T. Thorn Coyle (born September 24, 1965)Coyle, T. Thorn. Interview. "Thorn." ''Modern Pagans: An Investigation of Contemporary Pagan Practices.'' By John Sulak and V. Vale. San Francisco: RE/Search Publications, 2002. 62-69. is a Neopagan author and teacher from the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. They practiced within the Feri and

Reclaiming In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...

traditions of witchcraft before developing their own approach integrating other spiritual practices. Their writings include urban fantasy and instruction on magical spiritual practice.

Career

Coyle taught witchcraft in both Feri and

traditions. Around 2009, citing the desire to integrate other mystical perspectives and their own experience, Coyle separated their work from the Feri tradition. They founded the Morningstar Mystery School to continue their teaching. Coyle has published several books on magic and spiritual practice that detail meditations and exercises for personal growth and empowerment. Their first book, ''Evolutionary Witchcraft'', serves as a "magical workbook" for the Feri tradition and reflects practices they developed including "devotional dances." It also reflects the influences of Sufism, Gurdjieff, and radical Catholicism on their approach to magic. Their later books on spiritual practice include instruction on using magic to support the "Great Work" of union with the divine. Coyle presented at the

Parliament of the World's Religions There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

in 2009 and 2015. In 2015, they began focusing on writing fiction. Most of their novels, including the series ''The Panther Chronicles'' and ''The Witches of Portland'', are fantasy with themes of magic and social justice. They have also contributed to magazines, blogs, and published collections. Coyle is a singer and composer of pagan chants who has made several recordings, including two collections of seasonal chants in collaboration with Sharon Knight.

Biography

Formerly known as Theresa Dutton, T. Thorn Coyle was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...

, and reared in the Catholic faith. They first learned of Paganism at age 13, and had their first training as a witch at 16. They moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

at age 18. They studied the Feri tradition of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

with Cora and Victor Anderson, and were initiated in Feri and Reclaiming. They cite the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

movements as important early influences. Coyle is a dancer who was part of the early spread of American Tribal Belly Dance. They have studied

Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...

and Sufism, including several years with the Mevlevi Whirling Dervishes. They earned a B.A. in philosophy and religion from

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

in 2003, and were initiated into Phi Beta Kappa. Coyle moved to Portland, Oregon in 2016. Coyle is a life-long activist for social justice issues, and sees their writing, magical practice, and activism as interrelated. They have demonstrated for causes such as anarchism and anti-racism. Coyle identifies as gender non-conforming, noting that while they have long felt to be no particular gender, they have often been perceived as a woman.

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.""Thorn." ''Women Called to the Path of Rumi.'' ed. Shakina Reinhertz. Prescott, AZ: Hohm Press, 1997. 164-165. Some of Coyle's tattoos were photographed by

Charles Gatewood Charles Robert Gatewood (November 8, 1942 – April 28, 2016) was an American photographer, writer, videographer, artist and educator, who lived and worked in San Francisco, California. Biography Early years Gatewood was born November 8, 1 ...

Works

Non-fiction

''Evolutionary Witchcraft''. Tarcher/Penguin, 2004. ''Kissing the Limitless: Deep Magic and the Great Work of Transforming Yourself and the World''. Weiser, 2009. ''Crafting a Daily Practice: A Simple Course on Self-commitment''. Sunna Press, 2012; 2nd edition, 2017. ''Make Magic of Your Life: Passion, Purpose, and the Power of Desire''. Weiser, 2013. ''Sigil Magic: For Writers, Artists, and Other Creatives''. Sunna Press, 2015.

Fiction

''Like Water'', PF Publishing, 2015. ''Alighting on his Shoulders: Ten Tales from the Sideways Worlds'', PF Publishing, 2015. ''Break Apart the Stone: Ten Tales from the Sideways Worlds'', PF Publishing, 2017. ''To Raise a Clenched Fist to the Sky'' (The Panther Chronicles #1). PF Publishing, 2017. ''To Wrest our Bodies from the Fire'' (The Panther Chronicles #2). PF Publishing, 2017. ''To Drown this Fury in the Sea'' (The Panther Chronicles #3). PF Publishing, 2017. ''To Stand with Power on this Ground'' (The Panther Chronicles #4). PF Publishing, 2017. ''By Earth'' (The Witches of Portland #1). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Flame'' (The Witches of Portland #2). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Wind'' (The Witches of Portland #3). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Sea'' (The Witches of Portland #4). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Moon'' (The Witches of Portland #5). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Sun'' (The Witches of Portland #6). PF Publishing, 2018. ''By Dusk'' (The Witches of Portland #7). Kindle edition, 2019. ''By Dark'' (The Witches of Portland #8). Kindle edition, 2019. ''By Witch’s Mark'' (The Witches of Portland #9). Kindle edition, 2019. ''We Seek No Kings'' (The Steel Clan Saga #1). PF Publishing, 2020. ''We Heed No Laws'' (The Steel Clan Saga #2). PF Publishing, 2021.

Audio recordings

''Face of a New Day'', 1998. ''Give Us a Kiss'', 2000. ''Songs for the Waning Year'' (with Sharon Knight), Trance Jam Records, 2009. ''Songs for the Strengthening Sun'' (with Sharon Knight), Trance Jam Records, 2009.

Footnotes

External links

thorncoyle.com – Magic is real. Justice is worth fighting for.
- personal web page *Audio recording of interview with Thorn Coyle by Al Billings a
Ex Templo: Out of the Temple
July–August 2007
Part 1Part 2Part 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, T. Thorn Modern pagan religious leaders American modern pagans 1965 births Living people American non-fiction writers Reclaiming (Neopaganism) Urban fantasy writers