Dark Sprituality | Lesson One

[Mairwen]

Let's start simply. Just answer these questions best you can:

What do you consider Dark Spirituality to be? Who/what are the Dark Gods/Ones as you understand them to be?

[Selenia]

dark spirituality for me deals with the destroyers.
although all energy exists and it changes into different energy in the destruction process, the transmutation must occur before building can begin anew.
chaos is normal, civility is a construct of man.
dark and light must coexist for the proper polarity and so glory goes to Hecate as it does to Diana

[mol]

One question at a time. Easy one first. Who the Dark God is to me? He is God. I know my God to be both Light and Dark. When focusing on the Darkness I am focusing and becoming in tune with the Darker side of My God.

[Lilu]

What do you consider Dark Spirituality to be?

Well, to me it is coming into acceptance of our shadow sides. We are both light and shadow, and both are rightfully ours to own and embrace. So Dark Spirituality is to me, accepting that I'm not always going to be a *fluffy bunny happy person* and working with that side of me.

Who/what are the Dark Gods/Ones as you understand them to be?

Not to copy mol, but I am with him on this one. The Dark Gods/Ones are simply to me, the dark side of Divine. If I had to name names from pantheons, the gods and goddesses that come to mind are: Hades, Hecate, the Morrigu, Kali... can't think of any others at the moment. Usually I find that Dark Goddesses are Crones, maybe because a lot of the "darker aspects" of life sometimes are associated with death etc?

That's the best I can do!

Lilu

[Kaylara]

I agree with Mol and Lilu. For me, dark spirituality is uncovering the darker aspects of myself. My shadow self so to speak. I am not one who thinks that everything in this world is wonderful and light. Athena, my patron goddess shows two differing aspects, The merciful gray eyed goddess of wisdom, and the dark goddess of warriors, and battle.

Kaylara

[Mairwen]

*bump*:D

Let's not let this class get buried.

[BrightStar]

Hi all!
Dark Spirituality,to me,would deal with the hidden aspects.Those facets of ourselves that most people don't face.Things like the subconscious,our intuition,or our psychic powers.I've always thought "Dark" to be a bit a misnomer,as those things that patriarchal society refused to understand,so they were labeled "dark".
I see the Crone,in whatever form,as an aspect of a Dark Goddess.Much wisdom resides there.Also death,which leads eventually to rebirth,is considered dark.
Peace and Love
Rain BrightStar

[Star]

the darker side to devine for me is Death, suffering etc.
Exploring the darker aspects of the God and Goddess is essential to understanding and accepting them in their entirity, both light and dark that is. This means acknowleging ones shadow and working with your own darker side and reatching a comprimise between the two, a balance of your own light and dark. To miss out on this completness of divinity means missing out on life, the darker Gods and Goddesses can yeild the most fulfilling and true relationship.
Blessings,
Star

[enwyn]

the darker side to me is "the dark night of the soul". like everyone else has put it everyone has a light and a dark side and we have to learn to balance them, and work with each. i believe that life goes in stages of transformation, death and rebirth. we are constantly traveling in and out of the dark & light, entering the darkness (dark night of the soul) in the death of an old way of life or being and then being reborn into light once again renewed and refreshed to meet the new challenges life puts out for us. the darkness isn't a whole lot of fun and can have some painful lessons to teach but i believe it is so very necessary otherwise we would never learn or experience life as deeply or at all in some cases! this is why i've been knick-named the Changeling because i'm constantly going through this cycle and at times am a total walking contradiction!

the dark ones to me are the guides when you are travelling through your darkness. they often have things to show or teach us that quite often we don't want to see or learn and we would avoid if the dark ones weren't there to put it right in front of our eyes so there can't be any avoidance. they control all the dark sides of everything. and everything has such a wide use that i can't even begin to fathom it!

i guess that's how i see it....

*and the Changeling grins...*

[Kateshadowwoman]

Through my research of the Dark God/desses, ritual, Dark Goddesses roles I have performed in ritual, trance dancing, dark phases of the moon meditations, what I have learned is who the dark goddess is within me. My spirituality through self discovery has been my search for inner truth. Delving into who I really am, embrassing and honoring all aspects of myself. Sekhmet, Kali, Hades, Hecate the crone are me. Painting my face to represent what I felt and knew was inside of me has been both, grievous, exhilarating and frightening. We have all agreed that the dark must coincide with the light. I am the dark goddess and light goddess. We are all things and all things are us. So what is Dark Spirituality? How do we live that in our daily lives? Walk our talk? For me it has been to say the dark is OK. I've been taught it's ok to worship the light but feel shame of the hidden, unspoken and whats considered to be wrong. My dark path in spirituality is by honoring the dark and being the dark. The fiendess has a very powerful part to play. Sekhmet and Kali both were only calmed by love and respect. Innana was healed by truly being heard.

