A first draft only a mother could love.
Before this tome the silence is deafeaning,
none discern what echoes roar,
but we can hear its endless screaming,
from behind the locked door.
—Dr. Jonathan Hubbur stood at that cemetery in Lafayette, Louisiana with his oldest friend, Stephen Saunders, to visit Saunders' grandmother, and to collect a bit of goofer dust for his arcane experiments. It was three years after the incident, and after today, they'll never speak to each other again, and he'll never again be regarded through Saunders' horn-rimmed glasses. The year was 1996—
—the Selven Institute, one of the leading research centers in applied numogrammatics, plutonics, and geotraumatics, Dr. Hubbur was the leading light for 2 years after his first nervous breakdown until mysteriously vanishing along with a small selection of researchers. It was during his tenure that he discovered them, the 10 Archons of Hell, the Dark Gods of the Backwards Dark—
—unfortunately, the association of Gaubni with the number 0 is still unexplained. Hubbur had taken to calling them “the Prince of the South Winds” and described their characteristics as being most similar to the goddess Tlazolteotl of the old Nahuatl religion, even gifts of chocolate were considered appropriate—
—it was something that always challenged him: Anglossic Qabbala only works when words are filtered through the Latin alphabet, thus many words from non-English languages lose specific regional nuances. How much do numogrammatics change if we alter the basic operations of Anglossic Qabbala, adding letters with accents, tone marks, and other alphabets that could create entire numerical parallel universes? Could a comparison be made between the differences between mathematics that operate with different numerical systems that deviate from Base-10, like binary or hexadecimal? Problems of numogrammatics are ultimately fused with problems of linguistics, so many different sets of clothing for the same basic concepts—
—regardless, the creation of Vindex continued. A bio-mechanical mass of wiring, whether blood vessels or fiber optic, designed to be the first of the Archons of Hell devised by Man—
—the activist who would come to be known as Commissar Murnau and commander of the Saloth Commandos was an immigrant from El Salvador and grew up in Los Angeles. He has fond memories of those shopping cart pushing elote salesmen and when he ordered the shaved ice it was always with that mysterious blue liquid. The first job he ever worked was at a Tommy's Burger, where he learned the delicate art of making chili burgers and flirting with women he found attractive. His descent into a blend of occultism and radical politics began after watching decapitations on websites like Ogrish—
—the first of Hubbur's channeled texts after the discovery of the Archons was a blood manuscript, which he was able to write with ink that mixed his blood with lemon juice and gum arabic to thin it out and prevent it from coagulating. He bound all of the paper himself into a small, black book with the cover made from goatskin, and said that the Archons commanded him to call it The Canticle of Satan
—
—she was a patroness of Tlazolteotl. She came to be called Bruja del Sur and was a Mexican-American trans woman who was uniquely fascinated with the Communist Party of Peru. Eventually they referred to her as the High Priestess of the Lavrentiy Nexion. During her earliest days online, she would follow self-harm blogs on Tumblr, one of the few places she felt seen. Now, she lives with her mother and lives with her along with her girlfriend. They all have an apartment together—
—sitting there in that cold room was Meinhof Pandemonium, of the Krasnaya Latsis Terror Cell, a southern white boy from East Texas. Dozing off, he thought about his favorite games from childhood, Tony Hawk's Underground and the first Nightmare Creatures, which he played as a demo on a old disc of Jampack Games. He was an absolutely atrocious boyfriend with a penchant for developing long-distance online relationships. For a living he works at his father's car shop as a porter. He'll be 19 in August—
—Laccio Bombacci, he was a chaos magician from Italy, they met him online on Discord and claimed to be part of an esoteric organization called the Gruppo di Draghi Rossi—
—lastly, there was Erik Vildsvin, of the Southern Vanguards, an organization he started in college. His fondest memories are of his mother and his Game Boy Color. Together, they all formed a magical organization that would be known as the Temple of the Red Lodge, on their altar was a painting of Jesus Christ with three faces—
—they drank stale, lukewarm coffee in the offices of the Selven Institute, which was under the control of Critical Dogma. At the lowest bases of Critical Dogma underground, we reach Liminal Dogma—
—there were many organizations that came to be associated with what would be called the milieu of the Red Lodge, basing themselves off of the occult research of Dr. Jonathan Hubbur and those associated with his own occult order. The very first was the Selven Institute, and later the Temple of the Red Lodge—
—during his last occult investigations before he passed away, in his personal diary he described that the writings of Sutter could best be classified as religious texts under a very loose milieu that aligns itself with what he calls “predatory spirituality”—
