A Daoist Time Manipulation Ritual

Taoist Sorcerers have always been deeply concerned with time.The late Han through the Six Dynasties time period was one of political chaos and social turmoil. Constant warfare, rampant epidemics, and natural disasters were perceived as symptomatic of a continuing cosmological crisis: the various cosmic cycles and the natural harmonies were disordered, leading to the disasters and depredations which inflicted suffering on the population.(much like today) Scriptures from this period abound with descriptions of the sorry state of humanity and are filled with eschatological foreboding of the end of civilization.
The solution advocated by Daoists was twofold. On the one hand, Daoists were urged to adhere to a moral and ethical path, which called for following the precepts of the Dao as presented in a number of texts. On the other hand, they championed ritual that would enable humanity to reestablish the original harmony within time. If one were to follow this twofold program, one would be able to change the course of events in his or her favor.In this post I will examine the ritual to summon the Eight Archivists (bashi ), spirits of the Eight Trigrams, which exemplifies working with time in Daoist ritual. This ritual is, first and foremost, a ritual for the mastery of time.  I will focus on the ritual for summoning Eight Archivists as it appears in the The Upper Scripture of the Five Ascendant Talismans of the Highest, Limitless Great Way and the Self-Generating Perfect One (hereafter shortened to Five Ascendant Talismans), one of the original Lingbao.Note, that as of yet I’ve not performed this ritual,for it is quite difficult to do correctly,but may write a version of it that is able to be performed with out the insane requirements of this one,but not until I try and work this ritual as closely  to true form as I can.
In the rite of summoning the Eight Archivists the herb employed, zhang ju , more commonly known as zhanglu, or shanglu , is used for its psychoactive qualities.Modern researchers identify it as Phytolacca acinosa,“Masters of the Dao always plant this medicinal herb in the garden of a Silent Chamber. It leads one to communicate with the spirits.”These effects occur not only when the herb is ingested but also when the roots are carved, as during the preparatory stage of the ritual for summoning the Eight Archivists. At this stage, zhangju roots are carved into human shape, while the adept contemplates the forms of the spirits of the twelve chronograms . This causes the spirits to appear, indicating that the active ingredients may be absorbed cutaneously. Intriguingly, this use of the herb was still known in the early-Qing:
“Those of the left Dao carve the zhanglu root into human shape, and utter incantations to it. It enables one to know calamity and fortune. It is called Spirit of zhanglu. Medical books say to take the leaves of shanglu and dry them in the shade for 100 days. As you pound it, not yet eating it, lie down and think of things which you wish and they will immediately appear by themselves before your eyes. Two aspects are supernatural in these perfect plants, their moving the Yin pneuma and their possibility of imparting much knowledge. Small men will be transformed in a flash. Ghosts and goblins by the hundreds will be expelled.”
As you can see,this has a number of analogs in Western Occultism and ritual,not to mention that south American use of psychoactive Plants,but that’s for another time and post.So here we go….

