Decolonizing Luciferianism: No Such Thing As Religion

This isn’t going to be a comfortable conversation.

It’s not an attack either.

I’m going to call out a lot of things here and give my suggestions for how we can do better.

You are free to take them or leave them.

Lest you think me a hypocrite, self-righteous, or a gatekeeper, know that virtually everything I am going to talk about I have been guilty of myself in the past.

This is about self-examination as much as navigating the difficult conversations Luciferians, Satanists, witches, occultists, whatever you want to call yourself, need to have.

Yes, this is directed at the Luciferian community, but it’s applicable way
beyond that.

So, let’s dig in…

What would you say if someone were to ask you to define religion?

Merriam-Webster gives us:

“the belief in a god or in a group of gods” and “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.”

This is probably pretty close to how most raised in a “Western” culture tend to think about religion. When asked to describe their religion, most will begin talking about what they believe, they will discuss views on deities and the afterlife. They would also likely tend to think about and describe their religion and those of others as systems that can be thought of and engaged separately from the cultures that created them.

Most of all they would talk about “organized” or “institutionalized” religion.

They will say things like “I’m spiritual but not religious.” But what if I told you all of this, the whole concept, is a new one? That it is something completely made up in the 18th and 19th century by white Christians?

This is exactly what is argued by scholars such as Wilfred Cantwell Smith and Timothy Fitzgerald, among others.

Smith tracks the development of our modern conceptions of religion from ancient times to modern in his work “The Meaning and End of Religion.” Here he shows how the Latin word “religio” simply meant one’s duties to family and community.

He shows that our conception of religion as something that can be thought of as separate from culture is false. Notice how vastly different that concept is to how we think about it now. Before the invention of religion as a concept every spiritual tradition was an “ethno-religion.”

That is to say that your culture determined your spiritual expression, it was a lived communal experience not an individualist choice. I strongly suggest these authors and their work, my concern involves the application of these ideas to Luciferian Spirituality.

Firstly, we need to recognize that most critiques of religion in western culture are really veiled critiques of a narrow form of Christianity. We should recognize and take greater care not to make blanket statements about sacred traditions, especially when those faiths have literally billions of adherents over periods of thousands of years. We need to be careful not to throw progressive members of such faiths under the bus nor the members of oppressed groups. I completely understand the history of church oppression and the very real trauma myself and others have and continue to experience at the hands of the church and other related faiths. It is 100% valid. But there is also nothing healthy about lashing out against others who have nothing to do with that, nothing liberatory.

Secondly, if we as Luciferians truly embrace the concept of liberation for ourselves and all people then we find ourselves in a position where we must confront issues like decolonization and, within that, issues of cultural appropriation. If we as Luciferians embrace the notion that it is part of our practice to break church based social conditioning, then I would argue that a reconsideration of our fundamental concept of religion is a great starting point for both of these things!

What happens when this modern conception of religion meets with global capitalism?

The commodification of spiritual traditions.

The shopping for sacred practices as though one were trying on clothing at a store to find just the right fit, mixing and matching for surface aesthetic expression.

Note that I am not condemning responsible approaches to eclecticism and syncretization here, but I am suggesting that:

a. one cannot easily pull practices from other traditions out of their context without losing something

b. if one’s intent is spiritual advancement and enlightenment it is not very productive to be making a spiritual “map” to somewhere you’ve never been out of pieces of other people’s “maps!”

c. we need to listen to and respect the communities whose traditions we engage with, listening and centering those voices, particularly when those groups are historically oppressed.

This obviously brings us to the controversial subject of cultural appropriation.

Cultural appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of elements of one culture by that of another more dominant culture. This IS a real problem and issue that needs to be addressed in our community.

The arguments that have arisen on social media because of this subject, however, have risen to ridiculous and often disgusting levels. These arguments rely on poor understanding of the subjects in question and on individualist attempts at policing others behavior resulting in people simply digging their heels in when what is needed here is collective consensus building and encouragement towards individual introspection and learning on the topics.

