Table Of ContentAbout the Author
Frater Tenebris is a public speaker, blogger, philosopher, and practitioner of
Dark Paganism. He’s a member of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist
Pagans (CUUPS) and the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America. He lives in a
quiet neighborhood in a Texas suburb with his wife and two dogs.
Copyright Information
The Philosophy of Dark Paganism: Wisdom & Magick to Cultivate the Self
© 2022 by Frater Tenebris.
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First e-book edition © 2022
E-book ISBN: 9780738772653
Book design by Christine Ha
Cover design by Shannon McKuhen
Interior art (pages 18, 19, 22, 23, 205 & 208) by the Llewellyn Art
Department
Tarot card illustrations (pages 28, 36, 37 & 201) are based on those
contained in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite,
published by William Rider & Son Ltd., London 1911.
Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tenebris, Frater, author. | Storm, Marysa, editor.
Title: The philosophy of dark paganism : wisdom & magick to cultivate the
self / Frater Tenebris.
Description: First edition. | Woodbury, Minnesota : Llewellyn Worldwide,
Ltd, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “Discover a
life-changing spiritual paradigm that honors the divine Self and strives
to elevate it to a higher state of being”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022024111 (print) | LCCN 2022024112 (ebook) | ISBN
9780738772608 | ISBN 9780738772653 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Spiritual life--Miscellanea. | Self—Religious
aspects—Miscellanea. | Paganism. | Light and darkness—Miscellanea. |
Magic.
Classification: LCC BF1999 .T366 2022 (print) | LCC BF1999 (ebook) |
DDC
133.9—dc23/eng/20220729
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022024111
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022024112
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Manufactured in the United States of America
This book is dedicated to my father,
who would take me to the library every weekend and taught
me a love of learning and living virtuously.
Contents
Foreword by John J. Coughlin
Introduction
Part I—Dwelling in the Dark
Chapter I Understanding Paganism
Chapter II Dark Pagan Primer
Chapter III Principles of Dark Paganism
Part II—The Dark Shall Be Light
Chapter IV Principle 1: Self-Knowledge
Chapter V Principle 2: Self-Acceptance
Chapter VI Principle 3: Autonomy
Chapter VII Principle 4: Magick
Chapter VIII Principle 5: Corpospirituality
Chapter IX Principle 6: Environmental Mastery
Chapter X Principle 7: Purpose in Life
Chapter XI Principle 8: Positive Relations
Chapter XII Principle 9: Magnum Opus
Part III—Dark Enough
Chapter XIII Dark Paganism and the Left-Hand Path
Chapter XIV Dark Pagan Traditions
Chapter XV Dark Gods and Other Spirits
Chapter XVI Spirituality and the Dark Allure
Chapter XVII A Dark Ocean
Chapter XVIII Applied Dark Paganism
Conclusion
Appendix: Famous Magicians of History
Recommended Reading
Glossary
Bibliography
Foreword
B
ack in the late ’90s, when I was struggling to find my own spiritual
balance in Paganism, I had no idea I was about to start something
that would take on a life of its own. At the time I felt very much
alone and out of place. There seemed to be a phobia toward anything that
hinted of darkness or (gasp) the dreaded Left Hand Path. In hindsight, I am
sure the “satanic panic” of the ’80s and early ’90s set the stage for very
defensive Pagans battling with that stigma and led to a bit of
overcompensation, to say the least! But as a young man just coming into his
own spiritually, I felt all the more isolated and confused. Somewhere I
seemed to have taken a bit of a detour. Was I still a Pagan? Did it even
matter? In my youth I was still so fixated on labels and conditioned from
my Christian upbringing to think I had to follow something “official.” But
if I had questioned the faith I was raised in, why could I not question the
faith I was drawn to?
It was from this confusion that I began to write small essays, purely for
myself to better organize and articulate my thoughts. Those essays
eventually took the form of chapters, and thus Out of the Shadows came
into being. When the book was released, I was expecting the worst. I
envisioned angry emails, bad reviews, and generally becoming an outcast in
the local Pagan community. But that was not what happened. Suddenly I
began to get emails and written letters of thanks. I had put into words
something that others lurking in the shadows of Paganism had been feeling.
As it turned out, none of us were as alone as we had believed.
As I began to tour and speak at various gatherings (not an easy task for
an introvert like myself), I had the opportunity to meet these kindred spirits.
What intrigued me was how diverse we could be when it came to details of
belief and practice, and yet we were still able to relate on a deeper level.
Dark Paganism is very much more a mindset than a specific path or
tradition, and I was always careful not to share the details of my personal
practices in fear of influencing how others would express themselves.
