Excerpts from Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness: Intro and First Key

The one-year anniversary of the publication of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness falls in September. So this struck me as a good time for something I’ve meant to do for awhile: post a few excerpts.

Here are two .pdfs for those curious to check out the book prior to purchasing it:

Introduction to Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness
The First Key: The Just Preference of Earth Over Heaven

Read the rest of this post for some related reflections of mine.

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Against “it’s cool to be evil”

When one’s Satanism, like mine, is adjacent to the Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A), certain issues inevitably arise. One of these is running into Satanists who talk as if “it’s cool to be evil.” On one hand, I understand how a degree of flirtation with evil is inherent to the left-hand-path. But on the other, I ultimately find such talk counterproductive. This post will undertake a detailed examination of why.

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Baneful magick with the Nekalah, part 3

Something I’ve increasingly been thinking this blog could use is more of my personal gnosis re: the Nekalah. Toward that end, this entry shares some thoughts I have on working baneful magick with these entities. There will be three entries in this sub-series: 1) Nekalah who I’ve known to be quite keen on baneful magick, but only in specific circumstances; 2) Nekalah who, despite being entities of Darkness, nonetheless lean toward solving problems in a non-baneful manner; and finally, 3) Nekalah who might plausibly described as specialists in malice. This entry will discuss those I class in the third category: Abatu, Azanigin, Gaubni, Nythra, Shaitan, and Shugara.

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“Why Tenebrous Satanism instead of some other Satanic denomination?”

“Why Tenebrous Satanism instead of some other Satanic denomination?”, someone recently asked me. Answering said inquiry has inspired me to write the post that follows. Denominations I’ll address include LaVeyan Satanism, The Satanic Temple, Church of Satan, and the Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A). Why did I develop my own denomination instead of just joining one of these? Read the post to find out.

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Esoteric recruiting and mentoring questions

Let’s say you’ve decided to assemble a group for Satanic purposes – i.e., what the Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A) might call a nexion. This post details some of my thought process in connection with such an endeavor. Were I to take on the esoteric recruiting and mentoring of novices, for instance, what would I need to know about such individuals as a starting point? Below are a list of questions that I’d want answers for, together with commentary on why I’d be asking them.

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Baneful magick with the Nekalah, part 2

Something I’ve increasingly been thinking this blog could use is more of my personal gnosis re: the Nekalah. Toward that end, this entry shares some thoughts I have on working baneful magick with these entities. There will be three entries in this sub-series: 1) Nekalah who I’ve known to be quite keen on baneful magick, but only in specific circumstances; 2) Nekalah who, despite being entities of Darkness, nonetheless lean toward solving problems in a non-baneful manner; and finally, 3) Nekalah who might plausibly described as specialists in malice. This entry will discuss those I class in the second category: Atazoth, Athushir-Kthunae, Budsturga, Mactoron-Falcifer, Nemicu, and Sauroctonos.

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Lunar and solar eclipses: some thoughts

In my former magickal practice as a LaVeyan Satanist and Chaos Magician, I never paid much attention to natural events. Since turning to the Niner current – and thence, Tenebrous Satanism – though, I’ve become more attuned to things like moon phases. A significant natural phenomenon worth discussing in connection with this is eclipses. And since I recently traveled to see the total solar eclipse, now seems like an apt time for this discussion. This entry will therefore share some observations and experiences I have in connection with both lunar and solar eclipses.

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What’s New

  • Post category:Announcements
  • Reading time:1 mins read

Author portrait of T. L. OthaosWelcome to the website of T. L. Othaos, author of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness (click for purchase info) and founder of Tenebrous Satanism.

Scroll down to read my latest blog posts, or check out these annual round-ups of all entries: 2023 | 2022 | 2021

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Dogmagianism: A better formulation of the enemy of Satanism?

Too often, one finds esoteric Satanists articulating “what is Satan the actual enemy of?” in an unproductive way. Our “enemy” is supposedly some conveniently-identifiable not-us group, e.g., Magians, Nazarenes, Clayborn, etc. Tenebrous Satanism contrarily contends that this fixation on monoliths is counterproductive. Having a “them” to lazily malign blinds us to maladaptive attitudes and behaviors that are the real problem. Instead, Satanists should recognize and oppose said attitudes/behaviors wherever they arise – including among ourselves. I associate these maladaptive attitudes/behaviors with what I call Dogmagianism. This post outlines some of its subtler manifestations.

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Round-up of 2023 blog posts

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

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

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…

Continue ReadingRound-up of 2023 blog posts