Dark Goddess Craft

by Stephanie Woodfield

  “Do not close yourself off from the world,” she tells you. “Trust your judgment and learn from your failings, but do not let them drown you.” She looks at her hands. “Our fears can cripple us, prevent us from healing if we do not learn from them.” The bandages fall off, revealing worn but healed hands. She runs them through her straightened hair. “If we close ourselves off, we will never find those worthy of our trust. Leave your wounded self here and allow yourself to return to the world made whole.”

  She gestures for you to throw the sealskin into the fire, and after a moment’s hesitation, you do so. At first the burning skin sends up the smell of salt and ocean into the air, reminding you of the ship and those who tossed you overboard. But the smell fades and you watch the fire for some time, knowing you are letting the wounds of the past burn away. The skin kept you warm but it separated you from others. You hide yourself away, protecting yourself from getting close to others. It kept you warm and secure, but it isolated you as well. The wall you have built between you and others burns away with it. And you know you no longer have to hide within yourself.

  Sedna puts her hands on your shoulders, and you begin to feel light. The hut fades away until you are surrounded by white light and have returned to the world above, whole and safe.

  Sedna is the Inuit goddess who rules over the sea, sea mammals, and the monsters of the depths. She was known by a number of names and titles across Alaska, Canada, and Greenland, including Nuliajuk, Immap Ukuua (Mother of the Sea), Takanakapsaluk (The Terrible One Down Under), and Unigumisuitok (The One Who Does Not Want a Husband).25 She was thought to be the mother of the sea and its animals, hiding fish and game from hunters when they did not appease her or show proper respect to the game they hunted. She was also credited with being able to control storms.

  There are several versions of how Sedna came to rule over the ocean and its animals. In one version Sedna is a beautiful young woman who rejects all of her many suitors. This angers her father, and when a hunter from another village comes to visit, he gives the girl a sleeping potion and gives her to the hunter in exchange for some fish. But the hunter is actually a great bird (the type of bird varies with the story, sometimes a sea bird, a raven, or a fulmar) disguised in the shape of a man, and he takes Sedna to a large nest on top of a cliff. Her father comes to rescue her, but when the great bird returns and sees his bride has been stolen, he asks a sea spirit to call up a great storm to stop the father and daughter from reaching the shore. In desperation Sedna’s father throws her over the side of kayak, hoping to appease the sea’s rage. When Sedna attempts to cling on to the kayak, her father takes his axes and chops her fingers off. Each digit transforms into the different species of animals who live in the ocean. The final blow he delivers to her head sends her sinking to the sea bottom. In one version her fingers freeze and fall off. In another version Sedna is so dissatisfied with the suitors her father presents that she marries a dog. Enraged, her father takes her out to sea and throws her overboard, chopping off her fingers as she clings to the side of the kayak.

  In yet another telling of Sedna’s story humans have no game to hunt and exist only by eating the earth. It is not a good life, and when the bird suitor comes to the village, he tells her he will bring her to his village where the tents have no holes and there is good food to eat. She agrees to leave with him, but when they arrive, she finds he has tricked her, his village is worse than her own, and her bird husband treats her poorly. When her father comes to visit, he sees her unhappiness and takes her in his kayak. When Sedna’s bird husband discovers her missing, he uses his wings to stir up the waves of a storm. Again, fearing for himself, her father throws her overboard, chopping off her fingers, which transform into not just the animals of the sea but all the animals of the earth. This gives the people something to eat other than clods of earth, yet there is a price. The animals are of Sedna’s flesh and thus of their own flesh, and certain taboos must be upheld. If the taboos of the hunt are not respected, then the animal’s spirit will return to Sedna and tell her of the people’s disrespect, and she will withhold game animals from the hunters. In this version Sedna, surviving the storm, returns to her village and to her father’s hut. She chops off his feet and hands in her anger, and the earth opens up, bringing them to the underworld.26

  In the Netsilik region Sedna is called Nuliajuk and is an orphan who is teased by the other children. When the tribe leaves for another hunting ground, the other children push her from their kayak into the sea, chopping off her fingers as she tries to pull herself out of the water. Regardless of the variations of Sedna’s transformation into a goddess, the themes of being thrown overboard and mutilated by someone she should be able to trust remain.

  Although Sedna sinks to the ocean floor, she does not die. She becomes transformed into a goddess, and her missing fingers become seals and other ocean life. As a goddess, Sedna’s realm was both the ocean and its inhabitants as well as Adlivun, the Inuit underworld. In Inuit mythology Adlivun (meaning “those who live beneath us”) refers to both the Inuit underworld itself and the spirits who live there. It is usually described as a frozen wasteland located beneath both the land and the sea, and spirits must dwell there for a year to be purified before they can travel to the Quidlivun (Land of the Moon), where they can find their final peace.

