As above so below. As within so without. We are the children of Nature and so our natures reflect our progenitor. We are two sides of the same coin; bright and dark inseparably entwined. We are good, kind, compassionate, and helpful, but we are also cruel, selfish, destructive, and wrathful.

Each of us is capable of acting in benevolence or malevolence.

If you truly know yourself and are able to look into the shadows of your own soul, you can make peace with your darkness and embrace it like a lover. To love oneself, or another, or a deity, or a spirit, one must wholly accept both sides of the coin and love ALL that one is.

Cherry-picking will not be permitted if you choose to walk the path of Witchcraft for Nature and the Gods embody life, death, and rebirth – creation and destruction – and you cannot have one without the other. To worship life is to worship death. To worship light is to worship darkness. Too much light can lead to being blinded by reality and lacking in truth, honesty, and balance. Too much dark can lead to madness and ruin.

It is not evil to work with the underworld, the ancestors, the night, the moon, death, and bones. It is dark, but there is goodness in it. We fear the unknown and the unseen. Modern witches call the above and the gods, but they often ignore the underworld and the spirits of the dead in their circle castings and magics.

The chthonic deities and ancestors are great allies with their vast store of ancient wisdom and knowledge of the other worlds… but if neglected and ignored they become as the uninvited fairy from Sleeping Beauty and we all know how well that worked out. Ignore the darkness within yourself and expect the same results.

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” I know when people try to judge me for working with darker magic that they are only acting out of fear of what is within themselves and fear of what they do not know. Because I embrace the darkness and shadows of my own nature, I accept that everyone contains light and shadow. Who am I to judge someone’s beliefs and practices? This is why I am accepting of and consort with darker practitioners alongside healers and white witches.

The wolf does not apologize to its dinner, the lightning to the tree it strikes, or the bee for its sting. As a witch, I will not apologize for my nature. There is a reason poison plants are associated with us: they are poison and medicine, witch and witch doctor. There must be balance.

Be too light in your measurements and nothing will happen, be heavy-handed and you will kill instead of cure. The witch is the fulcrum and magic is the lever. Accept responsibility for your power and accept there may be consequences for your actions.

Complete awareness is key. Be grounded and balanced in your judgments before you perform magic. Be always clear-headed and pure in intent whether the magic you will work belongs to the light or dark. In honesty and truth, with yourself and your spirits, you will find the balance.

~ Sarah Lawless, The Witch of Forest Grove