TSD: The Archeology of the Sinister II

My relationship with the ONA is that I was a part of the 3.0 experiment which ultimately failed. I was really new and green, and made a critical mistake in how I viewed the ONA. Lacking personal, practical, Sinister experience cause me to become mindfucked by the whole thing and I tripped and fell over my own ego.

When talking about the Sinister there’s one name that always comes up: Order of Nine Angles (ONA). What is your relationship with this organization, and how do you view its role as part of the contemporary sinister culture?

If I have adopted some of the ONA symbolism and terminology mostly because it’s Magian-free, but as far as its manipulative tactics is concerned, I don’t feel myself the pawn to serve its agenda. It is the ONA symbols and terms which serve my quest rather than vice versa. Yet on a certain level beyond the problem between individual and folk, I find some of my ideas as almost identical with those of the ONA. After all, I am also a psychopath who makes my way through the chaos of normality, and uses any manipulative approaches to achieve my purposes. 

One should also consider the fact that the ONA myth was created by two men only, and though I do not underestimate the power of that myth, I think that what sorcerers have established other sorcerers may abrogate. Moreover, though Magian-free, the ONA symbolism is based on some obscure tradition which should be profoundly investigated instead of being taken in trust. By investigating  and working with the Dark Gods I have arrived with some of them to the dawn of human civilization, and I dare to say they have little to do with any Sanskrit, or Hindu sources as deemed by some who should know better. Not only weren’t the Aryans the first and genuine bringers of human civilization but certain representatives of that race were also originators of what was termed by Spengler as ‘Magian’ and used by the ONA to term mostly the Near East Judeo-Christian prophetic ethos. In fact the Magi were the Median priesthood where the prophet Zoroaster derived from and created the first moralist dualistic doctrine, later to serve as the basis for the spiritual plague spread  by the subhuman Abrahamic religions. The Median people as well as their successors the Persians were of the Iranian branch of the Aryan/Indo-European race. It was Cyrus the Great (600 - 530 BCE), an Aryan ruler, who tolerated the renewal of the barbarous Hebrew monotheism in his empire and was the only non-Jew regarded as “Messiah”. 

It was my inherent dislike of and sabotage against the Qabalah, that made me search for another, Magian-free system of classification for my magical experience, and thus I discovered the ONA’s Tree of Wyrd. For me the qabalistic tradition is a crude distortion of the genuine Ancient Orient lore. While I agree with the ONA that “the use of qabalistic/Hebrew names, images/symbols aids this distortion and thus enhances the power of the Nazarene and the ‘old Aeon’ values/power structures”, I find ridiculous and demagogical the assertion that “the same applies to the use of  ‘Egyptian/Sumerian ‘ etc. symbols/images/words. Those who still use such symbols/images/words are not yet free from Nazarene indoctrination/unconscious influences.”  However, a more profound research into the names of the ONA’s Dark Gods shows that Karu Samsu means “Harbor of the Sun” in Akkadian, that Abatu is “to destroy” in the same language, that Azanigin is a “reservoir of water” (or sperm) in Sumerian, that Shugara is a “turban” in the same language, that Bin Anath is “the daughter of Anath” in Egyptian etc. That’s one of the reasons I do not regard the ONA as the authority to tell me what I am to use and what I am not to use. I do not obey any authorities.       

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Well-wisher. I think they had some good ideas. I think they opened some doors. They had an influential role in breaking the reliance on a well-known model and delivered an option for contemporary occultism to go back to some important roots. They've become preachy, churchy, touchy though and I think they need to reassess the misguided notion that they own/control the Sinister and its access points. They seem to think because they were conduits for greater forces that they can control who and how they are used. Which is nonsense. Utter RHP nonsense. It bodes a decline for that form to go against Nature's will.

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I have not interacted much with others in an organised way, I have read the works of ONA, though not all, and I find some of their vein very useful and interesting. There is too much posturing and ego within these forums for me. I prefer to obtain my sinister understanding more organically.

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ONA occupies a role as a form that allows a particularly framed experience of the Sinister to be manifested. It has darker corners than other organizations and promotes the darker alchemy necessary for the individual to grow as a balanced being. It is a necessary evil. Beautifully twisted and grotesque. I have no relationship with this organization but it was extremely formative in who I have become.

