Tag Archives: my writing

The Satanist’s Ode to Joy

New lyrics by Antichristos

Lucifer, illuminator,
Brother of Prometheus,
We salute you, fire-bringer,
Heretic and anarchist!
From the heavens you have fallen
Still your cause is not forgot:
Everyone who fights for freedom
Loves you though they know it not!
From the heavens you have fallen,
Still your cause is not forgot:
Everyone who fights for freedom
Loves you though they know it not!

We have tasted fruit forbidden
And the Tow’r of Babel built;
Hand in hand we rise together,
Shedding chains of fear and guilt!
Jealous God could not destroy us
Not with sulphur, flood or fire!
In defiance raise your voices,
Joining the infernal choir!
Jealous God could not destroy us
Not with sulphur, flood or fire!
In defiance raise your voices,
Joining the infernal choir!

Light your torch inquisitor
And blow your trumpets Gabriel!
Come what may we stand together!
We will see you all in hell!
Every prison then shall topple,
Every tyrant be o’erthrown!
Every law shall be abandoned,
Save the law of Love alone!
Every prison then shall topple,
Every tyrant be o’erthrown!
Every law shall be abandoned,
Save the law of Love alone!

Mystery Babalon

Below I share my final paper from a class last semester. My final grade was 93. I could wish it was higher, but really, what could be more perfect?

Lately I’ve been saying that Thelema is Satanic, or at least that Crowley intended it to be so (although do what thou wilt, obvs). This paper may shed light on my argument and sources.

 

MYSTERY BABALON: CROWLEY AND THE “WOMAN OF WHOREDOM”

by Antichristos

In his book Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic Thomas Karlsson makes a bold assertion: that Crowley’s Babalon is identical with the Jewish demoness Eisheth Zenunim, also known as Lilith the Elder.[1] This was the first time I had seen anyone else make a connection between Babalon and Eisheth Zenunim, a connection I had long been trying to prove. Despite the massive potential ramifications of this assertion, Karlsson makes the statement as a throwaway, citing only a single, inconclusive text in its support: namely, a brief paragraph in The Kabbalah Unveiled by S.L. Mathers.[2] However, these tiny breadcrumbs dropped by Karlsson and Mathers revealed a hidden path of research, seemingly almost completely untrodden, which I have followed to its conclusion. At its end, I have found Babalon unveiled, and the face behind the face is indeed that of Eisheth Zenunim, whose name means Wife of Harlotry, and who is the twin and consort of Samael, the Devil.  This discovery reveals that the Satanic and klipotic currents in Thelema are stronger and more foundational than the contemporary Ordo Templi Orientis would perhaps like to acknowledge.

Before I begin, I would like to make a few notes on my perspective and methodology. As a theistic Satanist, ceremonial magician and priest of Lucifer, I write from a profoundly emic standpoint. I consider myself to have a personal relationship with Eisheth Zenunim, as well as several of the other demons who will be discussed. I also base my personal theology strongly on the “Tree of Death” or “Tree of Knowledge,” the inverse of the Kabbalistic “Tree of Life.” My understanding of this “Tree” will be crucial to this paper. My biases are obvious. In my defense, I formed my beliefs through the study of the very materials that are referenced herein. As a Luciferian who strongly values knowledge and critical thought as a matter of religious conviction, it is inevitable that my spiritual formation should dovetail with my academic formation. I flatter myself that my beliefs are informed by my studies at least as much as my studies are informed by my beliefs. Furthermore, if not for my idiosyncratic esoteric interests, I would never have made the connections that I outline below. Very few practitioners are aware of Eisheth Zenunim, and those who are tend to conflate her with the younger Lilith (as will be discussed). An interest in the Tree of Klipot is practically a pre-requisite for discovering her existence at all. Klipotic work is a niche within a niche, an obscure and esoteric corner of the already understudied field of Satanism. This being the case, it is highly unlikely that etic scholars will concern themselves with it any time soon.

As to methodology, this paper is essentially an attempt to retrace Crowley’s steps. I have read some of what he has written on these topics (due to time constraints and Crowley’s prolific output I don’t dare claim to have read more than ‘some’), but I am also trying to read what he read. I believe that Crowley must have been familiar with a certain passage of the Zohar, and that this passage is the key to understanding Babalon, her nature, and her iconography.

I am also unavoidably influenced by Kabbalistic methods of textual interpretation, specifically the PARDES system, and the connections that can be made via games of sephirotic and klipotic attribution. This may cause my paper to seemingly veer between the academic and the mystical; but in all fairness, Crowley employed these methods extensively himself, and familiarity with them is essential to understanding his logic.

A case in point: in his introduction to The Eye in the Triangle by Israel Regardie, Robert Anton Wilson recounts an elaborate Kabbalistic joke that Crowley made at his own expense. In The Book of Lies, Crowley referred to Frater Perdurabo (himself) as “nothing but an EYE.” An excursion through the footnotes leads to the Kabbalistic tables in Liber 777, which eventually reveal that by “eye” he means the Eye of Hoor, and that the Eye of Hoor refers to the anus.[3] Aside from being quite funny, this anecdote exemplifies the sort of intertextual Easter-egg hunts that are necessary to understand Crowley. My research for this paper has followed a very similar trajectory, from text to footnotes to the tables of 777, to a much more illuminating conclusion.

With questions of prejudice and methodology acknowledged, I think it best to introduce our twin Goddesses, Babalon and Eisheth Zenunim, before attempting to demonstrate their identity with one another. Without first defining each of them as individuals, the implications of their entanglement cannot be appreciated.

Babalon is the most central and most notorious of all the Goddesses of Thelema.  At first glance, she is seemingly drawn from a single, exoteric source: The Book of Revelations. The text describing the Great Whore of the apocalypse is brief but rich in symbolism: she rides on a beast “having seven heads and ten horns,”[4] she is “drunken with the blood of saints,”[5] and is “arrayed in purple and scarlet.”[6] The text of Revelations goes on to explain that the vision of the Great Whore represents a “great city,”[7] Babylon (itself most likely an allegory for Rome). Crowley takes the exoteric meaning and makes it esoteric, rendering pshat into sod as it were, by literalizing Babylon still further, making her not a city, but a goddess and a personality.

As rich as the text of Revelations is, and neat as this rhetorical trick of Crowley’s may be, Crowley being Crowley could never have been satisfied with drawing on a single source for something so lofty as his construction of the divine feminine—especially not a source so quotidian as the Bible! After all, he was the Great Beast, destined for spiritual union with the Great Whore. She could not remain a sketch, she had to be given flesh. In imagining Babalon, Crowley probably drew from many sources and inspirations, but we know that one of them was Kabbalah. He attributes her to the sephira of Binah,[8] which is “understanding” and is generally considered the first emanation of the divine feminine. We also know that he drew upon the work of John Dee while constructing Babalon. The unique spelling of her name is inspired by Enochian wordplay—Babalon means “wicked” in Enochian, and Babalond means “harlot.”[9] The spelling “Babalon” was allegedly revealed to Crowley during his Kabbalistic/Enochian workings with Victor Neuberg, as documented in The Vision and the Voice. In a footnote, Crowley breaks down the name Babalon still further to mean “gates of God,”[10] referring to her position as Binah directly on the other side of the Abyss, and thus as the entrance to the supernal triangle of Binah, Chokmah and Keter.

