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.
Introduction
As mentioned previously, something I’m seeking to get across in this series on the Nekalah is nuance. I don’t find it spiritually compelling to envision a pantheon of Dark Gods that are all simply “evil.” Lack of nuance in this regard produces a theistic Satanism that conforms to Christian stereotypes without saying anything interesting. This problem has long been one that plagues Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A) -type Satanism.
What I’ve therefore sought to do is to provide a more complex picture. My first installment’s emphasis leaned toward “yes, there’s a baneful side to these entities, but they do still have principles.” The second’s emphasis was more “baneful behavior is not actually equally predominant in the nature of all dark entities.” We arrive now finally at “these entities are as baneful as it gets.” Despite their shared trait of malice, though, I wish to illustrate how they are still clearly distinct from one another. Sure, they might all reasonably be called “evil”, but they’re not “evil” in all quite the same way.
Furthermore, “evil is cool, do whatever” is not what I wish to imply in offering info about these entities. Again, theistic Satanism generally and O9A specifically have enough of that already. My take, rather, is that life sometimes confronts conscious beings in general and Satanic magicians in particular with harsh circumstances. And in such circumstances, it can be both appropriate and valuable to turn to allies such as these.
As with previous entries, my intent is not to put forward “the correct” view of these entities. In the current case, I do know, from discussions elsewhere, that some of what I say below – especially re: Nythra – does accord with other Niner-adjacent folks’ experiences. If others have different experiences, though, that is no less valid.
Third of three sixes
In my book Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness, I discuss eighteen entities total. For the purposes of this blog series, I have wound up subdividing them into three groups of six. I’ve done this not for a cheap Revelation reference, but just because my gnosis lent itself to such a division.
The Nekalah in my third subdivision are the most dangerous and malicious entities in the pantheon. The skilled, confident magician will find that confronting them with calm self-mastery wins sufficient respect to earn their cooperation. One had best be wary, though, as they will constantly test the vulnerabilities of whoever they confront. Those who show weakness, they are prone to taking advantage of in pursuit of their own agendas. To be “strong” in their eyes, however, is to become like unto them – a hazardous prospect for a human being. The risks in dealing with such entities are thus multiple and impossible to mitigate fully.
Why then take one’s chances in messing with such things to begin with? Simply put, because sometimes that is what one’s nature and/or the circumstances demand. The “fuck around and find out” aspect of the left-hand path here rears its head. The terrible deed with terrible consequences may nonetheless yield experiential wisdom that could not be got through other means.
As much that follows extends insights in my book, interested parties should definitely consider getting hold of it. Certainly I would recommend reading it for full context before too much fucking-around-and-finding-out goes on. For the unfamiliar though, I will include a brief snapshot of each entity below before getting into the baneful angle.
Abatu
Favors inorganic forms, such as a menacing red crystal or an armored war machine armed with innumerable alien weapons. Speaks rationally, but with an unsettling undercurrent of viciousness toward “the weak.” Very much gives off the vibe of “malign AI who rationally concludes that problems are best solved via annihilation.”
Abatu may be plausibly conceptualized as the war god of the Nekalah pantheon. Distinctive features of dealing with him for baneful magick purposes flow from this point.
For one thing, Abatu is highly intentional regarding the strategy and tactics aspects of baneful workings. How do you actually expect your curse to manifest? I’ve known him to reveal avenues not previously on the magician’s radar, and to propose insightful refinements to existing plans.
For another thing though, the nature of war bends Abatu’s thinking in a way the emphasizes groups and causes. He thus consistently parses an individual enemy as but one representative of a larger collective to be defeated – e.g., a tribe, ideology, etc. His associated goal will then be to attack the enemy in a manner that harms their “side” in broader terms.
Accordingly, I find Abatu most useful to consult regarding baneful magick you intend to do with your own energy. Vs. if you directly involve him in the working, the odds of collateral damage become very high. This may be desirable if, say, the magician is a bitter former member of a RHP religious sect and wants that entire sect to go down in flames. But if your intent is just to punish an individual, consider: do you want your scorched-earth-policy war-god acausal ally treating that individual’s family, friends, etc. as a cohesive belligerent force to defeat? If your social circles overlap your target’s at all, the end result is sure to be ugly.
Azanigin
Appears as a gigantic monster that hideously combines the maternal and bestial – e.g., woman + moose, bear, giant spider, etc. Reminiscent of Lovecraft’s “Shub-Niggurath, black goat with a thousand young.” Hostility upon first encounter enables her to test the magician’s resolve. Even once familiarity is established, though, “human, you’d better have a good reason for bothering me” is her usual baseline.
