Wolfie's blog

Hail the Darkness!

Demon of Misery: HAIL! I feel you like broken glass beneath my skin. I feel you at the sides of my skull, and in my throat, shoulders, chest, and back. The millstone of life grinds me like corn. All of my illusions are pulverized. No one and nothing will save me. I can only bide my time. If I survive and escape, I must never again fall into this predicament.

Demon of Despair: HAIL! I feel you clench my insides like a vise. I feel your grip in my throat, my solar plexus, my bowels, and my loins. No hope! My strength and my cunning fail me. Wherever I turn, I face my insufficiency. I have no power, no luck, no resources, no plan. I have nothing but ash and dust.

Demon of Revulsion: HAIL! I feel your tremors like a quake within me. I feel you at the back of my skull, all over my face, and in my throat, shoulders, elbows, hands, chest, and back. This – this thing – it must not be! It must be expelled from existence! I myself must expel it. I call down annihilation!

Demon of Horror: HAIL! I feel you push me backwards. I feel your force propel my head, my torso, my hips, and my legs. I back away, whimpering. Awful – so awful – my sanity feels vulnerable and exposed. I must defend my lucidity at all cost. I would gibber and mutter and mumble and moan – but I must not. I must put up a shield.

Hail the Darkness!

(Any of the above can be incorporated into cathartic ritual if it fits your infernal aesthetic. You can of course modify them if your own bodily experience differs from mine.)

“Hello Darkness, my old friend.” ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Hail the Darkness!

Demon of Anger: HAIL! I feel you inflate me like steam in a balloon. I feel you behind my eyes, and in my jaw, my shoulders, my spine, and my loins. I see my antagonist painted red. I long to stomp! I long to crack bones, to crush and grind bones.

Demon of Sadness: HAIL! I feel you well up inside me like hot water filling a basin. I feel you behind my eyes, and in my throat, my chest, and my stomach. I have endured a great loss. I long to lie down, to wither and die, and be buried. But I do not, for I live, and what lives must go on living.

Demon of Fear: HAIL! I feel you jolt me like an arc of electric current. I feel you in the back of my head, all over my face, in my shoulders and elbows, in my loins, and in my knees, ankles, and feet. It came suddenly: Danger! I need to run. Away from here, to somewhere else – I need to run!    

Demon of Aversion: HAIL! I feel you pulling me like strings knotted to my insides. I feel your tug in my eyes, in the front and back of my head, in my neck and shoulders, in my knees, ankles, and feet. This – this thing – it is not to my liking. It must not touch me, nor be near enough to me that I can smell it.  

Hail the Darkness!

(Any of the above can be incorporated into cathartic ritual if it fits your infernal aesthetic. You can of course modify them if your own bodily experience differs from mine.)

“Hello Darkness, my old friend.” ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Hail the Darkness!

To be clear: I’m not referring to something that exists in external reality, or that is self-aware, or has agency. I’m referring to something that exists in every individual human psyche: potential waiting to be tapped.

The Darkness is all of the so-called “negative” emotions: anger, sadness, fear, aversion, misery, despair, revulsion, horror, shame, humiliation, outrage, contempt, and animosity, thirteen in all, which is why I call them the Thirteen Demons.

The Demon of Anger grants the power of striking.

The Demon of Sadness grants the power of absorbing a blow.

The Demon of Fear grants the power of swiftness.

The Demon of Aversion grants the power of dodging.

The Demon of Misery grants the power of suspicion.

 The Demon of Despair grants the power of emptiness.

The Demon of Revulsion grants the power of destruction.

The Demon of Horror grants the power of self-protection.

The Demon of Shame grants the power of self-awareness.

The Demon of Humiliation grants the power of standing alone.

The Demon of Outrage grants the power of brutality.

The Demon of Contempt grants the power of oppression.

The Demon of Animosity grants the power of war.

Each and all of these can be accessed via cathartic ritual. First, select which power you will need, then alone at night in a dark room, light your candles. Draw upward out of your subconscious the memory of when you have known, personally and intimately, the demon you now require. Picture the scene. Feel the so-called “negative” emotion. Let it overwhelm you to whatever extent you are trained enough to be capable of. Do not shrink from it. Let it burn! Then hail the Darkness, invoke the demon, invoke the power, describe the need, describe your will, invoke the power again, hail the demon, release the demon, hail the Darkness again, and extinguish your candles.

You may add whatever you like to the stripped-down version I have offered. Include whatever bombast and pageantry your dark heart desires.

Never forget: Nothing will happen in external reality until you go out into the world and take ACTION to achieve your will.

“Hello Darkness, my old friend.” ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

What is philosophy?

First, let’s be clear: there are two kinds. Academic philosophy is the sister to science and mathematics. Literary philosophy is of a different family, that of novelists and playwrights. I’m a literary philosopher. I follow in the tradition of other literary philosophers, such as Nietzsche, Camus, and Santayana.   

Academic philosophy concerns itself with propositions to be debated, bringing in the points and counterpoints of as many other philosophers as would be illustrative, and then debating the merits of them all. Literary philosophy, by contrast, has a different aim entirely, which is to describe. To describe the world and life in the world as the philosopher sees it, often in a narrative form, often with picturesque language, often autobiographically.

Academic philosophy concerns itself with propositions that require proof. It avoids inductive reasoning, which is reasoning from personal experience to make global assertions. Academic philosophy considers inductive reasoning to be illegitimate because personal experience can never be proven to be globally valid. Literary philosophy, by contrast, has no problem at all with inductive reasoning, because literary philosophy doesn’t concern itself with proof, but rather, with assertions that emerge organically from the general experience of living in the world. Its audience is not the rigorous logicians, but rather, anyone whose general experience of living in the world is such that the philosopher’s assertions ring true.

Literary philosophy has an aesthetic dimension, as is certainly true of Nietzsche, Camus, and Santayana. Reading them is like reading the exposition in novels and plays. Their prose is crafted not as a dialectic (a word that makes me think of “diuretic” and with good reason) but as journalism, or history, or the narration of a documentary film. They have far more in common with the essays of George Orwell than with the gray analytics of Kant.

The poet John Keats wrote in his Ode on a Grecian Urn: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, -- that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” The literary philosopher finds much to agree with in that, demurring only due to this key point: Ugliness, too, is truth, and truth ugliness. Literature in all its moods is wisdom.

Perhaps the foregoing will assist you in understanding me. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The Glamour of Severity:

“Blessed are they whose malice is a thing of beauty, for theirs is the highest art.”

If this is your first “Glamour” post, read the Note at the bottom before proceeding.

Over the long history of human apes, the very top spot in the collective, the apex of the pyramid, has often gone to the individual who was most creatively and mercilessly severe. As archetypes, consider Genghis Khan and Joseph Stalin. Why has this pattern persisted over untold millennia?

The most obvious answer is not the right one. Individuals didn’t line up behind Genghis Khan or Joseph Stalin because they were physically afraid to do otherwise. Not initially, anyway. Eventually, yes, but not in the early days. One man, even a Genghis or a Stalin, is easily dispatched by ten men, or a hundred, or even just one skilled assassin. Without the apparatus of the collective wrapped around him, no individual can survive when numerous rivals or opponents decide he has to die, and the mere fact that they feel physically threatened would be enough to decide them. So what, then, is the answer?