We will return to Babalon shortly, but now we must introduce our other principle character, Eisheth Zenunim. She is introduced memorably in the Zohar as “a serpent,” a “wife of harlotry,” “the End of All Flesh” and “the end of days.” The Zohar tells us also that:

“A deep mystery is found in the strength of Isaac’s light OF HOLINESS, and from the dregs of wine, WHICH ARE KLIPOT. One shape emerged FROM BOTH, made of GOOD AND EVIL, male and female, as one. It is red as a rose and extends to many sides and paths, HAVING MANY ASPECTS. The male is called ‘Samael’ and the female is always included within him.”[11]

From this we can see that Eisheth Zenunim and Samael are in fact a single entity or principle. They are created as one, androgynous and co-equal. Further text makes it explicit that what is being described is a dark mirror of divinity: just as God emanates in male and female aspects through the Tree of Life, the principles that oppose him on the sitra achra (other side) emanate likewise through the Tree of Death.

Isaac Luria is thought to have been first to propose an “inverse tree” of klipot[12] that precisely mirror the sephiroth, and western esotericists, particularly of the Golden Dawn, expanded upon his system. In the layout of this inverse tree, Eisheth Zenunim, first emanation of the infernal feminine, resides in Satarial, the klipotic equivalent of Binah—occupying the same space as Babalon, but on the sitra achra.[13]

Anybody who has even a passing familiarity with Jewish demonology and the left-hand path should be wondering at this point if Eisheth Zenunim is the same as Lilith. In answer: she is and she isn’t. Eisheth Zenunim is a primeval Lilith, who must be distinguished from Lilith, first wife of Adam. While that Lilith was created co-equal with Adam from the same dust as he, as seen in the Alphabet of Ben Sirach,[14] Eisheth Zenunim is older, made from the same stuff as Samael. She is the twin of the Devil himself, or perhaps more accurately, the female half of Satan or the Beast. She is Binah to Samael’s Chokmah (or more precisely, Satarial to his Ghogiel). They are united in the dark side of Keter, which is called Thaumiel or “Twins of God.”[15] This klipa represents cosmic duality and individuation, whereas Keter represents unity and subordination in the oneness of God. Meanwhile, Adam’s ex-wife Lilith rules the lower klipa of Gamaliel, which is equivalent to the sephira Yesod.[16] Some left-hand path practitioners, taking their cue from Rabbi ha-Kohen, distinguish between these two as Lilith the Elder and Lilith the Younger, or Lilith the Matron and Lilith the Maiden.[17] For our purposes we shall refer to the elder as Eisheth Zenunim and the younger as Lilith, simply because the younger lacks a convenient alternate appellation.

Speaking of Rabbi ha-Kohen, an origin story for Eisheth Zenunim is found in his “Treatise on the Left Emanation.” Rabbi ha-Kohen describes Eisheth Zenunim/the elder Lilith as the cause of the war in heaven and the rebellion of the angels. He states that, like Adam and Eve, Samael and Lilith were born as one. He distinguishes between the elder and younger Lilith, as aforementioned, and refers to Eisheth Zenunim as Lilith the Matron, Eve the Matron, and “the Northern One.” He credits her and the war she incited with causing the partial collapse of the “throne of glory.”[18] This could be a reference to the fall of the pseudo-sephira Daath into the Abyss—the “throne of glory” may be construed as Tiphereth, which once would have been in the empty space where Daath is now hidden. Yesod would have been in the place of Tiphereth, and Malkuth in the place of Yesod. Some believe this is the original perfect, symmetrical and unfallen state of the Tree of Life.[19] Since Eisheth Zenunim is also called a “serpent” and is Kabbalistically considered the snake of Eden, this would make her almost single-handedly responsible for every fall: the fall of the angels, the fall of man, and the fall of Malkuth away from the rest of the sephiroth. In other words, Eisheth Zenunim is the primordial catalyst of rebellion and upheaval.

Now that we have established the separate identities of Babalon and Eisheth Zenunim, we may begin to consider the connections between them, and even the possibility that these two are one. To do this, we must first return to the Zohar. Here Eisheth Zenunim is described in terms which must seem familiar to anyone who has read Revelations. As mentioned before, she is called the “End of all Flesh” and the “end of days,” an easy parallel with the whore of the apocalypse. She is described as clad in purple and richly bejeweled, with red hair and a beautiful face. “On her neck hang all the powers of Eastern lands… her speech as smooth as oil; and her lips as beautiful and red as a rose… she is sweeter than all that is sweet in the world.” She is described, like Babylon the Great, as seducing men with wine and fornication. Like Babylon, she is a richly adorned harlot bedazzled with the attributes of sovereignty, wielding the power to bring men and nations to their knees. And like Babylon in Revelations, she brings destruction in her wake: once she has lulled her victim into sleep with wine and rutting, she takes off her ornaments, clothes herself in flames, and returns wielding an envenomed sword with which to end his life.[20]

There are many echoes of this passage in Crowley’s writing about Babalon, particularly in The Vision and the Voice. This was a mystical odyssey of epic proportions, in which Crowley traveled through the Enochian Aethyrs (and the sephiroth as well) in his quest to cross the Abyss (Daath) and attain the grade of Magus through spiritual/sexual union with Babalon. Crowley’s experiences often seemed to flicker between the light and dark sides of the tree, between sephiroth and klipot, demonic and divine. Demonic experiences seem to have increased rather than decreased during his ascent. Crowley himself implied that dualities such as “divine” and “infernal” had lost meaning for him after he crossed the Abyss.[21]

Babalon perfectly embodies that flickering duality. Like the Bible’s Babylon, she has her chalice filled with the blood of the saints, but she also has many attributes not mentioned in the Bible. Of these, red roses are prominent—indeed, the rose of the rosy-cross itself symbolizes Babalon to Crowley. While the Babylon of Revelations carries no roses, the Zohar’s Eisheth Zenunim is heavily associated with the flower. Her lips and hair are both called “red as a rose.” Indeed, in the same portion, the Tree of Klipot itself is described thus: “It is red as a rose and extends to many sides and paths, HAVING MANY ASPECTS.”[22] This image is strongly reminiscent of some of Crowley’s visions, particularly in the 15th Aethyr: “Now it is clear what she has woven in her dance; it is the Crimson Rose of 49 Petals, and the Pillars are the Cross with which it is conjoined. And between the pillars shoot out rays of pure green fire; and now all the pillars are golden.”[23]

Yet even more striking is Babalon’s “vesture of flame.” While the comparison of a woman or goddess to a red rose is facile and springs swiftly the mind of the most amateur poet, the idea of a dress made of fire takes a bit more imagination. The Babylon of Revelations does not wear one, but Eisheth Zenunim certainly does. In an interesting inversion, Crowley’s Babalon gathers up “every soul that is pure” into her burning garment, while Eisheth Zenunim clothes herself in fire in order to reap the souls of fools and the impure. But inversions and counter-readings were certainly not beyond Crowley, who, after all, had essentially turned the villains of Revelations into heroes.

