Reality is the only word in the English language that should always be used in quotes.

~ Anonymous

I.

Self-Remembering

I can still recall my first encounters with Self-Remembering. By that I mean those initial attempts to practice it, as study alone yields precious little. Trying to be aware of myself as I spoke to people threw me off, as if my train of thought was derailed by even greater thoughts intruding upon my organic threshold. I would be looking at me, as well as, all my various ‘I’s from outside. That impression by itself was life altering! A feeling came over me like the world had suddenly been turned upside down. I remember thinking, ‘This can’t be right’. I should be able to focus better while remembering myself – not worse! Going a step further, I felt as though I should be more comfortable in my own skin rather than alienated by it.

However, my focus and sense of self were disrupted by those moments of Self-Remembering; good thing, too, because I was focusing on the wrong things, my attention was held captive by illusion more often than not. You see, I took this world as real and based my interpretation upon a foundation of errors – the greatest of which was that I had any degree of control over my own thoughts, feelings, and actions.

As time passed, Self-Remembering not only created a much needed disruption… it also extended my attention, which meant that I was able to go deeper. My strange new consciousness explored depths which ordinary people never dreamt nor dared to go. This allowed me the opportunity to see things from a perspective which was beyond my usual way of thinking and feeling. From then on, I sometimes held a cyclopean view or one that seemed like mirrors within a carnival funhouse. Such a distortion of reality was akin to an infernal acid trip kind of transformative shock.

Perhaps the Work was practicing its psychological sorcery on me. Was this the fragmentary lore given to us by the Great Old Ones or another near-forgotten, extraterrestrial race? The world, as I knew it, shriveled into nothingness before me. I realized that my entire life, save for a few rare moments of gnosis, had been made of shadow… mere shadows dancing upon a cave wall.

In these last days before the Emerald Apocalypse, my conception of the universe and what lurks outside is so far from what ordinary people believe that I have difficulty relating to generally accepted reality and its proponents. Be that as it may, I’d rather immerse myself in weird truths than a convenient, spoon-fed prison of easy answers.

II.

Positive Emotions

Positive emotions are something rarely talked about within the Cult of Cthulhu. Not because we enjoy reveling in man’s failures, but to ensure that man doesn’t fool himself into believing that he is already well on his way toward an Awakened state of being.

While negative emotions are easily expressed, positive emotions, from a Work standpoint, are difficult to come by. They are usually eclipsed by our overwhelming self-love. This love of self stains almost every thought, feeling, and action we have. When a man loves himself above all things, his ego replaces the Work. Positive emotions emanate from a higher place, above the morass of self-loving ‘I’s. Just as there are elevated states of consciousness, there are also elevated states of conscience. Together, they allow for a wider, deeper, richer awareness. From such a lofty place we have the capacity for transcendent love. Love as acceptance of the world as it is, the people who inhabit it, ourselves… love as a form of unspeakable bliss which stems from glimpses of absolute freedom!

Positive emotions cannot be felt without Self-Remembering. In the beginning of our struggles, when we are just becoming Men #4, Self-Remembering is a potent technique used to access a profound and hidden understanding. At this stage of development, this technique is mostly available during specific moments. Not whenever we wish, but as random, awful events in life shock us into a fresh perspective… or through the guidance of a conscious teacher.

Eventually, assuming the Ancient Ones are willing, we evolve into Man #5. The accumulation of these scattered moments hopefully create a residue which allows Man #5 to hear what Higher Intellectual Center and Higher Emotional Center are saying. These two higher centers vibrate at the same frequency as the Great Old Ones. We want to communicate with superior entities so that we may learn to become better individuals, no longer machines but New Men.

Those who achieve Man #5 status have an inkling of what it’s like to communicate with the Ancient Ones. I did not initiate the Cthulhu Cult’s birth until after reaching that luminous grade. All esoteric knowledge comes to us from the stars – it is not fabricated from personality. Human beings did not invent the Work, they received it.

III.

A Surge of Progress

We have discussed the idea of incremental progression many times in the Cult of Cthulhu; making progress a little at a time. However, there is another avenue of progress, its opposite or shadow side, if you will. Instead of consistently making beneficial changes in multiple areas by increments, there are times when circumstances are ripe for a progressional surge.

This is a concentrated effort so laser focused that it eclipses almost every other area of one’s life. The demands of a progress surge necessitate monomania! This is very much like the super-efforts we occasionally talk about and which are required to Awaken. But where super-efforts are moments of willed change, the surge puts the pressure on and leaves it there for weeks at a time (months, in rare cases) with the intent of improving a singular aspect of oneself. Usually, this is either an area that is sorely lacking or a strong suit. A surge should either provide balance or, if one already has equilibrium, play to one’s strength!

If one eats, drinks, and breathes a particular interest, whatever that may be, then development can take a quantum leap. Be warned that evolutionary jumps cannot be made over and over again; they must come at specific intervals… usually in close proximity to a crisis. No matter how quickly we might be approaching Godhood, men are still bound by certain laws of nature, even if such New Men are capable of transcending many of them.

The downside of the progress surge should be obvious – every other aspect is neglected. After a surge, one might look up to see that virtually no progress has been made in other areas. Fortunately, that’s not as disastrous as one might think. Certain skills and abilities require extended rest from time to time. Personally, I’ve had ideas and skill-sets which needed to quietly jostle and revolve in the background of my consciousness before they formed into something useful and applicable to my life. Nevertheless, some things (like familial responsibilities) should not be cast aside. A progress surge can be dangerous if one isn’t mindful of over-reaching. That is why I recommend Cultists focus the majority of their time and energy on incremental progress, with only occasional energy devoted to progress surging.

Progress, even by the glacial crawl of increments, cannot be charted infinitely. Let me give you an example: a man starts a weight training program where he can bench press 100 lbs. Each week, he adds another repetition or two or, better still, more resistance. The man makes good progress, yet he will never be able to bench press 1,000 lbs, no matter how many years he progressively trains. Cultists must be aware of their own limitations while still daring to believe in the impossible.

IV.

Three Examples from My Life

The Work does not activate by itself, just as man does not evolve accidentally or by the whims of nature. Nothing is acquired unless it is applied to our own situation, our own lives. I encourage those who are serious about the Fourth Way to find real world examples. Don’t just nod your head in agreement when reading that expressing negative emotions is a bad thing. Recall a point in time when you were negative and what happened. Then wait for a time when you are about to be negative once more, and stop yourself by remembering yourself.

The following are some examples from my own life. This is the kind of thing every Cultist or Fourth Way student should be able to construct.

1. A couple of men came into the office. They walked over to my desk, offered their hand. Seated, I raised my hand to shake theirs. After they left, my Father told me I should have stood up before shaking their hand, as that was more respectful. Instantly, an ‘I’ began to deny the fact that I had done anything remotely disrespectful. This ‘I’ was all set to become indignant with how he was being lectured. However, Master ‘I’ appeared a moment later. He objectively saw what was going on and agreed that yes, if a man whom I truly admired had walked into the office to shake my hand, I would have stood up from my chair before shaking his.

Upon reflection, I did not deem the men worthy of rising because I did not know them. Instead of creating an unnecessary argument, I simply agreed that next time I would stand before any handshaking commenced. Later that day, a few of my ‘I’s admitted that all men unknown to me should be given due respect before I get to know them.

2. I was holding our ten month old baby in my left arm while she sat upon my left leg. With my right hand, I navigated the mouse. My eyes went from the computer screen to her bright blue eyes and back again. For a few seconds, she was content to sit still and murmur something incoherent. Then came the squirming and the fussing.

Some time later, while the three of us were playing on the floor of her bedroom, my wife spoke her mind. She told me that I spent too much time doing other things while I was supposed to be watching the baby. She further explained how I was almost always inattentive, that my attention was divided. One eye on Briella, and the other usually wandering to a computer screen, book, meal, or something on TV. When I was spending time with the baby, sometimes I should place the entirety of my focus upon her and her alone. At first, a few minor ‘I’s were up in arms. How dare she! A gross exaggeration! My wife has said herself that I am an excellent father. Ha! Condemned by her own words!

But then, of course, I quickly realized that she was right. I was multi-tasking too much, frequently trying to serve several masters at once. The baby is my priority, and sometimes I allow myself to become preoccupied with other interests. At that point, I could only agree with her. Telling her that I would make a concerted effort to focus on Briella when I was with her.

Master ‘I’ saved the day again. He was also careful not to let any lesser ‘I’s ride the pendulum swing which was going in the opposite direction. Although, I did hear something internally whispered about my being the elephant man of fathers. I paid it no heed. It would not do any of us good to throw ourselves into one extreme or the other.

3. There are some things I know. Most of the time, when it comes to those things, I’m right. Others disagree from time to time. Upon being proved correct, I usually don’t belabor the point. I don’t say, “I told you so.” I don’t go off to tell a dozen other people that someone else was wrong while I was right. No matter how tempting, I steal myself before any sort of ridiculing or other petty behavior occurs – although, self-defense and clarification of my views are other matters. I’m a good gracious winner. Letting go of “wins” is just as important as releasing “losses”.

Don’t make accounts against others. ‘I’s that wish to partake in such practices are not here to help you Work.

V.

Student Teachers

No Fourth Way instructor should say, “Think for yourself”. Instead, he should say something to the effect of, “Think in a new way” – a distinction with all the difference in the world. So, what do we mean by a new way? How do we normally think? How do we usually conceptualize the world? Whatever is observed… reverse the polarity. That is, do it differently. If you interpret life as a series of numbers, then start interpreting it as a kaleidoscope of colors. If you interpret life as precise actions and reactions, cause and effect, then start interpreting life as a wave of probability. If you see yourself as a smart, important, and together person, then begin seeing yourself as ignorant, meaningless, and in disarray – that happens to be nearer the truth for 99% of us!

It is easy for a sleeping man to strut his wakefulness like a peacock to all who would see and hear him. “People should be more aware than they are.” A misaligned student teacher might say. “They should think for themselves. I know what’s really going on, why things aren’t as they should be. I’m a rebel, an outcast. I’ll show you by criticizing that guy over there. Those who are asleep should become more like me. I am always Awake!” Cue the Gods laughing and then shaking their heads. If it comes too easily, then it is not the Work; and if you’ve been struggling against yourself for more than a year, then progress should be apparent.

However, the sleeping preacher proclaiming that everyone has the ability to “do”, to stand up and start making things happen is a fool. He is trying to be more like himself while encouraging others to also be more like him. Did he unlearn everything before taking in new learning? Did he put his former impressions away before receiving impressions from a different kind of teaching? Probably not. More likely, the misaligned student teacher tried to add new knowledge atop of old knowledge. A recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

Awareness is a wonderful thing, but what is the would-be teacher trying to be more aware of? If he is full of self-love, then it’s over before it even begins. If he is not willing to change, then he is too comfortable being a machine. Sleepers always want to think in the same way they have always thought – except more, bigger, and louder! The Work does not add to ordinary understanding, but destroys it. You’d be surprised how many student teachers forget that.

A man on the verge of Awakening tries to think in an entirely new way – and keeps at it until he succeeds! He wishes to become a New Man. This sort of man realizes that life’s conventional path has led him to a dead end. Only grasping the Work by one of its many tentacles shall lead him out of his prison self.

New Men, those who have Awakened, are not like their former selves. Student teachers, as well as, experienced students should ask themselves: do I really want to change… to become a different person? If the answer is no, then leave the Work. Pursue something else; something that will help you in life – not something that is opposed to life.

Man himself is the problem. That is what most sleepers don’t understand, especially those who sleep walk through the Work – throwing Fourth Way ideas like identification into a casserole of other philosophical and self-help tidbits until the distinct taste of the Work is entirely undetectable. Sure, recognize similarities but do not compare and contrast a non-Euclidean system like the Fourth Way with teachings equivalent to 2 + 2 = 4. They do not mix well.

This flawed, primitive self is the very reason why we cannot Awake. It’s how our programming responds to nature. Our being is so weak that even when we accidentally come upon higher knowledge, we cannot incorporate it into our prison self. Quite a few Fourth Way students believe that action is the key. They would have sleepers be more “active”. This is the opposite of how things actually progress. Those who consciously struggle do so against everything they are, for the false self is thoroughly intertwined with the true. How can a student of the Work overcome himself without first becoming passive? There are false aspects of each man which must submit before Master ‘I’ will appear. As we have talked about in Cult of Cthulhu discussions, the Left Hand Path practitioner must learn self-submission before having any hope of domination and conquest.

