The Dark Goddess

[Earth Walker]

The Feminine Shadow

In the earliest societies that revered the moon as the
Goddess, the third dark phase was personified as the
Dark Goddess, wise and compassionate, who ruled
over the mysteries of death, transformation, and rebirth.
Over the course of many millenia, successive cultures
gradually replaced the moon worshippers, and knowledge of the cyclical nature of reality, as mirrored
by the phases of the moon, was lost.
Today, in our society, most people are unaware of the
potential for healing and renewal that exists as an
intrinsic quality of the dark moon phase of cyclical
process. Instead we associate the dark with death, evil,
destruction, isolation, and loss. In a society ruled by
solar white consciousness, we have been taught to
fear, reject, devalue, and disempower all that is linked
with the concepts of the dark--people of color, women,
sexuality, menstruation, nature, the occult, the pagan,
night, the unconscious and irrational, and death itself.
Mythically we have embodied all of these fears of the
dark into an image of feminine evil known as the Dark
Goddess, who is intimately connected to the dark moon.
Over the course of history the original role of the Dark
Goddess as a renewer was forgotten, and she came to
be feared as a destroyer. Throughout many world
mythologies she was portrayed as the Temptress, the
Terrible Mother, and the Death-Bearing Crone. Her later
biographers have recorded her as black, evil, venomous,
demonic, horrifying, malevolent, fiery, and outraged.
As patriarchal culture became more prevalent she came
to be a symbol of a devouring feminine sexuality that causes men to transgress their moral and religious
convictions, and then she consumes their vital essence
and entwines them in an embrace of death.
In the mythic imagination of male-dominated cultures,
her original nature became distorted and she took on
horrifying proportions. As Kali she appears in cremation
grounds adorned with a garland of skulls and holding
the severed head of her mate, Shiva, dripping with blood. As Lilith she flies through the night as a she-demon who seduces men, breeds demons, and kills
infants. As Medusa her beautiful, abundant hair becomes
a crown of hissing serpents and the gaze from her Evil
Eye turns men to stone. And as Hekate she stalks men
at the crossroads at night with her vicious hounds of
hell. We might well ask why the Dark Goddess presents
such a terrifying image. In what ways do she and her
psychological counterpart, the dark feminine, threaten
our security and create havoc in our lives? And how is
her destructive power related to her healing qualities
that bring renewal? In what ways has the Dark Goddess
come to embody our fear of the dark, our fear of the
occult, our fear of death and change, our fear of sex,
and our fear of confronting our essential selves and our
own interpretation of truth?
The answers to these questions can be found in the transition from matriarchal to patriarchal culture that
occurred five millenia ago. Current researchers into
ancient history, working in the fields of theology,
archaeology, art history, and mythology, are uncovering
evidence that, starting around 3000 BCE, there occurred
a transition in the predominant religious and political
structures that governed humanity. Matriarchal societies,
which had worshipped goddesses of the earth and moon such as Innana, Ishtar, Isis, Demeter, and Artemis, gave way to patriarchal societies, which followed the solar gods and heroes such as Gilgamesh,
Amen Ra, Zeus, Yahweh, and Apollo.
Prior to this time an understanding of the connection
between death and rebirth was the teaching of the
cyclically renewing Moon Goddess who was worshipped
by ancient peoples. The Goddess's teachings held that
death was but the precursor to rebirth, and that sex can
be used not only for procreation, but also for ecstasy,
healing, regeneration, and spiritual illumination.
When humanity shifted its allegiance to the worship of
solar gods, the symbols of the Goddess began to
disappear from culture and her teachings became
forgotten, repressed, and distorted.
Contemporary scholars are now uncovering evidence of
how the worship of the Goddess has been supressed,
her temples and artifacts destroyed, her followers
persecuted and slain, and her reality denied. The new
belief systems of the conquering patriarchal solar tribes
denounced cyclical renewal, thereby disrupting the Moon
Goddess's cycle of birth, death, and regeneration.
Let us now go into greater detail concerning the
historical and psychological development of the Dark
Goddess archetype, who was the third aspect of the
ancient Triple Goddess. The Triple Moon Goddess, in her
new, full, and dark phases, was a model for the
feminine nature in her entirety as maiden, mother, and
crone. In her original worship the Dark Goddess, as the third aspect of this lunar trilogy, was honored, loved,
and accepted for her wisdom and for her mystery
teachings of renewal. Through the course of patriarchal
culture, however, she and her teachings have been
exiled from legitimate society and banished to the dark
corners of our unconscious.