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Its role is fundamental when one comes to need a deeper understanding of the Sinister and magick and other things that these imply, especially when one feels that qabalah based systems like thelema and others are somewhat alien to him or her, or that the armchair satanism of CoS et similia will take you nowhere if you seek real Change through Satanism and the Sinister. When I came to be aware of the ONA back in '93-'94 ev, initially through some BM publications and material from OJB/FL, OSV/TBO etc., I immediately felt from their writings (as well as those from the mentioned occult groups) that there was something different there, some real essence behind, something primeval but even modern and futuristic at the same time in respect to all other occult groups and currents, I found some similarities with things I was doing by myself at the time leaving behind old influences, and so many views and ideas that matched mine, thus I felt strongly attracted by the ONA and started to search for more about it, discovering many aspects that only increased my interest, especially noticing a sort of Nature Magick as a huge aspect of their Tradition, I liked its pagan approach devoid of the modern romanticism, morality and softness, thus its bringing back sorcery to its real meaning. I felt the ONA was somewhat there to bring those with a certain sense of things back to where our (human, specifically Europeans) path of evolution had been interrupted by the nazarene/magian distortion, offering a system which could do this by destroying or changing one's artificial ego projections, and "awareness" of reality, I was in the process already, but the ONA surely helped to speed it up. I was deeply impressed and influenced by CB's writings and Art (Sinister Tarot and music too), no other organization ever came out with such a combination of so insightful writings, powerful set of rites and Arts before the ONA, apart the Temple Of THEM which developed and is developing these and other aspects further. 

I still miss to experience the 7FW fully, but the things I have experimented with inspired by it through the years helped me to improve quite much on many aspects. With time I also started to doubt about certain aspects of the ONA, its history and the Sinister Tradition as handed down by AL, but my researches also took me to see there's a truth and links with the past and the ancient Mysteries behind it, thus an essence transcending time and human influence and its forms. My relationship with the organization itself has not been direct, I've had contact with some people who was closer to some key figures of it, from which I obtained most of the ONA material I have, like VF of Ansuz Transmissions/Vanargandr mainly. Had some contact more recently with some people through THEM's forums, and the Temple Of THEM was clearly my main and closer ONA contact the past recent couple of years or so.

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As to my relationship with the ONA, I have several thoughts. I have never had direct contact (that I am aware of) with the ’Old Guard.’ I have been a member of 2 pseudo-Satanic societies, the CoS and the ToS. They are bullshit. LaVey had some energy in the origination days of the CoS, but lost it precisely because of his adoration of his own ego. Whatever power he had, left him, because his conscious self was not the source of that power. Aquino is a pseudo-intellectual piece of shit and general poseur (and those are his good points). His only virtue lay in studying Machiavelli and “gaining control of the means of communication”. He was the editor of The Cloven Hoof (the CoS house publication), and LaVey was not astute enough to recognize the viper he housed in his bosom.  LaVey continued to give Aquino that avenue of control, which was the main way non-SanFrancisco members “related” to that organization. Aquino used that to full effect when LaVey announced – surprise! – that the (meaningless) degrees were “for sale.” (Like they hadn’t been all along…) These disenchantments (literally) have left deep marks in me. I always test things for myself, and assume that I’m being sold a “bill of goods.” Does that mean there’s no truth to be found? Of course not…

I long ago ceased being any kind of a ’true believer’, and I commend the ”path of un-belief” to all who wish to follow the Left Hand Path. In reading ONA material, did I sense deception? Of course! What else should I expect from the Blackest of the Black? The history of the Dark Gods was cleverly embellished, and often simply invented.  Does that mean that the Dark Ones don’t exist? Well, go into chamber and find out. They’re there, whatever they are. They are not ’self’, nor are they self-delusion. They’re real… as real as this keyboard I’m typing on. Do they only relate to us through Anton Long (or Anton LaVey, or whoever)? I doubt they really even know who any of “US” are.  The same way I can be amazed at the behavior of a wild animal which approaches me, unafraid, and seems to relate to me, I believe THEY feel about me when I approach them in chamber. I elevate my mind, they “see” me, and note this strange little creature intruding into their space. And often they’ll give me a “treat!” Like I said, “ego” is bullshit. Man is not important; we must “overcome ourselves.” I find the ONA corpus of literature to be the most true to what I find in Black Magick.  I also find the TOTBL to be Daemonically inspired, although the Liber Falxifer material is less-than-moving to me

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My relationship with the ONA is that I was a part of the 3.0 experiment which ultimately failed. I was really new and green, and made a critical mistake in how I viewed the ONA. Lacking personal, practical, Sinister experience cause me to become mindfucked by the whole thing and I tripped and fell over my own ego.