Only the Fourth Way student who loves this viridescent teaching more than he loves himself can make the necessary changes. He knows that he must wait for the right moment to strike. Trying to do anything without willpower is ultimately a useless endeavor, and Man #4 has not acquired will. Prepare yourself so that when favorable circumstances prevail – when the stars are right – Higher Forces are capable of energizing individuals with right Crystallization. Be patient, then make the super-efforts required to overcome your obstacles. As I mentioned, there are people who always want to be doing, always trying to be active. Such hyper-activity runs counter to making progress. Evolution needs certain doors to be unlocked by particular keys in the proper order. It is not a mad dash every which way. In fact, I believe that conscious evolution has to be engineered by Higher Forces in concert with True Will – the will of a New Man.

If there are hidden forces propelling man forward, then it stands to reason that there exist forces which hold him back. Mankind, therefore, is in the middle… unable to comprehend his Higher Centers while perpetually seduced by the candy colored baubles handed out by instruments of control. In that case, we are the third side – the deciding factor.

What do 4th Way practitioners desire? Why do they put in the effort? If it’s to serve oneself and oneself alone (that selfish nature which is completely comfortable with life) then the right effort will never find its way to the right place. Material riches and worldly power may result as a byproduct of doing the Work, but it must not be one’s sole reason for pursuit. Those who merely wish to become more effective machines will not graduate beyond Man #4. They will live their same old pedestrian lives year in and year out, never changing, never growing, refusing to become New Men because they are too busy being “themselves”, “aware”, and “active”.

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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This essay is dedicated to the ones we lost along the way.

This first section, directly below, is a continuation from the short story I began in my last Cult of Cthulhu essay, “Our Viridescent Teaching”. This new piece is more in keeping with the Lovecraftian vibe we’ve got going on over here at the CoC. Enjoy!

I.

The man finished his fruit smoothie and walked to the kitchen door which led to the back porch. He wanted to visit that place he most feared. Prove to everyone that he wasn’t a coward.

The backyard was lush and green, overgrown some would say, and enclosed by a fence. It looked like a fairly typical suburban backyard, except for the large hole within spitting distance of the porch. Well, the man referred to it as a hole. Others called it a well, as there was a stone ring around the seven foot diameter opening.

The man supposed that people could call it what they liked. Just to himself, in his own private thoughts, he sometimes fancied it a pit leading down to Hell itself. He frequently saw things darkly ever since the psychological trauma which occurred in his youth. The Hell-Pit. That’s what the dark place in his imagination called it. After all, it looked ominous and was utterly mysterious in nature. But when speaking of it to others, he simply called it “the hole”. Jasper was the exception, of course.

Who made the pit and why? That was never fully explained by the property’s former owner, though several inquiries were made. It was just there in suburbia, unblinking, staring at him like a starless eye.

The sun was beginning to set.

The man moved nearer in order to get a better look at it, the taste of delicious fruit still with him. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a semi-translucent green substance around the edge of the Hell-Pit. That residue, or whatever it was, hadn’t been there the last time he ventured off his back porch, maybe a week or two back.

Presently, the man’s friend came out to join him in the backyard. He wore a camouflage jacket which made him look even more clean cut than he otherwise would.

“How was the smoothie?”

“It was good. Very refreshing.”

“Where’s the girlfriend?”

“She works nights now. Samantha left about an hour ago, just before you arrived.” He said, looking at Jasper who was looking into the pit’s yawning blackness, from a safe distance of about ten feet.

“I’m surprised to see you out here.”

“Yeah, I know. Guess you shamed me into it.” The man said, wiping the last of his banana, strawberry, pineapple, and orange flavored drink away from his mouth.

“All I said was, ‘you’re scared of your own backyard.’ That’s all.”

“My backyard doesn’t scare me. That God forsaken hole scares me. I freely admit it.”

“At least you’re honest, Collins. Wish I had one on my property. Lucky bastard.” Jasper said, his smile almost turning into a chuckle.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. I love weird shit like that. If this were in my yard, I’d be out here every day.”

“You wouldn’t say that if I told you what I saw last night. I’m not even sure you’d believe it.”

“I might. Try me. What did you see?”

“It was during the storm. The wind was whistling, thunder shook the house, periodic flashes of lighting… they tempting me. God damn it, I shouldn’t have looked. The whole night, I got a strange feeling that something might be working its way up that pit.”

“You mean the gate, don’t you?”

“Call it what you like, Jasper, but when I looked out my kitchen window, when the storm was raging at its height… I could have sworn I saw a tentacle emerge from that hellish mouth. Then, when an abhorrent bolt of lightning allowed me to see the entire thing squirming free… Jesus Christ! I nearly lost it.”

“Abhorrent, eh? I see you haven’t totally forgotten about those books I lent you last year.” Jasper said.

“Yeah, I guess a couple things stuck.” Collins said. “You know, ever since the incident I’ve been intrigued by the unknown, cosmic mysteries, all that stuff.”

“Intrigued, but too afraid to actually investigate any of it.” Jasper pointed out.

“Right.”

“Were you talking about the serial killer thing that happened when you were young?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, so the storm made you paranoid. I get it. You saw some kind of demon with a few tentacles and a thousand eyes. I understand your concern. Or, should I say, pants-shitting fear. But why are you out here now, Collins? Why not just stay inside? Hell, why don’t you move?”

“Why don’t you ever call me by my first name?” Kyle Collins asked.

“It’s just what I do.” Jasper smiled. “What I want to know is how come you suddenly have the balls to stand just a few feet from the gate?” He said, hands in his pockets, pointing a shoe at the blackness. A blackness which seemed to be flowing out, darkening everything nearby.

Collins turned his attention to the sky, saw the sun almost gone. “Guess I realized there was no use being afraid. Whatever’s in that hole is in there. Can’t change anything by being scared. Why not embrace it?”

“Why not embrace it?!?” Jasper yelled, looking into his friend’s blue eyes. “You’ve been cowering from this slimy gateway to Y’lon’gheau in your backyard for about three years. And now you say you’re ready to just fucking embrace it?”

“Slimy gateway to Y’lon’gheau? Wow, that’s an esoteric reference. You read too much, Jasper. I bet you curl up by the fire with those old books of yours just about every night. That is, every night you’re not over here looking at my hole in the ground.”

“Old?” Jasper said, laughing. “If you only knew how ancient those books are! Handwritten with blood instead of ink and bound in human skin, Collins. Yeah, I re-visit the shuddersome prose of those scholars, madmen, and black magicians. It’s good to get back to what’s most important, from time to time. I like expanding my horizons.”

“You mean sinking to new depths?”

Jasper smiled. “Indeed.”

“Anyways, yeah I’m ready to embrace it – whatever it is.” Collins said, arms folded, just staring away into the starless void before him. “Hang on a sec, how did you know the thing crawling out of the pit had all those eyes?”

“I read too much.”

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve read the same books you have. I definitely would have recalled a thing like what came out of that slimy gateway to the place where our universe ends and the next universe begins, as you called it. Nearly every hideous thing described in those books has given me nightmares at one point or another. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” Jasper said, crouching down to examine the greenish residue around the stone rim. “One tome in particular, I used it to do a little astral traveling. You’ll never guess what I saw – such sights… such hideously tremendous sights, Collins. That demoniacal visit told me that your Hell-Pit there is somehow connected to it.”

“What! Are you serious?”

“I’ve never been more serious.”

“You’re not fucking with me?”

“No. I’m not fucking with you. Not this time.”

“Oh, man. This is too much. Maybe I should take Samantha and just get the Hell out of here when she gets back from work?”

“Look, you’re tired. Probably on sensory overload from drinking that fruit smoothie coupled with being so close to the hole. Why don’t we go inside before it gets too dark out.”

“Obviously, you know more than you’re saying. Tell me exactly what’s going on. Who created the pit, gate, or whatever it is and why?”

“I’ll do you one better, Collins. I’ll take you down there, we’ll explore it together. What do you say?”

Collins watched the pit for a moment, half-expecting something loathsome to ooze out of its forbidding black mouth. “I don’t think so.”

“You’ll never be free of it with that attitude.” Jasper looked disappointed. “Go then. Just walk away from your house. You think Samantha will go along with your paranoid delusions?”

“Well…”

“What about your preoccupation with dark things. Didn’t you tell me she almost broke up with you awhile back for something similar?”

“Yes, she found a book on modern-day satanic practices. And Samantha went crazy.”

“Maybe this is different. Just tell her what you saw come out of the gate, and now you both have to leave the house for good. She might understand.”

Collins thought about it, realized Jasper made a good case. “Ok, I’m in.”

“Excellent. You’re made the right decision. But I should warn you… the things you will see – unspeakable. Your pit is actually a gateway to some region of Hell only hinted at in those books. I cannot accurately describe the beings from that other world. However, you should know that they are far removed from anything resembling our own species, not only physically… I’m talking about their understanding of the universe, too.”

He began to lose his nerve; thought about all the people who said he was over-sensitive and weak. Collins knew he had to do this. It took him only a few seconds more to remember himself. “When are we going?”

“Tomorrow night.” Jasper said. His voice was just above a whisper. “I’m getting hungry. Let’s go inside.” He turned towards the house. “You can make me one those fruit smoothies.”

II.

Recently, a Cultist asked me if Awakening was redundant. He wanted to know when the focus would shift from intangible self-awareness to getting his hands dirty. In other words, when does philosophy end and action begin? The following is what I told him; however, I’m going to expand on that because his question was an important one.

When does Awakening become manifesting? That’s like asking, “At what point do our legs become worthless during our trek through the desert?” Awakening allows us to see our destination in the first place and embark on such a journey. Awakening is never redundant. It never becomes useless or unneeded. The struggle to Awaken is the skeleton upon which our meat throbs and flesh hangs. Action requires philosophy or else we’re just talking about simple reaction… living passively, being carried along the natural stream which inevitably leads over a cliff. Passive living is what ordinary people do. Cultists make the journey because they choose to – we create our own current. Therein lies the difference.

Let me tell you something about nature. It doesn’t accept us. Humans are unnatural because of our superior intelligence – which gives us the potential, as self-developing beings, to reach higher levels of consciousness. Higher consciousness allows for True Will. Because we can think and feel in multiple dimensions at once, man is an abomination in the eyes of mother nature. To get even, she constantly strives to bring us down to her level. Nature does this by programming an insatiable lust for ignorance, laziness, and negativity. Sometimes, we can’t help being douche bags. That’s a sad fact of life, but cheer up. We can always decide to break our programming once we realize that everything is quietly manipulated by nature.

What can we do about it? Well, in the beginning, we can do almost nothing. Noobs have very little to work with – no self-awareness, no knowledge, and no faculties which can process our mechanical aspects into something of finer quality. Man starts out with nothing but his machine life, operating at minimum efficiency. He is nothing and can do nothing. Awake, man can do. Asleep, there is no chance of directing his True Will. True Will does not belong to machines, only organic life. It can’t be discovered by accident, and it can’t be utilized without intentional suffering. One cannot simply take the path of least resistance to its door. If you wish to have any hope of reaching your intended destination, then you’ll need both your legs – you will need to Awaken. Struggle to keep the mindful state alive within yourself.

III.

Here’s a question. How do we popularize the 4th way among the CoC? People look for how a topic is relevant to them. You and I may value selfhood for its own sake but other people often think, “how does this help me with what I am trying to do in the world?” This also fits the theme of various Cthulhuist essays on the Left Hand Path, which makes it relevant to the Satanic background of many Cultists.

Man cannot do because he is a mechanical. Things happen without his will being involved since a machine has no True Will. How does creating a new self, a real self, help man? Nothing can be accomplished while our false self dribbles out its imaginary will. The Fourth Way starts at the beginning. It is the language of progress, the search for Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification.

“It is not the strength, but the duration, of great sentiments that makes great men.” ~ Nietzsche

You may wonder how the Fourth Way is actually relevant to your life. You may say, “Alright, I’m awake. Now what?” It’s more difficult than that, of course, but this instructional essay is not for noobs. I assume most readers have already been introduced to the 4th Way and/or the CoC. If you are completely uninitiated, then email me for a free PDF of Cthulhu Cult.

So, you’ve Awakened… at least for a time. Feeling special yet? After all, most practitioners of the Left Hand Path have an ubermensch fantasy tucked away somewhere within themselves. But, we don’t just want to be Awake. That’s not enough, not nearly enough! We want that most demonized phenomenon: power. And not the kind of intangible power of guru mystics who have total understanding and control of themselves. No, LHP practitioners want to make people’s heads explode. And failing that, get laid and cash checks!

All that comes later – after Awakening, if you still desire it. This is to say that being Awake isn’t a light switch we turn on when we want something and turn off when we don’t. Heightened self-awareness is never superfluous. It always assists us in exploding heads, getting laid, and cashing checks (a reflection of the destruction, lust, and sentiment rituals discussed in Anton Szandor LaVey’s Satanic Bible, which I also recommend).