Azanigin embodies all the horrors that proceed from nature in the course of life’s utter desperation to prevail. As such, I think there’s a natural limitation built into dealings with her: one can envision a magician summoning her banefully, only for her sheer presence to spark a conclusion of “holy shit, what am I doing: I would not wish that thing against anyone!” In fact, if a magician failed to suffer at least a passing moment of this reaction in her presence, I’d have some doubts regarding the authenticity of the contact – and/or the sanity and moral compass of the magician.
That said though, hate is a powerful thing, and if you really wish someone the worst, Azanigin certainly can deliver. Imagine a cascading tailspin of misfortunes whose relentless accumulation leaves a broken wreck of a person in its wake. Two provisos, though: one, if you want quick results within a finite period of time, I would not recommend her. And two, like Aosoth, she may decide, “that human’s still alive after all that? Hmm, respect: I’m done here now.” In which case, it’s best to accept that the matter is indeed concluded – i.e., time to abandon that particular target and move on with one’s life. Otherwise, one risks provoking her along the lines of “well then, let’s see how well you weather such misfortunes, magician!” Obviously, such a turn is unlikely to end well.
Gaubni
May appear as a large aquatic creature covered in tumors; alternately, an avuncular scholar clad in garments made of rotting meat. In visions, often presents himself in post-apocalyptic wasteland -type settings. Speaks lucidly and civilly to the confident and competent, but has limited patience for the fearful and the careless.
Among the Nekalah, “the Great Daemon” Gaubni has one of the darker reputations. In my experience, though, he is wise and helpful so long as he’s approached respectfully by an earnest magician. Present yourself as an eager student who will apply yourself diligently, and he’ll support whatever your magickal endeavors are. Come across as unwilling to put real effort into magick, though, and he’s apt to bring you trouble.
When it comes to baneful magick, Gaubni has several parallels with Abatu. For one, both offer excellent advice on baneful endeavors you intend to undertake using your own energies. It’s just that whereas Abatu’s advice is results-oriented, Gaubni’s is method-oriented: how best to craft your working to get precisely what you want? As the Hermes Trismegistus figure of the pantheon, refining magickal technique is Gaubni’s forte in all contexts.
Another parallel, though, is that good as the entity’s advice on baneful magick may be, actually sending him against someone may be more trouble than it’s worth. Gaubni’s here like Baphomet: if you want him to act directly, he will demand sacrifice – i.e., request small animal dismemberment and other such proto-serial-killer behavior. I’ve heard he can pull quite the horror-show of disease, madness and general life-destruction out of his sleeve if thus paid. But if you don’t want to pay that price (I’ve said “no mouse guts” multiple times), he’s still willing to advise on other effective methods. How “nice” of Uncle Gaubni!
Nythra
May take an abstract form, such as a churning vortex or gash in space-time; alternately, a faceless, hooded humanoid with subtle insectoid elements. The human form will reflect the magician’s desires – e.g., appears female to those attracted to women, male if attracted to men, etc. – but any allure will be attenuated by overpowering aura of terror accompanying the entity. Disarmingly charismatic and boldly presumptuous, with a sinister sense of mischief.
Nythra is the Nekalah I’ve had the most extensive dealings with. He (as I perceive the entity) is basically a vampiric death god who finds all suffering hilarious. Off-putting as that may sound, though, the baneful magick advantage should be obvious: this entity is happy to destroy anyone for any reason. Nothing delights him more than feeding on some poor soul’s misery whilst dragging it into the Abyss.
That said, many notable dangers of working with Nythra stem from the sexual dimension of his brand of psychic vampirism. He may exploit the magician, demanding more energy than necessary to achieve the requested results. His preferred methods of astral assault cross ethical lines many magicians may be unwilling to cross even against an enemy. He may also drag things out to “play” with his prey, refuse to desist, and/or attempt to seduce the magician into further baneful workings for his own gratification.
A strong will and considerable moral flexibility are minimum essentials if working with Nythra. More to the point though, unless you are fully willing to “pervert the works of life unto the purposes of death”, do not attempt baneful magick with this deranged predator. My intimacy with him has acclimated me to the games he gets up to, but working with him is really not an experience for everyone!
