November 11, 2004
The Archetype of Darkness: Re-Visioning Faith
By Lucinda Marshall
It has been said that the outcome of the election was heavily influenced by perceptions of faith. The travesty and irony of this is beyond belief. As the results of our collective folly sink in, it feels as if we must finally confront the ever-darkening shadows. Yet I am reminded that darkness is not always bad. It may in fact be absolutely necessary to face and be surrounded by this darkness before we can gather our true strength and truly begin to heal.
During the months leading up to the election, I found myself spending a great deal of time reading about feminine spirituality. It seems no accident that interest in the Divine Feminine has burgeoned so much in the last few years. As the forces of economic globalization and the proliferation of violence make it increasingly impossible for women to live survivable, let alone sustainable and fulfilling lives, many of us have finally had to give up the delusions of living our lives in the context of patriarchal religions.
In delving into our past and reclaiming our female spirit, it is interesting to note that darkness was revered and honored in the ancient Goddess religions. Darkness represented both the earth and the womb, the sacred sources of life. Yet with the advent of the patriarchal religions, darkness took on the connotation of evil, perhaps to justify the right of men to rule over those who have darker skin and women who possess the dark womb. It was no accident that patriarchy devalued that which is dark in its religious symbolism. Today we still see those whose skin is darker than ours as less than. Our images of the divine are predominated by aged white maleness, goodness is always light, evil is dark.
Because these patriarchal perversions (with all their toxic ramifications) continue to persist today, it is helpful to return to our pre-patriarchal past for guidance in reclaiming the spirituality of darkness. If you dig back into many religions and beyond that to the Goddess cultures that preceded patriarchy, archetypes of the dark spiritual abound. One archetype that seems particularly useful is that of the Black Madonna simply because she appears within the dominant religion in our country. I do not claim expert knowledge of the Black Madonna (nor was I raised as a Christian) but I am entranced by the stark contrast she offers to those whose faith allows them to blindly hate and kill in the name of God. In the darkness of the Black Madonna I see the paradigm of another faith, a faith that recognizes the importance of nurturing the sanctity of the world we inhabit and all that is within. The Black Madonna and the many other archetypes of darkness offer us a path towards the spirit of the Divine Feminine that we will need to nurture our strength for the days to come.
Lucinda Marshall is a feminist artist, writer and activist. She is the Founder of the Feminist Peace Network (www.feministpeacenetwork.org ), which publishes Atrocities, a bulletin documenting violence against women throughout the world. Her work has been published in numerous publications including, Awakened Woman, Alternet, Dissident Voice, Off Our Backs, Progressive, Rain and Thunder, and Zmag. She received an Art and Activism grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women in 2004 to help further her work. She can be reached at: Moderator@feministpeacenetwork.org
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