The Dark Mother: Snake Goddess
I am the Darkness behind and beneath the shadows.
I am the absence of air at the bottom of every breath.
I am the Ending before Life begins again, the Decay that fertilizes the Living.
I am the Bottomless Pit, the never-ending struggle to reclaim that which is denied.
I am the Key that unlocks every Door.
I am the Glory of Discovery, for I am that which is hidden, secluded and forbidden.
- excerpt from “Charge of the Dark Goddess” by Lynne O’Connor
One of the very earliest manifestations of the Dark Goddess was the Minoan Snake Goddess, who reigned during the 16th century BCE. She holds two snakes aloft, symbolic of the dual nature we see on earth: masculine and feminine, light and dark, life and death. The goddess acts as the fulcrum, the one who holds both in balance. The netlike pattern on her skirt reminds us that She is the weaver of life, her womb the center of the web. The seven layers correspond to the number of days in each of the moon’s four quarters. Sitting in the lap of the goddess invites one to experience the matrix of time and eternal transformation.
The Aries full moon on October 11 and the Scorpio new moon on October 26 provide a portal to walk through the door and meet the Dark Mother. This is her season, the time when the veil between the worlds starts to dissipate, culminating on the Celtic cross-quarter day, Samhain, or Halloween, on October 31, when the veil is thinnest.
The full moon initiates us on the Quest, the journey to find our True Self, and the creative and artistic expression that is our Soul’s purpose. It is time for the Kundalini serpent power that lies coiled at the base of the spine to awaken and move up through the chakras into its full power. This feminine life force has been recognized and celebrated since ancient times. It allows us to reconcile the dark and the light, the positive and the negative, to let go of that which no longer serves us and to transform.
The Dark Goddess helps us see in the darkness of our own being, that which lies beneath the surface, wanting to be seen, heard, known, born. It has but to be cultivated so it can reach up through the rich soil of the unconscious towards the light. We can help it by looking inward now and sitting with the feelings that are percolating, shining light on them, and tending them.
If it is fear, we can observe it and wrap it in a blanket of security and safety, transforming it into love.
If it is hurt and pain, we can cry and release it and hold it in our arms, nurturing and calming it, allowing it to turn into understanding and peace.
If it is anger and negativity, we can allow it to speak and be heard and then release it, changing it into gratitude, acceptance, and serenity.
But, first we must acknowledge these dark places, illuminate them, and then work with them to bring them into a higher state of consciousness and integration. For they are all parts of the shadow that must be seen and taken care of, for they will get our attention one way or the other. Like the snake that sheds its skin, we can release the old, shadowy parts and claim our new skin.
Ancient people used to think that the snake died when it shed its old skin and was reborn with its new skin. The Greek word for the snake’s cast off skin is “geras” meaning “old age.” After shedding the skin, one was reborn, and made new again. Snakes were seen as magical beings and were associated with the mother goddess as symbols of transformation.
But once the patriarchal religions supplanted the worship of the goddess, snakes, along with women, were vilified and seen as the source of evil, seduction, and temptation. Since Eve listened to the Serpent who guarded the Tree of Life and ate the apple as the snake implored her to, women have been blamed for the fall of man.
However, Eve’s biting into the apple was what allowed us to enter into consciousness, and it is a role that women continue to play in the world. It is the feminine that shines the light, and brings consciousness to relationship. As we begin to enter the cycle of the dark half of the Wheel, Autumn and Winter, it is time to shine our light and do the healing work that starts with each one of us. Healing ourselves we do our part to heal the world.
There are a number of pages in my workbook, In the Lap of the Goddess: Connecting With the Divine Feminine, which are devoted to this deep, soul work and transforming negative emotions into positive ones. I would love to gift you with my 57-page self-care manual so that you can work with the five goddesses that make up the chapters. Please leave a comment here about what you would like to transform and I will randomly select a winner on October 26 and send the book to your door.
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What a lovely post.
What a lovely offer.
I would transform my relationship with the words “work” and “discipline”. My current operating definitions are not serving me.
I seek to transform my relationship to expectations and disappointment. I’d like to free myself from the pressure to “get it right” and be more open to the mystery.
I would like to transform my relationship with time. Too often I feel constrained by my percieved notions of what I “should” be doing, “should” have done and loose the essence of the now.
I would like to transform my vision of expansion in terms of reaching out further to women in prague…there are so many here that need the tools to be a cocreator…including myself….we are the anchors now of the illuminated light….thank you
I would like to transform anger & resentment issues into forgiveness, healthy boundaries and love.
Stephanie, thank you for your consistent work with the Feminine Divine! I look forward to each of your missives and encouragements. Through the Goddess, I have come to a new appreciation of Snake/Serpent, recognizing that not only did Snake represent long life but also wisdom to the ancients. So while Snake has been demonized by Christianity, it may be because of its connection to wisdom and living close to Earth and Earth wisdom. I especially appreciate “However, Eve’s biting into the apple was what allowed us to enter into consciousness, and it is a role that women continue to play in the world. It is the feminine that shines the light, and brings consciousness to relationship. As we begin to enter the cycle of the dark half of the Wheel, Autumn and Winter, it is time to shine our light and do the healing work that starts with each one of us. Healing ourselves we do our part to heal the world.”
