#rite to leviathan

[sangaverage]

Happy Rite to Leviathan! To any demonolators that celebrate!

I had been doing stuff for Mabon so I hadn't really the Effort to do anything super grand with Leviathan but we both enjoyed it nonetheless!

The full video is too big to upload in full but a snippet of A praise candle and playing the song Leviathan by Volbeat:

[mahouowo]

Syv's Autumn Cakes

Finally, Autumn has arrived! After a long hot Summer we can now enjoy the rainy days with a nice cup of tea and a good book. During this season I always make my Autumn cakes. They used to be cupcakes, but after a few years I have finally bought the Autumn leaf cake tin I wanted to make these with. To celebrate the Equinox I will share the recipe so that you can make them too!

Ingredients:

175gr Light Brown Sugar

175gr Flour

175gr Butter (room temp)

3 Eggs (room temp)

1 tsp Mix for Spiced Cookies

1 tsp Maple Syrup

Pinch of Salt

If you don't have access to the spice mix I will include one of many recipes down here. 

30gr Cinnamon

10gr Clove

10gr Nutmeg

5gr White Pepper

5gr Aniseed

5gr Coriander Seed

Stamp the spices well, sieve through a fine sieve, stamp the coarse pieces again, sieve again, keep them in a pot in a dark & dry area. Also, you can use self-rising or normal flour for the cakes. I noticed that when I bake them with normal flour they are dense, but perfect for tea dipping. However, if you like your cakes fluffy I recommend using self-rising flour. I cut the ends off to level them if I want to present them nicely.

Making the cakes:

Preheat the oven at 175°C.

Mix the butter with the sugar. You can do this with a spoon or a mixer. Since I mix with intent I do it with a wooden spoon because my planetary mixer mixes counterclockwise.

When the butter and sugar are mixed enough add one egg and mix until the egg is taken in the batter. Repeat this process with each egg.

Get a fine sieve and put a quarter to half of the flour in there. Mix. Do this again, but also add the maple syrup & mixed spices. Don't over beat!

Put the batter in whatever (cup)cake tin you use. If you use small sections like my leaf tin I'd recommend using an ice cream scoop to get the batter in easier.

Put the tin in the oven for 12 minutes (check if they're done by poking them with a skewer).

Ta-dah, your Autumn cakes are done!

[abyssalpriest]

can i be borderline controversial and say that i do think there's a correlation between the love and adoration for the other kings, Leviathan's brutal honesty about grey-morality and involvement in war when you know him as Leviathan, and his lack of worshipers here under that name. the controversial part being that the other kings seem way more into propaganda flourishing and part of why i say that is because ive known both of them and they fucking do that oops hashtag UPG (PVG) spilled outta my pockets there

ie its always people who work for the other kings i see so caught up in how loving and pure the kings and ''demons'' are, and you COULD say that's just because Lev doesn't have many worshipers under that name but I think its more so because when you know "Leviathan" uhhhhh. like you could say lack of lev worshipers = lack of lev propaganda but i think its more so lev isnt going to pretend to be a beautiful siren man in a suit who tells you he loves you so so much even tho he just met you two seconds ago

[pinkrosealice]

A non-exhaustive list of art, pieces of media, franchises, authors, and thinkers that I really need my fellow Cultsim/BoH/Secret Histories fans to get into and discuss with me and between themselves.

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(WARNING A LOT OF THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS COME WITH A LIST OF CONTENT WARNINGS AND ARE SOMETIMES CONNECTED TO CONTROVERSIAL ARTISTS AND PUBLIC PERSONS. THIS LIST IS NOT A ENDORSEMENT OF ANY PROBLEMATIC IDEALS OR STATEMENTS MADE BY ANYONE MENTIONED IN THIS LIST AND IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT ANYONE WHO LOOKS INTO ANY OF THE MENTIONED WORKS OF ART DO THEIR DUE DILIGENCE AND THOROUGHLY CHECKS FOR DISTURBING / TRIGGERING CONTENT AT THEIR OWN VOLITION)

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Film Recommendations:

1. Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy, especially Suspiria & and especially especially the 2019 remake of Suspiria. Very Dancer DLC-coded, very Sisterhood of the Triple Knot and Thunderskin.

2. The Magic Lantern films of Kenneth Anger, who was a practicing Thelmaite* for many years. Lantern Principal is obviously what comes to mind when you hear of the name of the series and the dreams that were mystical experiences that inspired and were expressed in art, in this case films is very much akin to stuff we see in Cultist Simulator.

(* As shown in later parts of this recommendation list I argue that the games of Weather Factory become even more interesting and artistically impactful if you learn more about late 19th and 20th century occultism and movements like Theosophy and Thelma.)

3. Hereditary and Midsommar are obvious recommendations but even more so I would recommend the original 1970s The Wicker Man. Folk Horror in general is a great source of what the arts of The Bosk would look like in real life. They were definitely worshiping The Low Red Sun on Summer Isle.

4. A Dark Song, a 2016 horror film that actually revolves around the performance of a very famous and important real life occult ritual. I think a lot of the visual imagery in that film can give some inspiration for the kind of Rites our player character in Cultist Simulator is performing.

5. The Lair of The White Worm is a movie loosely based on a Bram Stoker story and is also very much a Gods of Stone overthrown by forces associated with humans raised to Divinity and the powers of the Sun and Apollonian principles type of story. Plus the whole Worm/Wyrms thing going on. I also recommend it because it's one of the more light-hearted and comedic entries on this list and I want some variation in tone. Also its psychedelic visuals compliment a lot of the surrealist elements that are tied to things like the Moth Principal.

6. Black Swan isn't explicitly supernatural but it is very Dancer Coded.

7. The Hellraiser movies, but only the first second, fourth, and the reboot. Leviathan, being associated with pain and pleasure and having the name of a mythical sea monster is probably very similar to whatever the hell The Tide was before The Red Grail vored her. The Cenobites are Long with Grail, Knock, & Forge as their Principals.

8. Pan's Labyrinth, for the Woods and the Bounds appreciators. I also think there is something to be said about the fascist subtext that underlines much of the Edge Principle, especially in The Colonel that can be explored and appreciated in this film and its reckonings with the evils of Spanish fascism.

9. To compliment the recommendation for the Magic Lantern films, also check out the short film The Wormwood Star, you can find it easily on YouTube and it's another piece of art heavily influenced by Thelma and stars Marjorie Cameron who I will talk about more later in this list.

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Game Recommendations:

1. Hollow Knight, it might as well be a story set in the era of the Carapace Cross. Sentient bugs, mighty Wyrms and dream gods with the powers of light but not necessarily moral goodness. Even the Void in Hollow Knight, and it's antagonism to The Radiance is very similar to The Nowhere and it's relationship with the established hierarchies in The Mansus.

2. The Silent Hill games, particularly the entries that revolve around The Order; like 1,3, Origins, and Homecoming. Dream worlds, Sun worship, the Dark Feminine and female psychics/mediums with deep associations with blood, birth and menstruation. Valtiel is totally a Name. Even the fog and mist of Silent Hill is giving The Bounds and it's Forge smoke meets Woods darkness type energy.

3. Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, it's basically playing a Grail Long.

4. The tabletop games Geist: The Sin Eaters and Wraith: The Oblivion line up really well with the Ghoul / Medium DLC. *

(basically most if not all of the World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness tabletop games contain some themes, elements, or bits of World building that should appeal to anyone interested in the games created by Weather Factory)

5. The video games created by Korean studio Project Moon. Lobotomy Corporation has a lot of timers and simulation elements that have many similarities to those found in Cultist Simulator, and as the title implies Liberty of Runia takes place literally in a paranatural library just like Book of Hours even though the game play between the two is very different.

6. Fallen London and it's related media. The reasons why should go without saying. The controversies around AK aside, Echo Bazaar and Secret Histories are blood siblings and I desire more intersection and interaction between the respective fandoms.

7. The Bayonetta games have a surprising amount of real mythological and occult influence in their world building. The Solar Lumens juxtaposed with the Lunar Umbrans definitely has some resonance with Church of The Unconquered Sun and their on again, off again antagonism and allyship with The Sisterhood of The Triple Knot. The Apollonian natured House of the Sun contrasted with the Dionysian Woods & House of the Moo, and the Nowhere being connected to all three but being distinct; is not all together that different from the division of the Bayonetta universe into Inferno, Paradiso, the human world and Purgatorio between all of them.