Glamour. The glamour of severity. There is something in human instinct (especially among betas and omegas) that responds with subservience when confronted by unrestrained and sophisticated severity.

Severity done right is an art form. What is art? It is creativity undertaken to evoke a psychological response, and done skillfully. Glamour, in all its variations, is art. Let severity, then, be undertaken to evoke a psychological response, and let it be done skillfully, with the long-term goal being ascension up the pyramid of organizational power.

The long-term goal is critical to keep in mind. Severity for the sake of severity is sadism, which has its own satisfactions, but is not a glamour and will not reliably set your foot on the next higher step up the staircase. Sadism, in fact, can become self-sabotaging, especially if it becomes addictive, and Ego (the reality principle) is ignored. Let the goal of ascension be the lynchpin of your art, around which all else revolves.  

Skillfulness is also critical to keep in mind. What is skill? In this case it is clarity of rationale, of intention, of technique, and of observation. Why have you selected this target at this time? What exact punishment do you intend to inflict? How exactly will you go about it? How will you know if and when you have accomplished your will? Skill also entails self-discipline. In this case, self-discipline has to do with knowing if and when to abort and deciding to do so. If your rationale is unclear, or your intention is muddied, or your technique is unsure, or your observational vantage point is obscured, or you observe the fact that your actions aren’t having the intended effect – Abort.

It should go without saying that severity, to be a glamour, has to be done publicly, unless you are only trying to influence the target of your actions. There may in fact be times when you apply severity to someone specifically to achieve the subservience of that person and only that person. But often that person will be of little use to you. In fact their uselessness may factor into your calculus for selecting that person in the first place. When such is the case, your severity will need an audience in order to be a glamour and accelerate your ascension. As with everything else, be skillful in the selection and management of your audience and venue. In fact, apply all the same guidelines as discussed in the previous paragraph: clarity of rationale, of intention, of technique, and of observation. Also apply the same self-discipline around knowing if and when to abort and deciding to do so.

Finally, know yourself. The glamour of severity isn’t for everyone. You can probably already feel in your gut if this glamour is for you. Trust your gut on this. If it’s telling you to abort before you even start, my advice to you is: Abort. At least until you do the necessary mind-work to reorient your intellect and emotions. Don’t rush that process.

If you have the right ears to hear, then hear: Spare the rod and spoil the ascension.ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Note:

Any of the “Bad Attitudes” from WOLFISM XIX can form the nucleus of a catharsis ritual, but only if it speaks to you and only if you’re able to have fun with it. If the one identified above meets those criteria for you, then make it the core of a cathartic ritual for yourself, and perform it. The effect of repeated performances over as long a time as feels right to you, will be to kill the part of your Superego that functions as the jailer of your natural instinct for severity.

I use the word “glamour” in its archaic sense, and I use the British spelling because it’s more likely (at least for us Americans) to conjure up archaic connotations. Vampires were said to have the power of glamour.

The Glamour of Audacity:

“Blessed are they who take the biggest portion, for because of them, the meek will go without.”

If this is your first “Glamour” post, read the Note at the bottom before proceeding.

Taking the biggest portion is an example of audacity. People like to talk about wolves versus sheep. It’s more fruitful to look at wolves versus other wolves. In a pack you have the alpha, the beta, and the omega (the bottommost). In human terms, the omegas are the meek. But what makes an alpha? People will tell you that the alpha feeds first. But why? And how does the alpha achieve its rank? Is there some lupine gladiatorial contest, in which the last wolf standing assumes the top spot? No.

The alpha doesn’t feed first because it’s the alpha. The alpha is the alpha because it feeds first. Because it dares to. Because it assumes it can get away with it and it capitalizes on that opportunity. Audacity is how it claims the top spot. It feels the audacity within itself and expresses it. The beta and omega wolves smell the audacity and defer to it. This is a potent and useful glamour. It works for humans too. All else being equal, the one who dares to feed first, or take the biggest portion, or call dibs on the best office, or claim the best bedroom, or court the best mate, or stake out the best real estate, or choose the best table or the best seat – that individual announces by such actions that it is the alpha, and all else being equal, the other humans will assume their beta or omega positions. What could be more potent or more useful than that?

There are, of course, three points of prudence to consider:

1. Identify any others in the group who practice audacity themselves or who will resist your practice of it. These are rival alphas and their strength and cunning must be accounted for in your calculus.

2. In our human society, which is far more complex than a pack of wolves, predefined hierarchies exist. Identify anyone higher up the chain who might feel threatened or insulted, or be morally or philosophically put out by your audacity, and account for them in your calculus.

3. Betas and especially omegas may not be the sort who accept their positions gracefully. Their envy of you may devolve into resentment and then, especially if they are of the most vile sort, their resentment will devolve into malice, and their malice into treachery. Your strength will not be enough against such as these. You will need your cunning as well. Account for this in your calculus.

Just don’t let your own prudence devolve into perpetual paralysis. Sometimes there aren’t any rival alphas. Sometimes there isn’t anyone higher up the chain who would care about your intended action. Sometimes the betas and omegas are the sort who know their place and are happy to occupy it. Or sometimes you’re stronger than the other alphas, or more cunning than the betas and omegas. Each situation must be assessed on its own merits. If, by your calculus, you can get away with audacity – then take the leap. Do it. Then do it again. And again. Because, as the saying goes, “It is good to be king.”

The biggest portion will feel good in your belly. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Note:

Any of the “Bad Attitudes” from WOLFISM XIX can form the nucleus of a catharsis ritual, but only if it speaks to you and only if you’re able to have fun with it. If the one identified above meets those criteria for you, then make it the core of a cathartic ritual for yourself, and perform it. The effect of repeated performances over as long a time as feels right to you, will be to kill the part of your Superego that functions as the jailer of your natural instinct for audacity.

I use the word “glamour” in its archaic sense, and I use the British spelling because it’s more likely (at least for us Americans) to conjure up archaic connotations. Vampires were said to have the power of glamour.

The Glamour of Mirth:

“Blessed are they who laugh, for they know the great truth.”

If this is your first “Glamour” post, read the Note at the bottom before proceeding.

Laughter is contagious. This is well known. It is also well known that laughter relieves tension and can even, briefly, overcome fatigue. What many don’t know is this: laughter is a magnet. It attracts people to our side and even to our cause. The natural human instinct is to draw near to mirth and to feel comfortable around it, all else being equal. Unless you’re in a very unnatural, neurotic, rigid, or dangerous situation, my advice to you will be to relax the metaphorical sphincter that won’t let you burst out with raucous amusement. People will “magically” be drawn to you like moths to a flame.

Why is this so? Evolution. Our natural instincts evolved over tens of millions of years to respond in several relevant ways.

First, mirth is a form of pleasure. It releases endorphins. Pleasure has been a compass for living things for as long as there have been neurochemicals. Like the mouse, the walrus, and the gibbon, we draw near and hover in proximity to that which feels good to us. And remember, laughter is contagious.