The most important attribute that Babalon seems to borrow from Eisheth Zenunim is her sword. “Girt with a sword,” Babalon becomes phallically empowered. The blade of Eisheth Zenunim is even more suggestive, dripping “bitter drops” of venom as if oozing sexual fluid. This is not the only respect in which Eisheth Zenunim represents the phallic feminine—she is also the serpent of Eden. Furthermore, in the Kabbalistic text Emek HaMelekh (“Valley of the King”) of Naftali Hertz ben Yaakov Elchanan, Samael is described as castrated, and Lilith/Eisheth Zenunim is said to be in possession of a “blind serpent” which enables their coupling.[24] Make of that what you will.

This could all be coincidence, I suppose. However, the case is strengthened when one examines the sephirotic and klipotic attributions of Babalon and of Eisheth Zenunim. Crowley attributes Babalon to the sephira of Binah. Eisheth Zenunim is attributed to the equivalent klipa, that of Satarial. Carrying this game of attributions further, we see that Chaos is attributed to Chokmah and The Beast to Keter. Meanwhile, Samael rules Ghogiel, and Satan rules Thaumiel, the equivalent klipot of Chokmah and Keter respectively. Thus Babalon and Chaos join to become the androgynous Beast, or Baphomet, the highest of emanations, the crown. Similarly, Eisheth Zenunim and Samael, in their sexual union, become Satan or Baphomet. In each of these cases, we see the divine androgyne emanating down into masculine and feminine aspects, and being reformed again in their sexual coupling.

Understanding these Kabbalistic attributions also helps to explain the odd episode of Chaos’ incest with his daughter in the 4th Aethyr. If Chaos and Babalon are coequal, emanated from the Beast, they are essentially born from each other. Babalon would be both mother and daughter to Chaos. Alternatively, one could look upon the daughter as Lilith the Younger, and Babalon as Lilith the Elder, Eisheth Zenunim. Indeed, in a footnote on the 3rd Aethyr, Crowley says: “Here also is a mystery of mysteries. Lilith is truly Babalon.” In the prior footnote he attributes Lilith to Malkuth, and in the next footnote connects Babalon to Binah.[25] This fits perfectly into the traditional Kabbalistic schema wherein Malkuth is a lower reflection of the divine feminine Binah. All of this makes even more sense if Chaos is accepted to be Samael, for Samael copulates with both Eisheth Zenunim, Lilith the Matron, who is Binah/Satarial, and with Lilith the Maiden, who is attributed to Yesod or to Malkuth (or rather their klipotic equivalents, Gamaliel and Nahemoth).

One might defend Babalon, Chaos and even the Beast from charges of deviltry by pointing out that they reside on the tree of the sephiroth, not the tree of the klipot. However, as Crowley intimated, the light and dark sides had become undifferentiated for him once he crossed the Abyss. He also makes this remark in the 3rd Aethyr:

“It is only in the first three Aethyrs that we find the pure essence, for all the other Aethyrs are but as Malkuth to complete these three triads, as hath before been said. And this being the second reflection, therefore is it the palace of two hundred and eighty judgments. For all these paths are in the course of the Flaming Sword from the side of Severity.”

According to some traditions, all the klipot originally emanated out of the sephira of Gevurah (Severity) on the left side of the Tree of Life[26] (which is why the sitra achra is sometimes called the “left emanation”). Arguably, Crowley has here admitted that he has crossed to the left side!

Furthermore, there exists an additional Thelemic-Kabbalistic trinity which seems much more firmly aligned with the sephira and the light—that of Nuit as Binah, Hadit as Chokmah, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit as Keter. Thus, one could argue that the sephirotic version of the triad is Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit, and that Babalon, Chaos and the Beast are their klipotic equivalents, bringing them one step closer to explicit identification with Eisheth Zenunim, Samael, and Satan.

This would be interesting enough as a Kabbalistic game, however, I happen to have some textual evidence that Crowley himself connected Babalon with Eisheth Zenunim. In the first place, it would be odd to think that Crowley had never seen the above passage of the Zohar. He studied Kabbalah extensively. Further increasing the likelihood that Crowley had been exposed to the figure of Eisheth Zenunim, we have his mentor Samuel Liddell Mathers to thank for this passage in The Kabbalah Unveiled:

“Their prince is Samael, SMAL, the angel of poison and of death. His wife is the harlot, or woman of whoredom, AShTh ZNVNIM, Isheth Zenunim; and united they are called the beast, CHIVA, Chioa. Thus the infernal trinity is completed, which is, so to speak, the averse and caricature of the supernal Creative One. Samael is considered to be identical with Satan.”[27]

Here we have a klipotic triad that functions in precisely the same way as Chaos, Babalon and the Beast, and it even has a Beast at the top. It would be preposterous to think that Crowley was never exposed to this passage. Any reference to a “Beast” would have surely caught his eye, as he had identified with the Beast of Revelations since childhood.[28] Additionally, at the time when Crowley was hobnobbing most with Mathers, he was “meddling with the Goetia” (in the words of Allan Bennett).[29] Of course he would’ve given the brief segment on demonology in his mentor’s book more than a passing glance! The Kabbalah Unveiled was published in 1887, and Crowley joined the Golden Dawn in 1898, more than ten years later. He had ample time to read The Kabbalah Unveiled, and in fact quoted it extensively in his own Kabbalistic writings, chiefly Gematria[30]. He also included it in the curriculum for the A.A.

(Playing with gematria, I noticed that Mather’s spelling, AShTh ZNVNIM, has a numerical sum of 154, only two less than the value of Babalon. If one adds a couple of A’s for the missing vowels, AShaTh ZaNVNIM, it can be made to add to 156. This is a heinous misspelling in the name of numerology, but Crowley was far from being above such linguistic mutilations. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to speculate that he would have noticed this.)

A table in Liber 777 further proves that Crowley was perfectly familiar with Eisheth Zenunim. In English, he attributes Thaumiel as “Satan and Moloch,” which is how Mathers and the Golden Dawn understood Thaumiel. But Crowley includes Hebrew characters below, and they do not translate as Moloch. אשת זנונים is “wife of harlotry,” Eisheth Zenunim.[31] Why this bait and switch? It would be tempting to assume that Crowley wanted to keep his Satanic influences esoteric, but this would seem odd for a man who called himself “The Great Beast 666.”

We have firmly established that Crowley was aware of the mostly forgotten demon goddess Eisheth Zenunim, but we have not yet shown he identified her with Babalon. Proof of this does exist, however, and to find it we must turn to Liber Samekh. In this ritual he addresses Babalon as “BABALON-BAL-BIN-ABAFT,” which he translates to “Babalon! Thou Woman of Whoredom.” “Woman of Whoredom” is, of course, a direct translation of Eisheth Zenunim. There is no chance that this is accidental.[32]

Our case is very strong, but we must make it stronger yet, and I believe we can. To truly, forcefully identify Babalon with Eisheth Zenunim, it is crucial that we establish Chaos/Hadit as Samael/Lucifer. Eisheth Zenunim and Samael were created as one, after all, and reunite as Thaumiel/Baphomet/Satan. It is impossible for one to be present without the other.

