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Dragon Rouge:
Left-Hand Path Magic with a Neopagan Flavour
Kennet Granholm
Stockholm University
Abstract
Dragon Rouge ist einer der einzigartigsten und interessantesten magischen Orden, die im
Laufe der letzten zwanzig Jahren erschienen ist. Er ist auch die erste esoterische Bewegung,
die erfolgreich aus Schweden exportiert wurde, sowie jemals der grte Orden des sogenannten Pfad zur linken Hand (Left-Hand Path).
In der ersten Hlfte des Artikels werde ich die Geschichte des Ordens ausfhrlich
beschreiben, seine philosophischen Lehren und Praxis besprechen, und Auskunft ber seine
Demographie sowie die Organisations- und Einweihungstrukturen. In der zweiten Hlfte
des Artikels werde ich die Hauptdiskurse besprechen, die der Philosophie, der Praxis und
den Strukturen von Dragon Rouge unterliegen: der Vorrang der Natur, die Anziehungskraft
der weiblichen Gttlichen und die Diskurse des Individualismus, der Selbstvergtterung,
und des Antinomismus die den Pfad zur Linken Hand kennzeichnen.
Keywords
Left-Hand Path, neopaganism, heathenism, magic, discourse, Satanism, post-Satanism
Introduction
Dragon Rouge is one of the more unique and interesting magic orders to
have come into existence in the last twenty years. It is also the rst esoteric
movement which has successfully been exported out of Sweden, as well as the
largest so-called Left-Hand Path1 order currently in existence.
1)
DOI: 10.1163/147783512X614858
In the rst half of the article I will detail the history of the order, discuss its
philosophical tenets and practice, and provide information on demography as
well as the organizational and initiatory structures. In the second half of the
article I will discuss some key discursive elements informing the philosophy,
practice, and structures of Dragon Rougenamely those of the primacy of
nature, the appeal of the feminine divine, and the Left-Hand Path discourses of
the ideology of individualism, the goal of self-deication, and antinomianism.
As is the case with Left-Hand Path groups in general, members of Dragon
Rouge are rst and foremost engaged in self-transforming magical practice.
Furthermore, magic is interpreted in an encompassing way where all and
everything in an individual members life, both within and outside the order,
is interpreted as having a connection to magic.
History and Important Developments2
The prehistory of Dragon Rouge starts with its founder, Thomas Karlsson (b.
). A native to Stockholm, Sweden, Karlsson recounts having had extracorporeal experiences from age three onwards, and he began to experiment
with the occult at around age twelve. A loose group soon formed around
Karlsson, and by the time he had reached age seventeen this loose gathering
had expanded into what would become Dragon Rouge. Besides working with
his own group, Karlsson was deeply immersed in the esoteric milieu of the late
s Stockholm, being in contact with a wide array of esoteric practitioners
and working at the Vattumannen and Jolanda den tredje esoteric shops.3
Two factors in particular are of signicance for the formation of Dragon
Rouge: Karlssons alleged contacts with senior magicians in Sweden, and his
trip to Marrakech, Morocco, in the late s. Karlsson reports having received
important texts and artefacts and learnt many of the terms and concepts later
used in Dragon Rouge from a Yezidi-Typhonian4 group based in Gothen-
2)
The ethnographic accounts are derived from the eldwork I conducted with the order
from (see Granholm ), as well as subsequent contact, observation, and
interviews up to .
3)
Interview, IF mgt / ; Questionnaire, IF / :. Both shops have been important nodal points of Swedish alternative spirituality, with Vattumannen (opened in )
being the most prominent centre in the milieu.
4)
The branch of the Ordo Templi Orientis founded by Kenneth Grant () was
until recently called the Typhonian O.T.O., and it is possible that the group mentioned by
Karlsson worked with Grant-inspired magic. There are similarities between Grants magic
burg, Sweden. This group gave him the direct impetus to start a proper magic
order, and also suggested using the red dragon as the main symbol.5 On his visit
to Marrakech Karlsson claims to have encountered a Dervish and received the
prophetic declaration: The old shall be destroyed and a temple shall be build
for the Red Dragon.6 The above narratives demonstrate the appeal to legitimacy through lineage and prophetic calling. Both are standard legitimizing
discourses in the world of the esoteric,7 and together with Karlssons accounts
of childhood mystical experiences they construct a life-narrative distinguished
by the red thread of magic.
