On Darkness
In a recent post, MaryEllen stated that she was surprised that I would admit that the Goddess was darkness. As I insinuated on her blog, I am going to further explain my position here. (That was a disclaimer for all of you not interested in reading my spiritual philosophy. That is all that this particular post is going to cover, anything else will be in a different post.
My response in the short form was that She is. It's that simple. It isn't though, because that opens the door to much misinterpretation, sometimes intentional, as to what this statement means. Let me make one thing clear right from the start. Darkness is not synonymous with evil. I certainly was not saying that the Goddess is evil. That is not where I am going with this.
When people think of darkness, they frequently have a set of ideas. Cold. Dangerous. Unforgiving. Lethal. All of these can apply. I won't try to deny it. The deeper understanding that leads me to not immediately assume any of the above is inherently bad is not something I can even begin to scratch at without a lot more work than I am providing here. There are other aspects and circumstances that can be associated with darkness. The womb that fostered you for the first nine months of existence was dark. It wasn't frightening, it was comforting. In fact in the earliest stages, children aren't afraid of the dark. Not until their imaginations start telling them what might be in it. Despite our obsession with light as we move about our lives, many find difficulty comfortably sleeping without darkness around them. The earth from which everything grows is also dark. The seeds it contain germinate in the dark before ever pushing up to find the light that will grow them. Darkness is a common element for the germination of all things. The birth and the beginning. These are elements of the Goddess.
Her worship itself is held at night, frequently without the aid and intrusion of external light sources. One primary element of her worship is the moon. Also not a giver of light. It only reflects the light from the sun. The worship at the time of the full moon isn't because of the moon being bright. It is a combination of the male and the female.
While quite capable of being cold and unforgiving, equating her with darkness does not isolate her to these attributes either. Have you never lain down with a spouse or lover and held them close to you in the dark? Whispering words to each other that aren't intended for others? Is it harder for an interloper to hear in the dark? Of course not. Still, darkness is the atmosphere for secrecy and mystery. Light is the atmosphere of truth. Again, the Goddess connects, for she is most mysterious, and her worship, even if uniformly accepted, was never intended for the middle of a well lighted stage. It was and always will be intended for quiet communion between herself and a few close and trusting individuals.
She blankets us in darkness and the comfort of anonymity. She tells us that our relationship with her is only between us and her. She is loving, but strict. She is cold, but not distant. She is what she is, and in dark corners are where you will find her.
I have given some consideration to this, and still have undoubtedly failed to fully illustrate my thoughts. I have always been a more practical conversant than preacher, particularly for a subject as large as the complexities of who and what the Goddess is and represents. Not a defense, just an explanation. I welcome what comments or questions you have. If there are none, or perhaps no interest in general, that doesn't bother me either. That's just life or something close to it.
My response in the short form was that She is. It's that simple. It isn't though, because that opens the door to much misinterpretation, sometimes intentional, as to what this statement means. Let me make one thing clear right from the start. Darkness is not synonymous with evil. I certainly was not saying that the Goddess is evil. That is not where I am going with this.
When people think of darkness, they frequently have a set of ideas. Cold. Dangerous. Unforgiving. Lethal. All of these can apply. I won't try to deny it. The deeper understanding that leads me to not immediately assume any of the above is inherently bad is not something I can even begin to scratch at without a lot more work than I am providing here. There are other aspects and circumstances that can be associated with darkness. The womb that fostered you for the first nine months of existence was dark. It wasn't frightening, it was comforting. In fact in the earliest stages, children aren't afraid of the dark. Not until their imaginations start telling them what might be in it. Despite our obsession with light as we move about our lives, many find difficulty comfortably sleeping without darkness around them. The earth from which everything grows is also dark. The seeds it contain germinate in the dark before ever pushing up to find the light that will grow them. Darkness is a common element for the germination of all things. The birth and the beginning. These are elements of the Goddess.
Her worship itself is held at night, frequently without the aid and intrusion of external light sources. One primary element of her worship is the moon. Also not a giver of light. It only reflects the light from the sun. The worship at the time of the full moon isn't because of the moon being bright. It is a combination of the male and the female.
While quite capable of being cold and unforgiving, equating her with darkness does not isolate her to these attributes either. Have you never lain down with a spouse or lover and held them close to you in the dark? Whispering words to each other that aren't intended for others? Is it harder for an interloper to hear in the dark? Of course not. Still, darkness is the atmosphere for secrecy and mystery. Light is the atmosphere of truth. Again, the Goddess connects, for she is most mysterious, and her worship, even if uniformly accepted, was never intended for the middle of a well lighted stage. It was and always will be intended for quiet communion between herself and a few close and trusting individuals.
She blankets us in darkness and the comfort of anonymity. She tells us that our relationship with her is only between us and her. She is loving, but strict. She is cold, but not distant. She is what she is, and in dark corners are where you will find her.
