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(Number 39)
Answer to a question about Dark Paganism
Greetings to one and all,
I recently had a question from one of the younger Wiccan Dedicants
regarding Dark Paganism and thought it interesting enough to include
in the chat group for others to comment on. I included my own quick
answer, but like anything of this complexity, there is no one right
or wrong answer. However, we can't just simply say, "it all depends
on where you stand in the relationship of dark or light or shade of
grey". Any comments?
Here's the question and my short answer.
"I came to know abt 'nocturnal wicca' when i was surfing the net.
it seems to focus on the darker aspects of wicca, and says that
they're also more 'night-based'. They're what most people call, 'dark
paganism'. From what i know they're fellow wiccans too, but like i
say they focus more on the dark side of wicca without sacrificing the
light at the same time.
so what do you think?? its not 'illegal' in wicca right? can you
share what you know on tis' subject?? anyway to become more
knowledgable you have to know both sides right? like knowing what the
good people do n study and vice versa. jus' as long as you stay on
the right track right?
I think knowing both sides will make you more balanced, also, at the
same time you can protect yourself better perhaps."
Answer...
"MMmmnnnn. Interesting.... In partial answer to your question about
Dark Paganism, I can only touch on certain aspects of it. About 20
years ago, this sort of question was never asked, as there was not
this fixation on White Witchcraft (whatever that is) and all the
squirmy rubbish that goes along with this squeaky clean type of self
aggrandizement. Then, there was just witchcraft and it had elements
of dark as well as light.
After all, you would never know hot, without first knowing cold, nor
black, if you didn't know white; so life is a mass of opposites,
(ultimately merging), that we can only know by comparison. It is the
art of being able to walk a delicate path between the two that truly
embraces life and allows one to know many more aspects.
As I've written before, there's actually no such thing as a good or
white witchcraft, or inversely, as a bad or black witchcraft, but an
admirable shade of grey. It is up to the individual. Each person is
answerable only to those powers to which he or she is oathed to and
works with.
So often darkness is associated with evil. Since the term evil has
no place in a nature-based religion, we Pagans are often forced to
look beyond such stereotypes. Evil is a human term! It begins and
ends with us. A tornado is not evil, yet it is very destructive.
Fire can be used to benefit life or destroy it. Nature is neither
good nor evil; it simply is. It follows no moral code and has no
internal motive. Only humans, with our complicated set of emotions
and intellect, can justify such categorizations. Some humans have
used this to better their own ends, such as Christianity, where many
of their own acts against "so-called evil" fitted their very self-
made description of pure evil itself.
Death, destruction, chaos.....these are essential driving forces
within nature. Life feeds on life; destruction precedes creation.
These are the only true laws and they are not open to
interpretation. When Pagans anthropomorphosis nature into something
good and loving, they deny its very all-encompassing nature. When
the dark deities are shunned in fear of the unknown, we deny
ourselves full understanding of all deities and what they have to
offer, leaving us with an incomplete picture. It is our nature to
fear the unknown. We cling to archetypal forms representing the
aspects of some great unknowable, all encompassing force, which we
cannot comprehend. We call them our deities. This is not wrong; it
is, in fact, necessary since we cannot grasp the "divine" or cosmic
source otherwise, but don't cling.
It is through the many aspects of the Goddess and God that we come to
learn more about the universe and ourselves. To shun those aspects
we fear though, inhibits our growth. It is a goal of Dark Paganism
to encourage those who hide behind the positive aspects of our
deities to embrace their fears and learn.
True Wicca is an unending path of light and dark, magic and love, and
constant learning. We revere nature and see the true divine beauty of
the universe in both its light and dark forms. It's about recognizing
that we all have the ability to take our fate into our own hands, and
we have the right to choose how we use that power. There is no bible
and no prophet. Our only rule within "Modern" Wicca itself is a
simple one: "An it harm none, do as ye will". (Whatever that truly
means).
Wicca is based on the concept of natural and essential equilibrium.
All things have spiritual "life" - people, animals, plants, and even
earth. Everything is part of a delicate balance of light and dark,
day and night, good and evil, male and female. Even the Goddess and
the God are both creators and destroyers. They give life, nurture it,
and eventually take it away. This cycle is seen in the seasons and
in the cycle of the moon, and is often symbolized by the Triple
Goddess - Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The mother creates, the maiden
develops, and the crone eventually fades away. We see this each month
when the moon is a sliver, then grows to be full, and then becomes a
sliver and fades away, before beginning again. Because of this, the
emblem of the triple goddess is a full moon with a crescent on each
side.
We do not believe that Wicca is the only valid religion, nor do we
try to convert people to Wicca. It is an open-minded path and there
are many traditions, which offer different rules and ways to follow
the religion.
Wiccans today are priestesses and priests, initiates to the Ancient
Powers and are never laity. They are secretive in their undertakings
and do not proselytize, or spend constant hours, days and months
simply and merely talking about it on the net, or in little groups,
when invariably no one is properly qualified to discuss the subject
in full anyway, and unless they are initiated into a properly seeded
coven, it can only be mere supposition on their part anyway. It is a
personal and very much a "participant doing" activity and is of
course, a way of life. Wicca is "doing" ritual, "doing"
inner
workings, "doing" magick, "doing" spiritual ceremonies and
"following
actively" the wheel of the year. It is "not" a talkers religion,
it
is a "doers" way of life.
The basic message is that, what is fundamental to Wicca is the actual
doing of it and no amount of theorising and intellectualisation can
substitute for the actual experience. This often means following the
grey road to know both white and black. It is interesting to note
your thoughts about protection. To protect oneself, one must know
the enemy, or what he/she/it is capable of. To study, even in depth,
is different to practicing....
I then added some personal aspects to her more personal questions.
Any other thoughts on this ?
BB"
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