Exploring The Dark Goddess of Mythology
by Konnie Collins
April 2004

Long before man discovered fire, he has been afraid of the dark.  The dark conceals the mysteries of life, the magic, the power of human potential.  And for those who wish to conquer their fear of the dark and take control of the mysteries, they seek the council of the dark goddess.  As mistress of the new moon, the dark goddess is a common archetype in ancient mythology.  Such powerful dark goddesses of the new moon include Kali, Nephthys, Hecate, Oya, Morrigan, Baba Yaga, Coatlicue, Hel and Lilith.

In mythology the Dark Goddess is seen as the Crone, or the “elder” of the tri-fold goddess, the stern yet compassionate mother figure who keeps the world in balance.  Even though she may have to deal harsh punishment for the crimes committed by man, she brings the world back into balance with sadness in her heart for she is truly compassionate for mankind.  Grounded by inner strength, her expansive knowledge is gained from experience.  She is often seen as fearsome and loathsome by modern patriarchal societies which will never understand the power of a strong woman (hecatescauldron.org).

It was hard to find much information on these mysterious goddesses because of the fear spin doctors instilled in society about them, but despite Christianity trying to wipe out the feminine Divine, these vixens still thrive today.

      Let me start with Kali.  Kali Ma is the Hindu Devi goddess whose name means “time” or “the Dark One”.  Although some would have her purpose being to destroy hoards of demons by sucking them dry of blood (perhaps the original vampire queen?) (Willis 83), her job is actually quite a bit more complex and meaningful (although for all you Buffy fans, kicking demon butt is still very cool!).  As both “time” and “dark”, Kali is the representation of the womb, her three red eyes represent the past, present and future while remaining that which is beyond the concept of time.  She gave birth to the universe and will eventually cause its destruction, only to give birth to it again (Nyx 47).  In this regards she embodies the Hindu concept of reincarnation.  When Kali destroys the universe, she never fully destroys it, but rather takes it apart like a child with Legos and rebuilds it with those same brightly colored blocks.   She is a reminder that the universe is neither safe nor secure, that life can change on a dime and we need to be prepared to change with it.  She is still a popular Hindu deity to this day.  She is often associated with Shiva, either as an incarnation of him or as his wife.  She has also been associated as the dark incantation of Shiva’s other wife, Parvati.  In one myth, Shiva teases Parvati of her dark complexion.  Embarrassed, she embarks on a series of spiritual endeavors to rid herself of her dark skin.  After succeeding at his, she returns to Shiva as “the golden one”, but her “darkness” can never fully be destroyed and is transformed into Kali, “the dark one” (Nyx 48).  Like many of the other dark goddesses, parts of Kali’s domains are cremations and looking over the souls of the dead until they are reborn.  She is neither good nor evil, but pure energy for creation and destruction, for neither can exist without the other.  It is the crone that brings balance. 

The next goddess is Nephthys.  Nephthys is the Egyptian goddess of secrets, initiation and the dead (Ravenwolf 41).  Little is written about her and even fewer things match.  It is agreed on that she is a daughter of Geb and Nut, sibling to Osiris, Isis, and Set.  Often she is portrayed as the consort of Set, often as a lover of Osiris, and even sometimes as a rightful wife of Osiris.  Regardless, her heart belongs to Osiris, with whom she had a baby boy, Anubis, the jackal headed god and original judge of the dead before Osiris.  Although it is her sister Isis that gets most of the credit for being a goddess of magic and dark secrets, it is Nephthys to whom the black arts belonged, Nephthys who loved Osiris illicitly from afar. 

Little is written about Hecate as well.  Hecate is the Greek goddess of witchcraft, ghosts and the dead (Ravenwolf 39).  Her name has been translated to mean “the Distant One”.  According to myth, Hecate is a Titaness who supported the Olympians in their struggle for power, thus becoming all too important to Zeus.  He allowed her to retain her Titan powers as well as dominion over part of the sky, the earth and the underworld.  She also has the power to grant or deny anything she wishes from mankind (Nyx 38).  She possesses great knowledge of herbcraft which could be employed to transform, kill or heal.  Hecate also has the power to send and banish ghosts.  Often portrayed as a beautiful young maiden, she carries two lit torches to guide people through the darkness as well as crossroads.  It is often said that one can hear Hecate with her pack of demon ghost dogs howling at crossroads on foggy nights.  Cerberus, the fearsome three-headed giant dog whom guards the gates of Hades is also attributed to her.  As a three-fold goddess of the moon, Hecate is often associated with Artemis, the virgin huntress and maiden of the waxing moon, Selene the mother with the brightly shinning full moon, and Hecate the crone with the mysterious dark moon and its waning aspect (Nyx 40). 

The Yoruba Orisha of wind and the Niger River is Oya.  Oya is the Amazonian warrior in Santeria along with her husbands Ogun and Shango.  She often goes into battle with Shango (the manliest Orisha) brandishing a sword, bare breasted with layers of flowing, multi-colored skirts.  This beautiful Orisha is capable of outwitting any of the male Orishas and the females.  She even goes hunting which is forbidden to women in West African societies.  She breaks all the rules!  (Dumars 62).  She is also the Orisha of cemeteries and custodian of the dead and the ruler of the graveyard.  “Oya is associated with dark and destructive forces and is the only Orisha who can control the dead”  (Dumars 63).  Oya is another strong female deity who has been vilified by a male society.  She represents often violent change, something very frightening to the male rulers who also saw her ability to control the dead and could out-smart and out-fight any man before her.  So she is portrayed as a “bad woman”.  Because she also represents change, she is very frightful.  Human nature teaches most of us to fear change, even good change.  The unknown is just that, unknown, and she is unknowable. 

 In one myth with Oya, she shares marital bliss to Shango with Oshun, although little was blissful between Oya and Oshun.  Oshun was jealous of Oya’s amazing cooking abilities and Oya was jealous of Oshun’s great beauty.  So one day when Shango was having a dinner party for some esteemed guests.  Wanting both of his wives to prepare food, Shango ordered them to get along.  Oshun, wanting very much to please Shango, pleaded with Oya to share her cooking tips.  Oya, while also wanting to please Shango, didn’t want Oshun to get the upper hand.  So she told Oshun that her secret ingredient in her meals for Shango were her ears.  She had cut them off years ago and added little pieces to them to make the meal more flavorful.  Oshun believed Oya because she wore a head scarf that covered her ears.  So Oshun cut off her ears and added them to her soup, promising never to reveal the secret to Shango.  The day of the dinner party arrived and the guests praised Oya for her amazing cooking.  Oshun brought out her soup next which they found less than satisfactory.  Then to everyone’s disgust, one of the guests found her ears floating in the soup.  Horrified, everyone fled from the party.  Humiliated, Oshun let the village and drowned in a river which became the Oshun River which she became the Orisha of as well as fertility to barren women.  To this day Oshun has yet to forgive Oya which is why the Niger and Oshun rivers never meet.  (Courlander 87)

 Just from this small sampling of dark moon goddesses, there are many similarities.  All are destructive in nature while also maintaining a nurturing spirit, often referred to as beautiful, often young despite the Crone status, are keepers of the ancient dark mysteries, and have to do with cemeteries/cremation and the dead/ghosts.  These women are the caretakers for those who pass on, how much more motherly can you get?  As strong women often very free with their sexuality, they have been vilified by male society, attempts have been made to erase them from history and when that has failed, and they were demonetized, like Lilith. 

Man has always been afraid of the dark, probably always will be.  It is in the dark that we discover the most intimate secrets of life, often where life is created.  It is these dark moon goddesses who have guided us through out the millenniums through those dark places and back into the light.  It is these powerful women who balance the scales of time and space, who nurture and punish those deserving of both.  It is the dark goddess who despite centuries of vilification, has endured to be a strong presence even in our modern society.