Witchvox Article

Author:
Posted: November 11th. 2001
Times Viewed: 4,710

WVOX asked 4 questions in October 2001:

Q1. Is there a Dark Side to The Craft?
A. DEFINITELY. It was documented (but the number of occurrences of it were probably exaggerated) in past ages. Why should this Age be any different?

Q2. Should The Dark Side be avoided?
A. It is impossible not to encounter it at some time during a Pagan life, but 'forewarned is forearmed' as the saying goes. If anything worries you ASK for it to be explained in detail and verify what you are told elsewhere. If you don't like the explanation and your instinct warns you against a practise or a person - back off and keep away from it/them! The Creator gave you instincts to help keep you safe - USE THEM! You can practise The Craft just as well as a Solitary some or all of the time, so you DON'T have to give up Wicca or Paganism if you are not in an organised group. The Buddha (formerly Prince Siddartha) is supposed to have said that if you found no like-minded companions to share your life with , 'It is better to walk alone'. He was an incredibly aware soul and this is sound advice!

Q3. What do you consider The Dark Side to be?
A. The Dark Side is the negative part of the waveform cycle of occult power, which just exists much in the same way as negative electricity exists together with positive electricity to make a whole waveform which cycles from one extreme to the other in a regular pattern.

Q4. Is The Dark Side 'evil' or just a balancing factor of the Universe?
A. Like the negative cycle of electricity or the decay cycle of vegetation, The Dark Side is not intrinsically 'evil', but the purpose which some humans put it to definitely can be ! It can most easily be used for evil purposes, but can be used ONLY BY EXPERTS to bring about a good result (i.e. the 'heavy sword of justice' stuff) but this is incredibly difficult to do without mishap. Actual 'evil' I would define as: ANYTHING which infringes upon another person's free will and right to make informed choices; ANYTHING which causes them or their families emotional or mental distress, physical or psychic harm, financial or other loss; ANYTHING involving cruelty to any living thing.

Anyone who studies The Craft properly will know and understand that there is a positive and negative side to EVERYTHING in The Universe. One basis of our Wic or Wit (wisdom, knowledge) is the principle 'as above, so below'. In the same way that the Universe contains supernovae ('positive' expansions) and black holes ('negative' contractions) and is itself continually contracting and expanding at different times, so here on Planet Earth we have positive and negative electricity and many other similar cyclical wave forms of energy. Every form of universal energy has a positive and negative cycle. That goes for spiritual energy too. We all know people who are referred to as 'having positive energy' or as 'being negative', but those are just the general levels at which their energy settles. They (and all of us) are fluctuating all the time to a greater or lesser degree This is like the D.C. electrical power resulting from the fluctuating A.C. current. Everyone's mood & physical state changes, and we have good and bad days. We as humans tend to ignore the fact that everything in the Universe is fluctuating all the time, at different time-rates according to its inherent nature. The result of the fluctuation gives an 'average' level of energy, and that can be either side of the axis dividing positive and negative, or good and evil. As Pagans, we try to achieve 'balance in all things'. We hope to balance out evil with good, and perhaps nudge the result a little more onto the good side to make sure.

Worldwide, it seems at the moment as if The Dark Side or 'evil' is winning. Ask yourself if this is perhaps because many people these days deny the very existence of evil and so do nothing to combat it or diminish its influence. The modern way of the so-called 'civilised' nations has become one of tending to ignore things we don't like, and to pretend to ourselves that things like poverty, famine, oppression, negative energy and evil don't exist. We even try to ignore crime and illness if they don't affect us directly ( and even if they do!) But of course, as with electricity, the existence of positive and negative, good and evil, light and dark, male and female, day and night, winter and summer, hot and cold and a long list of such 'opposites', are facts.

The Christian church used to promote belief in reincarnation, but then (around 350 A. D.) decided not to. It used also to believe in universal good and universal evil, and taught how to promote the former and eradicate the latter - yet priests these days are not taught how to do exorcisms. How can they believe in evil if they don't think it is any longer necessary to eliminate it? Some Christians now unfortunately believe that evil is only associated with non-Christians and other lands, or that it doesn't actually exist as a force in the world and is just old-fashioned 'superstition'. A diminished and distorted belief of the possibility of the existence of evil within and without (outside) themselves by Christians means the Church as a whole is now out of balance. Certainly in the more prosperous countries, belief in Christianity is waning., and this inbalance is probably why. I have been in Christian churches in America where the prayers were for financial success in business of members of the congregation, instead of peace and the triumph of good over evil in the world. (really !!) It seems the 20th. Century Christian Church has come to the conclusion that evil doesn't exist except outside itself. Sadly, proven cases of physical, emotional and sexual abuse within it show this dangerous assumption not to be correct.

It would be very arrogant and stupid of Pagans, Wiccans, Druids etc. to pretend that The Dark Side and evil don't exist in the world, when the whole basis of our thought and philosophy stresses the continuous cyclicity of everything and the need to achieve a balance in the resultant of the positive and negative energies. If our religion/philosophy gets out of balance, it too, will founder. It should be obvious to we Pagans that good cannot exist without evil. The force we call 'evil' definitely exists. 'The Dark Side' is usually hidden, but IT IS THERE. It is very dangerous to adopt an attitude of 'It can't happen to me/us', and the terrible events of 11 September 2001 in America and the resulting initial backlash showed this only too well. However, we should also realise that, to an oppressed, ill, malnourished Afghani woman desperately trying to feed her starving children in an inhospitable land, the effects of an American Cruise missile strike are every bit as devastating to her and her family, (and - to her - as 'evil'), as the attack upon The World Trade Center in New York was to the families of the 5, 600 people who perished there. The Dark Side affects all humanity.