Blessed Be!
i’d like to work on my Self, my feelings of apathy, loss, and anger and change them into healthy ways of being and thinking.
My dark side has always fascinated me, but I have always been a little afraid of it. For years, I pushed anything but the surface away as I worked full time as a college professor and raised a family. Now that I am retired I am ready to explore what lies inside. It would be wonderful to have your manual to guide me on my journey.
I would like to transform so many things…I guess the first would be to let go of self-loathing and perfectionism to find self-appreciation and acceptance of myself, warts and all.
I would love to be able to tranform my inner judge. Thank you for offering this book to us.
I am particularly drawn to the Snake Goddess . . . remembering dreams as a child of snakes under my bed and having a snake save me in a soul retrieval. I so believe in the life-death-life cycle and your statement “It allows us to reconcile the dark and the light, the positive and the negative, to let go of that which no longer serves us and to transform.” seems to be so much of what my journey is about. Honoring the dark as well as the light and letting go of that which no longer serves me. Bright Blessings to You!
This is such an important energy to work with – so needed globally. For my own healing, I want to shed light on and transform several compulsive, habitual behaviors which seem to be based in fear – fear that there’s not enough. I call on the dark goddess to aid in the letting go of these no-longer-useful beliefs and in the emergence of one who knows she is whole and complete in herself.
I love the concept that “The Dark Goddess helps us see in the darkness of our own being, that which lies beneath the surface, wanting to be seen, heard, known, born.” Shadow work is essential to our wholeness.
Your post is divine timing for me as I go into taking a couple months off from work just for me. My whole healing journey, a couple decades, I have been working at the same time. I am so grateful to take this time to transform what I carry that has held me down in life especially pain. Thank you for your contributions.
I would like to transform my tendency to put off that which I don’t do best and use the energy to get things done in a timely manner.
Great site! Great conversation. Wonderful to connect after our chance meeting at the conference recently. For some reason, I still struggle with putting my “real” work out there to the community….perhaps I am still recalling (cellularly) the many lifetimes of punishment for our feminine power. I am in the midst of transforming my fear and am grateful for the reminder of the snake goddess wisdom…My brilliant and creative step-daughter dressed as the snake goddess for Halloween a few years back. What a great idea!
This is wonderful. I just became a facilitator and I am honored to be around such amazing people!
Stephane, beautiful post….. and is somewhat serendipitous. Days after your workshop in Baltimore, i made a card with a gorgeous snake as the focal image! I am always in a state of transforming, but currently working on the transition to true crone-hood, shining light on lots of assumptions of what it means to be a crone. I turn 60 in 6 weeks!. Thank you.
This crone is delighted to be discovering more energy being send her way through your enlightenment and sharing. Thank you so much for opening the gate to our power once again.
What a amazing site. I am glad to have found it and your work. Thank you for sharing this grace and wisdom.
This is an incredible site. This is just what I have been looking for, as cliche as that sounds. I need that reconnection with myself and have been struggling…I seek to transform my relationship with myself…because once I do that, the rest of the relationships in my life should shift accordingly.
Thank you.
Stephanie….I was a participant in your Goddess Workshop at the conference and new doors have opened for me as I explore the goddess, and the wonderful information you shared in the WS!..
Awesome site..thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and insight…
Heart and Soul…Diane
Thank you Stephanie for the wonderful work you are doing with the Divine Feminine and for the soulful book you have brought into the world. Blessed Be!
I would like to transform my somtimes laziness and lethargy into Goddess inspired energy, resulting in increased and enhanced service of others and the planet.
Love your SoulCollage cards. Anne-Marie Bennet and I will be leading a retreat on the Divine Feminine next June. Your book sure would be helpful! Namaste, Anne
Stephanie, Growing up in the bush in Australia I had a strong connection to snakes who lived amongst us. They are sacred and beautiful and scary at the same time. The way to live with them is to be respectful which is, of course, the same way we live with all aspects of ourselves. Acknowledging the Goddess within us and the transformative power of connecting with her in all her aspects is founded on a deep respect and love not only of ourselves but of all creation. Thanks for your posts.
This season has brought so much help to me through blogs like yours and my dreams. All pointing to the need to turn inward and uncover the darkness under the surface, shed light and love on it and letting go what no longer serves. I want to transform the darkness I find into potent power to be the complete self I’m meant to be and to change my corner of the world. That is my intention this season. Thank you for allow us to benefit from Her divine insight and guidance through you.
I resonate deeply with the Sacred part of the Shadowy Goddess that lives within us personally and archetypically; I would love to read your work on this topic!
Personally I’ve recieved great benefit from The Pathwork working with disharmonies and the lower self..
“Only when the lower and mask selves are entirely conscious and their exact manifestation understood can misconceptions be corrected.” From Pathwork Guide Lecture 193
Blessings to you!
I “discovered” you at the World’s Biggest Summit – which I discovered completely by “accident”. What is the saying – when the student is ready, the teacher arrives? That is how I’ve been feeling this past 2 weeks as I’ve listened to the WBS and visited all the different sites/blogs of the guest speakers.
I loved your interview with your daughter and you demonstrating how to create an altar to the Goddess. I wish I had had Goddess wisdom when my daughter (now 30) was just entering her “Maiden” years – it would have helped both of us to understand so much!
Blessings!