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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Alterations to unproductive Twitter usage

Recently, a build-up of personal issues compelled me to take a break from social media – specifically, unproductive Twitter usage. In order to exorcise some related demons, I am going to say a few things about why. This is almost certain to alienate a few members of my audience. I do not think it’s healthy keep bottling my feelings indefinitely, though. And if I don’t now set different boundaries to control said feelings, my long-term goals may be aversely affected. So, to tie this discussion to this blog’s usual concerns, I will discuss a few of my convictions re: what contributes to a good human life as per virtues posited by Tenebrous Satanism, and my unwillingness to continue being demoralized by online experiences that oppose those convictions.

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On “closed practices”

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.

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The Rite of Banishing: an antidote to unproductive delusions

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…

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Satanism without the Satan: just politics, or something more?

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”…

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The Lost Art of Suspending Judgment

In the Tenebrous Satanism glossary, I specifically mention “Harboring absurdly strong opinions about books that one has not personally read” as a trait of homo hubris. I thus associate such behavior with maladaptive arrogance, and feel the world would be better off with less of it. In recent years, however, it seems more and more otherwise-intelligent people are treating it as some kind of virtue. This post is about what may be motivating that, and why Satanists should oppose it.

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