A greater level of consciousness makes it easier to reach our goals. Imagine a computer distracted by the nonsense of everyday life. Instead of getting you to the website you want, the computer keeps getting sidetracked by random crap having nothing to do with the task at hand. We are just as inefficient as distracted computers – unless we Awaken from the sleep of life. As it turns out, Fourth Way methods can be used to live life outside the four walls of your self-involved psyche.

How much a person can “take charge of their life” in this incarceral reality is the question at hand… or tentacle. A comfortable, fulfilling prison sentence is still life in prison. Even when it’s great, such as a minimum security facility, it could always be better. Thankfully, steps can be taken. Even if our efforts seemingly come to nothing in this vortex of futility, they at least serve as a starting point. We are always taking invisible steps up the ladder. It appears as though we aren’t making progress, but that’s because it happens so God damn slowly. We learn how to attune to our desires, translate them into a goal, begin using the material around us to carry it out, and adjust for the unforeseen circumstances which almost always accompany that material.

One thing is for sure: if you’re going to take charge of your life, first you’ve got to take charge of yourself. We are the foundation for all outer changes. We also have to maintain it over time. Life is a series of concentric circles. To draw other forces within our gravitational orbit, we must become as a crystal, star, or celestial body. We must increase our gravity. To emanate an aura of causal control – mundanely, let alone magically – we must master the concentric circles within ourselves, beginning with the innermost circle: the desire to change.

It’s not all internal, though. The Fourth Way process of identifying helpers and inhibitors within oneself can easily be translated to an external exercise – what influences in our life are helpful or harmful to what we are trying to be? Look on the world with a set of newly selfish, ambitious eyes. Like an inter-dimensional spirit monad plummeting downward into material realms, begin with your vision, and work backwards down the chain to immediately practical details. Watch yourself as you brush your teeth, eat lunch, and talk to your friends. Just as you observe yourself, also mentally dissect your life. Learn the patterns, power structures, and mechanics of your residence, your workplace, your society, and of course the voidal laws from outside.

Start small. You don’t have to jump right into becoming dictator of the planet (though your calling could certainly end there). That first moment of personal situational awareness often feels like opening a messy closet: you realize how chaotic, counter-productive, disorganized, and neglected the whole thing has been for years of your life. Your first steps may seem obvious – “why didn’t I think of that before?” That’s the point. You weren’t thinking before. You weren’t living consciously or willfully.

Now that we are beyond the first stages, we have to keep at it. It has been said that someone who spends one hour a day on something will become an authority on it before long. The best advice… or the worst!?! This almost sounds more like a theoretical goal than practical recommendation. Who has an hour per day to dedicate to something? Why only an hour? The point is that continual sacrifices (intentional suffering) are required in order to create magnificent changes.

Awakened men have scorched this noble sacrifice into their minds: sustained effort. They remember to Self-Remember! This is the Alpha and Omega of the Work. Heroes consistently take the arduous highroad because they can summon up the emotional energy which fuels their resolve. Passion creates heroism. Without an emotional component, the Work is too weak inside of us to make a difference. Make it emotional, visualize what you are specifically trying to achieve, discover why you feel that way, will it, discuss it, allow the Work into your life… all our lives. If we forget why we struggle to Awaken, then the power of the Work cannot block out the distracting influences from life which get in the way, blocking the view of our deeper self.

In fact, it is absolutely possible to be mindful of the logical reasons why we do something along with strong, driving emotions. Our rational minds need to remind us to relive the emotional experience, feel the passion anew. Emotions need direction. Without direction or intent, emotions follow nature’s current. Nothing could be more natural or unconscious than our feelings drifting in their casual ebb and flow, as the universe desires. The logical portions of our brains attempt to set our feelings on the right track if enough True Will has been mined from our core. The intellectual and emotional centers must work together for our mutual benefit.

That kind of dedication requires an inner self which no mere idea or system of ideas can offer. Cartography is not the same as actually going somewhere; the map is not the territory. The Cult of Cthulhu instills the importance of creating this personal core, but our quantum religion cannot replace the effort. The individual is on his own when it comes to working those esoteric muscles, those prison muscles. A Cultist needs to find a way for the intellectual and emotional centers to unify with common purpose. Fourth Way schools teach; students learn and put their learning into practice. The Cult of Cthulhu endeavors to find capable students.

It is easy for curious people to fall into the mistake of learning ideas and assuming that’s all there is to it, then moving on and learning some new ideas. The connections and specifics are interesting, but too often we lose critical thinking in lieu of associative thinking – comparing apples to oranges or limes to lemons without considering each fruit individually. We might be tempted to pile them into our noggins like a big encyclopedia without investing too much of ourselves. That’s not the point of the Fourth Way. It’s not a deal where we just learn it once and that’s it. No, once can too easily be forgotten – nor is a hundred times enough! It takes a thousand moments of Self-Remembering before Magnetic Center can be successfully installed in our machine. It’s not about waking up every so often when convenient. It’s about staying Awake as much as possible. Duration builds momentum, and the longer we stay Awake uninterrupted, the greater the intensity of our consciousness. Intensity can act like a laser, the singular focus able to burn a hole through anything – even our sanity; all obstacles subject to our laser.

Beginner guides in meditation often warn the practitioner about how surprisingly difficult it is to maintain steady attention for minutes at a time. To quote Demian, this continued presence of self is “the only truly difficult thing there is.” Now imagine keeping our attention meditatively fixed on an object, or maintaining a visualized image in our mind – for hours or even days without our attention blinking! Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? It should be. Such a man is a law unto himself; it is something only a Man # 7 could do. Now are you beginning to understand the risks and rewards of Self-Deification?

Dude Tyson could see that I view Awakening as more than situational awareness. He’s right. Focusing attention is what 4th Way practitioners do, but that intellectual exercise is rooted in something which logic alone cannot explain. We use mindfulness in order to reach consciousness – above the animal state, above nature. Human consciousness has access to states of meta-reality which are closer to God than anything else on earth.

Those who open themselves up to gnosis can experience the kind of height and depth I’m talking about. Those who are closed to such phenomena will probably never understand. Does such things as the Fourth Way, the Left Hand Path, and our Cult’s paradigm require a leap of faith? Personally, I don’t think so. Aesthetically pleasing or potentially useful belief systems (yes, even spiritual ones that can’t be “proven”) deserve a trial period. If you cast us out without a second thought, then you’re probably happy with the mindset you currently have. You’re rigid and close minded. That’s death in esotericism.

Even Cthulhu Cultists who are firmly committed to our viridescent teaching have the possibility of change. When does subtext start becoming the actual text? You see, we can go deeper. There are layers of detail beneath the surface. Scratch another layer away and there’s still more! A Cultist can always go deeper, just as he can always go higher. There are questions waiting to be asked, answers waiting to be given, and parallels waiting to be recognized in our daily lives. One interpretation will do for today, but our understanding should grow through the years. This too is a process.

IV.

Backseat driving is obnoxious. What driver enjoys some jerk sitting behind or next to him, telling him what to do? We all hate that. It’s only natural. Of course, the hate should set off some kind of alarm in our head. Being driven to a feeling or state, especially a negative one, is the opposite of deliberately trying to experience a particular state… hopefully a positive one. Losing control is weakness. It is failure, sleep. When we give in to those random ‘I’s who believe they always speak for us, we are lost.

Backseat driving is a part of me, a part I try to suppress. Suppression. That’s how it starts. We see a negative emotion leading us wherever it wills us to be. Jumping perspectives for a moment… A beginner, if he’s lucky, decides to shut it down just as it starts bubbling up to the surface. He bites his lip, holds his tongue, or makes some sort of gesture – something to let himself know that a false lesser ‘I’ has been unmasked. That ‘I’ is not us; it masquerades as us.

After we’ve become established within the Work, we can do more than merely suppress our negative emotions. Eventually, we have the ability to stop things before they start. We are more aware of our emotional center and our triggers – those things which set us off. A Man #4 can avoid the expression of negative emotions before it has the chance to speak with our mouth, before it even becomes an ‘I’. Man #5 has no choice but to control his emotional circuitry, redirecting poisonous energy.

These days, when one or more of my ‘I’s wish to bark orders at the driver, I struggle to rise above. Rise above the situation, and rise above the ‘I’. Sometimes, I think I’ll always be part machine… some of me, at any rate. A piece of me shall forever be mechanical and useless. But the portions I continually work on, my essence – that will always be organic, conscious, and Awake. As long as efforts are made.

Sometimes, I slip up. I don’t always remember myself or operate at peak efficiency. However, these days I’m aware that I always make mistakes, that my approach has imperfections. I’m also, thankfully, aware that perfection is not my goal. Evolution is. Moving ever closer to perfection, no matter how slowly, is more than enough for me. Slight progress at every turn – that’s my goal. That’s what allows me to do what I do and be who I am: Ipsissimus of the Cthulhu Cult.

One ‘I’ feels it needs to tell the driver he should go faster or slower or get into the middle lane. Another ‘I’, more experienced and attuned to the Work, realizes it should keep silent. There are other ‘I’s running in the background like some kind of highly developed algorithm of the great outdoors which tells fish where to swim, birds how to fly, and predators where to find their prey. Patterns in nature! But those ‘I’s don’t factor into the center stage conflict. We’re not usually conscious of them. So, we say something to the guy behind the wheel or not? Does our backseat driver win or the 4th Way practitioner? The friction between opposing wills (one false, one true) creates energy – energy which can be used to Awaken.

For those who want to go deeper, we could look at where this backseat driving urge comes from? Control issues? Anxiety? Vulnerability? A need to direct? All of us have features which are good, bad, and indifferent. Knowledge of these features goes a long way towards understanding the self. Shine the limelight into your machine to see where the bugs are… rust, loose screws, faulty wiring – these aspects keep us human and all too mechanical.

We inherit a lot of these machine parts from those around us. The rest is based on life influences, what we’ve seen in the world. Assholes abound. We take cues from them because that’s how we learn – mimicry. Where are the role models who have transcended their machine? They are most assuredly few and far between.

V.

I use the phrase Left Hand Path because it works for me. It’s a simple and well-established dichotomy of good versus evil. In this case, “good” being evil and “evil” being good. Of course, my understanding of it allows for a somewhat balanced approach… a workable solution. Not the imaginary “middle path”, but a third side forged from the most effective aspects of darkness and tempered by fragments of light. What I did was this: I took the Left Hand Path’s basic tenets, shaping them to my specifications, giving the LHP direction, giving practitioners a terrible purpose. I drew a black trapezoid around it… a black trapezoid no doubt oozing bilious green rivulets of pulsating, luminous, malevolent slush.

I can appreciate a holistic approach. I can see the elegant synthesis of forces not opposed but unifying from different angles. All that is understood and taken into account by the Cult of Cthulhu Priesthood. However, let’s be realistic. Human beings exist in a hostile world, one which actively opposes us. Instead of trying to empathize with the slave masters, I’m inclined to fight back, to be adversarial. These lesser gods of the earth who deliberately stymie man’s evolution… they are my mortal enemy.

So, my Left Hand Path may not be what you’ve read about elsewhere. It may appear too outrageous or dualistic for some. A few will be appalled simply because they see the name Venger Satanis attached. So be it. I’m teaching a school, training future soldiers of darkness. I’ll leave the ivory towered nuance of 20th century LHPism to the YouTube philosophers. The Cult of Cthulhu is determined to put divinity into man, making him God. Not put the man into divinity, effectively annihilating his essence.

A related question asked of me was this: “Why Self-Deification? Why focus on God and not demons?” Well, this whole thing is about progression. There must be an endpoint to man’s evolution, the fulfillment of his struggle for ever higher states of consciousness. Up, up, up the ziggurat lickety-split! (thank you, Arnold Judas Rimmer) God is my destination. Not the Christian God or deity of any particular denomination. I’m using God in the generic sense. If that begs the unanswerable question, “What is God?”, then so be it. Who the fuck knows?!? God is ineffable (or is he?). I think of Devils as arch-demon generals commanding cloven hoofed soldiers. And I think of the Great Old Ones as Devil-Gods… the antithesis of those demiurgic forces which keep man’s illumination submerged.

Ok, why not strive to become a demon? Sure, go ahead. But make it a demon that is as powerful as it is unknowable. A demon or Devil who can see all sides at once, utilizing objective consciousness and able to understand that which is beyond him – to me, that is a God. It’s what I’m working towards. Others should feel free to envision something completely different… such as a reality programmer who exists outside space and time. Is that God? It could be. For me, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you want to call your highest potential, that’s what I’m talking about. I think that’s a worthy goal. Don’t let linguistic semantics confuse the issue. God, demon, Devil, programmer, Old One… a lot of this comes down to personal aesthetics.

VI.

When does metaphor blur into reality, reality into metaphor, and back again? All the time. We never stop filtering reality through our own subjective and comparative senses. How many shades of interpretation do you have to cross before you are thinking exactly like me? A few… or a few too many? Religion is symbolic. We use it to conceptualize certain ideas which are difficult to think about and even harder to discuss. Such ideas are abstract, such Gods unspeakable. Who knows exactly what all of this translates into? We do the best we can to understand and be understood. That’s it. And even that is more than the universe usually allows.

How many people in this world actively try to not understand each other? If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone who disagrees with you, then I shouldn’t have to go into too much detail regarding the difficulty of finding common ground. Even if both opposing arguments come from the same place or lead to the same destination, there’s always going to be conflict. Instead of focusing on what is agreed upon, most hone in on the disagreement. That’s (human) nature, unfortunately – the universal program. My advice: rise above. Argument is wonderful, but there’s a time to stop arguing. When we fight each other, we stop fighting the parasitic lesser gods of the earth.

I like to use religious terms in order to bring more energy, stimulation, and gravitas to the important things which need to be discussed. Instead of Awakened or having achieved objective consciousness, we might use the word salvation. The conscious circle of humanity becomes the Kingdom of God, Emerald Kingdom, Heaven, Paradise, or possibly the lost city R’lyeh. The terror of our situation is transformed into the Devil. Missing the mark is the actual translation of sin. Ignorance of the messiah is tantamount to never having studied the Work. Hell is the loss of our True Will, thanks to squandered opportunities. Holding on to our false identity and negative emotions damns us to the fiery pit.

Do we need religion? Many would say no. Do we need metaphor? Probably not, but I’d be hard pressed to convey my meaning without it. I believe religion helps us emphasize the importance of things which ordinary people don’t care about. “Why bother to Awaken? Awaken from what? I’m already awake, right?” No, not like how we define it. Only a 4th Way school can possibly show the masses what’s really going on – the depth of this conspiracy against the human race (hello, Thomas Ligotti).

A online network of 4th Way students begins working throughout the world, it becomes a dominant school which joins with others, spiritual paths from all corners realize the Rosetta Stone qualities of this system, then a cultural shift may precipitate a political shift, Unification begins. Raising awareness will raise consciousness. Can you feel the forward motion of such changes?

VII.

Speaking of beliefs and arguments, I still get atheistic crusaders who demand that I admit the foolishness of creating a religion around the Cthulhu Mythos. Assuming that the Mythos belongs to Lovecraft and him alone (which is clearly not the case), let’s look at this debate from a new angle.

Yes, Lovecraft did not outwardly believe in tangible entities named Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth. I’ll concede that point as well, though a few would not. Nevertheless, describing such entities and the (anti)cosmic paradigm from which they come is the life’s work of H.P. Lovecraft. Would anyone deny that? What’s HPL’s claim to fame if not his literary contributions, and why would anyone care about his writing if it never included witch-haunted Arkham, Dread Cthulhu, or the forbidden Necronomicon? Lovecraft is the Mythos; the Mythos is Lovecraft.

“All my stories, unconnected as they may be,” Lovecraft said, “are based on the fundamental lore or legend that this world was inhabited at one time by another race who, in practicing black magic, lost their foothold and were expelled, yet live on outside ever ready to take possession of this earth again.’”

Now, let’s turn our attention to the Cthulhu Mythos itself. What does it want? It wants to disturb us. It whispers of those eldritch Devil-Gods in hushed tones for fear of summoning their shambling servitors or invoking the ultimate manifestation of horror that is their mere presence! The Mythos wants to expand and break free; it wants to show the inherent weakness of reality, as well as, the pathetic myopia of mankind.

Why shouldn’t we give this rich mythology an outlet? Why not let it proliferate? Isn’t that what Lovecraft’s elder race desires? Even if everything is just a metaphor, like religion, is there not blasphemous wisdom in believing such strangeness? If life is merely shadows upon a cave wall, then why not make our own shadow figures in the likeness of fictional beings who represent the primal monstrosity beyond our fragile universe? Especially if those fictional beings hunger for our cave’s destruction! If the Mythos can only be described as fantasy, then I submit that all reality, every aspect that you can name, is just as subjective and fantastical, yet several orders of magnitude duller than what Lovecraft proposed.

The scion of Providence has proven to be a dark prophet of our age: the age of slime. We can look at scholarly works or do our own analysis. Briefly, I’ll mention Lovecraft’s constant use of Tarot in The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. His occult research for “The Horror at Red Hook”. We can see the ancient astronauts in “The Call of Cthulhu”. Many of us have witnessed the miscegenation between humans and Deep Ones in “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. What about the crosspollination of mathematics, magic, and folklore from “The Dreams in the Witch-House”? Finally, I’m always surprised to find Lovecraft enthusiasts who are blissfully unaware of the persistent Satanism within his sacrilegious texts. Lovecraft’s unwavering use of demonology and Devil worship must have scurried from the dimly lit ritual chamber unseen, not unlike Brown Jenkin.

Sure, some may find our use of Lovecraftian aesthetics as distasteful as contemporary critics found Lovecraft’s prose. Do 21st century readers not know how ridiculed and undervalued his work was in the 1920’s and 30’s? Stories about decadent grave robbers, awful things with disembodied voices deep in the earth, and strange cults waiting for the stars to come right again – we only revisit them now because of the authenticity Lovecraft and his circle gave them. We appreciate the Mythos now because nothing quite like it has emerged from weird fiction. There is a substantive and transcendent quality which the Cult of Cthulhu attempts to capture by taking the Mythos as real.

Many of us believe the baleful alienage of our prophet can transport an individual outside generally accepted reality. Such a vantage point allows the Cultist a rare perspective – objective consciousness! A glimpse into those interior dimensions which ordinary man tries to ignore – they are the keys. We are the doors. Call it. Call it. Call it! Yog-Sothoth clamors spherical and muculent at the threshold. We are your children. Hail to thee, Father. Yog-Sothoth is the key. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. All is one in Yog-Sothoth! That unquiet void within, deep inside our slumbering seed upon which the green stars shine. I cry for thee, bloody foetus… thou art my crimson phoenix! Awaken, star traveler, dripping bilious green slime upon our world. Awake!

VIII.

The other day, a Cultist asked me something. “Where’s the 4th Way how-to manual?” He wanted to know exactly which book taught the precise exercises to put his evolution into high gear. This Cultist asked me for the low-down on how to Awaken in the shortest amount of time. And why not? It’s a great question. Unfortunately, I had to tell him the truth. No 4th Way how-to manual exists. We might as well go searching for the real Necronomicon!

Here’s the thing – we have to create our own how-to manual. Each 4th Way student must design his own regimen for waking up, and he has to follow it as best he can, knowing that his self-created route will have to change before too long. Aye, there’s the rub! He cannot keep following the same well-worn path he just walked. New territory must be staked out, new paths explored. The student’s progress towards Awakening is altered by his circumstances and discipline. The result is unique. Guiding principles remain the same, but the journey is always new and always into the unknown.
I’ve read a lot of Fourth Way books; followed many Fourth Way teachers, masters, and gurus; tried various techniques. About fifteen years of study and effort has yielded me a certain amount of understanding. Keep reading and I’ll share with you a glowing shard of wisdom…

The road to higher consciousness is endless and infrequently traveled. The singular yet infinite door I have to walk through, again and again, is one of a kind. That door is a particular shape, color, and design because it’s my door and my door alone. It leads to the Great Old Ones. No one can tell me exactly how to open it. I have to figure that out for myself. It requires a special key which only I can conjure. Books, masters, and fellow students are invaluable, but there’s no universal device exterior to us which can unlock our true potential. There are no shortcuts. The way is simply the way we must go; the work is simply the work which must be done.

IX.

Think of all the wonderful things you could do with a million dollars. If I offered you a million dollars, would that get your attention? Would that motivate you? How bad do you want this money in my outstretched arms? What would you do to obtain it? How hard would you work? Money is freedom in the great illusion we call life. The Work is freedom outside of life, beyond the matrix. Now, think about this… how valuable is that money compared to your true self, your freedom from illusion, the green star seed inside you which has the potential to grow into God?

Let’s make this choice a bit more interesting. What if I gave you a million dollars in exchange for your being locked up in prison? The money is less enticing now, isn’t it? Personally, I’d rather have my freedom. But that’s because I’ve tasted the sweet nectar of liberty. Most people can’t say that because they are asleep – which is very much like prison. For an Awakened man, escaping from prison is everything. To him, a million dollars is as necessary to living deliberately as an excess of funny colored paper.

This is the difference between life and the Work. Life is all around us. It’s everywhere because the matrix is all encompasing. I still find it hard to see through layer after layer of illusion, all very convincing and “real”. Often, I separate myself from life. I go inward, watching, focusing, remembering… sifting and winnowing. Our interior muscles, prison muscles let’s call them, can change who we are but only if we have the will to exercise them (lift hard, rest, eat, and recover, then lift slightly harder). Turn your back upon life every once in awhile. You’ll be surprised at what you see. Truth, brothers and sisters. The black mirror of redemption. Singularity. Oneness.

In the end, the money won’t save you. Stop envying the rich celebrity douchebags who seem to have whatever it is you’re looking for. It’s not true. Don’t envy them; their wealth and fame is built upon a house of cards. It’s not real. Never was. Only that long and hard truth, which we continually run away from every chance we get, is real. Stop running. Find a way out of that prison. Allow me to help you or let another Cultist help you. It’s easier to escape if you have the help of someone who is already free. You can think of me as a salesman. I sell freedom at a million dollars a pop. Only those few who are capable of turning their backs on the cash are worthy to proceed.

X.

The other day, I received this question. “Don’t Left Hand Path organizations such as the Temple of Set and Cult of Cthulhu stifle the antinomian impulse – the native lawlessness and taboo breaking which is required of LHP practitioners?

To some degree, yes. Nothing on this earth can be ideal and sustainable in its purest form. No organization is perfect, and that goes triple for every single member within the organization. Orders, individuals, and impulses have a tendency to degenerate. Sad, but there it is. Entropy exists because life is mechanical. Machines break down. Consciousness is organic. Conscious orders, individuals, and impulses adapt and evolve. Sustained effort is the work of God.

I do believe LHP groups can assist outsiders in going further out – beyond the barriers. Such types are, by definition, outside the normal parameters of life.

Organizations like the Cult of Cthulhu are for outsiders who want to do something with their “outsideness”. Our religion is not a haven for rebels without a cause or iconoclasts who no longer seek truth. We put outsiders to work. That’s what we do. We provide an agenda and a structure. I’ll come right out and tell you what those are: our agenda is to Awaken; our structure is that of a black magic lodge. Just as the Church of Satan (or Hugh Hefner’s burgeoning Playboy empire) of the 1960’s and 70’s, the Cult of Cthulhu is an organization of non-joiners who share a particular ideal.

United, I think we can accomplish far more than we could working alone. A Cultist named Talek recently compared the Cult of Cthulhu to a Magnetic Center within the morass of random and conflicted ‘I’s called Left Hand Path. He noticed that Magnetic Center, like the Cult of Cthulhu, is willing to organize for the purpose of Awakening. Immediately, I saw the sense of his comparison, which is why I re-posted his comment at the “Directory of Awesome Posts” thread over on the Cult of Cthulhu discussion boards.

XI.

The Work must become real to us. Otherwise, we take it only as theory or worse – fiction! It’s the same with the Cthulhu Mythos. Without belief, there is nothing. No passion, no energy, no stimulation, no drive, no discipline, no transcendence, and no change. Belief is the cornerstone of our viridescent teaching. Of course, as I’ve said many times before, belief isn’t just reality. It’s also a process, a journey. Merely saying something is true doesn’t make it so. A belief system is usually a carefully created framework for us to hang our subjective reality upon like a coat rack. Our coat was made by the invisible hands of a thousand different influences. These influences subtly shape our worldview over time, like the erosion of rocks on the beach.

In the Cult of Cthulhu, I teach individuals to create a new belief system consciously. Doing it with intent makes all the difference in the world. Consciousness elevates a potentially hazardous concept like self-progamming to the sublime. The Work needs to make an impression on us. The prophetic prose of Lovecraft will hopefully have an impact on us. All the bits and pieces from Satanism to chaos magic to Gnosticism to Buddhism to my very own madness – it all needs to re-shape our essence. Influences collide with the surface parts of us all the time. That’s not what this is about. I don’t care about false personality. I’m only interested in the deep, dark stuff which can seep out of our core. It is radioactive material, and it can destroy the illusion if we have the Will.

So, let them ridicule us. After all, Cultists have a sense of humor. Most of us will laugh right along with the naysayers. I might even laugh the loudest! However, I don’t let opposing belief systems tear mine down. That’s just weak sauce. Why would I spend years creating something as intricate and profound as our emerald paradigm only to throw it all away when some random dude gives me the best possible advice he can think of: “Give up!” No, sorry. I don’t think so. “Give up… please?” Nah, I’m good.

In the end, it is I who end up ridiculing my detractors. Allow me to demonstrate. “Hi, I’m average everyman. I think just like all the other people you’ve ever seen at Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and the mall. My opinion of Venger Satanis matters because I’ve heard stuff and/or he didn’t show me enough respect one time. I know what I’m talking about. My mother said so. Plus, the vast majority (my closest internet buddies) agrees with me. OMG, I’m just that awesome! Weeeeeeeeeeee. Epic fail to you, VS.”

Hahaha! That was fun. Hey, where are you going? I was just kidding. No, come back. Ridicule me some more. Seriously, I could use a good laugh.

By His loathsome tentacles,

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu




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Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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Where, oh where, do the chartreuse gateways lead?
A door to the state? To the stars? Clerically sketched with a green felt tip pen?
Is there slime in those gateways? Does it flow like Spring?
There is no one to know the thing which is most important.
No one like that. No one by that name. No one at all.
Unified theories dissolve and reconstitute.
Something horrid behind and beneath… outside.
The father. Yog-Sothoth. Ipsissimus Satanis.
Come to daddy…

* * *

Among other things, this essay might teach you about reciprocity. One thing for another. In today’s world, we know it as commerce… the buying and selling of everything. Spiritually, however, I’m talking about something else. I give, you take. The taker reciprocates by giving something in return. If reciprocity does not occur, then the gift will lose its value. Same principle as giving the Devil his due. If you call yourself a Satanist without worshiping Satan, then the Prince of Darkness ignores you (best case scenario). If you call yourself a Christian but do not struggle to be like Christ, then you will not be able to comprehend his truth.

I offer my slimy green wisdom, for what it’s worth. Those who offer me their support and, more importantly, their super-efforts to Awaken, shall forge an understanding between us… illuminating the way. Why I make super-efforts, why I continue to teach and lead the Cthulhu Cult, the importance of having a Fourth Way School – without taking a step into my world all of this shall remain a mystery.

One hand is reaching for the stars, the other is smashing obstacles down in the mud… watching and remembering all the while. If that isn’t the Cult of Cthulhu, then I guess I don’t know what real esotericism is. By the way, let me go on record saying something right now. This essay is magically charged and intentionally hypnotic. It is programing your mind by going in and out of a cyclical rotation of concepts. I’m implanting densely layered reality fragments via literary ritual. Voilà – viridian sorcery! The order in which these ideas are presented may seem haphazard, but I can assure you that it’s all for the greater good. Such is my will, and my will is the Work!

Among the foul, bestial, hideously incongruent sigils which were handed down to the first disciple, pulsating with an eldritch glow, one hears parched raspy croaking, Cultist ululations, and blasphemous inhuman chanting. The celebrants have arrived to call down those Outer Demons! We seek to be born anew; we have always sought the destruction of that which bears only withered and sour fruit. Destroy it! That old, tired identity is only a product of our fevered imagination. We are mired in our own bullshit. Why do the green stars have seeds?

This may be the most important question I ask you… Are you going to will the Work? If you have no interest in willing the Work, then please stop reading this essay; go about your ordinary existence. It’s a waste of your time.

“As long as we follow each one of our passing desires – as long as we are slaves to every passing mood, we cannot form a new will. So you must begin to sacrifice some of these passing desires and moods to the Will of the Work, for in order to have Will you must give up will.” ~ Mauice Nicoll

Now that is some inspirational wisdom from a Fourth Way Master. He’s right, of course. We cannot say “yes” to every inclination, to every possibility. Occasionally, we must say “no”. That is a sign of maturity and understanding. We’ve got to say “no” to the child who wants ice cream for dinner. “No” to the impulse which will later cause us deep regret. “No” to outbursts of violence. Though it may seem that way initially, the Great Work is not a system of no. There are many things to which we can answer “yes”. This teaching allows the individual a choice; that’s part of what makes it so potent. The Fourth Way is our blueprint (green-print?) to manifesting the Left Hand Path.

Every individual is responsible for his own states, his own moods, and his own actions. Don’t like being angry? Change it. Don’t want to be depressed? Change it. We may not love it everything that happens to us. That’s ok. Things happen to us all the time, but what do we make happen? Just how do we manifest our own will? Isn’t it about time we focused on creating a happy, fulfilling, rewarding life? I, and various other prominent Cultists, have provided a mountain of material for doing just that. But how much of it is seriously considered? How much of it is poured over and carefully studied? How much of it is put into practice? Something to think about…

Look at it this way, you have an unlimited number of roads to travel, but there’s only one road for you. You may be a multiplicity of ignorant, competing ‘I’s, but eventually, assuming you make significant progress in the Work, you’re many interior selves will grow closer to singularity – one ‘I’; a Master ‘I’. Consciousness indivisible! So, if a single road must be chosen, then you must make the choice. What road will you choose to travel? The road which requires the least amount of effort? I sincerely hope not. What a waste of life that would be.

Actually, that reminds me of the beginning to The Social Network film where the character who would create FaceBook is describing elitist clubs within the Harvard fraternity system. His girlfriend asks which club is the easiest to get into. Mark Zuckerberg takes offense to the question because it implies that he doesn’t stand much of a chance – that the least restrictive club is his best (or perhaps only) shot for gaining entry.

All I’m saying is don’t sell yourself short. Don’t take the easy way out. Be in this thing, life, for the long haul and the highest achievements. Right now, the only thing holding you back is yourself. From this standpoint, what path makes the most sense? What does logic and instinct tell you? Always take the most profitable road, even if it’s the most challenging. Always choose the best… the one which could take you all the way. Anthony Robbins taught me to raise my standards. Now, I’m passing his wisdom on to you. Expect more from yourself… much more!

This is why the Left Hand Path was formed. There is a road which leads all the way to Godhood. Why not walk that one? Sure, it’s not for the majority, but then this essay is not for the majority. Esotericism, if understood correctly, will never be popular because it is about inner development. Most people don’t want to complete their evolution. They want more Cheetos! As I was saying, this essay is for you – the dark seeker.

A sleeping man cannot choose any road, his road is chosen for him. Want to have the power of choice? Wake up! Watch what you’re doing. Observe all the miniscule patterns of your personality, especially those rooted in negative emotions, which have become habit and dominate who you are. We can Awaken once we realize that we don’t really exist at all. Our machine is animated by unconscious reactions. Pay attention to what’s going on behind the curtain.

Still a few people with me? Wonderful! Can you envision all that needs to be done? Physically, emotionally, and intellectually? Are you trying to Will the Work in this very moment? Does it live and breathe inside of you? Willing the Work is taking Self-Remembering and then manifesting it inside of you. With enough intensity, this inner manifestation is going to bleed through to the external side. That means objective reality will change according to your intention!

Intent and will are different animals, but they feed upon the same thing: desire. How much do you want it? How bad do you want it? What are you willing to sacrifice to get your heart’s desire?

Taking in valuable impressions can shock your machine into remembering why it’s here. What are impressions and what makes them valuable? Impressions are pictures, scenes, words… bits of reality which affect us. Those reality fragments that inspire us to make the most out of our life are valuable. We could easily replace the word “valuable” with “conscious” or “intentional”. Such impressions have a purpose and that purpose is to wake us up. What meaning can we extract from yesterday’s altercation, today’s fascinating discussion, or tomorrow’s frustrating situation?

Why are you here? Let’s start with why you’re on the Cult of Cthulhu website reading this. Chances are you’re not altogether satisfied with either yourself, Generally Accepted Reality, or the interaction between the two. Why are you alive on this planet? Human beings are born with the seed of a soul, something which no other lifeform on earth has – the potential for higher states of consciousness. Unfortunately, we’re born with only a spark of undeveloped, albeit conscious energy. This potential is universally squandered. We get out of bed, react to everything we come in contact with, and go back to bed at the end of our day. We sleep throughout our lives. Not ordinary sleep, but a limited state of awareness where we have virtually no control. If I were to break it down for you, giving the briefest of explanations for the Cthulhu Cult’s raison d’être, then I’d say the CoC instructs man on how to Awake.

Why are we asleep? I believe we’re asleep because it benefits someone or something. Who could possibly gain from our mechanical nature, our sleeping soul? Probably, whoever constructed this prison of a world. Does it matter? Only if having an identifiable enemy moves you to fight harder. Here’s the real question. Should we continue to silently suffer in the passenger seat or should we instead struggle to break free, to command the wheel, driving the vehicle to a destination of our own choosing? You decide the fate of mankind when authoring a new reality.

What is “will” and why do magicians and esotericists sometimes capitalize it? Will is the vehicle and results are the destination. The energy it takes to manifest one’s intent is will. Occasionally, will is capitalized to reinforce its importance. Nothing can be consciously or intentionally done without it. Yes, it’s that crucial. Unfortunately, the average person’s will is the equivalent of a 90 pound weakling. Sleeping people don’t have much willpower. Don’t believe me? Prove me wrong! Wanna bulk up so consensual reality won’t kick sand in your face? Familiarize yourself with the Work!

The will of the Work is similar to the will of power. Something is present, separate from man… a force gradually building just below the surface. We do not see it, but those who are sensitive may feel a resonance or hear its ultra-telluric whispering. This is what I spoke about in another Left Hand Path essay. A Left Hand Path practitioner must get himself under control. A certain amount of self-submission is required. The old self must be burned away in apocalyptic green flame so that the new self can be born.

Just about everything is arbitrary. We assign meaning to all sorts of things… this is what human beings do. You and I could be talking about raspberry cheesecake! It doesn’t matter. If you find something aesthetically pleasing, then use it. Don’t be too concerned about the justification, the why’s and wherefore’s. Get the results you need then move on to your next goal. As a religion, we use Dread Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones because it provides a nebulous and highly subjective framework. But there’s something else too. What Neil Gaiman describes as the ineffable rightness of Lovecraft. The Cthulhu Mythos is so primal, fantastic, and decadent that it captures the visionary qualities of religious texts. In essence, Lovecraft’s cosmological mythology became a religion even before his death. I merely helped provide a definitive exegesis.

But if you’d prefer to use Lucifer or Zeus, then go right ahead. As I said, the choice is arbitrary. However, results are not. Results are to be considered and judged. Tangible or intangible is not the question, present or absent is! Manifestation cannot wholly be determined by sleeping men; only the Awakened man is aware of such energy. It is an ichorous current.

Those who come to this Work complacent and satisfied with life cannot move within it. Nothing will take root; neither change of self nor metanoia can take place. If we are perfectly pleased with life, or more accurately, if we are thoroughly engaged in the dramatic ups and downs supplied by the all-consuming illusions of our world, then nothing should be expected of us. We are lost. The vibrant fabrications which appeal to our five senses have effectively mastered us. However, if we feel disquietude, the impression that who we are and what we experience may not be the ultimate reality, then there is hope for us, esoterically speaking.

From time immemorial, the Fourth Way Masters have spoken of Self-Remembering. But what is it they want students to remember? Nothing more than the self; the true self. This true self you’re trying to remember is the higher self, the self outside your machine, the self towering above your pathetic ephemera. Like a Cyclops, he towers – one eye, one will. One land, one king. The psychological realm can only be ruled by a singular entity (or something resembling a close-knit team of like minded entities). Our inner landscape must be willed by this Master ‘I’. No one else can give order, shape, and movement to the lower ‘I’s. Only those who have understanding can consciously rule. Democracy among savages is no government at all.

II.

“We are sentient beings, evolved in an infinite universe. An infinite extrapolation of our evolution is to become Gods ourselves. You dig?“ ~ Big Bang

The Great Old Ones, desperate for release, waiting to rise again, to Awaken… They are interwoven into the fabric of a Cultist’s reality. The ordinary reality we are familiar with contains facets of an even stronger substance – chaos. This chaos is not random, nor is it constantly changing. It has a design. It is an alien order which mankind, as he is, can barely conceptualize. It is a gradual and seemingly paradoxical or juxtapositional assembly of fragments which appear distorted and altogether incongruent when viewed from the wrong angles. Unfortunately, most perspectives are wrong because they are too low, too base, too formatory and predictable. There is no imagination in the “yes” or “no” of everyday dichotomy. If a third side cannot be envisioned, then there is nothing substantial to be gained and nothing more of which to speak.

