Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network's
Magickal Library
Wiccian
Discovering the Maiden Goddess
by Shekhinah Mountainwater
A group of sisters in Oregon put on a Goddess gathering one summer, featuring the topic "Is there a fourth aspect to the
Goddess?". Hearing about this got me thinking that the answer might be yes, the Dark Maiden.
I first learned about this Goddess from a lover, who used to call me her "dark maiden," and point out the waning crescent in the
late night sky. She would explain that there are two crescents and two maidens. The Bright Maiden corresponds to the waxing crescent,
curving towards the right. The Dark Maiden corresponds to the waning crescent, curving towards the left. Over the years, I have
discovered the beauty of this symbol system and its potential to give healing and
empowerment to women.
We all know about the great triad : Maiden, Mother and Crone.
This three fold archetype resonates deeply in our psyches as Beginning, Middle and End of all things, and is likely to be with us
always. Yet a fourth aspect might appear within the triad -- as well as a fifth or sixth. "When the myths come alive for us they
change," says Starhawk. Truly, there are no limits to the Goddess, and all things are possible.
But why the special attention to the Bright and Dark Maidens?
For one thing, they make a marvelous all-female alternative to the male-opposite- female symbolism of patriarchy. The Bright Maiden
who waxes, moves towards the Light and the Sun. She is the young Goddess who is growing, the Amazon, the woman who takes her powers
of freedom, action, strength and independence. She is the risk-taker, the woman who dares. in other words, she is all things
our society tells us should be considered "male." Because of our loss of Her image in our psyches, women find themselves accused of
becoming "like a man," when they express Her qualities. Known to us as Diana, Artemis, Boudicea, the Amazon Warrior Woman... the Bright
Maiden is more familiar to us than the Dark.
The Dark Maiden who wanes, moves towards the Underworld, The Crone. She is associated with aging, descent, introspection and
magic. The Dark Maiden is the enchantress, She Who Pulls. In her positive attributes, She represents some of the lost powers of
woman. She surrenders to the flow and pulls, like the pull of the moon, the suction of the undertow. This is the magnetism of magic,
our power to draw to us all that we require. Images of the Dark Maiden appear to us as Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, the
Mermaid, Sirens, Sorceress.
In patriarchy the Bright and Dark Maidens tend to appear in negative expression, and because of this, our impression of them
can become destorted. Patriarchs love to keep our Dark Maidens weak and dependent upon them, and if we decide to act out of our Bright
Maiden selves, they insist we do so "like a man." These are some of the reasons why it is so important for us to find woman-identified
symbols for these parts of ourselves; Goddesses that are soft and strong, magickal and free -- female expressions of these qualities.
| DARK MAIDEN: | AFFLICTED | LIBERATED |
| Weak | Surrendering | |
| Flaky | Spontaneous | |
| Passive | Pulling | |
| Victim | Supporting | |
| Self-Sacrificing | Compassionate | |
| "Loser" | Gentle | |
| Myopic | Subjective | |
| Over-reacting | Intuitive | |
| Deluded | Imaginative |
| BRIGHT MAIDEN : | AFFLICTED | LIBERATED |
| Hard Boiled | Strong | |
| Superficial | In control | |
| Hyper-rational | Organized | |
| Militant | Disciplined | |
| Aloof | Independent | |
| Unemotional | Objective | |
| Mechanical | Scientific | |
| Power-over | Power-from-within | |
| Careless | Playful |
The main thing to remember about the Dark Maiden is that She has the power to Respond. She is the receptive and
sensitive part of us, which we need for successful magic as well as personal wholeness. She is tender and vulnerable, and it is important to
keep our Bright Maiden qualities so we can protect Her. Too many women with Dark Maiden qualities become victims in our society,
subject to the will of others. And too many Bright Maidens become cold and hard. Feminist spirituality teaches us that we have been
programmed to act out these qualities in ways that men have devised. Liberation lies not in discarding them, but in learning to
reclaim them in their older, female expressions.
Inevitably, this process will lead us back to the Three-fold and Five fold expressions of the Goddess, because they offer flow and
continuum. They teach us that any one quality when isolated at the expense of the others becomes destructive and limiting.
While the Bright and Dark Maidens do pair off and become partners, companions and lovers...they can be seen within the larger contexts of Maiden,
Mother and Crone, or Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Spirit. Sometimes I picture the two Maidens as Warrior and Priestess within a cycle
that includes Mother, Grandmother, and Lover. Sometimes I see them as the Fall and Spring Equinoxes, known to the ancient Greeks as
the Anados (Goddess arising) and Kathados (Goddess Descending).
Thus we can integrate the duality of our Bright and Dark Maidens into the three-fold, five-fold and eight-fold (the eight holy days
of the year) cycles of Life and Being.
This article is but a glimpse into the possibilities. I invite you to search within yourself, in myths and
among symbols that you
know, for signs of the Bright and Dark Maidens.
_________________________________________________________________
Shekhinah Mountainwater is a long-time Muse and lover of the Goddess. She offers teachings, rituals, music, writings, runes,
tarot, workshops and more to the woman-spirit community. For a catalogue send $1 to Shekhinah Mountainwater, PO Box 2991, Santa
Cruz, CA 95063. She is currently working on two books, one of Tarot and one on theololgy, both of which will contain images and
discussions of the maiden Goddesses....
This page last updated: 02/27/2018