Out of the Shadows: An Exploration of Dark Paganism and Magick

By John J. Coughlin, O.F.M., John J. Coughlin, John J. Coughlin

Book Overview

What is it about darkness that fascinates us? Some fear it while others seek it. Its imagery awakens something within us that we cannot name. This book is actually two books in one. The first section... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0982354975
• ISBN13: 9780982354971
• Release Date: December 2015
• Publisher: Waning Moon Publications, LLC
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent exploration of an all too often taboo subject

Like the title and introduction of the book says, this is an exploration of dark paganism, magic, and also other darksiders in general. Written by a man whose personal aesthetics have been interwoven into his personal spirituality, he has a unique perspective. There are numerous topics explored in this book, and the author rightly says in the introduction that each could have filled several chapters or even a whole book! It's an introduction and primer, and highly recommended to all Pagans and Wiccans to gain a deeper and more balanced understanding. It's best to also keep in mind that while the issue of balance within earth-based pagan paths, especially Wicca, is emphasized; the book is about Dark Paganism. To paraphrase the author, balance does not always mean equal. Such is the case with this book. Beyond challenging us to personalize our paths and to bring back balance, the book's focus is to prime the reader on the darker side. Personally I found the best parts of this book to be the chapter on the Shadow, the exploring of emanations such as "auras" (free of New Age influence), a pagan/nature-based look at ghosts and a refreshing take on possessions and hauntings. But the best is saved for the second half, the chapters on magic theory. By far the best I've seen, it's both powerful and simple. Run a search on the author: his website has a preview to the book. Also, if you liked the book and want to go a little further the website has more beyond the pages! Including: essays by several authors, a list of recommended books (very excellent if a bit short in this reviewers not-too-humble opinion), and links to other resources. I hope that this review has helped those it can, and I wish all you seekers a pleasant day.

Dark Paganism from Out of the Shadows

In Out of The Shadows, author John J. Coughlin trys to rebuild the balance 'Light Paganism' has created. He gives an easy and understandable description of what the Darkness and 'Dark Paganism' actually are. Though the focus of this book is 'Dark Paganism', the author in no way tries to deny or degrade Light Paganism. In fact, Coughlin actually describes it's benefits and necessities in modern paganism. In his explanation of the Darkness, Coughlin gives information on "dark siders" including the Gothic and Vampiric Sub-Culture. He gives a clear and understandable explanation of "The Shadow" in psychological terms, as well as symbols, images, and archetypes associated with darkness. I found the section on dark deities to be especially interesting, where Coughlin offers information on specific deities from various pantheons including Celtic,Egyptian, Greek, and Hindu. Part Two is an explanation of the nature and structure of magick. This section explains how and why magick works as well as it's limitations and psychological factors. Coughlin takes you through each step of the spellcasting process by describing what and how to conduct ritual. This section also contains information on psychic abilities, chaos magick, and sex magick. Out of The Shadows is really two books in one. It is and exploration of Dark Paganism, but it is also a guide to magick. Because so many books are focused on Light Paganism, this text is truly ground breaking. This book does an excellent job of providing the seeker with the proper tools to explore yourself. It's goal is to suggest, if not test, you to personalize your belief system. You will learn the truth about the Darkness and Dark Paganism. It was an excellent read and I'd highly recommend it to all Pagans.

Excellent book that will get you thinking

What I like about this book is the author's upfront honesty. this is a book about magickal theory and exploring your dark side. The author never sets out to do a book that's focused on practice. He wants you to critically think and explore the concepts that he touches on, but in a manner that I believe gives a lot of respect to the reader.

Awesome! A must Read!

I learned about the existence of this book just as I was desparing that there were no good intermediate or advanced pagan books out there. "Out of the Shadows" was everything I was looking for and more. As someone who has long been attracted to dieties with darker, less nurturing aspects like Sekhmet, Kali, and Coyote, I agree that this book was much needed in presenting paganism without the "good vs. bad" dualism. The left hand path is often misunderstood, and I think this book is a wonderful introduction to it. It is a very psychological, thought provoking view. One will find no pre-made spells or rituals here; Coughlin explores the philosophy and mechanics of magic to help you understand why they work. -Quite a liberating thing!It is also a joy to read; I really enjoyed the conversational style of writing that Coughlin used. He defines and clarifies several aspects of dark spirituality/goth subculture that I would not normally have read about, such as Vampirism and Satanism. He also goes into depth about subjects that would never see the light of day in other books: blood, pain, insanity, sex magic, curses, and drugs. Always there, though, is a reminder of the need for balance and responsibility. The final chapter on haunting was superb; it made sense of the hauntings that I have experienced and caused me to see them in a new way. This book tops my list of favorite pagan books; I reccomend it to everyone who can handle the subject matter and wants a full course meal in magic.

A refreshing change

I admit I expected the author to have an attitude that would put me off so I was very surprised to find the book so well presented. I very much enjoyed the author's wit and clear discourse on the topics.I especially liked how the author stressed the importance of balance but that each of us can find our OWN balance based on our personal taste. As the author says, balance is not necessarily equality or neutrality. Each path can find balance within itself.The second section on magic was also very informative and useful as well. Unlike most books, instead of listing spells and rituals, the author explains what makes them work so that we can design our own or tweak existing ones to work better for us.This book is strongly recommended for ANYONE who is either attracted to the concepts of "darkness" or who are pagan and want a more well-balanced approach to their spirituality. The author has some related articles on darkpagan.com for those interested.I wish there were more books like this!! You could tell the author really had a passion for his work.