I have given some consideration to this, and still have undoubtedly failed to fully illustrate my thoughts. I have always been a more practical conversant than preacher, particularly for a subject as large as the complexities of who and what the Goddess is and represents. Not a defense, just an explanation. I welcome what comments or questions you have. If there are none, or perhaps no interest in general, that doesn't bother me either. That's just life or something close to it.
posted by Wanderer at 8:49 PM
4 Comments:
Cold. Dangerous. Unforgiving. Lethal. These are not inherently evil? I suppose cold, on a hot day is welcome. I suppose danger, a sense of danger, can keep us from behaving foolishly. Unforgiving? No, unforgiveness is antichrist. That is where one of my pagan friends made a big mistake in trying to "convert" me. He told me to lay blame and I couldn't. He told me that I didn't have to forgive, that I shouldn't forgive. Lethal? meaning deadly? sometimes, in times past I would have gladly embraced death but for the assurance I had concerning the LIGHT. I understand what you are saying, and I accept the comfortable concept of darkness that you spoke of in your post. But I can not deny the WORD, like I said on my post - Light came into the world, but the world rejected it, the world embraced the darkness, the world loved the darkness because their deeds were evil. How does the WORD begin? And God said "Let there be light!"
When I sat in the darkness, meditating on the flame of a candle, lamenting that i didn't even know her name, (does she have a name?)i declared, with all the power i could muster, and all the humility - "I know you are there, I know you are real, but I don't even know your name..." It was His voice I heard, it was He who spoke into my darkness, "What do you mean you don't know my name? I Am Jesus..."
You confuse a lack of forgiveness for a presence of blame. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin, neither of which is appropriate. Blame and acknowledgement of someone's responsibility are not the same thing. Blame is accusatory. Acknowledgement is fact. In order to forgive, one must be capable first of holding a grudge. Without this, forgiveness means nothing. Forgiveness is merely the setting aside of that grudge. You disagree with the concept of a Deity that does not waste time with such a petty human emotion? The Goddess doesn't take a look at how much faith you have, how sorry you are, and just wave her hand and make what you have done go away. She remembers, but she also acts according to who you are, not simply writing you off at a certain point as lost. In saying, "Unforgiving" I am not saying you are just instantly damned. I am saying that your past will continue to exist and be used as the context in which the present is viewed. If your actions are too erase the crimes you have committed, and are truly penitent, the weight of the crime may be lessened in her eyes. It is still there, though. Just as you can't erase history, you can't erase Her memory. In the same light I too tend to be unforgiving. I too catalogue weigh the past into decisions I make, but don't hold that past as the entirety of the story. Does this mean that if you screw up big you are instantly damned in my opinion? No. Ask some of those closest to you. The one who told you to lay blame was a fool. This is a weight that hangs only around your own neck.
As for being lethal, I figured that would definitely be one of the triggers. However, in the great cycle, life must end. God wrote death into the process, as was necessary. The Christian focus on looking at death as the "wages of sin" instead of one of the beautiful mysteries of life is flawed in my opinion. Death is necessary, and my chosen word in this regard was chosen to evoke a deeper thought process. Lethal is a term you would use to refer to an assassin. One who is capable of quickly ending your life, and who won't be swayed by pity. The Goddess is no assassin, but among her other roles, she is death. When she comes for you, there is no swaying. Then again, would you expect that God would change the length of your life based on your desire?
As for the assurance of light, and the reference to the world embracing the darkness. Is this metaphor meant to be literal then? Sunlight good, darkness bad. The illumination reference is based on the traditional equation of light with knowledge. The same thought process of enlightenment. When you turn a light on, the truth in front of you is revealed. This doesn't mean we should keep on a night light in fear of the dark.
As for your meditation, the answer is yes. She has many names. (A subject I plan on commenting on a little later. Either today or tomorrow.) I must say that I am pleased that you found your answer. In a similar circumstance I also found mine. The God and the Goddess listen to our hearts, not just what we say. Is it possible then that the answer they would give, the path they would offer, would be the one you were most likely to accept? Why would the Goddess reveal herself to you when by smallest example you demonstrate that your teacher was flawed. These flaws would contribute to you being unready for her. Given this, and the stability offered by your Christian upbringing, wouldn't it make sense that Jesus answer you?
My dearest scientist, obviously you realize we are being metaphorical?
Well, part of the initial design of the post was to demonstrate the fact that our ideologies were not as far apart as simply the reaction to that word. The implication being that my admitting the Goddess was dark was tantamount to stating that she was evil, as that is how the Christian "light of the world" mind set would read it. The point of this was to demonstrate the difference of meaning to me than to some of the others who would have read the original post on her blog.
I do agree, though, that it is an interesting and barely related topic to address that which leads us to these perceptions.
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