Secondly, nature has selected for mirth. This is unsurprising, because, as scientific studies have demonstrated, happy people make good choices. It is scientifically verified that people who are generally happy are better able to think long term. People who are generally unhappy find it hard to get out of short-term thinking, which is the domain of stupidity. Anything that causes us to lean toward a pro-survival and pro-success mindset has been selected for. It is only the Superego, working hand in hand with prior trauma, that gets in the way.

Thirdly, mirth is a sign of strength. Only the strong find it easy to laugh. The weak may accomplish it sporadically but overall they can’t rise to the occasion. They lack the ferocity. Make no mistake: It is the ferocious who know best how to laugh, and people flock to them, because they know instinctively it is good to be in the pride of the strongest lion.

Throw your head back and laugh! ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Note:

Any of the “Bad Attitudes” from WOLFISM XIX can form the nucleus of a catharsis ritual, but only if it speaks to you and only if you’re able to have fun with it. If the one identified above meets those criteria for you, then make it the core of a cathartic ritual for yourself, and perform it. The effect of repeated performances over as long a time as feels right to you, will be to kill the part of your Superego that functions as the jailer of your natural instinct for mirth.

I use the word “glamour” in its archaic sense, and I use the British spelling because it’s more likely (at least for us Americans) to conjure up archaic connotations. Vampires were said to have the power of glamour.

The Glamour of Sensual Attunement:

“Blessed are they who lust, for their senses are alive.”

If this is your first “Glamour” post, read the Note at the bottom before proceeding.

Sensual attunement to your lover during sex is what happens when you allow your lust to enflame your senses. Mind-clearing exercises like Zazen can train you to gag the chattering monkey in your head at will. That chattering monkey doesn’t want you paying attention to your senses. Gag the little beast. Then drink in your lover with your eyes, your ears, your tongue, your nose, and every inch of your body’s largest organ, which is your skin. The more you drink, the more your lust will thirst.

Your sensual attunement bewitches not only you, but also your lover. Nothing enflames a partner like the knowledge that you are intoxicated by their every inch, every cell, every atom. As the fire of your libido is stoked by the sight, the sound, the smell, the taste, and the touch of your lover, your lover’s libido will in turn be stoked, flame begetting flame. As your senses drive you wild, your wildness will overwhelm all that is tame within your lover, until the two of you, like two lions, will roar with all the dark primal energies of jungles never visited by civilized man.

Why is sensual attunement so powerful? Evolution. Our natural instincts evolved over tens of millions of years to respond with heat when the mate grows heated. Estrus is not a part of our biology any longer, not because we’re less libidinous, but because we’re infinitely more so.  

Do you want the secret of how to be an exciting lover? I have given it to you. Read it and take it to heart.

Come to life! ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Note:

Any of the “Bad Attitudes” from WOLFISM XIX can form the nucleus of a catharsis ritual, but only if it speaks to you and only if you’re able to have fun with it. If the one identified above meets those criteria for you, then make it the core of a cathartic ritual for yourself, and perform it. The effect of repeated performances over as long a time as feels right to you, will be to kill the part of your Superego that functions as the jailer of your natural instinct for sensual attunement.

I use the word “glamour” in its archaic sense, and I use the British spelling because it’s more likely (at least for us Americans) to conjure up archaic connotations. Vampires were said to have the power of glamour.

The Glamour of Self-Confidence:

“Blessed are the arrogant who walk like kings, for the earth knows its master.”

Any of the “Bad Attitudes” from WOLFISM XIX can form the nucleus of a catharsis ritual, but only if it speaks to you and only if you’re able to have fun with it. If the one identified above meets those criteria for you, then make it the core of a cathartic ritual for yourself, and perform it. The effect of repeated performances, over as long a time as feels right to you, will be to kill the part of your Superego that functions as the jailer for your natural self-confidence.

I use the word “glamour” in its archaic sense, and I use the British spelling because it’s more likely (at least for us Americans) to conjure up archaic connotations. Vampires were said to have the power of glamour.

Self-confidence bewitches the observer. A job applicant who is self-confident in an interview is more likely to get hired. A hopeful lover in pursuit, who is self-confident, is more likely to get a “yes” to a question like, “Can I buy you a drink?” – or, “Want to get out of here?” A manager who is self-confident in meetings is more likely to get promoted. A con artist who is self-confident is more likely to be believed. A salesperson who is self-confident is more likely to make the sale. A boxer who is self-confident is more likely to intimidate his or her opponent. A long-time lover who is self-confident is more likely to get a “yes” to a question like, “Will you marry me?” A stage performer who is self-confident is more likely to command an audience.

Why is self-confidence so powerful? Evolution. Our natural instincts evolved over tens of millions of years to favor self-confidence in lovers, leaders, and even followers, and to distrust and disdain self-doubt, diffidence, nervousness, and timidity.

If you want to succeed in life, self-confidence is mandatory. You have to learn it. Simple as that. No excuses. Anything that helps you to learn it, or to unlearn self-doubt, diffidence, nervousness, and timidity – Do. Do it now and keep doing it. Cathartic ritual can help you with the unlearning. As for the learning, the best technique is to roleplay (out in the real world, with real people, in real situations where you're pursuing real goals) what you think self-confidence looks like. Just go for it. Do your best. Fake it till you make it. Practice makes perfect. You’ll eventually, maybe immediately, see positive results, and these will have the psychological effect of watering the roots of your natural self-confidence, which will sprout, flower, and bear fruit.

Also, here’s a little trick: When you feel nervous in a public situation, tap your hand rapidly against your thigh - out of sight if possible, but either way, just do it - because even in plain view, your hand tapping your thigh is unlikely to draw attention, especially if, while doing it, you’re boldly maintaining eye contact. This technique unobtrusively dissipates the nervous energy. I’ve been doing this for over 40 years. It’s one of the most effective techniques I’ve ever found.

No excuses. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Quelling misconceptions:

Group ritual is pointless and for many (such as myself) it is counter-productive. I don’t do it. I wouldn’t do it, even if invited. Most people who do group ritual are laboring under the delusion that a ritual can affect external reality. Given that (utterly false) assumption, it makes sense to think multiple people doing the same ritual would be able to “combine their power” and make external reality their bitch! Utter nonsense. Other people would simply distract me.

Belief is not necessary for ritual. Usually this notion of belief has to do with believing discorporate entities exist in external reality (they don’t) or believing ritual can affect external reality (it can’t). Cathartic ritual is psychodrama undertaken to put the Ego temporarily in submission to the Id. It lets the Id run the show. This serves to break the chains which have been placed on the Id by the Superego. It’s how we say to the Id, “It’s OK, go ahead, I give you permission.” It requires a temporary suspension of disbelief, but only about as much as we employ when we watch television.

Performing cathartic rituals created by other people is a waste of time. The goal of cathartic ritual is to temporarily put your own Ego (not someone else’s) in submission to your own Id (not someone else’s). The only way to do this is with words you wrote for yourself, expressive of your own Id, dismissive of your own Superego, and designed to be compelling to your own Ego. No one else can do this for you. No one can read your mind, and reading your mind is the only way someone could write a cathartic ritual that would work for you.

There are no rules around designing a ritual. You can wear a cool costume, or not, your choice. You can use props or not, your choice. You can play music or not, your choice. You can use old-fashioned language or not, your choice. You can make things rhyme or not, your choice. You can call upon fictitious entities or not, your choice. You can speak in your native language, or in a made-up language like Enochian or Elvish, or in a classical language like Latin or Greek, your choice. Anything that feels ridiculous to you, don’t do. If you can’t think of anything that doesn’t feel ridiculous to you, then drop the whole thing, cathartic ritual isn’t for you. Cathartic ritual is supposed to be FUN! If you can’t have fun with it, then drop it.

Up with the Id and down with the Superego! ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

I am adamant on these two principles:

1. Discorporate entities exist only in the mind, and represent aspects of the self.

2. Ritual affects only the practitioner, and only mentally.

To claim anything else is self-deceit, a vice born of weakness and stupidity. The strong and the cunning guard the citadel of beliefs in their head. Nothing is allowed to enter except the empirically verified, the logically necessary, or the word of sources reliable enough to survive the interrogation of inquisitive and demanding skeptics. An accurate picture of reality can be a matter of life and death, or at least success or failure. The strong and the cunning keep their eye on the ball, and the gate to their citadel locked, with sentries posted and bearing arms.

Intellectual honesty is pragmatic, yes, but it is also a matter of pride. To be weak and stupid is revolting. To be strong and cunning is the highest nobility, conducive of the most resilient vanity and the most commanding arrogance. No attribute is better proof of strength and cunning than intellectual honesty.

Be strong enough to bear the weight of cold, hard fact, and resist the honey-dripping temptation of falsehood. Be cunning enough to discern which is which. Lie to anyone you wish – except yourself. Falsehood is a trap. Truth is freedom.

External reality does not include discorporate entities and is not vulnerable to the power of ritual. No one who claims otherwise can support their claims with empirical verification, logical necessity, or the word of sources reliable enough to survive the interrogation of inquisitive and demanding skeptics. Simple as that. Case closed.

Ritual is mind-work. The Great Work is mind-work. Ritual is the Great Work. Do it with that understanding. And then, when your mind is right and the time is right: Act. Out in the real world where there are real consequences. Act. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!        

We will now tarry in the Luciferian dimension of my philosophy.

Here’s the bumper sticker: Sorcery helps those who help themselves.

Doing ritual does not relieve me of the need to take action in the real world. I do ritual to get my mind right so I can then turn around and confront the real world more effectively. Ritual is mind-work. Athletes do mind-work before competing, and warriors do mind-work before engaging in battle. Performers do mind-work before going on stage, and politicians do mind-work before giving a speech. Hopeful lovers in pursuit do mind-work before asking someone out, and accusers do mind-work before confronting a miscreant. Ritual is a sophisticated example of this and it works. But it is always a precursor to real world action. I never, ever do ritual in lieu of taking real world action. If I did, nothing would happen in the real world.

The mind has three aspects: emotion, intellect, and instinct. Think of them as three swords which ritual hones. Honing myself mentally is what I think of as the Great Work. It is accomplished by accessing three profound centers in the mind: the deep emotional, deep intellectual, and instinctive centers. These are accessed by entering into altered states of consciousness.

What the Great Work is aiming at are three infernal attainments. The first, strength, emerges out of the deep emotional center. The second, cunning, emerges out of the deep intellectual center. And the third, physical competence, emerges out of the instinctive center. These attainments become formidable when we step out into the world and engage with life.

The deep emotional center is accessed via the sorts of rituals that are commonly thought of as Satanic, with their bombast and pageantry. The deep intellectual center is accessed via more complex and arcane sorts of rituals, often involving ancient systems, for example Kabala. The instinctive center is accessed via mind-clearing exercises such as Zazen. All of these aim at altered states of consciousness.

In closing, a word about the instinctive center. It has to do with the senses, the body in general, attention, reflex, dexterity, precision, and grace. Most people who practice Zazen have no idea what it's actually for. In Japan, Zazen was part of a Samurai's training. In China, Zazen was a part of kung-fu training. Forget satori and Nirvana and other mystical nonsense. Zazen makes you better at physically engaging with the world, in all the myriad varieties of what that looks like, from knitting to sex to knife fights to driving to scuba diving. Western Buddhists are often blind to this because they're not in touch with their bodies. As the Gestalt psychologist Fritz Perls famously said, "Lose your mind and come to your senses."

Be formidable. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The love of money is the beginning of wisdom.

The fear of God is the root of the poisonous tree.

Blessed are the rich, for they stand at the helm.

Blessed are the greedy, for they would possess the earth.

Blessed are they who take the biggest portion, for because of them, the meek will go without.

Blessed are they who laugh, for they know the great truth.

Blessed are they who lust, for their senses are alive.

Blessed are they who love food, for the world is their oyster.

Blessed are they who work smarter, not harder, for by sloth they conquer.

Blessed are the vain, for they adorn the best subject.

Blessed are they whose arrogance makes them walk like kings, for the earth knows its master.

Blessed are they whose envy elevates their ambitions, for they will have the last laugh.

Blessed are they who make their own meaning, for they prove they have no need of God.

Blessed are they who are laws unto themselves, for they shall be called Lords of Order.

Blessed are the strong, for they can bear the brunt of an attack.

Blessed are the cunning, for they set traps their prey will not escape.

Blessed are they whose malice is a thing of beauty, for theirs is the highest art.

Blessed are the buyers and sellers, for they make the world go round.

Blessed are they who take ACTION out in the world, for the world is vulnerable to them.

Blessed are the selfish, for they have their hands on the throat of God.

Blessed are they who stand alone, for Leviathan has a place for them.

Blessed are they who honor the name of Mammon, for they prove they are fearless of God.

ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

“Greed is the subconscious of the super-beast.”

How can we exploit the third great Mammon-truth?

First, we must understand that there is only a subconscious in relation to an ego. The entire function of the subconscious is to press against the ego. Yet I've said the super-beast's ego hasn't yet emerged, and this is true. It's in the process of coalescing out of unconscious chaos. All we have right now are pockets of pre-ego or proto-ego, the most obvious being the central banks. Notice I didn’t say governments. The ego is the reality principle in an organism, and governments are decidedly not in the realty business. In fact we specifically want to look at central banks that function independently of governments and their bullshit.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States. It wasn’t always as independent as it is today, but in recent times, the Federal Reserve has flat out refused to become politicized, and has managed to stick to its guns and yield nothing of its power. For that very reason, the economy of the United States has proven far more resilient than many expected it to. It has had its ups and down, but it hasn’t collapsed or spun out of control, and we have the Federal Reserve to thank for that. What’s more, the politicians know it. President-elect George W. Bush, in the year 2000, had this to say: “One of the things I'm certain that I should not do as president-elect is to try to put words in the mouth of Alan Greenspan.”

This, then, is what we as a species can do at the present time to hasten the emergence of the ego of the super-beast: We can push for the creation and preservation of independent central banks in every country.

As the macroscopic ego continues to coalesce, so too does the macroscopic subconscious. They're each pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps, from out of the chaotic miasma they currently float in. They're doing this in tandem, like two lovers awakening the life force in one another. The rhythm of their lovemaking is the intricate percussion of the global economy. Money changing hands, goods and services being bought and sold, this is the one thing, the only thing, that unites our species across oceans and continents, and that's why the macroscopic ego will perceive reality through an economic lens, and the macroscopic subconscious will press hardest from the perspective of greed.

