Dark Moon Mysteries is a guide for tapping into the subconscious energies that lurk in the dark recesses of the mind's eye. Timothy Roderick combines ideas and concepts of Wicca with those proposed by mythologist Joseph Campbell and psychologist Carl Jung (at least these are obvious influences for his work) to guide us on a mystic quest inward of our own. He has designed tools using meditation, ritual practice, magick, and crafting which can easily aide an individual to become more aware of thier own 'issues' which may require resolution and methods of obtaining inner peace with them. He makes it obvious that was this book deals mostly with are things that we may not even know are 'issues' for us as they are psychological, metaphysical, and sometimes physical tension built up from times when maybe we were not able to express our deep emotions and feelings when something happened to or around us. If not released they can built areas of tension that will eventually cause problems for the individual in which they reside. Thus a method of discovering and releasing them is required.
Timothy utilizes myth and fairy tales to explain various aspects of the archetypes and energies which work in these 'dark' areas. Being a psychologist and pagan himself his ideas and thoughts are clearly laid out in easy to understand language. Since this is also a Llewellyn publication you will also find a collection of rituals, spells, crafts, and other things that you can do physically to utilize the knowledge within. He specifically uses the imagery of the mask to help us identify and name our shadows so that we can work with them more effectively.
May favorite part of the book is Part II in which he clearly defines the Widdershins (counter-clockwise) Spiral and how it differs from that of a Deosil (clockwise) one in reference to use and effectiveness. I think this aspect clearly defines the difference between 'Dark' (by this I mean that referenced in Dark or Gothic Paganism) magic and standard magic. The widdershins spiral is more for use in inward journeys and changes within the self while the deosil spiral spirals outward for gaining desired results in the physical realm to put them in the most simplest of terms. You will also find a bit of information on scrying and making a scrying mirror as well as other tools like a black divination bowl. With any source book the individual spells and rituals are not always the best suited for everybody and should be modified freely to better fit your own ideas.
I am not sure but this book also seems to be the main predecessor to any other books on Dark Paganism such as those written by Konstantinos. However, Roderick makes his views clear that he believes in balance and that working only with Dark powers can be just as limiting as working only with Light ones. I tend to agree though I do lean much more toward the Dark aspects. I think that anyone interested in Dark Paganism or Magick should use this as a sort of basic psychological profile guide for their work and there would be much less crazies out there doing what they are calling dark magick but is only their own evil intent. This book has many positive aspects, tools, and perspectives that are meant to be used as a guide to self-healing and renewal and a worthy addition to any pagan, witchcraft, magick, or Wiccan library.