THE RITUAL FOR SUMMONING THE EIGHT ARCHIVISTS
The ritual begins by marking out the ritual space, which at this stage extends beyond the home:
You must mark, around your home, the eight directions and the twelve chronograms. At each chronogram direction and to the left and right of the gate plant the zhi herbs of spiritual communication, fourteen shoots in total. Take the memorial-like diagrams of the Eight Trigrams to make the Mysterious Cavern Talismans of Numinous Communication at the eight directions. Place the five talismans of ascendance in the center of the room, on the central roof beam.
The ritual space is therefore marked on the outside by the twelve markers of time. Note that at this point these markers of time are outside the home. Inside this circle are placed the eight talismans signifying the trigrams, the Xuandong tong ling fu.The five Lingbao talismans are hung on the central roof beam.
In the next stage the ritual space is moved inside the home: Purify the hall, making it a pure chamber, mark the eight directions and twelve chronograms. Take the zhangju roots, fourteen in all. First, place those of the gate in front of the hall outside the doorpost, so as to forbid the hundred evil spirits from being able to enter and oppose [the ritual]. Then, take the twelve [plants at the] chronogram points, beginning with yin , to the front of the hall. Each is carved into a human [shape]. [Plants on] Yang  [chronograms] are to be made into males, [those on] Yin are made into females. Place each inside the hall at their respective chronogram point. At each point dig into the ground, making holes [deep enough] so that their heads are level with the ground.
This completes the emplacement of the ritual space. The instructions now turn to the time element of the ritual:
On the fifth yin  day of the vernal equinox, pick orchids and, in the center [of the ritual arena] make an infusion [with the flowers]. Wash [yourself with this]. On the fifth mao  day take the brewed chrysanthemum and boil it to a broth, at the place of yin and mao. On the next day pick the zhangju stalks. Just as you are about to pick them, purify the [ground at their] side. Of small mats make fourteen seats for them. Light incense, and worship each with wine and dried meat. Bow repeatedly and say the incantation: “Zhangju beings, of pure and uncorrupt bodies, protectors of the twelve pneumas of the palaces,40 communicators with spirit numina, now I shall unite my spirit officers with you,41 be your companion and travel with you to some famous mountain’s south face. If called you must respond, if asked you must reply. Neither of us is to deceive the other in this [contract]. We join tallies as a covenant.”(Notice the conjuration technique,sounds like something straight out of a 18th century grimoire ,Hmmm?)
After presenting wine, the adept is to carve the roots into human shape, naming them and distinguishing male from female. Now that the twelve images are ready, the ritual enters its climactic stage. This is the first mention of the East Well (Dongjing ) constellation, which marks the beginning of the ritual cycle:
At dawn the next day when the heaven points to East Well, and the sun is before the door, kneel and say to yourself: “Your descendant, so-and-so, has taken this day to bathe.” Then, enter the room and set out the zhangju. At the advent of each of the “days of the five ascendances” take a brush to draw the talisman of the day. Make the five talismans in accord with the method. In ten days you will be finished. Then light incense and sacrifice to each zhangju at its chronogram position. First, using their names call out this incantation: “Lord so-and-so of Numinous Communication. Now, together with you I guard the twelve chronograms.” After sixty days they will respond to you. When the twelve days of sacrifices are over, at the following dawn light incense, and retain in mind the eight Archivists, recalling their surnames and personal names. At the same time take “dried white flowers” powder and ingest a spoonful of it in the hall so as to make your body spirits and the archivists unite in companionship.
This completes the procedure for the first stage in the ritual cycle. From this point we seem to be entering into the realm of ritual time played out on the divining chart:
At the following occurrences of the East Well day, unfasten the talismans and always take them when you wash. When finished, return and refasten them. The next day, again, take them out according to this model. When all five washings have been completed, a period of 124 days will have elapsed. All the spirits will have arrived. You will have heard their voices or seen their shapes as on the charts. At dawn the next day worship them below the doorpost. The spirits will then speak with you. You must ask the Eight Archivists about seeking the methods of spiritual transcendence and long life. The archivists will enter the heavenly lodgings for you to examine the registers and tell you. If initially you lack a life record on the transcendent registers, and are far removed from transcendence, it is fitting that you cultivate and revere the Archivists, in order to garner wealth and extend your life by three to four hundred years.
As you can see,the final preparatory stage of the ritual is reached when the zhangju plants are harvested and carved into human shape. This part of the ritual proceeds according to a precise timetable. On the fifth yin day after the vernal equinox the practitioner is to prepare an orchid infusion and wash. On the next day, the fifth mao day, he is to boil this infusion and place it between the markers of yin and mao. On the next day the plants are picked. On the following day, defined as the day of East Well, the actual rite of carving occurs and subsequent communication starts.
The day of East Well is a crucial date for the ritual. East Well, a constellation of eight stars in the southern Palace of the Vermilion Bird, is the twenty-second Lunar Lodge.49 In calendrical terms it correlates to the second month of summer, in which falls the summer solstice. The timing of the ritual follows the passage of the sun among the twenty-eight lunar lodges. Depending on the actual day of the sexagesimal cycle on which the spring equinox falls, the fifth yin day after the vernal equinox would fall 51 to 60 days later, almost a month before the summer solstice. Within two days, we are told, the sun rises in East Well. This makes good astronomical sense. Although usually associated with the summer solstice, the East Well constellation actually covers a wide swath of the heavens. The sun enters it a month before the solstice in the median period of the fourth month.50 In temporal terms, the constellation covers three fortnightly periods.The ritual of Summoning the Eight Archivists, which incorporated the symbolism of the East Well, demonstrates the synthesizing process by which the Lingbao scriptural and ritual tradition was formed,this shows the Daoists’ rejection of popular practices as theological,and taking a more Left Hand Magical outlook. First, the unity and formlessness of the Dao transcended all popular deities,and it was often thought passe to worship anything at all. Secondly, moral and ethical precepts were intended to transcend the taboos related to demons and ghosts terrorizing the populace. Thirdly, the petitioning ritual that the  Daoists used for spirits was to replace popular sacrifices to Gods or Deities.
I will try and cover more on the East Well and The Eight Archivists as I do more study and work with the rite as I understand it (now to find some zhangju roots,anyone is San Francisco want to take a trip to Chinatown for me?),but for now I think that is a good taste of it for the evening.Till next time,Stay gold.
Sources: Nathan Sivin, “Chinese Alchemy and the Manipulation of Time”, Fabrizio Pregadio, “The Representation of Time in the Zhouyi Cantongqi, Nickerson,“Shamans, Demons,Diviners and Taoists”,Marc Kalinowski, “The Use of the Twenty-Eight Xiu as a Day-Count in Early China,David Pankenier,“The Cosmo-political Background of Heaven’s Mandate”.Gil Raz,Time Manipulation.
Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

THE Penumbra said to the Umbra

THE Penumbra said to the Umbra, “At one moment you
move: at another you are at rest. At one moment you sit
down: at another you get up. Why this instability of
purpose?"
“I depend," replied the Umbra, “upon something which
causes me to do as I do; and that something depends in
turn upon something else which causes it to do as it does.
My dependence is like that of a snake's scales or of a
cicada's wings. How can I tell why I do one thing, or why
I do not do another?"

Chuang Tzu one day saw an empty skull, bleached, but still preserving its shape. Striking it with his riding-whip, he said: “Wert thou once some ambitious citizen whose inordinate yearnings brought him to this pass?--
some statesman who plunged his country into ruin and perished in the fray?--some wretch who left behind him a legacy of shame?--some beggar who died in the pangs of hunger and cold? Or didst thou reach this state by the natural course of old age?"When he had finished speaking, he took the skull and, placing it under his head as a pillow, went to sleep. In the
night he dreamt that the skull appeared to him and said: "You speak well, sir; but all you say has reference to the life of mortals, and to mortal troubles. In death there are none of these. Would you like to hear about death?"

Chuang Tzu having replied in the affirmative, the skull began: “In death there is no sovereign above, and no subject below. The workings of the four seasons are unknown. Our existences are bounded only by eternity.
The happiness of a king among men cannot exceed that which we enjoy."
Chuang Tzu, however, was not convinced, and said: “Were I to prevail upon God to allow your body to be born again, and your bones and flesh to be renewed, so that you could return to your parents, to your wife, and
to the friends of your youth,--would you be willing?"At this the skull opened its eyes wide and knitted its brows and said: “How should I cast aside happiness greater than that of a king, and mingle once again in the
toils and troubles of mortality?"