[I want to have 333 pages for the main body of material, but if I end up needing an appendix, or, god forbid, an index, I'm thinking of having all of those pages be in binary or hexadecimal]
—Dr. Hubbur was furious upon realizing the extent of the plagiarism of his work by Anton Long and considered it an inappropriate, misleading, and “characteristically asinine” interpretation of his occult scholarship, chiefly the discovery of the Numogram of Gaubni, which Mr. Long somehow managed to accomplish all the way in England—
—Arthyn Academy had a second, smaller library, the Estrild Library, built in 1901, next to the Donner Building. Students were chosen, then brought to this library to study the occult arts, beginning with instruction in Hermetic philosophy and the Qabbala. Little did the administration know, the library itself has vestiges of sentience and has, in the past, gifted books to students. Some of them went on to be deeply treasured, others were merely humorous, others were malevolent and had a hand in destroying the minds of the readers. I received such a nasty little book when I was alone there at 3:33 in the morning and I saw one of the oil lamps light up by itself—
—a young Hubbur, aged 13, was personally selected for instruction in the Estrild Library by his preferred and closest teacher, Dr. Samuel Wulsin, who had been rather young compared to the other teachers at only 35 years old—
—shortly after I had once made a major breakthrough with the Asmodean Numogram, and had begun to numerically assign each Zone to one or multiple of the Archons. There was Zone 1, belonging to the realm of Atazoth, Zone 2 to that of Diabolus, Zone 3 to Shugara, Zone 4 to Naos—which I consider one of the strangest zones of this Numogram—Zone 5, belonging to both Budsturga and Nythra, Zone 6 merely belonging to Binan Ath. With Zones 7-9 they all begin to get quite populated, at Zone 7 there is Velpecula, Sauroctonos, and Karu Samsu, at Zone 8 there is Lidagon, Noctulius, and Kthunae, and at Zone 9 there is Azanigin, Abatu, Mactoron and Gaubni—
—another was discovered, and I had to explore its significance. The Numogram of Gabriel, governed by nine Angels. At the the 1st Throne is Sariel, at the 2nd Throne is Uriel, at the 3rd Throne is Sachiel, at the 4th Throne is Ramiel, at the 5th Throne is Barachiel, at the 6th Throne is Selaphiel, at the 7th Throne is Israfel, at the 8th Throne is Matarael, and at the 9th Throne is Azrael—
—the Numograms can be called systems of coincidental associations, allowing the practitioner to form what Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari describe as “tensors” with language through the purely coincidental association of words that normally would never have anything to do with each other, but become linked together numerically. The hyperstitional possibilities become infinite. Still under-determined is the Numograms' association with time and “time sorcery”—
—I could hear them, the whispers of thousands of hideous spirits, on the cassette tapes I had been recording my notes—
—I had been writing for quite some time in Karnak within the pylons and there I saw him, Lucifer, the Two who Divided from One, and it was just in the midst of my research involving the distinction between Satanism and Luciferianism—
—during my studies I had even encountered Choronzon, who first appeared in the magical system of John Dee, but appeared to me with dozens of tendrils, it was this encounter that was responsible for my hideous gnosis—
—what did you see? Babylon, on my days of wrath and nights of lament—
—so many fragmented, forgotten, and silent Gods, too many to count, they've lapsed into a state of undeath as so many shattered immortals, cast from their palaces into the horrid vortices of—
—I hear Lake Haze is quite nice this time of year—
—he looked awful, as if he hadn't eaten regularly in 3 months and subsisted on a diet of only meat and cheese—
—they spent some time in the Blue Lodge before developing the Red Lodge—
—Dr. Hubbur still drove that old black 1977 Mercury Grand Marquis, and had very lovingly gotten the interior done in leather, he always had a certain penchant for small luxuries—
—Saunders was the only person I knew who would celebrate, in some small way, most of the holidays of Black August every year, if I recall correctly he had met George Jackson at some point—
—after that dreadful ordeal, I had finally been able to write about the Archons, a dreadful matrix of 9. First, there was Atazoth, the great demiurge, who I readily identified with the late medieval conception of Satan, as well as with the number 1, who divides into all of his stars. They ruled the first triumvirate. They embodied being as much, as well as what Hegel called “the Absolute Spirit.” I had later come to learn that they were responsible for the gift of writing. As far as the stages of life of man are concerned, they're most associated with children. A rather strange conception. As far as any bodily connections, he seems to have some kind of relationship with the urethra. For ritual implements, it's appropriate to offer bones as well as amulets, the consumption of chocolate is sometimes necessary. In general, Atazoth is the Archon most strongly associated with plants. Their city of “permanent residence” is Los Angeles. His choice of drink is whiskey. Associated colors: crimson. As far as physical locations, their associations are with the sky as well as wastelands, which reminds me of the time I had spent at Hell's Half-Acre in Wyoming. For the alchemical elements, they're