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Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms
The Dark Goddess is often associated with the Underworld where she leads the uninitiated through a transformative journey of self-discovery, change and soul renewal. She is connected with the unwanted, the forgotten, the ignored or even ashamed parts of our psyche. However there is more to her than that. Encountering the Dark A Journey into the Shadow Realms guides you through what this challenging facet of the Divine Feminine, the Dark Goddess, is truly about, and encourages you to step through the veils into her hidden realm to explore 13 aspects of herself. Whether you seek healing from past trauma, release from fears or acceptance of the “unacceptable” aspects of your self, Encountering the Dark A Journey into the Shadow Realms offers ways for you to transform and heal your life through the power of meditation, ritual and inner journeying with the Dark Goddess into her shadowy realms. Use the 13 goddess myths as a guide to discover how to remove the stagnant and unwanted and embrace the ever changing aspects of life that can drag us into the pits of despair. When we connect to the Dark Goddess, we are able to find the light within the darkness and our lives are enriched through the integration of all aspects of our soul as a perfect whole.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 26, 2021
15 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Frances Billinghurst
12 books15 followersWith an interest in mythology, metaphysics and the occult arts spanning over 30 years, Frances is a prolific writer, having contributed to numerous magzines and anthologies around the world.
She is the author of "Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats", "In Her Sacred Name: Writings on the Divine Feminine." and editor of "Call of the God: An Anthology Exploring the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism", "A Witch's Circle: A Practical Guide to the Art Magical" and "A Little Book of Wicca" (all published through TDM Publishing).
"Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms" is the first to be published by Moon Books in March 2021, with "Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life" released in August 2021.
Frances is an initiated witch, trained in Hermetic (ceremonial) magick and the qabalah, with an interest in other magical arts. She regularly runs workshops on an assortment of metaphysical and occult subjects, more of which can be found on her writer's blog: https://francesbillinghurst.blogspot.com
She is the author of "Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats", "In Her Sacred Name: Writings on the Divine Feminine." and editor of "Call of the God: An Anthology Exploring the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism", "A Witch's Circle: A Practical Guide to the Art Magical" and "A Little Book of Wicca" (all published through TDM Publishing).
"Encountering the Dark Goddess: A Journey into the Shadow Realms" is the first to be published by Moon Books in March 2021, with "Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life" released in August 2021.
Frances is an initiated witch, trained in Hermetic (ceremonial) magick and the qabalah, with an interest in other magical arts. She regularly runs workshops on an assortment of metaphysical and occult subjects, more of which can be found on her writer's blog: https://francesbillinghurst.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 23, 2022
Oh, how I wanted to love this book! My love of gardening and permaculture goes deep, as deep as my devotion to my Druidry. This book should be a combination that plays right into what I want to read about the most. However, The Druid Garden by Luke Eastwood sadly left me feeling "meh". It's a solid middle of the road read that leaves you wishing for more inspiration but is at least grounded in a basic understanding of horticulture.
I had hoped that the background the author brings to the book, being a trained horticulturist and working in the industry for a decade, would lend this book a level of expertise that other books on the topic lack. All the information is accurate and there are useful tips about cultivation. It just feels like any other gardening book, although not one by a particular expert one. No unusual or interesting tricks. No tips that would only come from a Druid's perspective. The plant lists at the end of the book are solid. They alone are what will make most readers interested in checking this book out. There are bits of history, myth, and grounded information for growing trees, shrubs, and other plants.
On one hand the book feels too prescriptive. There are a lot of generalizations about what one should and shouldn't do when gardening. Rarely are these flushed out with any investigation into how these guidelines came to be. Let's take spacing for example. There are sections where the author speaks to how overcrowding is an issue facing many gardens and you should give plants plenty of room, following recommended guidelines. My own experience tells me that many of these recommendations are overestimations. Particularly when doing vegetables and herbs. The book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew helped me and many of my community garden members maximize production. I wish that this book took more time to provide avenues for further exploration for gardeners wishing to step outside the norms.
On the other hand, this book was too general in areas. I wanted more information about how one puts all these together in a spiritual way. There is a chapter at the end that provides a few example garden styles, but the details are sparse. There are very few (maybe even none?) personal stories of gardens the author has put together for spiritual practice. I was left wondering how the author's experience with a Druid specific garden changed their practice, changed their garden.
One of the chapters that most frustrated me was the one on history of gardening. It covered a vast timeline (awesome!), but it was so very Eurocentric. There were a few mentions of First Nations and their gardening practices, but it failed to really put into focus the incredible history of land stewardship practices offered by these communities, let alone how those practices continue today (afterall, First Nations are alive and well and have a rich present, too!). This felt like a missed opportunity. I anticipated an author with a Pagan background and a focus on the spiritual nature of gardening to be more in tune with the desire of readers to hear a more diverse and full story.