Shakespeare’s Demonology

The belief in demonology as it existed during the Elizabethan period, and the time of Shakespeare,was a subject that, from its very nature, could not be settled ex cathedra, and consequently the subject had to grow up as best it might, each writer adopting the arrangement that appeared to him most suitable. It was an era of change. The nation was emerging from the dim twilight of mediaevalism into the full day of political and religious freedom.Arthur Hacket, with casting out of devils, and other madnesses, vehemently declaring himself the Messiah and King of Europe in the year of grace 1591, and getting himself believed by some, so long as he remained unhanged. It is solemnly recorded in the Commons’ Journals that during the discussion of the statute against witchcraft passed in the reign of James I., a young jackdaw flew into the House; which accident was generally regarded as malum omen to the Bill. Extraordinary bravery on the part of an adversary was sometimes accounted for by asserting that he was the devil in the form of a man.This is no mere dramatist’s fancy, but a fixed belief of the times. Sir William Russell fought so desperately at Zutphen, that he got mistaken for the Evil One.But the semi−sceptical state of thought was in   Shakespeare’s time making its way only amongst the more educated portion of the nation. The masses still clung to the old and venerated, if not venerable, belief that devils could at any moment assume what form soever they might please—not troubling themselves further to inquire into the method of the operation. They could appear in the likeness of an ordinary human being, creating thereby the most embarrassing complications in questions of identity; and if this belief is borne in mind, the charge of being a devil, so freely made, in the times of which we write, and before alluded to, against persons who performed extraordinary feats of valour, or behaved in a manner discreditable and deserving of general reprobation, loses much of its barbarous grotesqueness.There was one rough but popular classification into greater and lesser devils. The former branch was subdivided into classes of various grades of power, the members of which passed under the titles of kings, dukes, marquises, lords, captains, and other dignities.(see the Lesser Key,Dionysius the Areopagite,Johannes Wierus and The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage for a greater understanding of these titles) Each of these was supposed to have a certain number of legions of the latter class under his command. These were the evil spirits who appeared most frequently on the earth as the emissaries of the greater fiends, to carry out their evil designs.The more important class kept for the most part in a mystical seclusion, and only appeared upon earth in cases of the greatest emergency, or when compelled to do so by conjuration. To the class of lesser devils belonged the bad angel which, together with a good one, was supposed to be assigned to every person at birth, to follow him through life—the one to tempt, the other to guard from temptation so, that a struggle similar to that recorded between Michael and Satan for the body of Moses was raging for the soul of every existing human being. This was not a mere theory, but a vital belief,as the use made of these opposing spirits in Marlowe’s “Dr. Faustus,” and in “The Virgin Martyr,” by Massinger and Dekker,show quite well.

Another classification, which seems to retain a reminiscence of the origin of devils from pagan deities(and is well known to any Magician or wytch worth their salt these days), is effected by reference to the localities supposed to be inhabited by the different classes of evil spirits.

According to this arrangement we get six classes:—
(1.) Devils of the fire, who wander in the region near the moon.
(2.) Devils of the air, who hover round the earth.
(3.) Devils of the earth; to whom the fairies are allied.
(4.) Devils of the water.
(5.) Submundane devils.
(6.) Lucifugi.
These devils’ power and desire to injure mankind appear to have increased with the proximity of their location to the earth’s centre; but this classification had nothing like the hold upon the popular mind that the former grouping had,as the King and Queen was all the rage at the time (and still is with the Little Prince hitting the UK Tabloids with such regularity).

Of the twenty devils mentioned by Shakespeare, four only belong to the class of greater devils. Hecate, the principal patroness of witchcraft, is referred to frequently, and appears once upon the scene. The two others
are Amaimon and Barbazon, both of whom are mentioned twice. Amaimon was a very important personage, being no other than one of the four kings. Ziminar was King of the North, and is referred to in “Henry VI. Part Gorson of the South; Goap of the West; and Amaimon of the East.(this is not a hard and fast correspondence with Magicians then or today,so please bare with me, my dear Magical correctness police,I promise all of my papers are in order :) ). He is mentioned in “Henry IV. Part I.,and “Merry Wives. Barbazon also occurs in the same passage in the latter play, and again in “Henry V.A fact that does to a slight extent help to bear out the otherwise ascertained chronological sequence of these plays. The remainder of the devils belong to the second class.Nine of these occur in “King Lear”.One Dr.Harsnet gave such a highly spiced and entertaining account in his “Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures,” first published in the year 1603. It is from this work that Shakespeare took the names of the devils mentioned by Edgar, and other references made by him in “King Lear;” this gives us a true look at the subject of possession by Devils at that time,and even today much of this holds water in occult circles .A comparison of the passages in “King Lear” spoken by Edgar when feigning madness, with those in Harsnet’s book which seem to have suggested them, will furnish as vivid a picture as it is possible to give of the state of contemporary belief upon the subject of possession,something I will try and do at a later date.

