All Hallows Grim 2013 No. 1 - Embracing the darkness.

Magaly of Pagan Culture is having another one of her scrumptious blog parties. This time the theme is darkness and the goodness that can be found with in it. It's a delicious theme for there is indeed as much goodness in the dark as there is in the day or light.

Her brief is;

The aim of All Hallow’s Grim 2013… So Good, So Dark is to use our artistic power, intellect and heart to create posts that show the delicious goodness that blooms in the dark.

Nyctophobia, fear of the night or Achluophobia fear of the dark seems to be an inbuilt gene in many of the human race, from our earliest beginnings man has been fearful of what lurks in the dark shadows. Children have for generations been afraid of the monster hiding under the bed or in the cupboard, ready to leap out as soon as the light was turned off at night. There is also the darkness of the spirit when depression strikes, those of us who have been there know how terrifying that place can be at first. Gradually though that fear can be beat and the darkness can be seen for what it is, not somewhere terrible, but somewhere your mind goes to rest and shelter when the world is tiring it out. That initial fear of darkness can also slowly turn to fascination for many and the darkness itself has become the muse of artists in many fields, from writing, film making to music etc. Some of the greatest artistic creations have been born in darkness. Like moths drawn to a flame the dark has the power to both scare and attract at the same time. Too be seen as both a danger and as a protective shield.

There seem to be two groups of people in life, the morning larks who live for the day and the night owls who seem to come alive as the sun goes down. I'm most definitely a night owl, something that seems to have been undoubtedly inherited from my mum and her side of the family. My fathers side are all morning larks, solid sensible people and yes it must be said, at times boring but they do it with the best of intentions. My mum on the other hand had a dry but wicked sense of humor, I was brought up with her love of midnight feasts, a joy of the night and her somewhat rebelious attitude to life.

The night can bring both silent solitude for quite contemplation or joyous fun and laughter. The dangers that may lurk in the night are no more than those that are lurking in the brightness of daylight. Our ancient ancestors started many of the feasts and festivals at the going down of the sun when a new day to their minds began. Night and day are part of the same cycle, one could not exist without the other and neither half is evil. Let us embraced the dark as much as the light for there are shades of both in all of us, by accepting that we find our own balance.