This is a book with good information, but it lacks any broad inspiration and personal flavor. If you need a board correspondence list for your planting projects, pick this book up. If you are looking for garden how-to, pick up a gardening book with photos. If you want to feel inspired to take your practice outside, pick up a different book. It's an ok book. I wouldn't tell anyone NOT to read it, but I'm also not going to be gifting it anytime soon.
I had hoped that the background the author brings to the book, being a trained horticulturist and working in the industry for a decade, would lend this book a level of expertise that other books on the topic lack. All the information is accurate and there are useful tips about cultivation. It just feels like any other gardening book, although not one by a particular expert one. No unusual or interesting tricks. No tips that would only come from a Druid's perspective. The plant lists at the end of the book are solid. They alone are what will make most readers interested in checking this book out. There are bits of history, myth, and grounded information for growing trees, shrubs, and other plants.
On one hand the book feels too prescriptive. There are a lot of generalizations about what one should and shouldn't do when gardening. Rarely are these flushed out with any investigation into how these guidelines came to be. Let's take spacing for example. There are sections where the author speaks to how overcrowding is an issue facing many gardens and you should give plants plenty of room, following recommended guidelines. My own experience tells me that many of these recommendations are overestimations. Particularly when doing vegetables and herbs. The book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew helped me and many of my community garden members maximize production. I wish that this book took more time to provide avenues for further exploration for gardeners wishing to step outside the norms.
On the other hand, this book was too general in areas. I wanted more information about how one puts all these together in a spiritual way. There is a chapter at the end that provides a few example garden styles, but the details are sparse. There are very few (maybe even none?) personal stories of gardens the author has put together for spiritual practice. I was left wondering how the author's experience with a Druid specific garden changed their practice, changed their garden.
One of the chapters that most frustrated me was the one on history of gardening. It covered a vast timeline (awesome!), but it was so very Eurocentric. There were a few mentions of First Nations and their gardening practices, but it failed to really put into focus the incredible history of land stewardship practices offered by these communities, let alone how those practices continue today (afterall, First Nations are alive and well and have a rich present, too!). This felt like a missed opportunity. I anticipated an author with a Pagan background and a focus on the spiritual nature of gardening to be more in tune with the desire of readers to hear a more diverse and full story.
This is a book with good information, but it lacks any broad inspiration and personal flavor. If you need a board correspondence list for your planting projects, pick this book up. If you are looking for garden how-to, pick up a gardening book with photos. If you want to feel inspired to take your practice outside, pick up a different book. It's an ok book. I wouldn't tell anyone NOT to read it, but I'm also not going to be gifting it anytime soon.
August 12, 2020
What I love most about this book is that it's an incredibly useable guide for anyone who encounters the Dark Goddess, whether that meeting is unsolicited or by design. I foresee it becoming a much-loved spiritual resource.
Frances Billinghurst makes potentially foreboding subject matter approachable, which is valuable to solitary practitioners and facilitators of groups or circles alike.
There’s an emphasis on venturing beyond the theoretical and ‘going live’ with the inclusions of a comprehensive range of invocations, meditations, and activities. The explorations of the 13 featured Dark Goddesses are well researched and culturally sensitive.
The author’s personal experience and dedication to her path shine through without pretention or straying into academic analysis.
If you want a practical guidebook for your journeys into the feminine underworld, Encountering the Dark Goddess certainly deserves a place on your bookshelf.
(You can listen to my interview with the author, Frances Billinghurst, on the Witch: Radiant + Rooted podcast.)
Frances Billinghurst makes potentially foreboding subject matter approachable, which is valuable to solitary practitioners and facilitators of groups or circles alike.
There’s an emphasis on venturing beyond the theoretical and ‘going live’ with the inclusions of a comprehensive range of invocations, meditations, and activities. The explorations of the 13 featured Dark Goddesses are well researched and culturally sensitive.
The author’s personal experience and dedication to her path shine through without pretention or straying into academic analysis.
If you want a practical guidebook for your journeys into the feminine underworld, Encountering the Dark Goddess certainly deserves a place on your bookshelf.
(You can listen to my interview with the author, Frances Billinghurst, on the Witch: Radiant + Rooted podcast.)