Beside his magical activities Karlsson has a background in academia, earning
a masters degrees in the History of Ideas and History of Religions in the early
s, and nally a PhD in the History of Religions in March ,8 all at
Stockholm University. This academic connection is of signicance, as it has
fostered what can be considered an academic atmosphere in Dragon Rouge.
Dragon Rouge was opened for general membership on New Years Eve
.9 The early order was very much characterized by an atmosphere of youthful exuberance and a somewhat disorganized approach, with meetings being
held in the homes of various members and spontaneous magic workings being
conducted in the connes of nature.10 The order experienced a drastic increase
in membership applications in the mid s when a baptismal ceremony for
and Dragon Rouge, and the two can be described as belonging to the same esoteric current,
namely the Left-Hand Path. As for more specic similarities, both Grant and Dragon
Rouge have an explicit focus on Kliphotic Kabbalah and so-called Left-Hand Path Tantra
(vamachara).
5)
According to the Dragon Rouge website the was founded following the advice from a
circle of old Yezidi-Tyfonian magicians who left their great work of awakening the dragon
force to their younger inheritors, Dragon Rouge, General Information.
6)
Questionnaire, IF / :. My translation.
7)
The intricate founding legend created at the formation of The Hermetic Order of the
Golden Dawn () is a good example of the creating legitimacy through lineage. Here,
founder William Wynn Westcott concocted a story of how the Golden Dawn was not a
new group, but a local group which had been sanctioned by a (imaginary) pre-existing
German magical order (see Bogdan : ). Aleister Crowley and his Book of the
Law () as a channelled text can be seen as an appeal to prophetic vision, as can Temple
of Set-founder Michael Aquinos The Book of Coming Forth by Night ().
8)
For the thesis, see Karlsson, Gtisk kabbala.
9)
Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :; Frisk, Nyreligiositet i Sverige, ; Questionnaire, IF
/ :; Dragon Rouge, Webpage of Lodge Odin; Dragon Rouge, General Information.
10)
Interview, IF mgt / .
11)
Ibid.
Frisk, Nyreligiositet, . For the news reports, see Nilsson, Religionens nynazister;
Nilsson, Min son skall tro p djvulen.
13)
see e.g. Gteborgsposten, Mrdare driver Dragon Rouge; Stugart, Satanister snart p
svart lista; Stugart, Magiska ritualer ter i ropet; SVT , Taxi; Tidningarnas Telegrambyr,
Satanism.
14)
Interview, IF mgt / .
15)
Questionnaire, IF / :.
16)
Ibid. All the dierent language-versions of the members publication have since
been named Dracontias.
17)
Catering to a larger number of language-groups, instead of simply operating in the
contemporary Lingua Franca of English, is an example of translocalizing tendencies within
the order. See Granholm, The Prince of Darkness on the Move .
18)
Johnsson, Mrkrets stig.
12)
copies. Tommie Erikssons book Mrk magi19 (Dark Magic) was published
by Ouroboros produktion in , subjected to widespread distribution, and
became a bestseller at Vattumannen. It is, however, Thomas Karlssons books,20
issued in several editions, which have had the most signicant impact on the
internationalization of the order. Johnsson and Karlssons involvement in the
popular symphonic metal band Therion can certainly be added as a factor
contributing to the general awareness of the order. However, it would be a
mistake to conceive of the band as a vehicle to promote the order, or vice versa
for that part.21
The maturation of Dragon Rouge has continued in the twenty-rst century
with the opening of a permanent temple on the Island of Gotland, southeast of
Stockholm, Sweden. This temple is located in an old barn on the family lands
of Karlsson and all annual meetings of Dragon Rouge have been held on this
location since , along with week-long magical retreats each summer
with attendants from around the world.
Philosophy and Practice
Magic is the name given to the methods by which a human can approach and control
the unknown. The unknown is dark from our perspective. To call magic dark indicates
that it is about researching and awakening things that lie outside the structure we are
situated in.22
Dragon Rouge is a magic order, and as anyone involved in the study of phenomena included under the label will attest, dening and describing magic
is in no way simple and straight-forward. A major problem is that the term,
originally native to Europe, was transposed to the practices of non-Western,
non-literary people, and that transposition in turn has aected the understanding of magic in Western contexts.23 Due to the inuence of early evolutionary anthropology, magic is still often understood as primitive, misguided
science. Magic is every bit as complex a term as religion, and providing
19)
24)
Crowley, Magick, .
