I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Fade, for there is no darkness, nor death either, in the Maker's light, and nothing that He has wrought shall be lost.
Sutter, Joshua, et al., Liber 333. Martinet Press, 2013.
For a few words before I begin, I'd like to say that my analysis of this work is to be far from definitive, merely instrumental in the production of demonological abstractions, theory-fictional absurdities, and politico-ethical heresies. I first came across this book around 6 or 7 years ago, I've simply forgotten how long it's been, but I didn't finish reading it for the first time until earlier this year over the course of a few days. The first time I saw it was in the smoky apartment of a friend. My physical copy of this work has been, rightfully, stained with my blood, and on the first page I've written over all of the copyright information with the Catechism of Robespierre. Truthfully, at the time, I was drinking. The editor's use of Sanskrit prayers on the following page I don't find offensive as much as I find it rather banal. It's a dedication, for the Lord of Vultures. The book itself is organized as follows: the primary contents are four separate sections, labeled as books within the text, respectively titled Noctulian Communion, Practical Vampiric Alchemy, Tales ov the Blood Pool, and Sundry Scriptures. Furthermore, there's an Introduction, a Prologue, and finally the book closes out with an Epilogue. My primary purpose for taking such extensive notes on this book here on my website are so that in the future, instead of having to re-read this book, I can simply go over these notes and see how my perspective has shifted with additional research within other writings and philosophical currents. As well as this, my other purpose is that if anyone interested in this book and its contents were to come across this webpage, they could merely read my summaries and explications in place of having to consult to work itself. It is both analysis and replacement.
As I continue to write about this work and its contents, I will more than likely try to keep my own interpretations and weaved threads through outside theoretical sources to a minimum, so that when I get through other books I can more easily follow my own thinking about the material. More likely, I will maintain the right to bring up parallels I see in this work to other fictional works and worlds I've come across in the past through my own reading. One of my other present purposes for reading this book is to eventually be able to fully explicate this work's relationship to the occult writings of the Order of Nine Angles, which I have access to via compilations entitled The Sinister Tradition, Hostia, and The Sinister Tales. I've yet to read them, so more than likely after I've undertaken that research I will once again have to go through my old notes to find healing scars I hadn't noticed before. All efforts to see more clearly. Lastly, I must admit that in reading this work, there were parts that I've actually enjoyed or at least thought were interesting points of reflection, so I would like to highlight those particular flashes here, to treat them as seeds for the growth of my own lugubrious literary flowers. I am to read this book as a thief excavating a deteriorated tomb, yanking out finger bones and teeth for the creation of macabre relics.
In the past, I did myself the liberty of noting which writings in this book I found the most interesting, so I will likely have sections on those writings while merely relegating the lowest quality writings to either their own section or some kind of appendix, I have yet to decide their fate. Since I'll be working through this close reading from my own physical copy, I will, where appropriate, note down any writings on the margins that I added if I find them either elucidating or entertaining. As a final aside, I find the writings in the Sundry Scriptures section to be the least interesting so hopefully I'll primarily write about the first 3 sections the most, and I hope my future self will take these writings to only be notes and the beginning of an exploration rather than the end result. Everything said, let's begin our journey and descent into the backwards dark.
The book opens with the Secret History of the Tempel ov Blood, the author sure to boast that his organization is infamously known by its initials, TOB, which can be numerically summated to its Anglossic Qabbala value (AQ) of 64, and digitally reduces to 1. As I continue to explore this text, AQ values and net-spans are sure to litter this writing for future hyperstitional explorations. Unfortunately, as far as a secret history goes, very little about the organization and its origins are explained. To my own understanding, the organization itself was founded around 2003, near the time of Joshua Sutter's arrest on a weapons charge involving a handgun with its serial number filed off. The earliest official publication of their material that I can definitively date is a 2006 edition of Tales of Sinister Influence which was published by Ixaxaar, noted for their overpriced, yet meticulously crafted grimoires and jewelry. 2 years later, the first edition of Liber 333 was released in a limited distribution for another occult organization under the name of the Temple of THEM. This edition has many of the same writings as those to be found in my physical edition, but, there's the both puzzling and interesting additions of writings from a number of other occult organizations that I presume they associated with, such as the Black Order of the Dragon and Temple of Azagthoth. There's also an additional section, titled Analogy Hermeticism which explores a variety of bizarre subjects, from the Emerald Tablet, black holes, Las Vegas, and Charlemagne, King of the Franks. 4 years after that, in 2012, the next collection that I'm able to date with certainty is the third issue of their internal theoretical journal, False Prophet. The first issue doesn't have any kind of dating on it, not even the Year of the Führer dating, which begins from the year of the birth of Adolf Hitler. The second issue is nowhere to be found on the Internet Archive, although it had recently been sold on eBay while I wasn't looking. In 2014, we finally see the publication of the other most infamous book of the Tempel ov Blood, Iron Gates, which will warrant a treatment of its own in the future. As far as the rest of their online presence, from my own personal experience I remember Martinet Press had a Facebook page that they would regularly update, and the TOB operated a YouTube channel called Beast Barracks, whose earliest still extant video dates to 2015. There's also another YouTube channel called Crimson Tiwaz that has a couple of similar videos. My own personal history with the Tempel ov Blood ends around 2018, when I stopped talking to the person who developed my interest in their works and writings. After that, it's a mystery to me.
