Coirie Riabbaich, ONA
Preface
The following MSS is intended as a companion to Eira: A Satanic Guide to Future Magick. It further explicates the nature and aims of the Satanic Sinister Way, as exemplified by the Order of Nine Angles.
The Dark Tradition has been maintained over the ages by a few Initiates working in secret. This work involves presencing and increasing ‘cosmic forces’ – that is, implementing a Will to more Life, more ‘flow’, to thus keep alive the essence that lifeless dogmas seek to suppress.
Because of this active vivifying of the ‘essence’, the archetypical Sinister Adept is at the forefront of our species because they have gone further than any other individual in their experiencing of Life and the Cosmos.
Nature will always require the presence of such Sinister beings, whatever the Aeonic current, for without them there is no evolution. Initiates of the Sinister Tradition are woven into the fabric of Cosmic Life.
This present volume attempts to succintly describe the truth of the Satanic Tradition: a Way so simple, yet so difficult to practice.
O9A, 1998 eh
Exeat: The Sinister Western Tradition
I) The Satanic
A Satanic individual and organization represents – or strives to represent – one fundamental thing: Beyond. Satanism itself is a way to presence pure acausal forces and the Satanist an insightful individual who directsthose forces in the real world via appropriate causal forms. Satanism itself is not, unlike “paganism”, a way for the majority/the ‘masses’. It does not seek to defend what is often by conventional standards utterly indefensible.
It is instead that one factor which drives all genuine Occult quests – the Mystery itself. Throughout the Aeons, this factor has been presenced within each civilization via a particular esoteric elite. This “elite” however is not some ego-enthralled ‘secret society’ or organization comprising of a multitude of ‘members’. It is instead a living, changing expression of what is always beyond contemporary understanding, earthed in a few usually isolated and extraordinary individuals. It is true, in one sense, to say that these individuals are born, not made. They possess, because of who they are, an empathy, a certain desire – a certain aura…Ultimately, theirs is not a sinister ‘role’, but a way of Being – they are the Satanic drive; they are natural and do not pretend to be anything other than themselves.
To be a “Satanist” therefore is to be someone of a very particular character: it is not, as it is in conventional “paganism”, an adoption of a cultural world-view with its collection of customs, uniforms, ‘laws’ and subsequent expected modes of behavior. And it is not, as some will inevitably perceive, a form in competition with other ‘occult/pagan’ groups and paths: it is autonomous, and states Satanically what it believes. As long as Satanic creativity inspires a future generation of Sinister Adepts, then it matters little who ‘agrees’ or ‘disagrees’.
And thus, for non-Satanists, one of the most unsettling characteristics of a Satanic individual is their arrogance. Satanists have a particular ‘arrogance’ because they strive to live by and implement the grandest of Human ideals. The grandest ideals lie in surpassing what is conventionally regarded as the greatest of achievements by the greatest of individuals. All things, including ‘the gods’ of conventional paganism, can be surpassed (qv. In the Realm of Gods).
To achieve what is greater, arrogance – fierce fanatical belief – is required. This approach will, on appearance, seem ‘unbalanced’ to some, perhaps even hubristic. But what is hubristic – that is, what is insolent towards Nature – is behavior without the formation of experience, rational thought and self-awareness: it is personal behavior that exerts control over the individual via often unconscious and selfish forces.
Satanic arrogance is essentially supra-personal, and is the empowerment to act which comes from hard-earned knowledge. A Satanic individual does not believe themselves to be personally infallible, but is prepared to learn from their own mistakes and experiences to thus further refine what is Sinister/Satanic. These ‘mistakes’, these acts of being Human, are regarded as gifts of Insight along what is an incredible and dangerous journey.
Empowered by pride, the Satanist will not conform to any accepted ‘realistic’ vision and strategy concerning the evolutionary purpose of Life. Without some individuals believing – knowing – that all things can be surpassed, there is no inventiveness, no daring, no risks, no genius: no evolution.