See Questionnaire, IF / :; Questionnaire, IF / :; Questionnaire, IF /
:.
26)
Interview, :; Interview, IF mgt :. See also Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :.
27)
See Eriksson, Mrk magi, .
28)
The Draconian Current is presented by Kenneth Grant as a primordial tradition, see
Grant, Cults of the Shadow; Grant, Nightside of Eden.
29)
For a discussion of the Dragon Rouge use of Tantra, see Granholm, The Serpent Rises
in the West.
30)
Dragon Rouge, General Information.
25)
the order. This entails the invocation of demonic entities and astral exploration
of the shadow side of the kabbalistic Tree of Life and forms the basis of the
Dragon Rouge initiatory system.
As the kliphotic spheres are eleven in number, the Dragon Rouge initiatory
system also has eleven degrees.31 The rst three degrees are managed through
correspondence courses in magic in which introductory theory and example
practices can be found. Upon nishing a course the member requests to receive
initiation into the corresponding degree. In doing so, he/she writes a report
of increasing complexity and detail for each higher degreein which experiences and interpretations are noted. After initiation into the third degree
entailing entry into the Dragon Order, discussed in more detail further on
the initiate is expected to direct his/her magical development in a more individual fashion. In general, the initiatory levels of individual members are not
openly discussed in the order. The main reason given for this is that it is an
attempt to discourage members from using the initiatory system for competing with each other.32
Dragon Rouge meetings are commonly fashioned as courses in which different themes are explored and practices tried out. As such, they are divided
into two parts. First, a senior member does a presentationa sort of theoretical lecturediscussing the theme of the day. Not surprisingly, as many of
the leading members of the order have a university background, the lectures
are based on university models and often include references to scholarly works
from comparative religion, anthropology, or some other related eld. The second part of the meeting is where the themes discussed are put into practice.
Some music suited for the occasion, usually dark ambient or other music with
meditative qualities, is played, the lights turned o and candles and incense
31)
The Dragon Rouge degrees, and the names of the kliphotic spheres, are: .Lilith;
.Gamaliel; .Samael; .A"arab Zaraq; .Thagirion; .Golachab; .
Ghaagsheblah; .Satariel; .Ghagiel; . & .Thaumiel. The system is similar
to that of the Golden Dawn, which functions as a model for most modern and contemporary
magic orders, see Bogdan, Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation, . The Golden
Dawn incorporated the kabbalistic Tree of Life as a model for its initiatory structure and
Dragon Rouge has incorporated the kliphot, the shadow-side of the kabbalistic Tree of
Life, into its structure. Instead of the ten worlds of the sephiroth, Dragon Rouge operates
with eleven kliphotic worlds, a number that both Aleister Crowley and Kenneth Grant
identify as the number of magic, see Grant, Cults, . Grant also incorporates the kliphot
in his system, as a necessary element for attaining high levels of magical initiation, see Grant,
Cults, .
32)
Interview, .
lit. The practice is commonly started and ended with some sort of guided
Kundalini meditation, i.e. meditation where the focus lies on awakening the
practitioners inherent power reserves (identied as the tantric ery serpent
which when rising along the spine of the practitioner activates energy nodes
called chakras). The primary practice takes place in between these meditations.
Finally, experiences of the practice are discussed, and it is here that members
can draw on each others experience and construct a coherent narrative of the
practice.
Dragon Rouge rituals and ceremonies are very loosely structured, usually
being constructed impromptu for the occasion and even involving improvised
elements. Very few standardized elements exist. In this, there is a stark contrast
to much Western esoteric ritual work.33 Another distinguishing trait is the
playfulness adopted when discussing magic. While members remain serious
when performing practice, the mood is quite relaxed before and after, often
including joking about the practice of magic itself. This, particularly with the
loosely structured composition of Dragon Rouge practice, helps mark out the
ritual time and space.34
In order to illustrate what Dragon Rouge practice can be like, I will provide
a brief, abridged account from my eld work with the order. The example is
from a course on ceremonial magic, arranged on the weekend of August ,
. The rst day of the course centred on theoretical discussion, and in lieu
of the limited space, I will only recount the second day of the course when the
magical practice was performed.
