The Four Soul Types Imagine and equal-armed cross. Try it.

See this icon of intersecting

poles. Got it? This is the simplest way to illustrate a principle that has confused humankind
for ages. Through this icon we can understand the relationship of good and evil to the
essences of light and dark. Each of the poles in this simple cross represents a pair of
misunderstood opposites. Just so we all see the diagram the same way, let?s label it. We?ll
call the vertical pole ?good/evil?, with good on top. The horizontal pair is ?light/dark?, with
light on the left. While these two pairs work together in a way we?ll explore here, they are not
the same. The vertical pair represents our success or failure as human beings and immortal
souls. We?re all truly meant to accomplish good, and to become better individuals--to
become, in essence, more like the Source that created us. This is the true purpose of most of
the world?s positive religions, including Wicca, where we perceive that the Source has both
male and female aspects. The horizontal pair determines the path we walk while advancing
through a particular stage of our development. Not all of us are meant to surround ourselves
with light and avoid the shadows. The ancients understood the concept of the nocturnal path
well, which is why they named more than just the light aspects of Divinity. The various
names given to Gods and Goddesses do not imply that there are thousands of such beings
all struggling for power. Rather, they are each manifestations of a particular aspect, dark or
light, of the primal energy from which we all came. We name these energies to better
establish a link to the Source while we?re still here. Some of us identify better with the dark
ones among these deities. Success or failure, and the path we walk to get there--keep these
aspects of the cross icon in mind. Through an understanding of the symbol you?ll master an
occult truth. Don?t take my word for it, however. See how this truth applies to you. If you
focus for a moment on the white space surrounding our simple diagram, you?ll se that it
makes up four quadrants. It is in one of these four that a soul?s particular lifetime can be
mapped. Remember plotting geometric points on a graph in high school? There you would
mark a point by noting its X and Y coordinates, or how far away from center, up or down, and
left or right it was. In much the same way, we can identify a soul-type by how good or evil,
dark or light it may be. The closer to the center on is in either axis, the more neutral he or
she is with respect to that axis?s pair of energies. In other words, we come to see that there
are four categories of individuals possible, and that people in each type can possess varying
degrees of the category?s essence. Starting in the upper left corner of the cross?s white
space and moving counterclockwise, the four soul-types are: good-light, evil-light, evil-dark,
and good-dark. Some of us are more good or evil than others, some more drawn to darkness
or light, but we still fall somewhere within one of the four soul-types. Good-light is the soul-
type that most people are really referring to when they mention or think of the concept of
good. People in this category include many (but not all) Wiccans and so-called New
Agers. But one doesn?t need to walk a spiritual path to be in this category. Anyone who is
moral, loves brightness and spreads joy honestly is good-light. These are also often the
people who feel uplifted, for instance, by major-key music and inspirational fiction or feel-
good tales. As an extreme example, some of the world?s religion founders, such as Christ
and Buddha, were of this soul-type. Whether the followers of such masters and the
infrastructures of their and other organized religions live up to the good-light label, however,
is open for debate. Speaking of living up to a path, were someone to fail at being good-light
there is a decent chance they?d end up evil-light. An overlooked type, evil-light is the
sinister companion to good-light and the trickiest of the four groups to identify. Those of this
soul-type seem at a glance to be moral individuals. Evil-light people may gather around them
all the trappings of asceticism and harmony, or just what the masses perceive as being bright
and positive. But behind the fa?ade, the evil-light have given up trying to be better
individuals. Consider a corrupt televangelist (feel free to do some digging into your
memories or your library?s newspaper archives if you feel this is only a stereotype). Evil-
light televangelists would surround themselves with light themes and choir song, yet bilk
their followers of millions, claiming that the gathered cash is going toward something other
than a new Mercedes or Tudor mansion. Other evil-light can include righteous activists who
let the end justify the means (for example, pro-lifers who bomb abortion clinics). Evil-light
can even encompass corrupt executives who give to charity (as a good tax write-off) and
frequent merry parties and even church, but who cheat in their business and personal
dealings without regard for others. Evil-dark, the true opposite of good-light, is the category
that most people simplistically label as evil. Remember, the four categories can manifest in
people in varying degrees. In the realm of the occult, evil-dark individuals can be the often
harmless devil worshippers who value material goods and fun over their souls and the
welfare of others, or can be the more sadistic individuals who perform black magic and
human sacrifice. In the everyday world, common criminals often fit this category, although
they can just as easily be evil-light Remember, the two evil soul-types are ones of
failure. Whether a fallen one was good-light or good-dark before his or her sour turn
determines, usually, whether he or she will become evil-light or evil-dark. Unfortunately,
most people are unaware of the nature of soul-types and mistake good-dark ones as being
?bad?. This is not surprising, considering that evil-dark people like devil worshippers get the
most public attention, being ever vigilant for opportunities to spread their sinister
propaganda. Conversely, the good-dark who succeed at the ultimate goal of adepthood or
spiritual mastery do not attract as much attention, being mostly silent about their
accomplishments. Who are these good-dark? What makes someone a potential night-kind
or Nocturnal Witch? When the essence of the shadows and darkness empowers you, yet you
don?t feel evil, you are good-dark. Do you dress in black? Favor silver jewelry??Does being
surrounded by the shadows, by the essence of night, appeal to you? Such dark tendencies
may have manifested in you early in life, affecting more than just the way you dress, the
books you read, and the music you listen to. Are you one of the Night Kind? Perhaps your
nocturnal nature awakened in you a need for an alternative spirituality. At first this calling
might have resulted in a desire to become aware of the unseen world. That urge likely
evolved into a sense that there is something almost tangible in the night, calling you. You
are not alone. If you?re reading this, you may just be one of those souls who walk an often
misunderstood spiritual path. You may be one of night kind. Traditional Wicca and other
occult currents may have looked enticing at first, but could have left you feeling a bit
alienated, as was the case with me. Most of these paths have evolved, through group input,
to suit the greatest common denominator: to resonate with those who favor both solar and
lunar energies. Some of us live for the night, however. Some of us only feel a need for the
light of the moon. Yet where to look for mysteries related to our nature? Most occult books
that approach the subject of darkness do so in a flawed way, assuming all their readers are
seeking evil rites. If you?re like me, however, you don?t consider yourself evil, don?t feel
any attraction to the shallow philosophies of those who worship the devil. You know,
inherently, that the concepts of dark and light have nothing to do with good and evil. A soul
is guided by an essence--in our case a nocturnal one--that does not determine one?s spiritual
destiny, but the route taken to get there.