#david beth

Gov. Tony Evers: 608.266.1212

Police and Fire Commission: 262.653.4135

the genocidal language used by the sheriff in this video should be illuminating for the left.

to a lot of hard right authoritarians like him, crime exists because some people are just bad. the only way to deal with bad people in their minds is to either "kill em all" or to "warehouse" an entire generation of black men until they die off, whereupon they can start fresh again with the "good" people like how it was back When America Was Great.

this is a fundamental view for millions, in this country and all over the world. cops, C.O.s, many lawyers, judges and politicians subscribe to that mindset in varying degrees - most will not accept the idea that crime is the inevitable result of structural inequalities, cruel poverty and racism inherent in our society.

dealing with those issues directly is not on the table for them. that's why they will never understand the concept of defunding the police, building universal mental health and welfare programs or abolishing the prison system. many well-meaning but essentially ignorant liberals/moderates are complicit in this - they are totally willing to allow police and the prison system hide social ills from view.

"Underworld" The Sepulcher Society

Necromancy was my first love in magic, the first few steps of my path made of cemetery headstones, shadows, and a collection of graveyard dirt. A ghoulish youth spent daydreaming of decay and decadence.

Yet while the term necromancy has been long used to describe much of the magic that relates to the dead, very little practical information has existed giving the would be student a proper introduction to the cultural practices associated with the reverence of, and communication with, the deceased.

In "Underworld", a fascinating look at necromantic cultural practices throughout the world, we are given a set of pantheons and the outline of their death practices. Babylonian, Germanic, Greco-Roman, Celtic, Vedic, and Aztec deities are all discussed and include examples of rituals and offerings common in each culture.

Curiously, while the work is credited to "The Sepulcher Society" it is written from a rather matter of fact first person perspective. The writing style is friendly, without the kind of wordy overly philosophical concepts one tends to find in contemporary occult writing.

"Underworld" approaches at a distance the concept of the "otherworld" and its role in these various cultures. This other side of the hedge/beyond the veil realm is something being more and more referred to as the "other" in contemporary occult literature. One begins to almost see a vocabulary emerging to deal with the broader term most generally referred to as "landscape magic."

The author attempts to give form to ideas of a cross cultural similarity between practices and deities within the various religious frameworks presented. While I generally eschewed the kind of =/= perspective that the author promotes within the text, being myself fully aware that entities that although similar culturally are not necessarily equal and that similarities tend to say more about the structure of human thinking than our perceptive abilities in the beyond, I feel that it is important for the student to realize these patterns in order that they may proceed in any necromantic path.

"Underworld" provides a system of exploration into the darkside of occult necromantic practice. Outlining rituals and explaining their content in an accessible way, leaving it to the student to fill in the personal details of one's cosmological framework. It is a shame, given editor David Beth's knowledge of the subject, that the book doesn't touch on African traditions of death, perhaps in a future Sepulcher Society volume?

Of the offerings commonly mentioned in "Underworld" is the offering of blood. In most cases the author seems to suggest it is the necromancer's blood on offer, but it is not always clear. Blood sacrifice of any kind, in my opinion, must be centered on a carefully crafted relationship with any entity; shade or deity alike. To offer one's blood to a spirit is the ultimate gift, and while practical necromancy can demand it for successful operations there should still be a level of consideration in terms of the trust and bond with the spirit to whom one is supplicating.

The book is beautifully bound in fine black cloth and gold stamping to the spine and front cover. Delicately coloured opalescent white endpapers and well rendered illustrations fit into a wonderfully typeset edition well worth having, particularly for the student of necromancy.

For those who would seek to explore the growing field of necromantic magic, who are looking to craft a practice that is personalized and devoid of the claptrap of cultural upbringing and who are attempting to reach the chthonic deities of history the "Underworld" is an incredibly fine place to start.

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"The Faceless God" Tomas Vincente

I am a lifelong fan of H.P Lovecraft. His work resonates at every age of my life with the abject horror of living. His words continue to inspire after dozens of rereads, coming onto a century after they were first written down.

Yet as an occultist I have always been skeptical of those who would tie Lovecraft's creations into some historic narrative of occult knowledge. Were Lovecraft's words inspired? Of course, but were they the profound understanding of an occultist? Not in any way. Attempts by Kenneth Grant and his lessers to make something more of Lovecraft's dream visions have always brought little more than a raised eyebrow of my notice. To each their own, I guess, but not much for me.

Tomas Vincente has done something to be commended for in his volume "The Faceless God." He has taken the myth of Lovecraft's creations as the lingua franca for a framework of understanding that spans ancient Egyptian ritual, European witchcraft traditions and the Aeonic current of Kosmic Gnosis to tell a tale of shamanism, taboo, ecstasy and dark otherness.