We were ten Dragon Rouge members all in all, six male and four female,
that headed out on this uncharacteristically cold, but luckily clear, Sunday
afternoon. Entering the forest by a woodland path we were careful not to
disturb any plants, and walked for fteen minutes or so before arriving at
a moss-covered stony mound where we stopped to do a short preparatory
meditation. When nished, Thomas Karlsson gave a short theoretical talk on
the presence of the Dragon, or chaos, in nature, mentioning popular scholars
such as Mircea Eliade. He then asked us to search the forest and for each to
choose an object which appealed35 to us. The space chosen for our ceremony,
33)
one where a Dragon Rouge ceremony had been held the previous spring, would
have been undistinguishable from the rest of the forest for the uninitiated. It
was up to the individual magician and his feeling for the woods to envision
the natural temple. We entered the area in line formation, through a portal
formed by two pine trees standing next to each other, using the objects we had
chosen to symbolically open the portal to let us in. A rock, standing in line
with the portal through which we had entered the area, about twelve metres
away from it, was to function as our altar. It was adorned with objects we had
brought with us; four small tea-lights, two larger grave candles, the ceremonial
dagger and bell from the temple, and some powdered incense in a reproof
container. Three twigs were placed in an erect position at the centre of the
altar, two of them forming a triangular shape with the third one in the middle
facing the sky. The carcass of a small bird we had found earlier was placed on
top of the altar stone. Behind and slightly to the right of the altar stood a tree
which Thomas explained functioned as an Axis Mundi.
Before beginning, we sat down on the ground to discuss the symbolism
and progression of the ceremony, as well as the roles each of us would play
in itall chosen from Old Norse mythology. The women would represent
time, taking the roles of the three Norns,36 Urd (past), Verdandi (present),
and Skuld (future), and Helas that which is hidden. The men were to
represent the extended cardinal points and the elements, in the form of the
mythological beings Fenris (north and water), Loki (east and air), Surt (south
and re), Jrmungandr (west and earth), Nidhg (that which is below), and
Hraesvelgr (that which is above). The ceremony in its totality was to symbolize
the creation of the universe and, more specically, the creation of a dark magical
universeand in it the magician. We took some time to get into character,
and then moved to our mutually agreed positions; the men at their respective
cardinal points, with Nidhg and Hraesvelgr at centre of the area next to
a circular formation of small stones, and the Norns in chronological order
from the portal to behind the altar. Hel had a special role and stood on the
left of the altar. The nal act before beginning was the lighting of the incense
at the altar.
The ceremony began with Hel uttering I am Hel, that which is hidden
and ringing the ceremonial bell. She then moved to positions behind the rest of
us, who similarly and in turnfrom the Norns in chronological order to the
36)
The Norns are entities from Old Norse mythology which are the masters of the destinies
of both gods and human beings. The three Norns which are most commonly mentioned
are the ones that rule over the past, present, and future, respectively.
The uttering is said to be derived in Old Greek, and means the great Dragon. According
to Dragon Rouge material the uttering provides power, and is used to end a ritual or as a
greeting among members. Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :.
Organization
The membership numbers of Dragon Rouge have uctuated greatly throughout the years, something which is in accordance to Eileen Barkers observations
on the high level of turnover in new religious movements.38 From numbering
ten or so in ,39 the membership grew rapidly to half a thousand in the
mid s.40 In the early to mid s the membership numbers uctuated
between and members, showing a slow increase towards the end of
the decade. Interestingly, the growth in the twenty-rst century has been predominantly among non-Swedish members, with the order since the mid s
having less than one third of its members in Sweden. With close to members Dragon Rouge is also the largest existing Left-Hand Path organization.
The membership is fairly young, with most active members being in their thirties. Over time the core membership has grown older, having in during the
early days consisted of a majority of early -year-olds. Since some years the
order has had a policy of not accepting under -year olds as members, but
according to a former member, the order used to have members as young as
in the mid s.41
Throughout most of its existence the order has had a predominance of male
members, almost exclusively so in the early s and by about two thirds since
the s. The exception was during the media frenzy of the mid s, when
the order had more female than male members. Most of the orders material
is also written by male members, but there has been a consistent increase in
active participation by female members throughout the s.