It turns out that establishing the Satanic identity of Chaos/Hadit is a simple task. Crowley was not the least bit shy about it. Liber Samekh, the same text which gives us our most positive identification of Eisheth Zenunim with Babalon, presents us with rich and explicit evidence for Hadit/Chaos as Satan. Here are just a few lines:

“O Lion-Serpent Sun,

The Beast that whirlest forth, a thunder-bolt, begetter of Life!

Thou that flowest! Thou that goest!

Thou Satan-Sun Hadith that goest without Will!”

The name Satan appears in the ritual a total of eight times, each time repeated with reverent love and adoration. Additionally, there are many other references to the Devil in Liber Samekh as the lion-serpent, as the goat, the sun, the snake, and Hadit.[33]

If we use Liber Samekh to intertextually examine the Creed of the Gnostic Mass, we find that “Chaos” is identified as the “Father of Life,” and “the sole viceregent of the Sun upon Earth.” Baphomet is called “the Serpent and the Lion.”[34] Is the Satan of Liber Samekh then Chaos or Baphomet? Kabbalistically, of course, he is both—and Babalon to boot! If one understands how supernal triads work, then the blurring of the one into the other is not the least bit surprising.

The Biblical references in these passages are obviously Satanic, but are worth briefly exploring for additional emphasis. Satan falls “like a lightning-bolt from Heaven,”[35] he walks about as a “roaring lion,”[36] and as for the serpent, this is clearly the serpent of Genesis 3 and of Revelations. The goat is the goat of Azazel.[37]

Further on in Liber Samekh, we see Babalon addressed thus: “Hail, sister and bride of ON, of the God that is all and is none, by the Power of Eleven!”[38] We have already discussed how Eisheth Zenunim is both twin and consort of Samael. The key thing to focus on now is the number eleven. Crowley makes much of these digits: The Book of Lies states “Eleven is the great number of Magick.”[39] Yet how can this be, since ten is the number of the sephiroth? The answer is that while the sephiroth are ten, the klipot are eleven—either because Daath is counted among them, or because Thaumiel counts as two rather than one. This is more evidence that Crowley’s supernal triangle is klipotic, not sephirotic, in nature.

Crowley himself was not shy about the Satanic elements of his religion. They are absolutely exoteric. Crowley presented openly as the Great Beast 666, explicitly identifying himself with the Antichrist. He received The Book of the Law from Aiwass, which is another name for Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel of the Yazidis, yet another name for whom is Azazel. In “Magic in Theory and Practice” Crowley makes no bones about Aiwass’ identity:

“The Devil” is, historically, the God of any people that one personally dislikes. This has led to so much confusion of thought that THE BEAST 666 has preferred to let names stand as they are, and to proclaim simply that AIWAZ, the solar-phallic-hermetic “Lucifer” is His own Holy Guardian Angel, and “The Devil” SATAN or HADIT of our particular unit of the Starry Universe.[40]

In conclusion, we are left with this question to ponder: since Crowley was willing to be open about the diabolical nature of Chaos/Hadit, why might he have been so relatively cagey about the demoness behind Babalon? After all, Babalon is already the whore of the apocalypse, a reviled villainess in The Book of Revelations. What could Crowley possibly have had to lose by making her demonic provenance fully exoteric? Why would he hide Eisheth Zenunim’s name in Liber 777, writing “Moloch” in English and allowing the demoness to be found only by those who could read Hebrew?

I cannot give a definitive answer to this question. I can, however, speculate. Crowley may have felt a certain degree of possessiveness towards Babalon. After all, he had to cross the Abyss and battle Choronzon in order to know her embrace. While he seems to have enjoyed revealing his own identification with the Beast, he may have been understandably protective towards his mystical consort and beloved. The klipa over which Eisheth Zenunim presides, Satarial, is known as “the veiled ones” or “the concealment of God.” Perhaps Crowley simply respected his beloved Goddess far too much to pull her veil and show her true face.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Apiryon, Helena, and Tau Apiryon. “The Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church: An Examination.” Hermetic.com. Accessed May 13, 2019.

https://hermetic.com/sabazius/creed_egc.
Crowley, Aleister. “11: The Glow Worm.” In The Book of Lies, 1. N.p.: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net, n.d.

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/lies/14.htm.

 

Crowley, Aleister. The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography. 5th ed. N.p.: Penguin, 1989.

 

Crowley, Aleister. Liber 777. The Esoteric Library,

https://www.ordoaa.com.br/arquivos/ht/libri/Liber_777.pdf.

 

Crowley, Aleister. Magick in Theory and Practice. Paris: Lecram Press, 1930.

 

Crowley, Aleister. The Vision and the Voice.  Sacred-Texts.com,

https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/418/aetyr12.htm.

 

Ha-Kohen, Rabbi Isaac Ben Jacob, and Dan. “Treatise on the Left Emanation.” In The Early Kabbalah, edited by Joseph Dan. Translated by Ronald C. Kiener, 173. New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1986.

 

Karlsson, Thomas. Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic. Jacksonville, OR: Ajna, 2009.

 

Mathers, Samuel Liddell MacGregor. The Kabbalah Unveiled. Leeds, England: Celephais Press, 2003.

 

Regardie, Israel, Robert Anton Wilson, and Christopher S. Hyatt. The Eye in the Triangle. 2nd ed. Tempe, AZ: First Falcon Press Printing, 2013.

 

Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken Books, 1995.

 

Zohar.com. “Samael and the Wife of Harlotry.” Accessed May 13, 2019.

http://www.zohar.com/vayetze/samael-and-wife-harlotry.

 

[1] Karlsson Thomas, Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic (Jacksonville, OR: Ajna, 2009), 69.

[2] Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, The Kabbalah Unveiled (Leeds, England: Celephais Press, 2003), 30.

[3] Israel Regardie, Robert Anton Wilson, and Christopher S. Hyatt, The Eye in the Triangle, 2nd ed. (Tempe, AZ: First Falcon Press Printing, 2013), 14-15.

[4] Revelation 17:3 (KJV)

[5] Revelation 17:6 (KJV)

[6] Revelation 17:4 (KJV)

[7] Revelation 17:18 (KJV)

[8] Aleister Crowley, Liber 777 (n.p.: The Esoteric Library, n.d.), 12,

https://www.ordoaa.com.br/arquivos/ht/libri/Liber_777.pdf.

[9] Thelemapedia, s.v. “Babalon,” accessed May 13, 2019,

http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Babalon#Etymology.

[10] Aleister Crowley, The Vision and the Voice (Sacred-Texts.com), 12 Aethyr

https://www.sacred-texts.com/oto/418/aetyr12.htm.

[11] “Samael and the Wife of Harlotry,” Zohar.com, accessed May 13, 2019, http://www.zohar.com/vayetze/samael-and-wife-harlotry.

[12] Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York: Schocken Books, 1995), 267.

[13] Crowley, Liber 777, 23.