8. The Shadow Hearts series of JRPGs are a Gothic, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, lovecraftian adventures around late 19th / early 20th century Europe and Asia. It has a lot of comedic elements and its world building and cosmology are not all that similar to the ones in Weather Factory games (barring their shared history as being inspired by Lovecraft). But if you want Lovecraft in video game form without the racism associated with his writings and you found Cultsim/BoH to fill that niche, then I recommend you give these games a try as well.

9. Secret World Legends, a functionally dead MMO but still incredibly fun to play and I think one of the best examples of urban fantasy / soft Lovecraft or post lovecraftian media in existence. Absolutely fantastic & memorable fully voiced NPCs and characters, really intriguing and rich world building and takes on mythology and folklore. Also given that you play as a quasi immortal with a deep association with bees and an ancient techno-organic goddess you're basically a Long.

10. To compliment the Lobotomy Corporation recommendation and the later SCP mention I think it's only natural that I also recommend the urban fantasy games of remedy entertainment like Alan Wake 1 & 2 and Control. Artists channeling / being used by Eldritch Forces in other dimensions and government institutions related to keeping a control on the supernatural are the most obvious similarities to stuff in WF games.

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Visual Artists:

1. Francisco Goya, especially his Black Paintings, his insights into the witchcraft and folkloric traditions of the Basque region and elsewhere in the Iberian peninsula should be very appealing to fans of The Twins and The Thunderskin. Plus all of the Catholic imagery brings to mind The Mother of Ants.

2. Austin Osman Spare, Rosaleen Norton, and Marjorie Cameron. All three of these people were heavily influential occultists and illustrators/painters so their work is definitely a great representative example of the kind of occult art that you are making when you Paint in Cultsim.

3. Salvador Dali is also a relatively obvious, but I think very appropriate all the same recommendation. Surrealism is by and large the big big tonal influence on Secret Histories in my opinion. He also did a tarot deck so that brings in the Lucid Tarot connection

4.Erté, absolutely the kind of art and fashion you would find in Cultist Simulator's 1920's. Art Deco for days but also his works in particular show a more flowy and organic influence that we would more stereotypically associate with the Art Nouveau of decades prior.

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Comic Books:

1. Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison's run on Animal Man. DC's Red and Green (plus all the other elemental forces) are a deeply underappreciated and underexplored element of the setting, and I think they have a lot of similarities with the Principles we find in Secret Histories.

2. Related to the above, Alan Moore's Promethea and Grant Morrison's The Invisibles for an exploration of 20th and 21st century occultism. Despite the two authors general distaste for each other, their works are often very complimentary.

3. The Hellboy franchise doesn't have a lot of one-to-one parallels with Cultsim & Co. but they draw from the same artistic influences of gothic fiction, weird fiction, mythology and folklore and the occult. So I feel very strongly that fans of one would and should find the other to be enjoyable. Both fandoms need to be more active on this hell site and though there are a handful of quality hidden gems of fanfiction for both franchises I desperately need more people to be writing & reading fan fiction for both. Plus I do strongly believe that Mike Mignola' s art style would really excel at illustrating characters and settings from Secret Histories. His non Hellboy work is also recommended especially the works that fall under his Outervers setting, like Baltimore and Joe Golem.

4. Although I will admit that I am not up to date on it, and that there has been a considerable amount of discourse around the quality of its storytelling (especially within the past few years) I would recommend the webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court to fellow Cultsim fans. Alchemic imagery, interesting reinterpretations of folklore and a setting and tone that is quintessential British urban fantasy / science fiction, Gunnerkrigg is in my opinion a work that has a lot of appeal for fans of WF's games and stories.

5. Lackadaisy Cats is an awesome Webcomic and animated web series. 1920s/ 30s gangsters and bootleggers in the form of anthropomorphic cats! And absolutely beautiful Art Deco illustrations! What's not to love.........

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Anime & Manga:

1. Any of the anime directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura especially Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost Hound(this one is seriously underrated in my opinion.) Surrealism is the name of the game as I've said earlier.

2. Le Chevalier D'Eon, both it's manga and anime even though the two are very totally different and have divergent takes on a similar premise. Historical fiction that reinterprets 18th century historical events through an occult lens is so very very Secret Histories. Plus both works have interesting explorations of gender and the nature thereof. It helps that as far as we know the French monarchy's Secret Histories equivalent are associated with the Hours, my personal headcanon is that Louis XIV was Lantern Principal aligned, and Louie XVI had Knock as his Principal. Also the manga version of the story has a lot of its magic system based around the Tarot.

3. You can't recommend D'Eon without recommending it's biggest inspiration (apart from Rose of Versailles of course) and that would be Revolutionary Girl Utena. Edge Dyads for days with that one. Utena and Anthy are totally The Twins. And the whole show and it's movie are full of surrealist pseudo occult imagery practically to the bursting.

4. Baccano! , a light novel / anime series that's about a bunch of immortal Mobsters in the 1920s and 30s. I mean that's basically The Exile DLC right there.

5. xxxHolic and Legal Drug / Drug & Drop, by CLAMP. A shop that grants wishes and a pharmacy that handles the paranormal are both the kind of businesses that I could see existing alongside Morland's, Oriflamme's Auction House & The Ecdysis Club. Plus both manga are hella gay and I will push my Weather Factory games are inherently Queer pieces of media agenda till the day I die.

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Theater, Operas, Music and Albums:

1. Jimmy Page's unused soundtrack for Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Raising. Definition of Occult rock and role.

2. Kiki Rockwell, especially her two most recent albums Rituals on the Bank of a Familiar River, and Eldest Daughter of an Eldest Daughter.

3. Stravinsky's Rite of Spring might just be the closest we will ever get in real life to an occult ritual in the form of an entire ballet like we see in Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours. Definitely a skill that could fall under the Wisdoms of Birdsong and The Bosk.

4. On that note, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte is also full of Hermetic Elements, Lunar / Solar antagonism, mystical initiation and ritual deity impersonation. Mozart was a Freemason so the fanfic of him as a Heart Adapt practically writes itself.

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Literally Fiction:

1. The webnovels Pact and Pale by wildbow. A magic system that revolves around incredibly hierarchical relationships between humans and mystical beings, where magic fundamentally requires discarding one's humanity and transforming into some kind of mystical being yourself is very similar to the Adapt to Long pipeline we follow in Cultist Simulator.

2. The Rivers of London series is one that I'm still familiarizing myself with but it's another example of wonderful British urban fantasy (that isn't the wizard books that shall not be named) The fact that the main characters of the series are magic police officers gives it a certain Suppression Bureau appeal.

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Nonfiction- Philosophy and Occult works and Authors:

1. Georges Bataille!!!!!!!! If you only pick one thing from this list to investigate further let it be the philosophical works of this man. His theory of religion as it relates to concepts such as economy, sacrifice, and eroticism you literally completely change how you understand The Hours and The House Without Wall.

2. Aleister Crowley, and any of his students, especially Kenneth Grant. He really is the quintessential modern English occultist, whether or not AK and Lottie intended it, the DNA of his beliefs or those of his Golden Dawn contemporaries, or his students is all over Cultsim and BoH. The Red Grail is like, so blatantly Babalon it's kind of ridiculous.

3. The Book of English Magic by Phillip Carr- Gomm & Richard Heygate, is a good introductory source of information on the history of magical practice and occultism on the British isles.

4. Occult Paris by Tobias Churton is a fascinating insight into some of the mystical practices that were en vogue in Europe just a few decades prior to when Cultist Simulator takes place.

5. Atlas of Cursed Places by Oliver Le Carrer. I could totally see some of the places documented in this book as being locations you could send your Followers to in Cultsim.

6. Please read everything you can that is academically critical about Greek magical Papyri. There are tons of resources for reading translations and analysis of these documents that are some of the most foundational examples of what real historical magical belief and practice actually looked like.

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Web Original Content, Podcasts, YouTube Channels and Tiktok Recommendations:

1. Greedy Peasant over on Instagram and tik tok does fascinating content related to Catholicism, medieval history and art, and other related topics. If you like all of the interesting reinterpretations of Christian religious iconography into sun worship that happens in Book of Hours I highly recommend his content.

2. The last few years have really seen an incredible ecosystem of academic scholarship on religion, mythology, occultism and esoteric philosophy develop on YouTube. Channels like Esoterica, Angela's Symposium, Let's Talk Religion, Religion for Breakfast, Jackson Crawford, The Modern Hermeticist, The Archaeology of Ancient Magic, and others are just overflowing gold mines of accessible and easily digestible but still academically critical and pseudoscience and conspiracy theory free information about mysticism historical occultism and esoteric religion and mythology.

3. There are also a number of great YouTube channels that aren't academically critical but are run by actual practicing witches and occultists and they offer fascinating and interesting insights into these same topics but from a lived more personal perspective which is just as important I think to learn about as the academically critical sources. Great channels include Benbell Wen, Maevius Lynn, Marco Visconti, & Nordic Animism.

4. In terms of fictional internet media, SCP is so broad that there's a lot of stuff that is completely different in appeal from what is enjoyable about Secret Histories, but there's also so much overlap. I need crossover fanfics and fan art more than air!!!!!

5. Lastly this is a fiction podcast so it's a little incongruous with the other nearby recommendations but, I cannot stress enough......... The Mangus Archives and Magnus Protocol!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are a lot of key differences between those two podcasts and Weather Factory games, but there are so many similarities that I have to write an entire three other posts about how similar the settings are and how I want to write a crossover/ fusion fic. I've seen like, one or two pieces of fan art and fanfiction that was related to both series but in my humble opinion it's not nearly enough. I really really really really really need Cultsim fans to talk more about Magnus and I need Magnus listeners to play these games soooooooo badly!!!!!!!!!!

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Well that mostly concludes this piece of propaganda for the time being, will probably make another post with further additions in the not so distant future. Feel free to reblog this with any other pieces of media that you think would also be appealing to fans of Cultist Simulator and Book of Hours.

[astra-ravana]

Datura

Datura has been used in witchcraft, shamanic practices, and religious rites for untold centuries. Many ancient cultures considered the plant to be sacred. Please note, however, Datura is highly toxic. It is safe to handle (wash your hands) but never ingest it. You will suffer never-ending, nightmarish hallucinations that can leave you with serious trauma and brain damage. Always treat this powerful plant with the utmost respect.

Other names: Sacred datura, jimson weed, devil's trumpet, witchweed, loeoweed, devil's apple, Jamestown weed, Moon flower, stramonium

Gender: Feminine

Element: Water, Earth

Planets: Moon, Saturn, Venus, Pluto

Deities: Hekate, Hades, Horus, Apollo, Kali, Lilith, Leviathan, Melinoe, Baba Yaga, Thoth, Tiamat

Magical uses: Baneful magick, protection, dream work, divination, astral travel, invisibility, boosting power, Lunar magick, spirit work

[hushcaringdemons]

A Druidic Demonolator's Guide to Invocation

I have been asked many a times to kindly offer guidance on how to do ritual invocation for demonolatry. I will oblige those inquires now, and all future ones by revealing how I personally do invocations as a syncretic theistic Satanist and Druidic Pagan. This is only one individual’s example. Yours will surely be different based off of tradition, experience, and preference. (Please with all gratitude credit back to Hushcaringdemons when sharing.)

THE SACRED CIRCLE

In order to conduct ritual, one must call upon the elemental forces and balance the spiritual energies within and without you. This sacred space is brought into existence by the might of your own Will. It serves as a gateway between the Mundane and the Spirit World as well as a stabilizing force during your ritual workings (especially if this involves working with a spirit like a Daemon). Depending on the tradition, a wand or a ceremonial dagger is used to summon and direct energy. A hand with the pointer and middle finger extended can fill the role of a ceremonial tool if one is absent. A scared circle can be cast pretty much anywhere.

THE WATCHTOWERS

Watchtowers refers to the cardinal direction (East, South, West, North, and Center), their elemental association (Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and Spirit), and the spiritual entities that represents them. Calling upon the spirit of the Watchtowers instills their power in your circle and rite. What spirit is called upon varies between traditions as well as practitioner preference. Direction and elemental associations are very open to interpretation, especially in the case of Pagan Gods where it is largely a modern invention. It is the metaphor that matters here.

THE WORD OF POWER

Choosing a Word of Power to shout at the end of prayers, blessing, or invocations serves as a release of spiritual energy in accordance to your Will. Give it focus and some oomph. Like Watchtower spirits, Power Words vary by tradition and preference. Examples include:

Amen - Useful for practitioners with leanings toward Traditional Ceremonial Magic. A Jewish word meaning "So Be It" inherited by Christianity and Islam. If one comes from a culturally Abrahamic background and is unbothered by that, it is a perfectly serviceable word.

Amun - It is a common falsehood in magic communities that the true origin of the word Amen comes from the name of Amun, a High God of Ancient Egypt whose dominion is the deepest and most hidden parts of the cosmos. I list it here as an example because calling upon the highest, and preferably most primordial, entity or force in your pantheon sends out your magic intent to those parts of the universe. For me, that name would be Satan who I view similarly representing the hidden and the primordial.

Awen - Useful for druidic practitioners such as myself. Awen is divine inspiration in the Welsh bardic tradition. Neo-Druids have expanded it to encompass the animating force of the universe.

A STANDARD RITUAL INVOCATION

Now, lets put all of the above components together. The following instructions will be using my personal invocation as a template.

Turn to face East, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Starting from the East, the direction associated with the sunrise and new beginnings, is a common way to start Sacred Circles through out traditions. Beckon:

“HAIL LUCIFER, Prince of the East. Spirits of Air anoint thee for thou art Truth and Enlightenment amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME.”

Turn to face South, and use your ritual tool to point outward. It is another common tradition to use clockwise motions in order to create. Beckon:

“HAIL ASMODEUS, Prince of the South. Spirits of Fire anoint thee for thou art Passion and Desire amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Turn to face West, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Beckon:

"HAIL LEVIATHAN, Prince of the Wests. Spirits of Water anoint thee for thou art Chaos and Rebirth amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Turn to face North, and use your ritual tool to point outward. Beckon:

"HAIL BELIAL, Prince of the North. Spirits of Earth anoint thee for thou art Filth and Fecundity amoung them all. HAIL AND WELCOME."

Hold your ritual tool high over your head, and state:

“HAIL SATAN, Master of Darkness. All Spirits are within thee.”

Say the following as you move clockwise, weaving all the elements and directions together with your ritual tool:

“Thou art the Adversary, the Black Goat, the Ram-Headed Serpent.

All that is Above, and all that is Below.

All that is Hidden Without, and what is Hidden Within.”

At this point you should have completed your circle. Hold your ritual tool high over your head again. Stand tall and proclaim:

“What is hidden in me! Myself! I am God!”

(This is technique I stole from LaVeyan Satanism. A little puffing up of the ego helps with energy building.) Maintain your erect pose as you conclude the invocation:

“By the Might of the Four Watchtowers

And by the Binding Power of the Baphomet,

I proclaim this ritual circle cast.”

Use your ritual tool to draw a sigil in the air such as the pentacle or pentagram, and declare:

“It is my Will, and it is Done.”

Complete the invocation with your Power Word. Congratulations, your Sacred Circle is cast, and you are now ready to proceed to your ritual.

[inbabylontheywept]

The Mormon Heretic, and the Leviathan

I have decided to make an explanation of how a Mormon heretic gave me the idea for my short story, Leviathan. It is very long explanation, mostly focused on the fascinating theology the heretic created on accident. The explanation of how it led to the story will only be at the end. You have been warned.

So, a short explanation of the heretic: He was a seminary teacher of mine that had deep dived into theology and Jungian analysis and the views that he'd come out with were just... fascinating. He didn't really consider this stuff heresy, because he didn't think it wasn't directly disagreeing with normal doctrine, just adding stuff into the margins. I think that his definition of Godhood and the nature of God was so alien that it was essentially an entirely new religion wearing the same terminology as the old one like a skinsuit. Calling it Christian would be stretching the word to the point of meaninglessness. And without further adieu, his beliefs: He was big on the idea that Jesus/God and GOD/Elohim were separate entities. He based this on the fact that Elohim refers to a plurality, while there are later words for God that are purely singular. He'd envisioned this sort of weird cycle where the God Cluster (Or Big God, or Elohim, or the Monad, he used a lot of terms for it) is this sort of outside-of-time entity that encompasses everything in an unconstrained sense. To exist in this way is to be incomprehensibly lonely, because there is literally nothing in the world but you. So it would, occasionally, go mad and cut out a temporary pocket of reality where it could not go. Sort of the "God creating a rock so heavy that It could not lift it" moment. This God-Cluster would then manifest a sort of physical reflection of itself in these constrained spheres, a self-that-was-not-the-self. That physical unself would go through apotheosis as a rite of passage, to create something different enough from the Monad that it would temporarily alleviate the isolation of being everything. So the God that there was with Eve and Adam was basically just a fetus-demiurge, and the reason that paradise failed was because it was still learning how to not suck at being a God. That was Lesson 1. Lesson 2 was the flood, which was really important because it was, according to Heretic Teacher, the first time that God felt shame. It had not blamed itself for the loss of Eden, it had blamed us, but this time it knew that it had overreacted. After Lesson 2, it spent a couple thousand years mulling over why it kept failing to predict humans and decided to try being one. That was Lesson 3, and the experience went so unbelievably badly that it decided it wasn't going to keep micromanaging us until it got its own shit together. It also gave it quite a bit more sympathy for us in our condition, and basically promised us that it was going to be nice to us, and to please be nicer to each other. This whole little thing relates to the prompt because, in his eyes, the grand cycle of existence seems to be based around the higher powers creating separations within themselves to avoid loneliness, with the goal of each split to be finding a way to reform into the big thing again, thesis-anthesis-synthesis style. We were mini-runs of the demiurge, who was using us to try and understand Itself, and It was in turn a mini-run of the monad, who was using it to try and understand itself and also as a way to pretend that it is two things, because being the only thing is very lonely. In this context, I made the Leviathan as the singular state, and humans as the sort of temporary split within it. That's why it eats people. We were always part of it. We were just a weird embarrassing stage in its life cycle.

As for why the flood is a recurring motif, that teacher talked a lot about the flood. He was fascinated with it, considered it the primary sin of God against man, and in turn, a sin by God against Itself. That one day, as we progressed back to unity with mini-God, all of our pain would become Its pain, and that as it progressed back to unity with the Monad, our pain would because its pain, and that in this way, even the Gods would be held accountable for forcing us to deal with some amateur hour schmuck of a deity for the first several thousand years of our existence. The universe is just a lonely god trapped in a room, arguing with a sock puppet, and occasionally getting so heated that it punches the sock puppet into the wall and hurts itself.

I don't even know how he came up with this number, but he'd estimated that something like a trillion people died in the first flood, which was comparable to how many people had died since. Even as a teenager, I had this weird realization that the synthesized proto-monad of our world was going to be comprised mainly of drowned, which was unsettling. Our world was the world of the drowned God.

I could write more about the weirdness of this guy. He was fucking fascinating, both because of his beliefs, and also because he genuinely viewed himself as a normal Mormon. But this is how that guy accidentally helped me write cosmic horror. By truly and genuinely believing in one.

[ggabraxas]

With the big arc over, there's some random QnA type stuff I'd like to ask;

1 ) When you first created Gyn (Leviathan Gyn I suppose, not the original sea witch idea-) was there any major plans you had for him that eventually changed/you didn't get to hit (or wont in the few more weeks of Mer)?

2 ) Will you ever have a sort of tell-all for the leviathans in an organized form? Or just more stream bits?

3 ) If Gyn were suddenly in another SMP (let's say Siege for instance), how would that feel to him? Both emotionally and magically?

Hi :D

1. There were originally a lot more plans for bigger and better beef with Bite! They were supposed to be wholeheartedly enemies. I think I like where they ended up better though ;)

2. I'm planning on making an all-encompassing document talking about everything for y'all! From religion, to birth rituals, to death rites. It'll likely be some sort of artistic project, too.

3. Magically he would have to be careful. If he were in another universe he wouldn't be able to recharge- since his connection to magic is tied directly to the plane he's currently in.

Emotionally it would destroy him. Take all of the time and effort and care he's put into the world and the people around him. If he suddenly woke up in another place? It would wreck him. Especially losing Bite again.

I imagine he'd get very bitter, and cynical about fate and the world.

[solarwreathe]

searching for leviathan bones in the hebra tundra. from my oc zelda fic which you can find here

lore under the cut

the fur hood was made from a great-horned rhino. they resided in the highlands and hebra mountains until gleeoks and people hunting them (estan's silence on this topic is deafening) drove them to near extinction.

aubri and her yiga companion (his alias is twigs. i'm tired of calling him data expunged that bit has ran its course) encounter one of the last on their hebra trek, having barely escaped a gleeok, but slowly dying from its wounds. twigs wants to save it (misanthropic vegan that he is) but aubri elects the humane choice would be a mercy kill.

after which they clash again over their beliefs; aubri thinks every part of it should be made use of: cook its meat, sell its valuable tusks, make armour from its hide. because it's dead anyways who gaf. but twigs believes every part of its body needs a burial to pass on.

eventually she compromises to just shave its mane - it's not technically a fixed part of its body so it doesn't count.

burial is as important to the yiga as it is for the sheikah - fail to do so and they'll remain in this world as malevolent spirits. i think even if they killed link they'd give him that rite purely because they'd otherwise be haunted by his unfunny pranks for eternity.

it's also why they left dorian's wife in the underground well labyrinth - they knew she'd be a particularly determined vengeful spirit even when buried, so it keeps the spirit lost.

and if you got this far: bonus doodles!

[lilacdelilah]

Can someone send good dsbm and raw bm recomendations.

I really need new music

My favourite black metal bands are Μνήμα, Leviathan, Xasthur, strid, darkthrone, trist, wampyric rites and Vampirska

Thanks<3

[satangod666]

The Satanic Ritual

1 The opening of the Gates of Pandemonium:

Grasp the Bell of Commencement and sound it once at each of the five points of the

Pentagonia while turning widdershins. Afterward, replace the bell upon the altar.

2 Grasp the Sword of Satan and point it once at each of the five points of the Pentagonia,

beginning at the upper left point of the altar and then turning widdershins as you pause

at each point, address the Dark Lords thus:

Be Present Satan, Great Adversary Of Jehovah!

Be Present Belial, Great Prince Of The Wicked!

Be Present Leviathan, Great Serpent Of Infernal Seas!

Be Present Beelzebub, Great Lord Of The Flies!

Be Present Lucifer, Great Morning Star And Light-Bringer!

Afterward, replace the sword upon the altar.

3 Face the Satanagram and recite the Invocation of Infernal Power.

IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY SATAN, PRINCE OF EVIL AND DARKNESS, I ENTER

INTO THE ALLIANCE OF INFERNAL POWER! THE GATES OF PANDEMONIUM

HAVE OPENED WIDE AND THE DEMONS RIDE THE NIGHTWINDS TO THIS

UNHOLY PREACHMENT! ATTEND MY WORKINGS OF BLACK ART AND FULFILL

THE DESIRES OF MY INFERNAL WILL! IN SATANICUS HONOS!

4 Offertory:

Grasp the Chalice of Change and raise it to the Satanagram in an offering manner while

saying:

I PRESENT TO YOU, DARK LORD, THE ELIXOR OF CHANGE! BRING FORTH THE

INFERNAL WILL!

Drink from the chalice.

5 Grasp the Sword of Satan and point it towards the Satanagram while calling forth the

appropriate demons.

Afterward, replace the sword upon the altar.

6 The Creative Darkness.

7 Face the Satanagram and recite the appropriate Decree of Satan.

8 The Decrees of Satan are statements of Infernal Law—words of conviction and purpose.

The demonic elements in attendance are the executors of the principles of the

-26-

Satanagram. The Satanic Will has been exercised and the decrees are the words of

enforcement. Each Decree of Satan Correlates with a specific rite and shall be

appropriately applied. At the conclusion of the Creative Darkness, the proper decree is

recited by the celebrant while facing the Satanagram.

BY THE POWERS OF MY INFERNAL WILL AND BY THE LAWS OF THE

SATANAGRAM, I DO HEREBY ADDRESS YOU, MY DEMONIC BRETHREN OF THE

NIGHT! YOU, WHO HAVE SEEN AND FELT THE POTENCY OF MY LUST, MY ACT

OF ANOINTMENT, AND MY DESIRE FOR HER (HIM), GO FORTH! GO FORTH AND

FILL HER (HIM) WITH INSATIABLE DESIRE SO THAT SHE (HE) WILL COME

UNTO ME! FULFILL MY DESIRES! IN SATANICUS HONOS!