Dragon Rouge is organized in three layers: the open order available to
those members who pay the annual dues but are not taking initiations; those
participating in the initiatory structure; and the inner order of initiates of
38)
42)
earlier lodges have existed, most of them Swedish such as Black Earth Lodge
in Gvleactive in the early s;47 lodge Odin in Karlshamnin existence
between and ;48 and lodge Helheim in Gothenburgactive from the
late s to the fall of .49 The earliest lodge outside the Nordic countries,
lodge Thagirion, operated in Hagen, Germany, between and . All
lodges have a lodge-degree between and reecting its ocial status in the
order, based on the level of activity of the lodge.50 Currently, lodge Sothis has
degree ., lodges Sinistra and Heldrasil degree ., and the new lodge Atlantis
degree ..51
Temple groups exist in Turku, Finland, and Gothenburg, Sweden. Only one
ritual group currently exists, in Athens, Greece.52 Previous ritual groups have
existed in Mexico; Vxj, Sweden; Prague, the Czech Republic; Buenos Aires,
Argentina; and at an unspecied location in Germany.53
Discursive Formation
As noted, I identify Dragon Rouge as a Left-Hand Path magic order.54 This
is based on the self-designation of the order, but in contrast to emic discussions I do not regard the Left-Hand Path and the Right-Hand Path
as two principal approaches to magic in Western esoteric contexts. Rather, I
employ the former as a designate for a particular and distinct stream or current
of modern esotericism. Anyone familiar with the study of Western esotericism will be familiar with the term current, used by Antoine Faivre to denote
movements, schools, or traditions.55 In my use a current can be regarded
as a distinct discursive complex56 situated within the general realm of esoteric discourse57 itself. Discourse analysis is a based on social constructionist
47)
epistemology, where language and other forms of communication are construed as directing, forming, and indeed constructing the social realities of
those engaging in the communication. A discourse, then, is, to quote Viven
Burr, a set of meanings, metaphors, representations, images, stories, statements
and so on that in some way together produce a particular version of events,58
or more simply a xed way of talking about and understanding the world (or
a section of it).59
In my discursive approach, esoteric currents are collections of specic and
distinct discourses, which together produce particular worldviews, practices,
organizational and social structures, and tropes of communication. This approach has the benet of providing structures to systematize material while at
the same time allowing for the uidity and malleability which the analyzed
material is characterized by. Discourses are never nitely set, but remain everchanging. This approach also allows for a greater exibility in examining esotericism, as a particular expression of an esoteric current will rarely, if ever, exist
in a pure form, but rather be informed by other currents and freestanding
discourses which guide and form this expression in unique ways. Discursive
approaches are also compatible with historical ones. It is fully conceivable to
trace discourses and discursive complexes in history and examine how they
have been aected and transformed by historical and societal processes. As a
discursive approach is an empirical approach it does not suggest itself to an
ahistorical, universalist, cross-cultural understanding of esotericism or specic
esoteric currents.
The Left-Hand Path-current, the principal guiding current for Dragon
Rouge, is distinguished by three central discourses: the ideology of individualism, the goal of self-deication, and an antinomian stance. None of these
discourses is by itself unique to the Left-Hand Path and can be found in other
esoteric manifestations as well, but in their specic combination and reliance
on each other they form a distinct discursive complexa current. Each of
these discourses is dependent on the other two, and cannot be truly separated.
Thus, the ideology of individualismwhere the individual is consciously and
deliberately (rhetorically) posited at the absolute centre of his/her existential
universeexists in a symbiotic relationship with the goal of self-deication
where the individual, by truly becoming an individual by and through the
means antinomian transgression of rules, conventions, and taboos, can gain
full control over his/her existential universe.
58)
59)
hood, and strengthen this core-self gradually. In eect, the magician strengthens his/her core to the degree where it can withstand anything, even death,
and where it becomes akin to a universe of its own.70 In this, the discourse of
self-deication is intimately linked to the discourse of individualism. Both deal
with the ultimate goal of the dark magicianattaining and maintaining sustained, individual, and conscious control over ones own existential universe.