[Mariposa De La Luna]

Thanks for all the info. I'll have to get to this one later though, its late.

[Earth Walker]

Her Story And Mythology

The story of the Dark Goddess begins thousands of years ago in a time before recorded history, when the moon was worshipped as a primary feminine divinity.
Her tale takes us across much of the world, where the
Dark Goddess is known by many names in different lands. She is called Kali in India, Hekate and Persephone
in Greece, Lilith in the Near East, Eresh-kigal in Sumeria,
Morgana in Britain, and Hel in Scandinavia. Moira, the Fates, the Furies, Medusa, Medea, Circe, Nemesis, Nyx,
the Gorgons, the Sirens, the Black Madonna, Cerrwiden,
Nephyths, Black Isis, Oya, Coatlicue, Mother Holle,
Baba Yuga, the Black Dakini, the Terrible Mother, the
Bad Fairy, and the Wicked Witch are some of her other names. As far back as the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago, there exists evidence that humanity worshipped a female deity who became personified in the symbolism of the Goddess. Ice Age
peoples honored her image in their sacred art, sculpting
the female form out of clay and carving it out of bone,
rock, and ivory.
These goddess-figures emphasize the breasts, belly, and vulva of the female body, signifying prehistoric people's reverence for the birth-giving and life-sustaining powers of the feminine. Over the last hundred years archaeologists have unearthed thousands of these statuettes and amulets spanning a
range of territory from Spain, across Eurasia, to central
Siberia.
During these ancient times humanity perceived the
Great Goddess as an organizing principle of the universe who embodied all the forces of life, death, and
rebirth within her figure. Her dominion encompassed not
only the human world, but also the plant and animal
realms, the earth and heavens, and the seasonal and
sky cycles.
The Goddess was the life force that animated all of existence.
These beliefs became the foundation for the worship of
the Great Goddess of Neolithic times, which began in the
ninth millenium BCE. Around 11,000 years ago the agrian
cultures settled the first year-round villages in the Fertile
Crescent bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including
Catal Huyuk, Jericho, and Halicar. They developed a
complex cosmic religion that focused on the worship of
the Triple Moon Goddess as Giver of Life, Wielder of
Death, and Regeneratrix.
This Neolithic Goddess embraced the constant and periodic renewal of life in which death was not separate
from life. This religion displayed a deep respect for the
natural cycles of women. The male principle was
acknowledged and honored as the young horned god
who was the son, lover, and consort of the Goddess.
He also participated in the rites of birth, death, and
renewal. Sexuality was sacred and celebrated as sensual, pleasure-giving, erotic, and healing.
The Great Goddess appeared in many different cultures throughout the ancient world. Known by many names, she was multifaceted and manifested in a variety
of forms to satisfy the various needs of the peoples who
called upon her wisdom and compassion. In the Near East she was worshipped as Innana, Tiamet, Ishtar, and
Astarte. In Egypt she was venerated as Isis, Hathor,
Neith, and Maat. In Greece she was revered as Demeter,
Hera, Artemis, and Aphrodite. In the Far East she was
known as Shakti, Adati, and Durga in India, Tara in
Tibet, and Kwan Yin in China and Japan. This feminine
deity later evolved into the Virgin Mary, Sophia, and the
Shekinah of Christian and Judaic cultures.
The Goddess was immanent in all of nature, and people
built shrines to honor and interact with her at springs, groves, caves, mountain peaks, hearths, and wells.
In the societies where she was worshipped, women
held exalted roles as priestesses, leaders, healers,
midwives, and diviners. The sacred art of these peoples
has been unearthed to reveal over 30,000 female images made of clay, marble, rock, crystal, copper, and
gold from the nearly three thousand sites founded
through Old Europe and the Near East during the last
one hundred years. The art, artifacts, and earliest
writings of these peoples document that they were
peaceful agriculturists, living harmoniously in
matrilineal partnership societies.
Next we will more fully discuss the prehistoric origins of
the Goddess religion from a cyclical perspective.

