The avoidance of Pain is a prime motivator. As is the gaining of Pleasure. Yet these twin forces (Pain and Pleasure) are not equal in terms such as Honor. The gaining of pleasure is often associated with a hedonistic and slothful pursuit and outcome.
Both Pain and Pleasure are tools to be used by the Insidious Operator. All the while understanding that these tools are a weapon and a prison.. The Insidious Operator wields that blade to let-blood from himself or to inflict and receive flow from a target. The Insidious Operator can create a Prison for an enemy or himself. The only difference between your home and a prison is which side of the door the lock is on.
The avoidance of Pain is natural to the mundane. Yet to the Slyman, he recognizes that Pain is a necessity in all creation. To quote Herman Hesse’s Demian,”The bird fights it’s way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world.”
Those of us who are Dark Horses are driven by our Insidious Nature to create, build, sustain and destroy systems and worlds. For our pleasure and pain, for and of ourselves, for the pleasure and pain of others, for and of themselves.
Pain for the Slyman is not a weakness, it is a state to be tolerated and adapted to. Much like a man who has built an immunity to a poison or venom. The development of a pain threshold is an asset, not a liability. An example. If you know how to swim and an enemy does not, he may feel comfortable in the shallow end of the pool where he can measure and feel the depth of the water. But you, who are able to swim and do not fear the deep, because you’ve been there before, can drag that enemy into the unknown.
Understanding, repetition and experience build competency. Ignorance, infrequency and inexperience build incompetency. Pain is a Teacher, learn from it, use it, create with it or destroy.
Pleasure and the temptation of, is a great influencer. How many have fallen in pursuit of Pleasure? Pleasure, like Pain, is equal in it’s depth. For example there is great Honor in society by preserving the ignorance on the depths of Pain and Pleasure. And there is a great dishonor in illuminating the same.
But what say we? We who are Insidiously Inclined? Do we drag the mundane into deep waters? Do we preserve and protect those with potential? Are we to be Prophets, Priests and Saviors? Liars, Deceivers and Destroyers?
Pain and Pleasure, inflict, reject or receive. The choice is yours, as long as you achieve.
~ Dread Zod
Category: Koryos (War)
The Forge of Doubt
The current trend in Western culture is one that raises up individuality and uniqueness. It seems like everyone is chasing attractiveness and status. There are millions and millions of would-be social influencers. As stand alone statements or even when considering them together as a whole concept, these are things that should be applauded and encouraged. Yet, I can’t help but make note of the lack of consistency and the obvious facades.
A close friend of mine, regularly points to this phenomenon and scowls at it. He’s right to do so. The only flaw that I can find in his analysis, isn’t really an argument against his disgust. You see, I agree with him that the internet is where people go to pretend to be anyone they want. The flaw is that he has limited the scope of his judgement too narrowly. Turns out people are fraudulent by-in-large.
This is not to say, that there aren’t genuine people. I think some genuine people can at times, find themselves being disingenuous. This isn’t really any shocking new observation. However, this is a form of corruption. A corruption that seems to seep deeper and deeper into the collective consciousness. It is not anything new or novel that this “fakeness” is prevalent in the masses. We’ve simply added a few new layers on top of it.
When I consider this in contrast, I’m not surprised to find this rampantly existing, even in self-professed satanists. The internet removes a layer of accountability. Accountability is an idea that has long been eroding and rotting. Anton LaVey was writing about it in the 60’s. Accountability is often framed to be “an owning of your wrong doing”, but that doesn’t really seem to encompass its proper apprehension. What is really being put forth is, an honesty to self. A personal sincerity, void of delusions without intention.
When I was young, I often pondered the stark consistency of LaVey’s philosophy and his character. Old Howie’s detractors often point to all of LaVey’s lavish deceptions. From plagiarism to the embellished and sometimes completely fictitious stories of his past. Certainly there’s no accountability, right? I have to disagree. I find it completely consistent.
