Dark Paganism

By, Gypsy Valentine and Primus D of House Scarlet Moon

 "Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to Endless Night" – William Blake

    In 1794, when William Blake wrote "Auguries of Innocence," he could not have fathomed the number of dark souls this phrase would touch. Some of us are born to endless night; only when we walk in shadows do we find true enlightenment. 

    Dark Paganism is a movement within the magickal community – one with nearly as many different facets as the number of practitioners themselves.  Essays have been written stating that Dark Paganism is merely a path combining gothic fashion, the vampyre subculture, and a misguided definition of "left hand path."  Such generalizations diminish the significance of the dark spirit that stirs and speaks within us.  For some of us are born to Endless Night - and in us the dark flame of personal gnosis burns.  This darkness is associated with the occult mysteries and the wisdom that comes from gazing into the abyss.  It is here that some of the most enlightening mysteries lie, and it is here that you must go to master your passions and to greet your inner true self.  This darkness should not be feared, because within that fear lies ignorance.  

    Paganism is an earth-based religion that acknowledges both dark and light, as both are reflected in nature.  Where there is light, there must also be shadow.  Nature possesses both qualities, yet remains neutral in the whole.  Darkness in the Pagan context is not evil and knows no moral gradient.  Dark Paganism is a path of realism rather than idealism.  It is also about coming to terms with your shadow self.  Our shadow, or "dark side," is what we fear, dislike, and often repress.  Unless the shadow self can be addressed and embraced for what it is – part of you – those things will hold you prisoner. 

    Dark Paganism is the answer to a problem that has been rising in the Wiccan/Neo-Pagan community for decades.  "Fluffy" or "white-light" Pagans have began to ignore and even fear the darker aspects of the Craft.  Certain Pagan book publishers have overly "softened" their books, covering up the darker aspects of Paganism in order to increase their appeal to a wider buying audience.  Judeo-Christian upbringings have caused Neo-Pagans to subconsciously transplant their concepts of good and evil from their Christian backgrounds into the Pagan concepts of light and dark.  This imbalance is unhealthy to the practitioner and to Paganism as a whole.  Two of the axioms of Hermetic Law have clearly been violated, and therefore Paganism has been thrown out of balance. 

The Principle of Polarity – states: "Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled"

and

The Principle of Rhythm - "Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the left is the measure of the swing to the right; rhythm compensates"

     Dark Paganism is the swinging of the pendulum, compensating for the imbalance in the polarity of dark and light.  Unfortunately, this restoration of balance faces many obstacles.  The rise of the solitary practitioner and self-taught pagans has resulted in a lack of magickal growth and knowledge, knowledge taught by elders, knowledge of the 3 Degrees of formal coven training.   

    In simple terms, there are three overall degrees of Pagan magickal training – The 1st teaches the Solar festivals, with the joyous celebrations of nature and the infinite.  It teaches the basic tools of God/Goddess worship, and shows a topical path of manipulation of the conscious self.  Most "fluffy" Pagan texts stop here.

    After this introduction to the path, the initiate delves into the introspective and subconscious phase of coven training, one that forces us to look at and accept the shadow within each of us.  This is the 2nd degree of magickal training.  In many traditions, the Priest and Priestess work to induce within the initiate a condition known as the dark night of the soul - a dark journey into the subconscious, our lunar self, and the aspects of ourselves that we wish to hide, even from ourselves.  Dark Pagans embrace this path, and often come to prefer the darkness to all else.

    Once the initiate has traveled inward, and accepted their shadow self, they are free to explore the higher realms of magick, and the super-conscious.  The path of the 3rd Degree is one of achieving a twilight balance of the light of the first degree and the darkness of the second.  It is equated with accomplished intelligence and the applicable knowledge of the occult.  Without addressing the necessary darkness in Paganism, the mysteries of magick and esoteric mysticism cannot be achieved.

    Regardless of the direction Paganism takes in the future, there will always be a need to walk in the shadows for enlightenment.  Balance is the essential key to discovering the magickal mysteries hidden within.  Focusing single-mindedly on the darker side is just as dangerous as ignoring it.  However, do not stand in the shadows so long that you forget the reason why you are there in the first place. 

 

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