Thus, one is either ‘Satanic’ or one is not. And what is ‘Satanic’ is quite simply the restless urge to explore and make new order out of undiscovered chaos – this is what Satan symbolizes beyond the known gods of folklore. (1)
If there are those who still do not understand, then they should consider the story of Prometheus. He, a mortal, defied the gods – and yes, as a consequence, was condemned for an eternity. But by his defiance and desire and sacrifice, he gave mankind possession of fire…
Academic debates concerning the actual origin of Satan and Satanism, while interesting, are not really important. The things described above – the particular ‘arrogance’, the ‘Beyond’ – are Satanic; not as a creed or dogma, but in a natural sense, according to the living nature of thos things.
Many will go the path of seeking acceptance – perhaps to inculcate the masses with a particular world-view. But while the many seek establishment, there must be others – the few – who ensure that the next stage exists, presenced in the defiance of all conventional and ‘understood’ things. Thus, is the Future made possible.
II) The Sinister
The presencing described above is also what is quintessentially Sinister. There is no fundamental division between what is Satanic and what is Sinister, since what is ‘Satanic’ is the gateway to what is Sinister. This is not a riddle, but a very simple truth.
What is Sinister is all that is described above – and more. Satan and Satanism are inextricably bound with what is Sinister, since the Way of Satanism is a practical application of the Sinister.
Because of the nature of Satanism, those who follow the Seven-Fold Way are fully aware that the Sinister also extends into a realm beyond Satan and Satanic methods. But that realm, for those following an esoteric path, can only be reached when the psyche is permanently changed via the ordeals of Satanism (ie. for individuals, the ‘Grade’ rituals – for civilizations, the magick of Aeons). This change within the psyche is not simply intellectual but organic, occuring of itself.
The nature and experiencing of this ‘realm’ is “Sinister” because:
a) for Sinister Adepts, it does not need to be described by words or images or musick, since it is lived within the individual;
b) for non-Initiates, it disrupts and unsettles because it cannot be grasped/understood via conventional – or “unconventional” – modes of thinking.
For civilizations, this realm – because it is in essence the current of Life itself – must be presenced in ever more conscious ways in order to advance the possibilities of evolution. To seek the advancement of evolution is to enable the Destiny inherent within Life itself to be understood and implemented. In effect, this quest is genuinely Sacred because it seeks to fulfill the Will of the Cosmos.
Implicit in this quest is the deliberate creation and use of causal forms (words; images; ‘organizations’ – and so on) that possess the capacity to achieve the evolution described above. The effect of such a form in the causal world is that it provokes significant Change – the effect of that form is “Sinister”. [When there is no overt esoteric influences/guidance, this creativity is intuitive/mostly unconscious – and thus the life and efficacy of the resulting form is subject to the limitations of the personality of its creator].
Satanism is an esoteric Sinister form: it is explicitly and absolutely concerned with guiding individuals towards fulfilling the Will of the Cosmos. It is at the summit of what is Sinister because it deliberately seeks to cause Change in the causal world via the creation of new, devastating Aeonic forms, and strives to identify, enhance and champion the Aeonic forms that are already in existence. The criteria for this seeking has been much discussed: in essence it stems not from dogma but from Satanic rationale – that is, a reasoned apprehension beyond the personal and beyond the forces which seek to influence the personal (ie. ‘cultures’; ‘counter-cultures’; ‘ideas’ and so on).
The primary goal of the Sinister methods of Traditional Satanism is to create an individual who is the living embodiment of the Sinister: that is, this individual, by following the Seven-Fold Way, becomes Change itself (2). Thus, unlike those who are dogmatically dedicated, Satanists not only express the “Satanic” and refine and extend those methods, but are able (of necessity) to create and maintain many other forms – some exoteric – in order to enable cosmic evolution as a whole (3). To non-Satanists, such an individual is perplexing, elusive and apparently contradictory.
But that is not all: a genuine Sinister Magickian, because their concern is with cosmic evolution, also enables the acausal itself to evolve beyond what is possible to be accessed at any given period in causal time. This skilled practitioner of the arts of Life has been recalled throughout the ages as a ‘Merlin’ figure: an individual who is always one step ahead…
ONA teachings have constantly stressed the necessity for would-be Sinister Adepts to strip away all influences in order to achieve the synthesis with the current of Life/the cosmos/the Sinister Being. THis stripping away really does apply to all things – including what passes for the ‘esoteric’ in present Western culture: “paganism”; ceremonial magick; spells; folklore; and symbols. Quite simply, this “stripping away”, this alchemical process, is the Sinister Tradition.
