Creation of the ‘astral temple’, or, visiting your personal astral space

windvexer:

Like
outer space, I suspect the “astral” contains vast swaths of
emptiness. When someone makes an astral temple, they are not mowing
down an astral forest and building on someone else’s territory, they
are starting with astral nothingness and producing within that
nothingness our human concepts of time, space, depth, and physics.
Nor will “space” in the astral “run out”, for the astral
(while not infinite) is also not constrained by concepts of physical
space, as we understand it.

Building
a personal astral space is quite easy. Like any castle you want it to
be protected, but basic protections (likely all that you will need)
are simple to put up.

To
visit an empty swath of the astral to build upon, do this simple
exercise:

Become
very relaxed through any technique you like. Enter a trance-like,
almost sleepy state. If you don’t know what being in trance feels
like, try following some Youtube meditations that bring a person to
great relaxation.

Close
your eyes and imagine a door. Any sort of door will work. Because
this door was created by you, only you can open and close it.

Stand
before the door and say or think, “this door will take me to an
empty astral space that I can use as my own.”

Know
these words to be true.

Then,
open the door and step through it. Close the door firmly behind you.
Do not be alarmed if the door disappears; it is a magical door, and
it will come to you whenever you call it.

Chances
are you will find yourself in a black empty nothingness space. This
is quite normal. Like God in Genesis, create a world from scratch.
You do not need to create an entire planet (that is likely beyond
most of our abilities!). Try this method:

With
force of will, decree that earth and sky be created. All around you,
ground and atmosphere will appear.

Call
upon a great, impenetrable sphere to surround this space. Don’t worry
about making it all huge, you can alter your space however you want
later on. The sphere will surround this area you have created and
prevent any creature from entering or exiting without your
permission.

Walk
around your area and change it. You may find you don’t have the
energy or will to enact changes as you please. This is okay: working
in the astral takes actual energy, and the more you do it the easier
it will become. If you do have the energy, try growing trees,
creating benches or houses for you to enjoy, carving rivers or
waterfalls, or whatever you like (Minecraft is not a bad comparison
to building an astral space).

An
important part of your astral space is that it allows you to directly
work on the astral. If you are trying to grow astral limbs or other
appendages, you can exercise them here. You can use this space to
gain experience with working in the astral, or to build an astral
temple where you can invite spirits and gods to enjoy themselves.

Whenever
you are ready to exit, call your door to you. Simply think of the
door and wish it to be next to you, and it will be. Open the door,
walk through it back to your regular imagination, and firmly close
it. Remember that nobody but you can open or close the door.

Remain in your relaxed state for a little while and readjust yourself to physical reality. Centering exercises help with this.

Return
to your inner space whenever you like by going back through the door.

Here
are some notes:

Astral vs Imagination

  • Your imagination has no rules and imagining things typically requires little effort or energy. 
  • Your imagination is static. For example if you imagine a garden, the next time you imagine it, the garden will be the same. It does not change or grow on its own.
  • When you imagine something, it simply becomes, like a hologram. 
  • In your imagination, all beings and creatures are automatons 
  • Your imagination is a seat of power through which many things can be accessed.
  • You do not need to ‘center’ or ‘readjust’ after a simple daydream

  • Building in the astral can take actual energy and willpower
  • Astral spaces have “rules”; even gods need wings or magical artifacts to fly
  • Astral spaces will grow and develop independent of your input. If you plant an astral garden and return to it a week later, it will have grown or withered.
  • When you attempt to build something, you may have to spend more time on it than just clicking your fingers and saying “become”. 
  • In the astral, beings and creatures have minds of their own. You can create many friends and guardians, but you will note that they will actually do things outside of your direct control
  • After visiting the astral, a period of readjustment is very much recommended.

Using the astral space as a place to honor spirits 

Build a beautiful temple or palace (or natural space) that the spirits you wish to honor would enjoy. Imagine it filled with the most wonderful offerings and delicacies. Invite different spirits to come and enjoy what you have laid out.

If you wish, use this as a space to speak with spirits. Do not let any spirits through your personal door, under any circumstances. 

When you are ready to leave your astral space, tell your visitors this visit is over and ask them to leave in peace. Imagine that they simply teleport away back to their homes.

Enjoy using this astral space for practice

You can quickly build all sorts of thought-forms directly in the astral, although whether or not they will be of use outside your temple is another matter. Practice building defenses of all sorts, casting magic, and viewing or testing astral limbs. 

Deleting an astral space

If you grow tired of what you have built, you can become a destroyer god and simply eliminate it and start anew. If for some reason you wish to close this space permanently, fold all of its space and time down in on itself like a paper box, until it becomes nothing. Summon your door, walk through, close the door, and destroy the door. 

I used this method to construct my astral temple. It works beautifully.