Shakespeare, in “The Comedy of Errors,” and indirectly also in “Twelfth Night,” has given us intentionally ridiculous illustrations of scenes which bring vividly before us the absurdity of the methods of diagnosis and treatment usually adopted for Demonic Possession:

:—
Courtesan: How say you now? is not your husband mad?
Adriana: His incivility confirms no less.
Good doctor Pinch, you are a conjurer;
Establish him in his true sense again,
And I will please you what you will demand.
Luciana: Alas! how fiery and how sharp he looks!
Courtesan: Mark how he trembles in his extasy!
Pinch: Give me your hand, and let me feel your pulse.
Ant. E. There is my hand, and let it feel your ear.
Pinch: I charge thee, Satan, housed within this man,
To yield possession to my holy prayers,
And to thy state of darkness his thee straight;
I conjure thee by all the saints in heaven.
Ant. E: Peace, doting wizard, peace; I am not mad.
Pinch: O that thou wert not, poor distressed soul!
After some further business, Pinch pronounces his opinion:
“Mistress, both man and master are possessed;
I know it by their pale and deadly looks:
They must be bound, and laid in some dark room.”

But “good doctor Pinch” seems to have been mild even to feebleness in his conjuration; many of his brethren in art had much more effective formulae. It seems that devils were peculiarly sensitive to any opprobrious epithets that chanced to be bestowed upon them. The skilful exorcist took advantage of this weakness, and, if he could only manage to keep up a flow of uncomplimentary remarks sufficiently long and offensive, the
unfortunate spirit became embarrassed, restless, agitated, and finally took to flight.

So much more could be said about Shakespeare and the Occult that it would take a whole book to write it all,and much greater writers than I have already written books on the subject,so I will stop while I’m ahead.I leave you, faithful reader,with these lines….

“That not a worm is cloven in vain;
That not a moth with vain desire

Is shrivel’d in a fruitless fire,
Or but subserves another’s gain,”

(I haven’t even touched “Macbeth,”That’s for a much longer piece.)

Sources: “The Witches in Macbeth,” “The Demonology of Shakspere,” the New Shakespeare Society in the years 1877 and 1878.”The Globe Edition of the complete works of Shakespeare” August 3, 1998 (Author), Howard Staunton,ELIZABETHAN DEMONOLOGY by:THOMAS ALFRED SPALDING, LL.B. 1880.

Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

Character Study:Lilith

The next in my series of character analysis for the upcoming Left Hand Path movie  “The conjuration of Victor Dee Strider”.

Seductress, heroine, murderer, chaos Goddess, seduction and Lust personified, ungodliness in the best way. in her every guise, Lilith has cast a spell on humankind.

In the Renaissance, Michelangelo portrayed Lilith as a half-woman, half-serpent, coiled around the Tree of Knowledge. Later, her beauty would captivate the English poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. “Her enchanted hair,” he wrote, “was the first gold.” Irish novelist James Joyce cast her as the “patron of abortions.”She is all these things,and knows how to make man and god alike sigh with desire and tremble with anticipation and fear.She wanders about at night time, vexing the sons of men and causing them to defile themselves,but cares for them as a mother for her child. 

The earliest surviving mention of Lilith’s name appears in Gilgamesh and the Huluppu-Tree, a Sumerian epic poem found on a tablet at Ur and dating from approximately 2000 B.C.E. The mighty ruler Gilgamesh is the world’s first literary hero; he boldly slays monsters and vainly searches for the secret to eternal life.a In one episode, “after heaven and earth had separated and man had been created,” Gilgamesh rushes to assist Inanna, goddess of erotic love and war. In her garden near the Euphrates River, Inanna lovingly tends a willow (huluppu) tree, the wood of which she hopes to fashion into a throne and bed for herself. Inanna’s plans are nearly thwarted, however, when a dastardly triumvirate possesses the tree.Then in steps Lilith: “Inanna, to her chagrin, found herself unable to realize her hopes. For in the meantime a dragon had set up its nest at the base of the tree, the Zu-bird had placed his young in its crown, and in its midst the demoness Lilith had built her house.” Wearing heavy armor, Gilgamesh kills the dragon, causing the Zu-bird to fly to the mountains and Lilith to flee “to the desert.”Originating about the same time as the Gilgamesh epic is a terracotta plaque, known as the Burney Relief, that some scholars have identified as the first known pictorial representation of Lilith. (More recently, scholars have identified the figure as Inanna.) 

She loves this relief,and whatever the scholars have said,she has claimed it as her own in the hearts and minds of men and woman everywhere.The Babylonian relief shows her as a beautiful, naked sylph with bird wings, taloned feet and hair contained under a cap decorated with several pairs of horns. She stands atop two lions and between two owls, apparently bending them to her will.And it is her will that is to be done,and Victor knows it,try as he might to think he does his own. Lilith’s association with the owl—a predatory and nocturnal bird—bespeaks a connection to flight and night terrors.At times she will send an owl to watch over a woman she cares for and has taken under her "wing".The Tetragrammaton is considered “the name that comprises all” (Zohar 19a). In the Bible’s burning bush episode of Exodus 3, God explains the meaning of the divine name as “I am what I am,” or “I will be what I will be,” a kind of formula for YHWH (vuvh), associated with the Hebrew root “to be.” The whole of the Torah is thought to be contained within the holy name. In The Alphabet, Lilith is one of the few Goddesses who know these syllables, and can crack open Paradise with a word. So Lilith flies, having gained power to do so by pronouncing EL's avowed name,and found out things about YHVH that were never meant to be uncovered. In The Alphabet of Ben Sira her destination is the Red Sea, Just as the ancient Israelites achieve freedom from Pharaoh at the Red Sea, so Lilith gains independence from Adam by going there.YHVH tells Adam that if Lilith fails to return, 100 of her children must die each day. Apparently, Lilith is not only a child-murdering Goddess but also an amazingly fertile mother. In this way, she helps maintain the world’s balance between good and evil.A very Left Hand Path act indeed.Three angels are sent in search of Lilith. When they find her at the Red Sea, she refuses to return to Eden.To prevent the three angels from drowning her in the Red Sea, Lilith swears in the name of God that she will not harm any infant who wears an amulet bearing her name. Ironically, by forging an agreement with God and the angels and using the name, Lilith demonstrates that she has power over YHVH and can Bind him to her will.And she can,and often does Bind EL,Angels,Demons and foolish Magi to her will whenever it pleases her..A parable by a daughter of Lilith, Judith Plaskow Goldenberg shows another view of Lilith. At first Goldenberg’s fanciful tale follows the basic Ben Sira plot line: Lilith dislikes being subservient to Adam, so she flees Paradise and her absence inspires God to create Eve. But in Goldenberg’s retelling, the exiled Lilith is lonely and tries to re-enter the garden. Adam does everything he can to keep her out, inventing wildly untrue stories about how Lilith threatens pregnant women and newborns. One day Eve sees Lilith on the other side of the garden wall and realizes that Lilith is a woman like herself. Swinging on the branch of an apple tree, a curious Eve catapults herself over Eden’s walls where she finds Lilith waiting. As the two women talk, they realize they have much in common, “till the bond of sisterhood grew between them.” The budding friendship between Lilith and Eve puzzles and frightens both man and deity.And that she does, proud and willful, claiming equality with Adam because she was created from the same dust,any Man with a pompous need to rule fears her,and all Woman secretly adore her.She is also called “The Howling One.”and is noble in her rebellion against male and Deity domination. irresistibly seductive,wantonness and Wisdom with wings and claws,Succubus.,Mother,Goddess,Whore,She is every woman we love and hold dear.This is our Lilith!