Shaitan
Appears as a commanding warrior, either in ancient or modern garb, all in black, face covered. O9A’s equivalent of Ibliss, i.e., he who disdained to bow down to the “man of clay” that God created. Accordingly, his default attitude is “until you prove otherwise to me, every human is an idiot.” Dour, pragmatic, and openly dismissive toward fools and cowards. The mate of Baphomet.
Many entities I discuss in this post are malign in their very nature, rather than because they personally dislike humans. Shaitan, however, does not like humans. It’s plain to me that he is not the same “Satan” that some theistic Satanists claim “loves” them etc. To “the Shaitan of O9A”, you are mundane until you showcase your determination to evolve into something better.
A couple provisos follow when working baneful magick with this entity. Firstly, you had better have some aeonic – or at minimum, clearly self-evolution-oriented – reasoning for involving him. What will the working you’re proposing accomplish as far as clearing obstacles to the Sinister Path for yourself or others? His support is contingent upon him liking your answer to this question. Vs. he does not consider those preoccupied with “mere petty human drama” to be worthy of his assistance.
Secondly, Shaitan expects you to approach him only once you already have a solid idea of what you’re doing. Come with a firm plan, and he’s like the special-forces version of Abatu, happy to help refine your precision strike. Don’t show up with nothing and ask for advice, though. He’ll just tell you to ask another Nekalah or sort it out yourself.
Bottom line, willingness to visit malice upon humans is never a problem with Shaitan; you’ll just have to get past the fact that by default, he doesn’t like you either!
Shugara
In human form, appears as a ragged “swamp witch,” with scraggly hair, burnt face, and unnatural movement, e.g. crawling on the ground. Regularly assumes monstrous forms though, e.g., deformed frog, spider or crab. Like Nythra, she comes surrounded by a dense field of negative energies. Facing her fearlessly and respectfully is generally an effective safeguard against actual hostility from her, though.
According to Tenebrous gnosis, Shugara is a composite mass of traumatized souls fused into an abomination. The conscious personality of this amalgam has compassion toward Sinister-path-walkers, based on the nature of its own past suffering. At the same time though, fundamentally what you’re dealing with here is a vast, seething reservoir of pure horror. You can’t then expect this thing to be pleasant to be in the presence of.
Accordingly, Shugara is most useful in “I want the person who hurt me to feel my pain” workings: the magician’s acute angst establishes rapport with her, and that rapport enables the magician to direct her terrible energies toward a chosen target. The danger, though, is there’s going to be an awful lot of psychic sludge spewing out of this fire-hose. Are you sure you’re going to be able to hold onto it and aim it accurately? Have you considered the very high likelihood that at least some if is going to get on you? Careful contemplation of this metaphor is revealing when it comes to the perils of baneful workings with Shugara.
Shugara is not one I’d mess with if you hope to quickly rid yourself of negative emotions through your baneful working. But if you’re already mired in such emotions anyway, she excels at turning those emotions toward poisoning your enemy, rather than only poisoning yourself.
Concluding thoughts
I’ll close with a few additional thoughts on distinguishing between these entities beyond “they’re all evil.”
- Abatu, Gaubni and Shaitan all take a “whatever gets the job done” approach to baneful workings. Whatever maximally-destructive outcome best follows the path of least resistance is what you’ll likely get from these entities.
- Azanigin, Nythra and Shugara, by contrast, each offer a more distinctive “flavor” of bane. Azanigin embodies desperation, panic, and the unraveling of integrity. Nythra brings terror, violation and the depletion of energy. Shugara is agony and despair, and the arising of disease in their wake.
- For “I want to wreck my enemy and ruin everyone who supports them,” I’d recommend Abatu or Azanigin. For “I want a precision strike that does this exact terrible thing to this one person only,” I’d consult Gaubni or Shaitan. For “I want to drive them to madness,” I’d ask Nythra or Shugara.
- According to Tenebrous gnosis, there’s a very strong affinity between Nythra, Gaubni and Shugara. Thus, the theoretical nuclear option of Tenebrous baneful magick would be to get all three of them to cooperate. I am not saying that’s a good idea, though…
I don’t think this entry runs the same risks as my previous ones re: humanizing the Nekalah. Nonetheless, it’s still worth underlining: these are Dark Gods, and words inevitably fail re: what it’s like to actually contact these beings. Success in the ritual chamber comes with experiences of the uncanny and the sublime that must be felt for oneself. And beneath all lies the Abyssal Void of Darkness. To proceed with anything other than caution would therefore be dangerous folly.
Or in other words: at least read my book before you “fuck around and find out”!
Anyone else with experiences with these entities to share? If so, please do so in the comments.