From the mailbox:
Lucian writes: “How do I join and become one of you all?”
Well Lucian, thank you for your question. The ‘Devil’s Path’ is broad and wide, and there is room enough for everyone to either follow in the footsteps of others, or to make their own way. It is a pathway of personal discernment. Begin first by spending time in the hedges and edges of society, nature and the world. That is where the silent voice of ‘Satan’ can be heard. It is the voice of dark allure that summons each person to explore their inner self, and realize your own godlike nature.
While you are determining your own path in magic, in devilry, in wherever your own passions lie, seek out the others. The internet is the great mind of humanity, always thinking and communicating to itself. Use that to your constant advantage. But in other words, YOU DO IT YOURSELF.
I do not speak for or represent any group but myself, but there is a great essay written by Magus Peter H. Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan, called The Myth of the ‘Satanic Community’ and other Virtual Delusions, which is a great place to start.
“Satanism is a very unique philosophy, which has spawned an even more unusual movement and an organization, the Church of Satan, which has found a means for facilitating the interaction of a membership comprised of radical individualists. It is, in an apparent paradox that is a ‘third-side synthesis,’ an organization for ‘non-joiners’ Satanists by nature follow their own tastes; they have very uniquely personal systems of values… … Satanism is about centering the world on yourself, meaning knowing yourself as fully as possible…”
By following your own path, study, practice and perfecting your own self, and by putting your best work out there in the world, you will find the others who are like-minded. That is partly why this website exists for ME. It is connecting me and my work to people who are interested in these topics, and adding my own voice to the conversation. Believe me, I WISH there was some secret society whose door I could knock on to learn the secrets of witchcraft and sign my soul away in the Devil’s Book. Nothing comes to us for free. You must put in your own work, and build the community in your own image.
If you are looking for a place to start, take a peek at the books I’ve been reading on the sidebar, and you can also see my entire reading history for the past 5 years or so. I especially recommend Liber Null & Psychonaut , Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts, or The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic to start with.
Yours Sincerely,