December 31, 2021
Combining the practical with the spiritual, horticulturist Luke Eastwood’s new book The Druid Garden (our today!) is a wonderful resource for anyone who loves gardening, nature, conservation, environmentalism, food sovereignty and/or follows an earth-honouring spiritual path. It begins with a lengthy section on the history of gardening, agriculture, herbal cultivation and medicine, permaculture (and its Australian roots), and how they’ve developed alongside human populations and cultures, entwined together. There are also sections on the importance of soil, the wonders of compost, the impact of location, dealing with pests and diseases, garden design, growing from seeds, cuttings and saplings, the benefits of companion planting and crop rotation, and much more.
In addition to the practical elements of gardening though, Luke also focuses on spirituality, philosophy and environmentalism. Drawing on the spirit of druidry (while acknowledging there isn’t enough information about Celtic practices – in agriculture and gardening as well as ritual and religious custom – to create a literal druid garden), he outlines a way of gardening in harmony with the earth, as a sacred practise that realigns us with nature physically and emotionally, and will improve both our health and the planet’s.
Druidry is Celtic, and Luke was born in Scotland, grew up in rural England and has been living in Ireland for more than twenty years, so the book is definitely European-based. But I still found it fascinating, and relevant for down under nature lovers, and for everyone really, whether you have a tiny balcony garden or several acres to plant.
I especially love the lengthy sections on each individual plant, from trees and shrubs to herbs, fruits and vegetables. Close to a hundred of the almost 400 pages of the book are dedicated to trees, from alder, cherry and oak to juniper, rowan and willow, covering the legends of each one, its faery and pagan associations, medicinal and magical uses of the plant and all its parts, as well as how best to grow it wherever you live...
Another hundred plus pages are devoted to shrubs and herbaceous plants, from blackberry, heather, ivy, lavender, olive and sage to the druidic herbs agrimony, comfrey, dandelion, foxglove, meadowsweet, mistletoe, nettle, self heal, thistle and yarrow, and there’s also a section on sacred food centring on fruit and vegies, food awareness, sustainability and self-sufficiency. Extensively researched while being based on even more lived experience, environmental activist Luke has crebated a wonderful reference book as well as a fascinating read, recommended for all of us who long to improve our health, connect with nature, make a difference to the planet, and tread lightly on the earth. Gardens are a blessing, providing not only food and medicine, but healing and solace too – something we’re all in desperate need of in these strange times.
In addition to the practical elements of gardening though, Luke also focuses on spirituality, philosophy and environmentalism. Drawing on the spirit of druidry (while acknowledging there isn’t enough information about Celtic practices – in agriculture and gardening as well as ritual and religious custom – to create a literal druid garden), he outlines a way of gardening in harmony with the earth, as a sacred practise that realigns us with nature physically and emotionally, and will improve both our health and the planet’s.
Druidry is Celtic, and Luke was born in Scotland, grew up in rural England and has been living in Ireland for more than twenty years, so the book is definitely European-based. But I still found it fascinating, and relevant for down under nature lovers, and for everyone really, whether you have a tiny balcony garden or several acres to plant.
I especially love the lengthy sections on each individual plant, from trees and shrubs to herbs, fruits and vegetables. Close to a hundred of the almost 400 pages of the book are dedicated to trees, from alder, cherry and oak to juniper, rowan and willow, covering the legends of each one, its faery and pagan associations, medicinal and magical uses of the plant and all its parts, as well as how best to grow it wherever you live...
Another hundred plus pages are devoted to shrubs and herbaceous plants, from blackberry, heather, ivy, lavender, olive and sage to the druidic herbs agrimony, comfrey, dandelion, foxglove, meadowsweet, mistletoe, nettle, self heal, thistle and yarrow, and there’s also a section on sacred food centring on fruit and vegies, food awareness, sustainability and self-sufficiency. Extensively researched while being based on even more lived experience, environmental activist Luke has crebated a wonderful reference book as well as a fascinating read, recommended for all of us who long to improve our health, connect with nature, make a difference to the planet, and tread lightly on the earth. Gardens are a blessing, providing not only food and medicine, but healing and solace too – something we’re all in desperate need of in these strange times.
January 30, 2022
An easy-to-read book with some excellent sections. The chapters on the 13 Dark Goddesses were interesting and focused.
More subjective than I expected, Encountering The Dark Goddess did, at times, appear more a book of sensitive personal reflection by the author. This created a slight dissonance in that the text was not fully a memoir nor purely a non-fiction reference book. Perhaps this should have been reflected in the sub-title (that is, “My Journey into the Shadow Realms” rather than “A Journey into the Shadow Realms.”)?
While the artwork included in the book was appropriate and eye-catching, the book cover was counter-productive to the book’s primary message that to encounter the Dark Goddess is a powerful and positive life-changing experience. The zombie-like woman on the cover, with her empty eye-socket, lipless teeth and pale waxy skin doesn’t reflect the primal energy of a Dark Goddess who is serving as a guide on the most important & powerful journey a soul can take: that journey into the underworld in preparation for deep healing before returning to the upper world reborn in a new spirit of wholeness.
