Dark Paganism with John Coughlin
Interview by by Jason and Jacqueline Pitzl-Waters

John J Coughlin (a.k.a. Dark Wyccan) embodies the synthesis of two different subcultures - the Goth scene and modern Paganism, and was the first to express the union of these two aesthetics in his book, Out of The Shadows, An Exploration of Dark Paganism and Magick. Coughlin's work opened up a whole new way of looking at modern Paganism. We interviewed John to find out where he sees these two cultures connecting, colliding, or cooperating, as the case may be.

What does being a "dark Pagan" mean to you personally?
To me, Dark Paganism has two main functions. First, it is a movement to achieve a sense of balance in Paganism by stressing the "side" in polarity which has been generally neglected in Pagan culture. Secondly, darkness is a personal calling to find one's spirituality from within and so is more concentrated on personal experience rather than on following an established tradition or a teacher.

When you start looking at things like the Right Hand Path (associated with light) and the Left Hand Path (associated with darkness), this difference is exposed. The Left Hand Path has often been seen as evil since it does not follow traditions or adhere to dogma; such nonconformity is often looked down upon by more organized structures. This is because of the fundamental difference in how spirituality is perceived. Paths attributed to "light" tend to be geared to the masses while "darker" paths are generally more private. Dark Paganism is not for everyone, but it is a personal path of spiritual freedom. I often take it upon myself to show others that darkness is nothing to be afraid of.

Why write a book about dark paganism?
By the mid-1990s I was very bitter about how one-sided Paganism had become. It seemed that mainstream Paganism whitewashed and sugarcoated everything. But I knew that there was an undercurrent of people who wanted something more realistic ... with a true sense of balance. The problem with "darkness" is that there is no one definition for it, so the challenge for the book was how to write about it without constricting it too much. Instead of defining darkness, I tried to present various perceptions of it, so as to build a collage of ideas. You can't define the dark, just as one cannot define the Tao; its very nature defies a clear definition.

What has been the reaction to your book?
The reaction has been more positive than I expected. Of course, I've gotten some flak, in almost all cases from people who chastised me for promoting "black magic" (which I do not mention at all!) or for "promoting darkness" over light, which is ironic since my work is all about balance. I frequently get email from readers who are excited because my book was the first time they saw darkness being truly acknowledged within a Pagan context. Many Pagans felt they were alone in their views; my book was the first attempt to break the rules and mention the dreaded "D" word. It wasn't so much that my ideas were new but that someone had the balls to go against the grain.

Why is there so much synergy between Goths and Pagans?
Goths have always been very open minded; sexually speaking one finds a higher-than-average ratio of bisexuality and fetish-related practices and also more people into creative spiritual paths such as Paganism. Likewise, a Goth who wishes to be Pagan can be him or herself and not have to worry as much about people commenting on how they look and so on. Sadly, some folks are now into Goth or Paganism just to be trendy. These two cultures are starting to merge in the eye of the mass media; the "witch" on TV is usually portrayed as being somewhat Goth and vice versa.

What do you see for the future of Paganism?
I have an "optimistically pessimistic" view of the future of Paganism. I think Paganism is growing faster than it can adapt, so some specific Pagan paths, such as Wicca, are losing cohesion. As flexible as these paths are, one has to face the fact that some type of boundary needs to be established or it will dissipate into a meaningless blob of unrelated and contradictory ideas. The whole "fluffy syndrome" is merely a symptom of this growing imbalance.

Movements like Dark Paganism are a natural reaction which hopefully will help encourage a more balanced perspective. In the long run I feel that many of the current forms of Paganism we know today will fade away, but from the embers will arise a smaller, more serious group of paths that will carry on this spiritual evolution.

To find out more about what John is up to, check out his website at www.waningmoon.com.

Pagan practitioners for over a dozen years and life partners for over eight years, Jacqueline Enstrom-Waters and Jason Pitzl-Waters discovered Paganism together in their teens. Jason is an artist and gothic DJ. Jacqueline is an artist, astrologer and tarot reader. Both feel that they experience and express the sacred through their passionate involvement in their work and community.