That said, the author continues to outline his secret history by giving us anything but a history, merely mentioning in passing the various illegal activities the Tempel ov Blood has allegedly been involved in as if we are to be impressed by them. This includes a rather colorful story of a TOB trainee described as, an émigré from the Russian Federation with a fanatic and often self-destructive obsession with the occult and right-wing politics, who, not longer after a period of time involving intensive, private training with the organization, went on to distinguish himself by biting an eight-year old child multiple times leaving thirteen notable marks which led to criminal charges.
I leave it to the reader to decide whether or not this one is true. More importantly, after this a couple of clues are left of terminology used by the organization that will be explored further, namely trauma-induced programming (Net-span 5::2) and Blood Mistress (Net-span 5::3). Lastly, the author states that the organization was, in fact, founded in 2003 and that the present collection of writings marks the 10 year anniversary of the organization and is to be considered the first definitively authorized volume of their writings, to be presented to an awaiting public for the first time. Before we continue, I must say that unfortunately, my contempt for this work will likely shine through in certain snide comments, but I hope that my fascination will show itself as well. Now, our descent continues. Pages 6-8.
Agios O Gaubni (AQ=108, DR=9). Creeping death begins. The prologue is a short story, underneath its title is a photo of Sabrina Harman, posing over the dead body of Manadel al-Jamadi. It's a photo from the Abu Ghraib torture scandal of 2003. Before I continue, I think it'd be pertinent to quote Harman herself on her involvement on the prisoner abuse that she was a part of, Not many people know this shit goes on. The only reason I want to be there is to get the pictures and prove that the US is not what they think. But I don't know if I can take it mentally. What if that was me in their shoes. These people will be our future terrorist. Kelly, its awful and you know how fucked I am in the head. Both sides of me think its wrong. I thought I could handle anything. I was wrong.
The story itself is a clear reference to the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, but with its own bizarre occult twists. It starts with an unnamed character, described as a Mistress of Earth (Net-span 7::5), plunging a knife into the body of a Middle-Eastern man, they call him an opfer (AQ=105, DR=6), a term we'll see more as we continue through the book. Simply put, this title designates him as a sacrificial victim. The location is described as a clandestine U.S. military base in the Syrian mountains. To justify her actions, the author describes that there are, in fact, various secret agreements between the U.S. and Syrian government that facilitate the construction of black sites that they can use for interrogation and human rights violations outside of the sight of the U.N. or N.G.O.'s who would monitor them. After her work, she puts the knife that she used into a plastic bag. The screams of the Arab detainees are mentioned in passing. One small thing that I find rather interesting is the naming of branded commodities, the author is careful to mention Ziploc bags, Jack Daniel's, Marlboro Reds, and U.S.D.A. beef. It reminds me of the persistent naming of commodities in American Psycho. She continues to walk through the black site, noting the presence of different branches of the U.S. armed forces, as well as suited members of the Secretary of State. Then, she steps outside of a gate and into the desert. Here we have a selection I enjoy: Once beyond the doors of the facility, the fell winds of a dark autumn night assailed her senses, filled seemingly with the whispering voices of thousands of native hideous spirits who, like vultures, circled the area of death and grim work.
The sentence and paragraph continue but it isn't particularly interesting until we get to a mention of the black site as a foreign force, which held within its very fabric the only hope of a real and legitimate Galactic Imperium (Net-span 5::2).
Here we see another term that will be more fully explicated in ensuing pages. Stepping further out into the darkness, she places her knife inside another plastic bag with the beef and throws it over a concertina-wired fence, taking out a cigarette and smoking while jackals come to eat the raw meat, before they start to choke on the knife. The story itself ends with a description of Gaubni of the South Winds (Net-span 6::2), Lord of Abominations (AQ=240, DR=6). Their face is described as a mass of entrails of both animals and humans. The description of them reminds me somewhat of the Aztec goddess Tlahzōlteōtl, specifically when described as the angel of all that is excreted, and of all that sours.
On the blank page that follows this short story, I merely wrote, the previous story makes me want to finish Negarestani's Cyclonopedia.
Pages 10-15. Onto the next writing.
For their first theoretical writing, we're given an introduction to the aims, objectives, and strategies of the Tempel ov Blood. They appear to be threefold. For the aspiring Noctulian (AQ=190, DR=1) who aspires to fulfill the aims of the Tempel (AQ=125, DR=8), the first priority is the creation of the New Being. I wouldn't worry too much about this term, as I believe this is the only writing in which it appears. The New Being, according to the Tempel, has been variously described under a variety of names from Vampires, Übermensch, Noctulians, and Homo Galactica. Occasional references to Nietzsche such as these will be made, but they never betray anything more than a surface level understanding of his writings. The New Being is essentially an empty container for a variety of self-aggrandizing concepts to flourish under. Furthermore, they describe that any and all humans who fail to embrace this evolutionary urge will serve as food and a resource to be used by the New Being, as a human would a lesser animal. Thus is our philosophy and way of being a terror to the Magian (AQ=99, DR=9). So much sweeter will their Blood Essence (Net-span 7::3) be to consume.
Two more concepts are introduced, the Magian, which is a stand in for both Christians and Jews, and Blood Essence. The significance of blood will be detailed later.
Their second aim is described as, the infiltration and manipulation of organizations and forms with Sinister (AQ=185, DR=5) potential.
They give the examples of Aryanism and Christian Identity, then say that the aspiring Noctulian is to use these social forms for their own Presencing of the Dark (Net-span 2::1). This is in the service of finding a social form that is an aid to the Dialectic (AQ=147, DR=3) and empowering it further, causing a saturation of Acausal Energy (Net-span 4::2).
These two terms will also be explicated further in ensuing writings. The third aim is the disruption of Magian organizations, which they describe variously as institutions of Judeo-Christian churches, Wicca covens, pseudo-satanic temples, or more physical 'down to earth' forms such as Magian political groups and government.
The guiding thread between all of these various organizations is for the reader to stitch together as no explanation of their connection will be provided. Finally, they describe the Tempel as a means for the Noctulian Empire to provide a harsh alchemical change process (Multi-span 9::4::2) to those who seek it, allowing them to aid the Dialectic on their own [...]. Those few who go on to become Noctulians will join us in our Harvest (AQ=156, DR=3) and pass through the Jihad as One of Them (AQ=82, DR=1) that will reign immortal in the Dark Land (Net-span 2::1).
As a note, I ascribe the net-span of 2::1 to Dark Land to tie it to a concept that will appear later. The writing itself ends with a quote from the Black Book (Net-span 7::2) of Satan (AQ=100, DR=1), Come as a reaper, for thus you will sow.
The writing itself is attributed to a Lord Karnac (AQ=102, DR=2) and dates to 2003. Pages 19-20.
From what I can find, Choronzon first appears in the system of Enochian magic developed by the 16th-century English occultist John Dee. There's a video on him and his system of magic that I'll have to watch later, but I'm leaving it here in case anyone is interested in learning more. Later on, the concept of Choronzon is developed further by another English occultist, Aleister Crowley, he describes Choronzon as the dweller in the abyss
or the demon of dispersion.
As I'm not a Thelemite, I'm unable to to tell you more about how Choronzon fits into Crowley's understanding of Qabbala and cosmology, but together we'll see how the Tempel ov Blood understands this deity. They go on to descibre Choronzon as the hungry demon of the gate of the Abyss
and as the final stepping stone before entering the hidden sphere of Daath.
What the hell is the hidden sphere of Daath? According to a cursory glance at Wikipedia, Da'at is part of the Qabbala, which is a branch of Jewish (hence, Magian) mysticism and is described as the location, or mystical state, or aspect of the intellect, where all 10 of the sefirot in the Tree of Life are united. I know very little about Qabbala and Jewish mysticism so I am unable to explain more than that. I mention all of this, because none of this is mentioned in the writing itself, we're simply given their interpretation and nothing else. No historical context whatsoever.