The disconcerting impact of the cover is a pity, as ENCOUNTERING THE DARK GODDESS is a good place to start for those who are just beginning their shadow journey, as it’s accessible, personal and well-researched. As a poet, I very much enjoyed the poetry sections, which were lyrical and emotional.
More subjective than I expected, Encountering The Dark Goddess did, at times, appear more a book of sensitive personal reflection by the author. This created a slight dissonance in that the text was not fully a memoir nor purely a non-fiction reference book. Perhaps this should have been reflected in the sub-title (that is, “My Journey into the Shadow Realms” rather than “A Journey into the Shadow Realms.”)?
While the artwork included in the book was appropriate and eye-catching, the book cover was counter-productive to the book’s primary message that to encounter the Dark Goddess is a powerful and positive life-changing experience. The zombie-like woman on the cover, with her empty eye-socket, lipless teeth and pale waxy skin doesn’t reflect the primal energy of a Dark Goddess who is serving as a guide on the most important & powerful journey a soul can take: that journey into the underworld in preparation for deep healing before returning to the upper world reborn in a new spirit of wholeness.
The disconcerting impact of the cover is a pity, as ENCOUNTERING THE DARK GODDESS is a good place to start for those who are just beginning their shadow journey, as it’s accessible, personal and well-researched. As a poet, I very much enjoyed the poetry sections, which were lyrical and emotional.
June 14, 2020
Anna Franklin
Encountering the Dark Goddess a Journey into the Shadow Realms by Frances Billinghurst
Review by Anna Franklin, author of Pagan Ways Tarot, The Hearth Witch’s Compendium etc.
The Dark Goddess is much maligned in patriarchal western thinking, which identifies her with all the aspects of the feminine that men fear - the female power of life and death, of wildness, chaos and unrestrained sexuality. The Dark Goddess is a shapeshifter - she is the creator, the destroyer, the death bringer, the storm bringer, the harlot, the chaos, the initiator, the womb and the tomb. At her heart, she is an agent of change, often violent and unwanted, but necessary change. She reminds us of what lies beneath the surface, and hers is a realm of shifting shadows, imagination, visions, nightmares, dreams, gods and monsters; the domain from which all myths, stories and great art arise, a realm that cannot be accessed by action or understood by logic, but only by surrender.
Our culture teaches us to be afraid of the dark. The dark is where the monsters live, we talk about dark thoughts, dark impulses, dark acts: the dark is evil. The dark is the enemy of the light and the light embodies all that is good. However, for various Eastern cultures, the two aspects are needed in order to attain completeness, two sides to a perfect whole, the yin and the yang. This concept of polar opposites making a perfect whole is something we are familiar with in Pagan thought – Lord and Lady, summer and winter, day and night, life and death. It is a common Pagan maxim that we must explore and accept this duality, and yet, and yet…we are still afraid of truly exploring the dark.
This is because exploring the dark means exploring the truth of ourselves, and this undoubtedly the most frightening thing of all. The ‘shadow self’ is a concept well known in Jungian psychology, the rejected aspects of our own personality or consciousness we hide even from ourselves, where the Dark Goddess can be likened to a gatekeeper or guardian of the inner ‘hell’ we must descend into in order to acknowledge and accept our own internal demons, an image which draws on the myth of the descent of the Goddess Inanna into the underworld realm of her sister, the dark goddess Ereshkigal. At each gate Inanna must surrender part of herself, as we must surrender those parts of herself that no longer serve us.
The Dark Goddess usually appears at those critical moments when our beliefs and life choices are thrown into sharp relief. Frances describes her own encounters with the Goddess when she was diagnosed with cancer, as many stable markers in her life were being dissolved. In the same way as Inanna was forced to relinquish parts of her identify at each gate, she also found herself relinquishing aspects of herself that had built up over the previous twenty years as they were no longer relevant to what was to come - health, career, self-identity, long hair and various friendships. Life as she knew it was slipping way, and she had to learn to trust the “Descent, Death and the Dark Goddess process”. As she explains “It is she (the Dark Goddess) who initiates us into the next stage, our next role or level of soul evolution.” Change happens at a soul level, and the old self is gone forever - the initiate undergoes a death and rebirth, the shaman is dismembered and reassembled in a new way. We can’t go back to ‘normal’, to what we were before.
