2007-09-08 05:29:47 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Do you mean Hades? I think there are trickster Gods in Paganism but not evil ones. I am no expert though.
2007-09-08 05:33:25 · answer #1 · answered by irishinvenice 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We don't have "dark" anything. Some of them have darker aspects, but there no pure evil.
Loki. He's a trickster type (although not the best term) but his purpose was far more then anything evil or sinister. Normally he helped the Gods acquire what they wanted, just not the way they wanted to.
Freya has one hell of a temper and she's a goddess of love. Granted it's one of the lesser things but still, you see my point.
Nothing purely good or purely evil. Nothing in the world is purely anything. Have a dark side doesn't make you evil. If we are created in the Gods images it would make sense that none of use are purely good or evil. Neither are they.
Things can be dark with out being evil. Death is dark, but there is nothing evil about it in the least.
2007-09-08 17:14:19 · answer #2 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A dark god/goddess personifies the negative aspect of nature. A hurricane is destructive and a negative force of nature, but it's not evil. It's not evil, it's to balance the positive aspects and make us appreciate them more. The Christian idea of evil is that it has no positive or balancing effect. It's just evil and needs to be vanquished.
2007-09-08 14:56:34 · answer #3 · answered by Young Wiccan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simply put - the so called dark Goddess/God ARE ON OUR SIDE! Rather than against, as in Christianity.
2007-09-08 13:56:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I tend to agree with the poster who said there was no common ground upon which they could be examined, but for the sake of argument, I'll hazard the guess that the former is a recognition of necessary balance, and the latter a personified suppression of human nature. There's a difference between chthonic and "evil."
Loki's not actually a Norse *god* so much as he's a mythological *companion* of certain Norse gods, and a convenient literary device.
There are no "tricksters" in the Norse worldview.
Our jotuns, etins, and Rokkr are probably about as close to "evil" as the old tales get, and even there, they are not seen as evil, merely utangardh, and the godhs often married their daughters . . . cf. Freyr and Gerd.
2007-09-08 12:51:15 · answer #5 · answered by Boar's Heart 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When Pagans talk of "dark" deities, they can be referring to a number of qualities, including:
Association with the Underworld
Transformation
Destruction
Mystery
Night
Death, War, etc.
None of these things are evil in their own right. People who honor gods associated with death don't go around killing things or encouraging people to commit suicide, for example. Death is a part of the natural life cycle. Just because we recognise that it will come for us someday doesn't mean we want to hasten the process! Respecting death can help people cope with loss and care compassionately for the dying.
If a Pagan went around murdering people and then insisted they were doing it for religious reasons, we would consider that person a psychopath and support him going to prison or a mental ward like anyone else who behaved in such a manner. That would be evil. That is also not what most death gods expect of people.
2007-09-08 14:50:12 · answer #6 · answered by Nightwind 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hades was never considered evil until the Disney movie "Hercules". The closest thing to an evil God in Greek myth/Paganism is Kronos King of the Titans.
The Norse on the other hand have Loki, who is sort of evil and bring on Ragnarok with his actions.
2007-09-08 12:43:31 · answer #7 · answered by The Return Of Sexy Thor 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This may be going further afield than you're asking ... but in areas like Buddhist Tantra and Hinduism, the "dark" gods are there to destroy "evil," as in helping you to eliminate your own tendencies towards delusion and psychic addictions. They'll chop that stuff up with a sword, or bite your head off and hand it back to you, so you can better experience the truth with your entire being rather than trying to grasp it in your little thoughts.
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2007-09-08 13:28:14 · answer #8 · answered by bodhidave 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how you define "Dark", there are many Chthonic (Underworld) or War Gods and Goddesses that might be looked at as evil IF you are afraid of those things....
2007-09-08 12:46:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anne Hatzakis 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
christians believe in absolutes of good and evil, most pagans don't. all of the gods and goddesses have both 'light' and 'dark' aspects. their attributes can be used for benefit or harm depending on the intent of the petitioner. sometimes you have to call on kali's destructive side to banish something harmful, and sometimes you have to call on her creative side to call forth a blessing. there's really not a divide between 'good' and 'evil'.
2007-09-08 13:24:57 · answer #10 · answered by bad tim 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