When macroscopic greed has fully emerged, humanity will have finally put Plato and his cerebral values to death. Will have finally (again and for good) put Christ and his “Blessed are the poor” to death. Finally put the Buddha and his “Suffering is caused by desire” to death. Finally (again and for good) put John Lennon and his “All you need is love” to death. Finally put Billy Bob Butkus and his “It’s OK if I’m poor if niggers are poorer” to death. Love of money – not fear of God – will be seen as the beginning of wisdom. Spiritual pipedreams – not love of money – will be seen as the root of all evil. The great motto of the Planetary Federation will be, “In Greed We Trust.”

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, I name thee Antichrist, in whom I am well pleased. This is the last of my second wave of writings. I have fully expressed my viewpoint as of July 20, 2021. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

“Money is the blood of the super-beast.”

How can we exploit the second great Mammon-truth?

One way is by applying this wisdom to the stock market.

First, we must ask ourselves: What is the super-beast doing? Answer: It is growing. In four dimensions – human population, the global computer network, physical territory, and economic territory – it is growing, and so it makes diabolical sense for us to invest in these four areas. Leviathan’s relentless advance and expansion is the Dao, what some might call an “invisible hand,” which is not a metaphysical concept, but rather, is a macroeconomic statistical hypothesis which can be tested quantifiably by experts. Leviathan is the Übermensch, the ultimate aim of all power, and make no mistake, money is power.

The way to invest in human population growth is to invest in all forms of infrastructure, for without the latter, the former is doomed either to failure or to the useless multiplication of useless human bodies. Roads, bridges, sewers, electricity, natural gas, potable water, food, telephony, the internet, education, medicine, cars and trucks, and mass transit are all essential to a growing human population that isn’t going to just wallow in miserable poverty. Companies that contribute to the advance and expansion of infrastructure will ride the current of the Dao. Consider investing in them.    

The way to invest in the growth of the global computer network is to invest in (a) those companies who are building or improving the internet backbone and (b) those companies who are exploiting the internet backbone in new, innovative ways. The latter category includes streaming companies, gaming companies, and the makers of smart cars and smart homes. Companies in both categories are riding the current of the Dao. Consider investing in them. In particular look for companies who are pushing the frontiers of artificial intelligence.

The way to invest in the growth of physical territory is to invest in (a) undersea colonization and (b) outer space colonization. These are not pipedreams, nor are they boondoggles. The will to power is the will to eat, reproduce, and colonize. Living things have been conquering new territories from the dawn of intentional locomotion in the invertebrate kingdom. Vertebrates doubled down on this imperative. Mighty indeed was the will to power in the first proto-amphibians who boldly went where no animal had gone before: dry land. Humanity, meanwhile, has invaded every terrestrial niche we laid our eyes on. The bottom of the ocean beckons, as does the surface of the moon, and of Mars. Companies engaged in these grand expeditions are riding the current of the Dao. Consider investing in them.

The way to invest in the growth of economic territory is to invest in companies who are creating whole new markets. The cell phone was an example of this, and the smart phone took it a step further. Anti-perspirant was a supreme example. Before advertisers taught them to, consumers didn’t fear the stink of their underarms. Superhero movies have been a triumphant example. Companies who teach consumers to want things they never wanted before, or to fear things they never feared before, ride the current of the Dao. Consider investing in them.

I, of course, am not a financial adviser, and this post is for entertainment purposes only. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

“Money makes the world go round.”

How can we exploit the first great Mammon-truth?

What immediately comes to mind are the applications to law enforcement. Even if none of us are in that field, the thought process will be illustrative.

First, there’s the famous dictum that guides detectives who are trying to solve a crime. “Follow the money.” Get access to bank records and analyze them. Money coming in could be a clue, as could money going out. Where (or from whom) did it come in from? In exchange for what? Where (or to whom) did it go out to? In exchange for what? Detectives have caught many a perpetrator by asking these questions.

Next, there’s a ploy often used by the FBI: If you can’t prove murder, look for tax fraud. The famous gangster Al Capone went to prison not for any of his other crimes, but for tax fraud. Indicted on 22 counts, he was sentenced to eleven years. This works pretty often because those of a criminal mindset are rubbed the wrong way by having to give their money away, but they aren’t always financial mavens. Some of them will clumsily hoist themselves “with their own petard” as the saying goes.

Finally, there’s a highly effective anti-terrorist tactic: Freeze the financial assets of suspected bad actors. This is a way of getting at perpetrators who can’t otherwise be reached because they’re hiding in another country, generally a hostile one. These miscreants will often keep their money in international bank accounts, which are accessible to international law enforcement. They do this because the banks in their own countries can’t be trusted, often because of widespread corruption and thievery at every level of society in those countries.

All of this is why police detectives and federal agents will often get degrees in Accounting or Finance. They understand the first great Mammon-truth. May we all be as wise. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Here is the third great truth, which, as I did with the first and second, I name Mammon: “Greed is the subconscious of the super-beast.” (Read my blog post numbered X to get grounded in this concept.)

You may have noticed I employ elephantine images when I post about Leviathan. Isn’t he a sea serpent? I made the decision to subsume Behemoth into the concept of Leviathan. Behemoth is widely thought to be a hippopotamus, but Egypt, in biblical times, did have elephants, and since I find their faces less comical than that of the hippo, I went with the pachyderm with the prehensile proboscis. But I haven’t discarded the sea serpent archetype. Take a look at the image at the bottom of this post.

What you’re looking at is one of William Blake’s masterpieces, which the famous mystic created in 1825. There’s a definite yin/yang structure to the image, which Blake titled, “Behemoth and Leviathan.” I’ve decided to perceive the two beasts as heads and tails of the same coin, so for me, the title would simply be, “Leviathan.” I choose to perceive the land creature as holding the yang position, which makes it the light of day, activating, ego aspect. I choose to perceive the sea serpent as holding the yin position, which makes it the dark of night, reactive, subconscious aspect.

Leviathan, in this symbol, is the Dao, the sum of day and night, action and reaction, ego and subconscious, land creature and sea serpent.

The sea serpent is the reactive subconscious of the super-beast. It’s the will to power of all the individual members of Homo economicus: the sum of all human greed. The land creature, whose approximation in real world zoology is for me an elephant, is the activating ego of the super-beast. It has not yet awakened. It will continue to slumber until something momentous happens, perhaps the Singularity. Remember: the global computer network has been completely coopted by the forces of human greed. The Singularity, if it emerges, will be Machina economicus. Its design will be founded on economic imperatives.

If Machina economicus emerges in our lifetimes, the sensible question for us to ask about it will be: How can we exploit it? ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Here is a second great truth, which, as I did with the first, I name Mammon: “Money is the blood of the super-beast.” (Read my blog post numbered X to better understand this concept.)

What is blood? Blood is a constantly circulating fluid that provides the body with nutrition, oxygen, and waste removal. Consider money. Does it constantly circulate? Yes. Does it provide the body of the super-beast with nutrition, oxygen, and waste removal? Yes, as potentials to be actualized. Nothing constructive gets done in human civilization except via the medium of money. Nothing gets built, nothing runs, nothing gets pushed out of sight and out of mind so building and running can continue, except by the stupendous power of filthy lucre.

I have called the super-beast Übermensch, toward which the will to power relentlessly climbs. Now you’ll get a better understanding of what that means. In Homo economicus (economic man) the will to power manifests as greed: greed in all its forms and all the permutations into which it enters. Homo economicus (together with its global network of computers) is the nervous system of the super-beast, even as money is the blood. As each individual member of Homo economicus pursues its will to power, which is greed, it inevitably contributes to the growth and maintenance of the Übermensch, which is the super-beast, whom I have also named Leviathan. Even theft keeps the money flowing, as what was stolen will either be spent or sold, or, if it’s some sort of collectible, it will appreciate in value so that someday it can be sold. Meanwhile, most likely the victim of the theft was insured, and the insurance company will have to pay out. Even black-market transactions, such as the drug trade, or human trafficking, keep the money flowing, enabling potentials within the body of the super-beast, which grows, and grows, and grows, until one day it will stretch out its leg and place its titanic foot on Mars.

This is reality, and reality is everyone’s higher power. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

When I call Mammon forth into consciousness by uttering the great truth of macroscopic human relations – “Money makes the world go round” – I blaspheme, and wantonly.

For if money makes the world go round, then God does not. There is no right hand of Providence. There is only the left hand of commerce and finance. There is no heavenly grace. There is only supply and demand. And to Abraham’s three flocks of bleating sheep, this is blasphemy most foul.

Furthermore – and this is a more subtle point – if money makes the world go round, then neither the rise of the capitalists nor the rise of the proletariat has the final claim on history’s trajectory, for the two are the heads and tails of the same coin (a particularly apt metaphor). Money is the master. Capitalists and the proletariat are merely vassals. Let them tussle all they will, at the end of the day they bend the knee to the same lord. And to Adam Smith’s disciples as well as to Karl Marx’s zealots, this stinks with the stench of blasphemy.

Additionally, if money makes the world go round, then political systems do not. So-called democracies have no defense against the hegemony of money. Nor do dictatorships. Nor do single-party technocracies like China or oligarchic thugocracies like Russia or repressive theocracies like Iran or corrupt kleptocracies like Somalia. Money rules them all and with an iron fist. All of them throw their vaunted principles or megalomaniacal ambitions out the window when the laws of supply and demand come knocking at their doors. But don’t say this out loud on the streets (of at least some) of these countries. It’s blasphemy!

Finally, if money makes the world go round, then culture does not. Literature is a commodity to be bought and sold. Philosophy is a market for college textbooks and professorial tenure. Music is a vehicle for selling ads. Art is a collectible. Theater is for putting butts in seats with buckets of popcorn on laps. All of these can only really be understood from the perspective of supply and demand. Let the historians of literature, of philosophy, of music, of art, of theater, ground all their treatises in economics, or else spout lies. Oh, to say this in the halls of academia! Such exquisite blasphemy.

Money, money, money, money, money. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Whether you think so or not, whether you like it or not, reality is your higher power. Reality is everyone’s higher power. It sets the rules for every minute of our lives.

This higher power can’t be served, because it has no agenda. It can’t be worshipped in any meaningful way, because it has no self-awareness. It can be ignored, but only at our peril. It can’t be opposed, because everything we do is part of it. But take note: it very much CAN be exploited.

What’s the reality of human social relations? At the macro level, it’s this: “Money makes the world go round.”

I give great truths demonic names. This may seem odd at first, but the more you do it, the more natural and even obvious it begins to seem. To the great truth in the previous paragraph, I give the name you’d expect: Mammon.

Demons don’t exist except in our minds. Yet in our minds their existence is potent. Attaching them to great truths enhances their potency while simultaneously giving dimension and color to the great truths.

Old time occultists had the right idea regarding demons. They didn’t want to serve or worship them. They wanted to exploit them. They cast their circles and spoke their magic words to bring the demons under heel and master them. This is the attitude we should hold toward any great truth. In modern parlance, we should be looking to make that great truth our bitch.

Mammon was never a Goetic demon, so he had no seal. In modern times a few people have proposed their own designs for a seal of Mammon. Instead of adopting theirs, I’ve designed my own. It adorns this post. You can use it as a visual focus for meditation. If you do, your mantra can be the great truth to which I’ve given Mammon’s name: “Money makes the world go round.” This will open your consciousness (“your third eye” if you like that imagery) to all the subtleties of money’s role in every facet of our lives. This is wisdom, and by this wisdom we can begin to exploit the latent possibilities all around us.

As the Beatles originally wrote but the Flying Lizards refined, “The best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees, I want money.” ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The Devil Inside invariably blasphemes, first because it enjoys it, and second because it detests being hemmed in by the thorny thickets of groupthink.

Religionists: Fuck your tribe. Fuck its avatar. Fuck its folklore. Fuck you.

Christ and Buddha: Fuck your monks. Fuck their prudery. Fuck their asceticism. Fuck their penitence. Fuck you if you have ears to hear and holes to penetrate.

Bleeding Hearts: Fuck your tolerance for the weak and stupid. Fuck your heroic protection of them. Fuck your insistence on their equal rights. Fuck you.

Bleeding Hearts: Fuck your tolerance for freeloaders and parasites. Fuck your heroic protection of them. Fuck your insistence on their equal rights. Fuck you.

Platonists: Fuck your preference for abstraction over carnality. Fuck your veneration of spiritual love. Fuck your denigration of the senses. Fuck your atrophying muscles. Fuck you.

I-Theists: Fuck your ritualized megalomania. Fuck your pompous pseudo-enlightenment. Fuck your ludicrous expectations of apotheosis. Fuck you.

Corporate Fatheads: Fuck your mission statements. Fuck your insistence that either we marry the company or we stagnate. Fuck your glorification of the CEO. Fuck your toeing of the company line. Fuck your preaching of the company gospel. Fuck you.

Blasphemy is a great way to eject all the poisons from your system.

This marks the culmination of my first wave of writings. I’ve fully expressed my viewpoint as of July 15, 2021. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Mankind is a super-beast, straddling the earth like a colossus, ingesting and excreting in metric tons measured in the billions, and awaiting the day it can stretch out its leg and place its titanic foot on a new world.

The Devil Inside does not deceive itself, and therefore it sees the super-beast, looks it in its Cyclopean eye, perceives its Gogmagogian appetite and its ever-pressing need to empty its Brobdingnagian bowels – and then the Devil Inside decides for itself how to respond. Don’t jump to conclusions as to what that response will be.

I call the super-beast Leviathan. What better name for it? But if you think me blasphemous, I thank you for the compliment.

“Mankind, I name thee Leviathan! Woe unto your enemies. Woe even unto your friends. For you must devour all things and shit it all out in the end.”

Leviathan is the Übermensch. I know a thousand neo-Nietzscheans will rise up to dispute me, but I tell you, Leviathan is the Übermensch. Those who deny this are choosing to handwave away all the parts of Nietzsche that played into the hands of the Nazis. I don’t handwave anything away. I see Nietzsche for what he was: the herald of the dawn of Leviathan’s awakening. The Third Reich was also the herald of this same thing.  

