Have no initial issue during pre-Christian dark spells? (5,5)
I believe the answer is:
black magic
'have no initial issue during pre-christian' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'dark spells?' is the wordplay.
'dark' becomes 'black' ('black' can be a synonym of 'dark').
'spells?' becomes 'magic' (I've seen this before).
'black'+'magic'='BLACK MAGIC'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for black magic that I've seen before include "Wizardry for evil purposes" , "The dark arts" , "Dangerous spells" , "Satanic practices" , "Evil use of supernatural power" .)