Jungian Odyssey 2025: “Dark I am, yet lovely.” – Embracing the Exiled Feminine

The exiled or dark feminine can be described to be that locus within psyche, that takes us down to the cave of destruction, despair and death, yet unveils herself as the source of solace, fecundity, even rebirth. She reveals herself through the warrior goddesses Kali and Morrígan, the scorned, owl-footed Lilith. She resides in the revered Black Madonnas and the vengeful witches of fairy tales. We are called to explore this wild, at times desolate territory and to discover, honor and integrate this powerful archetype, relevant to women and men. Maligned and dismissed throughout millennia of domination of spirit over matter, logic over feeling, she is now erupting within us individually and calling out to us collectively. She demands a more conscious recognition of and engagement with her balancing remedy, in service of a healthier inner and outer ecology.

“When you see your matter going black, rejoice: for that is the beginning of the work.”
– Alchemical manuscript, cited by C.G. Jung, CW 14, §729, n. 182

Quote: "Dark I am, yet lovely." – Song of Songs 1:5