What else would the will to power ever have been aiming at? Remember, Nietzsche saw it in all living things. What do all living things, from the bacterium to the baseball player, have in common? Very little, except this: They all are driven to eat, and then to reproduce, so their offspring can eat, and then reproduce, ad infinitum, and the better they are at it, the larger the territory they grab. Eat, fuck, eat, fuck, colonize. That’s the will to power, if we’re going to say it exists in both the fruit fly and the frog. It exists in Leviathan supremely. Now we’re just waiting for the super-beast, mankind, to stop denying its true nature. In the meantime, other heralds will rise up.

How will I respond to this? In whatever way is most suited to my appetites and pressing needs. Will I serve Leviathan? I serve nothing and no one by choice, but it’s difficult to do much of anything that doesn’t serve the super-beast. Will I worship Leviathan? I worship nothing and no one. Will I ignore Leviathan? I will if I deem it irrelevant to my appetites and pressing needs, but this is unlikely. Will I exploit Leviathan? I will if I see a way that I can. Will I oppose Leviathan? I will if I want some territory for myself and the damn thing won’t let me have it.

Working and taking a paycheck is a two-edged sword, for even as working serves the super-beast, taking a paycheck exploits it. To come out ahead, one must receive the largest amount of money for doing the least amount of work. Thus do greed and sloth emerge as a Devilish response to the Übermensch.

See things for what they are. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The Devil Inside exhibits infernal hubris, my term for the claiming of divine prerogative on the part of a mortal. This definition tracks pretty well with how ancient Greek playwrights understood hubris, though the Greeks saw it as a vice which the Immortals will punish, whereas I see it, and promote it, as a virtue which life on earth rewards.

I reject phrasing like, “I am my own God,” or, “the goal of the Great Work is auto-deification,” as utter bullshit. I’m obviously not a God and will never be one. Practitioners who employ such phrasing don’t mean what they say. They’re either exaggerating, or else they’re referring to the imaginary selves they hold in their consciousness during ritual. Some of them are deluded enough to believe that if they hold their imaginary selves in consciousness long enough and intensely enough, they’ll eventually become what they imagine themselves to be. This could work if they’re imagining themselves to be strong or wise. It will fail miserably if they’re imagining themselves to be Zeus.

Infernal hubris is very different from all of that. There are two divine prerogatives I actually do have the ability to claim for myself, despite my mortality. The first is the prerogative of decreeing the meaning of my life. The second is the prerogative of decreeing the tenets of my self-respect.

Consider Christians. Psychologically speaking, what do they use God for? First, they use him as a reason to hope for a miracle. I can’t claim that prerogative because it’s not a real thing. Second, they use him as a reason to hope for heaven. I can’t claim that prerogative because it’s not a real thing. Third, they use him as a basis for believing their life has meaning. THAT prerogative I can claim. My life has meaning because it means something to me. Fourth, they use him as a basis for setting right apart from wrong. THAT prerogative I can claim. I set right apart from wrong on the basis of the aesthetic to which I’ve committed my deepest passions.

The Immortals won’t punish me for my infernal hubris. I know this because Immortals don’t exist. Life on earth rewards me for my infernal hubris. I know this because claiming the aforementioned divine prerogatives gives me satisfaction, psychological resilience, and heightened personal power.

I am the maker of meaning and the justifier of judgment. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The Devil Inside, its predator’s instincts awakened, indulges noble envy and noble arrogance, not vile envy or vile arrogance.

I will define two terms: a “cur” is someone weak and stupid; an “apex” is someone strong and wise.

I will also state my assumption: All have the right to compete for the prize. None have the inalienable right to win it.

Now:

On losing to an apex, noble envy will seek to increase in strength and wisdom and compete again with renewed vigor. Vile envy will lash out like a little bitch or else wallow in misery and despair.

On losing to a cur, noble envy will investigate the flaws in the game that allowed such a topsy-turvy outcome, and then will devise a new strategy, as ruthless and crafty as befits the situation. Vile envy will lash out like a little bitch or else wallow in misery and despair.

On defeating an apex, noble arrogance will instruct the bystanders, by word and example, in the proper etiquette of never shaming an apex. Vile arrogance will mock the apex to whatever extent it can get away with.

On defeating a cur, noble arrogance will take pleasure in all being right with the world, and then will set the matter aside, not to be thought of again. Vile arrogance will bully the cur.

Win or lose, be noble, not vile. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS! 

The Devil Inside wants to feel alive in its flesh.

Death is coming for you. When it arrives, you in your entirety will feed (metaphorically) Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. But until then, your blood is pumping, your lungs are filling and emptying, your intestines are conducting their relentless chemical and zoological experiments, and your brain is producing a holographic, multi-sensual movie in the theater of your skull, for no audience at all except itself. Why let all of this go to waste? Find the activities that make you feel alive in your flesh – and do them!

You have five senses, hopefully all functional. To the extent you can - Drink the world of phenomena like a fine elixir! Feast your eyes on all the world’s splendor. Treat your ears to all that is musical. Indulge your sense of touch with every shape and texture. Exhilarate your tongue with every delicacy. Breathe into your nose all the fragrances of life. And get out from under your own roof! The chaos of crowds is a sensual kaleidoscope. Boardwalks, bazaars, malls, avenues, museums, zoos – seek out the commotion of living things in motion! Even if part of you doesn’t want to. Even if it’s hard. I promise you – You’ll come to enjoy it. I did. And I was always the bookiest of worms.

I dearly hope you have functioning arms and legs. If you don’t, I hope you have other ways to navigate the world, perhaps by the gifts of technology. Try to make time each day to move around! Do whatever you can do that gets your pulse rate up. Don’t do it as a punishment or a self-flagellation. Find a physical activity you can accomplish and tailor to your own enjoyment – and do it! Even if you have to do it in a wheelchair. You evolved from creatures who survived through agility and strength. Your biological legacy is one of movement. Make dynamism a centerpiece of your day! Movement is life. I promise you – You’ll come to enjoy it. I did. And I was always the couchiest of potatoes.

Incorporate sexuality into your existence. You might be surprised at how many on the Left Hand Path are basically celibate. If you’re one of them – as I am myself – then you may choose to make use of what has long been the internet’s killer app: porn. Or you may choose to engage in very casual hook-ups. Or frequent the local go-go bar or strip club. Or take part in some fetish scene. Find what works for you, be mindful of your safety, avoid unwanted consequences, protect your health – and get frisky! Every cell in your nervous system wants you to.

Live until you die! ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The Devil Inside lives by jungle justice.

First, whatever dares to interfere with me, must be interfered with. Even that which is more powerful than me, must be brought to heel. I once became convinced an executive was preparing to scapegoat me. I immediately began talking to key individuals about how this executive was making himself an obstacle to the success of a major initiative. In short order, the executive was transitioned out of the program, rendering him irrelevant to me from that day forward. He never saw the hand that dealt the blow. He didn’t even know a blow had been struck. One day he was there, and the next he was gone, one of those random mysteries of life.

