I’ve long found myself having conversations about Satanism with Buddhists, and had these conversations be strikingly fruitful. So I thought I’d offer some food for thought here re: parallels between these two religions. Obviously, they are strongly opposed regarding a number of important things. But it’s for this very reason that I think the surprising convergences are interesting to reflect upon.
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…
As stated in my bio, I am a passionate fan of black metal and similar genres of dark music. Therefore, from time to time, I like to share songs that I think especially capture the spirit of Tenebrous Satanism – and/or are of especial Satanic interest in broader terms. The subject of this post, “Inno A Satana” by Emperor, fits into the latter category. Awhile ago, I ran across an article discussing this song being a “bad example” of Satanic ideology. This struck me as an unfair dismissal, and in this post I’ll explain why.
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 tentative summary of some things I’ll be covering in that series.
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.?
Having observed discourse circulating on Twitter re: “closed practices” for awhile, I thought I’d pitch my opinion on the topic. I do not by any means reject the concept as such – in some instances, it’s appropriate to apply. However, I have several concerns about how the concept is applied, and the implications of becoming overly hung-up on it.
One type of ritual-working that I perform quite often is a Rite of Banishing. This entry discusses the general concept of such rituals, how I perform them, and why I perform them. The process presented in vague terms here is detailed more fully in my book, Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness. Those curious to know more about the life-path that led me to Tenebrous Satanism may also find something of interest in this entry… you see, I used to want to write fiction…
Recently, I witnessed some fellow walkers of the Sinister Path lamenting the decline of honor in today’s society. Seeing this got me thinking, perhaps it would be of interest for me to share my own take on honor. A large portion of this post accordingly consists of excerpts from my forthcoming book, Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness. But I have also added some additional commentary, in connection with further reading I’ve since done, and thoughts thus stirred.
In a few recent conversations I’ve had on social media, some interesting issues have come up re: “What is Satanism?” In particular, if atheistic Satanists “don’t believe in” Satan, what do they believe that justifies associating themselves with the name? To outsiders, it may well seem that the theistic Satanist “really believes in something,” whilst the atheistic one is “just” trolling – either for one political side, or the other. So is atheistic Satanism “just” slapping Satan’s name on your preferred form of progressive, reactionary or libertarian politics randomly? Such a question leaves me feeling it might be beneficial to walk folks through the logic of “a Satanic ethos”…
While it’s still early in 2022 here, I wanted to share a few reflections about “New Years resolutions.” On one hand, the concept deserves some of the mockery it receives, given how unseriously people often approach such resolutions. On the other hand, though, this mockery is itself counterproductive, insofar as its implicit message is that trying to improve yourself is futile. As a Satanist, I see value in resolutions, insofar as they can promote such virtues as zeal, wisdom and perseverance. Resolutions can only foster these positives, however, if approached in the right way – which many people fail to do. Read on for my thoughts on correcting this.