Welcome to the website of T. L. Othaos, author of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness (forthcoming in 2023) and founder of Tenebrous Satanism.
Scroll down to read my latest blog posts, or check out these annual round-ups of all entries: 2022 | 2021
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The more I’ve established a social media presence, the more I’ve come into contact with other Satanic, Chaos Magick and otherwise left-hand-path (LHP) practitioners. With this comes curiosity about others’ magickal praxis. I therefore thought I’d write occasional posts about specifics of my practice, to see what others may share re: similarities/differences. The following one is on the specific topic of incense preferences for meditation and/or ritual.
When a magickal current believes that baneful magick works, but you shouldn’t do it, karma is a commonly-given reason. The Threefold Law is a widely-known concept, even among those who reject it as simplistic or simply false. I think it is safe to assert that most Satanists have little use for moralizing metaphysics of this kind. At the same time, though, the notion of an entirely consequence-free universe seems foreign to esoteric worldviews generally. So is any kind of karmic belief plausible for esoteric Satanists? I would argue yes… but this Satanic karma will deviate significantly from how other esotericists typically imagine the “law of karma” working…
As stated in my bio, I am a passionate fan of black metal and similar genres of “Dark” music. Therefore, from time to time, I like to share songs that I think especially capture the spirit of Tenebrous Satanism – and/or are of especial Satanic interest in broader terms. The subject of this post, “Inno A Satana” by Emperor, fits into the latter category. Awhile ago, I ran across an article discussing this song being a “bad example” of Satanic ideology. This struck me as an unfair dismissal, and in this post I’ll explain why.
Something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now is a series exploring the performance and implications of baneful magick. This includes such things as ethical considerations, metaphysical mechanisms, and rationales for recruiting one entity’s assistance rather than another’s. The current entry provides a tentative summary of some things I’ll be covering in that series.
Here’s a quick round-up of everything I’ve written on this blog in 2022:
Lastly, a quick update:
Certainly there have been some bright spots this year, foremost being that my ever-ongoing string of synchronicities involving a certain black metal band has now wound up connecting me with an unexpectedly excellent consort. ? In areas impacting my productivity, though, this has not been the best year for me. Between having surgery, being ill no less than four times, and assorted work-related disruptions, many things have not gone as smoothly as I would have liked.
Nonetheless, on Xmas day I finished approving all changes that emerged out of the professional editing of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness. The main things still remaining to do are largely in such areas as formatting, cover design, and other such pre-publication errands. I also have a certain amount of additional work to do now in rendering past blog entries consistent with stylistic changes I’ve made to the book – something I’ll be posting updates about on my social media as things proceed in the next while.
As I discovered during this last year, it is perilous to predict a release date when one hasn’t written a book before and hence lacks a full grasp of what all is involved. At minimum though, I do badly want to get to where I would be able to announce a release date by August 2023, if not before.
As always, thanks to everyone who has supported me on this blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter as my journey continues…
Recently, a build-up of personal issues compelled me to take a break from social media. In order to exorcise some related demons, I am going to say a few things about why. This is almost certain to alienate a few members of my audience. I do not think it’s healthy keep bottling my feelings indefinitely, though. And if I don’t now set different boundaries to control said feelings, my long-term goals may be aversely affected. So, to tie this discussion to this blog’s usual concerns, I will discuss a few of my convictions re: what contributes to a good human life as per virtues posited by Tenebrous Satanism, and my unwillingness to continue being demoralized by online experiences that oppose those convictions.
How does Satanic magick “work”? I have enough background in Chaos Magick to consider this a non-urgent question – that it works is more the point. It occurs to me, though, that misunderstandings about magickal mechanisms may aggravate misconceptions Satanic denominations have about one another. Toward the end of addressing such issues, the current entry discusses the extent to which magick is “one’s own” power – i.e. how much of magick is the magician themselves “doing something,” vs. how much comes from an external entity/force/ etc.?
I often cross paths online with esoterically-inclined folks – left-hand-path or otherwise – referring to past-life memories / experiences. This phenomena struck me as interesting to reflect upon in connection with Tenebrous Satanism’s beliefs re: spirits, the afterlife, etc. This entry therefore presents my general impressions on this topic, plus some gnosis I’ve received re: my own past lives.
A thread went around among LHP Tweeters awhile back, asking/speculating about the “god” vs. “demon” distinction. Unsurprisingly perhaps, my kneejerk response was “well, the entities I’m involved with are obviously both”. The topic is sufficiently interesting, though, that I thought it deserved lengthier reflection. Hence the blog post that follows.