Thus, what is “Sinister” is not what is embodied in the above conventional “esoteric” aspects. The above aspects may be crafted to presence the Sinister, but this presencing must, in terms of the personal development of the Adept, be on a limited, short-term basis, otherwise the forms themselves begin to dominate the Sinister Intent.
And in the journey towards the Sinister, Satan is not a “shell” to be discarded but an ever-present gate via which the further reaches are explored. This is so because, in practical terms, there does not exist at present another earthly form which so quintessentially brings the Sinister. It is therefore the duty of all Sinister Magickians/Cliologists, at whatever stage of their development, to ensure that this Satanic Gate remains fully open for future travellers.
The reality is that no judgement counter to this can be made without first fully embarking upon the Sinister Seven-Fold Way (qv. Naos) for at least c. 4-5 years. Without this particular practical experiencing of what is described by Sinister Adepts as “Satanic”, then there can be no basis to judge what is or is not valid. This is because the way of Satanism is a practical system of Sinister living: it is not simply a “Faustian” philosophy to be agreed with, or intellectually dismissed.
III) The Cosmic
The Way of Satanism seeks to presence what is new and alternative. This is not simply a case of being “different” for the sake of it. As previously explained, the challenge of the Sinister Way lies not only in aiding existing Aeonic forms, but also crafting new forms which extend and evolve the ethos contained in the former.
This crafting requires great esoteric skill. It involves allowing a flow of acausal forces to dictate the evolving of the new form, as opposed to creating a foundation based on the researching of the “histories” and well-known myths of past traditions. This latter approach involves fulfilling obvious expectations – expectations/perceptions/ideas that have been created by others, in accord with a particular form of social engineering [modern day “wicca” is one such example]. Such a form is not really numinous – it does not possess Life.
A Satanic form has been brought to Being by an individual using their “inner eye”: that is, by an individual practicing the art of cosmic empathy. This process cannot really be adequately described except by stating that it occurs when an individual flows with what is. In crafting a form, a basic foudation is deliberately created – arrived at via esoteric techniques rather than dry academia – which is then carefully nurtured. This nurturing is a delicate balance between shaping the direction of the form by individual reasoning and experience, and allowing space for supra-personal forces to dictate the evolving.
In doing this, the individual must be constantly vigilant that they are not using the form for personal ends: instead, there should be an acceptance that the form once created – ie. practically active in the real world – must begin to evolve according to its own organic nature and life-span. If the form is numinous, then it will possess its own Destiny in accordance with the greater Wyrd of the Cosmos.
The creativity of such an individual is the living song of the Cosmos, and not the mundane ‘cultural’ voice of the status quo.
By using this “inner eye/voice” as a guide, startling new forms, which surpass all previous creations, are possible. But, as previously stated, this “newness” is not sought for its own sake: it is sought in order to continue and advance the evolution of the essence, or Cosmic spirit. That is, the “essence” or ethos remains as a constant, but the outward forms must change in order to reveal ever more greater expressions of the essence (4).
What many aspiring Sinister initiates seem to forget – or simply do not know – is that the Sinister, in essence and practice, is beyond “history”. That is, what is Sinister is something which is beyond even the reverence for the great deeds of our ancestors. This is not to say that such a reverence is somehow “wrong”: rather, what is fundamentally unrepresentative of the Sinister is the attempt to cage it within the practice of ancestral reverence. Even this reverence, beyond a certain point, becomes a certain ‘thing’ with its own boundaries which ultimately limits the Sinister.
Even this reverence, for the aspiring Sinister Adept, beyond a certain point, becomes something which no longer empowers Sinister intent, but hinders. What is Sinister is what is beyond this certain point. If there is no practical expression of what is beyond this certain point in the real world, then what is Sinister cannot exist.