A Look at the Left Hand Path without rose tinted glasses

To do that, I needed to see a plausible reason why anyone would hold such a theory as the ONA held. I could see little plausibility in what the most of the writers on the subject said was the obvious reason.Unable to see either the obvious meaning or make any sense of the attributed obvious doctrine that those who knew the ONA saw, I felt like the youngster viewing the emperor's new clothes. Was I meaning-blind? Was I narrow-minded? Should I just accept that fundamentally different kinds of things could be reasons for LHP thinkers? How could I discover that liberating truth unless I had that elusive direct access to the gossamer threads of meaning that others seemed to see? But try after try, I could only see characters. No aura, no shimmering flashes of meaning met my
eyes. The challenge was to understand what else it could reasonably mean. Anton,Webb,Flowers,
my instinctive assumptions abut these gentlemen are realistic. An expression has a meaning,but only to the writer holding the quill. Luciferianism proposes a theory of what that meaning is.And so does Satanism.Hell,even the dictionary is only a theory. A translation of a passage presupposes the translator's theory; it is not evidence for it.
When we adopt different meaning theories we attribute to the writer different beliefs. If I say that the Entity Lucifer (archetype, tupla, eidolon,take your pick) means dog and you say that it means horse, I attribute to the writer the belief that there is a dog over there and you attribute to him the belief that there is a horse over there. An interpretive theory of a language is more
plausible when it better explains the beliefs it attributes to those who wrote it.
The standard theory attributes an incoherent, mystical, irrational set of beliefs to most on the Left Hand Path.If you put a group of Satanists and Luciferians in a room with a bunch of American Zen and Tibetan Buddhists,you could hardly tell them apart,other then the fact that one group hates Christians and the other Buddhists. That, and not appeal to unity for change within ones self,is the unifying Flag for the Path these days.And it is a waste time to hate those who hold you in such contempt.Mock them,have a joke and a smile ,then sit down and do your own work toward Godhood and Immortality.And that work on the Path can only be done within yourself,not outside pointing fingers at those who you despise.
Suppose a defender of the standard Left Hand Path thought says,“The rules of life are not to be found in Korans, Bibles, Decalogues and Constitutions, but rather the rules of decadence and death. The “law of laws” is not written in Hebrew consonants or upon tables of brass and stone, but in every man’s own heart. He who obeys any standard of right and wrong, but the one set up by his own conscience, betrays himself into the hands of his enemies, who are ever laying in wait to bind him to their millstones. And generally a man’s most dangerous enemies are his neighbors.”
― Ragnar Redbeard, Might Is Right.And then the Luciferian points his finger and utters with spittle flecked lips. "But it's not a failure of our interpretive theory that the Satanists seem irrational. They in fact are!" This simply
begs the question,where is our unity outside of Hate? If they add, "Look, here is what they say," and produce a copy of Might is Right, they then rely on the very theory that is in dispute. Suppose a Setian may add,
"The Satanists may reason differently from the way we reason,we are an evolution of that theory,something more intelligent,refined." I simply ask how they could know such a thing. "Well, look at the Satanist!" That begs the question again,don't look at the Left Hand Path label you think is "less" then yours,spend sometime looking at yourself and see we all want the samething. The only way to confirm the "it doesn't matter if our beliefs seems irrational" hypothesis is to show that on no plausible interpretive theory can we make sense of it. Nothing, of course, can force one to give up bad theories. But if it is a better theory, we ought to adopt it.So lets start coming up with better theories,ones that support the Luciferian,The Satanist,and the Setian (not to forget the Theistic and Atheistic of all those branches of thought)But,this is just one Luciferian's thoughts on the subject,and I can only speak for myself in this matter. Copyright 2015 Vincent Piazza

Character Study:The Angel Senoy

The next in my series of character analysis for the upcoming movie “The conjuration of Victor Dee Strider”.
 The Angel Senoy,not much is Known of this mysterious being.Thought to have been trapped

 in a statue after YHVH sent Senoy,and his two brothers, Sansenoy and Semangelof to bring back Lilith to Adam. They found her beside the Red Sea, a region abounding in lascivious demons. The angels ordered Lilith to come with them in the name and by the authority of the most high El,
but she refused.Cold,Angry about his long imprisonment,he is filled with visions of a time long past and how he may once again protect the world from Lilith and her plans.