  In addition to not showing the proper respect when hunting, other transgressions of humankind also affected Sedna. Immoral behavior and acts enraged her and were thought to “make her beautiful black hair wild and disheveled. Taboo violations [would] plug her eyes and ears with debris.” 27 In her anger she withheld the sea’s animals from hunters and let the people starve. The only way to appease her was for a shaman, or angakoq (the Iglulik called shamans nakazoq or “one who drops down to the bottom of the sea”), to go to the spirit world, where Sedna dwelled, and comb Sedna’s hair and clean her face since she had no fingers to do so herself. The shaman would then question the goddess about what transgressions had caused her state. After braiding her hair, the shaman’s spirit would return to the mortal world, a “public confirmation of … transgressions” would occur, and in exchange Sedna would let the animals of the ocean return. 28

  Learning from Betrayal and Judgment

  The thing about betrayal is it isn’t the actual event that breaks you. We all have experienced betrayal of some kind, whether it is by friends, loved ones, or family. The majority of the time we can recover from the actual circumstance of the betrayal, but betrayal keeps hurting long after the actual event because it keeps replaying in our heads, and it destroys our ability to trust or put our faith in others. We are left asking, “Why?” Why were we betrayed in the first place? And we begin to withdraw our trust of others who haven’t harmed us simply because we see with new eyes that they have the potential to betray us as well. We recede like Sedna to the dark bottom of the ocean, we recoil into ourselves and vow never to let anyone close again.

  In many ways people put their faith in Sedna. In the harsh climate occupied by the Inuit, with millions of square miles of tundra and icy coasts, agriculture is nearly impossible and hunting and trapping are the primary source of food. A good hunt is important and can mean life or death. Making offerings for a good hunt to Sedna and relying on her that they might find game and not starve when, we can assume, she by every right can no longer put her faith in others after experiencing so much betrayal shows a kind of symmetry. She is betrayed more than once. She is first betrayed when her father gives her a sleeping draft and gives her to the stranger, angered by her defiance of his wish for her to marry. Then she is betrayed yet again after trusting him to rescue her and he chooses to toss her overboard to save himself from the sea spirit’s rage. Even deeper is the betrayal when he chops off her fingers as she tries to lift herself back into the boat. She chooses to trust him again, only to learn the hard way that her trust is misplaced. The consequences of those betrayals leave her wounded. Yet instead of drowning she is
transformed, creating life out of her mangled fingers, and she herself becomes powerful, guiding souls through Adlivun and to final peace. Sedna’s lesson is not so much making peace with betrayal but learning discernment and judgment.

  As much as we don’t like to admit it, we have to trust people. We trust our mechanic to fix our car, our banks not to steal our money. We have to trust when we drive down the road that the other cars will drive in the right lanes. We have to trust people to function, yet we can’t give our trust away blindly. We have to judge people. This sounds simple but has deep consequences. When we enter the underworld, there is always an element of judgment. Our guides evaluate if we are ready to move on to other challenges. A function of most underworld gods involves judgment. Anubis weighs and judges the hearts of the dead on the scales, and not everyone gets into the Norse Valhalla, only the brave.

  Sedna teaches us that learning to trust again requires judgment. That we must heal, or we risk closing ourselves off to the world forever. Judgment and discernment can only come from being betrayed, in learning to heal yourself from the injuries caused to you. You don’t have to forgive the person who has wronged you, but you do have to be willing to learn whom to open up to and whom not to. Despite being betrayed, Sedna became more powerful for it. She learns discernment and guides others through their sorrow in the underworld of Adlivum before they can go to final peace in the Land of the Moon. And she asks those who ask for her blessing, whether it is for the hunt or otherwise, to trust her as well.

  Devotional Work and Offerings for Sedna

  I offer Sedna parts of every meal when I work with her. It can be small parts, not the entire plate. In the morning I will discard the food. I thank Sedna for giving the people food through her own flesh, thanking her for her sacrifice. I have the habit of finding bones and making art or jewelry out of them and will often ask her to help me to make sure the animal’s spirit is at peace and know how to best honor them in whatever I create. It was thought that the spirit of the hunted animal resided in the village for three days, ensuring that the gifts of the meat and fur were given the proper respect, and if they were not, the animal’s spirit would return to Sedna and report the misdeeds of the hunters. In a similar respect I ask her how best to honor the remains of the animal bones I work with.

  Sedna is also a good ally for learning to trust others and oneself again and for seeking forgiveness for our own transgressions. Other than offering food from meals, I prefer to leave offerings to her in the ocean if possible or in moving water.

  Invocation to Sedna

  Sedna

  Mother of the Deep

  Lady of the Oceans

  Terrible One

  You who rule over those who live beneath us

  Sedna, who knew betrayal

  Teach me to judge wisely

  To know whom to give my trust to

  And whom to withdraw it from

  A Release of Transgressions

  Sedna can be called upon for both releasing transgressions and being able to allow ourselves to trust again and for justice for misdeeds. The next spell will explore this further. For this one, you travel to Sedna’s realm to wash away the betrayals that stay with you.

