Light and Dark

Through our daily earthbound life, we recognise the sun rising in the east (northeast in the summer and southeast in the winter) and mounting the sky. The sun rarely passes directly overhead, and rather we see it moving toward the south, if you're in the northern hemisphere. The sun will then set toward the west (southwest in the winter and northwest in the summer). This all changes if you're in the southern hemisphere, where the sun will appear to travel through the north, rising in the southeast at winter and the northeast at summer, and rising in the southwest in summer and northwest in winter. The following diagram shows the perceived passage of the sun for each hemisphere.

For this reason, I would place my altar in the South and draw the circle anti-clockwise if I were in the southern hemisphere. Whether we are in the southern or northern hemisphere, the altar is placed in the darkest quarter of the circle, where the sun is perceived to travel under the earth. Psychologically speaking, the darkest quarter symbolises the hidden depths of the unconscious, also known as the shadow.

Darkness and shadow do not signify evil in Wicca, as they do in some other religions. We don't have a good-evil polarity in Wicca. The dark-light polarity signifies the necessary growth and decay of natural phenomena. The darkness is a place of rest and rejuvination, sleep and unconsciousness. It signifies the great mysteries of life, everything which is unknown and yet to be discovered. The dark quarter signifies both the unknown depths of the infinite universe, and the unknown depths of our own minds. As witches, we strive not to fear the unknown, but to bravely face the shadows.  With torch in hand we seek out the secrets of the cosmos, and illuminate the depths.

The unconscious mind contains our repressed feelings, automatic skills, subliminal perceptions, thoughts, habits, automatic reactions, and possibly also complexes, hidden phobias and desires. Our dreams reveal the unconscious processes of our minds, and are therefore important parts of our lives. Throughout our waking lives, the brain carries out many processes that we are not conscious of, filtering the information that we receive through our senses and running our most vital bodily functions. It is from our unconscious processes that all our thoughts and perceived decision making arises. By understanding this unconscious process, we come to understand why we have the thoughts we do.

The shadow within ourselves represents everything that we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves. It may be experienced as a deep well, a tight passage, a narrow door, through which we must squeeze through to encounter a clearer perception of ourselves, warts and all. It may be that the self we encounter in this dark mirror is more pleasant than we expected. Those with low self esteem may discover a reflection which is far more positive than previously acknowledged. Making the journey into the shadow is a chance to reveal the things we didn't know about ourselves. The ultimate depth of the human mind is the home of the gods, the archetypes which we experience in dreams and other states of consciousness.

I think it's important that we recognise that the unconscious is not a thing or a place, it is simply a lack of awareness, just as darkness is not a thing or a place, it is just an absence of visible light. The more we become consciously aware of, the more enlightened we become. Our journey into the darkness is a discovery of secrets, a necessary passage for mental illumination.