What do I personally do in ritual?

Ritual magick is not necessarily a topic of interest to all readers of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness. I reckon I now have enough readers, though, for at least some to be willing to engage in magickal experimentation. Such individuals may wonder: are there things I personally do in ritual that are not spelled out in Nine Keys? The book’s aim was to provide a framework individuals could elaborate on in accord with their needs and preferences. Insofar as I attempted to simplify down to essentials, though, I left out finer details of what exactly I do. This post will therefore document some of these details. Of course, one needn’t do things the exact way I do. But those trying my methods and getting different results from mine may find such details worth taking into consideration.

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Ritual magick vs. Chaos Magick: a false opposition

I’ve often seen people draw a distinction between ritual magick and Chaos Magick that positions them as dualistic opposites. Upon reflection, this strikes me as a counterproductive product of unclear thinking. It seems to me that the resulting mental map narrows thinking about magick in a way that holds magicians back. This entry therefore aims to provide some food for thought re: how we think and talk about these concepts.

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Causal / acausal dimensions of magick

Between my in-person and online interactions, I find certain themes and implicit questions recur re: the nature of magick. So for this post, what I thought I’d do is address a few of those. They pertain to such topics as how I define magick, the causal/acausal distinction, and different approaches to magick.

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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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Baneful magick: alternative options?

Putting baneful magick on the table as an option, in my opinion, comes with an attendant responsibility. On one hand, yes, I do think circumstances arise in which one is within one’s rights to resort to it. But whether that is the best choice for the situation and in true accord with one’s goals is another question. What this entry will therefore discuss is alternative options to consider before or in place of baneful magick. Not because baneful magick is “wrong,” but because sometimes it is impractical or even self-destructive.

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“Contemplation of the Nine-Angled Nexion” in Tenebrous Satanism

In light of the imminent publication of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness, I thought I’d preview some of my material. This post will therefore give a taste of the Fifth Key’s meditation practices. The meditation I describe here is called “Contemplation of the Nine-Angled Nexion”. I’ll be explaining the background of that name, what the meditation is meant to do, and what it generally entails.

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Comparing notes on incense for ritual and meditation

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.

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Satanic karma: law of the acausal jungle

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…

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Baneful magick: series introduction

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 summary of some things I’ll be covering in that series.

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How does magick “work” – and why might Satanic denominations clash over it?

How does 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.?

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