At the center of this cultus resides a messianic figure from Lovecraft's mythos - Nyarlathotep, both a messenger for and a manifestation of that great Crawling Chaos at the center of the universe, the 'blind idiot god' Azathoth. Woven into streams from that Abyss are the Black Man sabbath figure, the dark Pharaoh God Anubis, and the Devil Atu. Vincente provides the reader with a fascinating concept for the manifestation of a personal magical praxis.

"We oscillate between these contradictory extremes of escapist transdendence and bestial immanence because the rational development of our species has alienated us from the primal and instinctual ground of our being." - Dr Tomas Vincente, The Faceless God

Each of the five chapters lays out a well documented case for the manifestation of the Nyarlathotep complete with a set of rituals to perform in the path of this dark cultus. Vinente describes an underlying form of archetypal shamanistic veneration at the heart of the Middle Kingdom Egyptian practices that is a parallel to the tantric Bon practices of the pre Buddhist Tibetan people and the accusations pointed toward Inquisitorial victims.

In particular "The Faceless God" addresses the importance of taboo and the forbidden practices of necrophagia, incest, and coprophilia in the initiatory context. Flipping the perspective on academically accepted allegations of "blood libel" by the church toward minority victims of the Inquisition to see the possible function that these taboo practices would have held to the initiate of an ecstatic cult.

Witches’ Sabbath (Detail image from The Faceless God by Mitchell Nolte, (c)2016, Theion)

Vincente uses gematria, both Greek and Hebrew, to derive some of the basis for his integration of Lovecraftian concepts into his Sabbatic Cultus. He accepts that Grant, et al, are often flawed both in their kabbalah and their gematria. Yet he makes a solid case for the use of this now well know literary icon, Nyarlathotep as a manifestation of those archetypes which have so long held influence over the mysteries.

The volume itself is beautifully bound in black cloth with a large gold stamp to the front and text to the spine. Wide margins, high quality paper, and extensive footnotes make this edition especially nice. Published by David Beth's Theion Publishing the influence of Beth's work is felt throughout. A stunning read for those who've an interest in the dark side of kabbalah, Lovecraftian magic, and the Kosmic Gnostic Aeonic current.

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The Benighted Path Richard Gavin

There is an illimitable darkness that resides both deep within us, and in the space outside of the biosphere of earth. A current of shadow that leads to an ecstatic revelry, a potent transfiguration of self via the overwhelming power of awe and terror.

While Richard Gavin is best known as an author of occult horror "The Benighted Path" represents a work of philosophical occult inquiry into the nature of this Dark Way. He guides us along that shimmering and shapeshifting path, outlining its presence in world culture's along the way. From Nordic shamanism to Hindu Tantra, English witchcraft to Haitian Vodou, Egyptian magic to Kenneth Grant, Gavin delves into a wide range of pools from which the Benighted Path springs.

It is a complex work, the Benighted Path, one that addresses that shadow realm with an awareness that is ingrained. It finds itself along the way outlining a practice of sorts. The formulae given away embedded within the narrative, a folklore of Blood Lamps, Haunted Wood, and Primeval Nights whispered in that absolute darkness of self initiation.

Gavin guides us through that archetype of descent, the Katabasis, like Virgil leading Dante through the dark corridors of Hell, Odysseus' journey to the land of the dead, or Gilgamesh's descent into the underworld, Gavin is our psychopomp in the shadow realms. Burning with that illuminated verdant anti-light he takes us on a journey that is both personal and comprehensive.

There is a strong influence in the Benighted Path of its editor David Beth, co-owner with Jessica Grote of Theion Publishing, who have released this exceptional volume. The work makes reference both directly and indirectly to Beth's work Voudon Gnosis and is informed by his similar love of the work of German philosopher Ludwig Klages and his concept of Night Consciousness.

The power of the Benighted Path, and where its true knowledge lies, is in its ability to not just address but to delve into the importance of fear, terror and awe as they relate to the practice of the Dark Way. I have often said that if you are walking the Left Hand Path and not scared shitless you are doing it wrong.

My one disappointment in the narrative of the work is that it doesn't address more fully the role that taboo plays in self-initiation and the Dark Way. It brushes right up against the concept of taboo but then moves on without giving it full consideration. Taboo, facing those things which one personally finds repulsive (through instinct or cultural training) is an immeasurably important part of the work of those who walk in darkness.

The book itself is an incredibly beautiful binding. A kind of shimmering red cloth that on inspection shows the lightest pattern of a dark blue hidden in the fabric. Inset with historic black and white illustrations it was also released in an ultra rare "Auric Edition" bound in black leather with a slipcase in an edition of 70 (including an extra page with a conjuration of the daemonic Mara and the seal of the Night-Mare Gnosis), for which I can only dream as a bibliophile, as it is long sold out.

The Benighted Path is a book for those who seek to understand the darkness they were born to. A guidebook for those who have no choice but to live in the shadows, and wish to understand more fully this realm of darkness. It is a handbook for the children of the night.

Get it at Theion Publishing.

Cover to David Beth’s Voudon Gnosis (artist unknown, 2010).