To the Cthulhu Cultist and those who struggle alongside us, the angles are all too consistent. An unwholesome correspondence exists, Universe A disturbed. We see the design, we see the pattern… the structure mirrors essence and vice versa! Everything becomes clear when we become as the void. Clear, clean, empty, unquiet, and pure. Our blood paves the way for a sacred destiny.

If behavior does not change, that means you have not changed. Look to your actions – what fruit do they bear? Word is not enough. Some people talk far too much so that all of the Work is merely talking. This kind of thing won’t get us very far. These ideas must travel deep and take root.

Have balance, keeping every aspect in proper alignment. When something must be done then do it wholeheartedly. Half-measures are not enough to secure one’s place in the Emerald Kingdom. There are many different realities available to us. How many of us have explored the psychological realities? And of those explorers who have… how many dared to go farther than what is possible? Did you, in fact, go all the way? To failure and beyond? Or did you stop short because of insurmountable obstacles? What if you had assistance? What if there was a network of dedicated esotericists out there – muttering a sinister, alien language, wearing black and green slime covered robes – just waiting for you to ask for their assistance?

What resides behind the last door… a burning three-lobed eye? If that final gateway is unlocked, then who exactly will greet us on the other side? Green doors shutting on the useless limb. It makes no difference to me. Cut it off!

Opposites, in and of themselves, are meaningless. Although, perhaps meaningless isn’t the right word. Looking at only black and white is not particularly helpful if one cannot see all the shades of grey in between. Even if one chooses white or black, the grey acts as a reference point. What about the origins from whence opposites, such as right and wrong, came? More Cultists should give thought to the primordial age where the spheres meet… or originally met.

Much has been discussed regarding third force or neutralizing / reconciling force. Yet another aspect of third force is the intermediary. The intermediary is the mediator or go-between. It is that which has knowledge of and can influence the opposites. The intermediary can negotiate a settlement or understanding between the lower and higher centers, life and the Work, material and spiritual, internal and external, belief and reality. This particular aspect of third force can meet us half way!

Those who have created Magnetic Center would do well to authorize an intermediary so that Work ‘I’s can get things done without too much interference from non-Work or life ‘I’s (the parts of our self which don’t care about Awakening). The intermediary is one’s essential guide, that inner voice who knows the difficulty because it can see both sides from its elevated position and realizes a third side is needed.

My vision of the Left Hand Path does take middle path and third side considerations into account. If the Cult of Cthulhu’s LHP understanding is taken as binary, then that’s one of the very few acceptable dichotomies. No matter how much white splashes into the black and vice versa, I still see it as a choice between slavery and Godhood. Allowing too much synthesis in that area could be detrimental to our struggle for Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification.

In another LHP essay, I used the yin/yang to illustrate my point. The black has a bit of white and the white has a bit of black. I wonder how many went a bit further. Who noticed that the dominant yin/yang shapes were not divided in a straight line down the middle? Some white ventured into the black territory and vice versa. What we assume is LHP ground, inner-consideration or instant gratification for example, is actually right hand path area. Just as some believe the rhp has exclusive dominion over things like altruism or external-consideration – when that is not the case at all.

All darkness, all the time will eventually get you either killed or, if you’re incredibly lucky, you’ll have a lot of your own disciples’ blood on your hands. This is why I recommend the yin/yang or moderate or third side LHP which is essentially 3 parts black to 1 part white. All the while, a Left Hand Path practitioner should observe his footing. Just because an action seems like it’s mostly light or dark doesn’t make it so. Terrorism, racism, or causing innocents to suffer needlessly – these are not virtues of darkness but tools of light! How else could an impotent God force his subjects into submission? On the other hand, causing deserving recipients suffering for some kind of gain or profit is inherently dark.

Elsewhere, I have made a claim similar to that of Christ in the Gospels. No man may come unto the Father but by me. As egotistical as it sounds, I stand by that statement. After all, I am the self-proclaimed, surreptitious, starry savior of all mankind. Shouldn’t the chartreuse gateways open unto me? If you believe the Emerald Kingdom can be found without my help, by all means search for it. This Emerald Kingdom is like the Kingdom of Heaven. Very soon, the Cult of Cthulhu will stake its claim in Gnostic or Esoteric Christianity. Hail the tentacled cross!

If Cthulhu Cultists wish to begin as atheists, then that is perfectly fine. However, the deeper a Cultist goes… all bets are off. Implementation can be done a thousand different ways, but a central mythology should still be developed from which actionable strategies flow. The Cthulhu Mythos provides the mystical backdrop. It is that decadent, forbidden, and unspeakable stimulation which allows us to amplify our hidden divinity!

The more we understand ourselves, our universe, and everything in-between, the clearer Higher Forces become. The kind of devotion towards something intangible, such as an ideal, required by the Left Hand Path takes a discipline which unvarnished materialistic atheism usually cannot begin to supply. In extremely rare cases is it possible? Yes. But again, not very likely.

Where science fails, mysticism attempts to shoulder the burden. Religion, by its very nature, demands the recognition of extra (higher) dimensions. Otherwise, none of this crap would make any God damn sense! Deeper levels of truth cannot be gotten at by analyzing all the surface properties. What is inside a thing? What is its nature, its structure, its character, its being? You can’t go to the dictionary and look up my essence or put it under a microscope. That’s the sort of thing which can only be experienced. How can we measure raw potential or the power of belief? How can we approach the transcendental if there is no spiritual foundation?

The Work requires divinity. If we aren’t progressing towards Godhood, then what are we doing? Are we a place-holder for the next species? Are we an amusement? A mistake? A random cosmological occurrence? Since there’s absolutely no definitive proof of any theory, then it behooves one to reach for the highest possible answer. If not Godhood, then what are your goals? Television, junk food, and 9 to 5 menial labor or some form of data entry in an office? What the fuck is that about? Without inspiring goals, there is no inspiration! Dissatisfied with your lot in life? Why not just kill yourself and either end it once and for all or start over in a new machine (if you believe in some form of reincarnation)? It sure beats having to make the effort, right? Who needs progress? Who needs evolution?

We try to Awaken; that is our chief aim – the one which leads to Godhood. But it is not a matter of simply proclaiming that you are Awake. Any fool can regurgitate the secret wisdom of a starry Master (or the starry wisdom of a secret Master, if you prefer). Parroting one’s teacher is not learning. At least, not the kind of learning we are interested in. A diligent student can put those concepts into his own words. However, only a disciple of The Way can live this teaching… he and he alone has the understanding to unlock the infernal, boundless vistas of tenebrous divinity. A truly devoted follower can Will the Work!

The human being operates as a machine. Usually, those involved in the Work focus on the following three centers: physical, emotional, and intellectual. Within each center there are several levels. Ordinary man concerns himself with the weaker levels of his machine. He does just enough to get by. The impressions he takes in are of the lowest quality. But there are elevated, seldom used levels too. These can be activated by various 4th Way techniques such as Self-Remembering. From there, one can access Higher Centers – our physical, emotional, and intellectual modes which are connected to Objective Consciousness or the reality which exists behind illusions.

It is our Higher Centers which can receive vibrations from Higher Forces. Higher Forces do not exist in this dimension just as the Ancient Ones (A:O) do not exist in this dimension, and yet They can communicate to us during those moments we are more Awake than asleep. By now, I hope it’s apparent that rousing ourselves from sleep is a complicated process. It’s not a cake walk. Rousing ourselves from life’s imaginary construct can be like entering a carnival funhouse full of distorted mirrors. Everything looks warped; there is a sense of wrongness which most people find disturbing. This makes it even more difficult to leave the matrix. Do not despair. Seeing things from an Objective standpoint will become less and less uncomfortable the longer we struggle with it.

My advice? Read, study, think – test your theories and weave those results into a functioning paradigm designed by you. Hopefully, the Cult of Cthulhu’s meta-cosmic model will influence many individuals… many dark seekers for generations to come. After all, what’s a better infrastructure than the weird tales of H.P. Lovecraft?

The vibration of a particular angle drawn in a certain color creates doorways to other world. Within these dimensions are our missing fragments, seeds of the green stars. One may use the Angles of Uoon Kalool as springboard for one’s own ritual visualizations. To see it with the inner eye is to know the truth of it. The psychological realm is less obscured by life’s illusions. We are part of that illusion. Our false self helps create it. Keep taking off masks until there is nothing; only the void remains.

The ultimate sigil is that of Kort’thalis, as it represents the Cthulhu Cult. Kort’thalis manifests that which was and that which will be. It is a black monolith rising from the desert, crystallization of self, initiation into an alien order, a blood-dimmed tide flowing over the ignorant masses, eyes opening, tentacles writhing, chartreuse gateways, carnival funhouse mirrors shattering, consciousness Awakening, that which is outside space and time converging and collapsing into itself. From this moment forth, Kort’thalis symbolizes our quantum religion and emerald paradigm. It is the Cult of Cthulhu!

Dread Cthulhu in flames

I teach you the Overman. Man is something that shall be overcome. What have you done to overcome him? … The time has come for man to set himself a goal. The time has come to plant the seed to his highest hope. ~ Nietzsche

Observing our inner contradictions without the aid of buffers is a shock. Observing our frequent negative states is a shock. Glimpsing our true self buried beneath layer upon layer of false personality is a shock. We need these shocks to jolt us into higher states of Consciousness. Eventually, when we’re able to look down upon our machine and all its many imperfections we shall have obtained Objective Consciousness. Seeing things from multiple subjective perspectives all at once is the challenge. The mind doesn’t want to think one way about something while simultaneously entertaining a contrary thought. Intellectual center, like all centers, is inherently lazy. It wants to come up with an acceptable notion so it can coast along on autopilot. This Work is about engaging manual control. It requires concentration, discipline, and the desire to achieve something extraordinary.

Try to see a gemstone from every facet and really see each tiny side, all those subjective views. Being mindful of all facets at the same time is to understand Objective Reality. This is a fruitful exercise. Don’t just practice it on jewels but on situations.

Of course, we can’t have objectivism while perpetually mired in our limited subjectivity. This might be, at least from my perspective, the most difficult thing to do. Perhaps the last great feat a student needs to accomplish before he can call himself a Master of the Work: dissolving the old self so that a new self can be born. There’s nothing armchair about that!

If we cannot obliterate our identity in one fell swoop (which is dangerous), then a partial dissolve done multiple times is required. A disciple must go against the grain – his own! If we are serious, then we must become jovial. If we are critical, then we must become complimentary. If we are overly-analytical, then we must become intuitive. If we are aggressive, then we must become passive. How else can we create a change of mind? The alteration of ideas is not enough; the alteration of how we feel is not enough. Our entire way of seeing things must change – and not just a little. The greater our paradigm-shift, the closer we are to Awakening!

One’s Cult identity could be used to separate from one’s former self. Separation is necessary because we must watch ourselves. That means there has to be an observer and something to observe. How many of our background ‘I’s can watch the ‘I’ which is currently in charge? Not only must we see the forest and the trees… we must become them. We do that by overcoming ourselves.

As this piece comes to a close, I bet that some of you, perhaps a handful of your ‘I’s, are nodding in agreement while the rest scoff in derision. That’s fine. Be aware of that discrepancy. Revel in your contradiction. Go against the grain. But what happens when some ‘I’s want to go one way and some ‘I’s want to go a different way? Who wins? That depends on a lot of factors. But for the moment, observe your inner friction… the back and forth, to and fro. A piece of you says “yes”. A piece of you says “no”. And I’d also wager that a portion of you is more or less ambivalent about the whole thing. I’ll tell you right now, apathy in the face of Godhood sickens me. It should make you sick as well. Once an individual becomes a student of the Work, then his only excuse for not becoming a disciple is fear.

Thankfully, even fear can be used. Fear and friction, if used consciously, can create energy. This energy can be used to overcome that which must be overcome! A new reality, a new you – all things are possible with the right attitude. But what do you think is possible with the wrong attitude? How limiting would that be? Don’t be afraid to chafe at who you’re becoming. The old self doesn’t want to die. Unfortunately, the new self cannot be born until the old self is no more.

Those who would come to the teacher must first come to the school. Those who leave the school also leave the teaching. Unless, of course, they have learned enough to form their own devotional nexus. A student who wishes to Awaken by utilizing the Cult of Cthulhu shall bear glorious fruit; three fold in comparison to the lone practitioner. Those students who struggle to Awaken whilst in the physical presence of a Master shall bear fruit that yields seven fold the glory! Such was the nature of every traditional Fourth Way school.

Because this level of commitment is burdensome, I have neglected to make any such request… until now. It is the burden which makes new opportunities possible. A perfect example of intentional or conscious suffering. I urge Cultists to make their way to south central Wisconsin. Ipsissimus Satanis: magician, messiah, and madman… is ready to accept disciples in person for one-on-one training. If that is not possible, then long-distance interaction is the next best thing. Hopefully an official Cult of Cthulhu Grotto located in a more convenient city and led by a disciple of the Way could also be a worthwhile alternative. The important thing is that super-efforts are made under the supervision of a conscious teacher.

For those who make the journey, thy pilgrimage shall not be in vain. A temple devoted to Dread Cthulhu will be constructed. Indeed, it is already being built within you.

Just what exactly is demanded of a disciple? Only the disciple himself can answer such a question. I am willing to assist with Cultist relocations but only if the Cultist is willing to assist with the creation of a real world, off-line Fourth Way School. That is most important. I am not Gurdjieff nor am I Ouspensky. I will never be Nicoll, Haven, Orage, or dozens of other 4th Way Masters. You happen to be reading an essay by Satanis. I have my own essential understanding of how to Awaken humanity and why that is a necessary step in the Great Work. A community using 4th Way techniques, bound to the Left Hand Path tenets of Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification by means of a Lovecraftian paradigm… what could be better?

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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First, let us define it. Metanoia is change of heart, change of mind, spiritual conversion, repentance, correction, experiencing a psychological breakdown followed by a re-building. Clearly, it’s a potent word. Dangerous too… not only in the pursuit of metanoia but in its absence.

On a number of occasions, I’ve talked about how important it is to get out of your own way. Just as we’ve also discussed the ego and how it often goes overboard. Self-justification goes far and runs deep with a strong identity. Knowing who you are is an important piece of the puzzle. Satanists and those following the Left Hand Path usually pride themselves on having a rigid and concrete vision of themselves. But is that really a good thing? How does identity differ from identification? Identification relates to the mechanics of life which we get caught up in day to day. Identity refers to the mechanics of who we are. From that perspective, we can see that identity is an insidious form of identification. We take who we are for granted and accept that it is our identity which needs to Awaken. This could not be further from the truth!

Identity is not essence. Identity is not who we truly are. Identity is that layer just below the surface which does not switch masks like the layer above, but is itself the ultimate mask! Let me give you an example. Visualize a sucker or lollipop. Can you picture it in your mind? Ok, that’s us.

A sucker has a wrapper over the top of it which protects it from the world. That wrapper represents all our many ‘I’s or masks which we involuntarily put on, take off, and put on again. They change so easily that oftentimes we never notice the various surface aspects of ourselves are trading places with each other. When the red wrapper is on our sucker then we act one way. When the blue wrapper is on our sucker, we act another.

Fourth Way practitioners, those students who belong to a 4th Way school such as the Cult of Cthulhu, have learned about the wrapper… the competing ‘I’s which take control of the sucker as they wish. Beneath all those wrappers is the sucker itself. It’s hard, sweet, and shiny. Very alluring, very tasty! This is our identity – who we think we are. However, this is only the next layer. Little do Cultists realize that this is also a false self. Sure, it is a bit more “real” or substantial than the wrapper because it’s less transitory. That shell almost never moves. It actually believes that it’s the end all, be all… the real deal. Yet, this is not the whole story.

Our identity dictates our beliefs which dictates our decisions which dictates our behavior. Identity is actually the greatest mask of them all because it is always in place and giving orders! Since it is never removed, Fourth Way students assume that is where essence lies. Not by a long shot! We are the way we are because that’s just the way we are. Change, the kind of change I’m talking about – metanoia – can only be achieved if we realize that identity itself must be overcome. That means a re-evaluation of everything we are. Such metanoia can alter beliefs, decisions, and behavior.

The third layer is the small chewy center below the candy shell. It’s extremely difficult to see as the sucker is virtually opaque… even if one can remove the wrapper. But if you look close, then you will see it. The core down deep, below the immovable mask. Self study and super efforts make the sucker semi-transparent. So what is it? This soft innermost self is real, malleable, and even quite vulnerable… which is one reason why a candy shell and wrapper exist in the first place. The most effective work results from tapping into the small chewy center. Aim to Awaken essence, not the false outer layers. I say again, identity is not essence – identity obscures essence!

If identity is the enemy, then how shall it be destroyed? An excellent question! By not doing what we ordinarily do. By going beyond our everyday mode of operating. Re-programing! Engage the world in a new way, become a new being, cleanse oneself in the green slime of the void. See things differently. Use new language. Meet new people. Try new hobbies. Watch something you normally wouldn’t. Do something you normally wouldn’t… something completely out of character. Visit a foreign land. Let go of your issues. Release old grievances. Read strange books. Laugh at yourself. Try to focus on the illusions all around us and inside us. The false self is all we ever know, so break out of your shell. Become an unfamiliar person. Use your individuality to surprise those who know you best. Revel in that which is opposite to your usual personality. Do some soul searching in order to come up with ways you can utterly change who you are for the better. Hey, as long as you’re going to become different… might as well be an improvement on the old model, right?

I hope the sucker illustration drove my point home. Since you’ve been made aware of this new “terror of the situation” I believe you understand that action must be taken. For those who are brand-new to this system, brought to the west by Gurdjieff and then spread throughout the world by his disciples such as Ouspensky, it might not seem like a shock. However, those who have been intimately involved in The Work need to come to terms with the fact that their struggles have been continually stymied by adherence to a machine lurking below the mechanical facade we’ve all been struggling to override. You wonder why Crystallization hasn’t taken place? It’s probably because you haven’t broken through your identity yet. Intuitively, I’ve realized the hideous truth and have acted upon it for some time. Tonight, I reveal the details of self-mastery which might just lead you to Godhood. Yes, now you know almost all my secrets. This is the time for metanoia if ever there was one. Make it happen, my brothers and sisters!

It would most likely take years for a 4th Way practitioner to fully grasp the enormity of this distinction on his own… without the benefit of a teacher. This is why I recommend finding a Master, like myself, who is willing and able to guide students through the perilous labyrinth of esotericism. Those interested in Awakening should consider joining the Cult of Cthulhu.

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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Dread Cthulhu Reclaims the Nine Angled Order

H.P. Lovecraft

If you think differently, feel differently, or behave unlike ordinary people, then you will be alienated, ostracized, and ridiculed. That’s life. Cyberspace or the “real world”… doesn’t matter. As The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling pointed out, we are a frightened breed. Human beings are plagued by insecurity, jealousy, envy, hatred, and narrow mindedness. It all stems from fear.

That’s why there is racism. In the minds of a few cowards, one proud race suddenly decides it just might not be the best after all. Individuals of one ethnicity or another try to subjugate an entire race who seem alien. The same can be said of terrorism. True freedom cannot be won by causing fear. That kind of action merely creates a new cycle of oppression. Another pathetic display from a pathetic species of plastic soldiers.

What can humanity accomplish when its thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are controlled by nature, by life itself? Who amongst us can stand up and declare that he is in perfect control of his machine? As Jesus said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Are we responsible for our actions if fear and all its symptoms are hardwired into our genetic programming? Man carries out his instructions; he is simply following orders. In that case, how can we blame him if he has no choice?

Fortunately, some of us do have a choice. Yes, a chance exists. A small percentage of humanity can break out of nature’s programming. We can free ourselves from those prime directives rooted in fear. The possibility of freedom lies within certain realizations. That’s all the Cult of Cthulhu is… a hidden awareness made luminous by the void’s chartreuse flame. Subatomic particles of dissent. The tiniest fragments of reality which allow for liberation. Specifically, liberation of the human machine. Freedom only exists in the smallest parts of who we are. That is why the Cthulhu Cult is called a quantum religion.

Altering the microcosm, assuming the vibration is strong enough, will cause a reverberation throughout the macrocosm. As above, so below. That is magic. Changing the subjective reality in such a way that it affects objective reality. Within our emerald paradigm I call this Viridian Sorcery. Those who know me know that I don’t care what other people think, feel, say, or do. The vast majority of human banality is parroted drivel originally mouthed by the lesser gods of the earth. I define my own world. My sense of validation comes from within. If the rest of humanity were to collectively laugh derisively at my actions, it wouldn’t bother me. No matter what the sleepers do I shall keep making changes to my personal reality… which, in turn, will eventually distort consensual reality.

A monolith in the desert has its own center of gravity, its own attraction, its own power because it will not be the sand.

The Cult of Cthulhu is a state of being. It’s the way knowledge is used. Most people operate like temperamental appliances in a dimly lit kitchen. No sense of self, no sense of purpose, no sense of anything greater than themselves. Our quantum religion serves the ambitious individual who seeks the key to his own evolution. Humanity, at least a part of it, can change. It can become less mechanical and more conscious. This race of people, from all walks of life and all ethnicities, will be able to act rather than re-act; to make decisions rather than have things decided for them; to go against the grain even if that road is arduous. And to assist others who wish to do the same. That is blood and honor.

What I speak of is not only the Cthulhu Cult… it is the Left Hand Path. That sinister way which causes us to fight against ourselves. The struggle to evolve is not an easy one. However, it’s made less difficult when struggling alongside fellow travelers. Evil must look at itself first and foremost as that is the essence of change.

I challenge all individuals and every so-called LHP organization to live up to the standards which the Cult of Cthulhu has set for itself. Those who continually miss the mark weed themselves out of the next stage of human evolution. As the LHP grows smaller it shall grow larger.

All of this is the reason for Graaz Roth Alikavniss, the ultimate spiritual war. The LHP will one day be united after false practitioners and wrong understanding have been forever purged. I’ve said it a thousand times and once more it shall be spoken. The Left Hand Path is a spiritual process of dissention whose aims are Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification. Those involved with this sinister journey value Higher Forces, Magical Practice, and Occultism/Esotericism.

Any kind of philosophy beholden to atheism, materialism, and modernity cannot be considered LHP. Nor can organizations which encourage racism or terrorism. These are not the ways of an outsider; they are the ways of the world, nature, and ordinary life. Left Hand Path practitioners reject such false programming which was only installed in us to make us more efficient slaves. Our fear based actions nourish the lesser gods of the earth. They feed upon human suffering which is the history of man. Suffering is the one constant throughout human history. Break the chain. Stop the flow. End the cycle.

Modern Satanism is an oxymoron. It is disingenuous and not true Satanism. Contemporary Christianity is nothing but hypocritical self-repression indignantly attempting to impose its own false standards upon others. The Order of Nine Angles, henceforth known as the Nine Angled Order (9AO), is a cautionary tale of degeneration. Belief systems, especially those which desire to be conscious, require structure and leadership. The Cult of Cthulhu provides this. We have collected fragments from an unknown teaching. We harnessed the energy of those fragments in order to manifest a cyclopean force for personal growth and universal progression. Our loathsome tentacles shock the individual Awake!

The Cult of Cthulhu, as an instrument for the evolution of mankind, effectively owns, dominates, or rules over Satanism, the 9AO, Christianity, and even Buddhism (hey, why not?). We will gladly measure our progress against anything you care to name. We are the true Masters of all because we don’t live in the world of illusion… we exist outside of it. Long ago, this emerald nexus realized that everything was nothing, nothing was everything, and that the Awakened soul was at the very center of things. Our vision is realizing the full potential of every being who wants to wake up from the sleep of life.

The Cult of Cthulhu shares its understanding so that our conscious infrastructure will create a similar reflection in other systems, schools, and sects. We are an example. We are a collection of messiahs. It began off-line and it shall manifest off-line. Like our emerald paradigm, cyberspace is a tool. The communication of ideas leads to implementation of those ideas in the “real world”. Infernal praxis!

If you want to discuss your own possible evolution, then come find us. The Cthulhu Cult is everywhere.

By His loathsome tentacles,

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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If part one was an introduction to the Left Hand Path for the novice and part two instructs an adept on how he might travel farther along his journey, then what will this, part three, have to offer? Merely clarification. The essence of my tertiary examination is the rejection of a so-called “middle path”.

As I understand it, there is no halfway point, no middle ground between slavery and Godhood. Why settle for being an occasional prisoner or a prisoner in a minimum security facility with the occasional conjugal visit? Striving for an equitable balance between the right hand path and Left Hand Path is fruitless. For those of you who pay attention to my writing, I am a staunch proponent of the third side, trichotomy, and tertiality. But doesn’t that assume an exploration of a convenient middle path? No and yes. Let me explain…

A standard, linear, or prosaic middle road between rhp and LHP? No. We don’t want to waste time investigating a neutral position between servitude and deification. Thankfully, if we take the time to examine both of these dualistic thoroughfares, we see that a true right hand path practitioner requires a degree of will, selfishness, arrogance, authority, and power (usually borrowed from his deity). Similarly, a true or effective Left Hand Path practitioner needs to have people skills, conscience, pragmatism, the ability to work as a team, sacrifice, and a measure of self-submission. By self-submission I mean the ability to get out of your own way.