Devout Hebrew couples will put a warning notice above their bed to thwart any efforts she makes to "steal" their "children" (semen) during copulation: Senoy, Sansenoy, Semangeloph! Adam ve-Chavvah! Chotz Lilith! (Chavvah is the name "Eve" in its original Hebrew form, and Chotz Lilith means simply "Out, Lilith!")
For infants, all that is needed to summon the protection of these three is an amulet inscribed with their names and/or images placed somewhere near the bed or sleeping area. This is done for the first 8 days after birth if the child is male, and the first 20 days after birth if it is female.

The only true symbolic references ever used for Senoy , Sansenoy, and Semangelof were

their names as insribed in bed posts, amulets, doorways... etc. to ward of Lilith. Spelled as 

"Snvi, Snsvi, and Smnglof"... they are shown here:

Snvi: (believed to be related to Michael...)


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Snsvi: (Believed to be related to Gabriel...)


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Smnglof: (Believed to be related to Uriel...)


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-Here is an amulet bearing their images...



They are seen here as abstract creatures, the amulet was used to drive away Lilith and her Sisters(the Lilin). Their names can also be seen on their chests in the above picture...

Also, the symbol of the Lilitu coil... (one of Lilith's symbols) is said to be useful in summoning these


 three if used correctly... but is primarily used to summon Lilith herself, or her Lilin for assistance or sexual rites.

 Holy,Insane and quite sad in his unfortunate situation,Senoy struggles against what he feels is unjust and cruel.Terrified of being trapped once more,he will not give up his freedom easily.
This is our Senoy!

A character study: Janus

The next in my series of character analysis for the upcoming movie “The conjuration of Victor Dee Strider"

Mysterious,Ever watchful and Knowing,Janus presides over the concrete and abstract beginnings of the world, such as religion and the gods themselves, he too holds the access to Heaven and other gods: this is the reason why men must invoke him first, regardless of the God or Demon they want to placate.He only wants the doorway and the crossroad to be kept pure,and the correct forms to be observed.High Handed,Kind and Cruel depending on what face he shows,Victor is an Ant to this God of old,and he knows it.

Janus means "archway" in Latin. Janus was the Roman god of gateways and beginnings, often depicted as having two faces looking in opposite directions. The month of January is named for him.As a god of motion he looks after passages, causes the starting of actions, presides on all beginnings and since movement and change are bivalent, he has a double nature, symbolized in his two headed image.His two faces (originally, one was always bearded, one clean-shaven; later both bearded) originally represented the sun and the moon. He was usually depicted with a key. Janus head is a popular phrase for deception, that is, when action does not match speech.He can be found at any Bridge,Crossroad or Doorway and is the initiator of the human life, of new historical ages, and economical enterprises: in myth he first minted coins and the as, first coin of the liberal series, bears his effigy on one face.

He knows this and Holds himself as such,proud,Stiff upper lip,The forms must be observed with him or you get nothing. Janus was actually known as Janus-Bifrons to the Magicians of old,In demonology Bifrons was a demon, Earl of Hell, with six legions of demons (twenty-six for other authors) under his command. He teaches sciences and arts, the virtues of the gems and woods, herbs, and changes corpses from their original grave into other places, sometimes putting magick lights on the graves that seem candles. He appears as a monster, but then changes his shape into that of a man.He knows this and has used it to his advantage time and time again.Often found in a Robe,carrying a set of Keys,but today, often as not, he prefers a three piece suit of the Business man on the move.



You see,it is known that a temple of Janus is said to have been consecrated by the consul Gaius Duilius in 260 BC after the Battle of Mylae in the Forum Holitorium. It contained a statue of the god with the right hand showing the number 300 and the left the number 65—i.e., the length in days of the solar year, and twelve altars, one for each month,he was saddened for a time that temples are no longer set up in his name,but then a deal was struck with the head of the Janus Capital Group,and now his face and name are spoken of daily in the Halls Money and Commerce.Still powerful after so many years,he is a force to be reckoned with...This is our Janus !

A Character Study:Naamah

The next in my series of character analysis for the upcoming movie “The conjuration of Victor Dee Strider”

Naamah,Seductive Heart of Darkness,she is a broken Mirror and a Ash filled world.Wild,just wanting to fuck and take the seed,she has gone threw many Incarnations and it shows in her bearing and Attitude.At once slut and queen,mother and sister,her personality and whims change at the drop of a Hat.

The sister of Tubalcain was Naamah; whose name signifies "pleasant", fair and beautiful; and is thought by some to be the Venus of the Romans; the Arabic writers say she was a most beautiful woman, and found out colors and painting; and by others Minerva; and Josephus says she excelled in the knowledge of divine things; and Minerva is by the Greeks called Nemanoum .Some say she was the wife of Noah; and some of them say she was the wife of one Shimron, and the mother of the demon Asmodeus, mentioned in Tobit, and of whom other demons were begotten: the Targuru of Jonathan adds,"she was the mistress of lamentation and songs; The midrash (Midrash ha-Gadol, Gen. Rabbah 4:22) relates that Naamah was the most beautiful woman in the world, so much so that she caused the ministering angels to fall prey to her loveliness for they thought she was one of them.As it is said (Gen. 6:2): “The sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of men were.”
The late Midrash and the Zohar developed the figure of Naamah as a seducer of men and even of demons this role quite well.