Having seen far too often mainly well-meaning white liberals failing as often as conservatives when discussing these topics, I believe if you:

a. cannot define cultural appropriation or recognize that consensual cultural diffusion also
occurs inevitably when cultures contact and that such sharing is good,

b. do not understand the subjects you are attempting to police

c. are attempting to police a subject about which there is no general consensus

d. doesn’t understand the difference between open, closed and partially closed practices (it’s not always just an on/off switch)

…you’re not going to be a particularly good ally to oppressed groups on these subjects and are going to do more harm than good.

Defining what is appropriative is, as I said, a matter of collective consensus building and that work is mostly to be done by oppressed groups themselves in conjunction with the best scholars available on the subjects, not relying on the whims of random individuals on the internet.

So, let’s examine some of the key issues where Luciferians could do better.

When it comes to appropriation there are two big areas where several prominent Luciferian figures are in problematic territory or could be accused of it: the misuse of eastern mystical traditions and in the relationship between Luciferianism and Judaism.

First, let’s talk about the relationship between Luciferianism and various forms of eastern spirituality. I think the biggest area to focus on here is Tantra. Far too many Luciferian writers blend and take from Tantric tradition irresponsibly. Or, rather, they try to, as much of what they are pulling from is not even authentic Tantra, its neo-tantra, which is a sexualized, westernized mix of Tantric ideas, yoga, and New Age thinking. One can easily tell this by the complete lack of lineage in such writers work, their repurposing of the 7-chakra system.

Actual Tantra, depending on whether it is Buddhist, Hindu and on what lineage can have anywhere from 5 to 14 major chakras, the 7-chakra system comes from classical yoga and first gained prominence from a text from 1577.

See scholar/practitioner Chris Wallis (Trika/Krama lineage of Saivite Tantra) discussing this:
https://hareesh.org/blog/2016/2/5/the-real-story-on-the-chakras.

It had nothing to do with snakes or dragons originally, Wallis discusses the history of kundalini here: https://hareesh.org/blog/2022/1/31/the-real-story-on-kundalini

You can see this kind of poor understanding clearly in the systems of the Dragon Rouge and Temple of Ascending Flame as well as the writing of Michael W. Ford who goes further and creates the even more absurd “Ahrimanic Yoga” as if stealing from India wasn’t enough, Iran had to get ripped off too! Not surprisingly, fraud E. A. Koetting is guilty here as well.

The misinformation and ignorance just keeps getting worse as evidenced by so called “chakra removal” being pushed by some internet personalities.

Now, there is particularly good reason Luciferian inclined people are attracted to Tantric practice and I encourage respectful study and engagement with it.

There are parallels in thinking, and the practices of Tantra complement Luciferian practice extremely well, but I think there’s a responsible way of doing this. One can practice as a dual observance: pick a lineage, learn from a qualified teacher and if you are serious get properly initiated, do not syncretize these traditions at all unless you are advanced in both traditions, and always give credit to the actual sources of these teachings and practices.

I think we should also drop the use of the term “Left Hand Path” and the use of eastern terminology in general to describe Luciferianism.

The use of the term Left Hand has been annihilated in western usage from Blavatsky to everyone after her repeating it.

I used to think the solution was to simply push people to use it correctly and responsibly and if you know its actual meaning and use more power to ya but most don’t, and the damage is done, and I don’t think the term is needed anyway. There’s no reason to borrow a term we don’t need or understand from another culture….unless we’re trying to sound exotic and authoritative.

Second, let’s start examining the relationship between Judaism and Luciferianism. Let’s start by being honest as to the origins of Luciferianism as a spiritual tradition: it grows primarily out of resistance to an oppressive church hierarchy, inside a Christian cultural context that it cannot be simply separated from. It makes sense and is valid within that context and it is valid in its interpretation of its myths.

Judaism as well is valid and makes sense within the historical and cultural context in which it grew. Jewish people are not “wrong” in interpreting their scriptures the way they do. We should be aiming for mutual respect. Just because groups disagree doesn’t mean either is “wrong.” If you cannot intelligently discuss the differences between Christianity and Jewish interpretations of their scriptures you have no business condemning them and given that Jewish spirituality and Jewish culture and ethnicity cannot be easily separated you can easily stray into antisemitic territory.