That’s right, a little bit of one path must mix with the other. This reminds me of the novel Beloved by Toni Morrison (required reading for a college lit class). Somewhere in the book it mentions that paint manufacturers used to add a little black paint to the white in order to make it ever whiter. It is my conceit that adding a small degree of the rhp, espoused by white light religions, to our own stygian paradigms in the LHP will make our darkness even darker.

An individual who considers himself only evil does himself a disservice. He’s manifesting Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification with one arm tied behind his back. How can practitioners of the sinister way have time to work if they are constantly looking over their shoulder to see who’s going to backstab them? Otherwise, we might as well throw any idea of LHP community right out the window along with Unification. No, what we desire is to be beyond good and evil. This Cthulhu Cult view of the LHP is entirely in keeping with that desire.

What would this enlightened Left Hand Path look like? A ratio of 3 parts LHP to 1 part rhp? Would there be a code of conduct, honor among thieves, personal integrity, or council of nobles? Such a discussion will continue in a following post outlining the structure of Lovecraftian Theocracy.

The Yin / Yang symbol illustrates how a small portion of one path is inherent to the other. See the white circle in the black area and the black circle in the white area? Ok, that’s what I’m talking about. It’s all part of a system… a greater whole. Realizing that this sought after “balance factor” already exists within either path allows us to stop searching for a middle ground between the two – which would only end up neutralizing us into paralysis. Not only that, but with civility, empathy, and an eye for the common good already built into the LHP, we can contentedly resume exalting our nigrescent trek while subjugating the rhp and its adherents.

Seen in this way, I believe that millions of new LHP practitioners can be recruited. The majority has an attraction to the religious, spiritual, or super-natural. Why can’t this open doors for us? Society usually condemns the black magician because he is often characterized as being too much of an egotistical, misanthropic lone wolf. As radical as this might sound… maybe if we soften/sweeten the image along with the substance of a LHP practitioner, our movement could grow into an empire. Who wouldn’t want to see the three pillars of our LHP: Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification promoted by teachers, politicians, the private sector, and media? All I’m saying is that a little flexibility goes a long way. The ability to keep our core LHP values fluid but strong might allow the sinister way to manifest a New World Order of blood, slime, darkness, sorcery, and tentacles!

And just to set the record straight, the core values of the LHP require acknowledgement, respect, or acceptance of Higher Forces, Magical Practice, and Occultism/Esotericism. Without being open to those influences there is no Left Hand Path. Here endeth the lesson. Thank you for joining me as I now conclude this third and final installment of The Great Work: My Vision for the Left Hand Path.

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

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In 2010, I predicted a Unification of the Left Hand Path.  All connected tribes coming together just as brothers and sisters must in order to manifest our collective Will.  I still believe this is possible… down the road.  Of course, in that prophetic essay I stated that it would take many years.  However, I neglected to mention one of the obstacles or stepping stones to this glorious Unity.  Left Hand Path practitioners cannot effectively pursue our destiny while continually plagued with the kind of diseased, verminous secularists who have suddenly latched themselves onto us or slowly grew upon our flesh like malignant polyps.  The worst offender is, of course,  modern satanism.

Why focus on Satanism since Cthulhuism and Yog-Sothothery are completely different kettles of fish?  Why not leave Satanism behind as an antiquated expression of the Left Hand Path?  Why continue to discuss its fate?  For one thing, Satanism is where the Left Hand Path seemed to really coalesce into a viable movement towards the 20th century’s end.  For another, quite a few Satanists and their modern pretenders are attracted to what the Cult of Cthulhu is doing.  I’m glad that true Satanists recognize our worth, and is it any surprise that dozens of internet warriors take time out of their busy cyber-lives to criticize those who are committed to making substantive, beneficial changes in the real world?  Of course not.  Sickening?  Yes.  Laughable?  Certainly.

I bring this up because some need to be thrown off the Satanism wagon and indeed shown that they do not tread upon the Left Hand Path at all. So called “modern satanism” is not Satanism. It is merely the dregs of authentic spiritual and material Satanism.  Satanism, as it has been and always will be, is connected to Higher Forces just as it is connected to Primitive Instincts. This is why, to my way of thinking, Devil worship is more akin to Satanism than any falsely satanic notion of modernity.  Satanism is not a modern nor postmodern phenomenon.  It is an ancient practice.  Satanism is alive this night, but it is not well.  True Satanists must regain the throne if they are to thrive in the 21st century.

All religions are vehicles which can be used to arrive at a certain destination.  Within the Left Hand Path, that destination is defined by three tenets:  Autonomy, Power, and Self-Deification.  To go around thinking that anything can be achieved while the individual remains asleep to truth is the very height of blasphemy.  Stupidity, as Anton LaVey proclaimed, should be painful.  Thankfully, it is.  Maybe not in the ordinary world, which is full of ignoramuses, but in the extraordinary world… absolutely.  In the reality beneath this illusory construct, stupidity is downright lethal.

Stubbornly holding onto man’s perpetually shallow waters along with his insensitivity and weakness keeps one from the Kingdom.  To those who seek, it’s an Infernal Kingdom or the Kingdom of God or an Emerald Kingdom.  Such differences are aesthetic considerations.  The crucial idea is that a place exists that is higher than common man; something above and beyond the ordinary world to which we can aspire.  The world we see is not the totality.  There is a greater reality which rightfully designated LHP practitioners attempt to grasp.

Those who reject the possibility of Higher Forces unceremoniously shut out any chance of utilizing their Higher Centers.  This kind of stupidity leaves one to their own meager, pathetic, and mechanical devices.  No chance for Autonomy.  No chance for Power.  And especially no chance for Self-Deification.  The unimaginative atheist interpretation allows for none of these things!

Lack of vision!  Is this not real sin… missing the mark?  While I can appreciate a cautious view, an agnostic view, being wary of any external godform which another might worship… I have no appreciation for the closed off, narrow minded, dogmatic, profane, restrictive, and low opinions held by atheistic materialists.  I find no value in a philosophy which denies gnosis.  In fact, those opposed to mystical knowledge are cancerous to the Left Hand Path!

Since those who are not open to Higher Forces can only stymie our progress and cloud our purity what choice do we have but to destroy them?  Now is the time to get our house in order before ascending to whatever higher states of Consciousness and Conscience our potential allows.  Before we can Unify, the LHP must separate the wheat from the chaff.  The farmer must tend to his field.  I call for a purge to get rid of those false practitioners who muddy the waters with their base distortion of truth.  In the Arabic world, this would be known as Jihad or holy war.  Note that I do not support nor condone terrorism – especially suicide bombing perpetrated by Muslims.  However, the term Jihad also means “struggle”.  Removing obstacles from one’s path via the black arts is a duty, as I see it.  Therefore, instead of referring to this particular struggle as LHP Jihad, I will use Viridian (the Cthulhu Cult’s magical language) to bring forth Graaz Roth Alikavniss.  This translates to (un)holy war to the death.

Graaz Roth Alikavniss is meant to be waged on a different dimension altogether, not in the spaces we know but between them.  I will slay those who oppose us in the astral plane, the realm of magic.  This Left Hand Path purge shall be implemented via sorcery.  However, the spilled blood which results might very well be real.  Let the most fit and most willful sorcerer, he who hath true understanding… conquer for all time.  Once every pretender has been systematically annihilated, then we can rebuild.  The time will be ripe for not only LHP Unification, but a governing structure that bears fruit according to our eldritch mandate.  I speak of the Lovecraftian Theocracy which is to come!

Join me, be my enemy, or get the Hell out of the way.  Graaz Roth Alikavniss is upon us.  Strike the first righteous blow for future generations of Left Hand Path practitioners.  Ritual destruction!  Purge the unbelievers so that we may grow stronger.  Tonight, I ask for bloodshed.  Tomorrow, I ask for Unity.  The Cult of Cthulhu shall lead the way.

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis

Ipsissimus

Cult of Cthulhu

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We are influenced all the time… on the surface. Or, perhaps more accurately, influences seem to attach themselves to us. It’s only natural that we encounter books, CDs, and films which we really enjoy. After all, our lives are filled with a constant stream of entertainment. Some works leave an impression on us. But don’t impressions usually affect only the outer aspects of who we are and nothing more than that? In a few rare instances we internalize an impression, allowing it become an essential part of us. Such influences, those which are projected straight into our core, occasionally escape our attention. However, even though we may not consciously acknowledge the change, it usually seeps into our vocabulary, references, mannerisms, and perception.

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu

More and more, I keep getting this question, “Lord Satanis, do you believe in the literal existence of Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, etc.? And if so, then how can you justify this when those entities were clearly invented by a 20th century weird tale author?”

Yes, I believe. But I also allow for the counter-expression of disbelief. Although, disbelief isn’t exactly the right word. More like… I entertain multiple beliefs, dimensions, and realities simultaneously. Occasionally, there are discrepancies. It’s a paradox that the Great Old Ones are literally real while also being metaphorical. Perhaps that’s because they are not from this universe? Our worship of them is an attempt to honor that which is sacred… in us, in the world, and beyond.

Let me put this another way. I believe in the Ancient Ones. Therefore, the A:O are real to me. My reality supports their existence and no matter what anyone says, their substance, their truth is sacrosanct. No one can interfere with how I perceive things. I simply won’t allow it.

Regardless, the A:O are a symbol for the entire Cthulhu Cult – a Fourth Way school with a Lovecraftian background, as both of these streams flow directly to (from?) cosmic horror. That is the chartreuse current which binds them together, creating a raging river which directs our attention to this paradigm. On the page, cosmic horror appears as a nightmare landscape; terror from the stars. And what terror! Upon realizing our present condition, our sanity shatters. The Lovecraft circle dreamed and wrote about the grand scheme of things: the master plan. Man’s frightful position is that he’s not the architect of this plan. Man is the puppet. And yet, we have a chance to cut our strings – to stop our puppet dance choreographed by the lesser gods of the earth. Well, at least the initiated have a chance. My God, how we appear as insects when compared to cyclopean outer forces! It’s a matter of scale, orders of magnitude, Octaves!

During those halcyon days of decadent literature, Fourth Way Masters were teaching students about escaping from a metaphysical prison. That human beings are confined to this pain gallery to be gawked at, used, and discarded after making a brief impression on the world. Conversely, there are alien Gods (Higher Forces) from Universe B who desire our liberation. Some may be content to shrug off any coincidental connections between the two. I, however, cannot. Nor will I go into detail regarding the uncanny appearance of Aleister Crowley who was a contemporary of that otherworldly aeon. But speculations will undoubtedly be made.

I choose what to believe, where to place my belief. Belief, and the energy it holds, is a precious commodity. This concept is stated at the beginning of our first bible, but it most assuredly bears repeating. What is belief? It’s a collection of ideas which inform each other. In a way, it’s similar to Magnetic Center. I suppose that Magnetic Center is more or less a conscious belief system. Together they maintain a certain view, sometimes a foundation. Certainly, belief influences our reality. Who would argue that? However, I continue to go one step further… belief is reality!

Instead of allowing our world view to be determined by others, we have the option of determining our own world view. That is empowering, that is liberating! It’s what the Left Hand Path is all about. I see things the way I choose to see them. My perception is based on a subjective view of reality. I am the subject; the director, narrator, author, warrior, instructor, seer, prophet, magician, and Cultist of reality. Why rely on others when it’s unnecessary? I don’t require others to corroborate my vision of things.

And yet… I have found others who share my world view. That only makes my reality stronger. Not because I needed vindication, but because reality changes depending on observation, will, and force. Those paying attention, those struggling to Awake forge a new day with their fire! They have a hand in re-writing the objective reality code. Being a Cthulhu Cultist is the process of becoming a universal programmer. This is the effectiveness of magic. The tangible proof of one’s self-created and self-defining existence.

Get enough universal programmers together and why not change the world of ordinary man? It worked as a premise for the film In The Mouth of Madness directed by John Carpenter. The same accomplishment has been carried throughout various points of human history. When the masses accept and connect with certain ideas, society is altered.

I say, go for it. If this is what you love, then do it. Be the necessary means! Pinpoint your passion and extrapolate. That’s what I did. It began long ago with an unnatural reverence for the Cthulhu Mythos and slowly evolved from there. I chose to live in hideous paradise under a Lovecraftian Theocracy by the untenable, loathsome ichor of the A:O. That’s what my higher states of consciousness and conscience spread… pollinate. My influence waxes.

Awake!

Venger As’Nas Satanis
Ipsissimus
Cult of Cthulhu