My first contact with "the occult" was through Wicca and for about a decade I used to just refer to myself as "Wiccan". I like Wicca - it is simple and to the point; a very flowing and natural path which has sadly been corrupted. Despite my internet handle, the label "Wiccan" no longer fits my very personalized belief system. Ironically the "Wyccan" in my handle was intended to jokingly point out that I was "Wiccan but not quite Wiccan." Whatever... I'm not one to worry about labels. I clearly no longer fit neatly into any category and that is just fine by me. (Sorry folks there is no tradition called "Dark Wycca" although with all the emails I get asking to join it maybe I should make one!!)

I personally believe that all the religions of the world are more starting points, or templates, on which to build one's own personalized belief system. A religion to me is a "school of thought" that one can use in building a spiritual path, but spirituality itself is a deeply personal and internal path. I would say I am more spiritual than religious and while I share a connection with certain deities or godforms, I worship none.

One can be religious and not spiritual. That would indicate the individual has focused too much attention on the external form but never really took it into the Self. Many Roman Catholics, for example, go to mass and say their prayers but these actions have lost meaning and life - the actions are empty. They don't eat meat on Friday because that is the thing to do, not because they are making a sacrifice as a sign of devotion.

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking that faith, just using it as an example since it is so common. Some Roman Catholics have found it to be a rewarding spiritual path. Even Pagans can fall into this trapping of being religious and not spiritual... just look an how many get fixated on their tools and other props.

My point here is religion and spirituality are not necessarily the same thing. Organized religions try to build a spiritual path based on one religion (theirs) but for many this is not quite enough to fill their spiritual needs. Pagan religions tend to be more flexible, at least in theory. Although some tend to focus on one tradition, making it personal, others are free to draw upon them as sources.

I have acknowledged myself as a Pagan since 1984, although I dabbled in magick earlier than that. Since my self-dedication, my spirituality has evolved as I developed emotionally and physically. Because of this it is hard to distinguish my spirituality from my life since it has been incorporated into every aspect of it.

When pushed to label myself, I like to use "Dark Pagan," which sometimes causes confusion since darkness is often associated with evil. I wrote the book Out of the Shadows: An Exploration of Dark Paganism and Magick with the hope that it would help explain what a dark path is and of the beauty that can be found there. My personal philosophy would not be foriegn to such groups as the Temple of Set and it is my own Becoming which drew me to them as I continue to evolve, or Xeper as they say.

Taoism has also had a strong influence on my spirituality. I tend to view the world through the eyes of a philosphical Taoist. This should not be too surprising since many of the underlying views of Dark Paganism are very similar to Taoist principles. I love and highly recommend any work of Lao Tzu as well as the more contemporary work of Deng Ming-Dao.

Aspects of Native American spirituality (not just shamanism!) have also influenced my personal spirituality, particularly its deep connection to the Earth. No other religions so elegantly portray the sacredness of nature as those of the Native American. I always recommend the book Touch the Earth by T. C. McLuhan to best show this profound connection. (The link is for the Audio Cassette since the book is not in print as I write this - it may be between printings.)