Be very careful.

If you demonize the Jewish god you are easily heading into antisemitic territory. It’s a very easy step to go from demonizing a deity to demonizing those who worship it. Do not do that. Make a clear distinction between the god of the oppressive church that you actually oppose and respect other progressive interpretations in other faiths.

Luciferianism is heavily influenced by Gnostic ideas and again, one needs to be careful here and I encourage those who want to honor those influences take a more Valentinian approach to interpreting the Demiurge. One where the material creator is seen as an important and necessary part of the creation process. Not necessarily morally “good” but not inherently
“evil” either. There is again far too much of this problem in established writers and groups, again Michael W. Ford comes to mind and is all the worse for his early fascist ties via the Order of Nine Angles, and again E.A. Koetting for much the same.

See:

https://mythoughtsbornfromfire.wordpress.com/2021/08/07/we-need-to-talk-about-e-a-koetting-and-
also-michael-w-ford/

The various anti-cosmic trends within Luciferianism/Satanism, such as all those descended from Current 218 and the Temple of Black Light, are also guilty of such demonization.

Now, given that Luciferianism grows from a Christian cultural context, and one that reinterprets the myths of an oppressive church system, it inherently shares heritage with Christianity even as it reacts to it, and again given that Christianity has a great deal of Jewish originating concepts, scriptures and practices, Luciferianism does too.

The history of Christian and Jewish interaction and determining what has been freely shared and what has been egregiously appropriated by Europeans, is a mess to say the least; there’s probably many areas we will never know for sure. Again, I have heard several poorly understood claims being made here as well. I have heard Luciferians (and Satanists and other witches) should not work with Goetic demons, should not engage with Lilith, should not engage with Hermetic Qabalah, that these are all part of Jewish closed practice or are appropriated. Based on my understanding and study I strongly disagree.

The idea that only Jewish people should work with Goetia ignores the strongly Christian context of much of that material and the ultimately Greek roots of much of that practice in the Greek Magical Papyri and it dangerously reiterates the antisemitic trope that Jewish people are Satanic demon worshipers.

The idea that only Jewish people should work with Lilith fails to understand that she was already a part of Christian demonology long before Luciferians showed up. She can actually be found as early as the “Mirror of Lilith” rite described in the Munich Handbook of Necromancy explored in Richard Kieckhefer’s “Forbidden Rites.”

Although she may share a name we are not even talking about the same entity.

She is not some baby stealing monster to us; she is more like a dark and empowered version of the Gnostic Sophia if anything.

Jewish people are 100% valid to interpret their Lilith their way. But ours is valid in our very different context. I will add that while I agree it is totally possible to appropriate specific practices and teachings, the idea that anyone, individually or as a group, can own a sentient being, as spirits of most sorts are generally considered to be, seems profoundly unethical. Spirits and deities, much like humans, are not commodities, they are not intellectual property anyone can copyright. It is bizarre to me that people would treat spiritual beings so disrespectfully.

Finally, Hermetic Qabalah.

There are 3 different systems that need to be distinguished here.

There is the original Jewish Kabbalah, which is its own complete system specific to Judaism.

There is Christian Cabala, which is a pretty clear example of disgusting appropriation: created by the church to convert Jewish people to Christianity!

There is finally Hermetic Qabalah, a separate system produced in the Renaissance that shares some structures and names with the Jewish version but is heavily syncretized with Hermeticism, alchemy, astrology, Christian mysticism, and pre-Christian polytheism.

This system is foundational to most of the western occult and New Age. It is in every Rider Waite influenced Tarot Deck, it is the foundation of most of the Golden Dawn and Thelema and every tradition derived from or influenced by them. It is quite removed from the Jewish Kabbalah not merely in theory but practice. Luciferianism has again its own way of interpreting the Hermetic Qabalistic system which is, yet another step removed. As I said it is often difficult to even determine what was shared or appropriated from the period of development in question, so it is impossible to conceive how a system unrecognizable in its many differences and so far removed remains an example of problematic appropriation.

But what Luciferians can do here is give respect and credit to the roots of where this material came from.

