Witches Haven

THE DARK SIDE

The Dark Side, ignored, far too often. Why?

Without the Dark Side, there is and can never be Light. The Craft, in all its glamours, is built on balance.

What is it about the term "Dark Side" that seems to instill such fear, such silence and even loathing? No one can truly call themselves "Witch" without thoroughly understanding and using the Dark Side, yet so many ignore it and never learn to accept it, to work with it.

These are the "Fluffy Bunnies" so often the objects of derision.

They are not Judeo-Christian but they are NOT Witches either. They are stuck in the middle at best, playing fantasy games at worst.

Lost somewhere between both worlds and welcome in none.



There is no point in buying books that do not deal with this integral part of Witchcraft. This integral part of life, nature, spirituality in fact, all worlds, all places, seen or unseen. The sun rises and sets, night blankets the world and then a new day is born. The moon waxes and wanes, a new moon begins.

We are born, we live and we die, to be reborn. The Wheel turns from the birth of the light, the Sun, at Yule to the ending of the year, the time of the Crone at Samhain, the dark respite.

The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. The Youth, the Warrior and the Sage. All represent the turn from light to dark.

Fear of the Dark side seems rooted in the Judeo-Christian philosophies which so permeate our society. The boogieman hides in the dark, dark is black and everyone knows evil is black.

The night hides the wicked. And to whom do we owe all this evil?

Apparently, Satan. As Neo-Pagans, it is not possible to believe in Satan. He is man-made. A tool used to keep the great unwashed in line.

How best to control the masses than through fear? Only through the church can the poor peasant be saved from this evil being, from torment and despair.

Incredible grasp of human psychology for such an early time in our history. It worked in an absolutely phenomenal fashion. It still works today and in the same phenomenal fashion. Intelligent, educated people are convinced that when they pass from this realm, if they have not lived Christian lives ? Then, inevitably, they will burn in hell. Sharing space with such notables as Genghis Khan; Josef Stalin; Adolf Hitler; Bundy and Gacy. Sentenced to spend eternity speared by pitchforks and surrounded by the stench of sulphur and brimstone.

Pretty scary stuff, scary enough to keep people on the straight and narrow, at least on Sundays.



It is from these stories that the fear of the Dark Side can find some of its roots.

However, from early man, the natural instinct to seek cover from the night has followed us to our high tech, modern world. We brought our boogiemen from the caves.

Since our first upright step, the Dark Side has been tainted by terrors.

Before we can begin to understand the Dark Side, it is necessary to throw off the chains of a Judeo-Christian society. These fears must be faced and vanquished. There is nothing to fear from this integral part of Craft, for without it? There is nothing. The Light means nothing. It simply can't exist without the balance of the Dark. Understand that all these secret dreads are false images created with the sole intention of intimidating the masses. There is no devil waiting to grab us and take us down to Hell; Jason/Michael/Freddy Kruger are not hiding under the bed or lurking in the closet.



The Dark Side is the side of rest, of banishing that which we no longer need or causes us pain, hurt and/or stress. It is a time for wisdom and knowledge, of communing with the Crone.

Its a time to seek justice and strength. It is a time to be introduced and to renew power. Respect the Dark and it will open up a whole new world of knowledge and experience.

Nothing in Craft is easily attained. True understanding and knowledge can only come after years of blood, sweat and tears. Learning the aspects of Light and Dark requires extremely difficult self-knowledge as well as studying. Tearing open old scars and examining where our fears and thereby finding our weaknesses, is a hard battle. A long and emotionally draining battle but absolutely and totally necessary if we are to really earn the honourable title of Witch.

Reading a book, committing to self-initiation is simply not enough to earn the right to call oneself a "Witch". It is a start but only a start. It is a long journey but well worth the effort, if this is what you have been called to be.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Canada License.

Click to join cronesages