Theistic Satanism... and the Path of Ascension

[Nefastos]

Nota bene: By the Path of Ascension I mean spiritual process that holds to and builds upon ethical working. By the Path of Descension, those philosophies which either allow or encourage the use of violence and dishonesty.

How much tendency towards the former one is there nowadays in groups that are theistically Satanic? I haven't had much time for seeking these in the later years, but some ten years ago almost only ethically enlightened active Satanic groups I found were managed by Diane Vera in NY. How's the scene now? Or did I miss something important back then?

Temple of Set seems to come quite close to us in this regard, but being not so much Satanic as intellectually interested in the philosophy of theistic principles within human psyche. And how's the Dragon Rouge doing? (This topic can be split later if needed to discuss several interesting groups in detail.)

[Nefastos]

I'd wager that the silence in this topic is partly because no one wants to either credit or discredit a too close organization? That I can understand, but I'd still be eager to hear some thoughts concerning different Satanistic groups out there. Separation (here into sect-like groups) is "the great heresy", they say.

To make things easier, tell only good things about groups with Theistic inclinations. These being the rules of the play, no one can't be blamed on being biased.

Whatever became of that group responsible for "The Pillars of Tubal Cain" & "The Book of Fallen Angels"? A frater suggested & borrowed those books to me a few years ago, & I was positively surprised how much they were concerned with the same things we do. Are they active, are they underground?

Enlighten me! The best thing would be to hear about new Theistic Satanist groups with agenda of Ascension appearing, or the older ones growing healthily.

[nevermore218]

Well, up until I found out about The Star of Azazel, I considered the Temple of the Black Light one of the only "true" religious groups, in terms of Satanism. Their devotion is easily apparent not only in their prose, but also the craft they put in their literature.

What I'm interested in here is what others think about their approach to Satan. They obviously welcome the more "sinister" amoral side of the approach, and I must admit that is what had me interested in them in the first place.

[Nefastos]

What I'm interested in here is what others think about their approach to Satan.

The Temple of Black Light's?

Perhaps another topic, "Theistic Satanism... and the Path of Descension" would be in order. But we can start here & move this part of discussion later.

Personally, I wrestled a great deal with this problem before the Star of Azazel, and the Star of Azazel is the final outcome of that struggle. I had started with the Right Hand Path, and only in course of years came to understand that the Right Hand Path alone is too one-eyed an approach, and spiritually maims people who try to follow it to the letter.

But because I had already put all of my energy to that process, I was almost completely broken in spirit when I came to this conclusion, and was full of suffering & hatred towards God and the so-called good in the world, because they seemed only to fuel the pains & wrongings in this bleak existence we are forced into.

After reasoning in a way of discordamelior, I came to the perverted conclusion that -

“As for us - the Saints - in order to hasten the end of the world, we poison, burn, massacre. The only salvation is in martyrdom. We give ourselves up to martyrdom.”

(Only later I found this quotation from Flaubert, but it is astoundingly accurate way to put these thoughts.)

With that came a few years in avitchi hell, when I was thinking the best possible way to formulate this philosophy as a coherent way of living. How to actually live that kind of anti-ideal of void, death, and Satan's dark faces.

But at last it was clear that such was not possible. The very core of this kind of paradoxical evil is in that it can't stand solely on its own legs. It is not coherent, it can only imitate coherence to further its own ends, which are just that - dead ends. It is first and foremost astral chaos, doomed to go through its vortices of pain forever, until it can let go of these thoughts that are born from pain.

After I let go of that idea & found the path that was an actual union of both LHP and RHP, I noticed that some groups had appeared witnessing exactly this kind of the philosophy of annihilation I had feverishly sought for & finally made for myself. But at that point, I already saw the flaw in that reasoning, and I had no interest to delve in Satanism that approves violence.

I see now that one must choose between these: anti-cosmic idealism that sees creation and God as evil; or, "traditional" Satanism accepting violence and lies. The first one can lead one to spirituality and ascension, the latter one can only lead to dead ends of spiritual and energetical regression... which however can never result in sweet death, but only in prolonged agony.

Of the Temple of the Black Light specifically I don't know much, but as a group glorifying acts of violence - as I've heard they do - that organization falls to a category that is no longer interesting in my own path.

[Wyrmfang]

What I'm interested in here is what others think about their approach to Satan. They obviously welcome the more "sinister" amoral side of the approach, and I must admit that is what had me interested in them in the first place.

Nefastos already expressed a lot of what I have to say on this, but I´ll put it on another words.

I too don´t have very much actual knowledge about the Temple of the Black Light but as far as I know they also talk about ascension and unity, that is, about rising above this empirical world which is based on dualism. However, they seek the unity from chaos. And indeed there is a kind of unity in endless separation, that is the essence of chaos. But it´s also a fact that this ordered world has risen from the primordial chaos. Now, it makes only sense to long back to that primordial state by any means, if the appearing of the ordered world is thought as a complete anomaly, a singular event that will never re-emerge.

But our conviction is that this process should not be understood happening in time. The ordered world rises from chaos every moment; chaos is the ground of existence. There is still the Absolute behind the dualism of the primordial chaos and ordered world. The world is meant to rise and develop slowly and painfully towards an actual unity (the chaos is more like potential unity, because there is not yet anything differentiated). Therefore we conceive it descension, not ascension, if one tries to get back to the primal chaos.