Further, there is often not even a consensus within the Jewish community on these particular subjects.

There are Jewish witches and Luciferians of Jewish descent right now who work with all of these things and maintain they are not closed. Even views on the nature of Lilith within Judaism are not settled with Jewish feminists such as Judith Plaskow having established alternate interpretations of her.

So, I think it’s clear by now everyone needs to stay away from blanket statements in regards to spiritual practices and the people who practice them.

One thing Luciferians and occultists in general can do to respect Jewish culture is not use the Tetragrammaton in their rites. Don’t pronounce it, don’t spell it out. Yahweh and Jehovah and YHVH aren’t any better. So, remove them from any magick circles or incantations.

Generally, replace with Adonai or the word Tetragrammaton itself if you must refer to this being.

As Luciferians we have a lot of work to do in our community, there is far too little accountability, far too much misinformation, and far too much colonizer mindsets.

My hope that articles like this can help to start necessary hard conversations and self-examination for us all, myself included.

Confronting these things means taking a hard look inward as much around one.

It’s uncomfortable but all growth is and there is no liberation without growth.

And we are Luciferians, liberation is our calling.

THE DARK MOTHER: Lessons from Lilith

Drepina 2

Image: Natalia Drepina

“I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.”

George R.R. Martin

As I wrote in a recent blog I have been noticing a trend of the Dark Goddess calling to, and appearing for many people; it seems that as our world has plummeted into times of uncertainty and darkness, so has the collective conscious and unconscious; there to greet us is Mother.

We are in Her domain now.

At first, I was unsure how I felt about the Dark Goddess, in all Her forms, particularly Lilith, becoming trends—more and more I would see articles about firsthand experiences with Her; Witches and Mystics were finally opening up and telling their stories and sharing their lessons learned from the Dark Mother.

Conversely, I also saw a plethora of historical texts that vilify Her making the rounds, as well.

Is it at all shocking that a Woman who chose Her own path, showed strength and fought for individual sovereignty has been dragged through the mud?

Is it surprising that she is so misunderstood, and even those who choose to walk Her path are demonized, too?

What is it about this primordial energy that draws people in? Why are some terrified, and others fascinated? Why are people, especially (most importantly) Women finding resonance with Her?

What IS all the hype about?

Well, to put it bluntly, the world is full of angry Women, and the people who love them.

The days where the patriarchy rules, and Women are treated as second-class citizens are coming to an end; I know that it seems like it’s getting worse, and in some ways, it is—but it must get worse before it can get better.

There must be a catalyst; that catalyst must affect a lot of people so that the Revolution can gain momentum.

And, a Revolution is coming.

The Divine Feminine is taking Her power back.

The Divine Masculine is taking His power back.

We are taking our power back.

Monotheism, and the divisive tactics of “the system” are being destroyed—piece by piece, layer by layer.

So, what is She?

Who is She?

A Sex Goddess?

A Daemon?

A Sacred Whore?

A Monster?

A Mother?

A Succubus?

A Serpent?

She is all of this and so much more.

Lilith is everything that is wild and carnal within us.

She represents uninhibited sexual energy.

She is unapologetic rage.

She is the Womb of the Dragon—the spark of Creation.

She is the epitome of rebellion.

She is both apple and Serpent.

She is the Dark Mother who teaches us tough, hard lessons.

She is the personification of Shadow work.

She is every Woman.

And every Woman is Her.

The more Women and other groups of marginalized people are blatantly beaten into submission, the more power it gives to these Dark Divine Feminine energies, like Lilith.

These are the deities, and energies who refuse to accept oppression of any kind.

They are Dark Goddesses such as Hekate, Kali, Morrigan, Brigid, Hel, Baba Yaga, Aradia, Isis, Persephone, and Ereshkigal; they are rising from their dark abodes and daring us to jump into the Abyss.

Asking us to trust our senses as we navigate our way through darkness, the underworld and the unknown.

They are teaching us to fight, to have a warrior mentality, and to rely solely on Self.

The Dark Divine Feminine lives in all of us—regardless of gender but She is awakening rapidly inside of Women and THAT is the key.