 

 

.
She is complicated,yet simple at the same moment
Naamah was created directly by God, as was Eve and Lilith.
Naamah and Lilith lived in the Red Sea coast where they were expelled by God.
Naamah appearance is of an all Black or White Haired Queen fallen from grace, with a wild frenzied look about her.Very young with old eyes one moment,a Spider spinning a web the next.spiders are considered a sacred animal to this Dark Goddess, as she is seen a goddess of weaving and altering the fates of men and woman. And so she works on Victor's fate like the spider that is her animal.Naamah was the wife of Shamadon and the union with this fiend produced Asmodeus (Ashmedai), the king of the demons.Also according to Zohar, Naamah corrupted Uzza and Azael.Naamah is often named as the mother of the demon Asmodai, the consort of the Lesser Lilith (Lilith and Samael’s daughter).but Lilith being more sensual, young and beautiful and as one that corrupted the fallen angels and their leader Semyaza.Naamah is generally identified with the daughter of Lamech.
Naamah is a demon and a Goddess,so she acts as such,Her fellow succubi are Lilith, Eisheth Zenunim, and Agrat Bat Mahlat.
She, causes epilepsy in children.an angel (albeit of prostitution),and a primordial goddess.of time gone by She has a hidden agenda that even Lilith knows nothing about.Like her sister, Naamah is said to strangle sleeping babies.(She’s blamed for SIDS: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as crib or cot death.)she can be a powerful ally to those she perceives as her constituents,and she knows it,and will take her due.one of the four mates/wives of the archangel Samael,Naamah, ancient and mysterious spirit, is a Sister, sometime ally, sometime rival, sometime traveling companion of Lilith.She likes Fine necklesses and hanging earrings,is scantily clad when it suits her mood,and is fond of dispersing and reappearing around and on top of her consorts to drive them to Madness,This is our Naahmah!

character study: Beelzebub

The next in my series of character analysis for the upcoming movie "The conjuration of Victor Dee Strider"

Incredibly powerful,knows more about you then you could ever believe,Beelzebub has literately seen and heard it all.Very cynical , pessimistic, sarcastic,and satirical he holds a low opinion of humanity,and is very disappointed in Victor.contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives,he has been summoned time and again and feels that his respect must be taken,if not given properly.

‘I destroy kings, I ally myself with foreign tyrants, and my own demons I set on to men, in order that the latter may believe in them and be 1st.And the chosen servants of God, priests and faithful men, I excite unto desires for wicked sins, and evil heresies, and lawless deeds; and they obey me, and I bear them on to destruction. And I inspire men with envy, and desire for murder, and for wars and sodomy, and other evil things and I will destroy the world. I bring about jealousies and murders in a country, and I instigate wars.’ Solomon asks ‘Tell me in which star you reside.’ The Prince replies ‘The one called by men the Evening Star.’ ‘Tell me by what angel thou art frustrated.’ And he answered: ‘By the holy and precious name of the Almighty God, called by the Hebrews by a row of numbers, of which the sum is six hundred and forty-four, and among the Greeks it is Emmanuel.’- "The Testament of Solomon

He knows that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest,and acts accordingly, misanthropic, pessimistic and deeply distrustful,Yet he still has a yearning to teach and pass on knowledge,much like a 6,000 year old crotchety grandfather.With a sneering disbelief in the sincerity or integrity of anyone he comes across who calls him,he shows a rooted distrust and dislike of human beings and their society.
Weirus describes a great revolution taking place in Hades; .Satan has been dethroned and Beelzeboul has assumed his place. In reaction • .Satan forms an opposition party with himself as head.The now Emperor of Hades. Beelzeboul. was said to have been worshipped by the people of Canaan in the form of a fly. hence he establishes ‘The Order of the Fly’ – the only Order of Knighthood which appears to have existed among the demons.The inhabitants of the Empire of Hell were said to have numbered 44.435,156. A qabalistic parallel to these two opposing parties is to be found in the representation of the Qlipoth of Kether as expounded in The Book of the Black Serpent’ and applied in the teachings of the magical order of the Golden Dawn. Here an inversion of the unity of the first sphere of the Tree of Life belonging to Thaumiel the ‘bicephalous ones’ is ruled by the two contenders Satan and Moloch.The dyadic nature of the demonic is also reflected in the name ‘Diabolus’,whose etymology from the Greek reveals dia, that is two, and bolus, that is morsel ‘ … for he kills two things, the body and the soul.”



Baal Zebub, in his capacity as god of the hated Philistines, became the representative of the heathen power and consequently the arch-enemy, the foe par excellence, and therefore the name "Baal debaba" ("debaba" being the Aramaic form corresponding to Hebrew "Zebub") acquired the meaning of "hostility," the verb with the sense of "hostile action" being derived from it.

The first of the Cacodemons in our tale,and acting as Victor's conscience,Yet inevitably quite mischievous and provoking,he is difficult, deceptive,and problematic.Enjoys Filth and low places,Rot and things that fall apart,as well as the deserted shorelines of beaches  (as a homage to "Lord of the Flies" by: William Golding :) )  he also has a tendency to show his power and if not given his proper respect and due.A god who could cause or cure diseases,Crown Prince of Hell,that is our Beelzebub......

 

A character study:Victor Dee Strider

This is a Character study for the main Character in my upcoming movie, "The Conjuration of Victor Dee Strider,a Modern Faustian Tale"I plan on giving a full character Analysis of all the main parts in the movie to give you,as well as the Actors playing these roles a sense of what type of shoes they need to fill.I hope you enjoy it,almost as much as I've enjoyed Writing it!