My Reading and Resource List (Updated)

  • The Bible 
  • The Qur’an Will tell you nothing about Lucifer, because as a Satanic figure he is only present in Christianity. However, his Muslim opposite number, Iblis, is an arresting figure in his own right. You can learn a lot by comparing and contrasting these two entities. Also, Lucifer wants you to seek knowledge! In this time of rising Islamophobia, refuse to be ignorant. Learn about Islam.
  • Sefaria.org Collection of Jewish texts including the Torah. Side-by-side English and Hebrew.
  • Gnosis.org Collection of Gnostic texts.
  • Complete Books of Enoch, Dr. A Nyland Finding a lot that is profitable in this translation and the commentary. Learn about the Watchers and their kids, the Nephilim!
  • Pseudepigrapha.com Giant online collection of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Seems to be run by a Mormon. Sure.
  • Lucifer: Princeps by Peter Grey. Peter Grey is a bit of a blowhard, but this is a very useful book. I recommend it reluctantly but strongly. It’s primarily a survey of scriptural, apocryphal, and mythological sources for the Lucifer legend, and as such it’s quite valuable.
  • The Luminous Stone, diverse collection of writings on Lucifer from a number of Western occult and historical perspectives. A mixed bag. But hey, it’s writing specifically about Luciferianism that wasn’t done by Michael Ford, and therefore it is precious.
  • Hemaphrodeities by Raven Kaldera. Good book on transgender spirituality in general, sections on Lilith and Baphomet may be of particular interest.
  • The Devil: A New Biography by Philip C. Almond. History of the “idea” of the Christian Devil, traces his origins in scripture. Includes a bunch of fascinating and entertaining material on witchcraft in the middle ages, witch trials, exorcisms and possessions. (Did you know Catholics and Protestants were literally using possessions and exorcisms as a way of talking shit about each other? This and other fun facts in the book!)
  • The Birth of Satan by Gregory Mobley and T.J. Wray. Retraces a lot of ground covered in the first two chapters of the book above, but in way more detail. An analysis of the scriptural sources for Satan. Good, fast read.
  • The Book of Adam and Eve (Latin version) Contains an early version of the fall of Satan which probably inspired the account of the fall of Iblis in the Qu’ran.
  • All the Kabbalah You Really Need to Know A video lecture given by a friend of mine. Great crash-course.
  • The Devil’s Bride by Martin Ebon a neat little book about exorcism from a psychological stand point– particularly about demonic possession and exorcism as a cathartic ritual which leads to emotional healing. Reads as fairly skeptical but is surprisingly open-minded about ESP and psychokinesis. But not demons. OK! We all have our biases, I guess. Anyway, it’s a fun read, but by no means essential.
  • A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson What it says on the tin. Shouldn’t be your only source but if you happen to find yourself wondering who the fuck Cabriel is this probably beats Wikipedia for a first stop. Nicely cited and will lead you straight to better sources.
  • A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans by Jeffrey Burton Russell A neat, elaborately illustrated little history of witchcraft aimed at the layperson, by a scholar who has written much lengthier works on the subject that I will soon be reading. Not perfect but fairly legit.
  • God and the State by Mikhail Bakunin Satanic anarchy?! Not really, except for the first chapter or so. Still, worth the read!
  • The Tawasin of Mansur Al-Hallaj Interested in Iblis/Satan in Islam/Sufism? This is essential.
  • On the Origin of the World Trippy gnostic gospel, including retelling of Eden sympathetic to the Snake and to eating the damn fruit.
  • The Testament of Solomon Potentially useful demonology and also weirdly goddamn funny.
  • The Lesser Key of Solomon Get your Goetia on.
  • Demoniality by Ludovico Sinistrari. A weirdly sympathetic Catholic text about Incubi.
  • Compendium Maleficarum An old witch-hunting manual. Contains a description of a supposed Satanic witchcraft initiation/black baptism, which I adapted for my own use with great success. Also lots of fascinating history and exciting spell ideas!
  • Zohar.com Do yourself a favor and create a fucking account. It’s free. Search one of the most fascinating occult texts and one of the most important sources on demonology, particularly regarding the Devil’s four consorts.
  • The Revolt of the Angels, Anatole France Amusing philosophical Luciferian novel.
  • Paradise Lost, John Milton Because your image of Lucifer probably comes largely from this. And also, because it’s amazing.
  • Duino Elegies, Rilke “Who, if I shouted, among the hierarchy of Angels, would hear me?“
  • Litanies of Satan, Baudelaire Just gorgeous, perfect for use as a prayer.
  • Eloa, Alfred de Vigny Not necessarily much spiritual content, but it’s fun. A poem about Lucifer seducing an angel.
  • The Demon, Mikhail Lermontov Apparently romantic poetry about Satan seducing pure-hearted maidens is practically a genre. This is more fun than Eloa.
  • The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake Beautiful, trippy, pro-Satanic, a fast read. Link is to full text.
  • La-Bas, Joris-Karl Huysmans A 19th century novel about Satanism. Gruesome, disturbing and not really Satan positive, but helpful for understanding how Satanism has been conceptualized.

Seven Deadly: Wrath

Aaaand we’re back after more than a year for another installment of ‘Seven Deadly!’ Last time we took a look at Pride in all of its positive and negative aspects. Today, we’re going to talk about Wrath. I’m your host, Me, and joining us today is a special guest– My Temper. 

