The Station of Annihilation

in Sufi teachings
The Imams represent the moon because the moon has no light of its own. It is in complete submission – no ego – so it is able to perfectly reflect the light of the Sun like the Divine Presence.
But the moon has two faces, one visible and one that is never visible, what they call the “dark side of the moon.” The dark side of the moon represents The Hidden Secrets it represents complete annihilation and not wanting to be known.
So that station of annihilation is represented by the black robes worn by the dervishes, showing us that they have an existence before their manifestation in white, before they begin to turn. When they start turning they are dressed in white, symbolizing their manifestation in the material world.
Then when they stop turning, they cover themselves again in a black robe. It means that their physical manifestation has died and they have returned to their real being, their real reality in the Divine Presence. This is one of the secrets of Sufi whirling, and its purpose is to emphasize that in life there is no ending, only a new beginning..

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un.
"To God we belong and to Him is our return." (2:156)