Before attaining this liberation the individuals destiny is predetermined.71
The discourse of self-deication is also closely linked to themes of morality. In short, in assuming full, divine control over his/her existence, the magician also needs to assume full responsibility of his/her actions and their consequences.72 In this context, the seemingly benevolent intentions of white magicians and New Age practitioners are criticized for causing more harm than
good.73 The common sentiment is that one needs to achieve a profound level of
maturity, power, and morality before setting out to help others. While the dark
magician is expected to be moral, his/her morality is individual, personal, and
potentially exible, rather than abiding to a set of rigid prescribed rules: Collective and unconscious morality is substituted by an individual and conscious
[morality].74
An example of a practice informed by this discourse is the soul-mirrorexercise described in the rst correspondence course in magic. This exercise
involves the novice magician meditating over his perceived positive and negative character traits, in order to come to the realization that many negative
traits have positive functions, and vice versa.75 Having understood the true
nature of these character traits the magician can direct his/her personal development in an active and conscious manner.
The discourses on individualism and self-deication foster an atmosphere
where the dark magician is presented as courageous, strong, and uniquein
eect an elite human being. The distinction from non-magicians is evident in
sentences such as [m]ost people sleep. They live their lives in a lethargy and lack
any coherent will,76 [m]agic is for the strong, or for those who sincerely aim
70)
71)
72)
73)
74)
75)
76)
Ibid.
Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :.
Karlsson, Frord, x.
Interview, IF mgt / .
Karlsson, Frord, xi. My translation.
Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :.
Ibid, . My translation.
at becoming strong,77 and [t]o take the step and join an occult organization
is a unique choice. It is made by avant-garde people who have understood
that the world is run by mechanisms and forces which cannot be seen or
explained by the great masses, but nevertheless aect your life.78 However,
in assessing statements such as these it needs to be remembered that Dragon
Rouge is a minority religion. The statements function as a shield to protect
the practitioner from the lack of understanding and even ridicule from the
outside society, and also create a sense of community in creating a they that
us can be posited against. Furthermore, it is not the individual magician per
se who is regarded as better than other people; it is the choice of engaging in
magical evolution which is regarded as an elite choice. Still, the statements do
exhibit an inuence from the antinomian discourse, discussed below.
Antinomianism
Whereas the discourses of individualism and self-deication are primarily concerned with goals of the dark magician, the antinomian discourse focuses on
ways to achieve these goals. It deals with the necessity of the magician to transverse conventional rules and taboosof societal, religious, and, most of all,
personal naturein order to achieve the liberation sought. Linguistic expressions of the discourse contain terms such as dark magic and dark forces,79
and the use of controversial mythological gures such as Lucifer and Lilith.
Although Dragon Rouge material makes it clear that dark is not to be interpreted as referring to evil in any conventional way, but rather to the unexplained and therefore un-illuminated, it still functions as a vehicle for separation and taboo-breaking. The same goes for the use of controversial mythological gures: although they are reinterpreted in a positive fashion, their very
use signals a desire to transverse boundaries.
The discourse is also one which is most clearly, though not exclusively, evident in non-linguistic systems of communicationparticularly the use of controversial symbols. The inverse pentagrama common antinomian symbol
found in e.g. the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set80is absent in the
77)
Ibid, . My translation.
Dragon Rouge, Vlkomstbrev till nya medlemmar. My translation.
79)
Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :. Reference is also made to C.G. Jung and his psychological notion of the process of individuation, see Dragon Rouge, Magikurs , :.
80)
See Granholm, The Sigil of Baphomet; Granholm, The Pentagram of Set, and the
Trapezoid as used in the Church of Satan and the Tempe of Set.