That was a long time ago (like “before iPhone” long time ago), and
thanks to the internet, Paganism has become extremely diverse and Dark
Pagans abound in various forms and names. Others have since shared their
perspectives on the subject—some I feel aligned to, and some that make me
cringe, and both have their place. Each perspective offers the reader an
opportunity to explore how it applies to THEM. After all, I did not write
Out of the Shadows to tell readers what to do. I threw out a lot of ideas to
see how it landed and to encourage others to explore for themselves.
Over the years many have written to me asking for advice on how to get
started in Dark Paganism, and I am sure most found my response a bit …
unexpected. I had no “dark spells” (whatever those are) to share or
mysterious rites and practices to offer. Instead, I suggested a few books I
personally found useful (such as the works of Jung and Ouspensky) and
said the best thing they could do is learn critical thinking skills and embrace
a consistent meditation practice. Independent thinking and self-reflection, to
me, are the greatest skills for anyone who walks a dark path. I dare say they
are essential for any practitioner of magic. Are you walking your path, or
buying into someone else’s approach? Are you changing the world to
conform to your will, or are you conforming to the will of others? Why do
you do what you do and believe what you believe?
It is that journey of self-exploration and expression that is the hallmark of
those who walk the darker paths. It is what unites us despite our varied
outward appearances and practices. We have all embarked on a journey of
self-discovery and self-transformation and have come into our own in
the process.
This is why, ultimately, I have always been more interested in what YOU
were doing with these ideas. How do they reflect in your magic and life? I
did not care how gothic you looked, or how cool your tools were, or how
spooky your rites could get. I wanted to know about your journey and
struggles. Some may argue this had made me a good mentor, but in all
honesty, it was just as much for selfish reasons. You see, I am painfully
aware as humans our perception will always be limited. We are all wearing
blinders of some form, and while I have spent decades learning to recognize
and see past my blind spots, I will never be fully free of them. So it is from
hearing of your journeys that I often find inspiration and fresh insights to
keep me out of boxed-in thinking. I may not always agree with it all, but it
has never failed to make me think. Besides, who am I to judge your path?
While some have dubbed me the father of Dark Paganism, I only refer to
myself as that in jest. As I quickly found out, I was never alone—I just
helped to get the conversation going.
So here we are, twenty-two years or so since I first released Out of the
Shadows, and it excites me to see what Frater Tenebris is doing here. This is
exactly what I like to see—others sharing their own insights, learnings, and
practices. My advice to the reader, which may sound heretical for an author,
is not to take any of us too seriously. Play with these ideas. Question them.
Take nothing at face value. My challenge to you is to not base your findings
on assumption. Get your hands dirty. I have found myself humbled many
times in my life by stepping out of my armchair and actually doing the
work only to find my assumptions and opinions wrong. How glorious it is
that the universe is far more interesting and expansive than we give it credit
for! The greatest trapping on a dark path is the ego. As great and profound
as we can be, we are still human, and always growing. It is when you feel
you know it all, or have reached some pinnacle of perfection above others,
that you can be sure you took a wrong turn along the way. My parting
advice is this: Get over yourself, stay curious, and, most importantly, have
fun!
—John J. Coughlin
New York
February 2022
Introduction
T
he Western world has been fertile ground for alternative spiritual
movements for a long time. For example, America saw new spiritualities
appear during the first Great Awakening and later in the two subsequent
Great Awakenings, which stretched into the early twentieth century. After
the Second World War, the Western world saw the birth of other new
spiritual movements, which exploded in numbers during the counterculture
of the 1960s.
New spiritual movements didn’t cease to appear after the 1960s. This
book is an introduction to a recent spiritual movement called Dark
Paganism. Dark Paganism is a positive, life-affirming spiritual philosophy
centered on honoring and cultivating the Self.
For forty-plus years, ever since my early teen years in the 1970s, I had
bounced around from various spiritual traditions, some Pagan while others
not. Never did I find one that was a good fit. Then I learned of Dark
Paganism in John J. Coughlin’s landmark book Out of the Shadows: An
Exploration of Dark Paganism. Something about his book resonated with
me. Then, through years of meditation, magick, and applying his
philosophy to my life, I gradually understood the truth of his dark spiritual
philosophy.
It’s because of Dark Paganism that I learned to trust myself. Years of
indoctrination by anti-Self traditions had left me with self-doubt and
anxiety. I began to accept my True Self and to live accordingly. As a result,
my confidence increased, and the day-to-day anxiety I suffered significantly
reduced. These improvements in my life drove me to write this book.
Dark Paganism is a spiritual philosophy and not a religion. While there
are historical wisdom traditions that incorporate Dark Pagan philosophical
