Year of the Dark Goddess

Synopsis

The journey of the Dark Goddess is a natural part of any difficult rite of passage. These transitions are often thought of as negative—death of a loved one, job loss, home loss, chronic illness, divorce—but even so-called "happy" transitions, such as marriage, the birth of a child, or retirement, can come with unexpected instability, grief, and a need for integration. In our culture, we may often feel like we should "move on" or "get back to normal." In studying myth, however, we come to understand that the purpose of challenging life transformations is not positive or negative.Year of the Dark Goddess provides an anchor and a roadmap for navigating the disorientation of life transformations and offers resources for embracing changes as initiations that strengthen us and make clear our purpose and power. The book is modeled on ancient rite-of-passage ceremonies and journeys to the underworld and is structured as a four-phase rite-of-passage process: Preparation, Separation from the Known, Transition-Initiation, and Return-Integration. The book provides listeners with practical tools—embodied rituals, writing practice, seasonal self-care, and community creation—to ground and empower positive transformations in times of challenging change.