[Earth Walker]

The Triple Moon Goddess

The rhythm of the moon, whose phases resonated to
women's menstrual cycles, held a special place in the
myths, religion, and symbols of the Goddess. The
ancients perceived the moon, which displayed the ebb
and flow of birth, life, and death, to be feminine, and
they personified her as the Great Goddess who ruled
over these three great mysyeries. As the moon turned
from new to full to dark, it was worshipped as an
embodiment of each of these three phases; hence the
Triple Moon Goddess, who displayed herself on many levels as sets of three.
On the absolute energetic level, where our cosmos exists as particles of matter in motion moving back and forth between states of form and formlessness, the
ancients conceptualized the triple nature of the feminine
lunar energy as the cyclical forces of creation, preservation, and destruction that keep the universe in motion. As this energy begins to coalesce into the form
realms, it was visualized as the deities who inhabit the heavens, and assumed the appearance of the virgin, mother, and crone aspects of the Goddess. And when the energy solidifies in the physical realm of human
manifestation, the triple nature of the feminine lunar energy was experienced by early peoples as the three basic ages of a women's life: the new moon as young maiden and bride, the full moon as fully flowered mother
and wife, and the dark moon as wise grandmother and widow.
Each month the Triple Goddess revealed herself first as the White Virgin of the Waxing New Moon, who gives birth to new life and the promise of new beginnings. In her youth and innocence she rules over the season of spring and the upper air of the heavens. Filled with curiousity and excitement, the New Moon Goddess is adventurous, carefree, and enchanting, brimming with enthusiasm and unlimited energy.
She is the hunter and fighter and had dominion over heroic and dangerous animals, such as lions, tigers, panthers, cats, deer, and stags. Artistic representations
of the New Moon Virgin sometimes depict her as a young, seminude maiden with a crescent moon-shaped
headdress, a girdle around her loins, and adorned with
jewelry. She is also portrayed as Lady of the Wild Beasts, or as the strong, fearless warrior maiden.
Artemis, Diana, and Pallas Athena are some of the names of the New Moon Virgin Goddess.
As the moon increases in light and size the Goddess grows into the Red Mother of the Full Moon, who nourishes and sustains life. In her fertility and productivity, she rules over the season of summer, with its abundant harvest, and the middle region of land and sea. The Full Moon Goddess is ripe, lush, full-blooded,
and powerful, fiercely protecting all that she creates and loves.
She is a symbol of love and fertility. Her symbolic animals include all the nourishing animals, such as cows, goats, and sheep, as well as the animals of love,
the doves and bees. In art the Full Moon Mother is often
portrayed with a full, pregnant belly, giving birth between her generous legs, or nursing a child in her ample breasts. Goddesses such as Demeter, Isis, Aphrodite, Tara, and Kwan Yin embody the nature of the full moon mother.
With the diminishing of the moon's light she transforms into the Black Crone of the waning dark moon, who receives the dead and prepares them for rebirth.
This is the original derivation of the mythical Dark Goddess. In her wisdom, which arises from experience, she encompasses the season of winter and the underworld. Grounded in her inner strength, the Dark
Moon Goddess is filled with compassion and understanding for the frailty of human nature, and her counsel is wise and just.
She rules over the magickal arts, secret knowledge,
and oracles. Her animal totems are those which live below the earth--snakes, serpents, dragons--and animals of the night--owls, ravens, crows, and white and black dogs and horses. The Dark Moon Crone was
artistically represented with the wrathful face of the goddess who devours life, and some figures also depict
her vulva, symbolizing subsequent renewal. Queens of
magic and of the underworld such as Hekate, Kali, and Eresh-kigal are symbols of the waning Dark Moon Goddess.
Among the most sacred customs of the Goddess, in all three of her manifestations, were the sexual rites in which her priestesses would have ritual intercourse with the members of the community who came to the temples to worship Her. These priestesses acted as
channels to bring the Goddess's divine blessing of love
and fertility into the lives of human beings. Warriors,
returning home from battle, would first come to these
priestesses to be ritually cleansed from the stains of
having killed. The recipients of this blessing participated
in a rite in which they could be purified, healed, and
regenerated through the sexuality of the Goddess,
which was enacted within a ritual context.
Thus was the Goddess seen in her cyclical turning of the moon's phases and the ever-renewing display of her light. She was loved and accepted in all three of her aspects, and her triple nature was woven into the beliefs about the nature of reality. In the realm of the
Triple Goddess, the concept of time was cyclical rather than linear, and the cycle of the seasons, with its phases of waxing and waning, of life and death and
revival, was the basic pattern of all thought.