Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

In Wicca and other forms of Neo-Paganism, the term 'light and darkness' refers to the waxing and waning forces of Nature in their relationship to each other. These forces of light and darkness are balanced in the time of equinox. But, the forces of darkness are dominant at the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year; which, is why the new sun god has to be born in order to insure the return of light, the balance that is achieved at the Spring Equinox.

To insure the dominancy of the forces of light occurs at the Summer Solstice the days grow longer, after which the days shorten in order to surrender dominance to the forces of darkness. The shortening of the light of each day again establishes the balance between light and darkness, which insures the continuance of the Natural growth and decline cycle.

The forces of light and darkness do not exist just in Nature, but also are presence in the gods, and human beings. In some Wiccan Traditions a blessing of "May the powers of light and darkness be with you," which has a twofold meaning: It is meant to bestow balance to the individual and to align him/her with the cycle of Nature in a spiritual sense. Thus the person becomes centered in Nature and has a rapport with the deity. This person is now able to make choices that are not swayed by external influences.

see also: LIGHT; DARKNESS

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc