Consult These 3 Goddesses When You Experience Your Dark Night Of The Soul

We all embody the Goddess energy. Just as we all embody the God energy.

The Divine Feminine, the Divine Masculine. Yin and Yang.

We are complex beings – spiritual, powerful beings having a very human experience.

Part of learning our personal brand of humanity involves moving through our dark night of the soul.

We all experience our challenges in life, and some may be more intense than others. All of it brings forth a test of our mettle, and makes us feel like if we were to push forth any further, it would be like drawing blood from a rock.

These are the times when we wish that life could bring more comfort, when things feel like they can’t get any harder, or we couldn’t feel more unsupported or undernourished by all that surrounds us.

But, these are usually the times when we need to hang in there, rest, or push forward. Because, usually, relief is right around the corner. It may not be in exactly the way we’d envisioned it. But, how it unfolds is divine.

It is important to remember during these kind of times that the Universe isn’t trying to punish us. We are being given the opportunity to break through the chrysalis and become something better. And, that process is ALWAYS scary.

And, so we hide in the deepest corners of what we feel is safe, even if it’s totally dysfunctional and/or unhealthy. Maybe that looks like self-sabotaging behaviors, denial, avoidance, depression, or rage.

I am a total advocate for feeling all the feels, and getting it out of your system. The time frame for the purging can take days, weeks, months, or years. Going from feeling the feels to staying entrenched in unhealthy ways of living are altogether different, however.

But, it’s always your choice.

You can wake up one day and say, “I’m done. I’m fed up with feeling like shit all the time.”

When we are more fed up with the pain we endure, than we are afraid of the unknown, that’s when we transform. (click to tweet)

When I’ve been through my darkest trials, I have drawn upon the strengths of the Goddesses, especially those I still continue to work with to this day, my Spirit Guides, Angels, and Ancestors.

Working with Goddesses is a powerful thing.

Why? Because when we are going through really tough times, we totally forget that we are magic. And, when we forget that we’re magic, we believe the illusion that we are disconnected from Source/Uni-verse/God/dess and ourselves.

But, we never are. We just choose not to see it.

When we work with the Goddesses, we not only call on them for help; but, we begin to realize that we, too, can experience and access the love, joy, comfort, nourishment, and fierceness they stand for.

Consult these 3 Goddesses when you experience your dark night of the soul:

Kuan Yin

She is the goddess of compassion, love, and mercy. Her name means, “one who hears the cries of the world”. She was originally known as Avalokiteswara (the Lord who regards), and is a highly revered manifestation of the Buddha who appears in Chinese scriptures around 400 A.D. She is the embodiment of the yin principle, and she is the nurturing Mother. She is often shown holding a vase containing the waters of compassion, the lotus flower of enlightenment, or the jewel of three treasures. From the Goddess Knowledge Cards, “Her appeal is particularly widespread because she gives assistance in this world: she provides the earthly blessings of children, health, and long life, and rescues people from drowning, lightning, and poverty. She is particularly a protector of women.”

She was the first Goddess I became aware of. And, she was pivotal in helping me achieve greater capacity for self-love and compassion. So, she has a special place in my heart, as well as my daily meditations.

Don’t let her gentle appearance fool you. She is a fierce, powerful Goddess, who, despite the fact that she’d achieved nirvana, refused to leave Earth as long as any person still suffers. That’s pretty badass in my book!

There is even a selection of poems, which for centuries have been associated with Kuan Yin. While writing this post, I randomly chose one of these poems from my book, Kuan Yin: Myths and Prophecies of the Chinese Goddess of Compassion, called, “In The Darkness”:

In The Darkness

Dig deep into the earth where the spring water gushes,
Through sheer pain and labour, seek to win through –
In a place like this, then, you come across a true friend…
And seeing each other again (it’s you!) you both touch Heaven.

If you are reading this poem now, then it was meant for you.

Sedna

I love the poetic, yet dark, tale of Sedna (“the one down there”).

She “…was once a beautiful Eskimo (note: perhaps the author meant Inuit?) woman who lived with her father. None of the local suitors appealed to her, and she refused to marry until a fulmar (a type of bird) from across the sea promised to take her to his home of luxury. When she found she had been deceived and was ill-treated, she begged her father to take her home. As the two were crossing the water, a flock of fulmars caused a huge storm to arise. To save his own life, Sedna’s father threw her into the ocean. As she clung to the boat, he chopped off her fingers, which turned into whales, seals, and all the mammals of the sea. Sedna descended to Adlivum, the Eskimo underworld, where she now rules the dead. To ensure that she will continue to send food to hunters, shamans descend to visit her, comb her hair, and massage her mutiliated hands. Sedna is a reminder of the nourishing gifts that are to be found deep in the dark, cold places that we most fear.” (Goddesses Knowledge Cards)

I particularly loved the inspiration given by Goddess Sedna, because we oftentimes fear going into that black vortex of grief, sadness, or whatever lies at the bottom of our despair. Our greatest fear, in times like these, is that we just may get sucked into it, never to return.

Her story reminds us that even those times can yield us great gifts. And, that from those experiences, we can become powerful and nourished, and be a source of that for others.

Tlazolteotl

“Tlazolteotl is a Toltec earth mother, the goddess of carnal love and desire. Like Kali in India, she is portrayed as a horrible, devouring figure yet is also honored as a moving, creative principle. She is sometimes pictured as four sisters (the four ages of woman) who are present at the crossroads of one’s life. Tlazolteotl is best known as the Eater of Impurities. Once in a lifetime, a person confessed her worst deeds and sins to Tlazolteotl, holding back nothing. In return the confessor received absolution: no impurity or defilement was too great to be forgiven. Tlazolteotl is that deep part of ourselves that we fear because it is so powerful and unfamiliar. Yet when we touch her through her fearsome countenance, we find absolute mercy.” (Goddesses Knowledge Cards)

I love that she is also known as the “Goddess of Filth”. She is also known as the Goddess of Ritual Cleansing, fertility, sexuality, and the moon. It is necessary to break down, and break through, in order to emerge and build from a fresh slate!

New beginnings, anyone?

There are many more I could add to the list. But, I’d say this is a good start!

Who are your favorite Goddesses to consult during your darkest hours?
Which have been a source of inspiration for you?
Do you have additional reasons to love the above fabulous Goddesses?
I’d love to hear about it in the comments, below!

In light of the Goddess,

Sources:

Kuan Yin: Myths and Prophecies of the Chinese Goddess of Compassion by Martin Palmer and Jay Ramsay with Man-Ho Kwok

Goddess Knowledge Cards, Paintings by Susan Seddon Boulet, Text by Michael Babcock

 

 

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