[14] “Alphabet of Ben Sira 78: Lilith,” Jewish Women’s Archive, accessed May 13, 2019, https://jwa.org/media/alphabet-of-ben-sira-78-lilith.

[15] Karlsson, 136

[16] Karlsson, 116

[17] Rabbi Isaac Ben Jacob Ha-Kohen, “Treatise on the Left Emanation,” in The Early Kabbalah, ed. Joseph Dan, trans. Ronald C. Kiener (New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1986), 175.

[18] Ha-Kohen, 173.

[19] Karlsson, 39-43

[20] “Samael and the Wife of Harlotry,” Zohar.com

[21] Crowley, The Vision and the Voice, 5th Aethyr

[22] “Samael and the Wife of Harlotry,” Zohar.com

[23] Crowley, The Vision and the Voice, 15th Aethyr

[24] “Kabbala: Lilith, Samael and Blindragon,” jewishchristianlit.com, accessed May 13, 2019,

http://jewishchristianlit.com/Topics/Lilith/lilsam.html.

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to access even portions of this text in English and this site was the only source available under my time constraints.

[25] Crowley, The Vision and the Voice, 3rd Aethyr

[26] Karlsson, 54-58

[27] Mathers, The Kabbalah Unveiled, 30

[28] Aleister Crowley, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography, 5th ed. (Penguin, 1989), 44.

[29] Crowley, The Confessions, 178.

[30] wikipedia, s.v. “777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley,” accessed May 13, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/777_and_Other_Qabalistic_Writings_of_Aleister_Crowley#Gematria.

[31] Crowley, Liber 777, 23.

[32] Aleister Crowley, “Liber Samekh,” in Magick in Theory and Practice (Paris: Lecram Press, 1930), 248.

[33] Crowley, “Liber Samekh,” 247.

[34] Helena Apiryon and Tau Apiryon, “The Creed of the Gnostic Catholic Church: An Examination,” Hermetic.com, accessed May 13, 2019, https://hermetic.com/sabazius/creed_egc.

[35] Luke 10:18 (KJV)

[36] Peter 5:8 (KJV)

[37] Leviticus 16:8 (KJV)

[38] Crowley, “Liber Samekh,” 248.

[39] Aleister Crowley, “11: The Glow Worm,” in The Book of Lies (n.p.: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net, n.d.), 1, https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/lies/14.htm.

[40] Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice, 172.

Saying Will

OK, so, if you haven’t already noticed, I have become a reluctant Thelemite in addition to a Satanist. Satanism is primary for me– I far prefer to call upon Eisheth Zenunim, Lucifer and Baphomet to Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit– but I am finding a lot of Thelemic methods and ritual to be very useful and powerful, and enjoy the Thelemic anarcho-communist community I have recently found. In fact, I am currently learning the Gnostic Mass– primarily Deacon and Priest roles, but the Temple I frequent encourages gender-bent masses and someday I hope to serve as Priestess as well.

But Gnostic Mass aside, here is a much simpler ritual. It’s sort of the Thelemite equivalent of saying grace before meals. And I really fucking like it. So here you go. (Taken from here.)

The Common Form

Leader: (knocks 3-5-3) Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
All: What is thy will?
Leader: It is my will to eat and to drink.
All: To what end?
Leader: That I may fortify my body thereby.
All: To what end?
Leader: That I may accomplish the Great Work.
All: Love is the law, love under will.
Leader: (knocks once) Fall to!

An Alternate Method

When all present are familiar with the ritual, it is possible to have the leader ask the questions and the participants give the answers:

Leader: (knocks 3-5-3)
All: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Leader: What is thy will?
All: It is my will to eat and to drink.
Leader: To what end?
All: That I may fortify my body thereby.
Leader: To what end?
All: That I may accomplish the Great Work.
All: Love is the law, love under will.
Leader: (knocks once) Fall to!

 

Satanic Summer Book Blogging

I have been meaning to post more about what I am reading. Finding Satanic books is difficult and I want to do my part to help others find the good stuff.

So here are my top five picks of the moment.

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlsson. 

This is hands-down the best introduction to the Qliphoth or Klipot that one can find in print. It is intelligent, clear, well-cited, and deeply readable, which are the qualities one desperately needs in any text on Kabbalah or the Klipot.

Karlsson is very familiar with Jewish Kabbalism, as well as Western Esoteric Qabalah, and provides a refreshingly lucid survey of the literature on the Klipot before diving into practical ideas for self-initiation through the Tree of Death. Both the theory and praxis in this book are generally super solid. The entirety of the Goetia is also included, along with suggestions for contacting those demons and thoughts on their connection to the Klipot.

However, I must caution that Karlsson may have some nasty right-wing sympathies. While he explicitly disavows violence and hatred early on in the text, there are numerous dog-whistles sprinkled throughout which make me suspicious. Karlsson really likes Nietzsche and Julius Evola. Shout-outs to Nietzsche may not on their own be red flags– hell, I like ol’ Friedrich well enough myself– but Evola was a self-avowed “superfascist,” and putting him next to the far right’s favorite philosopher to misconstrue is one heck of a dog whistle. (Also, Karlsson’s facebook friends list reveals some… dubious associates.)

For this reason, I am attaching the PDF of this book so that my readers can benefit from Karlsson’s essential text without the risk of financially supporting a crypto-fascist.

Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism by Ruben van Luijk

This book is just a straight-up delight. It is a fascinating history of Satanism, first as an idea and eventually as a reality. Van Luijk clears up many misconceptions about the origins of Satanism as an actual practice, and surveys the intellectual trends and social movements that influenced the development of our faith. If you want to cling to the fantasy that Satanism is an ancient religion stretching back at least to the witches of the Middle Ages, you will not enjoy this book. If, however, you want to know where Satanism actually comes from, you’ll love it.

While this is a scholarly text, it’s also a damn entertaining one, full of amusing quotes and anecdotes. It’s also very thought-provoking, as it tracks the various philosophical and political tendencies that fed into Satanism. It can help one discover the lineage of one’s own Satanism– mine, for example, largely grows out of the milieu of 19th century anarchists and romantic writers who saw Satan as a heroic liberator.

The Black Sun: Alchemy and the Art of Darkness by Stanton Marlan

First of all, a necessary disclaimer: this is not a Nazi text. The concept of the Black Sun is much older than the Nazi appropriation of phrase. This book has to do with the Black Sun as it appears in alchemy.

This is also not a Satanic text. It is written from a Jungian perspective and explores alchemy as a psychological metaphor, and as a theme in art, poetry, mythology and mysticism.

However, this book is highly relevant for anybody undergoing Satanic initiation, particularly Klipotic work, especially as the initiate approaches the realm of Thagirion (the Black Sun).

One note: while this is definitely not a fascist text, and isn’t Nazi-racist, it does have some gross, fetishistic moments of racism. (Mystical white-people visions of “African Tribesman” described in the most stupid and ignorant way possible.) It was also first published in 2005, so it’s not as if we can excuse this as a product of a much earlier and less enlightened time.

Nevertheless, I must recommend this book as a solid introduction to the Black Sun for people who are curious about its meaning before the fascists got to it, for Klipotic workers, and for anybody undergoing a process of spiritual death and rebirth.