We will all encounter the Dark Goddess, whether we want to or not. She will challenge us, butt us up against those aspects of ourselves we do not wish to see, maybe in the most painful way, but she will transform us. I found this book a moving and insightful guide to working with the Dark Goddess in her many aspects, with inspired rituals, meditations, invocations and other tools for the undertaking. Highly recommended.
Encountering the Dark Goddess a Journey into the Shadow Realms by Frances Billinghurst
Review by Anna Franklin, author of Pagan Ways Tarot, The Hearth Witch’s Compendium etc.
The Dark Goddess is much maligned in patriarchal western thinking, which identifies her with all the aspects of the feminine that men fear - the female power of life and death, of wildness, chaos and unrestrained sexuality. The Dark Goddess is a shapeshifter - she is the creator, the destroyer, the death bringer, the storm bringer, the harlot, the chaos, the initiator, the womb and the tomb. At her heart, she is an agent of change, often violent and unwanted, but necessary change. She reminds us of what lies beneath the surface, and hers is a realm of shifting shadows, imagination, visions, nightmares, dreams, gods and monsters; the domain from which all myths, stories and great art arise, a realm that cannot be accessed by action or understood by logic, but only by surrender.
Our culture teaches us to be afraid of the dark. The dark is where the monsters live, we talk about dark thoughts, dark impulses, dark acts: the dark is evil. The dark is the enemy of the light and the light embodies all that is good. However, for various Eastern cultures, the two aspects are needed in order to attain completeness, two sides to a perfect whole, the yin and the yang. This concept of polar opposites making a perfect whole is something we are familiar with in Pagan thought – Lord and Lady, summer and winter, day and night, life and death. It is a common Pagan maxim that we must explore and accept this duality, and yet, and yet…we are still afraid of truly exploring the dark.
This is because exploring the dark means exploring the truth of ourselves, and this undoubtedly the most frightening thing of all. The ‘shadow self’ is a concept well known in Jungian psychology, the rejected aspects of our own personality or consciousness we hide even from ourselves, where the Dark Goddess can be likened to a gatekeeper or guardian of the inner ‘hell’ we must descend into in order to acknowledge and accept our own internal demons, an image which draws on the myth of the descent of the Goddess Inanna into the underworld realm of her sister, the dark goddess Ereshkigal. At each gate Inanna must surrender part of herself, as we must surrender those parts of herself that no longer serve us.
The Dark Goddess usually appears at those critical moments when our beliefs and life choices are thrown into sharp relief. Frances describes her own encounters with the Goddess when she was diagnosed with cancer, as many stable markers in her life were being dissolved. In the same way as Inanna was forced to relinquish parts of her identify at each gate, she also found herself relinquishing aspects of herself that had built up over the previous twenty years as they were no longer relevant to what was to come - health, career, self-identity, long hair and various friendships. Life as she knew it was slipping way, and she had to learn to trust the “Descent, Death and the Dark Goddess process”. As she explains “It is she (the Dark Goddess) who initiates us into the next stage, our next role or level of soul evolution.” Change happens at a soul level, and the old self is gone forever - the initiate undergoes a death and rebirth, the shaman is dismembered and reassembled in a new way. We can’t go back to ‘normal’, to what we were before.
We will all encounter the Dark Goddess, whether we want to or not. She will challenge us, butt us up against those aspects of ourselves we do not wish to see, maybe in the most painful way, but she will transform us. I found this book a moving and insightful guide to working with the Dark Goddess in her many aspects, with inspired rituals, meditations, invocations and other tools for the undertaking. Highly recommended.
June 28, 2020
A pivotal book for anyone undertaking a deeper exploration of the Dark Goddess. These archetypes have their many aspects in common, but are as individual as you or I. From Tiamet to Baba Yaga, these 13 Dark Goddesses resonate with every one of us who are open to knowing more about ourselves and who journey in healing. I loved the Goddess stories which allowed me even more insight into their individuality and how they fit with my personal growth towards wholeness. The meditations and workings are excellent tools for assisting in Goddess encounters and understanding. Should be on any seeker's bookshelf and read regularly!
As a disclaimer, I was privileged to line edit this book prior to publication - I loved it then and I love it now I have my hard copy!
As a disclaimer, I was privileged to line edit this book prior to publication - I loved it then and I love it now I have my hard copy!
May 4, 2021
Exceptional and practical. A well-written and well-referenced book on dark goddesses. The author presents thirteen goddesses and a ‘tool kit’ for working with them. Artwork by Soror Basilisk adds another dimension to the study. It’s the best book I’ve found on the subject. Highly recommended.
December 7, 2021
This incredible work is worth reading if interested in any of the dark goddesses! My favorite is the chapter on Morgan le Fay!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews