The Magic of Darkness

The source of all creativity and health?

Photo by Manuel M. Almeida on Unsplash

Let’s start with What is Magic?
And what is darkness?

Magic is what appears as impossible, but has method and consistent results for those who know the method. Like striking a match long ago was “magic” to the tribal peoples. Or like glass which appears like one could walk through it but find it is transparent and hard.
Magic is defined here

I see “enchantment", “art of influencing or predicting events and producing marvels using hidden natural forces,” or “of or pertaining to magic; working or produced by enchantment; having supernatural qualities or powers," late 14c., from Old French magique, from Latin magicus "magic, magical," from Greek magikos, from magike.”

OK what about Darkness? The old Alchemists used a term - The First Matter - to show all the possibilities in any given moment, but is chaotic. I like to say Nature takes chaos and makes order out of it. Nature takes the individual elements and energies and organizes those into a form with a life of its own.

Agrimony - related to a magical Cinqefoil - in the Rose family - five petals, like our fingers and toes

In my studies and practice of health over the past 30 years, I now know there is a process by which our bodies and physiology reflect the inner health of the psyche/the dark. Also, the inner workings of our body also reflect our state of consciousness and how our attention and awareness creates, and relates to this “outer world.”

To further my surprise, it turns out there is at least a partially unbroken chain of study, and practice in alchemy, going back thousands of years. Whether we call it yoga, alchemy, health, meditation, etc... It all is an alchemical process by which the inner/dark and outer/light, observer and observed, participant and play, all begin to unite. In some systems this is called “The Inner Marriage.”

Distant past Tribal and Traditional cultures had a model which points at the maturation of living beings, and humans were/are part of this model. All world traditions point in their own way at this truth, and it matters not how we look, but that we look, and use the pointers to guide our journey. We become more whole.

The gap is closed and we begin to mature and live out our “inner gold” as our opposites function together in more harmony. I call this process Natural Law.

When we watch a plant grow, we make cookies, we build a house, make a sand-castle, all show taking something out of the inner darkness and creating out of it.

And when we make it conscious - we create consciously, with thought, word and deed.

For those who pay or are subscribed, my document on Alchemy is available - past this paywall.