BY THE POWERS OF MY INFERNAL WILL AND BY THE LAWS OF THE

SATANAGRAM, I DO HEREBY ADDRESS YOU, MY DEMONIC BRETHREN OF THE

NIGHT! YOU, WHO HAVE SEEN AND FELT MY SORROWS OF THE ONE WHO

SUFFERS, GO FORTH! GO FORTH O BENEVOLENT ONES, AND SMASH THE

CHAINS THAT TORMENT THIS WORTHY ONE! STRENGTHEN AND DIRECT HER

(HIS) FLIGHT TO JOY AND CONTENTMENT! FULFILL MY DESIRES! IN

SATANICUS HONOS!

BY THE POWERS OF MY INFERNAL WILL AND BY THE LAWS OF THE

SATANAGRAM, I DO HEREBY ADDRESS YOU, MY DEMONIC BRETHREN OF THE

NIGHT! YOU, WHO HAVE SEEN AND FELT MY ANGER AND HATRED TOWARD MY

ADVERSARY, GO FORTH! GO FORTH, HERALDERS OF WOE AND DESTRUCTION,

AND REND HER (HIM) WITH INCREASE, WITHOUT END AND UNTO DEATH!

FULFILL MY DESIRES! IN SATANICUS HONOS!

9 Closing the Gates of Pandemonium:

Grasp the Bell of Commencement and sound it once at each of the five points of the

Pentagonia while turning clockwise.

Replace the bell upon the altar.

END OF RITUAL.

-27-

Book IV:

The Satanic Philosophy

-28-

Pandemonium: The Infernal Hierarchy

PRINCES:

Lucifer: Morning Star and Light-bringer; Satan: Adversary of God; Belial: a Vicious and Wicked

Beast; Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies; Leviathan: Prince of Heresies and Serpent of the Infernal

seas.

THE FIRST LEGION:

Set, Tiamat, Eblis, Mephistopheles, Ahriman, Fenris, Pan, Abaddon, Apollyon

THE SECOND LEGION:

Asmodeus, Adramaleck, Astaroth, Kali, Nergal, Lilith, Typhon, Moloch, Midgard, Diabolus

THE THIRD LEGION:

Caop, Amon, Skoll, Hati, Azazel, Marchocias, Serapis, Bali, Orias, Maskim, Mastema, Nebrios,

Emma, Furfur, Pazuzu

THE FOURTH LEGION:

Pursan, Nabarus, Alastor, Silcharde, Incubus, Succubus, Hekate, Asag, Mara, Euronome,

Forneus, Xaphan, Ukoback, Belphegor, Kobal, Lerva, Necrofiend, Basilisk

****** Magickal Laws Regarding Successful Evocation of Devils and Demons ******

1 Suspend “non-belief” during Ritual. Fantasy is essential to successful Ritual.

You lm

2 Suspend “non-belief” while applying Outer Magickal Art/suggestion, etc. The catalyst, in

most instances, to realizing one’s ritualized desires lies with the application of positive or

negative fantasy; created situations; the use of what is commonly known as

“superstition”.

3 The Devil and demons were created and have been re-created by Man throughout

history. The Devil and/or demons are re-created through ritual and Outer Magickal Art;

in all other instances, our doctrine maintains a stance of non-belief, i.e., Book I: The

Denouncement of Theism.

-29-

Book V:

The Rituals of Satanic Proper

-30-

The Pact Of Satan

Membership with most elite organizations or private societies usually require an initiation rite and/or formal membership document which is signed by the initiate. This tends to be true (though in varying forms) also with regard to Satanic organizations and “realms”.

Historically speaking, Black Arts practitioners seeking Satanic alliance would call up a demon, or Satan Himself, to make a Pact in exchange for power of various sorts instead of joining a “Satanic group”. Moreover, hundreds of years ago, such groups weren’t “open” or well-known, now were “Devil’s books” readily available to the general public through “retailers”, as any kind of “Satanic” worship was considered a crime punishable by death. Thank the Devil and Enlightenment for our freedom from some of “God’s” religio/social injustices; anyone can now enter into union with the Devil without being “completely” criminalized!

The Pact of Satan is synonymous with the Xian rites of baptism as a purification device, whereas the Xian baptism is performed to symbolically cleanse the initiate of “original sin”, the Pact of Satan represents the initiate’s willful rejection of the belief in the existence of deities, and a rejection of the widespread Xian doctrines of deceit.

Ultimately the pact serves as a greeting and acceptance into Satan’s world of Darkness.

Special note regarding solitary Satanists: making a pact with Satan is not necessary to

successfully practice the Black Arts. The Pact of Satan ritual is geared to individuals who prefer to further formalize their dedication in a group setting.

Requirements for performance The standard altar articles are employed in the customary manner in addition to the initiate’s Pact articles (which sit upon a small table to the immediate right of the altar) which consists of: one Satanagram pendant, a black robe, two Pact of Satan contracts (one for the initiate and one for the priest who represents the Devil’s emissary) and a pre-arranged Satanic (magickal) name chose by the initiate.

Attendance requirements: the priest performing the rite, an assistant and the initiate. The priest and his assistant are garbed in the customary manner. The initiate wears a silver (gray is acceptable) robe.

-31-

The Pact of Satan

1 The celebrant grasps the Bell of Commencement and opens the Gates of Pandemonium.

2 The celebrant grasps the Sword of Satan and evokes the Dark Lords from the five points

of the Pentagonia:

BE PRESENT SATAN, GREAT ADVERSARY OF JEHOVAH!

BE PRESENT BELIAL, GREAT PRINCE OF THE WICKED!

BE PRESENT LEVIATHAN, GREAT SERPENT OF THE INFERNAL SEAS!

BE PRESENT BEELZEBUB, GREAT LORD OF THE FLIES!

BE PRESENT LUCIFER, GREAT MORNING STAR AND LIGHT-BRINGER!

3 All participants face the Satanagram as the celebrant recites the Invocation to Lucifer:

O LUCIFER, PRIDEFUL MORNING STAR, SUPREME IN BEAUTY AND POWER,

HEAR ME! GRANT HIM (HER), THIS ENLIGHTENED FALLEN ANGEL—EXODUS

FROM THE HEAVENLY ABYSS OF SLAVERY AND THE TYRANT KING—THE

KNOWLEDGE AND WILL OF YOUR DARK SOUL, SATAN! DARK CREATOR OF THE

ANGLES OF DARKNESS, HEREIN WE THE DARK SOULS DWELL! GUIDE AND

EMPOWER HIM (HER) NOW AND FOREVERMORE! IN LUCIFERI HONOS!

4 All drink from the Chalice of Change (the celebrant, then his assistant, and finally the

initiate).

5 The celebrant recites the Pact of Oration which the initiate repeats after him:

LUCIFER—LORD OF MY DARK SOUL, I (common or Xian name) DO HEREBY

RENOUNCE GOD, JESUS THE NAZARENE, XIANITY AND MY FORMER BAPTISM,

FOR I AM OF THE EARTH, DARKNESS, AND THE POWERS OF THE INFERNAL

ONE! ACCEPT ME AS YOUR EVIL ALLY BY THIS NAME, (Satanic name)! IN

LUCIFERI HONOS!

6 The celebrant presents the two Pacts of Satan to the initiate for signing.

7 The assistant removes the silver robe from the initiate who then dons the black robe.

8 The celebrant bestows the Satanagram pendant upon the initiate while saying:

WELCOME (Satanic name), BROTHER (SISTER) OF DARKNESS!

9 All turn to face the Satanagram as the celebrant finalizes the rite with the words:

IN SATANICUS HONOS!

-32-

The Pact Of Satan

LUCIFER—LORD OF MY DARK SOUL, I __________________, DO

HEREBY RENOUNCE GOD, JESUS THE NAZARENE, XIANITY, AND

MY FORMER BAPTISM, FOR I AM OF THE EARTH, DARKNESS, AND

THE POWERS OF THE INFERNAL ONE! ACCEPT ME AS YOUR EVIL

ALLY BY THIS NAME:

________________________

INITIATE

DATED THIS NIGHT,

__________, ____ ________________________

WITNESS

________________________

PRIEST/PRIESTESS OF SATAN

-33-

The Ritual Of Antichrist

THE SIGIL OF ANTICHRIST

If you truly have a Darkness to your soul then this ritual will be both inspiring and self-fulfilling. However, by the same token, if you’re attempting to become something you’re not, it can bring forth a demon of self-destruction. Therefore, know thyself!

