The Dark Goddess is just one of many faces of the Sacred Feminine

The Divine Feminine principle weaves her way through all aspects of life (whether you realise she’s there or not) and she steers and sustains our cycles of growth.

Just like a mother nurtures the growth of her children, the Goddess nurtures us.
Call her in, cultivate closeness with her, and she’ll give you more of what you need.

So it is with the Dark Goddess too.

Call her in, cultivate closeness with her, and she’ll ALSO give you more of what you need.

Yet I know many people are fearful of the Dark Goddess

Of course they are – centuries upon centuries have been spent demonising and vilifying her, denigrating and denouncing her. The power and energy of the Dark Feminine have been both stripped back and distorted… Becoming something entirely removed from their true nature.

Whilst Goddess energies are eternal and external – like archetypes they live beyond the human realms – they’re activated through us.

SO when you appeal to a deity, when you invoke, beseech, pray and petition it to enter into your life, you bring it to life! You offer it the space to act, through the manifestation of your own action.

But if you’re scared of the Goddess, then you won’t do that, will you? Our fear and inaction keep her small, keep her distorted, and keep her without real, channeled, decisive power in the world.

Yet despite her ages of oppression, cultures all around the world have versions of the Dark Goddess: Forms that this energy takes, manifestations for her to occupy.

• Hindu Goddess Kali, Goddess of destruction but also creation.
• Hecate, Circe, Persephone, Nyx from the Greek pantheon
• Jewish folklore figure of Lilith, Adam’s first wife (before Eve) according to much older versions of Biblical texts (probably with roots in Mesopotamia)
• The Morrigan, Celtic Goddess of war, death and transformation. Also known as the Phantom Queen
• Egyptian Goddess Nephthys, often called on when performing funeral rites along with her sister Isis.

And countless others…

In their original myths and tales, most of these ARE fearsome! They can be all-consuming, chaotic, and appear to be harbingers of death and destruction! SO it’s right to be cautious of their presence. But foolish to avoid their energy completely.

We’re now in the season of shadow, opened up by Samhain on October 31st

…And the Dark Goddess is rising!

This is her time!

As light fades, leaves fall, and the natural world decays into darkness, her energy is all around us – can you feel her presence? But as you should know by now…Samhain season isn’t only about death (actual death, metaphorical death, and ego death) it’s about transformation.

Just like working with shadow.

We don’t do shadow work – that is, we don’t go looking into the unconscious, seeking out what’s unseen, and inviting those pieces back UP into our awareness – because of some morbid fascination! We do shadow work to bring those pieces back to life, through integration, which is an alchemical process of transformation.

Shadow work is transformation.

(And how effective shadow work is, relates directly to how willing YOU are to undergo that transformation).

This is why the Dark Goddess – the highest heavenly Mistress of transformation – is the perfect guide and ally for your shadow work journey

Hers is the part of the Divine Feminine spectrum that’s made up of BOTH death and rebirth (and that liminal space between them). SO if that’s where you’re going (and that IS where shadow work tends to take you…) then asking for her presence on the journey is a wise move. She knows the map better than we do.

But the Dark Goddess is very, very powerful.

She’s chaotic, destructive, and totally non-linear in her nature, so working with her is no walk in the park. It takes time. Patience. Effort. A robust approach and the ability to both surrender to the work AND be strong enough to do it.

So invite her in IF you’re ready to work together. But not If you want HER to do the work for you. If you’re not serious about your own transformation, she won’t sit around holding your hand while you make up your mind! Dive in. Or go back home.

Everyone will have their own methods and practices for calling in the Dark Goddess.

Because she moves through us, HOW she calls to you for expression will be unique to you, your life circumstances, and what you’re asking for help with. There’s no one way to work with the Dark Goddess. Instead, what I’d recommend is an exploration…

Explorations don’t have a fixed destination, they twist and turn and unfold you on the journey. So it is, when you begin to form a relationship with the Dark Goddess. You don’t know where she may take you. The journey is the work.

So here are my 10 tips for beginning your exploration with the Dark face of the feminine (tip number 9 is a game-changer!)

1. Set an intention and invite the Dark Goddess in

Such an obvious first step, but so often missed. Set an intention to work with the Goddess and invite her in.

A tip – invite her into the parts of your life you want her presence specifically, rather than just saying “I invite you into my life”. For example: Call her into your shadow work practice. Or your dreamwork. Or your sex life…

Ritually make the commitment to yourself, then send this promise out into the ether as an invitation.

