Dark Goddesses

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This is a cross-post from our Tantrism Group. The message & url were posted by

one of our moderators Dragon. It is posted here to share info about Dark

Goddesses.

The "Goddess Lilith" is mentioned in this article. It is an interesting piece -

especially the part which refers to the qualities of Dark Goddesses being

"hidden or unknown" which is very true.

Om Shanti,

Sy

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Namaste Brothers and Sisters,> > Below, an article about 'dark goddesses' from>

> http://www.mothersmagic.net/Goddess/darkgoddess.html> The Dark Goddess> The

Dark Goddess is the aspect of the Goddess most> often deemed mysterious,

dangerous, violent or ill> tempered. Dark Goddesses appear in almost all>

religions featuring female deities, and are widely> the most misinterpreted and

misunderstood of deities> worshipped by modern day practitioners. Just as the>

use of the word "occult" has been perverted into a> word harboring connotations

of evil, mischief of> malevolence, so too has the term "Dark Goddess"> become

commonly misunderstood to mean goddesses of> ill repute, evil, or treachery.> >

When religion refers to a dark goddess, it refers to> the aspects of any cycle

of life that tends to be> overlooked or shoved to the background of society.>

There can be several reasons for this: topics may> include sexuality, violence

toward women, war,> murder ,magick, death. All of these are issues that>

permeate society and yet are little talked about.> They are subjects that are

most commonly avoided in> the Western World because Occidental religions do>

not provide healthy methods of dealing with these> subjects. They are largely

seen as feminine aspects> of life, related to the yin, and therefore a subject>

not readily discussed in public.> > Many Dark Goddesses deal with the subject

of> Destruction. The popular Hindu Goddess Kali, Supreme> Dark Mother Goddess,

is known as the Mother of> Dissolution and Destruction. She is the dark aspect>

of the wife of Shiva (the dark aspect of one face of> the Devi, the dark face of

Parvati). As the goddess> of destruction, without further study one might>

assume that she is ill temptered and violent,> sadistic or insane in nature.

This is quite untrue.> According to Hindu mythology, she destroys> ignorance,

destroys that which incurs chaos or> disrupts harmony, destroys the ego which

interferes> with the workings of god, and blesses those who> strive to know

God. Kali is merely one example of a> dark goddess who is popularly

misunderstood. In the> movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,> worshippers