When that Divine spark is ignited inside us, a door opens and there to meet us is our Magick; this is a huge reason why religion and monotheism are dying (I don’t necessarily think religion is the problem, as I have said in the past).

People are sick and tired of being told how to live, love and believe based on words written thousands of years ago that have no real-world application today. I would go so far as to argue that they never had any real-world application to begin with.

Lilith teaches us to submit to no one, to live on our terms, and to be free in our wildness.

She is not for the faint of heart and asks a lot of those who answer Her calls but, it’s worth it.

Every single moment spent in Her darkness is worth it.

Every single drop of blood, sweat, and tears have purpose.

So, if you can’t handle that, then ask yourself what are you doing on this path?

Articles for further study:

http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/lilith-ancient-demon-dark-deity-or-sex-goddess-005908

http://thegoddesscircle.net/dark-goddess-magick/

Tales From the Nightside: The Draconian Path

Dragon

Image: Sima Domke

“If the sky could dream, it would dream of dragons.”

Ilona Andrews

If you walk the Left Hand Path, either as a Theist or an Atheist, you have had encounters with the Dragon or Archetype. There are few things synonymous with our path but the Dragon, Serpent, Great Mighty Sea Beast (all one in the same, really) seem to be the top contenders.

Whether it is a metaphorical process of death and rebirth as the Ouroboros (Uroboros) suggests, or the shedding of skin aka accepting change via the Serpent metaphor; the Dragon is the epitome of what it means to walk this path.

Throughout history there have been depictions, stories, and great tales from the likes of Tiamat in Baylonian/Sumerian Mythology; Nidhogg (Nidhoggr) and Jormungondr in Norse Mythology; Leviathan and Her consort Behemoth in Hebrew mythology, though many suggest that Her origins are from the Canaanite Sea Beast, Lôtān or Litānu. Python in Greek Mythology; Apep in Egyptian Mythology, just to name a few. We then of course have the depiction of the Dragon as the Serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.

I find it interesting that Leviathan is mentioned as a female in the Book of Enoch:

‘And that day will two monsters be parted, one monster, a female named Leviathan in order to dwell in the Abyss of the ocean over the fountains of water; and (the other), a male called Behemoth, which holds his chest in an invisible desert whose name is Dundayin, east of the garden of Eden.’

1 Enoch 60:7-8

I also find it interesting that Tiamat is described as “a primordial Goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the God of fresh water) to produce younger Gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation, depicted as a woman, she represents the beauty of the feminine, depicted as the glistening one. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is a creator goddess, through a “Sacred marriage” between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second “Chaoskampf” Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos. Some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.”

In all the other stories the Dragon is associated with strong masculine energy, and Satan but could it be that the Dragon really is a female? Only a female can birth beings into creation, and if we adopt the ideology that we come from the great Void aka the Womb of the Dragon, it surely must be a She.

Before I get into that, let me first explain what it means to walk the path of the Dragon.

Like the serpent is sure to coil, our path is sure to be crooked; there is nothing that is going to be handed to us, and answers will not come easily. This is not a path for the faint of heart, or those who seek instant gratification. The Left Hand Path is a path of battling self, going against the status quo; this is a path of searching, of pain, and endless leaps into the Abyss where we go to molt, shed our skin, and come out a better version of ourselves– a stronger, more aware, and enlightened version.

The Dragon shows us how to be an element of our own, and reminds us of the Chaos that was necessary for our birth. Not only did a star have to die for us to come into existence but the act of sex, the moment of orgasm, the very second when the sperm meets the egg, are all moments of sheer Chaos: beautiful, Divine, creation.

The Dragon is an unforgiving force but one of freedom, and individuality; She grants us permission to be exactly who we were created to be.

The Dragon is in all of us because we all come from Her Womb, but children or not, Her natural instinct is undeniable, She will devour us all the same. We must face our own inner Dragon, or surely the Beast’s true nature will turn on us.

Now that I have said my piece, let me give you some information for your reading pleasure.