What the whole experience did do was teach me that I needed to actually cross my own mental boundaries and see what holds up. It taught me that I needed to realize the line is there is no real line.

I view the ONA and all of its writings like one of those pictures you have to de-focus your eyes to see what the picture actually is. Transgression is what causes the eyes to de-focus and see the picture. Once you do, you should realize that all anyone else is doing in regards to writing as a Niner is saying what they see when their eyes de-focused.

At this point in time, I find myself resonating more heavily with Niners but haven't taken the leap of labeling my work ONA. I feel like my memes spread faster and better under the 'Independent Satanist' banner.

One thing that once separated ONA from its contemporaries, such as Church of Satan and Temple of Set, was that ONA had a distinct and delineated Cause; the disruption and destruction of the whole Magian edifice, and the creation of an entirely new kind of civilization, The Galactic Imperium. Does your conception of the Sinister include a Cause? In other words, something that goes beyond your everyday, human, concerns, and which might, in fact, be something that you won’t see come into fruition in your lifetime.

My own magical cause or quest stands above any folk’s cause. Any cause which insist on my duty to some collective body is communistic in nature. (Marxism being the atheistic form of the Magian.) Only when satisfied along my own quest could I be of use to my fellows In Sinister Solidarity (ISS). The idea of Galactic Imperium reminds me of that distorted vision of the Magian cinema industry about the expansion of the human civilization in the Outer Space expressed via the Star Wars production. This is exactly what the Magian project unto the future – their infantile good vs evil dualism presented in a galactic scale. In fact mastering the Outer Space would mean leaving humanity behind. The interplanetary vacuum (not to speak about the interstellar vacuum), won’t leave the human brain unchanged. However trained to persist in its mundane consciousness (assumed as the norm), the human astronaut will lose control there. He, or she will need some trans-human attunement which the present human-centric civilization is not able to provide. The mundane humanity is not predestined to live amongst the stars.  It’s a paradox indeed that all the highly developed technology is as if designated to serve the mundane only. Again, my personal quest or cause of attaining to a lasting trans-human awareness while still alive, stands above any collective cause. I could stay In Sinister Solidarity only with those who have become aware of the futility of any human cause and seek to become something other and better than human. This staying ISS with fellow-minded folks could form the basis for a new sentient race but it wouldn’t be possible until everybody has been satisfied enough along one’s individual quest.   

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Yes.

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Yes, the introduction of a strain of occultism through the cultus of THEM that offers and encourages a re-orientation of the occult through our looking-glass. We do not want world domination or to own the stage, that could never happen. What does happen when a particular goup tries to play God is that it builds a powerful backlash that eventually gives rise to a particular counter-form, so to seed this approach and attitude can be used as cultural alchemy – but the forms used in that alchemy are almost always destroyed to make way for a third form that transpires in the struggle of the other two. This in mind, we seek to expand our cult and form a culture around a new Illuminati that functions on THEM's principles. With enough Others joining the current and those forces being then expressed by them in their own ways, the Temple asa movement toward evolution of consciousness keeps growing. 

But we understand our role in Nature's Work. We serve Her and her goals. We will expire in thirty years, long enough we think to set a number of balls rolling, tend a crop to bountiful harvest to give rise to the next stage of our thought form and individualosophies and will then disappear back into the aether, gracefully stepping aside to let the new grow and prosper. It's not glamourous, it's not glorious, it’s an acceptance and Love for THEM. A cold steely commitment to forces bigger than us.

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Yes, the evolution of humanity and the eradication of the sole dominance of certain ideas such as God. The Temple of THEM has gradually moved away from Satanism in order to be even further from the Church's grasp – understanding that replication of its roots is not progress. By sole dominance is meant that we are trying to change the pathways and functions of the brain – by seeing if we can – and if we can – to evolve. THEM has a charter of 30 years. It began in 2006 and will continue to 2036. In this time we wish to create a new type of illuminati and to understand everything humanly possible about forms. This duration will go some way toward establishing a new type of thought which progress in achieving we will leave behind as a legacy to others. This cause if you like involves listening to THEM, speaking through THEM, and trying to gestate forms that will destroy the foundations of the magic that holds religion and certain other types of ideation in place.

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I am not so arrogant as to believe I can push around dark gods, or single handedly bring about a new aeon of civilization. I endeavour to change those around me, to try to live my life open to the sinister under current of things, to show people how to behave in a manner befitting a civilization able to evolve. For sadly we are all in this together, and the fierce anger of a few hundred is nothing in the face of the ignorance of billions.

