On one hand, the Tenebrous runic-tarot has features familiar to tarot and rune readers. On the other, though, this divination system that I’ve devised also has a number of unique features. Something I therefore wanted to do in my divination series was to provide additional commentary on the system’s omens. I’m continuing this examination with a comparison between the fives – i.e., 5 Attainment, 5 Communion, 5 Strife and 5 Innovation.
On one hand, the Tenebrous runic-tarot has features familiar to tarot and rune readers. On the other, though, this divination system that I’ve devised also has a number of unique features. Something I therefore wanted to do in my divination series was to provide additional commentary on the system’s omens. I’m continuing this examination with a comparison between the fours – i.e., 4 Attainment, 4 Communion, 4 Strife and 4 Innovation.
A conversation with a fellow Satanist awhile back got me thinking about introversion and extroversion. How do we define these terms, and what are their implications for humans generally and Satanism in particular? The more I thought about this, the more I thought it might make for an interesting blog entry. So here are my thoughts about introversion, extroversion, society, and Satanism.
As part of undertaking the Venus stage of Tenebrous initiation last year, I developed an Imbolc Tenebrous group ritual. I’ve meant for some time to share this, thinking it’s perhaps useful for other Tenebrous practitioners to consider. Since that time of year is quickly approaching once again, this month’s post seemed a fit place for doing this. The entry that follows will unpack the rationale for developing a “Tenebrous Pagan” ritual, and what that ritual entailed.
The question of how earthly concepts like sex/gender apply to acausal beings seems of general interest to many. I’ve also encountered recurrent push-back against my perception of the gender of a specific entity I’ve often worked with. This blog post therefore unpacks some thoughts of mine re: sex/gender – both in general, and with specific reference to Nythra, one of the Dark Gods (Nekalah) of the Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A).
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.
Adversity is a quality often emphasized in discourse about the sinister path. But what life experiences “count” as adversity? This entry doesn’t aim at a complete answer, but does seek to make two points. Firstly, adversity can take many forms – including forms that many people are unhelpfully trained to dismiss as “not real adversity.” Secondly, certain distinctive elements of the sinister path can be no less relevant to overcoming these forms of adversity than they are to overcoming “harder” kinds of adversity. This entry thus bears upon the question of how Tenebrous Satanism constructively extends the salience of a “sinister” mindset beyond the narrowly-envisioned extremism more typical of Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A) practitioners. It also touches quite personally on why I myself have found this path meaningful.
One would anticipate, from the term “runic-tarot,” that Tenebrous divination has features in common with both those systems. The tarot side of the influence is the current post’s focus. Tenebrous divination is like tarot in that its omens contain a fourfold division evoking the four classical elements. But it is unlike tarot with regard to which element is assigned to each “suit.” This post will thus discuss elemental symbolism in the Tenebrous runic-tarot – and also in tarot more generally.
Recently, I posted sample excerpts of Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness’ Intro and First Key. I’ve since learned that these, in combination with certain website contents, produced extremist misconceptions about Tenebrous Satanism. That kind of thing is of course never completely avoidable when one is at this end of the Satanic spectrum. Nonetheless, it struck me as worthwhile to make a post directed at two related ends. First, I’d like to clarify some congruences and divergences between myself and the “Satanic extremists” in question. Second, I want to provide a directory of articles illustrative of the contents of Nine Keys, touching on the entire book rather than just one chapter. This should provide a more representative taste of my content than I think some folks took away from reading just the first chapter in isolation.
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.