I can sympathize the idea that all ethics is delusion because the Christian tradition has perverted so much, that this may seem to be the case. But ultimately I firmly believe that the very core of ethical thinking is eternal (however much we human beings have perverted its temporal forms), although it is yet only potential in the primal chaos. Violence is simply not the way the nature behind nature works. The ideas of the Temple of the Black Light cannot be coherent as long as they hold both the theistic world view and anti-ethics. And actually, if they give up the theistic world view, what sense there is to rebel against the world? It would be much more productive to think like Nietzsche and create a new meaning to life, if there is no transcendent values.

It may be that I have understood something wrong, but no one so far has corrected me by telling with sober language, what are the true presuppositions of the Temple of the Black Light, and how my argument can be made invalid beginning from these different presuppositions.

[nevermore218]

These are both interesting responses...

One of my issues with the TOTBL is, if you study Gnosticism, the Demiurge is the "evil ruler" of this particular universe, and in some views, Satan is one of his Archons.

I always wondered how TOTBL, and other Gnostic Satanic adherents viewed this?

Back to the main issue at hand, though...

Yes, a few comrades of mine have made comments on how such utter nihilism can lead to nowhere but an Abyss. The TOTBL might call this eventually "Sitra Ahra/Womb of Lilith" and it sounds like a blissful, dark state of being... But I've always wondered, is the path there one of torment while we reside here?

I've had to ask myself lately "why do I hurt?" Because spiritually, I do. This world offers little, and I think most of the people on this forum can attest to that.

I think that's why chaos-gnosticism appeals to a lot of individuals (including myself). It gives us hope of a better realm for spirits such as ours (dark, due to a lifetime of doubt, skepticism of the world, etc).

I may also just have a very skewed view of what Anticosmic Satanism truly is, but it's been a viewpoint of mine for the past few years now, and something I've embraced, but I've often wondered if it's slowly killing me inside.

I apologize for waxing dramatic.

[Fomalhaut]

I've had to ask myself lately "why do I hurt?" Because spiritually, I do. This world offers little, and I think most of the people on this forum can attest to that.

With all respect and with no offence; I would like to remind you something: You cannot win anything without striving. I do not know what you mean by telling this world offers little but I have to disagree with you. If I would ask, could you please explain it to me what you exactly meant? I am sorry to hear that you hurt spiritually. I used to feel the same thing, but I see that as a blessing process which I had to overcome with patience. But trust me, it is better than being in total void.

[Heith]

Hello orn,

I mean not to be rude, but in the future could you please use some spaces in your text? It's actually rather difficult to read your writing as there are no "chapters" in your writing.

Thanks!

[Nefastos]

Greetings to all at this Forum.

Greetings orn! This is an important subject, so thank you for putting some of your time into it.

The dangerous thing that comes with Negative Paths: one can be easily damaged as his / her latent perception of other levels are Blocked by the "Teachings" Inclined in the mind and then the soul infected with the Bitterness of the waves of the sea of the abyss

Indeed. It's very hard but very important for an occultist to see that there is no philosophy that is not suggestive to the extent it is emotional - and that all philosophies are in some way bound to emotions. Through emotions, and only through emotions, come inspiration, vitalization, energy; feelings of trust and sacredness of the Work.

This is as great as it is natural, but it also has a possible trap in it: for we might start to take occult philosophies from the basis how they feel, and not from the viewpoint of holistic understanding. Paths of Descension (those paths which allow or encourage hurt) have very strong emotional impulse, because they are like condensations of the world's astral anguish.

Those who do work for hurt constantly, usally have not a big magical power, nor real understanding of the Archetypic Powers they think they do work with, they work with only mindforms

This is the most important thing, seldom understood clearly enough. Entities in the astral light often have enormous collective energy, thus tremendous pull on sensitive people, but that latent energy - their collective will to manifest, to get released - does not make them gods more than a virus capable of destroying millions of people is a divinity.

I tried to practice additional techniques and found very soon that the core of success in Spiritual Elevation laid in the SoA Practice is already given.

I'm very glad to hear that. Although the practices can always be diversified & personalized, I too think that the brotherhood's schema is actually quite ready. It's not strict, but it's not in need of widening. In need of more & more applications; sure.

[Deathspell666]

Nota bene: By the Path of Ascension I mean spiritual process that holds to and builds upon ethical working. By the Path of Descension, those philosophies which either allow or encourage the use of violence and dishonesty.

How much tendency towards the former one is there nowadays in groups that are theistically Satanic? I haven't had much time for seeking these in the later years, but some ten years ago almost only ethically enlightened active Satanic groups I found were managed by Diane Vera in NY. How's the scene now? Or did I miss something important back then?

Temple of Set seems to come quite close to us in this regard, but being not so much Satanic as intellectually interested in the philosophy of theistic principles within human psyche. And how's the Dragon Rouge doing? (This topic can be split later if needed to discuss several interesting groups in detail.)

I would not view the Temple of Set as being quite the same as other Traditional Satanist groups. I was a member there many years ago, and they definitely uphold a philosophy of "non-violence" and "anti-illegal" activity. They use "Setianism" to describe their religion and refer to themselves as "Setians"; however, I still view them as a LHP Satanic organization regardless - they evolved from the Church of Satan, and still use some of the better concepts the COS once had. Set is the Egyptian Prince of Darkness, so calling them "Satanic" is not really all that in contrast - they merely have a different approach than other LHP groups, theistic or not. A lot of interesting and useful stuff in their volumes upon volumes of material only available to the membership.