T. Thorn Coyle
Encyclopedia
T. Thorn Coyle is a San Francisco-based author and teacher who began in the Feri Tradition
and the Reclaiming
tradition, but now works and teaches within her own "Morningstar" practice and mystery school.
Coyle is author of Evolutionary Witchcraft, published by Tarcher/Penguin, 2004. The book offers exercises and meditations from the Feri Tradition
as tools for personal growth and empowerment. She has also recorded two Pagan rock
CDs, Face of a New Day and Give us a Kiss!, as well as an instructional DVD, Devotional Dance. With Sharon Knight
, she wrote and recorded two albums of pagan devotional music, [ Songs for the Waning Year: A Collection of Chants to Celebrate the Dark Time of the Year] and Songs for the Strengthening Sun: A Collection of Chants to Celebrate the Return of the Sun. She also contributed to the Pandemonaeon
album Dangerous Beauty.
In 2008, Coyle began producing a series of podcasts called "Elemental Castings" wherein she interviews practitioners of a variety of magical and mystical traditions on their study and work with the classical elements of Air
, Fire
, Water
, Earth
, and Aether
(or Spirit).
Coyle's second book, Kissing the Limitless: Deep Magic and the Great Work of Transforming Yourself and the World, was released on February 10, 2009.
. She first learned of paganism when she was 13, and later had her first training as a witch when she went to college at 16. She dropped out of college at age 18 and moved to San Francisco. She studied in the Feri tradition of witchcraft
with Cora and Victor Anderson and has also studied in the Sufi and Gurdjieff traditions. She cites the punk
and anarchist movements as important influences.
Feri Tradition
The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern traditional witchcraft. It is an ecstatic, rather than a fertility, tradition stemming from the experience of Cora and Victor Anderson...
and the Reclaiming
Reclaiming (neopaganism)
Reclaiming is an international community of women and men working to combine earth-based spirituality and political activism. Its predecessor organization, the Reclaiming Collective, was founded in 1979 by two Neopagan women of Jewish descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and...
tradition, but now works and teaches within her own "Morningstar" practice and mystery school.
Coyle is author of Evolutionary Witchcraft, published by Tarcher/Penguin, 2004. The book offers exercises and meditations from the Feri Tradition
Feri Tradition
The Feri Tradition is an initiatory tradition of modern traditional witchcraft. It is an ecstatic, rather than a fertility, tradition stemming from the experience of Cora and Victor Anderson...
as tools for personal growth and empowerment. She has also recorded two Pagan rock
Pagan rock
Pagan rock is music created by adherents of one of the many Neopagan and occult traditions that emerged in the middle to late 20th century. In some cases this definition is stretched to include bands embraced by modern Pagans and occult practitioners...
CDs, Face of a New Day and Give us a Kiss!, as well as an instructional DVD, Devotional Dance. With Sharon Knight
Sharon Knight
Sharon Knight is a San Francisco-based neopagan composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist known for writing, recording, and performing Celtic fusion music. She also records and performs harder edged music with Middle Eastern themes as the frontperson of the Pagan rock/Folk Metal group Pandemonaeon...
, she wrote and recorded two albums of pagan devotional music, [ Songs for the Waning Year: A Collection of Chants to Celebrate the Dark Time of the Year] and Songs for the Strengthening Sun: A Collection of Chants to Celebrate the Return of the Sun. She also contributed to the Pandemonaeon
Sharon Knight
Sharon Knight is a San Francisco-based neopagan composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist known for writing, recording, and performing Celtic fusion music. She also records and performs harder edged music with Middle Eastern themes as the frontperson of the Pagan rock/Folk Metal group Pandemonaeon...
album Dangerous Beauty.
In 2008, Coyle began producing a series of podcasts called "Elemental Castings" wherein she interviews practitioners of a variety of magical and mystical traditions on their study and work with the classical elements of Air
Air (classical element)
Air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its supposed fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.-Greek and Roman tradition:...
, Fire
Fire (classical element)
Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization. It has been regarded in many different contexts throughout history, but especially as a metaphysical constant of the world.-Greek and Roman tradition:Fire...
, Water
Water (classical element)
Water is one of the elements in ancient Greek philosophy, in the Asian Indian system Panchamahabhuta, and in the Chinese cosmological and physiological system Wu Xing...
, Earth
Earth (classical element)
Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.-European tradition:Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of heaviness, matter and the...
, and Aether
Aether (classical element)
According to ancient and medieval science aether , also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.-Mythological origins:...
(or Spirit).
Coyle's second book, Kissing the Limitless: Deep Magic and the Great Work of Transforming Yourself and the World, was released on February 10, 2009.
Biography
Thorn Coyle was born September 24, 1965 and was raised Catholic in Whittier, CaliforniaWhittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
. She first learned of paganism when she was 13, and later had her first training as a witch when she went to college at 16. She dropped out of college at age 18 and moved to San Francisco. She studied in the Feri tradition of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
with Cora and Victor Anderson and has also studied in the Sufi and Gurdjieff traditions. She cites the punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
and anarchist movements as important influences.
Tattoos
Thorn Coyle has many tattoos, and wrote this of them in 1997: "Tattoos are spiritual markers for me. When I started getting them ten years ago, it came from a need to have rites of passage that included spiritual reminders and physical markers. All my tattoos have a spiritual meaning to me, and layers of meaning that shift over time."Further reading
- Coyle, T. Thorn. Evolutionary Witchcraft. New York : J.P. Tarcher/Penguin, c2004. ISBN 978-1585423477.
- Coyle, T. Thorn. Kissing the Limitless: Deep Magic and the Great Work of Transforming Yourself and the World. York Beach, ME: Weiser, 2009. ISBN 978-1578634354.
External links
- http://www.thorncoyle.com - classes, writings, travel schedule, and more
- http://www.reclaimingquarterly.org - website includes writings and music by T. Thorn Coyle
- Audio recording of interview with Thorn Coyle by Al Billings at Ex Templo: Out of the Temple, July–August 2007: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
- Elemental Castings -- podcasts of interviews by T. Thorn Coyle with magical and religious practitioners