most strongly associated with air. Interestingly, they're the “divinity,” if one could call it that, most strongly associated with sacrifice. My Rastafarian friend has once told me, after going through my writings, that Atazoth's reversal could possibly be the deliverer of Zion. For fauna, they're most associated with aspen trees. I've also come to identify them with the figure of Judas. Their word is chaos, but, due to their relation with being, I would describe it as a sort of Absolute Chaos. As far as the non-Christian deities, I mostly associate them with Tiamat. Interestingly, they also seem to have some kind of association with the concept of discipline, whether bodily or intellectual. I've also come to associate them with purity. They're responsible for the creation of nexions and the transition of the body from the state of life to that of undeath. From Hell, they invoke every Chant of the Canticle of Satan. As far as the Old Testament is concerned, I identify them most strongly with Mount Moriah. For philosophers, I identify them with the figure of Nietzsche, perhaps it's time to dust off my copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. He is the labyrinth. I associate them very strongly with emotion, the most powerful being shame and mercy. They seem to be a kind of primordial darkness. This Archon is the favorite of one of my colleagues, Dr. Shively, a rather abysmal contradiction—
—Diabolus, The Lord of Time, was the first to communicate with me, and I assume they had been trying for quite some time, as I realize now while reflecting on the book I had received, likely from them, from Arthyn Academy when I was a young student and a neonate of the occult sciences, a veritable lament configuration. They embody all of my ambition, as well as my general capacity for confrontation. They're the Archon I most strongly associate with the occult, treason, as well as everything impossible. I had sent letters back and forth about their nature with a friend of mine, Michael Aquino, who belonged to that dismal cult. As far as the stages of life, I most strongly associate them with death, that final terminal velocity. They rule the second triumvirate. Architecturally, they're associated with long corridors. They're the Archon I most strongly associate with myself, I've been wandering their labyrinths my entire life, and I didn't know it. Rather than the Satan of Atazoth, I identify them with the figure of Lucifer. It's likely that they were partially responsible for the founding of the Temple of the Red Lodge, better known by its initials, TORL. As far as their elemental associations, I associate them with flames, of every color. As far as the affects are concerned, their domains are lament, horror, shock, laughter, and trauma. Regarding the arts, I associate them strongly with music. Interestingly, there also appears to be some kind of association with blasphemy and the Calvinist reprobates. Myself, I also tend to associate them with Choronzon of the systems of John Dee and Aleister Crowley. As far as animals are concerned, theirs are frogs. Their geometrical form is the tetrahedron. I also tend to associate them with themes of both Christian and Dharmic meditation. Interestingly, there's also a connection with various apparatuses. For ritual implements, I recommend mirrors, psychedelic drugs (to be either ingested or offered), implements of gold and paper, perhaps origami, flute music for the background, sand taken from hourglasses, and any set of tarot cards. Regarding the occult sciences, they're the most associated with acts of banishing. I've also come to associate them with the Cenobites of Barker lore, as well as the grey aliens associated with the mythologies of Roswell. For literature and general disposition, they've taken that of comedy. Unfortunately, I also associate them with my own perdition from the mystical ecstasy of our first encounter. They're associated with the Magi Melchior. Interestingly, they also seem to be responsible for the events in Saginaw. Their city of residence and influence, London, as well as that of cities in general. Every city is a testament to his power. Their color is black, and their secondary metal is iron. The metals of economics and war respectively. From time to time, they offer the gift of immortality—
—parallel to my own research, I had later learned that Dr. Anastasia Roseberry had been responsible for the discovery of the Numogram of Gabriel and had used it for her own particular variety of Christian mysticism in place of the Qabbala—
—the Prince of Blood, the Mistress of Illusion, Shugara. She has many different associations, but blood is the most important. She's also associated with systems of various kinds, whether the System of Transcendental Idealism, or systems of symbols. Her patron domain is evil, literature and everything eternal. She's the patroness of cults, from the Outside and Below. Her city of influence is New York City, and she haunts its libraries. As far as physical locations, she appears to manifest most strongly within forests, badlands, near lakes and in cemeteries. The Numogram itself was of her design, though it's yet undetermined whether it's simply for the Numogram of Gaubni, or of the concept of numograms more broadly. For animals, she's most strongly associated with both jackals and vultures but her symbol is the monarch butterfly. She's primarily associated with the actions of infiltration, betrayal, and