It is EXTREMELY dangerous to believe that evil cannot happen within Paganism or The Craft, when, by the law of averages, there has to be a certain number of rotten apples in every barrel. Historically, we know that some of those who began upon the path of 'good' magick and 'white witchcraft' in the 'enlightened' 20th. Century eventually got 'too big for their boots' and crossed over to the opposite Path in later life, with disastrous results for them and their followers. Alastair Crowley's biographers wrote about his decline, and there are several other examples. I remember reading a book, published in the 1970's, telling very credible tales of an 'inner circle' within Wicca in the U.K., whose members used 'ordinary', sincere Wiccans as a 'front' or camofluage for secret immoral and illegal activity. (By 'immoral' I mean totally against The Wiccan Rede as well as against the ethics of the general population). The author quoted credible evidence that anyone drawn into the maelstrom of secretive wrongdoing in the inner groups was chosen carefully, and, once they became an insider, was coerced into silence by threats or actual blackmail; whilst anyone who got out later and tried to speak out against the activities of such groups was ridiculed by them and called 'crazy' so that outsiders would tend to think they had made up their evidence, and was subjected to harassment & even physical attack.

Today, organised religions such as the Christian Churches are complaining about falling attendances, but many people still consider themselves Christian; they don't go to church services but they do live by (and bring their children up to believe in) the principles put forward by Jesus. Similarly, large numbers of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Bhuddists and so on adhere to the basic tenets of their religion without taking part in community services. In surveys of The Craft, there appear to be large numbers of Pagan 'Solitaries' who do the same. No-one has ever (to my knowledge) surveyed Wiccan/Pagan solitaries to see WHY they choose a lone path in places such as America where large numbers of fellow-Pagans are contactable and personal transport is easy. This may just be because they have encountered other Pagans who seemed to be too far towards The Dark Side, and (rather than give up Pagan beliefs entirely) they have decided to work and practise alone or just within their own family group. It would be a good idea to find out how often this occurs.

In 'The Burning Times' during The Middle Ages in Europe many innocent people were accused of 'malfaisance' or evil magick and were killed for being witches, but there were undoubtedly a few who were into evil things then, as now. Unfortunately, human nature is often unpleasant and destructive. Secrecy is the friend of those using the powers of The Dark Side for evil purposes. That is why the ancient Druids set such great store by The Truth and The Good. It is hard to use things done openly and in truth for anything except good.

As they say on T. V. - 'The Truth is out there'. Sincere Pagans should seek it out and USE it to effect good. I think WVOX should run a detailed (source-protected) on-line survey to see how many people these days have actually been badly affected in their lives by contact with evil-doers within The Craft, how they were duped, and what the nature of their loss/trauma was - then publish the statistical results. Also useful would be articles on the more common ploys used by the 'rotten eggs' to cause havoc in peoples' lives and feed off the negative energy they create. This would help to warn the vulnerable and prevent in advance some things which could give Paganism bad publicity, and hopefully would also discourage some wrongdoers who are using Wicca/Paganism to cloak their activities on The Dark Side.

How often are gullible youngsters and other seekers told in secrecy that something about Paganism/Wicca/etc. is a 'wide-spread, age-old custom/practise/ritual' when someone has just made it up themselves for their own evil purposes? If the newcomers haven't received true and responsible information in advance of them joining The Craft, how are they to tell what is and is not O.K. and true? There are a lot of 'sick puppies' and psychic leeches out there, as well as people out to exploit others for financial gain, depraved sexual kicks or sheer meglomania. In cities, kids are encouraged to become 'street-wise' to be safe. To become 'Wicca-wise' or 'circle-wise' would seem to be a good idea too. We teach our kids road safety, water safety and how to swim. Let us now as a responsible worldwide Pagan community use the Internet to teach would-be Pagans of all ages effective rules for their personal and psychic safety and the real-life pitfalls to look out for on any Pagan Path, to keep them from harm and preserve our ethos as followers of a truly caring and responsible religion in the Twenty-First Century. Isaac Bonewits' ABCDEF evaluation is a good start, but we need something more specific and precise as well.

Take care out there and Blessed Be!

Jay Rufus

ABOUT...

Location: , USA

Bio: Jay is a very solitary Solitary Wiccan, living in a different country to her entire family, on medical advice - after contracting occupational asthma due to unprotected chemical exposure during employment (and being fired from her job as a result!). She now resides in a rural area with no crop spraying, traffic pollution or industrial fallout. Her below average lifestyle on a low income is at least more environmentally friendly than that of city folks. She is now preparing for yet another winter of indoor sub-zero temperatures in the company of her pets. Jay has been involved with Wicca for 13 years, but (like many others) realises that her lifelong interests turned out to be part of Wicca anyway!

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