There is Dark – there is Light – there is Balance

To humans born was vice – recounted in the form of sin. In
each there is a darkness, ever-present and lurking at the borderline of our own
“morality” – intrinsic or instilled – and like the head of the hydra, from the
slain virtue come two vices in its stead. The Bible speaks of them – both as
they are customarily known and the antecedents of such – as the cardinal sins.

1. Lust
2. Greed
3. Gluttony
4. Sloth
5. Wrath
6. Envy
7. Pride

This is the Dark Serpent – coiled about the body and
weighing on the soul, grounding it thusly to the physical world in which we
exist. It is our tether and our anchor so that we might remain bound –
necessary so that we might make our earthy contribution and learn our lessons
tasked. Without it – and these primal instincts – we ascend. Just as without
its compatriot – we would descend into the darkness. To be human is not to cast
of either – but to appease them both. This is the Balance: this is what keeps
us and this is what solidifies the plane – the Middle Ground.

I do not believe in evil – or rather – I believe that evil
is the creation of man; the condemnation of our own primal aspect, which lashes
back with the vehement will of survival. Evil lies in the neglect of man – the denial
of the primal and the healthy exhibition of such. The Black Serpent must be fed
– but only to appease it – so that it might return to its glutted torpor.

This can be done mundanely – through the unabashed expression
of lust, treating yourself to something decadent, superfluous, relaxing and
indulging in nothing but your own will, letting out your aggression and disdain
in constructive (or controlled, destructive) manners. The key is to allow
yourself these things without guilt –
for shame is antithetical – but to do so in moderation. These practices can and
should be easily integrated, even for the most righteous – for they are constructive
to experience, to mortality.

This being said, there is another ways to feed the Serpent –
one that can prove even more freeing.

To Perform

Go to a dark room – this is where the Serpent resides, where
it feels at home – and sit in the darkness. The key is not to simply sit
listlessly in the dark, but to allow yourself to connect to the darkness, feel
its inky touch upon your skin. If you enjoy/prefer visualization – imagine a
caduceus around which are intertwined a black and white snake. Call to the Dark
Serpent and watch as it unravels itself and comes to you. Search then your mind
for those thoughts of anger, lust, rage, envy and feed them one by one to the
Serpent and letting the leave you. Allow the Serpent to twist about your body –
allowing it to devour the negativity as it sees fit, and when you have been
cleansed – command that it return. Watch it slither back from whence it came,
and coil once more about the caduceus. You have been freed, and the Serpent
fed.

This same principle can be applied thusly to the Light
Serpent, as well, feeding it not with negativity, but giving it your great joys
and good memories so that it might keep them safe. It is fed not with Hate, but
Love – and in times of great darkness or sadness, feed the Light Serpent so
that it might lift you from the bowels of grief.

For those who work magic without the aid of deities or
spirits, these Serpents may also be employed to act as servants to your will –
enacting magic. Send the Light Serpent to bring forth a new love or the Dark to
feed on maladies so that they might heal.

Happy feeding,

Q

photo source