About

Black Stone Sanctuary is an interfaith dark retreat project in Oregon (started in 2011) stewarded by contemplative animists with a goth nesting instinct.

We have two IRL nodes of local members: one in Portland, and one in Eugene. We also have a global network of readers, members, and supporters. While we cater to polytheists and animists, we welcome respectful interest from all walks of life and do not require adherence to any creed.

We call our practices "open source modular monasticism" and our work centers on darkness as a healing force.

Our Dark Forest space is organized into six rooms (folders on a shared desktop) you can explore:

• Antechamber - intro, hospitality suite, and announcements
• Contemplative Garden - animism, plant intelligence, aromatics, tea rituals, etc.
• Goth Nest - place-making centered on the goth nesting instinct and darkness-as-healing-force
• Library Nook - BSS publishing, in-house library holdings, ancestral lineage research
• Monastery - open source modular monasticism including shrines, liturgy, prayer, worship
• Sonic Sanctuary - atmospheric ambient + drone music, sound healing, deep listening

You can read more about us in our FAQ.

Our in-house shop offers downloadable prayer printables for Nótt, Skadi, and others, including our 'Lower Powers' series (Mordgud, Nidhogg, etc) and In Praise of Holy Darkness (from the Polytheistic Monasticism anthology edited by Janet Munin). All sales proceeds support our outreach, hospitality, and worship services, including development of our modular monasticism guidebook.