I’ve spoken a lot about Persephone recently- She is the Goddess I work with October through to mid-November, during the Scorpio season. She is the Goddess of Spring, but my connection with her is Queen of the Underworld.
The Dark half of the Year though, is for the Dark Goddesses. Those who bring to the front the darker aspects of the Divine Feminine- sex, lust, power, death, transformation. Whilst I find these themes in Persephone, it is not just Her that I honour at this time of year. So, in this blog post, I want to talk about some of the other Goddesses that are strongly associated with this time of year, my own personal experiences this year with Hecate, as well as where we can find the Archetype of the Dark Goddess in myth.
Dark Goddesses & Myth
There are many stories surrounding Dark Goddessess- Erishkagal and her sister Inanna from Sumerian mythology, Hecate and her role in the Underworld in Greek mythology, The Morrigan and their association of death and fate in Celtic mythology. Perhaps it is the fact that I am a Scorpio baby, but I gravitate towards these Dark Goddesses, their stories and the lessons that they hold. I honour my own descent into the underworld- spiritually speaking- every year around Samhain, working with the Goddess that comes through with a lesson, journalling, divining, dreaming and researching what She has, Her story and associations. This year, that has been Hecate.
Hecate is a Goddess of magic and witchcraft and to me, the Dark Mother that challenges my views and thought patterns. She asks me What do you fear? and this is a question that I’ve been looking at a lot over the past few months. I’m not thinking of generic fears (spiders spring to mind here, although I’ve worked hard to befriend these little eight legged creatures, a shiver still runs through me when I find one crawling across the wall in my room!) no, instead I’m looking deeper. That’s what Samhain and Scorpio season is all about- going deeper, looking deeper, facing the darkness and the fear that is residing in that darkness.
I fear being seen. I fear being ridiculed and judged. The Witch Wound; and it runs deep. I didn’t want to be seen, I didn’t want to be heard. I was quite happy in my own little small world, not making waves or rocking the boat. Yet, the Path I am on doesn’t allow me to play small, it doesn’t allow me to self-sabotage my own voice so that I don’t have to be heard. I am a Priestess of the Goddess, and my soul has a mission.
This is where Hecate has come in loud and clear this year. By always asking, what do you fear, She challenged me to go a little deeper and acknowledge that deep seated fear of being seen. She guided me to stand outside of my comfort zone. Outside of that comfort zone is where I found my muse to write- and publish- a book of poetry. My voice will be heard. I held the embodiment of the Goddess at Samhain in ceremony. I will be seen. I spoke of my fear, in a circle of women whom I trust, to recognise that I may walk this Path alone- but I am not alone. The support of my sisters, of the Goddess, is always there.
The Dark Goddess as an Archetype.
As an Archetype, the Dark Goddess refers to the Dark Queen, the Crone, the Hag- something that we find a lot within a fairytale setting. Some of the most well-known fairytales across the world have a witch who is feared and avoided. The Wicked Witch of the West, The Evil Queen when she transforms herself to give Snow White a poisoned apple, the Sea Witch that takes the voice of the Little Mermaid in exchange for legs.
I learnt these stories at a young age- I grew up reading them in my favourite books and watching them on TV. I could see, when I first began to read about the Dark Goddesses of different cultures, how they could be feared or misunderstood. A scary figure shrouded in mystery and portrayed as wanting something that the heroines of the story have. Yet, I felt a draw towards them. They called me- in dreams, in tarot, in books that were recommended to me.
They were misunderstood. These archetypal beings were not something to be feared, but something to learn from and embrace. Some of the deepest and most profound lessons I have learnt have come from my work with a Dark Goddess. A lesson on self-worth, on honouring and holding my own boundaries. A lesson on anger, and speaking my truth. A lesson on freedom, and self-value. Each year, I feel a pull towards a Goddess, and descend into the Underworld to discern her lesson and find my truths.
Mysteries of the Underworld.
The Underworld is a place of rest, of transformation, of change, of grief and of anger. It is also a place of mystery and a place of magic. For some, it’s peace. How we interpret the Underworld very much relies on the stories we’re told in books and TV, our own personal beliefs of an afterlife and our soul’s journey. Perhaps our view also relies on how much we’ve suppressed in our lives. Maybe our view is formed of how much we are willing to accept change- we don’t like change as a species. The Underworld is a place of transformation and change, though. It’s where we can find truths that are hard to accept. When life gets difficult, and we’ve hit rock bottom, it’s the Underworld that holds us until we’re ready to start the climb back out again. It holds the final mystery of life- death.