Time for my usual quick annual round-up of everything I’ve written in 2023.

It seems that the two most prevalent themes on the blog this year were i) baneful magick, and ii) reflecting on Satanism’s convergences and divergences with other religious and/or esoteric ideologies:

Baneful magick series

• Introduction
• Satanic karma: law of the acausal jungle
  A Satanist can believe in karma-like forces of cause and effect without these forces having much to do with morality.
• Baneful magick and Satanic ethics: on not being a psychopath
  Even those who fervently “believe in” baneful magick usually do not go around casting it frivolously. What restrains them, though: ethical considerations, or purely pragmatic ones?
• Atheistic misconceptions about baneful magick
  I read The Satanic Temple author Shiva Honey’s The Devil’s Tome; it’s a decent book, but I used something it says about baneful magick as a jumping-off point to discuss how I think some atheistic Satanists have unproductive understandings of what baneful magick is, how it works, why do it, etc.
• Alternatives to baneful magick
  Enthusiast of baneful magick though I am, I readily acknowledge it’s not always the best tool for the job. Maybe what you really need is a banishing, cord-cutting, etc.? This entry discussions the concepts behind those sorts of workings.
• Working with the Nekalah, part 1 of 3
  This was probably my most liked/retweeted post on X this year, which I was very pleased to see. I look forward to sharing even more of my gnosis of the Dark Gods of O9A in the new year!

Satanism vs. other religions

• Satanism and Buddhism: some interesting parallels
  You’d think they’d be fully opposite, and yet…
• Satanism, Gnosticism and Kabbalah
  It seems to me that Gnosticism is one of the most opposed creeds to Satanism it is possible to devise. I don’t know then why some Satanists seem so keen on embracing Gnostic ideas. Especially insofar as the self-same Satanists are often vehemently anti-Kabbalah. “Pretentious anti-worldly body-hating philosophies are only cool so long as Jews aren’t the ones behind them,” guys? 😉 I’m not that quite that snarky in this entry, but seriously, I do think certain Satanists could stand to think harder about what’s going on here.
• Commentary on the Tenebrous Creed
  Curious about what my book is all about? If you’re new on this page, this is a good entry to read along with What is Tenebrous Satanism?
• Is Theistic Satanism an inherently right-hand-path religion?
  A consideration of multiple definitions of “left-hand path” and “right-hand path”. A key point this entry makes is that theism itself need not be inherently right-hand-path. Vs. If you think that it is, you may yourself be possessed by unacknowledged right-hand-path assumptions re: the only possible relationship a person can have with a god is a servile one, as opposed to relating as equals, allies, etc.

Other entries

• “Thou Art the Emperor of Darkness”
  An argument that Emperor’s “Inno A Satana” is a more “Satanically correct” song than some people might tend to give black metal credit for.
• Comparing notes on incense
  Other LHP practitioners: I’m curious about what incense you prefer, contexts in which you use it, etc.
• Contemplation of the Nine-Angled Nexion in Tenebrous Satanism
  An entry to give readers an idea of the sort of meditation exercises found in Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness. This one’s purpose is to render the practitioner more receptive to acausal forces.
• There were two updates for Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness’ publication this year, in May and November. The book is out now though, so go check it out!

Closing thoughts

This has been what I’d consider an especially good year from me, with the minor exception of health issues plus work obligations getting in the way of promoting Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness quite as aggressively as I’d have liked for the last few months. I anticipate things improving on that front in the new year, though!

As always, my thanks to everyone who has supported me on this blog, on Facebook and on X as my journey continues…