Pagans After Dark

In the vast world of Pagandom you have many sides, there are those who embrace the magic(k) and occult, and those who walk with the cycles of nature. Just the same there are those who walk in the light of the day, singing of the warmth, and those who dwell within the shadows and celebrate the cold darkness of the world.

This is not some game that many outsiders and a few converts like to believe, nor is it a fashion statement to make to scare your impressionable friends; the way of the Pagan has many different sections and rooms people dwell in. For some it is a permanent habitation within the glorious light of all that is good and loving, others may grow bored with the gifts of the Sun and partake in new ventures. Whether they be called 'Dark Pagans', or some other label, those who celebrate and embrace both the good and bad are just as pagan as white-lighters (i.e. people who focus on goodness, not meant as a derogatory term.)

I believe that knowing both parts of the coin is a good way to maintain a balance, dipping your toes in both ends of the pool. I once had the mistake of frowning upon those who practice 'darker' aspects of Paganism. Those who weren't about revering the Gods or celebrating it's cycles, but were into the occult and practices more esoteric in nature. Now it doesn't phase me, to each there own, but it shows the evolution one can go through if they allow the process of change to morph them into a higher being. To be more open minded of practices and systems that contradict the practitioner's. My erroneous flaw during the early years of my conversion was that I was so swept in by the brightened sun crowd, so dazzled by the light and love that the darkness became nonexistent to me.

At the time it was something that I needed, with family issues heaping and me feeling abandoned on the religious front I needed to feel love, so that's what I dove in to. Once I drifted to the other end of the spectrum, having a more balanced spirituality this time, did my vision begin to change. Topics such as death, the afterlife, the Dark Gods that take over during the set of Mabon, and esoteric practices became an interest of mine. Currently, I'm at the doorstep of the blackened halls, but soon I will step through and encounter the lessons I must learn to truly call myself a practitioner of nature.

So with all of this talk about the darkness, why should anyone who currently occupies the lighted world take any interest? Well, for one, its not a path for everyone. Just as there are some sports some are very good at by nature and people who are terrible with sports, its not for everyone. In my belief, dwelling in the other side can be of benefit because it gives new vision to the person who does it. It gives realization that not everything is what it seems, breaking the illusion and muting the blinding glare that decieves one's perceptions. Issues that have been buried away with hopes of never being rediscovered are dug up and forced in your face. You must dive deep into your soul to face your demons and return with them gone.

On a religious level you diversify your practice and see another side that you wouldn't have encountered had you not left the verdent fields of bliss. At first it may be disarming and quite bothersome, but as you grow accustomed to the aspects of Deity that can be quite cold and scornful, you are made stronger. You quickly begin to gain the wisdom of a practitioner walking in the twilight, not being perfectly split between both worlds, but dwelling in both their glory.