If there’s one sin I’m guilty of– and there’s not just one, I’m very big on all of them– then it would be Wrath. Sure, I score pretty high on Pride, and I’m so devoted to Lust that I have a hard time thinking of it as a sin at all. But Wrath is the root of many of my problems.

It’s funny, because people don’t think of me as an angry person anymore. In fact, these days people are more likely to describe me as “patient” or “polite.” Frankly, that is the result of a lot of hard work, personal growth, and some good medication. Trust me, I wasn’t always so mellow. 

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I was an extremely angry person. I used pretty much every platform and excuse for indignation and confrontation you could imagine— from arguing on the internet to physical confrontations. I was mean, and I liked to get drunk as an excuse to be even meaner.

It’s tempting to make fun of that behavior now, but the truth is? I had a really good reason to be so angry. 

(Content warnings for sexual abuse and trauma related things.)

You see, I had post-traumatic stress disorder from a kidnapping, and subsequent series of rapes, that I had survived. 

I was terrified and I was suffering. I could barely sleep, I had flashbacks and nightmares all the time, I was plagued by paranoia and delusions that somebody was in my house. I slept with a knife under my pillow. Every loud noise and sudden motion startled me so badly that I often dissolved into tears.

The secret motivators behind anger are usually: fear, pain, or offended righteousness. I had plenty of all three. Anger was my only comfort. The only taste of justice I ever got was imaginary, and provided by my murderous revenge fantasies.

Anger was my armor. Anger was the glue that held me together when I was falling apart. You see, that anger, as excessive and overwhelming as it was, was actually the healthiest thing I had at the time, because it came from the recognition that what happened to me was not right. If I hadn’t been mad as hell I would’ve been sitting around in despair thinking I deserved it. 

Anger is an energizer. When grief and depression threaten to drag you all the way down to the bottom of the pit, anger can pull you back up. When fear makes you feel small and helpless, anger can almost act as a substitute for courage. When the whole world is ugly and hopeless and unjust and wrong, your anger can feel like a beacon of hope, lonely though it may be. 

Anger was my defense mechanism. I was weak and brittle. Small things could’ve broken me, so I lashed out at others before they got close enough to hurt me.

Anger was my reason to be. It was my morning coffee. It got me out of bed and semi-conscious after my insomniac nights. It gave me something to hold on to other than the horrors of what had happened to me. 

Anger was the only expression of self-esteem (or Pride) that I had left to me. It was the only affirmation I felt worthy of. 

Over time, my anger deepened, and festered, and fermented, and simmered, until it became something beyond anger. It became Wrath. 

Wrath is not just irritation or getting a little bit ‘mad.’ Wrath is poisonous grudges cherished for years– and sudden, uncontrollable rages that flash out in an instant. Wrath is anger at its most powerful, and its most dangerous. Wrath is what you feel when you genuinely want to see someone else dead.

Some of you might be rolling your eyes right now, thinking I’m being melodramatic or reveling in my own edginess. Believe me, I am not bragging. The state I am talking about is not fun, it is not healthy. It is exhausting and it involves hurting everyone around you eventually. If you let it control you too much, it might get you thrown in prison or killed. 

Wrath like that has one function and one function only: to get you through when nothing else can. It’s like a powerful battlefield adrenal useful for life-or-dead situations, but deadly over the long term. 

More Mini Book Reviews

Compendium Maleficarum

This 17th-century witch-hunting manual is absolutely essential for understanding European views of Satanic witchcraft. It is also super entertaining, being full of wild anecdotes and fun bits of folklore about witchcraft, demons and the Devil. Best of all, I ended up finding it super useful and inspirational to my practice. It contains a black baptism ritual (which I adapted for my own use), and lots of spell casting ideas. I would put it in a “top five” list of books every theistic Satanist should read. (I have the Montague Summers edition, so that’s fun as well.)

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

This is a quick and mostly excellent read. I might not put it in a top five list of Satanic reads, but definitely top ten. It’s trippy, poetic and philosophical. In terms of style it reminded me of Thus Spoke Zarathustra more than anything else. It’s more of an inspirational text than an informational one but I found it to be VERY pro-Satanic and uplifting. And it took me all of twenty minutes to read.

Là-Bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans

A novel. This is a good read and it sheds a lot of light on how Satanism has been conceptualized. That said, I wouldn’t call it pro-Satanic. Satanism is basically portrayed as menacing and evil, yet attractive if you are a super alienated skeptic who longs for spiritual experience (I can’t really argue with that last part). It’s also a very gruesome text, and focuses on the alleged pedophiliac murders of Gilles de Rais. So, that’s what you’re in for, and it’s fucking explicit about it too, especially for being published in 1891. A lot of what it references is pretty well-researched based on what was available at the time. If you are interested in Satanism in literature and feel like reading a creepy, moody, 19th century French novel, then check it out. If you are easily upset by graphic child abuse content or by horrendous stereotypes about Satanism… skip it.