The Path to Satanism – The Seven-Fold Way

Satanism has changed a lot since the days of antiquity. From dimly lit hallways and smoky chambers, some of today’s Satanists confer in utter luxury. With such vast changes having been witnessed over the years, there have emerged new developments. For instance, there are several ways through which one can get into a Satanist order. The Grade Rituals are one such approach for getting into a Satanist order. They have been broadly explained in NAOS – A Practical Guide to Sinister Hermetic Magick.

The Grade Rituals are a series of activities which one must partake in so as to become fully immersed in the Satanist spirit. There are a total of seven Grade Rituals which you must pass through to be allowed to take part in the most intimate of Satanist ways – it is for this reason that the Grade Rituals are referred to as the Seven-Fold Way. They are akin to a training program which one should excel in so as to become the complete package. Grade Rituals enable one to move from the position of an Initiate to the subsequent stages of External Adept, Internal Adept, Adept, Master / Mistress, and beyond. It is dangerous to attempt to circumvent any of the Grade Rituals for one who genuinely wishes to engage in Satanism. Completion of one grade ritual incrementally improves one’s understanding and knowledge of the Satanic realm.

The Initiate stage is the most basic. Once you have expressed your interest in joining the movement, the Master / Mistress will make you aware of what Satanist orders really are. These are not rigid religious institutions that look to spread ideological knowledge. Neither are Satanist orders collective groups for discussing or debating information. Instead, they are places or groups where actual magic is practiced. It is important to remember that true Satanists only become what they are by virtue of engaging in the dark side, not by merely learning about it. The rigor behind the Grade Rituals is therefore to prepare one thoroughly for the journey they have chosen ahead.

Once you have successfully completed your tutelage for this Grade Ritual under the Master / Mistress, you graduate from an Initiate to become an External Adept. You will experience the darker aspects of your nature as you begin to embrace the dark side – these darker aspects constitute your shadow self. Nevertheless, the External Adept is still a probationary period during which you will still be unable to partake in many other events and ceremonial rituals. At the discretion of the Master / Mistress however, you may begin to experience some relatively harmless events as an External Adept.

To become an Internal Adept, the Initiate is required to continue their apprenticeship under the Master / Mistress. The principles of this Grade Ritual require one to experience in reality a variety of situations. Here, the Master / Mistress have a duty of care towards their pupil since the learning occurs on an individual basis. This duty of care is particularly important since some of the experiences being spoken about may be illegal in some jurisdictions or even unacceptable by stringent societal standards. Therefore, the Master / Mistress have to lead the pupil in experiencing certain ceremonial rituals (even the dangerous ones).

After the Internal Adept stage, one emerges as a Genuine Adept. This requires one to live in utter isolation for a period of three months. Genuine Adeptship is a stage of evolutionary experience where you will truly change as your shadow self begins to assert itself. Despite the role of the Master / Mistress still being present, much is now required of you as an individual. When living in isolation, the principles of this Grade Ritual must be thoroughly observed lest it becomes dangerous. For instance, the Genuine Adept must actively avoid all human contact and attempts to reach out. This is a very testing period where your limits will truly be stretched.

When you have finished living in isolation for three months, you may begin the Grade Ritual to become a Master / Mistress. In order to truly enter the Abyss, you must allow acausal energies into your conscience without losing one’s control. The acausal energies are chaotic in nature and can cause disruptions where one is not adequately prepared. To enter the Abyss, men must walk eighty miles alone and unaided whereas women must walk fifty-six miles. The walk must begin at sunrise on the first day and conclude at sunset the next day. Once you have exhausted yourself in this way, it becomes relatively easy to embrace the acausal energies since you harbor no barriers.

If you are to truly pass the Master / Mistress stage, you will have to experience in reality a variety of ceremonial rituals and activities. Purists continue to differ on the way to go about this Grade Ritual. Today, many of the ceremonial rituals that were required to transcend this stage have been replaced by a “short-circuit” method since they are either illegal or frowned upon. For example, rituals involving the shedding of blood have been gradually replaced by symbolic elements such as red wine. Nevertheless, there are still some covens which may exercise the traditional format of this Grade Ritual.

The importance of experiential knowledge in the advanced stages of Satanism cannot be overstated. To move past these stages means that you have become not only knowledgeable in the ways of Satanism, but also well-versed in practical knowledge. Such an individual must have practiced Satanism for a considerable number of years before they can be accepted to head collectives of Satanist orders. Needless to say, not many people are able to transcend the Master / Mistress stages to the latter stages. One will most often give up due to the difficulty of carrying out the required tasks or their sheer illegality.

As seen in the foregoing text, performing the Grade Rituals is no mean feat. It takes a lot of years for one to complete each stage successfully. Furthermore, one is subject to the approval (or lack thereof) of the Master / Mistress before they move to the next stage. It is only in the advanced stages where you have to gather experiential knowledge – the other stages usually require the amassing of ideology and indoctrination since they are largely probationary. Still, the reward of embracing one’s dark side warrants the effort which people have put into the Grade Rituals over millennia.

Best of luck as you continue on your own journey.

Thoughts? Comments?

Hail Satan

Vald

I also offer consultations: Consultation with Vald

Reference

The Order of Nine Angels. The Black Book of Satan.