of Kali are depicted as child enslavers,> sadistic murderers and consciousless

heathens. Such> misunderstanding is widespread in the study of the> Dark

Goddesses.> > So, if Dark Goddesses are not evil, then why do we> call them

"dark"? This line of thinking is inherited> from European practices in which

men who sought to> justify the conquering and enslavement of darker> skinned

people all over the world linked darkness of> skin with evil. According to some

early Anglican> Christians, decendents of Cain (the son of Adam and> Eve who

slew his brother and was thus condemned to> be the father of a nation of people

who would> forever be plagued with strife) were marked by God> and colored

black. These descendents of Cain> supposedly reside in Africa, and when white>

Europeans sought to conquer and enslave these> people, the justification used

was that they were> children of Cain , and this forsaken by God, and>

therefore, something less than human.> > Far earlier than that, approximately

1500 BC when> light skinned Aryan peoples (tribes from Russia and> Central

Asia) moved into the area of present day> India and began to conquer and

co-habitate with the> dark skinned Dravidian people who inhabited the> area,

the Aryan people subjected the natives to the> caste system, which relegated

all of the most darkly> colored people to the lowest caste (actually, they>

were outside of the caste system, as the caste> system was reserved for

"humans") marking them as> something less than human. > > These are only two

examples of how the term "dark"> came to mean something inhumane, and evil. But

they> permeate our thought, and Western culture has> adopted this view. Yet,

when the term "Dark Goddess"> is used, we are not speaking of the term dark as

it> was twisted by the events listed above. We speak of> dark in its most

original context: "hidden, or> unknown".> > The role of the Dark Goddess is

hidden from the face> of Occidental culture, and even from most Oriental>

culture. Because she acts as destroyer, bringer of> death, she is feared, and

with fear brings prejudice> and hatred. However misunderstood the role of the>

Dark Goddess is, however, her study is crucial to> understanding the operation

of Goddess Religions.> > The Dark Goddess is the counterpart to the life>

giving aspect of the goddess we usually associate> with. She brings death, for

without death, we cannot> fertilize the earth to bring new life. She is the>

destroyer, for without destroying that which we no> longer need, we cannot

grow. She is the keeper of> magick and mystery, for without the hidden truths,>

our quest as a human race seems without point and> purpose. She is the murderer,

for there is evil in> this world, and her children need protection from> it. > >

An interesting association of Dark Goddesses is that> of sex. Associated with

many Dark Goddess are tales> that involve seduction and/or manipulative>

intercourse. In most of these stories, women> (goddess figures) either use sex

as a weapon to> punish, or use it as a tool to gain something she> wants, or as

a prize to those she deems worthy. In> almost all these accounts, the woman's

seductive> wiles are seen as supernatural, with the intention> of manipulating

men into doing something he would> not normally have done.> > The story of

Lilith, a Dark Goddess of the Hebrew> faith, is told about the first wife of

Adam, who> refused to be subordinate to Adam sexually. When she> refused to let

him dominate her during intercourse,> she fled the Garden of Eden and was

condemned by God> to feed off of the sexual energies of human males.> She is

said to copulate with men in their sleep, and> the children she gives birth to

are succubae,> vampires that thrive off of the sex drives of men.> > At first

glance, this story is a story of sexual> relations, but upon further view, it

is a story> about power. Lilith refused to give her power over> to Adam, and

was thus punished by a male god who> intended females to be subordinate and

docile. But> in her own right, because of the power she> represented to women

in touch with their sexuality> and to men who reocognized sexual power in the>

feminine, Lilith became a Goddess to be respected,> and is one of the most

prominent of all Dark> Goddesses.> > In another story, the Goddess Kali appears

as the> beautiful maiden Ambika. She declared that she would> not sleep with any

man who could not defeat her in> battle. When men would try, she would emit a>

supersonic hum to stun them, and then turn into Kali> and devour them. Here is

just one other instance in> which the Dark Goddess can appear the seductress.>

> Ereshkigal too, the Dark Goddess of Sumerian mythos,> was known for her great

sexual desire. Unlike "white> goddesses", whose sexual relationships breed life>

and love, sexual relations for Dark Goddesses are> often compulsive, self

serving, insatiable and> sterile. Though Ereshkigal copulates with Nerga for>

six days, he eventually leaves her, leaving her> alone and heavy of heart. The

implication is that> Dark Goddesses represent the sexual nature of women> that

men either did not understand, or did> understand, and were afraid of. We still

see heavy> remnants today of the fear of women's sexuality in> such places os

Northern Africa, where genital> mutilation is practiced in order to keep women

from> enjoying the pleasure of sex.> > It is fairly easy to note that the

sexually> agressive nature of the Dark Goddesses is generally> denoted as

wicked, and therefore is a by-product of> the implementation of patrifocal

cultures that later> usurped Goddess traditions. In true goddess> cultures,not

only was female sexuality not> condemned, but rather hailed and revered as

sacred.> > Coupling the Dark Goddesses with female sexuality> and female power

gives modern Goddess worshippers a> more complete idea of the female deity.

White> goddesses certainly serve their purpose and are> necessary in the

everyday comings and goings, but> yet without their Dark Sister counterparts,

only> tell half the story of feminine divine power.> Dark Goddesses of Note:>

Hecate, Ereshkigal, Kali, Lilith, The Morrigan,> Erzulie Dantor> > Return to

Our Mother, Who Art Heaven> > Dragon>

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