After this, they primarily describe his appearance, claiming he is red in color because he's stained with the blood of failed neonates (AQ=137, DR=2) of the past. He is also described as having exactly 333 arms, each one with a non-descript razor sharp blade. I imagine scimitars. They say that while some think of him as the ultimate nightmare, others will find ecstasy in his vile incarnation
which reminds me a little bit about how the Cenobites (AQ=145, DR=1) are described in Hellraiser and the Hellbound Heart (the film adaptation and original novel respectively). They continue to describe his function as a meat grinder
that the aspiring Noctulian must pass through, where they will experience either ego death or a psychological breakdown. Those who survive this encounter with the demon of the abyss will find a Black Paradise (Net-span 2::1) awaiting them. In the margins I wrote, devil to some, angel to others
and on the very bottom of the page, for reasons I no longer comprehend, I wrote slave of desire, master of all.
The significance of this fragment is now lost on me. Pages 21-22.
We have another writing that I consider somewhat weak, it begins with a declaration that Western civilization is declining at a rapid rate. Next, a somewhat confusing paragraph, they describe our Aeon (AQ=71, DR=8) as coming to an end. It's rather unclear who or what is responsible for this, as they attribute this fall to both a natural cause
and Magian forces, embodied in what they call the White Lodge (Net-span 7::2), against those that they themselves associate with, the Black Lodge (Net-span 7::2), which is essentially a mélange of o9a and TOB adherents working towards a common goal. This paragraph is baffling. They also go on to describe that not only is the fall of Western civilization or the current Aeon being accelerated, but that non-descript aeonic forces
are being distorted.
My largest problem is that neither of these are elaborated on, so we have a vague distortion of ambiguous forces. Then, they accuse the Magians of [capitalizing] on the situation
by distorting the Western energies and also by executing an influx of energies congruent to their own purposes.
We get the impression that this is a bad thing, but how, or why, is never elaborated.
For the next paragraph, they simply describe that Magian forces manipulate and influence the world in their own particular way. They then compare New York City, London, and Los Angeles to Stonehenge and Babylon, by equivocating these two disparate groupings of sites as esoteric strongholds
associated with particular magicians working for specific aeonic goals.
Again, none of this is either adequately defended or elaborated on in any capacity, you're simply supposed to accept that this is the case. And, if you're the type to read this kind of material, probably already do, so more than likely the authors already consider any kind of persuasive argumentation a moot point. You either agree, or you don't. In the margins, I bracketed the last lines of this paragraph and merely wrote Capital as God
as a reminder to re-read a much more interesting article I've listed somewhere else on my website.
All that said, they continue with their analogy of these Magian strongholds
by saying that they have been targeted esoterically and exoterically by individuals and groups which are at odds with the Magian program.
The first they mention, Muslim extremists, who they describe as under the influence of an older, stagnant ethos
though they never describe what this is, but that it's antithetical to the kind of program the White Lodge seeks to see realized.
It's baffling to me how often we're expected to simply go along with such asinine analysis. They then transition by summarizing, the variety of cultural minorities and specific aeonic cults that which to see the downfall of the White Lodge and the Magian plans thwarted are many.
We're only given a few hints in this article of what kinds of groups they're talking about. They make it a point to mention that although not all of these groups work towards aims that adhere to the goals of the Black Lodge, they are, by seeking the breakdown of infrastructures associated with Magian power being quintessentially defiant and aiding in the dismantling of certain institutions which impede a proper Imperium followed by a Galactic Aeon of sorts, which has been premeditated by groups such as the Order of Nine Angles [...]
Next, we're given examples of what sorts of groups they're talking about: National Socialists in Europe, and state's rights movements and neo-secessionists in the United States, who they describe as possessing qualities that can aid in a real, physical manifestation of Vindex
which they view as a necessary precondition for their Galactic Imperium followed by a new Aeon. They say that such groups should be targeted, influenced, and manipulated by Sinister adherents and subverted towards goals which align with those of the Black Lodge, to form what they call an exoteric battering ram
against institutions of the White Lodge, or Magians, that impede the Aeonic outcomes which we seek.
Lastly, they say that after these goals have been accomplished, every infiltrated group is to be considered expendable and either destroyed or further influenced towards adhering to the Sinister Path and aiding in the new Galactic Aeon.
Finally, we get to a description of what exactly they mean by the coming of Vindex.
