DANCING WITH THE DARK GODDESS FOR GROWTH AND TRANSFORMATION
Article by Michelle Maurer
Dancing with the Dark Goddess for Growth and Transformation
"Nothing makes the light, the wonder, the treasure stand out so well as the darkness." -Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Who is the sultry Dark Goddess? What does she represent and how can we tap into her energy for our own growth and transformation?
The Dark Goddess Archetype can be found across many cultures and belief systems. She goes by names like Kali, Persephone, Lilith, Hecate, Morrigan, Black Tara, and even the Baba Yaga.
The Dark Goddess represents the the Scorpio energy of astrological chart- the death and rebirth cycle; destruction and transformation.
She is the Crone of the Triple Goddess. The priestess of your “dark night of the soul”.
She is a soulful teacher and catalyst for growth and self-discovery, but her lessons do not often come easily.
They break us down and force us to face our fears while sitting with ALL aspects of ourselves, which can feel quite painful and debilitating at times.
As challenging as the work that she requires of us may be, it is laced with a powerful purpose and comes with enlightening rewards for those who have the patience, faith, and curiosity to go deep.
She teaches us to walk a path of authenticity and integrity by looking within and seeing what aspects of ourselves linger in the shadows of the subconscious and yearn to be brought into light.
What are these psychological shadows?
They are the repressed feelings, limiting beliefs, negative thoughts, unhealthy traits and habits. Or perhaps anything that is considered bad, unacceptable or viewed as taboo by those around us or society at large.
Oftentimes our shadows echo judgement and shame.
Growing up we’ve been taught to fear the darkness, that shadowy unseen realm of existence and the terrors that lurk there.
But the darkness, just like the light, has its own critical role in the cosmic dance of creation, for there cannot be new life without death of the old.
Too often we look externally for solutions to our problems rather than looking within, when in fact, it is our internal world that colors our external experiences (not the other way around).
Much of these internal complexes stem the beliefs we adopted during childhood as we were forming our perceptions about the world around us.
As a child we need connection and belonging to survive, so we learn to adapt our behaviors to fit the expectations defined for us, in order to fulfill those core needs of belonging, connection, and safety within us.
We put on masks and stuff down our truths- because we don't want to risk not being loved or understood.
In the process we become fractured in our wholeness because we don't feel we can embrace all sides of who we truly are without judgement or shame.
This is where the Dark Goddess can help lead us home to the truth of who we really are.
By shining the light of awareness on those parts within us that feel unloved or unsafe, we can work to clear out the limiting beliefs, habits, and complexes that keep us from feeling truly whole.
It’s not about “becoming” the Dark Goddess but rather understanding her transformational energy so we can recognize when it may be showing up in our lives, and rather than looking externally for solutions, we remember to look within.
She helps us to understand ourselves on a deeper level and create a new level of radical self-acceptance that paves the way for authentic expression, not only of ourselves, but for others as well.
Learning to recognize and make peace with our shadows is a key part of the integration work of the awakening process/healing journey.
When we can meet them with conscious awareness and acceptance and seek to understand the lessons the shadows have to teach us, we can dance with them rather than fear them.
By giving ourselves the permission to accept those messy parts of ourselves, we become embodied in our wholeness and only then can we truly stand our innate, divine power- and that is liberating for us all.