Victor Dee Strider is a Master of the Arts of Magic,a Luciferian, as well as a drunk, gambler, thief,and con-man.Pro diabolism to his last breath,he is always looking for the long game,and the next trick.Very vain and always acts in a irreverent or blasphemous manner.There is a charming but idle, empty, hollow feeling about him,as if he's just playing the part a human being.But he wasn't always like this and has spent 20 years studying nearly every facet of the Occult sciences,from Traditional Chinese medicine to Norse runes to philosophy and theology. Victor has also been called upon in the past to teach his skills including his proficiency in the black arts,and took on many students.But as he rises up through his field and gains respect from some, fear from others,he begin to use Drugs and let his addictions control him.He started working for the Mob and the Triads at the same time as a Mage for hire and did the Black Mass for cold hard cash.The petty dabblers loved him,and told him so at every step. Still, nothing in this seedy underworld that he put himself in appeases his need for a broader understanding of the world of Magic and all that is in it. Victor was willing to give up everything he has to gain this understanding,but instead turned his back on the Art for wine,woman and a fast buck.This dissolution pervades everything he does.and after sometime of this,the lack of satisfaction and joy is too much and he becomes a hermit in his house, rarely talking to anyone or going out.And then he gets sick,starts seeing things,even the smallest spell he casts bring strange results.He goes to a Doctor friend he knows in the Mob,and finds out some horrible news,He has a Brain Tumor growing in his head,and it has been there for quite some time,he has 3 weeks to live.

Victor is on a desperate quest to find answers,and it shows in every move he makes; to discover how he can trick his way into completing the great work,and how this will affect his place in the larger scheme of things.Victor has a messiah complex which only gets larger as the story goes on.He is unaware how far he has fallen that he had become an entertainment for the fools that follow him,as well as the spirits that he works with,he is the subject of their admiration and scorn in equal parts.His amorality and cynicism give, what would be a very dull character, life.And as he comes to grips with the fact that he is going to die we see a glimpse of Humility and a resigned acceptance of his fate.But,this quality never lasts for long,and his pride and tenacity often rears its head through out the movie.

He often wears a hat and vest,Sometimes a full suit in the 1950's style of men's dress,at others just a Heavy Metal T-shirt and jeans.Walks around like he owns the place,but as we get deeper into the film we see him start to shrink in on himself at times and even have some self-doubt.Defiant till the end,and no regrets,That is Victor Dee Strider.

It was a time of Summer Demons,and Magic floods...A conversation with Lilith.

It was the time of Summer Demons,and Magic floods the pools of my heart and mind. Every stream poured into the river, which swelled in its turbid course. The banks receded so far from each other that it was impossible to tell a Luciferian from a Satanist,Witch from Magician.Then the Spirit of the Lake Pontchartrain laughed at my foolish blind eyes and all the satire of the earth was gathered within me. Down with the stream I journeyed east until I reached the ocean.There, looking eastwards and seeing no limit to its waves, My face changed,my heart broke,and Lilith laid her hand upon my fevered brow. And as I gazed over the expanse, I sighed and said to Lilith, “He who has heard but part of the truth thinks no one equal to himself. And such a one am I.”“She just kissed my cheek and stroked my hair.When formerly I heard people detracting from the Grand work of the Left Hand Path or underrating the heroism of the Way,I did not believe such would effect me,and my own path. But now that I have looked upon your inexhaustibility of fighting from left to right,Satan to Lucifer,Atheistic to Theistic--alas for me I have no dog in this fight, I shall forever be a laughing-stock to those of comprehensive LHP belief!"To which Lilith replied: “You cannot speak of ocean to a well-frog,--the creature of a narrower sphere. You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect,--the creature of a season. You cannot speak of Magic to a pedagogue: his scope is too restricted. But now that you have emerged from your narrow sphere and have seen the great work, you know your own insignificance,and I can speak to you of great principles.The branches of the Left and the Right--are they not to the universe but like puddles in a marsh? The Left Hand Path--is it not to the surrounding ocean like a man drowning on a piece of driftwood? Of all the myriad magical paths,Luciferianism is but one. And of all those who inhabit the Left Hand Path, live on the fruit of the black flame, and move about in the sinister way, an individual Practitioner is but one. Is not he, as compared with all creation, but as the tip of a hair upon a Beelzebub's Head?“Dimensions are limitless; time is endless. Conditions are not invariable; terms are not final. Thus, the wise Luciferian looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, nor the great as too much; for he knows that
there is no limit to dimension. He looks back into the past, and does not grieve over what is far off, nor rejoice over what is near; for he knows that time is without end. He investigates fulness and decay, and does not rejoice if he succeeds, nor lament if he fails; for he knows that conditions are not invariable. The Left Hand Adapt who clearly apprehends the scheme of existence does not rejoice over life, nor repine at death; for he knows that terms are not final.”

If you adopt, as absolute, a standard of evenness and a criterion of what is right which is so only when convenient, your results will not be even or right.Those who trust to their senses become slaves to objective existences. Those alone who are guided by
their intuitions find the true standard. So far are the senses less reliable than the intuitions. Yet fools trust to their senses to know what is good for mankind, with alas but poor results.So live your life by the song of your gut,let that deep feeling guide your actions on the Left Hand Path,and always to thine own self be true.

The Conjuration of Victor Dee Strider, A Modern Faustian Tale

Let's join together and make this Left Hand Path Movie possible!



We need funds raised to make the movie The Conjuration of Victor Dee Strider, A Modern Faustian Tale. The movie will be shown at the Left Hand Path Consortium and entered into the Atlanta Film Festival. We need money for costumes, food, equipment and other expenses that go along with making a movie. We really need your help to make this possible.we will put your name in the credits via Tiers and a free movie poster signed by the Director and Writer.

Tiers -
$1000 Executive Producer
$500 Producer
$250 Junior Producer
$100 Chief Patron
$1-$99 Patron

http://http://www.gofundme.com/x7snhc