The Main Focus of this Ritual

1 To purge any residual Xian influence from the essence of the celebrant’s Being.

2 To cause the essential Darkness of the celebrant to grow, thus expanding the Sixth Sense.

3 To strengthen the Will to oppose the Xian doctrines.

The ritual represents the Forces of Darkness and their emergence in the Age of Evil. During the ritual, both elements of Good and Evil are present. Evil is the most active force (excepting Nature) in existence on this planet. It is a force far superior and dominant in its nature than is goodness. This should be obvious to anyone who is aware of Man’s history and today’s socioreligious climate. Xianity always has been, and always will be, a static (and I hate to use the word) force. Just as Man is naturally endowed with Earthly instincts and desires so it is with Man’s natural predilection to evil (immorality). People as a whole, and as individuals, need to stop cheating themselves and learn to live not in the imaginary shadow of a non-existent god.

There is no time for guilt regarding sin; there is no time for paying the church for regular guilt inducement; there is no time for soiling one’s knees for the sake of appeasing an imaginary, antithetical god! There is no time for acknowledging a god who has never lived, but certainly has died!

My fellow Satanists, the Age of Evil has arrived. Our Age—for times and times eternally. Read and understand! Practice and BECOME!

-34-

Requirements for performance

With the exception of the burning charcoal contained in the brazier, the Ritual of Antichrist

begins in complete darkness, which symbolizes the arrival of the Age of Evil. The Age when the Wicked will plunge Man and the Earth into Eternal Darkness!

The Sigil of Antichrist represents the warrior spirit of the Beast 666. The cross, of course, is

associated with the Nazarene and his teachings; the inversion of such is the symbolic

renunciation and antithesis of his religious philosophy. The lightning bolt represents the Will and Power and the cruel wrath of Antichrist. The 666 is of course, the accepted numerical symbol of Antichrist.

Ultimately, the Sigil of Antichrist is the symbol of religious revelation and anarchy—of things to come! The sigil replaces the Satanagram as the altarpiece above the altar.

Six black candles are employed as this symbolizes the singular aspect of the number of the Beast and the Sixth Sense of all antichrists. Regarding placement, five of the six candles rest upon the points of the Angles of the Pentagonia on the floor before the altar. A single black candle endowed with the Spirit of Antichrist rests in the center of the altar, directly beneath the Sigil. Ignited charcoal in a large brazier represents Hell’s flaming Pit—from which the Grand Conjuration and subsequent release of the Devils of Evilution symbolize the forces of the developing religious war between Xians and us. The brazier is placed at the left side of the altar.

The function of the Xian Bible in this ritual is two-fold: first, it is employed as a sacrifice; the celebrant tears seven leaves from its binding and casts them into the Pit to suffer destruction and damnation. The second part involves the recital of its Antichrist disclosure: Revelation 13.

The Bible is placed in front of the brazier.

Conjuration saltes are more commonly known as “flash powder”. They are employed to

emphasize evocation. A small vessel of the saltes is placed next to the brazier.

The skull is placed on the altar between the Candle of Antichrist and the Sword of Satan. The thurible burns an Earthy scent which is most pleasing to the celebrant: it is placed at the rightrear area of the altar. The Chalice of Change with its emotion-stimulating elixor is placed directly in front of the thurible. The Sword of Satan occupies its customary position, which is at the forepart of the altar.

The essence of this ritual dictates that its accompanying music would be of a supremely

triumphant nature.

-35-

The Ritual of Antichrist

1 In the darkness, the celebrant faces the Sigil of Antichrist as he recites the Invocation of

Antichrist:

IN THE NAME OF BELIAL I INVOKE YOU—SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST—COME

FORTH! FOR I AM THE FIRST, AND MANY WILL FOLLOW! IN THE SPIRIT OF THE

BEAST, COME FORTH—FOR I AM THE SAME, AND THE FAITHFUL ARE FEARFUL!

IN RECOGNITION OF THE NUMBER, COME FORTH—FOR THE CONQUEST HAS

BEGUN!

2 The celebrant stoops to light each candle of the Pentagonia. After lighting the first, he

evokes:

FROM THE ANGLE OF SATAN, I CONJURE THE FIRES OF EVIL!

After lighting the second, he evokes:

FROM THE ANGLE OF BELIAL, I CONJURE THE LANDS OF EVIL!

After lighting the third, he evokes:

FROM THE ANGLE OF LEVIATHAN, I CONJURE THE SEAS OF EVIL!

After lighting the fourth, he evokes:

FROM THE ANGLE OF BEELZEBUB, I CONJURE THE SKIES OF EVIL!

After lighting the fifth, he evokes:

FROM THE ANGLE OF LUCIFER, I CONJURE THE RACE OF EVIL!

The celebrant lights the Candle of Antichrist and intones:

I CONJURE THE WILL OF THE GREAT BEAST—ANTICHRIST!

Immediately following each of the six avocations, the celebrant tosses a small amount of

conjuration saltes into the candle flames.

3 The celebrant (and all participants) drink from the Chalice of Change.

4 The celebrant grasps the Sword of Satan and points it towards the Sigil of Antichrist

while reciting the Conjuration of Darkness—666:

SATAN—IN YOUR MOST UNHOLY NAME, HEAR ME! OUR TIMES—THE AGE OF

EVIL AND ITS CREATIVE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST HAS COME! I AM THE

REVERENT ONE—A BEAST BORN OF THE EARTH AND THE INFERNAL KINGDOM!

I AM THE CONVEYOR OF WISDOM AND FOLLY! I AM THE BESTOWER OF

STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS! I AM THE PUBLISHER OF ALIENATION AND UNITY!

I AM THE CREATOR OF LIFE AND DEATH! I AM THE SAVIOR OF MAN AND THE

DESTROYER OF THE NAZARENE! I AM THE SOUL OF DARKNESS—A BLACK

-36-

BEACON OF INFERNAL LIGHT TO THE WORTHY, AND A SIGN OF DOOM TO THE

LAMBS! I AM THE WILL, THE PURPOSE AND THE FIGHT! I AM ANTICHRIST!

5 The Holy Sacrifice.

6 The celebrant faces the Sigil of Antichrist and recites the biblical passage, Revelation 13:

1-18.

7 The Evocation and release of the Devils of Evilution. The celebrant grasps the Sword of

Satan and steadies the point of the blade in the Flame of Antichrist as he evokes the

Devils of Evilution thus:

PAN, COME FORTH AND SMEAR THE EARTH WITH YOUR DOCTRINES OF

CARNALITY!

FENRIS, COME FORTH AND FREE THE BEAST TO WAGE THE WAR!

LEVIATHAN, COME FORTH TO FILL THE MINDS OF MEN WITH THE WISDOM OF

EVIL!

DIABOLUS, COME FORTH TO JUDGE AND IMPRISON THE LAMBS OF THE

NAZARENE!

SET, COME FORTH TO DESTROY THE XIAN FAITH AND ITS MASSES!

The sword is replaced on the altar.

8 The celebrant closes the rite by dousing the smoldering charcoal with a plentiful amount

of conjuration saltes.

[markrosewater]

Mark! My friend introduced me to your blog just in time to invoke the rite of the birthday trivia. Could I request some trivia about my commander Slinn Voda? Thanks for the interesting and entertaining blog!

Slinn Voda is another card in a series of cards we've been making for years that reference Krakens, Leviathans, Octopuses, and Serpents. It started with Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep. Players liked it, so we made more.

Happy Birthday and welcome to the blog!

[charalysis]

GoW: Baldur

Trigger Warning: Discussions of suicide, sundial ideation, and self harm.

The main antagonist of GoW 2018, Baldur is well known by fans of the newer games and is beloved by many for the complexity of his personality and story. Baldur captivated many with his erratic behavior, interesting abilities, and his complicated relationship with his mother. Today we are going to examine him as in depth as we can and break down his behavior, motivation, and his complicated emotions around his relationship with his family.

Let's start with a little backstory.

For those needing refresher, when Baldur was born his mother, Freya, went to the Norns to inquire about her son's fate. She was told Baldur would meet an unnecessary death. This terrified Freya, as she loved her little boy more than anything and couldn't bear to lose him. She seemingly spent much of Baldur's childhood looking for the right combination of spell components, words, and general rites to protect him from his fate.

