(B) Balance

I’ve noticed that many Neo-Pagan books focus on the “love and light” aspects of witchcraft or Pagan practices, grossly misrepresenting the Rede (which not everyone follows anyways), and going on and on about healing and “white” magic, and making everything all sparkly and cute. However what many don’t mention, or if they do – do so only briefly, is that you can’t have the “light” without the “dark”, and that both sides are equally necessary if one is to maintain this “balance” thing, that seems to be so important to many paths.

Balance, which is not the normal state of things anyways, is something that is more or less in constant flux. We are usually either on one side or the other, pushing, pulling and adjusting to get to those brief moments of “aahhh” – then we start the process all over again. It’s important to remember however that “balance” includes all things – the good/bad, ugly/beautiful, light/dark, etc… and that each is necessary in it’s own way. Too much, or too little of one or the other, throws off that “balance”. We have to have death and destruction, in order for there to be life and new growth. Without it everything would stagnate, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

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