predation. Shugara is the patron of every Earth Mistress. She always smells quite richly of perfume. Her realm is the presencing darkness, the Black Paradise, the Abyss. Anton LeVay and I had sent a few letters back and forth to each other about her qualities and despite being an atheist he seemed rather interested. I had first encountered her in a subterranean cave in New Mexico, and had finally gotten around to writing about her and her qualities first in Nazareth on sabbatical, around the time I was developing an interest in communism and the writings of Bataille on Gilles de Rais. It was Shugara who presaged to me the Aeon of the Commune. The first esoteric organization that came to be dedicated to her worship was a sex magic oriented organization called the Family of the Immortals, introduced to me by a blogger by the name of Calhoun Kurosawa, the organization is a particularly strange bunch that I had traded emails with for a number of months before deciding to not associate myself with them any further, as I noticed that repeated contact with Shugara tends to lead only to madness and insanity. Each temple or organization dedicated to her is referred to by adherents as a Durance. Thus, the Family was the first Durance of Shugara. Strangely, as for her occult functions, she's most strongly associated with acts of cleansing. Her science is chemistry, but as far as her alchemical associations her element is that of aether. As far as ritual implements, the only ones I've heard of are varieties of Fly Amanita and alcohol, which I believe contributes only to her insanity. As far as non-Christian divinities, I associate her most strongly with Pazuzu and Abraxas. Conceptually, I associate her with the function of repression in the writings of Freud and Marcuse, which I detailed in letters to my dear friend Borges, as well as themes of accelerationism. It's said that it was her who whispered into the ears of the Mad Arab the linguistic vortices of the Necronomicon—
—Naos, the Master of Terror and Pain, Keeper of the Acausal Scriptures and the Aeonic Liturgy, whose cacophonous domain is acausality. This is likely what makes them the most bizarre of all the Archons, in my opinion. He was also the start of my longstanding debate with Anton Long, as we both came to discover him, though he had isolated experience with only Naos while I had been forcefully impregnated with knowledge of the entire Sinister Pantheon through my discovery of the Numogram of Gaubni. For his associations with time and time sorcery, he's the lord of the Deep Future and is the only one to hold its secrets and reveal them to adepts. As it's said, nothing human escapes out of the deep future. His science, if one could call it that, is the disciple of alchemy, and curiously he also has strong associations with mathematics. My Episcopalian friends have taken to referring to him as “the Antichrist.” As for ritual implements, skulls, coffee, implements crafted from silver, preferably rings, offerings of honey, and varieties of quartz. He should be offered testicles. I had once attempted to use goofer dust but it didn't go particularly well. It still stings. Any grimoires or writings channeled from Naos are to be only written on vellum, or else they'll have a bit of a “monkey's paw” effect for anyone unfortunate or ignorant enough to attempt to use paper. It was Naos who delivered unto me the Canticle of Satan as the gift from our Faustian bargain. It was largely responsible for my eventual mental dissolution. I tend to associate Naos the most geometrically with spirals. It's to Naos that all penance for sins is to be made, whether formal sins defined by religious organizations, or sins one feels themselves particularly guilty of. To receive his forgiveness, it is necessary to have an altar with a small reservoir for a pool of liquid mercury. All are his domain. I had first encountered him in a small grove while I was vacationing near Lake Haze, shortly after I had first read the Gospel of Thomas. His elemental association is that of water, in the classical sense, and mercury in the chemical sense. His palace always smells faintly of petrichor. His realm is as cold and haunting as Niflheimr. As far as the occult sciences are considered, I associate him most strongly with the underdeveloped realm of aeonomics. His rage is said to be unparalleled. Strangely, he's also associated with trees, the older the better, but particularly with willow trees. I also tend to associate him with the Magi Caspar. The first person I had ever spoken of him with was a scientist I knew with an interest in the occult who was then working near the Huron Glacier in Antarctica. I also tend to associate him with matrix structures, whether mathematical or in letterpress printing. I believe Naos was the one responsible for the ruin of another occult scholar who came to be called Kavathal, but one could call me his “firstborn.” His animal associations are that of rats, bearing plague. Though he isn't responsible for their creation, his thralls are the Undead. He is responsible for the creation of vampires, however. Intellectually his domain is that of reading and dialectics, whether Hegelian, materialist, or Sinister, as well as philosophical problems related to simulacrum. His punishment shall be felt by all on his Day of Wrath—
—and there was the lurker at the threshold, the great adversary, Budsturga, Prince of the War Machine, Architect of Apocalypse, in both the eschatological sense and in that of mystical revealing. His domain is that of organization and structure, primarily for combat, as well as the sacred, the sinister, and everything predatory. I associate him primarily with that of the function of the Repressive State Apparatus in the writings of Althusser. Unsurprisingly, his largest philosophical issue is power. His realm is littered with corpses, loose flesh, and excretion. Temporally, his associations are those with the Deep Past, not only in the personal sense but also the historical sense. Tell me, what did you see there, in the darkness of the past? It's said that even after death, Budsturga organizes souls for war. Unsurprisingly, his aims were omnipresent when I had first began my work at the Selven Institute, which had ties to drone and robotics research for the United States military, as well as investigation into alleged alien transmissions. The sinister dialectic is his instrument of time-war. Due to his association with the development and invention of weaponry, I also associate him with Prometheus. Philosophically, his realm is with problems of becoming, the impurity of being, materialism, and immanence. Curiously, he's also the Archon most associated with joy. For his occult functions, he's primarily associated with invocation and evocation. He appears most frequently as an owl. For ritual implements, offerings of tobacco are necessary, as well as nightshade flowers. As for any religious taboos, he is the patron of idolatry. I believe he was primarily responsible for the events in Edenton, North Carolina, although I've yet to understand for what particular purpose. I also generally association him not only with the concept of trauma programming, but deprogramming as well. For, cult deprogramming only exists in the space allowed by trauma programming. Glory is what he confers upon his disciples who enter into his court. He appears, in his own realm, as a vortex that spreads infinitely in space, branching out into smaller vortices. I had first seen him when I was traveling to Appalachia to visit family, he appeared to me as an owl wearing a tailored suit fit for the 18th century, and smelled brightly of fuchsias. Interestingly, he's associated with the sins of infidelity. His highest disciples issue commands of war from the pulpits. As far as his Christian association, I associate him strongly with both the figure of Christ and Paul, it's for this reasons that images of Christ depicted with three faces are regarded as suitable stand-in depictions of Budsturga. I also associate him quite strongly with the Qlippoth. The name GNZL is merely an incarnation of Budsturga, responsible for the events in Peru during the 1980's surrounding Chairman Gonzalo. It from Budsturga that I both learned and developed the basis of aeonic materialism in my own theoretical writings, quite similar to the philosophical stance of metamodernism. He also has a particular fascination with mechanisms of all kind, whether mechanical or intellectual. Unsurprisingly, due to his associations with war, he's also a patron of fanaticism of all kinds. Hallucinations brought on by Budsturga are often said to be particularly horrific—
—Binan Ath, possibly the Archon I know the least about. The Prince of Abominations, Lady of the East Winds, she is mostly associated with the stage of initiation within one's occult studies, as well as with nightmares and their respective torment. Furthermore, she is the Archon most associated with the study and development of magic, as well as prophecies. For ritual implements, incense, pewter chalices filled with red wine, and a dagger are necessary, as well as books bound in leather. As far as animal associations, she seems to be tied to the concept of animals more broadly, but with a particular affinity for wolves. She typically appears, during less savory visits, as a set of conjoined twins split at the abdomen, with six arms, each holding necklaces of onyx, and dark, sickly green skin. Her bodies twist back in an attempt to reform, and both of her heads are connected, always glowing a bright yellow light from her mouth and eye sockets as she speaks in unison. When she deigns to appear more presentable, she appears as a pale woman with long, black hear, and her eyes gouged out, continually dripping blood, surrounded by a throng of bats. During one of our conversations, she informed me that one of her earliest pupils was Elizabeth Bathory. Strangely, she is also associated with slaves and processes of feminization. All problems of history and knowledge seem to relate back to her. She has a particular fascination with machinery and anything machinic, whether physical or intellectual. Her dual interest in animals and machinery reminds me of either the concept of the machinic in Deleuze and Guattari or Bataille's concept of general economy. She is also unusually intrigued by globes. She serves as the patron of conspiracy and all who conspire. Rather than sacrifice, she is the Archon most associated with “culling,” another concept that Long and I had rather violent disagreements over. The geometrical form most associated with her is the pyramid. Also quite bizarrely, she has a particular affinity for physicians. Her color is gray. As far as plants go, she is most strongly associated with fir trees. Contact with this Archon reminds me of my freewheeling use of dextromethorphan, a very strong dissociative feeling. As her title implies, she's responsible for the creation of abominations, whether the product of possession or merely literary or technological. She's often my comfort in periods of intense solitude. Strangely, she's the Archon most associated with the use of the Internet. It was this Archon, I believe, who was most responsible for the initial development of the Vindex Protocol, a ghastly and irresponsible project that I wanted very little to do with—
