An introduction

Why Substack? "All my 'friends' are doing it..." ;)

As it increasingly looks like a critical mass of writers who I enjoy are on Substack, I thought I too would join the party.

For those who don’t know me: I am the author of the book Nine Keys of Abyssal Darkness and the founder of Tenebrous Satanism.

This is a form of Satanism that combines the positive, this-worldly values of more familiar Satanic and Luciferian groups - e.g., enjoyment of earthly life, critical thinking, pursuit of wisdom, etc. - with a darker worldview wherein the sorcerer’s quest for self-empowerment and self-evolution is supported (or at times, thwarted) by acausal forces.

In particular, Tenebrous Satanism draws influence from the infamous Order of Nine Angles (O9A) in terms of the Dark Gods it acknowledges and the esoteric practices by which it engages with those entities. However, it at the same time rejects the enthusiasm for extremist politics and criminal behavior that unfortunately have become pervasively-associated with O9A.

This stance of mine has sometimes been misinterpreted as respectability-seeking or pacifism-promotion, when in fact I care for neither of those things.

My position, rather, is that i) utopian political projects, whether far-right, far-left, or otherwise, are often supremely counterproductive, and ii) too many activists who seek change are just projecting their personal problems onto the external world and thereby rendering themselves ineffectual, whereas better self-understanding could offer clearer insight into both what really needs to be changed and how to do it effectively.

In both its doctrine and its praxis, Tenebrous Satanism offers insights and tools aimed at fostering this sort of productive self-understanding. Such an aim, though “positive”, is Satanic insofar as you cannot compellingly wage a revolution against God and enthrone yourself in his place if you are not willing to develop such qualities as wisdom, discipline, and perseverance as part of your journey.

Some things I’m hoping to do with this space include:

• Promoting my existing blog on a platform that should make it easier for others to find and to keep up with. This will include new entries as I write them, and old ones that I want to revisit - or perhaps even just to show to new friends.

• Offering brief summaries and analyses of texts that I’d like to bring to greater attention among those walking a path similar to mine. Some of these may be seemingly-unrelated to Satanism on the surface, with my intent being to argue that they actually do have some Satanic salience. Others may be actual O9A texts that I wish to discuss nuances of, etc.

• Sharing artwork I’ve been working on that is closely connected to my spirituality, such as sigil paintings and music.

I therefore envision this publication being both briefer and more visual than my existing blog - not least because unless I approach it that way, I am not going to have time to manage both!

The tentative plan should allow for 2-3 posts per month. One of those is sure to just be a reminder to read my other blog. But the other one or two will be unique to here.

So if you’d like to support my work, please subscribe!