DARK God

"In the Cycle of the equinox-solstice festivals, the year begins with the spring and the germination of the seed; however, the vision of the Celtic folk sought deeper into the spiritual essence of such a process, and to their consciousness the year began with Samhain, the first of November. Thus they saw the year's beginning marked by the descent of life into the dark of winter, the descent of the seeds into the Earth. With the same consciousness the Celts reckoned the day to begin not with sunrise but with the sunset of what we would call the preceding day. And thus to these people the unconscious darkness of their imagination was not a facet of nature to be feared, but an essential part of their being, out of which conscious thinking could grow. Over the millennia, this mode of consciousness has been replaced by one which fears the darkness, and this corresponds to a way of thinking that marks the day 's beginning at dawn, and sees the positive energies and forces of the day dying out into the evening darkness. The night becomes a place of the death of the light, and not pictured as the source of the light." –Adam McLean, Four Fire Festivals

The shift of consciousness about which McLean writes is nowhere seen better than in the transformation of the Lord of Death and what comes after from the Son of the Mother into Hades. Just as the Light aspects of the God were taken over by the figure of Jesus as Savior, the God's Dark aspects were made into a threat to keep people in line--and are used in that manner and for that purpose to this day. The popularity of "Exorcist"-type movies show that, even in the minds of those who profess to be removed from credulous acceptance of religious dogma, the dark powers of the unconscious are a source of unease. And certainly with good reason. The unconscious is in direct touch with the sources of our being, the subhuman strata from which we have evolved--an origin which threatens some religions enough that they cannot bear to think about it, but take refuge in myths of creation which effectively separate human beings from the "lower" animals. The Dark God is not merely dark--He is also the Goat-foot God, whose animal origins are bared without shame.

When Persephone was carried off by Hades, she screamed and struggled. But sooner or later the screaming and struggling came to an end, and she accepted the gifts of the God: pomegranate seeds, and his love. By them she was transformed from the Maiden into the Queen of the Underworld. How was this accomplished? What we Pagans know about the Goddess' transformation is told thus:

"In ancient time, our Lord, the Great Horned One, was as he still is, the Counselor, the Benefactor, but men knew him as the Dread Lord of the Shadows--lonely, stern and just. But our Lady, the Goddess, would solve all mysteries, even the mystery of Death. And so she journeyed to the Nether-lands, and the Guardian of the portal challenged her, saying, 'Strip off thy garments, lay aside thy jewels, for naught may ye bring with thee into this our land.'

"So she laid down her garments and her jewels and was bound as all living must be who seek to enter the realms of Death. Such was her beauty that Death himself knelt and laid his sword and crown at her feet and kissed her feet, saying, 'Blessed are thy feet that have brought thee in these ways. Abide with me, but let me place my cold hand on thy heart.'

"And she replied, 'I love thee not. Why dost thou cause all things that I love and take delight in to fade and die?'

"'Lady,' replied Death, ''Tis age and fate, against which I am helpless. Age causes all things to wither, but when men die, at the end of time, I give them rest and strength so that they may return. But you, you are lovely. Return not: abide with me.'

"But she answered, 'I love thee not.'

"'Then,' said Death, 'An you receive not my hand on your heart, you must kneel at Death's Scourge.'

"'It is fate, better so,' she replied. And she knelt. And Death scourged her tenderly, and she cried, 'I knew the pangs of love.' And Death raised her and said, 'Blessed Be.' And he gave her the fivefold kiss, saying, 'Thus only may you attain to joy and knowledge.' And he taught her all the mysteries, and he gave her the necklace which is the circle of rebirth.

"And she taught him the mystery of the sacred cup which is the cauldron of rebirth. They loved and were one, for there be three great mysteries in the life of man. Magic (love) controls them all. For to fulfill love, you must return again at the same time and at the same place as the loved one, and you must meet, and know and remember and love them again. But to be reborn, you must die, and be made ready for a new body, and to die you must be born, and without love you may not be born. And our Goddess ever inclined to love and mirth and happiness and guard and cherish her hidden children in life: And in death She teach the way to have communion, and even in the world, She teach them the Mystery of the Magic Circle, which is placed between the worlds."

And the Dark God, who stands at the Sunset Door, rules not only over those dark things which we fear to see, and the death of those things which we fear to lose, but also serves to welcome each of us through our transformation and death into the source of new life and light.

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