They describe this event as the arrival of a person of destiny
who will possess the needed skills and abilities to mount a considerable offensive against forces that are detrimental to the Sinister Dialectic (Net-span 5::3)
and will rally forces which will invoke future, Sinister energies.
That's all the explanation you're going to get. Then there's just a bunch of bullshit linking the concept of Vindex, originally found in the writings of the Order of Nine Angles, to those of the Warrior Christ in Aryanist Christian sects and the incarnation of Kalki
of the Vedic myths. Interestingly, or humorously, they describe this Warrior Christ as riding a white horse and flanked by celestial starships.
Lastly, there's some more bullshit linking the concept of Vindex to the figure of the Antichrist found in what they call primitive subcultural Devil Worship cults
that are never elaborated further than that, just to make the point that figures of both Christ and the Antichrist can be used to anticipate the arrival of Vindex. This is one of the dumbest writings in this book in my humble opinion. The next five writings in this book are a little more interesting, but don't expect much after that.
Thankfully, we now get to one of the writings in this book that I consider interesting. It's one of the longest theoretical pieces in this book, at a neat 10 pages, only surpassed by Altars of Hell at 12 pages. Judging from how much I've highlighted, underlined, and written in this text in my physical copy of this book, it's likely that I consider this work the cornerstone of the theory and practice of the Tempel ov Blood. Let's get into it.
History is made and the destiny of civilizations is decided by hard men. [...] All that is caustic, severe, harsh and cruel compromises the territory in which the vampiric/satanic/demonic aspirant must traverse and master.
With this sentence, we begin the writing. It was authored by one Czar Azag-Kala, an occult seeker of unknown origin. I speculate, but don't know for sure, that this is the psuedonym of Joshua Sutter himself. I say this because the majority of the theoretical writings within this text are attributed to the name Czar Azag-Kala, and the texts which I consider the most important to understanding the ideology of the TOB were penned by this name. Further, judging from the style of some of the short stories in a later section of the book, I strongly suspect that they were written by the same author as Iron Gates. I think part of the reason this book is a bit difficult to talk about is that I know a little bit about the personal history of Joshua Sutter, which I must say is quite depressing and in some sense tragic. I don't want to get too much into the details but the man seemed to have a pretty shitty life and even if he made his living publishing books through Martinet Press while being funded by the FBI for being an informant, for the amount of time he was an informant and the amount of money he received, he basically lived on minimum wage. For everything he was responsible for, he could've made more money being a manager at a Papa John's. I also strongly suspect he grew up in an abusive household. None of this is to shame or denigrate this man, merely something to keep in mind as we read further into the writings within this book and try to piece them together into a coherent whole.
But, let's continue. There's a turn of phrase that I find somewhat interesting, the horribly mangled sepulcher of modern thought.
I had to change the sentence to get that, it was originally written as the horribly mangled whited sepulcher known as 'modern thought'
which sounds absolutely awful. As a sidenote, I will say that sometimes I do make edits to the original text for readability, but other times I keep the original awkward constructions. This might seem disingenuous, dishonest, or irresponsible, but, quite simply, as I continue to write this piece I am concerned with the overall readibilty of the writing because I assume the reader knows absolutely nothing about what I'm talking about so I try my best to have everything here flow somewhat nicely. When I think the awkward, stilted construction of certain sentences is important to highlight, I will do so, when I simply want to present something from the text while maintaing readibility, I will also do so. Even if you disagree with this decision, I would like to at least point it out so that you can come to your own conclusion about whether or not I'm being an asshole.
Moving on, the next two paragraphs are a short polemic against the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set, two of the most influential Satanic orders, which the author descibes as both being false Satanists for seeing the archetype of Satan as a pure and unbridled [hedonist], a domesticated consumer and seeker of pleasure and so-called 'hidden knowledge.'
The evidence they provide for this? Nonexistent. They simply continue by saying that too much indulgence
breeds individuals who are soft, fussy, and generally classified as the dross of the human population by Sinister standards.
The problem I mostly have is that they specify indulgence, but don't take the time to specify which specific kinds of indulgence in what particular pleasures or vices. Nor do they bring up any sort of textual evidence from any of the writings of either Anton LeVay or Michael Aquino. But they go on, saying that the concept of Satanism established by the Church of Satan is nothing more than a Magian deception
and a disinformation front operated by the White Lodge to obfuscate the true and startingly dark nature of the Sinister itself.