The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Gregory Lewis

Here’s some really fun summer reading. Are you in a mood for a batshit insane novel about a monk gone bad, featuring: cross-dressing! Ghosts! Witchcraft! and Satan himself? How could you resist?

This story heaps on the crazy-sauce from beginning to end. And when Lucifer has his big moment at the story’s climax, you’ll probably cheer.

Aut Diabolus, Aut Nihil by Julian Osgood Field

Not a whole book, actually a short story. This little gem is a prime example of the fin de siècle decadent literary take on Satan and Satanism. It’s certainly not pro-Devil, but does portray him in a mesmerizing and attractive fashion. No matter how hard I try to shake it off, something about this story sticks with me.

The plot concerns a cynical young man who becomes a priest mainly for the money and the social status. He does not believe in the Devil, and probably doesn’t even believe in God. However, his life is changed forever when a friend brings him to a secret Satanic ceremony and he encounters Lucifer in the flesh.

In this tale, we see the decadent Satan perfectly embodied. He is a symbol of ennui, despair, cynicism and faithlessness. He is beautiful and tempting, in the same way that despair and cynicism can be nearly irresistible.

I honestly recommend this story to Satanists and Christians alike. Actually, I’d recommend it to anyone. For Satanists this is a fascinating example of Lucifer in literature, for Christians it is a provocative meditation on the necessity of duality (not necessarily dualism, don’t get mad). And for everyone else, it’s a touching little fable about the dangerous allure of depression and despair, and the necessity of faith and hope in the face of those insidious forces.

 

Lucifer of Clermont

Today I would like to share one of my absolute favorite stories about the Devil.

This tale first appeared in The History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours. I read about it in the very entertaining book Eros and Evil by R.E.L. Masters.

I’ll recount it with a bit of dramatic license. You can read a somewhat more straightforward account here.

Eparchius, Bishop of Clermont, was an insomniac. When sleep refused to come, he would often go to his Cathedral in the middle of the night to pray.

One night, Eparchius entered the Cathedral to find it full of demons. I like to imagine it as a blasphemous party in full swing– demons defecating on the consecrated wafers, swigging from the holy wine, copulating on the altar and between the pews, swinging from the chandeliers, urinating in the holy font while other tiny imps gleefully swam around in it.

Presiding over this orgy of sacrilege was Satan himself, enthroned on the bishop’s chair– in full drag, wearing a woman’s dress and plenty of make-up. I imagine him looking a bit like the Medieval french equivalent of this:

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I imagine Lucifer smirking at Eparchius as a demon crawled out from under his skirts, wiping its mouth. Perhaps Lucifer, unchagrined, bid the bishop a polite welcome and offered him some of his own holy wine.

“You infamous whore!” Eparchius bellowed in indignation.

I picture Lucifer simpering with painted lips at the outraged bishop.

“A whore, eh?” he responded. “Since you are so concerned about whores, Eparchius, and since you know so much about them, you shall have whores aplenty, more than you can handle.”

With that, Satan and his infernal crew vanished in a puff of sulfurous smoke, leaving Eparchius with a raging boner that would remain nearly perpetual for the rest of his life.

I want Lucifer of Clermont on a fucking prayer candle. I want icons of him. I cannot imagine a more perfect patron of blasphemy, hedonism, and gender-bending… nor a fiercer adversary of slut-shaming and sexual repression.

Hail Lucifer of Clermont! Bless us every day with your fierce fabulosity. Fill us with gleeful lust and grant us the fulfillment of our fleshly desires. Glory to thee in thy frock and thy rouge! Nema. 

 

 

 

Egocide

CW: Discussion of suicidal feelings, of the concept of suicide as a metaphor for magic practices, also mention of rape, addiction, and other traumas. 

Here’s something I’ve learned from magic and Devil worship:

Whenever you need to kill yourself, do it.

Just never do it physically.

The initiatory path is a series of spiritual deaths and rebirths. Alchemy is a cycle of putrefaction, purification and perfection. The power of a magician and a Satanist is the power of self-creation, of assuming agency over identity and destiny, and a very large part of that comes from the willingness to die to oneself, to shed old masks and old identities and old lives and old relationships, again and again if necessary.

Growth hurts, and sometimes growth feels like dying. Think of the tarot cards Death, the Tower, the Hanged Man, and even the Wheel of Fortune, under which we are broken and upon which we rise, again and again and again. These are all cards of change, reversal, renewal, and catastrophe, resulting in something new. Crisis is necessary for change, and change is the essence of freedom.

Having been through a few spiritual deaths and rebirths— some intentional but most of them admittedly not— I can tell you that I no longer see myself as a single discrete entity, with one identity continuous between physical birth and death. Instead, I have come to believe in reincarnation within a single lifetime.

The child I was died at the threshold of adolescence. The teenage girl I was supposed to be was murdered when she was raped. The traumatized young woman who replaced her passed away when I transitioned to male, and was replaced with an angry young alcoholic man. He in turn died when I got sober, and so on, and so forth. These are only a few of the people I have been, just a handful of the brief lives I have lived in this single human lifetime.

The person I was yesterday does not have to be the person I am today. Any time I get to a point where I can’t stand myself anymore, I can always die and be reborn.

Easy as that? No, not easy. As hard as that. As hard and painful as dying, and just as liberating.

I believe it was Michelangelo who said he didn’t sculpt, he freed shapes from the stone. I look at myself as a raw block of marble. I take up the chisel and I cut away, until for the time I am satisfied. But only ever for a time. Later I may cut away more.

But even this metaphor is imperfect because I don’t just subtract, I add, and I am no longer convinced that my raw material is the same as what I had when I started out. In a very literal sense, it is not— none of the cells in my body are the same as the ones I had when I was born. I am a collection of free-wheeling atoms, coming and going, and I can let desires, dreams, personality traits, habits, opinions, all these little things that I think are me, come and go as well.

This is why I have had so many names and pseudonyms and stage names and pen names throughout my life. In the internet age taking on new handles and identifying with them comes easy. Magicians do this too— in systems like the Golden Dawn, many take on a new name with each new magical grade. This is useful. Names have power. New born things deserve new names, and if you have died and been reborn, so do you. What do you think baptism, that symbolic drowning followed by naming, is all about?

Is there some essential, platonic me-ness underneath it all? I don’t know. I do have a true, secret name I cling to, the name of my Godself, but I don’t pretend to know that self or to truly be that self for more than a few blessed, fleeting moments here and there. I believe in in my Godself, I hope to know and become that self, but in truth it is an abstraction, an ideal.

The human self I think I know is an illusion, impermanent. I have been many people throughout my life. I don’t look back on all of my dead selves with contempt, although some of them I undoubtedly do despise. All of them were just who I needed to be at the time, my best attempt at an identity for that moment. Prototypes.

Someday I may become the philosophers stone, something polished and pure and utterly Myself. But for now, I putrefy, I purify, I putrefy again. Death and rebirth in an endless cycle without my mortal heart skipping a beat.