For Jung the Dragon is “the personification of Sulphur and is by far the male element. Since the dragon is said to impregnate himself by swallowing his tail, then the tail is the male organ and the mouth is the female organ.  The winged dragon represents personal obstacles that must be overcome to insure a more-perfect being; thus, leading to the saying: “You conquer the dragon or he will conquer you.”  We see that Jung did, certainly, inspire awareness of the connections between modern psychology and ancient spiritual practice.  Some credit the Chinese as the inventors of dragon. The origins of dragon lore are a matter of some debate. It is known that at least as far back as 300 BCE, some bones of prehistoric animals were labeled as coming from dragons. In Christianity the dragon is generally a symbol of evil, a demon or the devil. The most famous Christian legend is that of St. George slaying the dragon. “

If you notice how the Sulphur symbol (pictured) resembles the male sex organ. The Ouroboros (also pictured) as noted above is said to impregnate himself by swallowing his own tail. We know this metaphor today to be the idea of life/death/rebirth, repeat.

Fun Fact: The word Ouroboros comes from Oura meaning “tail” and boros meaning “eating”, thus “he who eats the tail”. Some translations have noted it to mean “tail devourer”.

Leviathan Ouroboros

Jung not only associated the Dragon with the collective unconscious, creation itself and overcoming obstacles, he associated it with the Hero Archetype, and the need to rescue the Feminine:

“In the fight with the dragon the hero battles the regressive forces of the unconscious which threaten to swallow the individuating ego. The forces, personified in figures like Circe, Kali, medusa, sea serpents, Minotaur, or Gorgon, represent the Terrible side of the Great Mother. The Hero may voluntarily submit to being swallowed by the monster, or to a conscious descent into Hades so as to vanquish the forces of darkness. This mortifying descent into the abyss, the sea, the dark cave, or the underworld in order to be reborn to a new identity expresses the symbolism of the night-sea journey through the uterine belly of the monster. It is a fundamental theme in mythology the world over — that of death and rebirth. All initiatory rituals involve this basic archetypal pattern through which the old order and early infantile attachments must die and a more mature and productive life be born in their place.

“The mythological goal of the dragon fight is almost always the virgin, the captive, or more generally, the ‘treasure hard to attain.’ This image of the vulnerable, beautiful, and enchanting woman, guarded by and captive of a menacing monster gives us a picture of the inner core of the personality and its surrounding defenses. The hero’s task is to rescue the maiden from the grasp of the monster and, ultimately, to marry her and establish his kingdom with her. This dragon fight and liberation of the captive is the archetypal pattern that can guide us through those major transitional passages in our personal development where a rebirth or reorientation of consciousness is indicated. The captive represents the ‘new’ element whose liberation makes all further development possible.

“In response to the call the hero undertakes a journey, usually a dangerous journey to an unknown region full of both promise and danger. Often the journey is a descent. Sometimes, as with Jonah, Aeneas, Christ, and Psyche, it is a descent into the depths — the sea, the underworld, or Hades itself. Always there is a perilous crossing. Sometimes the faintheartedness of the hero is balanced by the appearance of guardians or helpful animals that enable the hero to perform the superhuman task that cannot be accomplished unaided. These helpful forces are representatives of the psychic totality that supports the ego in its struggle. They bear witness to the fact that the essential function of the hero myth is the development of the individual’s true personality.”

Regardless of how you view the Dragon, or what experiences you have had, it is clear that the Dragon in all Her forms has made a mark in history among every culture, and that is something that cannot be denied. Her story has been demonized, but we owe everything to Her primordial Chaos; the great Void, the Womb of Darkness, the Great Mother Herself.

For we are nothing without Her.

“I say unto you: one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. I say unto you: you still have chaos in yourselves. Alas, the time is coming when man will no longer give birth to a star.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

In Nomine Draconis!

Sources, and Further Resources:

http://stottilien.com/2012/06/03/the-symbol-of-serpent-and-dragon-an-jungian-view/

http://www.cgjungny.org/d/d_mythpsyche.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

http://www.crystalinks.com/ouroboros.html

http://www.tokenrock.com/explain-ouroboros-70.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiamat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(mythology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6rmungandr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%AD%C3%B0h%C3%B6ggr