Different cultures have catagorized different things into the opposites 'light' and 'dark'.

I, who align myself with darkness, define it thusly:

Dark is the place where Mystery dwells. It is the place of Possibility and Potentiality. It is also the place of the Unknown. It is the quiet where I can think, where I can return to the center that is mySelf. Darkness represents the 'subconscious', for in those deep waters lie my creative powers. I experience strong emotions when I embrace Darkness, the intense desire even unto lust. But this does not become the 'lusting for results' that disables magical endeavor. Perhaps because this lust is rooted in Potential, I am not placing demands on how it will manifest. The evolution is natural and spontaneous.

So for me, viewing Set as the Dark Lord is entirely appropriate, for as I perceive him, he is the raging torrents of Power, rawly chaotic only if not channeled by my Will. As for Set's will, he wants to exist, to 'be', to know the force of his power as it's being channeled. He experiences Himself through us when we channel him. He becomes more vast, the more people that evoke him. He has 'pride of being' and in the embrace of darkness, I also have 'pride of being'. How do I explain that 'pride of being'? To fully enjoy my own consciousness, to be in awe at the wonder of being alive is a good start.

So for me, there is nothing to fear in Darkness, unless I were to fear my own Self.

And then, I felt the desire to visit Deep Self:

Darkness Suits Us Fine If I stop here, I will not know what it is I have to say. I do not stop, I go on, and in that pursuit, I will Know myself. How do you define it? How do you refine it? when it has just been made clear to you. Then, the carving fingers can smooth out the shapes, clarify, define, refine FORM. In the beginning was Darkness. "Darkness was upon the face of the deep." In this unrealized form yet to be, springs forth the sum of creation. Until then, only raw potential. Why do I love the potential so? Do I see in this the hope of possibility rather than the fear of grim despair? Darkness holds no fear for me. I do not fear myself, the hidden depths of mySelf, the anchored witness to times beyond. MySelf is anchored within me. I am anchored within mySelf. From these depths comes the results of my creation. I bring them forth from Darkness, form yet unseen that then becomes seen. Marvel that I say these strange things? I who align myself with darkness, am in the deepest depths of mySelf, darkness. I am the voice seeking expression, looking for a mouth and in the manifestation, finding it. I am all these things. I return to the center that is mySelf, and around me hums the orbit of the rest. And I to them, are in their surrounding orbits. Intersections of intersections, intersecting at points of meeting, greeting, then spinning off again. We are stars in orbit. We are stars in darkness, we make our own light. Darkness suits us fine. JAL, 8-21-04