The "Dark Night of the Soul" in Mystical Traditions

BY NICOLE LAU

The "dark night of the soul" is not depression, though it may feel similar. It's a specific spiritual crisis described across mystical traditions—a descent into profound darkness where God seems absent, meaning dissolves, and the soul is stripped bare. Understanding this experience is essential for anyone on a serious spiritual path.

The Origin: St. John of the Cross

The term comes from the 16th-century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross, who described two dark nights:

The Dark Night of the Senses

• Loss of pleasure in spiritual practices
• Meditation becomes dry and difficult
• Devotion feels empty
• Sensory consolations withdraw
• The beginner's enthusiasm fades

The Dark Night of the Spirit

• Loss of all sense of God's presence
• Feeling abandoned by the divine
• Profound spiritual desolation
• Questioning everything you believed
• The soul is purified through suffering

The second is far more severe and rare—a complete spiritual crisis that can last months or years.

The Universal Pattern Across Traditions

Though St. John named it, the experience appears everywhere:

Buddhism: The Pit of the Void

• After initial awakening experiences, profound doubt arises
• The "dark night" before stream-entry
• Confronting the emptiness of all phenomena
• The terror of ego dissolution

Hinduism: The Desert of the Heart

• The devotee feels abandoned by the beloved (Krishna, Shiva, Devi)
• Spiritual practices become mechanical and empty
• The dark goddess Kali strips away all consolation
• Purification through spiritual suffering

Sufism: The Station of Bewilderment

• The seeker loses all certainty
• God seems absent despite years of practice
• The heart is broken open through longing
• Annihilation (fana) before union

Kabbalah: The Shattering of the Vessels

• The soul descends into the qlippoth (husks/shells)
• Confronting the broken aspects of creation
• Spiritual light withdraws
• Redemption through descent into darkness

How It Differs from Depression

The dark night can look like depression but has distinct features:

Depression	Dark Night
Loss of interest in everything	Loss of interest in spiritual consolations specifically
Feels like something is wrong	Feels like a necessary purification
Seeks relief through treatment	Endures as part of spiritual path
No sense of spiritual purpose	Deep sense this is meaningful suffering
Can happen to anyone	Happens to advanced practitioners

That said, they can co-occur, and clinical depression should always be treated. The dark night is not an excuse to avoid mental health care.

Why It Happens

The dark night serves specific spiritual purposes:

1. Purification of Attachment

Early spiritual practice often involves consolations—bliss, visions, feelings of divine presence. These can become attachments. The dark night strips them away so you seek God for God's sake, not for the feelings.

2. Death of the Spiritual Ego

The ego can co-opt spirituality ("I'm enlightened, I'm special"). The dark night destroys this spiritual pride by removing all sense of achievement or progress.

3. Deepening of Faith

Easy to have faith when you feel God's presence. The dark night tests whether you can maintain faith when God seems absent. This deepens faith from feeling to commitment.

4. Preparation for Union

The mystics teach that the soul must be emptied before it can be filled with the divine. The dark night is the emptying—painful but necessary.

The Stages of the Dark Night

1. The Withdrawal: Spiritual consolations cease; practices feel empty
2. The Confusion: "What's wrong with me? Have I failed?"
3. The Despair: Profound sense of abandonment and meaninglessness
4. The Surrender: Giving up trying to fix it or escape it
5. The Purification: Enduring the darkness without resistance
6. The Dawn: Gradual return of light, but transformed
7. The Union: Deeper relationship with the divine than before

The duration varies—weeks, months, or years. There's no rushing it.

What to Do (and Not Do)

Don't:

• Assume you're doing something wrong
• Try to force your way out through more practice
• Abandon your path entirely
• Compare yourself to others who seem to be progressing
• Seek constant reassurance or new techniques

Do:

• Continue your practice even when it feels empty
• Accept this as part of the path
• Seek guidance from someone who's been through it
• Maintain basic spiritual disciplines (prayer, meditation, study)
• Trust the process even when you can't see the purpose
• Get mental health support if needed

The Gifts on the Other Side

Those who endure the dark night receive:

• Purified faith: No longer dependent on feelings or consolations
• Humility: The spiritual ego has been destroyed
• Depth: Relationship with the divine is no longer superficial
• Compassion: You can hold others' darkness because you've been there
• Detachment: From outcomes, achievements, and spiritual experiences
• Union: Closer to the divine than ever before

The Dark Night as Underworld Descent

The dark night follows the underworld pattern:

• Descent: Into spiritual darkness and desolation
• Stripping: Loss of all consolations and certainties
• Death: The spiritual ego dies
• Transformation: The soul is purified
• Return: Emergence with deeper faith and union

It's the same journey, but in the spiritual rather than psychological realm.

Not Everyone Experiences It

The dark night is not universal:

• It typically happens to serious, advanced practitioners
• Not everyone on a spiritual path will experience it
• Its absence doesn't mean you're doing something wrong
• Its presence doesn't mean you're more advanced

It's one path of purification, not the only path.

Practical Guidance

If you're in a dark night:

1. Name it: Recognizing it as a dark night helps you endure it
2. Find a guide: Someone who's been through it can help
3. Maintain practice: Even when it feels pointless
4. Trust the darkness: It's doing its work
5. Don't rush: It has its own timing
6. Seek support: Spiritual community and mental health care

The dark night of the soul is the underworld journey in its most spiritual form. God seems absent because God is working in the depths, beyond where consciousness can see. The darkness is not abandonment—it's the womb of transformation. Trust it, endure it, and you will emerge reborn.