(Dark Moon is an optimum time, but don’t restrict yourself).

2. Be open to any expression of the Dark Goddess

Maybe you know you’ve always been drawn to Kali? Or does Morgan la Fay keep popping up in your world? If you know exactly which face of the Goddess you want to work with then great. But if not, then invite her in, in the form you most need. Be open to this being any expression (and this means even if your heart is set on working with Lilith, for eg, be open to the fact that Medusa may be knocking on your door).

3. Make offerings (and make them personal)

This is really important.

You have to give.

Time, energy, attention, and also sacred objects. Do some research (see the next tip) and make offerings specifically for the Goddess you’re working with.

For example, if you’re working with Hecate, know that keys, bones, garlic, and even a small statuette of a dog would be more akin to her essence than say, honey or white roses. (For Hecate, leaving this offering at a literal crossroads would also be highly personal and effective).

4. Create an altar to the Dark Goddess

As above. Create an altar so that there’s a place in your home to leave your offerings. But also to raise the energy and act as a kind of ‘landing pad’ or portal for your energetic exchange.

5. Read, research & visit her sacred sites

Submerge yourself in her stories, myths, tales, poetry, and imagery. Soak up her energy through all the material you can find. But be discerning. Remember not to trust everything you find on the internet (not because it’s necessarily fabricated, but others’ experiences of working with a Goddess energy will be different from yours). If you’re unsure what to believe, ask to be shown.

If you can, actually visit her sacred sites. And if not specific temples (we can’t all hot-foot it over to the Temple of Ptah in Egypt, in honour of the Goddess Sekhmet!) then go into the wild places. Dark places. The shadowy crossroads and liminal spaces of your own locality.

Seek out the Sacred Dark Feminine there.

6. Meditate or journey (& ask questions)

Direct experience is your best friend with any spiritual work. Get as much as you can, in the form of your own meditations and shamanic journeys. Go into the underworld with an intention or question and ask to be met there. You will be.

**If you need guidance with this, get in touch to arrange a 1-1 session so I can lead you safely through the process.

7. Dream intentionally

Before you go to sleep at night, set an intention to meet with your Dark Goddess in the liminality of the dreamscapes. You could even ask her for clarity around a situation, or for more information about who she is and what she needs from you.

Be sure to have your notebook right there, and write your dream down in the morning before you lose it.

I tend to “batch dream”. I set the same intention each night for a week (I don’t always remember my dreams – it’s less pressure this way!) and then at the end of 7 days or so, I’ll amass all of my notes and elucidate their message (or mirror them together with a sister).

8. Write to her

Get out your pen and paper, or journal and simply write her a letter. Get free, get unconscious, and get out of your own way. See what comes through.

You may find that you start writing to the Dark Feminine, then her essence begins to write through your words, then her voice comes through loud and clear… then it’s back to you (or any variation of that!) Remember this is an exploration.

Trust the process and see what comes.

9. Call on (and embody) the Goddess when you’re triggered

This is a powerful tip that really brings this work into ‘real life’. Because working with the Dark Goddess at home over an altar when the candles are lit and the Moon is dark is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! But you don’t need to keep her confined like this. The Dark Goddess likes (and needs) to be set free!

The next time you’re triggered (say, someone irritates you, you receive some upsetting news, or you become overwhelmed) instead of allowing your unconscious to react straight away, pause for a moment and invite the Dark Goddess in.

Let your response come from her.

This can be an extremely transformational experience because our unconscious reactions to external events tend to come from distorted shadow. Yet the Dark Goddess will move through you as pure and undistorted energy. No ego. No trauma. No patterns.

See what that feels like.

10. Put her energy to use

As in the previous tip, let her be free.

Allow the energy of the Dark Goddess to move through your actions out in the world.

For a lot of women and men, this begins with magic. Of course – the Dark Feminine is the mistress of magic! But you can invoke her presence in any situation, especially if it requires some kind of transformational change or adjustment. Like a big meeting at work, some kind of lifestyle change, or even a radical new haircut! But take her seriously. Work with her. And give back.

If you do call in the Dark Goddess, then feel, sense, and know that you’re being guided by a force that’s beyond you.

Listen to her instructions. Act in the direction she takes you. Honour her by trusting her.

But do be warned… the change she carries in can feel messy, chaotic, and confusing at first. This is her way! So be prepared for this to be the shape of the birth canal you travel through. The inevitable rebirth will be so worth it.

Do you feel called to work with the Dark Goddess?

Leave me a comment below!