—the Clandestine Mother of the Fungal Labyrinth, Velpecula. Of all the Archons, she's the one most strongly associated with fungus and their eldritch knowledge. Strangely, there's also themes of incest and pleasure, as well as anuses. My daughter had written to me that she had encountered a creature that fits the description while she was staying in the Donner Building at Arthyn Academy. I shudder to think about it. She's also the Archon most strongly associated with the occult sciences as a whole, as well as their study and enrichment. The opfers of Velpecula undergo bonfire rituals involving psilocybin that involve them fusing with those who are supposed to be sacrificing them by dragging them along into the flames, destabilizing the relationships between the sacrificer and the victim. As far as her temporal associations, she is identified with the Eternal Present. For her philosophical concerns, she's primarily concerned with identity, essence, intelligence, transgression, and the political. Revolutions are her progeny. It was said that Velpecula was the first divinity of the Red Lodge as a whole. Geographically, and somewhat conceptually, she abounds in what I describe as the hinterlands, whether physical or mental. She's also quite partial to heresies of various sorts, inspiring them wherever she goes. She's also responsible for murder, particularly when it uses poison. The alchemical element she's most identified with is sulfur. I refer to Velpecula as the Archon of cybernetics due to their particular fascination with control. It is Velpecula who bestows the gifts of nobility and courage. Astrologically, she's associated with eclipses, particularly solar eclipses. Her preferred animals are cats. It's Velpecula that I most strongly associate with the storm god Yahweh. As far as offerings, she's also quite partial to marijuana, as well as a single pomegranate, drinks similar to the bhang of India should be made and ingested during her rituals, or hash should be smoked, along with all of the mushrooms. If any marijuana is smoked in rituals to Velpecula, the ashes should be saved for later use. Incidentally, the followers of Velpecula that I've met overall tended to be either the nicest or the most deranged. Her color is purple. It was Velpecula who was responsible for surge music. Strangely, she's also associated with schizophrenia and polytheism as a whole. It's Velpecula who was responsible for the development of hyperstition. She's the Archon most associated with liminal spaces and the opening of gates. Her followers tend to refer to themselves as the Repha'im. I had been writing about her around the time I began to develop an interest in Maoism, emailing about her back and forth with Peter Sotos—
—Lidagon, the Grand Prince of Secrets, Lord of Serpents, The Astral Prowler of Shadowside, the Lord of the South Winds. If they ever choose to appear in their standard form, unfortunately for anyone who has to look at them, their body is a naked, contorted mess, covered in blood and nails, with fingers jutting out aimlessly, and their face is a mass of entrails, from which flows their ichor. Only the bravest occult seekers know the results of drinking it. But, if they chose to appear human, their appearance is rather ravishing. Their music is that of black metal, with all its screaming and distortion. Their preferred weather is snow, and their animal is the goat. Strangely, they became a favorite of my dear friend Saunders, which they told me over a Rolling Rock. I associate them most strongly with the Magi Balthazar. Rather than flames, their associations are with embers. As for physical locations, anything that happens to be in what people colloquially call “the country” as well as warehouses. It is Lidagon that is most strongly associated with either the location or concept of Babylon. Unlike Shugara who's primarily concerned with literature as a whole, Lidagon is particularly concerned and interested in books. Their palace is said to be an infinite library, similar to the one from the Borges tale. Lidagon is the patron of every Blood Mistress. I had mentioned them quite a lot in the letters between myself and Allen Ginsberg. At the center of Shadowside is their seat, Pandemonium, where lies their eternal library and their throne of bronze, said to contain the secret of the library's catalog. As far as non-Christian divinities, I most strongly associate them with the figure of Baphomet from the writings of Eliphas Levi, before the distortions. They’re also primarily associated with doors. Their primarily philosophical concern is with problems of appearance and space and they're the Archon primarily responsible for the teaching of philosophy. In terms of weather, they’re associated with hurricanes. They’re also the Archon responsible for religious apostasy and personal ruin. They're the personal favorite of my friend Dr. Wulsin, my former teacher from Arthyn Academy. The tree they’re associated with is pine. As far as the seasons, they share a dual association with winter and summer. Any altars to Lidagon are to be made from bronze, and are to have on them a bronze sword. Rather than the comedy of Diabolus, Lidagon is associated with the genre of tragedy. At the time of their discovery, I had been reading works of Moufawad-Paul. They're associated with everything to do with acid. They’re the patron of every Lunar Mistress. Overall, they remind me of the tarot card depicting an unfortunate soul pierced with myriads of knives. Unfortunately, at the time of our first encounter, I had been under the effects of a particularly potent sugar cube of LSD, their flesh had the appearance of fractals, the horror—