78)
81)
everything and where the divine light is [still] present in man is preferred.85
The Dragon Rouge critique of modernity and materialism, dealing with the
promotion of false individualism, as discussed above, also focuses on negative
implications for the natural world. According to the order, both modern
materialism and monotheistic religion promote the notion that nature and
the animals are made for man to use and result in the situation where [m]an
can do what he likes with animals and nature, and the human being itself
becomes a soulless organism being compared to cars or computers.86
Much of the magical practice in Dragon Rouge is focused on nature in one
form or another,87 with natural surroundings being regarded as among the best
places to come into contact with truly magical forces.88 Powerful magic items
can be found when strolling in the forest,89 and when using living parts of
nature, such as cutting a branch of a living tree, the magician should ask the
living natural object for permission.90 Nature represents primordial chaos and
the dark forces of dissolution and creation, powers which have the potential of
strengthening the creative and active agency in the human being. Conversely,
the structured existence and surroundings of the city, human civilization,
complicate and hinder the magician in his/her magical development.91
The discourse of the primacy of nature has had a great inuence on even the
non-magical lives of many Dragon Rouge members. For example, most longtime members of the order in the Stockholm region are vegetarians and accord
great importance to issues of ecology and animal rights.92 Ocial Dragon
Rouge material asserts that [m]an can become god by entering outside the
humans limits and recognizing the importance of the beast,93 and this feeling of connection can support vegetarianism and ecological sentiments. These
issues are also discussed in terms of the higher morality supposedly developed in cultivating existential individualism and self-deication. With the shift
in focus away from humanity, the individualist discourse of Dragon Rouge
helps foster an atmosphere where the apparent uniqueness of the human race is
re-evaluated. Furthermore, for a Left-Hand Path practitioner the adoption of
85)
86)
87)
88)
89)
90)
91)
92)
93)
94)
eclecticism of the order, which makes it extremely dynamic and complex. Thus,
in order to achieve an account of the order which has a more lasting relevance it
makes more sense to focus on just these structures. I have attempted to do this
by describing the discursive formation of the order. The standard Left-Hand
Path discourses of individualism, self-deication, and antinomianism, in conjunction with additional central discourses such as the primacy of nature and
the pursuit of the feminine divine, constitute the foundation through which
the eclectic teachings and practices of the order are interpreted. Furthermore,
it is the very existence of these discourses, in their particular mix, which make
the extreme eclecticism of Dragon Rouge sustainable.
In addition to the above foundational discourses, however, Dragon Rouge
is strongly inuenced by what could be termed post-secular99 discourses. For a
long time, perspectives on religion and spirituality in the post-Enlightenment
West were informed hegemonic secularist discourses, which in turn directed
both scholarly notions of secularization and the process itself.100 Post-secular
discourses, which involve attempts to re-sacralize or re-enchant the experiential world, result from the, at least partial, societal breaking up of the hegemony of secularist ones, and are themselves heavily indebted to an awareness of
the earlier hegemonic status of the notion of secularization. Dragon Rouge has
come into existence and matured during a time when religion, enchantment,
and the mystical is given new and more positive roles in society, and this in
turn can partly explain its success.
All these discourses interplay in the crafting of magical reality in Dragon
Rouge. Set in a post-secular frameset, the core discourses in play within the
order can be regarded as literal acts of re-enchanting the experiential world,
creating a worldview which is centred on magical correspondences, a living
99)
The term post-secular, most commonly linked to the scholarship of Jrgen Habermas
and Charles Taylor, refers not to de-secularization per se, but to a change in consciousness
and the awareness of the continued relevance of religion in secular societies (Habermas,
Notes on Post-Secular Society, ). As Taylor expresses it, the post-secular age is one in
which the hegemony of the mainstream master narrative of secularization will be more and
more challenged, Taylor, A Secular Age, . For a discourse theoretical use of the term, and
diers to some degree from the way it is used by Habermas and Taylor, see Granholm, The
Secular, the Post-Secular, and the Esoteric in the Public Sphere. For a use of the term in
an examination of late modern transformations of esotericism, see Granholm, Post-Secular
Esotericism?.
100)
For secularization as a potentially self-fullling prophecy see Casanova, Immigration
and New Religious Pluralism, .
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Interviews
Interview by author with male and female Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden,
--. Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt :
.
Interview by author with male Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden, --.
Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt : .
Interview by author with male Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden, --.
Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt / .
Interview by author with male Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden, --.
Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt / .
Interview by author with female Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden, --.
Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt / .
Interview by author with female Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden, --.
Archived at the Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF mgt / .
Interview by author with male and female Dragon Rouge member, Stockholm, Sweden,
.
Questionnaire answer by male Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the Folklore
archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.
Questionnaire answer by male Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the Folklore
archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.
Questionnaire answer by male Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the Folklore
archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.
Questionnaire answer by male Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the Folklore
archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.
Questionnaire answer by male Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the Folklore
archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.
Questionnaire answer by female former Dragon Rouge member, . Archived at the
Folklore archive at bo Akademi University, IF / :.