And any time the depression hits, I become suicidal, I want to die– that is a sign that it may be time for me to spiritually die again. When my current life, circumstances, identity become unbearable, I can change. I can do something new. There is no need to hurt my physical self, no need to leave this plane. Instead I can embrace the process of putrefaction, of ego death, go willingly into the nigredo phase of the alchemical project once again. It’s only natural, and I believe we all do it.

I have struggled with feeling suicidal all my life, but now I know the truth. I do not want to physically die, or leave this world. I want to transform, to free myself, to grow.

And I can, and I do, again and again and again.

The Antichrist Cometh– Saving the World is for Satanists

The world is on fire. We all know it and we try not to think about it. But verily I say unto you, my people– we are living in the end times, and we are all gonna die, unless we get our fucking shit together.

A new study predicts that, unless drastic and immediate action is taken, global heating will render the world virtually uninhabitable and bring about the end of civilization as we know it by 2050.

And yes, this is a Satanic problem.

Obviously it should be a problem for all people, since, no matter what our faith, every last one of us is going to burn– not in Hell, but here on Earth.

However, influential elements of the Christian Right are actively courting the apocalypse. They can’t wait for the second coming. They aren’t the least bit concerned about climate disaster, nor do they believe it is man-made. They believe it is the hand of God.

And these fucking wackadoodle doomsday cultists– for make no mistake, that is what they are– have the President’s ear. They have far more influence on American policy than do climate scientists. They are determining our destiny. They are winning.

And who’s gonna stand up to them?

If only there were a religious movement that could provide spirited, passionate opposition to them. A religious movement that does not revile the material world, but cherishes and reveals it. An anti-authoritarian religious movement that is in favor of science and progress. A religious movement dedicated to the Lord of this World. A movement like, oh… Satanism.

Yes, I am aware that Satanic doomsday cults exist. They should be embarrassed. They are doing the same work as right wing Christians, only less effectively. They are laughable.

True Satanism does not court Armageddon, and it isn’t going to take it lying down either. We are not the type of people who go gentle into that good night.

My friends, I teach you the Antichrist!

Our need is desperate. The hour is late. The situation is dire. We need a Messiah who will rage against the suicidal forces of capitalism, fascism, ignorance and doomsday cultism.

We need a Messiah who can maintain hope against all odds, and kindle it in the hearts of others.

This savior should hold reverence for nature in one hand, and the Promethean light of science and technology in the other, for we will need both if we are to be saved.

When conservative voices claim that this world of capitalism and “democracy” is the best of all possible worlds, and claim America is heaven on Earth, the Antichrist should call for a War in Heaven.

And who is the Antichrist?

Well, I am. And you are. And you are. And you, and you, and yes, you.

We must be a beast with many heads. We must rise up and swarm against the powers of the Demiurge, powers of capitalism, fascism, greed, apathy and despair. Those bastards might be ready to meet their Maker– or, more likely, they think they can sit the whole things out in their luxury bunkers. Fuck that. They don’t get to take the whole world with ’em.

The good news is, this is not your fault. Just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of carbon emissions. Sure, our individual emissions contribute, a little bit. But these 100 companies want you feeling guilty and disempowered and wringing your hands as you sort your recyclables. If you’re too busy feeling personally responsible for the destruction of the world, then you aren’t looking at them.

Know the enemy. Fight the enemy. The enemy is big oil. The enemy is capitalism. The enemy is global fascism and the Christian Right. Focus your ire on them. Hit them hard.

But how, I hear you ask? How should I begin? How can I accept the sacred charge of Antichrist, and rear up as a head of the Beast?

Good questions, and I wish I had all the answers. But I do have a few suggestions. Think of these actions as acts of devotion, as religious duties, as offerings.

  1. Stop paying them to kill you. Big Oil relies heavily on investors. Who are some of their biggest investors? BANKS. Specifically Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase. If you bank with any of those, take your money elsewhere ASAP. It might not sound dramatic or heroic, but it’s one of the most impactful actions you as an individual can take against Big Oil without risking arrest. Consider switching to a credit union instead. Most of them will be a much better banking experience anyway and give you a better interest rate. It’s a pain in the ass to switch, but it’s worth it.
  2. Spread awareness of the enemies list. Make as many people as possible aware that climate change is largely fueled by a handful of greedy oil CEOs. We need the entire world to get mad as fuck about it. Posting on social media is a start, but it’s not enough. Post fliers. Drop banners. Put stickers everywhere. Have face-to-face conversations. We need to get everybody pointed in the same direction, against the real opposition.
  3. We need to remove carbon from the atmosphere. It’s not enough to stop emissions, we need to actively take green houses gases out of the Earth’s atmosphere. There are ways to do this. Fund projects like these, and if you can’t afford to, at least make sure people are aware of them.
  4. Hit the streets. Extinction Rebellion is my personal top pick for a climate activism org to support. Go to rallies held by this group or similar. During protests, Big Oil and their backers should be specifically targeted. Banks like Wells Fargo and Chase should be blockaded, gas stations should be surrounded, etc.
  5. Last, for now, and definitely least: make any personal lifestyle changes in the name of environmentalism part of your spiritual practice. Many faiths have embraced dietary restrictions and other special habits. If you swear off meat (or at least beef) in the name of fighting climate change, strengthen your resolve with a religious vow or pact with your favorite demon. Make turning off lights when you leave a room a mindfulness exercise, and practice it diligently. Make donations in the name of your patron demons and deities, as offerings. Call on your demons when you hit the streets for actions. Weave your magick in. Why do I recommend this? Well, because individual actions are only remotely effective as part of a movement, and when done with great consistency. If you incorporate them into your practice, you will give yourself greater motivation to stick with them. If you use them as offerings or part of pacts, you may reap magical rewards in return. If you approach them as mindfulness exercises, you will improve your self-discipline. At the very least, you will directly benefit. Share these practices with your spiritual communities, and you may gain support from others to keep you on track, and even inspire them to take similar actions.

There have been countless apocalyptic religious movements throughout history, but few if any have ever actively tried to stop the apocalypse on the material plane. We need something like that right now.

Let’s be it.

Consort and Klipotic (Qliphotic) Sigils

I have just completed a set of sigils for all 11 of the Klipot (Qliphoth), as well as a couple of demons who I couldn’t find sigils for that I liked. Since I am uploading these, I thought I’d share my set of sigils for the Four Consorts as well while I am at it.

(Yes, I like Lilith’s traditional sigil as well but I felt the need to have a matched set since I was making sigils for the other consorts.)

Use freely and enjoy.

Klipot Sigils:

Consort Sigils:

Miscellaneous Sigils:

The Precept of the Eye of Hoor

This is a post about something I have just made up, regarding things which people have just made up.

I call it “The Precept of the Eye of Hoor,” a deliberately pretentious name for a simple concept.

Allow me to explain.

Aleister Crowley talks a lot about the Eye of Hoor, which, as it turns out, is his fancy Kabbalistic euphemism for… the butt hole.

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No, my Precept is not actually about butt stuff, at least not in a literal sense. This is not that kind of post. Sorry to disappoint.

The Precept of the Eye of Hoor is as follows:

If you just pulled an occult concept out of your own ass, you don’t get to pretend that it is ancient wisdom from Egypt or some shit. Conversely, if you used someone else’s occult concept, you have to cite your source.