—lastly, there was Azanigin, the Grand Prince of the Final Harvest, patron of all temples and final metamorphosis, Lord of the Court of Ahaz. This is the Archon most associated with what the Tempel ov Blood erroneously describe as “Magian” for Azanigin is the Absolute Lord of the White Lodge, and the Prince of Law. Due to rather bizarre numerical associations, he also appears to be responsible for the goals and accomplishments of the Black Lodge. Azanigin is the Final Nexion, who organizes and completes the Aeon of All Aeons. His gifts are pestilence, subversion, and parasites. As far as the arts, Azanigin is partial to painting and sculpture. Strangely, Azanigin is the Archon most strongly associated with love as well as misreading. Every time you misunderstand, you can thank him. As for the bodily fluids, he's associated with both tears and menstrual blood. His bodily associations are both the penis and vagina respectively. Offerings to Azanigin should come in the form of bloodletting, as well as offerings of milk and smoke, as well as all of the participant's hair. Unfortunately, another potential offering is that of masturbation. He is the Lord of Everything Above. He was more or less responsible for my writing of Hostia, when I was his acolyte for a period of time. Ritual implements should be crystals and any black book. As for locations, he prefers barns and deserts, as well as dungeons, and is associated with the season of autumn. His animal associations are the buffalo and chickens, and is generally associated with fur. Azanigin is also headless, being associated with acts of decapitation. As for the occult sciences, Azanigin is associated the most with divination and the study of the Qabbala. For his alchemical associations, he's most strongly associated with the alembic. It is Azanigin who is most strongly associated with the divine. His disposition is the most somber of all the Archons, generally. His color is red. As far as philosophical or psychoanalytic conceptions, he's most strongly associated with the unconscious. He resides within a tabernacle, and can be communed with at any of them, regardless of religious affiliation or location. His communion will be brought with all of the twists and turns of the Gog-Magog axis. As for substances, he's most strongly associated with oil, whether crude or refined. To the detriment of everyone, he's the Archon most strongly associated with torture, whether secular or ritual. His strongest affect is obsession. Rather than the literature of Shugara or the books of Lidagon, Azanigin is primarily concerned with manuscripts. Interestingly, he's also the Archon primarily in charge of the Zion-Babylon axis—
—there's extras as well, difficult to place, such as Kthunae, Nythra, Sauroctonos, Mactoron, Karu Samsu, with the exception of Noctulius, Abatu and Gaubni, who are rather strange cases indeed, they seem to be lesser Archons, with less overall metaphysical importance than the nine—
—ultimately, the esoteric, the occult, the mystical and magic, all of these are the rejectamenta on knowledge and exist at the chthonic limits of language—
[as a general rule, the book is to be divided into 3 sections, mirroring the structure of Liber 333 but with particular conditions added, namely, that in each section there is no distinction between theoretical writings and fictional writings, thus no need for a section specifically relegated to short stories. In general, I should keep in mind that any section that revolves around a particular Archon will also need to take into account its Angelic reversal on the Numogram of Gabriel, as well as a potential third numogram that I'm likely to develop from the Goetia Daemonium. Another thing I've been considering is whether or not I want to put in the effort necessary to subject the Q309 network to a similar kind of applied numogrammatical analysis]
—9 of the Gaubnic Numogram, the Archons of Hell, and the 9 of the Asmodean Numogram, the Archdemons of Hell—
—Jonathan Hubbur was born on February 9th, 1927 to 22 year old Greta Hubbur and her husband Albert Hubbur, a bootlegger and gambler from Galveston who had met his wife first in New Braunfels, and, quickly falling in love with her, had gotten married that very month, never regretting his decision in the slightest despite her already having a 3 year old daughter out of wedlock.
Much like his son Jonathan, the other side of Albert's family had been German, thus he had relatives in New Braunfels who were willing to take him in when he was both recovering from surgery and on the run from “associates” of George Musey that had been rather perturbed by a business deal that had gone poorly. After recovering the use of his legs he had met Greta, at the time Greta Sommer, while attending an Easter function at a local church that he had been dragged along to by his family.