Presumably, Freya and Baldur once had a good bond, a very close mother-son relationship. Freya wears to the current day a necklace Baldur made for her as a child. We can see signs of this closeness as it seems that, despite an Aesir upbringing, Baldur followed his Vanir heritage more. He doesn't wear shoes, only leg wraps that lightly wrap around his feet, leaving him essentially barefoot. What clothes he does wear don't seem to match anything we see the other Aesir wearing, even his nephews. Everyone is in either clean, neat attire, or they are lightly armoured, but still clean for the most part. Baldur's pants are simple. He wears a large piece of either cloth or soft hide around his waist, along with an ogre hide as a leather apron, held up by a belt (a gift from Odin) which holds a pouch and various simple trinkets. Not unlike Freya's "Witch of the Woods" outfit.

It's also likely that he inherited Freya's magic, but he possibly refuses to use it out of spite. However there's little evidence for this. Though there is a little evidence for him taking on Odin's magic. Baldur has the ability to absorb and manipulate other elements, not just light. We see this with Leviathan and later fire with the giant fight.

Now, despite his potential closeness to his mother, obviously something broke this bond.

The spell Freya made to, in her mind, protect Baldur. She was terrified for him and worried he was going to die. However, for Baldur, this was no protection; for him it was a curse.

Baldur was left unable to feel warmth, cold, pain... He was also unable to feel any sensation. The touch of his wife, Nanna. The taste of food, the taste of a drink, let alone the feeling of anything in his mouth to begin with...

And this means Baldur was actually left with a lot more problems than I've seen anyone discuss.

If he did drink anything, there's no way he could tell if he had to pee, likely leading to plenty of accidents, or him just... Not peeing. Because of his healing ability and inability to die, it's possible he just gave up trying to eat or drink in general. Not like he'd die from starvation or dehydration, as much as he may have tried.

That also leads into the idea that it's possible Baldur, early on with his curse, likely tried to kill himself.

Of course, realizing his mother made him incapable of dying, he likely resigned himself to his fate of simply existing as he was and serving Odin.

Now, his broken bond with Freya does not mean Baldur ended up close with Odin. Perhaps closer than before, but Odin views his family, especially his children, as pawns in his larger game. He sees them as a means to an end and we see this outright in our first meeting with Odin in Ragnarok. Odin simply calls him "his greatest tracker". Odin just saw Baldur as a hunter to send out whenever he needed something or someone found.

Seemingly, Baldur had no one to help him cope, (aside from a wife we never actually have mentioned. Nanna's existence is implied however in a background dialogue in Odin's home/mead hall where someone mentions Forseti being paranoid someone tried poisoning Thor. For any unaware, in canonical mythology, Forseti is the son of Baldur and his wife Nanna.). However I would like to speculate a little here and say, perhaps Baldur and Thor were close.

In the fight with Thor at the beginning of Ragnarok, Thor says the line, "That ones for Baldur!", Or something like that. Given Thor's generally dismissive attitude towards his other brothers, Tyr and Heimdall, and his dislike of them, I find this line interesting. It implies that there was a level of closeness, at least enough for Thor to want to get some kind of payback against Kratos for Baldur's death.

Obviously, Thor's larger concern was the blood payment for Magni and Modi. However, I don't think that entirely negates the idea that Thor loved his baby brother and wanted some kind of payback for him.

I do also suspect Baldur and Thor being close could be in part why Thor's boys in particular were sent with Baldur. I doubt Baldur immediately went to Odin about his initial failing, as Odin is capricious and patiently unpredictable. It's possible Baldur went to Thor, the best known giant killer, to ask advice on hunting down a giant (reminder, he thinks Kratos is Laufey). Thor could have easily sent his boys to join their uncle, not going himself because of other responsibilities.

Magni and Modi seem perfectly agreeable to Baldur, only really bickering or bantering amongst each other. Baldur I think, despite his madness, was as kind as he could be to his family.

Which does lead me to speculation on his bond with his son, Forseti.

For anyone unaware, Forseti is the Norse god of Justice, Reconciliation, and Law. This tracks with his few mentions in Ragnarok, lining up to him trying to find someone allegedly trying to poison Thor and being the one to track down Heimdall's corpse and report it to Sif.

Forseti was at least conceived before Baldur's curse, which does make him one of the younger gods, closer in age to Thrúd than her brothers.

so, this means, Forseti likely grew up with a volatile, distant father. He was quite likely exposed to a lot he shouldn't have been, such as the incident where Baldur was asking people to launch arrows into him to see how many it would take to make him fall over. Baldur likely was not a good dad to Forseti, and the likely frequent violence against Baldur, simply because of Baldur's invulnerability, likely contributed to Forseti's seeming isolation and paranoia in Ragnarok.

Baldur was likely a genuinely worse father in ways compared to Thor through sheer neglect and exposing his son to horrific sights. Not to mention the emotional impact of having someone so volatile around.

(Obviously that's not me saying Thor's a good dad. I love Thor's arc and as a character, but he is a child abuser and he doesn't even try changing until Thrúd comes around.)

Segwaying right along back into the discussion of his appearance: Baldur's tattoos.

There are a few I think are work mentioning.

First, the large red runs across the top of his back say "cursed", which is how he feels about his condition of invulnerability and sensory deprivation.

Second, his arm says "never to forgive", which makes sense given his condition and his rage at Freya over it.

Third, I believe this is the large circle tattoo on his chest, apparently reading, "lights confide me with warmth so that I might feel (something)". If this translation is accurate, I think that could be an appeal to his own abilities to manipulate light. As god of light, we can see in game he can bend light around him to move faster, or at least appear to move faster. There is no telling what else he could do with his light manipulation. But this also matches his desire to feel something, anything.

And finally, the tattoo around his neck/collar bone seems to tell of his role in prophecy as the bringer of Ragnarok, which is true. His death triggered Fimblwinter.

There are other tattoos to be translated on him, but based on these, it can be assumed they are just as tied to his identity, and possibly his curse and fate, as these. And Baldur is covered in tattoos. And from what we can tell there is no clear point to tell when he started to get them done.

Further interesting points on his appearance, at least for me, is the almost haphazard placement of beads and braids in his beard and hair. It seems as though that either A, in his broken mental state, Baldur is easily irritated by the beads and braids, so he just half asses it. Or B, he tends to leave the beads in, allowing some to fall out or be messed up.

Baldur's outward presentation of himself seems to follow his mental state. Messy, bold... He's not afraid to make a statement or point that's for sure

And despite Odin's fondness of Baldur, at least in what Baldur can do for him, I'm certain Odin resents Baldur's outward presentation. Baldur must serve as a reminder of Freya, not only in his face to an extent, but also in how he dresses. His clothes and his arms being riddled with tattoos must remind Odin a lot of Freya, thus ensuring Baldur also wouldn't be close to his father. Same as his brothers before him.

There is also the Kratos parallel to acknowledge.

Baldur, like a young Kratos, is vengeful and angry. He doesn't care who gets in his way, they'll become a target too. He's brutal, cocky, outright arrogant. He's particularly gungho about killing a parent who wronged and betrayed him. (I would argue though that Baldur is way more justified than Kratos ever was in his rampage against Zeus. Not that Zeus didn't deserve it, but his motivation against Zeus was, "He killed me and stole my powers wah." At least at first.)

Baldur also does as Kratos did, and he perpetuates a cycle of hate and destruction. Kratos knew Baldur likely wouldn't stop at Freya, just as he didn't stop at Ares. Baldur was exceptionally keen to fight and kill, especially after he regained sensation. He wouldn't have stopped at Freya. He damn well likely would have gone after Odin next for lying to him and not helping him, and anyone else getting in his way of such a goal. This, seconds before his death, Kratos tells him the same thing Zeus told him. "The cycle ends here."

In conclusion, Baldur is an extremely complex character whose life was admittedly ruined really before it began. He was young for a deity, at a mere 130 years old, when he died. Freya, despite her love and intentions, ignored his wishes and refused to respect her adult son's boundaries. Odin's only real use for his youngest son was just that. What he could use Baldur for. He didn't really love him, he didn't care about him, he lied to his face... And we don't know how truly isolated he was.

[cleapallea]

˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ HEALTHY SPIRITUAL REMINDERS : Exploration of Beliefs & Divination ˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒

Don't rely too much on Wikipedia or other sources that can be edited by some people. As stated, it can be changed and tested out, which means you need to research, observe, and make judgments through questioning the "book" itself. That's how Wikipedia and learning works.