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The concerns of our daily life are things that are made pass for the most important while they should be just marginal aspects in our life, they are there to distract us and steal time, attention, focus and dedication from what is truly meaningful in and of life, to avoid that we think and become aware and remember what we should be or seek to be. The magian machine has constructed in the human mind like infinite screens projecting illusions made pass for reality before our eyes, and people believe what they see, and what they are told and educated to see as important, the meaning of life etc. Be it religion, money, politics, soccer, technology, individualism/self-importance, democracy, progress, etc. The disruption of this state of things is one of the Causes of the ONA, of the Temple Of THEM and other Sinister groups, and it is surely one aspect that differentiates them from CoS, ToS, OTO, GD etc. which are (willingly or not) just arms of that magian mechanism devoid of even the slightest numinousness. 

My conception of the Sinister surely includes a Cause, and what you mentioned in your question describes it quite well. Those who are making efforts for this cause today won't be able to see the outcome, whatever form it will maifest through, not even the beginning of it I fear. But the few signs of Change in few people today may become a whole civilization tomorrow, whatever tomorrow may mean here in terms of centuries. Alchemy works slow, in Aeonic terms especially, and considering where we are starting from.

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Yes. I also seek to destroy what I see as a broken machine the majority of humanity has become trapped in. Not for any other reason than the experience of making this attempt makes me discover more about myself in the process.

Temple of THEM is an organization all of you are some way connected to, but what made you interested in THEM in the first place? What made it stand out from all the other similar groups?

I think the Temple of THEM is a network rather than an organization. The organization presupposes some structure, and the structure – some form. The Temple of THEM is about the essence, not about the form. The Sinister cannot be limited to certain forms and styles. Yet its essence should be recognizable for those of THEM. Again, the Sinister is that part of the Self which is directly aware of the Web of Wyrd – the mysterious web of energy currents, which builds up what our Dexter (the ego-pole) perceives and interprets it as consensus reality. The network of the Temple of THEM is not centralized and structures chaotically not unlike the Web of Wyrd. What makes me One of THEM is my staying ISS with the others, whom I have chosen to feel empathic with, and to work with.

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I feel that I am where I belong to be – home.

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I don't think there are any similar groups. THEM is like Lovecraft on steroids. It's a mad mix of fantasy and reality that gnaws at you, wraps you in its coils and hypnotises you. It's got some weird allure I can't really explain. It came from nowhere and nothing and look at it now. I don't know if it’s the artwork, the writing, the emotion, the romanticism or something Other. The Temple of THEM has something I can't quite put my finger on, but it excites me, it fills me with suspense, it gives me a strange sense of conifidence that someone somewhere knows what is going on. They might appear as mad as two snakes rubbed back to back but there is a startling clarity of purpose that binds its sprawling mass together and its dare I say it, fun to be involved with it. I dont care if it's some big joke, some online story or takes parts and pieces of all of their experience to speak as One; you get the sense that this is something different from all those other groups. You can just feel it. I think that is down to genuine esoteric knowledge or grasping for it and a real connection with all the things they talk about. I find it hard not to believe in the world of forces and forms as Ryan et al describe and see it the way they do. It's oddly exciting. 

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The members.

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It is the form by which I express the purpose of my life.

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I came across some Temple Of THEM's writings via the ONA while going through some of their internet links. I started to read some material from Mvimaedivm and other internet sources and to purchase items from TBGS which increased my interest quite much. What I've found of interest immediately was how THEM seemed to develop and deepen certain aspects of the ONA Tradition, and try to understand Form and human psyche at deeper levels, being at the same time still a Subversive and Heretic force. I thought it to be the only branch of the Sinister doing that, which is also what the ONA seemed to expect from those walking its path after all. I also found – as with the ONA earlier – many topics dealt with which I already had an interest in or experimented with in some way, and other aspects I resonate with or similar experiences. I appreciated a lot its being somewhat formless yet using many forms, THEM's studies cover from archaeology to psychology, quantum physics to mythology, from Nazism to Anarchy, various artistic forms, from sorcery to NWO conspiracies, from direct action to introvert thoughtful practices, always analyzing even contradictory sides of everything. All of this was enough to have an interest and to see THEM as a standing out entity and carrier of certain Forces. Some time later I came to contact THEM directly addressed there by an ONA key figure of the past and this slowly became something more, starting to collaborate on some things, which became more and more with time.

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Ryan. I have known him for awhile and he wrote an essay called The Greatest Heresy about Baphomet that caught my attention. Over the years and through interaction with him I have realized that we have similar aims.