[Mairwen]

Hey, this is going pretty well. I'll leave this for one more day, then we'll move on. :D

[Witchbourne]

Originally posted by Mairwen
Let's start simply. Just answer these questions best you can:

What do you consider Dark Spirituality to be? Who/what are the Dark Gods/Ones as you understand them to be?

Dark Spirituality is to me that we ourself make it to be...but also can be when something comes to you that you don't want or have asked for....

Blessed be*

[Mairwen]

Originally posted by Witchbourne
Dark Spirituality is to me that we ourself make it to be...but also can be when something comes to you that you don't want or have asked for....Blessed be*


Hhhmmm ... Now, that's interesting. Care to clarify this a bit ~ as to how you would see this as being to do with the "dark"?

[Witchbourne]

Originally posted by Mairwen


Hhhmmm ... Now, that's interesting. Care to clarify this a bit ~ as to how you would see this as being to do with the "dark"?

ahh..i most be stupied or something tonight but i dident get alot of sleep last night..so i don't understand your question.....could you make your question more simple...hmm...feel so stupied now..smiles*

Blessed be*

[Mairwen]

How do you see "something coming from nothing" as being "Dark" magics?

[Silver Venus]

Great class - Ive only just found you, been hanging out in the tarot class for the last couple of days.
My first thoughts on Dark Spirituality: was Im not really sure....
then I thought of the dark of the Moon - the three days before a full moon when many witches dont practice magick, as its seen as a time of void.
Then I thought that the Dark God must be to me just another name for the God as he has both positive and negative, light and dark, good and bad in him like everything.
I was still a little puzzled so I tried a quick search and found this:
Charge of the Dark God
Listen to the Words of the Dark God, who was of old called Anubis, Donn, Hades, Sestar, Hodar, and by many other names:

I am the shadow in the bright day; I am the reminder of mortality at the height of living. I am the never ending veil of night where the Star Goddess dances. I am the death that must be so that life may continue, for behold, Life is immortal because the living must die.

I am the strength that protects, that limits; I am the power that says no, and no further, and that is enough. I am the things that cannot be spoken of, and I am the laughter at the edge of death.

Come with me into the warm unfolding dark; feel my caresses in the hands, in the mouth, in the body of one you love, and be transformed.

Gather in the moonless night and speak in unknown tongues; and the Dark Mother and I will listen. Sing out and cry out, and the power will be yours to wield.

Blow me a kiss when the sky is dark, and I will smile, but no kiss return; for my kiss is the final one for all mortal flesh.

:sunny:
It fits with my intial thought of the dark of the moon. But Im still a little puzzled...

[Armitage]

Dark spirituality to me is that which is involved deeply with the physical world. It is about the entropy all living things go through and the sensuality of being physical. It is everything about life and ourselves we fear, and are fascinated with.
The Dark Ones are the same. They echo everything within us and our minds that we are terrified to possess, or at least to admit to. They are the power that comes with anger and love, and fear.

[Witchbourne]

Originally posted by Mairwen
How do you see "something coming from nothing" as being "Dark" magics?

okay...i still quite do not understand...but let me
answear like this.....

I do not see...i feel and then i know***


Blessed be*
:)

[Mairwen]

Right. I got that, but I'm having trouble seeing how you classify it as Dark magics. (and I'm the teacher!)

[Sunsong]

Keep in mind...I am not even pagan, so cut me a little slack here. ;)

Dakr Spirituality, to me, would be the other side of 'Light.' The COMPLETION of spirituality. Because without one, you cant have the other.

??

[Red Dragon]

Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?? Hee, hee. But seriously, In darkness there is light, I'll say no more. ;)

[cydira]

1. What do you consider Dark Spirituality to be?

Personally, Dark Spirituality really doesn't appear to be different from the rest of the spiritual practices that I have noticed within the wiccan/pagan community. Yes, Dark Spirituality does focus on death and the more primeaval aspects of our personalities (i.e. pain, suffering, angst, ect.) as well as the more repressed aspects of our socieity, but this is not fundamentally different from the rest of the spiritual beliefs within our community.

Dark Spirituality, when I try to separate the different aspects of spirituality within our community, may beable to be loosely confined to a collection of practices and beliefs. These practices would include rites of closure/passage for deaths, all death related mysteries, divination or other forms of magical workings that would involve contact with the spiritworld, and working with the repressed aspects of the personality/society of the practitioner. But I don't honestly think that you can say this is separate from "Light" spirituality either.

2. Who/what are the Dark Gods/Ones as you understand them to be?

The Dark Gods have several different aspects that I have personally seen. One is that of death, eitehr in the guise of the Crone or of the Horned One as a Hunter/prey. Also, I've developed the notion that the Dark Gods are also the Gods of karmic justice, fate/destiny, time, natural processes (ie, germination of seeds or the decomposition of matter), and of transformation.

