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.
About the introduction to Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness
This website already offers a brief introduction to what Tenebrous Satanism is. Relevant too are my blog entries on the Tenebrous Creed and how Tenebrous Satanism compares to other denominations. Doubtlessly though, those considering purchasing the book may find it additionally helpful to see the actual book introduction.
Two things I think one may notice thereby are:
- There’s a reason why Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness is close to 400 pages long. This is not a LHP book that is solely about ritual practices, or solely about Satanic philosophy, etc. Rather, it is meant to be a complete self-contained account of the religion I have devised. Amid the paranoia I was suffering when I first started it, my thought was “you may only get to publish one book before you get cancelled into oblivion, so you had better say everything you need to say”. Hence, it contains everything from Satanic theology & philosophy to a complete system of meditation, divination and ritual magick. I daresay too that this is a lot of content for a book at this price-point.
- You don’t like it when LHP authors mix up “its”/“it’s,” spell words wrong, and generally fail at professional editing? I don’t either, and I have therefore put extensive efforts into the technical aspects of writing this book. It was closely and thoroughly proofread even prior to going to a professional editor. Thus, if you compare the whole to certain big-name widely-published LHP authors, I think you’ll agree that Nine Keys is much more meticulously-edited than many other works aimed at a similar audience.
About the First Key of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness
I have always had a plan of making the First Key publicly accessible when I felt the time was right. The publication anniversary seems like a fit time for this.
Why this Key? Because it’s the part of my work with the most potential to speak to all Satanists.
I well understand how my path is distinct from others’. Some will find that the Second Key’s analysis of the human condition in terms of Apollonian, Magian and Faustian tendencies doesn’t speak to them. Others will be too wed to the notion of Satanism being “amoral” to appreciate the Third Key’s take on virtues. And those committed to a 100% atheist-humanist-type Satanism may not relate to much from the Fourth Key onward – though I do think the Fifth Key’s meditations can benefit even a secular Satanist.
The First Key, however, was intentionally written in a manner meant to overcome differences between Satanic denominations. Atheists: do you want to delve further into how inspirational narratives about Satan illustrate knowledge-seeking, empathy, etc.? Theists: want to meditate more deeply upon exploits of the figure of Satan, toward the end of deepening your devotion? The First Key allows for both possibilities.
Because I was LaVeyan for over 25 years before “becoming Othaos,” yes there is an unavoidable slant toward the former tendency. I myself am less a theistic Satanist than “a theist who happens to also be a Satanist.” The reader, however, is free to take what I say in the First Key in whichever way is more fruitful to them.
Biblical engagement in the First Key of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness
The First Key does contain much reflection on Biblical accounts of Satan. To many Satanists, this is uncontroversial. Satan is a figure found in the Bible. Milton and later Romantics reinterpreted him in positive terms. I’m just taking that approach and running with it further than others have done. I reflect at length on how Satan’s fall, the forbidden fruit, Christ’s temptation, etc., can be interpreted as modeling pursuit of earthly flourishing, spiritual insight-seeking, etc. I also discuss narratives less-typically explored by Satanists, such as Job’s experiences and the apocryphal fall of the Watchers.
As a past LaVeyan, I liked LaVey’s intellectual content, but always felt something was missing on the emotional/imaginative front. I therefore seek to offer an account meaningful both to that past version of myself, and my Tenebrous present.
If I had to connect the Biblical Satan with one of the Nekalah, it would be Noctulius. Vs. I connect the Nekalah Shaitan with Islam’s Ibliss, who fell for a different reason than Lucifer’s. I don’t really dwell on either in connection with the Biblical narratives, though. To me, said narratives are more a metaphorical illustration of foundational Satanic values than biographical material about a particular entity. That is just my own view, however.
Now, I’m aware that some Satanists are prone to construe “too much interest in the Bible” as “that person’s just a reverse Christian”. Often, this is an atheist whose real objection is toward any theistic take on Satanism. I don’t find such people worth my energy to argue with: we just don’t want the same things, so why not just leave each other alone?
Other times though, the objection is accompanied by insistence that Satan “actually” derives from somewhere older and other than the Abrahamic tradition. This, I will address below.
Don’t like Biblical engagement?
Here are points I’d make to “aCkShUaLLy Satan predates the Bible” -types:
- Academic sources suggest Satan originates via merging various pagan gods of death, destruction and evil. i.e. yes there are pre-Christian “sources.” However, Satan only becomes recognizable as Satan via Judaism and Christianity. That’s the scholarly position. And as someone with a PhD in religion, I’m not inclined to prefer non-scholars’ fringe claims over it.
- Regardless of Satan’s “aCkShUaL” origin, I’m a Chaos Magician who believes every esotericist is entitled to incorporate whatever narratives happen to inspire them into their own practice. I therefore find it problematic for any LHP-er to draw lines for another re: what narratives they find esoterically-fruitful. We’re each striving to be our own god, so who are you to get up on a high horse and try to tell your fellow god-aspirer what to do? Would you accept such behavior from someone doing it to you?
- Too often this issue is tied up with dualistic narratives like “pagan good, Jew bad, reject anything Jew-proximate.” Some go so far as acting like they are only allowed to incorporate content originating from Judaism into their practice if they first rationalize “the Jews stole it from elsewhere”. This leads to disingenuous anti-intellectualism that does Satanism no favors. Just quit the bigotry and accept there’s something from that culture you found meaning in, instead of being an antisemitic baby about it.
None of this should be a surprise given my defense of the upside-down cross as a Satanic symbol. The same point stands there as here: in being a Satanist at all, you are already implicitly legitimizing appropriation of Abrahamic content. So what harm does it do to come a little further down that path via the First Key’s mythological reflections?
Concluding thoughts
I think back to writing my PhD thesis, and recall it both as a rewarding experience and a disillusioning one. The reward is in discovering that one can articulate complex thoughts to the satisfaction of both oneself and others. The disillusion is the specialized nature of PhD work making it unlikely to have broad or lasting impact. A shame, I thought, insofar as I had things to say about the intersection of spirituality and earthly flourishing that felt deserving of further exploration.
The tenuous connection between Tenebrous Satanism and my PhD work became but a footnote in Nine Keys’ final draft:
Nonetheless, Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness is to me the completion of what started as an implicit mission, ultimately becoming an explicit one: There is something relegated to the Abyss that is nonetheless constructive, and hence ought to be presenced in the world to advance the evolution of all. A novel I attempted to write on this theme was derailed by my fears regarding the politics of the day. Thankfully though, nothing destroys fear like the Sinister path does. Thus was I able to realize my wyrd in a far superior form to what my younger self could have ever envisioned.
As the First Key concludes, “We thus hope that the First Key will inspire any Satanist who reads it to take a deeper interest in the narrative portrayal of the adversarial angel and to reflect fruitfully upon the values that both he and we stand for.”
If this or any other part of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness resonates with you, I very much appreciate your support of my work!