Essentially, some circumstances will require a continuation of some traditions/systems, while others will require a complete break – the inauguration of a new era. In this, what matters is whether some existing forms are still living nexions by which the Cosmos is made manifest, or whether those forms have become an inadequate expression of a life force that is characterized by vitality, defiance and genius.
This newness, this creative Change, is not so difficult to achieve as many might assume. As regards esoteric matters, individuals must be inspired to think differently about “magick” and its methods of expression. The Future Magick, its techniques and rites, must be allowed to evolve naturally over a period of experimentation. If individuals – either solo or in a gathering – decide to approach “worship” in a different way, then gradually new forms will emerge. Only once these forms have been tried and tested with ruthless honesty and found to significantly advance the practice of magick, can they be recorded and made public – but not before [the esoteric reasons for this approach should be obvious].
As a guide to these new techniques, individuals should use, as their main focus, the Galaxy and its exploration and conquest. Obvious poetic eulogies to the stars should be avoided: instead new and strange expressions should be created – ie. a new language, chants, forms of dress…Experimentation will show what is and what is not possessed of numinousity.
The direction of this new magick lies in a complete break from the old magickal techniques of spells, circles, robes (etc.), because the very nature of magick itself challenges us to evolve a new form that will effectively render such things as archaic. According to this new magick, there should be a move away from allegory and a move towards the creation of modes of Being which actually are the Cosmos itself (5). That is, “magick” should become a way to keep alive and conscious a supra-personal vision and ideal.
And esoterically, “magick” should evolve to be understood as a way to make conscious, both within and external to individuals, a region where all Life exists as a unified whole (6). In practice, this is the nexion that will bring the new Aeon.
This approach will ultimately lead to a synthesis of forms – of both esoteric and exoteric. This synthesis will be characteristic of a new type of Human life: one which will no longer need to practice “magick”, or any other such thing – be that ‘thing’ “politics”, “philosophy”, “history”, or whatever. Instead, the reality, the apprehension that we as “occultists” all seek, will be lived…
This acceleration in evolution will not occur through the imposition of some dogma or ‘social reform’: it will occur naturally because we who seek – we who are the Cosmos – will have seeded its spirit by our desire.
IV) Conclusion: The Satanic Master Plan Revealed
This uniting with All Life – the Cosmos – is one of the great stages yet to be implemented in Human history. However, this synthsis, while implicit within our Destiny, will not necessarily occur of itself. Rather, it must be brought to Being – it must be fought for, since we also possess the capacity to destroy this potential.
This synthesis will occur only if a Galactic Empire is made a reality. The purpose of Future – or ‘Stellar’ – magick therefore, is to draw forth from this most vital of ideals the numinousity necessary to inspire the psyche of our species: to promote the Galactic vision as the only ideal worth striving for.
For the next few centuries at least, the ultimate goal of the Sinister Way – the ultimate aim of the “Satanic master plan” – is this aiding of our species to seed thestars. It is a goal that is, and should be, shared with many others outside of Traditional Satanism.
Each will have their part to play: for Satanism and the Sinister Way, it lies in reaching out into the cold spaces of Beyond to bring the extraterrestrial to reality.
C. Riabhaich, 109yf
Published by the Venn Community, Shropshire, August 1998eh; Vindex Press, USA, 1998eh.
(1) The difference between an archetype and a numinous symbol is crucial to esoteric understanding, but is seldom if ever discussed outside Traditional Satanism (qv. Eira: A Satanic Guide to Future Magick and Aeonic Magick – A Basic Introduction).
(2) This “magickal” evolving is represented by the unified symbolism of the ‘Tree of Wyrd’ (qv. Naos).
(3) Fundamentally, this evolution is expressed via the spawning of new symbols, new archetypes, and new mythos (see aforementioned Order MSS)
(4) See chapter IV of Eira – A Satanic Guide to Future Magick.
(5) The Septenary Star Game is an important aspect of this new magick – qv. Naos and Hostia.
(6) It should be clear that the meaning of this unification with “All Life” does not lend credence to a “politically correct” concept of “equality” and the other socially engineered visions (such as the “ideal” of a “global village”): rather, it refers to the esoteric apprehension of the acausal/acausal time (qv. MSS on ‘Time’).
Darkness Converges 