But that's also my personal perspective. :D

[Mairwen]

Way to go, Cydira!! :D

[Witchbourne]

Originally posted by Mairwen
Right. I got that, but I'm having trouble seeing how you classify it as Dark magics. (and I'm the teacher!)


oh..my....dear i don't know how i should explaine it...

i think i classify it by my nolight of how i myself know my
own darkness and light....i couldent explaine it better
then this...i'll hope this was good enough?....

Blessed be*

[sherry]

Dark Spirituality to me is the completion of the cycle. You have to have light/dark to everything. I feel that the dark is the part of me is waiting to be discovered. These are the things that I don't understand. To me with the darkness comes fear, its not the terror kind of fear, but the same feeling as starting your first day of a new job! Does this make ANY SENSE?? It is like you want to know all you can but there are areas youd rather not explore alone! what if you make a huge mistake and open a Pandoras box of sometype! To me the commercial world has planted this image in my mind .
I do not pray to a Dark God of any name because I haven't gotten past this feeling of not understaning who they are and the trust of what they stand for.
I guess that the fear keeps me from knowing the full impact of who they are. I am here to learn all I can to get past this point.

[Rhiannon]

Well, I really don't know. I can't wait to find out, though. I'll just read through. Newbie, by the way.

[eaglewolf]

Welcome to the community!

I hope you are able to join in and share with all of us... learn, teach and anything in between.

Welcome!

~ew

[Rhiannon]

Thanks. :D

[Nyxee]

To me, Dark spirituality is learning to comprehend that side of ourselves that we are otherwise taught to hide/ignore. It is the side that leads to self-knowledge, and the ability to turn that into wisdom. It is learning about Life; understanding why as opposed to just living. The cycle, spiral of life and death, the mysteries. To me, it is what Wicca and Paganism teach.

[Mairwen]

You go, girl! Seems like you've got a great grip on things!! Thanks for joining the conversation. :D

[Spirahl]

1) I'm trying to come up with an original answer to this question, so many thoughts like my own have already been discussed.
A necessary aspect in the cycle of life, without death there is not rebirth. The dark is the wolf who hunts the weakest and sickest of the deer, strengthening the whole group.
Sometimes it is not a physical death, but a psychic/emotional/spiritual one, where you meet your deepest fears. Often at those times, on the brink of self-destruction, we find our greatest strength. An absyss has to burst before it can heal.
Darkness to me implies action. In the world of politics, a "light" way of handling conflict is diplomacy which is quite passive. If this fails, decisions have been made to take action and make "dark" war. An action no one likes, no one wants to face, but has gotten us past stalemate and eventually in a better place in the end (for some).
2) The Crone or Mage, those dealing with things attributed to the third phase such as death, harvest, or the Trickster.

[MammaStar]

I'm trying to write my answer as best as I can, without sounding like a complete idiot.

1. I think that the dark spirituality is the dark side of the god/goddess. The Crone, winter, etc.

2. I consider the dark ones Morrigu, Rhiannon, etc. They represent the dark side to me.

Man, I sound like an idiot, I think I'm gonna log off soon and go study some more

[Mairwen]

*bump*

[loopy]

Thanks for the bump. :)

1. What do you consider Dark Spirituality to be?
I agree with so many people here.... It is the completion, balances with light, and without one there can't be another. Ignoring Dark Spirituality would be akin to denying half of yourself. Existing without it is not possible, for we see it every day in one form or another. Armitage said that "It is everything about life and ourselves we fear, and are fascinated with," and I agree with that completely.

2. Who/what are the Dark Gods/Ones as you understand them to be?
The darker aspects of the deities, as represented by the Crone, and the faces of Kali, Hecate, etc.

[Faery-Wings]

I am getting my feet wet in this forum as I am just starting to explore the different faces of the God/dess, but I hope I can tag along and learn from all of you ;)


Dark spirituality- I don't think I can come up with anything different than what has been stated already. To me, it is not a comfortable topic yet. Not that I am a fluffy bunny and am ignoring my darkness, but that I have not had much opportunity (or desire to be 100% honest) in exploring that. I am aware of many of my negative traits, so in becoming aware of and reconciling my darkness and that of the Universe, I will further grow in Darkness as well as in Light. To me, it the just the second half of life, the other side of the coin, the Yin and yang of all existance. (Ok am I making any sense? LOL)

So far, some of the drak God/desses I have read about (sorry, my knowledge is limited at this point) are: Hecate, The Morrigan, Kali, Hades, ...Loki possibly?

Thanks for letting me add on to this discussion.

BB

Chris