FORMAL GATHERING OF
THE SEKHMET CABAL
PRELIMINARY NOTES
I coin a term in
this post. “Caballion” shall mean “member of the Cabal.”
Also, I write this
as if the Cabal will meet in person. Adapting what I’ve written to fit online sessions
is a simple matter. However, there’s an element of trust implicit in an
in-person gathering, and this element should not be casually set aside. Even
online, Caballions should show their faces and reveal their names. If you can’t
rise to that level of trust with a certain group of people, you don’t belong in
a Cabal with those people. The corollary is this: Every formal gathering is
private; the names of its attendees, secret; and all that goes on, confidential.
Whoever violates this principle shall become prey.
Finally, there’s no
hierarchy in a Cabal. Every formal gathering has a leader, but that role should
rotate among the members. Also, to the extent practical, the role of providing
the meeting place should rotate among the members. Caballions shall treat the
meeting place, its owner, and its uninvolved residents, in particular any pets,
with the utmost courtesy and respect, or risk being hunted for sport.
THE GATHERING
Any time after sundown,
the Cabal enters the meeting room and all take their seats. The last person entering
shuts the door and turns off any electric lights before sitting down. If the
room has no windows and is therefore pitch black, the last person entering uses
a cigarette lighter to provide some illumination.
LEADER: “Caballions:
Light your candles.”
Each member places a
small red candle on the table and lights it with a match, cigarette lighter, or
utility lighter – just nothing ridiculous like a blowtorch.
LEADER: “In the name
of SEKHMET we begin.”
The leader turns to
the member on his or her immediate left.
LEADER: “Caballion
[Name], What malice do you have under way?”
The member describes
any destruction he or she is bringing to an adversary.
LEADER: “What do you
ask of us who sit here?”
The member describes
any assistance that could be helpful. Discussion ensues, offers are made, or
not, and are accepted, or not. When common sense indicates the discussion has
run its course, the leader turns to the next member on the left, poses the same
questions, and allows the same discussion. This continues until all members
have been heard from.
Then:
LEADER: “Caballion
[Name], What misanthropy do you have under way?”
The member describes
any distress he or she is bringing to a detested one. A detested one would be a
weakling, an imbecile, a sucker, an incompetent, a poser, a coward, or a bellyacher.
LEADER: “What do you
ask of us who sit here?”
The member describes
any assistance that could be helpful. Discussion ensues, offers are made, or
not, and are accepted, or not. When common sense indicates the discussion has
run its course, the leader turns to the next member on the left, poses the same
questions, and allows the same discussion. This continues until all members
have been heard from.
Then:
LEADER: “Caballion
[Name], What blasphemy do you have under way?”
The member describes
any defilement he or she is bringing to dogma.
LEADER: “What do you
ask of us who sit here?”
The member describes
any assistance that could be helpful. Discussion ensues, offers are made, or
not, and are accepted, or not. When common sense indicates the discussion has
run its course, the leader turns to the next member on the left, poses the same
questions, and allows the same discussion. This continues until all members
have been heard from.
Then:
LEADER: “All is
complete. In the name of SEKHMET we bring this gathering to a close. Caballions,
extinguish your candles.”
All do so. If
needed, the person who was last entering once again uses a cigarette lighter to
provide some illumination. This same person stands up, turns on the electric
lights, and opens the door. All exit the room in silence. The last person
leaving the room turns off the electric lights and shuts the door. Any subsequent
conversation must not have anything to do with what was said in the gathering.
This sets the tone for privacy, secrecy, confidentiality - and also protects
against inadvertent hearing by the meeting place’s uninvolved residents.
ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!
INVOCATION OF
SEKHMET
Alone in a dark room
at night, light your candles, the best color for which is red.
If you will play
music, start it now. I don’t usually play anything, but if I do, it’s by
Genocide.
Cross your forearms
on your chest, hands fisted. Close your eyes. Regulate your breathing.
Imagine fire. See it
consume, hear it crackle, smell its smoke, feel its heat.
Say:
HAIL SEKHMET!
My Malice – HAIL!
My Misanthropy –
HAIL!
My Blasphemy – HAIL!
I destroy my adversaries.
I distress whom I
detest.
I defile dogma.
SEKHMET – My Destructive
Power – HAIL!
SEKHMET – My Distressing
Power – HAIL!
SEKHMET – My Defiling
Power – HAIL!
LIONESS – STALK!
Your senses and your cunning are mine.
LIONESS – STRIKE!
Your jaws and your strength are mine.
FIRE of the FELINE –
BURN!
FIRE on the SAVANNAH
– BURN!
FIRE in my BREAST –
BURN!
No adversary can
survive me.
No detestable one
can survive me.
No dogma can survive
me.
I stalk and I
strike.
I – AM – SEKHMET!
(Breathe. Be silent.
Imagine fire. See it consume, hear it crackle, smell its smoke, feel its heat.)
(Open your eyes. If
music is playing, stop it. Extinguish your candles. Either leave the room or
turn on a light.)
ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!
My philosophy has
two faces: one positive, one negative. Don’t misunderstand: positive and
negative do not divide along some good/bad or true/false axis, nor some
beautiful/ugly one. Positive is the “yes/more/do it” face while negative is the
“no/less/stop it” face.
I personify the positive
as BAST, the Egyptian cat goddess, to whom I assign the principles of greed,
mirth, lust, love of food, smart sloth, vanity, and productive envy.
I personify the negative
as SEKHMET, the Egyptian lion goddess, to whom I assign the principles of malice,
misanthropy, and blasphemy.
Some people’s
practice is more BAST; other people’s practice is more SEKHMET; and still
others pursue a practice pretty evenly balanced between the two.
Here I’ll introduce
the concept of a Cabal, which is a group of practitioners who get to
know one another more intimately than people on an online forum typically
would. They share with one another their goals and plans, their victories and defeats,
and their good and ill fortune. They brainstorm ideas together, suggest
information sources, introduce one another to individuals who might prove
helpful, and even take part in one another’s schemes. They can also, if practical,
dine together, enjoy cultural activities together, engage in athletics
together, or have sex with one another.
As might be
expected, a Cabal can lean more toward BAST or more toward SEKHMET, though
there are no hard and fast rules about this. It simply makes sense that if you yourself
lean more toward BAST, then you would gravitate toward other practitioners who
do also, and the same would be true if you lean more toward SEKHMET.
Know yourself. ISCHYROS
DIAVOLOS!