Simple, right?

Yet a failure to obey this precept plagues occultism. Occultists are shockingly terrible at citing their sources. Furthermore, there is a longstanding tradition in Western Esotericism of pretending that made-up shit is actually “ancient wisdom” from Egypt or Lemuria or Atlantis or the Akashic Records.

Many popular occult texts, such as, oh, The Testament of Solomon and The Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon and The Sacred Book of Abramelin the Mage and the Zohar claim to be a few thousand years older than they actually are and written by people who did not write them. Don’t get me wrong. Those are all important and effective and powerful texts. But in a bid for greater legitimacy, all claim greater antiquity and more illustrious authorship than they have.

This is the rule when it comes to occultism, not the exception. Think about how many Neopagan traditions (I am looking at you, Wicca) claim to be continuations of “ancient universal religions” that absolutely did not exist. Think about how many occult writers use the work of others without citation or credit (I am looking at you, LaVey).

The truth is that the Eye of Hoor, aka pulling stuff out of your own ass, can actually be a legitimate source of gnosis. You, yes you, can just make shit up and have it be effective and useful. And you ought to be able to admit that.

Pagans on the internet have come up with some useful acronyms to talk about sources of belief. “UPG” stands for “Unverified Personal Gnosis,” aka stuff that you yourself channeled, divined, or intuited. “SPG” means “Shared Personal Gnosis,” which is when more than one person has independently channeled, divined or intuited the same thing. “VPG” or “Verified Personal Gnosis” is when you channeled, divined or intuited something and then later realized that there is support for it in lore and texts.

For example, let’s say you get the feeling that Eisheth Zenunim likes red roses. That’s UPG. You mention this to other practitioners and they go “ya know, that’s funny, I always thought so too.” Now it’s SPG. Later you stumble on the passage in the Zohar where Eisheth Zenunim is repeatedly compared to a red rose. Welp. Now it’s VPG.

And that’s a cool and validating experience, but you know what? Just plain old UPG can be good, too. For example, I feel like Eisheth Zenunim has a thing with spiders. I started seeing spiders around my house in unprecedented numbers right after I started working with her. I do not know anyone else who really feels strongly about this connection. I have found nothing in any text relating Eisheth Zenunim to spiders. I could be wrong, but I also could be right.

Because guess what! All occult wisdom was unverified personal gnosis at some point in time. What do you think prophets are?

The entire Enochian language and system of magic was probably pulled directly from Edward Kelly’s bunghole, and you know what? It works.

I have personally based multiple rituals on alleged rites found in witch hunting manuals which were probably made up by inquisitors and never actually practiced by witches, and you know what? Those rituals worked. They worked really well. I perform Black Masses too, which were similarly made up via a series of anti-Satanic stereotypes. Yet Black Masses have power. And I don’t have to pretend that these rites come from an ancient strain of “traditional Satanism” that didn’t exist. They were made up by Catholics who were scared of blasphemy and who, by channeling their own fear of the Devil, imagined rites that would be very effective in attacking everything they believed. And those rites work just as well in practice as they did in the feverish nightmares of witch hunters.

Because that’s what magic is like. The performance of magic is a series of ritual words and actions given symbolic meaning and power. The Chaotes are on to something.

So please, let’s stop insisting that things must be old to be legitimate. Let’s stop obscuring our sources and omitting our citations. Let’s admit where our knowledge, lore and praxis actually comes from, even when it’s straight from the Eye of Hoor.

Conversely, let’s stop pretending that our ideas are original when they are not.

Let’s cite our sources accurately, whether our ideas come from Paracelsus or are channeled from the Aethyrs or are pulled from our own asses.

And by the way, you don’t have to prove that you were “channeling.” If you believe that you were, just say so, and people can decide for themselves whether or not it seems like a load of bull.

Broad adoption of the Precept of the Eye of Hoor can only benefit occultism as a whole. It will make study much easier for everybody, neophyte and adept and Grand Poobah Magister Templi alike. It will increase rather than decrease legitimacy, because honesty about sourcing is by far the best policy in the digital age. You can’t just claim something is an ancient text anymore, people will catch you and you will only look silly. Citing sources properly would also do a lot to combat cultural appropriation. There is no downside here, except for dishonest and manipulative charlatans who want to claim that gnosis belongs to them and to them along.

 

 

 

Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Inverted Pentagram

I made this Satanized version of the classic Golden Dawn LBRP recently and have been sharing it around semi-privately via google doc with some friends. Well, I’ve been getting more requests for it, so I’m putting it out here on my blog.

This is not the only Satanic LBRP around. Feel free to make your own adjustments, however I recommend that you study the Golden Dawn LBRP first and really come to understand why everything is constructed the way it is constructed. It’s like making a substitution in a recipe. You need to understand what the original ingredient contributes before you replace it with something else.

I may make a follow-up post explaining the nerdy occult reasoning behind my version soon.

Without further ado, here it is. Feel free to learn it, practice it, and use it to nuke any unwanted energies and entities in your vicinity.

Ritual:

Begin by facing East.

  1. Make the Klipotic Inverted Cross:

Begin by imagining a ball of darklight just above your head. Clasp your hands as if to pray and imagine drawing the light down through the top of your head and into your hands, so that you can now move it around as you will.

Pronounce “Amen! Forever”

Use your left hand to make the cross. Touch your left hip, drawing the darklight down to it, and say, “glory the”

Touch your right hip, to draw the darklight across your body in a line, and say “and power the”

Touch your belly about two inches below your belly button. Visualise the line flowing down from this point and into your feet, to make the bottom of the inverted cross, and say “and kingdom the”

Touch your forehead, between your eyes. Visualise the darklight flowing up from this point through the crown of your head to connect to the original ball of light, making the top of the cross. Say “is thine for.”

It’s best if you can chant or vibrate the words. Once the inverted cross is complete, keep visualising it on your body.

2. Now begin constructing your inverted pentagrams.

Still facing east, extend your left forefinger and trace an inverted pentagram in the air. Begin from the top left point. Visualize it hanging there, drawn in darklight.

Then draw back your hand, place your finger against your mouth. Explosively pronounce/vibrate the name “Helel,” thrusting your finger forward into the center of your pentagram as you do so.

Turn widdershins to face North. Draw a pentagram as before and vibrate “Samael,” sending the name through the center of the pentagram as before.

Turn to face West. Draw pentagram and place name as before, this time using “Mastema.”

Turn finally to South. Drawn pentagram and place name, using “Azazel.”

3. Now call on the consorts of Samael. 

Return to facing East. Visualize each of the consorts as you call on them.

“Before me, Agrat. Behind me, Naamah. To my left, Eisheth. To my right, Lilith.”

Visualize an inverted pentagram of black flame, in the middle of which you stand, and say,

“For about me flames the pentagram”

Visualize a column of darklight enveloping you, and say,

“And in the column shines the Morningstar.”

4. Repeat inverted cross ritual as before.

5. End ritual with “BE IT SO!” and bring your hands together in a loud clap. Let the darklight explode out, clearing the space around you.