The Dark Night of the Soul stages depend on which type of Dark Night we’re going through.  This blog article explains the stages of each type of Dark Night of the Soul.

To understand the Dark Night of the Soul stages, first we need to know that there are two types of Dark Night of the Soul and that they are quite different.

They are:

1: A ‘spiritual’ Dark Night hardwired into the awakening process, which the universe triggers when we reach a certain level of spiritual maturity;

2: A ‘growth-oriented’ Dark Night during which we are encouraged to change and grow, brought about by our behaviours and/or negative situations.

(Read about the two types of Dark Night in detail in this blog post.)

The underlying cause of all Dark Night of the Soul is the same – constricted or blocked chakras reducing the flow of universal energy through our systems.

During a spiritual Dark Night, all of the chakras are constricted suddenly to a significant degree, at the same time.

During a growth-oriented Dark Night, one or more of the chakras becomes blocked over time.

For this reason, the Dark Night of the Soul stages for each are different.

The Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul Stages

The stages of the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul are very different to those of a growth-oriented Dark Night.

This is because it is a ‘standard’ step of the spiritual awakening journey, imposed by the universe, which everyone experiences in much the same way.

The spiritual Dark Night of the Soul is triggered when our earthbound soul reaches 50 percent integration with our higher self.

(Integration is the primary goal of the spiritual awakening process.)

If we push on with our good practices, such as daily meditation, then we exit the spiritual Dark Night at 65-70 percent integration.

In extreme cases of the spiritual Dark Night, energy flow through the chakras can be limited to as little as 5 percent, which is the minimum the human system needs to operate.

This blanket constriction makes it far easier to spot than a growth-oriented Dark Night, where symptoms can vary.

During a spiritual Dark Night we feel completely cut off from the universe and our teams and low in energy and mood.

We are ‘disconnected’.

It’s disorienting and upsetting and can prompt us to question our spiritual path and even abandon it.

In fact my team tell me that fewer than 10 percent of people currently get through the spiritual Dark Night and onto the other side.

That is something we need to change for the Earth to continue its journey towards enlightenment.

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 1: Total Connection

Actually, this is the stage of awakening before the spiritual Dark Night, but it’s important to mention here because it helps understand whether you are going through a growth-oriented or spiritual Dark Night of the Soul.

During this stage of awakening, we experience a period of intense connectedness to the universe, our higher selves, and guides.

We can easily communicate with the other side and feel at one with the universe.

We also experience being ‘in flow’ – things just fall into place for us.

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 2: Interference

As we continue the process of awakening, and draw closer to the Dark Night ‘trigger point’ of 50 percent integration with our higher selves, just before we tip over the edge into the Dark Night of the Soul, we experience a period of ‘interference’.

It’s as though our cosmic radio has started to slip out of tune.

We can’t hear our guides clearly, and our sense of connection dips in and out.

This period is very brief, typically lasting just 24 hours, and is a sign that we are on the cusp of the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul.

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 3: The Dark Night of the Soul

After the 24 hours of ‘interference’, the Dark Night fully descends.

It marks a very sudden change in mood and so is different to the growth-oriented Dark Night, which almost always comes in gradually.

In this spiritual Dark Night of the Soul stage, everything is ‘switched off’.

You feel completely disconnected and may start to question whether you have truly been having a spiritual experience.

In fact, it’s common to wonder at this point whether you’ve suffered an episode of psychosis or some kind of mental breakdown.

(Don’t worry, you haven’t.)

One notable feature of this spiritual Dark Night of the Soul stage is that the intensity of the symptoms remain pretty constant throughout.

You may be able to lift your mood temporarily, but the effect is relatively minor and short-lived.

This stage typically lasts between 3 and 9 months.

How quickly you exit depends on how rigorously you stick to your spiritual protocols.

Read this blog post for what to do during the Dark Night of the Soul.

Watch the video below for ways to improve spiritual health, which are also useful during a spiritual Dark Night.

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 4: Re-tuning

As you approach the 65-70 percent integration mark, you suddenly discover that communication is filtering through from your team once more.

It’s as though your internal radio has locked onto a station.

There is a short period of fuzzy static and half-grasped words, then suddenly a voice comes through loud and clear.

As with stage 2 of the spiritual Dark Night, this re-tuning period is usually very short, typically occurring over twenty-four hours.

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 5A: Illumination

This is, in fact, the stage of spiritual awakening after the Dark Night of the Soul.

Once we are through the spiritual Dark Night, our connection is fully restored.