A man with a fake name. Telling embellished or possibly false stories. Pushing a meant-to-be sensational “religion” of the secular and rebellious. Charging a membership fee for a “church” against all churches. All while grifting the grifters. Watching those old videos of ritual and ceremony and even the many television interviews, there can be seen a twinkle in the corner of his eye. After all, the devil is a gentlemen, in the words of Shakespeare.
You can see it, simply by observing. There’s a consistency in him. A playful deviance, if you will. A harmony between word and deed. Should he be a liar, then let his lies be bold and outlandish. We then find an inner-resonance of self honesty to balance against it. With the mind of Lucifer, a carefully crafted deception was made to inspire doubt.
LaVey was a proponent of doubt as being paramount to truth. Doubt, the emancipator of minds, bearing the sword of unbridled wisdom. If this is a war for the eternal souls of men, then doubt is the great equalizer. A great many will ask themselves, “Is this a hill worth dying on”.
We are left in contemplation. Are we pretending or is this truly who we are. Is there a consistency between our words and deeds? We realize that, no matter how fortified the castle is; if it’s built on a mountain of sand, it takes but a wave to wash it from the shore.
Live Deliberately!
-Dread Beast Xeno
Devilry – A Revival of Traditional Satanism
Shakespeare said “Hell is empty and all the devils are here”. I believe, nothing knows the depths of evil better than people. As I see it, none can know the artistry of a painting better than its creator. There is a place that artists live in during our rituals of creation. Let’s call it a dimension of infinite potentiality; a realm in which, the artist contrasts the shadows from its highlights. As the artist assigns the values, a pattern appears.
This means that what is permitted is brought forward and what is forbidden is driven deep into absence; outcasted. An image formed with perfection in mind. Yet the scope of the creation’s beauty is magnified when you begin to contemplate what is intentionally removed. If this creation was composed of words and ideas the consideration of what is preference would become antithetical. Creating a dynamic challenge between them.
Since people are the authors of evils, they portray them with an image of perfection. Creating the contrast between permissible and forbidden. Thus the permissive, through popular sentiment and aesthetic preference, becomes orthodoxy. Ulteriorly that which is taboo or forbidden takes up the form of heresy.
With the purpose of not dragging the analogy out further than necessary; no uniformed interpretation of art can be embraced by all. Each artist calls forth selected qualities within their works. The subtle and sometimes stark heresies give rise to variants of beauty in popular culture. As a particular culture is defined by its creative manifestation and palettes of taste; there becomes a clear ideology of what is deemed ugly, undesirable, and ultimately labeled evil. Hold in mind that art needs it’s critics.
The Devil Within Us:
There’s is an old dichotomy debated within the diabolic circles. It is the born-versus-made contention. The prior sees that one either possesses innate qualities of devilry, including latently, or one doesn’t. Whereas the former only strikes a subtle deviation, concluding that all hold this as a potential predisposition to the diabolic. I find myself, in agreement that we are born.
My certainty comes with the recognition of the sheep flocking behind every would be shepard. The moving from one grassy knoll to the next is akin to the effortless way the branches of the trees sway in the moderate wind. People are truly like that, so many sleepwalkers, so little presence of true self-awareness. To stand back and observe it; you begin to see the magnificent symphony as it’s conductor manifests. Suddenly the recognition of separateness unveils an awareness sometimes acute but persistent.
This first shock, this “revelation” is a momentary awakening. From within, the shadow finds itself alerted. Much like a sharp note within a scale. Through this comes a realization that you are not as flaccid and bendable as has been witnessed. Clearly your sense of composure clashes. It is at the moment, that we pick up “our brush” in an effort to make a better work, that we encroach the profane.
From that point forward, we become the critic. It is precisely the formation of alternative values and objective criticism which leads to offense among the indoctrinated sleepers. The heavier the critique, the harder they’ll rail against it. Sleepers, by in large, don’t want to be awakened, and the very existence of something that could potentially disturb them is unnerving.
In nature, it’s not uncommon to see indifference to those triggers from one species to another as they continue along the way. It is more common though, to see a species take advantage and use it to ensnare it’s prey. Without conscience acknowledgement of otherness. Thus the born argument is affirmed.
