The Witch Within: Individuating the Dark Feminine
The Witch within both genders in the collective unconscious is an archetypal image that symbolizes a powerful force found in the Dark Feminine side of the duel nature of the Great Mother archetype.
This darker aspect of chaotic feminine figure, such as the witch in fairy tales and death dealing/creation goddesses in mythology, demand that we live life engaged--chaotic or otherwise, and for both men and women. As a result, she is a powerful force in the collective unconscious that moves our psychological story forward.
As it turns out, it is the feminine conscious of the Great Mother’s own duel nature that does just this psychological movement in our collective psyche. She is the one that must do this creative chaotic movement in the collective psyche of both genders.
One has only to read the news to realize the contemporary nature of this individuation that is occurring in the collective as we ponder this narrative structure.
Selected Female Characters and their Witch Archetype
· Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the East
· Gretel and the Old Woman in the ginger bread house in the forest
· Vasilisa the Fair and Baba Yaga, the great Russian witch
All three of these female characters individuated their inner Dark Feminine, which we are personifying as the Witch. They withdraw their projections of evil put onto the witch and do some dark trickery of their own (learned from the witch) in order to become masters of their own destiny---the only way to move their story forward.
What does an individuated woman or man
Do?
The Dark Feminine as the “Hag” knows.
Sir Gawain and the Beautifully Dressed Hag:
Sir Gawain, heads out on a knight’s errand for King Arthur. He travels deep into ancient England’s great old growth forest, with enormous trees that block out the sky, the ground covered with brambles and roots. There are ferns as tall as his devoted stead, which can hardly carry his knight through this dense undergrowth.
It is night now and completely dark until he sees a light ahead, and the full moon is shining on a small clearing in this dark forest. Our knight spots a water well, and he gets off his trusted steed to sit by the well. Taking a drink of water, he prepares to spend the night.
As he begins to rest, he hears the sound of horse hooves approaching: Who could this be in the dark of night in such a wilderness. He peers into the darkness as the moon reveals a beautiful white stallion and on it is woman with very long hair: dressed in a richly adorned, flowing garment.
He thinks, “Well this is interesting!” as the beautifully anointed woman approaches and the moon reveals her. Our Knight looks closely and she has a bit of a beard and her skin is all wrinkled with one eye hanging out of its socket, not to mention her jagged long nails and toothless smile.
We have our Witch, Hag, Trickster Old Woman, Kali, and Baba Gaga: There are many names for the Dark Feminine side of the Great Mother archetype. She is the woman in all cultures who “Makes the World” by stirring things up, when we become stuck in the metaphorical brambles of life, as an individual and a culture.
She speaks to Sir Gawain, and says, “I see that you drank from my well”.
Our Knight replies, “Oh, I am sorry!”
She says, “Is that all a great Knight has to say, can’t you do better than that?”
Sir Gawain says, “Madam, If I have offended you in any way I will do whatever I can to make up for this.”
Hag replies, “Will I thank you for that promise, yes there is something you can do to make up for this.”
Knight, “What ever you wish madam”
Hag, “ Yes, I am finding myself to be rather lonely, so I would like to get married.”
The Knight gulped, but he made a promise and a knight must keep it
Hag, “I would like a big wedding with all the trimmings and King Arthur’s entire Kingdom to attend.”
Knight, “ I need time to think, is there any thing else I can do for you?”
Hag, “Well there is one thing, If you can seek out this one question, and return in one year to this same spot with the right answer, I will relieve you of this marriage obligation.”
“What is the Question?”
Hag, “The question is:
“What do Women Want?”
Sir Gawain agreed to the Hag’s request and headed out through the dense forest, back to King Arthur’s castle and told the King the story. They agreed he must take this year going far and wide throughout the kingdom to ask women this question.
With a leather bound book he set out and asked hundreds of women this question. They said many things.
They wanted marriage, love, children, land, to be beautiful, etc.
Many things were told to him and they were scribed in this book.
Sir Gawain returned in one year to the clearing with the well in the mist of the dark forest. He heard the sound of her horse and there she was, the beautifully clothed Hag.
Hag, “Do you have an answer?”
Sir Gawain. “I have a hundred answers, 500 answers and they are written down in this book.”
She looked through the book, going through each page, saying, “No, No, not even close, not really etc.”
Hag, “You do not have the answer to my question, when should we have the wedding!”
They agreed in two weeks, and a beautiful wedding was held with King Arthur and his household all in attendance. Then they went to the bridal chamber and the Hag sat on the bed and said.
“Aren’t you going to kiss the bride?
Our brave Knight paused, as one could understand.
The Hag in all her wedding finery said, “You are a brave Knight after-all, are you not!”
Our Knight bent over and kissed the Hag and of course, we all know this tale so well,
The Hideous Hag turned into a beautiful woman. Sir Gawain is very happy and immediately in love. He says how wonderful it is to be married to her.
But wait there is more to the story
The beautiful woman, says,
“There is one problem, your kiss has released me only half way from a spell I have been under and now you must make a choice.
I can be your beautiful Queen in the daytime and the HAG at night or your beautiful Queen at night and your HAG by day’”
Which will it be?
Our brave Knight pounders again how to fix this problem, and he is stumped, he now knows, that he is in love with his Queen.
Our Brave Knight, “I cannot choose and I will place it in your hands, what will you choose?”
This is the most important question to ever ask the Great Mother.
The beautiful Queen’s eyes light up and she tells her Knight that he has broken the complete spell by answering the original first question.
What do Women Want?
What it is that women want is their own sovereignty
No longer told they must be this or do that, but instead make their own choices and honored in their own right for who they are.
(This is, Jack Cornfield’s version of this King Author Tale,
(See Heart Wisdom Pod Cast #82)
15:30
Morgan le Fay in Arthurian lore is the shape Shifting Trickster Hag in this version of this King Author Tale
“The Hag as sorcerer of extreme repugnance to beautiful charmed wonder, Morgan le Fay is the shape-shifter trickster and captivating character of Arthurian literature (Mists of Avilion). She is the most beautiful of nine sister or an ugly crone”.
Reference:
These authors illuminate the feminine shadow function in contemporary consciousness
Nancy Qualls-Corbett (1988); Jean Bolen, (1984); Erich Neumann (1994); Marion Woodman & Elinor Dickson (1996); Veronica Goodchild (2001); Sylvia Brinton Perera (1981) and Carolyn Baker (1996): von Franz (1995).