  You Will Need:

  Water

  Salt

  Small dish

  Offering to Sedna

  You may wish to do this near the ocean or a body of water. Mix the water and salt together in the dish. Put a little of the mixture on your tongue, taste the salt, and think of Sedna’s realm—the feel of the ocean, the push of the waves, the way the water tastes. Then anoint your brow, hands, and feet with the water. Give your offering to Sedna, saying these or similar words:

  Sea Woman

  You who survived treachery

  Your severed fingers creating new life from betrayal

  I feel your grief

  I leave you this offering in gratitude

  Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. If you like, you might wish to play drumming music in the background. For journey work I tend to prefer something with a heartbeat rhythm to it. Say,

  Sedna, I go to your realm,

  I drop down to the bottom of the sea

  I enter your realm of ice and cold

  I travel to you in Adlivun

  See yourself traveling to the ocean. You step into the waters, not swimming but walking beneath the depths, the sand beneath your feet. Soon the water covers your head but you can still breathe without problems. You walk and walk, deeper and deeper, until you are somewhere past the depths of the ocean, in a land of ice and darkness. There is a hut there with an oil lamp light and you go to it. You speak with Sedna. You tell her of your grief and ask her how you may release these things and move past them. Spend as long as you like speaking and connecting with Sedna.

  Justice for Transgressions

  There are times when justice is needed for the wrongs done against us. It doesn’t mean we should withdraw within ourselves and forget how to trust again, but asking for justice for ourselves can also be appropriate.

  You Will Need:

  Paper

  Pen

  Jar

  Seawater (or water mixed with salt)

  Nori (or leaves and twigs)

  On the paper write the situation or name of the person. Spend a few minutes seeing the piece of paper and the person merging, becoming the same. Put the piece of paper in the jar and fill it with the seawater. Mixing tap water with table salt is perfectly fine too. You can use dried leaves and twigs or any other debris found in the yard or around the house to represent the impurity you are asking Sedna to bring justice for, as Sedna’s hair was thought to be dirtied by such things when people behaved unjustly. If you can’t find nori or seaweed (found in most health-food stores), you can also use leaves, as they look reminiscent of hair when floating in water, and are from Sedna’s realm.

  Hold the jar and see Sedna standing before you upon a raging ocean, the wind blowing, the waves dark and crashing. Say,

  Sea Woman

  Mother who observes the taboos of the people

  Your hair is dirty, the actions of ____________ fill you with rage

  Your eyes and ears fill with the treachery of ____________

  I ask for justice

  I ask you who were once wronged

  Bring justice, Mother of the Sea

  Bring justice

  May there be no sustenance for ____________

  No succor

  No safe harbor

  No place to turn to where your rage does not touch them

  Sedna, sea woman

  Mother who observed the taboos of the people

  Let it be so

  Bury the jar, near a body of water if possible.

  [contents]

  * * *

  25. Patricia Ann Lynch, Native American Mythology A to Z, 2nd ed., Mythology A to Z (New York: Chelsea House, 2010), p. 99.

  26. Franz Boas. The Central Eskimo (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1972), p. 60.

  27. Kimberly C. Patton, The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils: Modern Marine Pollution and the Ancient Cathartic Ocean (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), p 80.

  28. Ibid.

  Part 3

  Challenge

  The brick walls are there for a reason.

  The brick walls are not there to keep us out.

  The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

  —Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

  Taking the first steps into the dark of the underworld can be terrifying, but it’s the easy part. Now the battle truly begins. Once we have accepted that we must change, or that it’s inevitable, we begin to traverse the underworld itself, facing the demons and shadows that live there. But like Campbell’s reluctant hero, there are allies in the dark too, guides to show us the way as we
confront what lies in the underworld’s depths. The goddesses in this section are ones connected to breaking down barriers and taking action toward change.

  The phase of challenge is all about doing. In the descent we mourn and look at the reasons why we need to change and shed our illusions, while the challenge phase is all about enacting that change. Choosing to embrace change can be terrifying. It is the Fool jumping off the cliff into the unknown. There are no more chances to go back. The only choice left is whether or not you want to grow and become stronger. The alternative is to lie down and stay stagnant. Are you willing to suffer the pain that allows you to transform?

  Buddhist teacher, author, and nun Pema Chödrön recounts advice she received from one of her Buddhist mentors when she felt she had hit rock bottom that perfectly describes the struggle of the challenge. He told her what she was going though was like walking into the ocean and being knocked down by a wave. She had the choice to lie there and drown or get up again and continue walking. He didn’t promise that there would be no more waves or that she wouldn’t end up flat on her back again, but that eventually the waves would seem to get smaller and smaller. Chödrön explains, “You begin to have the ability to hold what I call ‘the rawness of vulnerability’ in your heart. … When these [waves] happen in your life, they become a source of growth, a source of forward. … The waves that are knocking you down begin to appear smaller and have less and less of an ability to knock you over. And actually maybe it is the same wave, maybe it’s even a bigger wave than the one that hit last year, but it appears to you smaller because of your ability to swim with it or ride the wave.” 29 It isn’t that we stop struggling or facing challenges; it’s how we go about facing the challenge that matters. Crisis brings out our true nature; it’s a catalyst for change. As we work with the goddesses in this section, take time to think about how you face crises. How do you approach the challenges you face?