I just found out some alchemic symbols related to satanism ideology, beliefs, and philosophy. Why it becomes Satanic? because people worship it. In a sense it has to be forged as "pagan beliefs" instead of connection with almighty God. According to early texts description Pagan means "idol worshippers", "sacrificial rites" and so many names. But, as the years passed the definition derived from different nations (diff beliefs, diff cultures and diff practices.)

In a Biblical context it is/was (what they do) wrong, As a cited this in: 𝙀𝙭𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙨 20:3-5 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣 5:21

I want to point out that if you believe in Astro or any other Sacred science, then please believe in One True God first. (but FREE WILL APPLIES HERE)

He was the first one who created it. He created angels. Angels became “Fallen Angels" on Earth. On this surface, they became mystical and uncanny creatures.

Take note: Devil was once an angel, We cannot deny the fact that he used to be like that. He can transform, and because he is here, then it so easy for him to have access. TO TALK. TO SEE. AND ALIKE.

Like I said, in Ancient times of history many people perceived fallen angels or demons as God. One of those : Baphomet, sigil and many more because from Wiki (other source) perspectives he/she were 'just accused' as false god when in fact during old testament, it mentioned a lot in Babylon, Leviathan and so fourth. YOU SHOULD NOT GIVE ANY NAME ON IT. People have change its name but, the description of it still the same. Do not be deceive.

Hence, If you believe in any kinds of spirituality, make sure you are in a right place.

"SERVE THE CREATOR, NOT THE CREATION"

!May God bless us all!

✎I do believe in high power of God, but I'm not religious person. This is because of history and personal matters. And we can't deny, there are so many of them.

Anyway, I am open for natal reading as well, but the decisions is yours to make..I am not God. You have your free will. I am just using my "gift". As for me believe that it serves as message and guide to look for change, see the light in darkness, too see the truth, to see everyone's uniqueness and talents and understand human beings. Thank you so much for reading.

[dragonzdrawz]

Tarv, a failed hunter who ended up becoming a technical analyst. Now lives aboard the Leviathan ship Gulph, has no main goal in life except surviving.

He is a Kelbassi of the D’Ken clade. A bipedal dinosaur-esque species, Kelbassi have an especially strong electromagnetic field generator stored in their display crest. This enables them to emit pulsating electric shocks, used originally to take down prey and rivals.

His last name, T’Tol’Ken, is a D’Ken moniker of shame. It roughly translates to “weak heart”, which Tarv unfortunately earned due to failing The Hunt, a rite of passage in his home clan. Tarv suffers from chronic fatigue and narcolepsy, something he contracted after a childhood disease. Unable to find accommodations and failing The Hunt, Tarv was left with two options— be sacrificed to apologize for wasting God’s time, or exile. Tarv chose the “cowardly” option, bringing shame to his family.

He left his home planet of Kelbossian when he was 17 cycles, and hasn’t returned since.

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

I'M BEHIND SCHEDULE

HOUR IN BLACK, PART THREE : THE UNDERWORLD

im skimming really fast because CHARMS have already dropped and i need to get there

!! the outline: lethe and the sea of shadows, but now islands jut out from it which are afterlives. some afterlives are ritual afterlives formed by funerary ceremony and ancestor worship, some are primeval afterlives about the manner of your death. big change! it's full of ghosts, who you mostly know. ghosts aren't their full living selves, death takes a lot from them and theyre defined by their passions and grow weirder after death,

soulsteel.....

phantom beasts! vesper-wolves and pyre-maggots.... cool

prehuman ghosts! omg even dragon king ghosts.... yes yes yes

the history of the underworld is so incredible. im usually sort of tepid on these sections, even though i like the idea of having a history, but for whatever reason this one is soooo cool to me

stygian archipelago!!!

"Bereft of stable stars or predictable trade winds, ghostly sailors develop other means of charting  their course, whether following in the wake of phantom leviathans, piloting their ships under the  auspice of oracular trances, or reconciling the movements of the Calendar of Setesh with local  geomancy" BANGIN!!!!

the old laws are so fascinating to e... the little hints have me a little bit obsessed. man imagine playing stories like the fallen london stories about correspondence and discordance but to repair the old laws... mmm

ugh i looove the different aterlives so much

whispers... and the labyrinth

"Specters in the thrall of Thundering Dissolution join their minds  with his in the Symphony of Omnipresence, a psychic whirlpool that shears away the borders  between their consciousnesses" oh y god i have to use this shit somehow

stygia!!! hot damn... extreme politics at the heart of the underworld

i have a soft spot for the calendar of setesh ever since i made The Wheel And Weight of Grinding Time Crushes All Beneath Its Passage, an abyssal obsessed with hijacking the calendar via pirate radio to install a new constellation

"Each district’s boundaries are reinforced on the first day of each year with a ceremonial  procession. The regent must touch each of the district’s ancient boundary-stones, and shifting  those stones as part of the rite allows one district to expand at another’s expense. Whoever  completes the procession is the regent; regents surround themselves with bodyguards to prevent  coups during that vulnerable time. " OH my fucking god. what a heist movie. holy shit

GFKDNGDSG GENTRIFIED BY THE SILVER PRINCE

theres a whole subsection for the sewers. this is worldbuilding.

culture... architecture... a dole of black bread and white cheese...

"Weeds signify  persistence and thriving in the Underworld; a dandelion represents passage into Lethe. Fish  symbolize ghosts, while a fishhook means either love or money, depending on who you ask. And  blood — or, indeed, anything crimson — holds many meanings depending on context, including  power, food, artistic fervor, endings, new beginnings, and Creation itself." why was this made specifically to caer to me

"A few places  specialize in stoking negative emotions, luring perverse customers with discordant choirs,  noisome odors, or the like. Several wineshops on Seawall offer bone-dry hardtack and skunked  beer; the Kudzu Bell’s boarding house specializes in stale bread, mildewed cheese, and  vegetables boiled into a sulfurous mass." oh my god

"Some ghosts hoard coins whose psychic residue resonates with their own feelings; money  changers sort obols by emotion for arbitrage." to me this is what exalted is about. this is what no other game has. lets take a wacky fantasy concept and do irl economics about it

:000 mausoleums! places where prayer distills down and bathes ghosts... sort of like a pseudo manse?

....huh! people heard of stygia as a heaven, expected to go there as a ritual afterlife, and now there are spots in stygia for them

collegia! the ultimate in dark academia. ghosts who keep ancient traditions and skills, and are doing quite a lot of politics about it

and the mansions, which are pimeval afterlives of sudden death. these and the collegia alone give stygia such incredible depth already

"In the Underworld’s first days, the Resplendent Mansion stood  foremost among its peers, comprised of a host of Exalted and other  heroic ghosts who’d died in battle against the world’s makers. But  new members slowed to a trickle, then stopped entirely before the  First Age’s end. Today, their ancient seat atop Shining Hill stands all  but empty, inhabited by a few reclusive timeworn ghosts and a host  of guardian spirits and automata." .... so now that primordials and neverborn are out in the world beefing again someone might suddenly take up that seat huh

oh wow i love the transcendent course as a cult. it feels so, ironically, alive. and the DUAL MONARCHS

"The Incarnadine Path was Stygia’s native religion before the Dual Monarchs. Its creed reveres  the River of Blood as the literal and metaphorical lifeblood of Creation and Underworld alike.  Ghosts of the Mansions find a sense of superiority in their ancient ties to the faith, while the  collegia uphold it in opposition to the Transcendent Course. Its stronghold is the rust-red steeple  of the Cruor, where Incarnadine blood-priests sacrifice animals brought at great difficulty from  the living world to anoint the faithful in gore. Since Stygia’s founding, the Cruor’s priests have  been a law unto themselves, offering sanctuary to fugitives; the Signatories show little respect  for these traditions, but citywide rioting the last time the Legion Sanguinary violated Cruor  sanctuary makes them cautious." MORE CULTS. MORE

and now the stygian pact, with thirteen signatories, wich do not correspond to al deathlords! which i thought was fun. skull pirate aikeret! fathom hermit puppet for the underwater eemi!!! ukhala enlightened-in-blood... i am free on thursday... white thyrsus the youth pastor for a cult to a ghost-eating forest, sesim ruseka the bird bitch. god frankly any of these guys would be fun deathlords as well

WOW namtar is fun

ok im gonna cut myself off before dari of the mists... charms one day i will reach you...