From this point on, we are able to continue our journey to full awakening.

However, we can only get through the spiritual Dark Night by sticking to our spiritual protocols and pushing on to 65-70 percent integration.

If we don’t do that, then we revert to a different stage… 

Spiritual Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 5B: Reversal

If we don’t keep up with our spiritual routine during the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul, then instead of moving forward with our integration, we ‘de-integrate’.

This means that we slide backwards along the continuum of awakening until we exit the Dark Night the same way we came in – at less than 50 percent integration.

Whilst this can be a relief, it means that, if we continue with our awakening journey, we will keep hitting the Dark Night at 50 percent integration.

So we have two choices, to push on through, or abandon our journey altogether (please don’t! We need you).

It’s very common to go through the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul more than once (I myself went through it twice) but each time it gets easier.

If you’re struggling to navigate your way to the other side, be kind to yourself and try to stick as closely as possible to a daily spiritual ritual and other beneficial behaviours.

You will thank yourself for your perseverance once you are out the other side.

The Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul Stages

The experience of a growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul can vary dramatically from person to person.

This is because there can be a significant difference in which chakras are constricted and to what degree.

For example, blockages in the Root and Sacral chakras will have a very different effect to blockages in the Third Eye and Crown chakras.

Poor chakra health can impact us in several areas:

• Mental and emotional health
• Physical health
• Life events

The more blocked our chakras, the more likely we are to experience symptoms of depression.

Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 1: Downwards Spiral

Typically, a growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul will come on gradually, as our chakras become more constricted over time.

This could be because a negative situation in our life is becoming increasingly unbearable, or our behaviours are becoming poorer.

However, sometimes there is an ‘inciting’ incident which plunges us into ‘depression’, meaning that the Dark Night symptoms come on far more quickly.

This could be something like a job loss, accident, or bereavement.

Either way, whether fast or slow, we experience a spiralling downwards.

There is a clear trajectory to this type of Dark Night of the Soul in which it worsens over time, before trending upwards, as we grow and change.

Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 2: Interruption

The second stage of a growth-oriented Dark Night is to ‘interrupt’ the downward spiral and refuse to let ourselves slide down any further.

In effect we stage our own ‘intervention’.

This usually manifests itself as a conscious realisation that we are spiralling, accompanied by a decision to ‘do something about it’.

Sometimes the interruption comes from outside of ourselves, from a friend, family member, colleague, or medical practitioner.

It may also come in the form of a change of behaviour, leaving behind a damaging situation, or asking for help.

Occasionally, we have to hit ‘rock bottom’ before we decide to ‘interrupt’ our decline.

It goes without saying that stopping the downward spiral of a growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul is not an easy thing to do.

When our energy levels are depleted, our mood is low, and we are potentially dealing with health issues and difficult life events, it is hard to gather the impetus to make changes.

But however hard it seems, it is always possible to reverse the downwards trend.

This is because we live in a benevolent universe where positive energy is more powerful than negative energy.

And over time, we become more able to spot the signs of decline and more equipped to deal with them.

Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 3: Reversal

The natural consequence of interrupting a downward spiral is that we start to move upwards, sometimes following a period of time where we plateau.

Once we start spiralling upwards, as long as we keep doing things we need to do, we quickly gather momentum.

Of course, the lower we have descended, the further we have to reclimb, but it is always, always, doable.

In fact, completing this process can leave us stronger and more capable than before, especially if we consciously use it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 4: ‘Normality’

Over time, as we spiral upwards, we usually regain some semblance of normality – or at least, whatever ‘normal’ looks like for us.

In some cases this can take years, in others, days.

It just depends on:

• How practiced we are at getting ourselves through a Dark Night
• How rigorously we stick to healing protocols
• How far we have to ascend.

Usually, we will come out of the other side of a growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul in a much better place, with a deeper understanding of ourselves and a renewed approach to life.

Growth-Oriented Dark Night of the Soul – Stage 5: Transformation

This, in turn, can be a springboard into a fifth Dark Night of the Soul stage – ‘transformation’.

I am sure we all know someone who reached absolute rock bottom and used it as an opportunity to completely make over their life.

In fact, transformation to a greater or lesser degree is frequently an outcome of a growth-oriented Dark Night of the Soul.

This is because it typically triggers self-examination, a life ‘audit’, and the adoption of new, beneficial behaviours.

This is why, even though a growth-oriented Dark Night is not a formal stage in the awakening process (unlike the spiritual Dark Night of the Soul), it can still be an important part of our spiritual journeys.