darkness, however painful, begins our healing process.
Working with the dark goddesses requires preparation. You may not like what you discover, but the knowledge you gain can have great rewards. The dark goddess may not embrace you at first, as Baba Yaga did to Vasilisa, chances are she will test you for your worthiness. She may expect you to be open and honest, not with what you know, but with what you must seek deep within yourself.
It may not seem like she is helping at first but be patient, give it time. Inanna did not come back from the underworld in a day and neither will you. The dark goddess is a formidable deity with immense power, but who has also gained her knowledge and her strength from her trials and dedication to her craft. She will expect nothing less from you.
Some dark goddesses are women of family and community. They fiercely protect those they love as the Morrigan did against the Fir Bolg and punished those who threaten their loved ones as did Sekhmet, who represents personal power and boundaries, went on her murderous spree to defend her father, Ra. Kali, the terrible mother, personifies motherhood and the good and bad that can come from how you raise your child.
Others are teachers or “wild women” who teach us how to live a complete and dynamic life beyond what society has instructed us as our position and behavioral expectations. For as many soul healing issues as we can have there is a dark goddess who can help us.
. . . the dark goddess is not to be feared, she is to be respected and revered.
Working with the dark goddess is rewarding and challenging. She may make you face a part of yourself, which you don’t like, she may teach you how to embrace a fulfilling life outside of societal norms, or she may offer you protection, but only if you deserve it. The effort and the reward, in this case, are often equally balanced. You cannot obtain something great without similarly great effort, but the dark goddess is not to be feared, she is to be respected and revered.
As you find those parts of you that need repairing, and face them honestly, the dark goddess can help you heal, and rebirth your soul, your power, and your inner greatness. Do not give up. Do not fear her. She is a formidable teacher and ally.
