142 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
142 lines
7.6 KiB
Plaintext
This file is an exerpt from The Book of Darkness, an official work
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of the Ordo Templi Satanis, P.O. Box 1093, Atwater, CA 95301. It is
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copyright 1991. All persons are hereby given permission to make
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copies and/or distribute this exerpt, so long as in so doing the
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contents of this work is not altered in any way, including this
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paragraph.
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Satanic Magic
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(From the Book of the World)
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The construction of a Satanic Magical Working is at once
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both complex and simple. In most magical traditions, a very
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strict orthodoxy concerning the phases of the moon, the number of
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times a bell in rung, etc. are considered mandatory elements for
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the success of the spell. Unless the formulae are followed to the
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letter, the operator can have no expectation of success. This is
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generally because magical workings are seen as tapping into other
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planes, calling upon extraterrestrial powers and entities, and
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the like. Presumably these entities and powers are quite picky
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about where and when they appear, and unless the proper forms are
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followed, the magician can expect nothing but wasted time for his
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efforts.
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Satanic Magic, on the other hand, like certain other magical
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forms (such as Chaos Magic), is much more free-formed in its
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construction and execution. Indeed, it can be said that every act
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of the Will, every conscious act of creation is in fact a Working
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of Satanic Magic. In Satanic Magic there are few rules, and, in
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accordance with the principles of individuality espoused by
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Satanism, each Satanic Magician is encouraged to come up with his
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own forms and rituals for the casting of spells.
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This somewhat lax attitude stems from the Satanic concept of
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what exactly forms the basis of magic. The Satanist sees the core
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of every magical working as being the magician himself, rather
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than any outside entity. The goal of each and every Satanic
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Magical Working, whether performed alone in a private ritual
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chamber or by hundreds of participants engaged in a massive
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outdoor rally, is to energize the Will of the participant(s). By
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achieving a sufficient focus for the Will, it is felt that actual
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physical results can be achieved.
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The actual process by which these results occur is really
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irrelevant to the Satanic Magician. Whether the Magician is
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effecting changes in the quantum strata of the universe, or
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projecting mental energies from within the mind, or merely set-
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ting up subconscious resonances within his own mind which will
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help to bring about the desired result, or a combination, is
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totally besides the point. The point is that the rituals have an
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effect. When the ends are achieved, who cares about the means?
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However, in order to accomplish this precise "tuning" and
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attenuation of the magician's Will, it is necessary for the
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Magician to be placed in the proper mind set. It is this fact
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that creates the necessity for the traditional trappings of
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magical Workings; the flames, daggers, pentagrams, and the like.
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All of those things mean nothing in and of themselves (all pro-
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testations of practitioners of "sympathetic magic" notwithstand-
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ing). Rather, all of the occult paraphernalia are merely tools to
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enhance the mood of the magician. Even consciously knowing that
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the trappings are inherently useless, their symbolism and emo-
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tional impact are significant. Significant enough, in fact, to
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the point of being necessary to create the mood required for a
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successful Working.
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Indeed, as the Satanic Magician grows in experience and
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knowledge, he may find it increasingly easy to achieve the proper
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mind-set and focus his Will without the need for such elaborate
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ritual paraphernalia. The whole key to Satanic Magic is to do
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what works.
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Of course, this should not be seen as a renunciation of
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ritual entirely. The idea of ritual for its own sake has a strong
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place in the human psyche. Rituals bring with them an inherent
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feeling of stability and comfort, even if it is for no real
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reason. Sometimes this feeling of stability, the knowledge that
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others have done, are doing, and will do again the exact same
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thing that the Magician is doing can be an important psychologi-
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cal element in conducting a ritual.
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From an institutional point of view, rituals take on an even
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more significant role. The conduct of rituals by organizations
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tends to extend and expand the sense of permanence of the group,
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and hence enhances the confidence of the membership of the group
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in the group itself. Magical rituals are no different in this re-
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spect.
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It is also possible to mix and match the two principles,
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employing certain "prefabricated" elements of Satanic Magical
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Workings and interweaving them with the "homegrown" elements. In
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this way, the consistency and stability of the ritual system can
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be harmoniously combined with the individualistic stain so impor-
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tant to the maintenance of Satanic vitality.
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Something should be stated as an aside at this point. Con-
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sidering the self-centered nature of Satanic Magical Workings,
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the whole concept of animal or human sacrifice becomes outmoded.
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When you finally shake the idea that the physical actions and
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words of the Working are powerful in and of themselves, you lose
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the whole justification for performing a sacrifice. If you are
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performing a ritual of destruction, designed to lash out at a
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given individual or thing, and you feel that your Will can be
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tuned to a fever pitch by plunging your dagger into someone's
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heart, then by all means do so, representationally. Simulating a
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human sacrifice will do just as much to focus the Will as a real
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one, and without the damaging social and legal ramifications. It
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cannot be stressed strongly enough that the Satanic Magician uses
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the trappings of the Magical Working as mere props, with no
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significance of their own. Understanding this, the need for an
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actual sacrifice of a human or animal becomes nullified.
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Even when the Satanic Magician reaches the point in his
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magical development where he can perform rituals "on the fly",
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without benefit of any ritual paraphernalia, one of the most
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important factors involved in the focusing of the Will is the
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Magicians self-image. Without a strong sense of self, and a well
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defined self-image, the Satanic Magician will find it difficult,
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if not impossible, to achieve the proper mind-set required for
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the extremely tight focusing of the Will required for a success-
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ful working. There are many techniques that may be employed to
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assist in the definition of the self-image, and each Magician (or
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group of Magicians) should use whatever works best for them.
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Related to the importance of the sense of self-image is the
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Magician's concept of self-respect. The Magician who is filled
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with secret self-loathing and guilt, and who sees himself in a
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wretched light, cannot hope to achieve any notable results. The
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Magician must purge from his mind anything that would tend to
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demean himself in his own eyes; this is one of the primary rea-
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sons that the Magician should avoid addictive substances at all
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costs. The only time the Satanic Magician should legitimately
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entertain feelings of guilt is when he has succumbed to his own
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weaknesses, when he has betrayed his Will. The concept of certain
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actions being inherently "wrong" (i.e. the Judeo/Christian/Islam-
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ic concept of Sin) is not a rational one, and should be rejected
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out of hand by the Satanist. If the Satanic Magician has made a
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conscious decision to do something, based on the weighing of the
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evidence and a logical decision-making process, then he should
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revel in his choice and have no regrets.
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