The Infernal Eminence:
Let us now examine the most prominent characteristics of the diabolic. These are fiercely inscribed upon the heart of, and dare I say, ingrained within the souls of the horde. Non Serviam, there can be no surrender. The Law of the Jungle, while usually this is phrased as “survival of the fittest”; that is a misstep in understanding. This isn’t as true about survival; as it is true about thriving. Domination, no matter the tactics used, is evidenced through strength.
Morior Invictus, I die unvanquished. Nothing is more glorious than the passion of the trumpets echoing the city walls. Excellence is a pursuit worthy of any gambit. Trust and kinship are earned, not given. Loyalty is the fruit of our union through them.
Lex Talionis, what’s taken out must be put back in. There is a caveat though, your word must be your bond. Your accolades and retributions equally swift and exact. The motto, fuck around and find out.
Morality is a house built of flimsy cards, but honour is a brickmade stronghold. The more principled and resolute your conviction to nobility is, the more weight your words and actions will hold. Truth is the black flamed sword thrusting down upon fraud and corruption. Thus from the corpse, we cut away only what is useful. Culling that which is unfit for consumption.
We only have the certainty of one life to which we live. Therefore we must love fully and completely, when we love. We must work hard and relentlessly when we lust, albeit for affection, power, or prowess. No matter the sacrifice required. No matter how large or small the task. Our measure of its worth must be convincing. No permission needed, there’s no apology necessary.
In these times, those more concerned with their own honour than social acceptance, are truly the devils of the today. Stand strong, in the face of demonization and ridicule. Hold fast to your principles and values, as you ride out the raining arrows. If you fall, rub some dirt in it and become a Phoenix. Scorching everything as you rise.
Live Deliberately!
– Dread Xeno
The Matter of Acceptance by Herald Veles (Guest Essay)
“The only thing you can count on is change, so you might as well get used to it.”. This verbal expression or some variation thereof is prevalent, at least in the West, almost universally. Usually those expressing it are doing so in reference to the external world around them. They fail, or refuse rather to consider it is they who are the harbingers of Chaos and change.
The universe was born of Chaos, and through its will humanity was given rise on Earth. Why would one then ignore themselves born of Chaos? Intimately connected to it, even? There are numerous and varied answers, but they may all ring true. Indoctrination into societal or religious morality may be the most prevalent of these answers. Whatever the mundane reason that may be given, the reality is that many are happy to ignore their sinister nature that is the will of Chaos in favor of the blanket of security that comes with conformity.
Humanity assigns artificial concepts of “good” and “evil” to almost everything in this causal world. People and institutions are assigned qualities that carry with them either positive or negative connotations. However in one’s own mind, they know the matter is not so simple. There is no such thing as good and evil, only some combination of both that exist in tandem. Thus is the nature of Chaos and the proof of our acausal ability to psychically connect with it. The shadow self is hidden only to be indulged later as the “mask” is removed, while those qualities that exemplify the “good” are held out for all to see.
What does one do, when they wish to accept that they are in fact just that – both “good” and “evil”. They must first struggle and then accept that their perception has been veiled by man’s willful blindness. To the vigilant Slyman, they will use this to their advantage. For those able to exist in this causal world diligently promoting the “good” qualities society desires, they are able to equally foster their own chaotic will to exert influence around them. Acceptance is a battle and a struggle, one that must be endured for what it is. There will always be moments where one force of Chaos exerts its will over the other, even once acceptance of the sinister has been made.
Once one has acknowledged that they are not two halves but instead a whole, acceptance has been made and liberation from the bounds of humanities moral constraint can begin one down the path of the sinister. Each Slyman must make this decision for themselves, to embrace Chaos is both a daunting and liberating experience. Close your eyes, as winter utters its cold shroud forth find yourself a moment of solitude in the woods after a fresh snow. Listen past the sound of silence, and you very well may find your own acceptance.
-Herald Veles 2022
Special thanks to Herald Veles for tapping the Current of Darkhorse and writing this for us.