Out of the Shadows An Exploration of Dark Paganism and Magick John J. Coughlin All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 1997, 2001 John J. Coughlin No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the author. First Edition, 1stBooks Library Printed in the United States of America Library in Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN: 1-4033-5058-2 This book is printed on acid free paper. 1stBooks Library 2511 West Third Street, Suite 1 Bloomington, IN 47404 www.1stbooks.com Ankh-pentacle design by Nicole Graf. Graphics rendering by David Shetterly. 1stBooks – rev. 3/2/01 About the Author John Coughlin, also known by his Internet handle Dark Wyccan, has been involved in the craft for over 16 years. In that time, he has worked with several groves and covens, although he primarily prefers to walk a solitary, eclectic path. Also associated with the Gothic scene, John has incorporated his personal aesthetics and ideals into his spirituality giving him an often unique perspective on Wicca and Paganism in general. Currently, John is editor of the NYC Pagan Resource Guide and his created many other web-based projects for both Pagans and Goths on waningmoon.com such as the Pagan Personals, Gothic Personals, Corporate Goth and Gothic Guide to Nail Care. The author welcomes your comments and can be reached through the below addresses: John J. Coughlin 837 Midland Ave Private Mail Box # 113 Yonkers, NY 10704 [email protected] Visit Out of the Shadow’s web site, “An Exploration of Dark Paganism,” as well as other projects of the author at: http://www.waningmoon.com Congratulations to Unto Ashes for signing with Projekt Records! Your album Moon Oppose Moon was first choice for listening music many a long night while working on this book. Best wishes to your continued success. http://www.UntoAshes.com Unto Ashes logo by Jenna R. Mindlin Acknowledgements Special thanks to Coley, my precious one, who listened to my archaic rambling regardless of whether or not I made any sense, and whose seemingly simple questions would give rise to chapters. To Cathy, who encouraged me to stop and add more when I was rushing to get this book published, and who is probably still wondering why I did not make this two separate books. Hang in there kiddo! To Elisabeth for her editing expertise, and whose side comments on the manuscript made the usually dull task of editing more enjoyable. Thanks also to Michele for her insights into the various topics of BDSM and its culture. I wish I had more time to have discussed the topic with her before the submission of the manuscript. To David who helped bring some of the graphics to life, and, of course, to Algernon whose talent in marketing will shine as the book goes to print. To Hecate, who taught a frightened little boy not to be afraid of the dark. And finally to my various pets for having absolutely no clue about my work. Y Winter Autumn winds are dying As winter rears its head. Soon the land will sleep again In the silence of the dead. The gray sky seems a blanket. The golden trees now bare; Their branches reach out to the sky To grasp the misty air. Dark browns replace the orange And grays replace the blue Soon snow will change this landscape As the spiral dance holds true. The silence will be welcomed By a solitary crow. An eerie song of mystery That few will ever know. For winter keeps its secrets, The ones not hard to hide. The answer's all around us, But the question sleeps inside. -John J. Coughlin, November 24, 1999 In loving memory of Botanica. My familiar. My friend. Into your dark embrace, oh Hecate, do I entrust my companion until we can one day be together in the realm between eternity and the now. Sketch by Nicole Graf Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 PART I: Darkness DARK PAGANISM 7 A Need for Balance..................................................... 10 In Defense of Lightside Paganism .............................. 11 DARKSIDERS 15 The Gothic Subculture ................................................ 16 The Vampiric Subcultures........................................... 21 BDSM Subculture........................................................ 30 Commonalities among Darksiders.............................. 32 “Lost Souls” ................................................................ 33 Darkside Survival Guide ............................................ 35 UNDERSTANDING DARKNESS 39 Aspects of Darkness................................................... 40 Imagery and Archetypes ............................................ 44 The Night .................................................................... 55 Evil.............................................................................. 58 THE SHADOW 61 A Brief Background .................................................... 62 What is the Shadow? ................................................. 63 The Power of the Shadow........................................... 64 Collective Shadow ...................................................... 66 Confronting the Shadow............................................. 69 Individuation: Becoming Whole .................................. 78 Taking It Too Far ........................................................ 81 ON “DEMONS” AND “EVIL SPIRITS” 83 Protecting Ourselves ................................................... 86 The Enemy Within ...................................................... 88 POWER AND DARKNESS 91 ETHICS AND THE THREE-FOLD LAW 95 DUALISM AND POLARITY 99 Gender vs. Polarity ...................................................102 BLOOD, PAIN, AND SACRIFICE 105 Blood ........................................................................105 Pain ..........................................................................107 Sacrifice ....................................................................115 DARK SPIRITUALITY 119 A Model of Spirituality ..............................................119 What Makes a Path Dark?........................................127 Dark Paganism .........................................................133 Taoism ......................................................................134 Satanism ..................................................................138 Satanism vs. Dark Paganism ...................................142 “DARK” DEITIES 145 Deity as Warrior or Hunter .......................................149 Deity of Wisdom/Magic ............................................151 Deity of Death/The Underworld ...............................153 Deity of Virility/Sexuality .........................................157 Deity as Destroyer/Chaos........................................161 Deity of Darkness or Related to Darkness ...............162 Deity as Trickster/Malicious Deities.........................164 PART II: Magic THE NATURE OF MAGIC 171 Law of Action............................................................172 Limitations of Magic..................................................174 Psychological Factors of Magic .................................175 Emanations ..............................................................178 Essence of Being ......................................................183 THE STRUCTURE OF MAGIC 191 STEP 1: ESTABLISHING A RECEPTIVE STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS........................................................ 196 Meditation/Visualization..........................................197 Ritualized Movement ................................................199 Music/Sound ............................................................201 Physical Cues ...........................................................201 Mind-altering Substances.........................................202 STEP 2: RAISING ENERGY............................................ 205 STEP 3: DIRECTING ENERGY ........................................ 210 STEP 4: GROUNDING AND CENTERING............................ 211 APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES ........................................... 213 CHAOS MAGIC AND ECLECTICISM 217 BASIC SEX MAGIC 221 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRACTITIONER 227 Patience ....................................................................227 Confidence................................................................228 Skepticism ................................................................229 Desire .......................................................................230 A WORD OF WARNING 233 Am I going Insane? ...................................................234 Dealing with Depression...........................................235 Mystical Experience or Psychosis? ...........................236 Possessions and Hauntings .....................................239 What will Others Think?...........................................241 A Final Word.............................................................242 APPENDIX A: INVOKING/BANISHING PENTAGRAMS 245 Invoking Pentagram..................................................246 Banishing Pentagram ...............................................247 APPENDIX B: HAUNTINGS AND POSSESSIONS REVISITED 249 BIBLIOGRAPHY 255 TABLE OF FIGURES 257 INDEX 259 Introduction As a child I recall watching the movie Star Wars and thinking how much I wanted to join the "dark side." It wasn’t that I wanted to be a "bad guy", but rather that the dark side was more interesting. The villains had the better outfits, better