Honouring the Dark Goddess
It’s probably time to visit our sister again — she who unmakes and remakes, who knows the core strength of us, who holds life, death, and change as sacred — the Dark Goddess. Perhaps you know her as Persephone, the Morrigan, Ereshkigal, Kali, Hecate, or by another name, or simply as the Dark Goddess.
We have all spent time in her Underworld. Lost to our own lives and hardly knowing how to emerge, or who we would become. But somehow we surrendered. We allowed ourselves to be unmade, step by step we rebirthed ourselves, and emerged. Maybe we’ve been there many times. Maybe the Dark Goddess is one of our dearest allies.
And yet, when did we last make time to visit her? Sit by her altar, pour the offerings? She is always there in our times of crisis — are we always there for her? The planet warms while land is devastated, mass species extinctions continue, and politics turns hard right. In our own lives we face many challenges.
Here are some ways we can continue to turn up to the Dark Goddess and her work in our own lives and in the world. I’ve arranged them in a sequence, but you might choose to pick one or two activities, or do them in a different order.
The Altar
Create a Dark Goddess altar. You might include: images or statuettes, seedpods or crystals, a pomegranate, an athame, red thread, feathers or bones, divination tools, and other items that are special to you or remind you of a Dark Goddess you work with.
The Offering
Create an offering for the Dark Goddess. This could be a poem you write, song or chant that you sing to her, a food or drink offering, a picture you draw or something else. An offering is something you give and don’t get back. Once offerings are finished with they are burned, buried or if entirely natural, they can be left to decompose outside.
The Intention
Sit by your altar and let your intention for working or being with the Dark Goddess at this time arise. Write your intention on a slip of paper to add to her altar, or whisper, shout, or chant it aloud.
A Meeting
Journey, trance or dream your way to meet with the Dark Goddess. You can do this at your altar, you can cast a circle if you wish, you can do it outdoors at night, or in your bed. Call on her by name, speak your intention to her, and ask for guidance or support, or how you can be doing her work in the world.
Priestexing
How can you presence the Dark Goddess in the world? Maybe it is by being there for your friends, family, and community in times of need. Or showing up to organising, protests, anchoring rituals, community, or support groups. Perhaps it is through art — music — activism. Let her strength and powers support you in this work.