Dark is the New Light: 3 Spiritual Terms to Ditch

When the soil became dirty,

When the descent into Earthly depths was conceptualised as hell,

When the divine dark was cast out…

We lost the womb presence,

The connection to the void,

And the alchemical treasure of composting.

Light and dark polarities have featured heavily in spiritual contexts particularly in Western religions and spiritual contexts.

Often the light and dark oppositions have involved narratives related to fear, separation, othering and even demonisation.

Words are only approximations of meaning, yet it is worth considering the language and terminology we use to describe our inner experiences.

For too long the 13th fairy and the dark witch have been marginalised and degraded.

To embrace the divine dark, I invite you to ditch these 3 spiritual terms:

Ditch #1: Lightworker. A new age term used to describe someone who is on a spiritual path with the good intention to be of service.

Try instead: How about no titles? Describe someone through their actions or share your impressions about them. Or if you absolutely need a name, how about ‘compost heap’ or ‘dark goddess advocate’?

Ditch #2: Saying someone or something is ‘of the light’. Or verbal directions such as ‘go to the light’, ‘share the light’, ‘spread the light’ or ‘be the light’.

Try instead: Describe the actual quality or feeling, such as ‘spread the love’, ‘share the happiness’, ‘go to the place which feels safe/ positive’, etc. Ninja move: evoke the divine dark directly: ‘rest in your womb space’, or ‘find the sacred dark’.

Ditch #3: Darkness, dark forces, dark arts or any other associations of dark or black with something bad, evil or undesirable.

Try instead: Dissonant, disconnecting, distorted, harmful, negative or involving counter forces.

Much of our language is geared towards empirical phenomena, and we are still developing the words and expressions that reflect our perceptions of the invisible dimensions.

It’s an ongoing collective project to create language which reflects our holistic being and experiences.

When we let go of terminology which no longer serves us, and substitute them with better ones, we are not only changing words- we are shifting consciousness and transforming thought forms.

Light doesn’t have to be removed from our spiritual practices and inspiration. But we can avoid the tropes of light as good and dark as bad.

We can be more specific with our language, actively engaging with the entire spectrum of light.

For example, the violet ray of transmutation is a helpful tool and black light is a wonderfully powerful portal.

We can also learn more about the indigenous cultures and Asian religions which have non-dualistic cosmovisions.

There are many ways to sink into the roots of our own divine dark being.

What has worked for you? I would be happy to know!

Discover more

In the Rose Hive we practice inner world attunement and expressing our perceptions related to the non-manifest dimensions. To be notified of upcoming workshops and events, you are welcome to sign up here.