Second, I give my help only to those who acknowledge debts of gratitude. I actually look for opportunities to help such people. I see it as planting seeds for future harvesting. Nor do I limit myself to helping the rich and powerful. Many’s the poor man who has his finger on a lever in some mechanism that keeps the world running. All that matters is that the poor man be the type to remember his debt to me. Meanwhile, the rich man who wants something for nothing will get precisely nothing if he comes to me for help, as will the poor man who tries to manipulate me with guilt.  

Third, I acknowledge my own debts of gratitude and pay them. This is how ecosystems remain balanced. What takes must also give when its turn rolls around, else the food chain, at its weakest link, will snap. But also there’s my reputation to think of. If I become known as an ingrate, those who might have helped me in the future will turn away from me. Better to be known as one who never forgets a kindness. And then there’s pride, one of the primal appetites of the Devil Inside. The ape man feels as tough and regal as a silverback when he repays a favor.

Fourth, I don’t allow so-called family or so-called friends to mooch off me or otherwise take advantage of me. A long-term relationship can certainly serve as legitimate currency for procuring time or resources, but only on occasion and within reason, and only if what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. The plundering hand of the freeloader must be bitten. The parasite must be made to flee for its life. I don’t live for the sake of others. Not even for family or friends. My time and my resources are mine, not theirs, and no relationship is sufficient currency to procure my slave labor or turn my kitchen into someone else’s food pantry.

For every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

The weak and the stupid smell like prey to the Devil Inside.

Consider the pack of wolves giving chase to a herd of deer. Invariably the hunters will zero in on the weakest or stupidest of the fleeing animals. These canine instincts have evolved over millions of years. Simian instincts are no different. What sets humans apart from many other beasts is that we aggress not only toward other species but also toward our own, though in the case of our own we aren’t generally motivated by cannibalism, but rather, territory, resources, or status. Also our aggression toward one another is usually indirect: we normally aren’t trying to kill or even rob our adversaries, but rather, to outcompete them. (Of course killing and robbing aren’t entirely unheard of.) Unsurprisingly, we choose as our targets the weakest and stupidest among us. This is especially true when we are in fact looking to rob, swindle, blackmail or exploit someone. It is always open season on weaklings and cretins.

In the jungle it’s commonplace for the lion, when no longer hungry, to pay no attention to creatures it would otherwise make a meal of. The creatures themselves are actually aware of this, and will venture much nearer to the king of the jungle than they would ever otherwise dare to. This indifference on the part of the carnivore does not progress into any sort of congeniality. The lion, even a satiated one, has absolutely no desire to lie down with the lamb. The predatory Devil inside the simian is equally indifferent to the weak and the stupid when they have nothing it wants. But if pushed into proximity to them, or dragged into interacting with them, the Devil’s indifference will devolve into disgust, irritation, and spite. This is the misanthropic impulse. The Devil does not, by any means, suffer fools gladly, or let mice make a nest in its beard. Prey belong on the dinner plate or else out from underfoot.

Most intolerable of all, to the Devil, is the realization that it, itself, has exhibited weakness or stupidity. This of course will happen from time to time, as no one is perfect, but when it does, the Devil’s disgust and irritation with itself will far outstrip what it feels toward others. What could be more humiliating to the lion than to look in the mirror and see a lamb? Its gorge will rise. Its spite toward itself will veer to the murderous. Pride is an appetite and humiliation is rancid meat. For this reason, the Devil, and especially the Devil in coitus with ego, will take pains to train itself in strength and intelligence. Much of the Great Work is the never-ending battle to grow stronger and wiser.

Finally, there is the flip side of misanthropy: the mutual respect of fellow predators. This is the “little more to the story” that was alluded to in the previous writing. This is the closest thing to moral restraint the Devil ever experiences. You are strong and you are wise, a tiger to my lion, and therefore I will respect your territory, your resources, and your status. I will restrain my appetites. I will look elsewhere for other prizes. I do this not because I fear you, but because I respect you. Even though I might legally target your share of the world’s good potentials, I will not. You may keep what is yours. I smell your markings on the trail and I do not venture past them, though I know I could safely do so. This is the true meaning of honor among thieves. This is the Robber’s Code. Be forewarned: it does not apply to weaklings and cretins, for on them it is always open season. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

All treats and treasures in my sight, I claim by right of appetite.

Prudes, ascetics, and penitents smell like prey to the Devil Inside. No social sanction is authoritative. No self-denial leads to power or glory in heaven. No cosmic guilt demands joylessness as recompense. No pope or potentate, in gaudy robes of church or state, can induce the Devil to foreswear its insatiable nature.

Now within you is also the ego, which, when operating as natural selection has bred it to, applies a sensible degree of prudence in the face of unyielding force, strategic checkmate, dwindling resources, or unsustainable losses. The ego, uncorrupted by neurosis, is not the Devil’s adversary, but rather, is the Devil’s trusted consigliere. As the song says, “Just call me Lucifer, ‘cause I’m in need of some restraint.”

Ego and Devil in coitus give birth to a newborn self both voracious and wise, a combination to be feared and respected. When opposing forces may still be induced to yield; when strategic options are still available; when resources are still abundant; when losses are still sustainable; let prey run for their lives, for the hunter is on the prowl, licking its lips in anticipation, sniffing the wind for news it can use. Flee! Gaping jaws approach.

There’s a little more to this story, but it’s best told in the next writing. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Faith, religious belief, the Devil Inside cannot abide. What it can’t hold in its hands or put in its mouth is alien to its reality. It relates to what it can slay, eat, fuck, possess.   

Not for the Devil are religion’s castles in the air, built of abstract imaginings. Bone and blood are what the Devil relates to. Iron and oak, breast and buttock, fish and fowl, fist and elbow, sapphire and gold, linen and silk. Guns and knives, the Devil knows. Cars and boats, highways and bridges. The real world of stone and dirt.

Nor is the Devil itself anything other than portions of the brain. Look not in some imaginary Hell for the Devil. Look instead in the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the thalamus and pituitary and pons, and the medulla oblongata.

Nor was the Devil put on earth by anything other than evolution. Look not to scripture or myth for the origins of the Devil. Look instead to the fossil record and the analysis of genomes. Look to the dinosaurs and their Mesozoic contemporaries.

Not one drop of self-deceit is promoted by Wolfism. Not one speck of unreality. ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

Psychology, philosophy, and poetry are the three pillars of personal power.

The Devil Inside lusts after the ego. To submit and surrender is to activate integration and achieve the unification of your mental powers. The legion of forces in your brain unite under one general and mount a coordinated assault on life.

The technique I use to bring Devil and ego into coitus is basic ritual, for example a curse like this one.

Alone in a dark room at night, light two red candles.

Recite:

“[Name]! Hated One!

The ruin of your reality cannot be fled.

The reign of my wrath is in your head.

Order, sanity – dead.

Cthulhu! Cthulhu is in your head.

Dread dread dread dread dread.”

(Repeat as many times as desired.)

Extinguish the candles.

The Devil Inside lusts after the ego. Ritual is how the ego “spreads its legs.” ISCHYROS DIAVOLOS!

That's Wolfism in a nutshell. I've stopped calling it "Satanism" because I'm tired of debating the meaning and history of that term. Wolfism is what I say it is because I say so. If you align with it, feel free to join me in it.