Jonathan Hubbur had been rather close with his pious Lutheran mother, and tended to live with her and his older sister as well as his mother's extended family while his father would drift in and out of their lives due to his involvement in certain “businesses” now under the proprietorship of the “Velvet Glove” himself, Sam Maceo. Albert, even while raising both his own son and the daughter of a man he had never met, had decided to remain in the bootlegging business despite everything to provide for his family during the Great Depression. Unfortunately, in 1938, the same year Hubbur would be selected to attend the experimental Arthyn Academy, his father would be shot to death during an unfortunate encounter with the police in Houston—
—Hubbur learned quite a bit more German than his father, having spent his early childhood in a German speaking household and being taught to read and write from the Bible by his mother, even when quite young he had developed a certain fondness, not only for the Bible itself, but the books of Ezekiel and Isaiah, as well as the books of Enoch that had been included as part of the Apocrypha. He said of his mother's Bible, it was “an old, baroque antique.” His early commentary on the book of Ezekiel had been enough to secure his selection for Arthyn Academy, after it had came to the attention of people who quickly realized that he was, in some sense, a prodigy—
—Stephen Saunders had been born on August 18th, 1928 and was a year younger than his friend Jonathan, but was regardless much larger, growing to stand a good 6 inches taller and much more well muscled than his friend. Saunders had been born in New Orleans to his father George Saunders, a black man of English origins, and a Prince Hall Freemason from the Balthazar Lodge No. 80, who was as old as 27 at the time, and a black Creole woman by the name of Renée Fuselier who was as young as 20. They never formally married but decided to live together. While growing up in New Orleans, he developed a particular affection for his maternal grandmother, a Haitian woman, Clotilde Louise Fuselier, originally from Lafayette, who had introduced him to the secret practices of Haitian Vodou throughout his early life. He developed a particular fondness for the figure of Baron Samedi and had a taste for rum throughout his life. In 1938, the same year as Hubbur, he would also be selected for Arthyn Academy due to his performance in school as well as his father's connections to the world of freemasonry—
—I realized, at some point, that eventually, or maybe sooner rather than later, I'll have to decide on around 5 or 6 different characters to be the “main cast” and through-lines for all of the events in the narrative—
—Dr. Jonathan Hubbur, Greta Voss, Dr. Anastasia Roseberry, Dr. Nicholas Bodin, Bruja del Sur—
—Dr. Hubbur, Dr. Roseberry, and Dr. Bodin had all met for the first time while working together at the Selven Institute, but very quickly a rather hostile rivalry developed between Hubbur and Bodin, primarily over theological disagreements and the fact that their general temperaments couldn't have been farther from each other's, the laid back, breezy Dr. Hubbur found the high energy and machismo of Dr. Bodin off-putting. Dr. Roseberry was often the mediator between the two—
—Greta Voss was the SysOp of Shadowside BBS, one of the first online spaces for discussion of the works of Dr. Hubbur, as well as being a hub for occult experimentation and the sharing of files and ASCII artworks. It was started in May of 1987 when she was 19 years old and lasted until 1996, around the time she turned 28—
—Greta can typically be seen wearing a spiked, black denim jacket cut short and adorned with a few pins and patches, the most prominent being a rectangular patch on the top of her left arm, all black with an occult symbol embroidered in white, with the word “Nightmare” underneath in an uppercase blackletter script. Along with that, she tends to wear ripped jeans, with the holes showing off her fishnets underneath. Her hair is a platinum blonde, but with her natural black starting to protrude out from the roots—
—while Dr. Hubbur had been responsible for the mystical discovery of the Numogram of Gaubni, his rival Dr. Bodin would be responsible for what he would call the Asmodean Numogram, with each of its 9 thrones, for the Archdemons of Hell—
—on the first and highest throne there was Beelzebub, who had usurped its original inhabitant, Stolos. On the second throne was Leviathan, who had finally found its personification. On the third throne was Astaroth. On the fourth throne was Belial, who had taken the seat from Alloces before him. On the fifth throne was Murmur. On the sixth throne was Belphegor, who had stolen the seat from Agares. On the seventh throne was Baal. On the eighth throne was Azazel, who was aided by Naberius. Lastly, on the ninth and final throne was Dantalion—
—in 1927, Dr. Jonathan Hubbur was born, in the summer of 1938, he would be selected for the Arthyn Academy shortly after his father had died, in 1940 he would be selected for “extracurricular activities” in the Estrild Library, and in 1941 he would receive his “gift” from Diabolus, a German copy of the Phenomenology of Spirit, which he would begin reading at age 14. In 1945, at the age of 18, he had finally graduated from Arthyn Academy and immediately began his college education, deciding to study a combination of philosophy and physics at Yale, in New Haven, Connecticut. He would receive both his undergraduate and doctoral education at Yale, where during his senior year he would found his own secret society, and would graduate 10 years later in 1955 at the age of 28, having spent years floating between studies of philosophy, quantum mechanics, and the then developing field of cybernetics. Ultimately, his PhD thesis, a complicated story of its own, ended up on the combined subjects of Kant and cybernetics. Shortly after his first serious mental collapse, he would spend the next five years of his life working for the shadowy and controversial Selven Institute until 1960, when, after a significant nervous breakdown, his interest would shift to advances in computer science where he would then take up a job as a researcher at Bell Labs, where he would dedicate the next 14 years of his life, working there until 1974 when he would reemerge, along with old colleagues from the Selven Institute, to use the considerable sum of money he had earned over his life to devote himself to the occult sciences until vanishing around 1990. He spent the last 10 years of his life in near complete obscurity until finally dying on December 31st, 1999 at the age of 72—
—Greta Voss was born in 1968, and although she hadn't received any kind of formal education in computer science or programming, she had received a Commodore 64 as a gift from her father in 1983 when she was 15, which she used until 1987 when, with help from her family, she bought an Amiga 2000 which would be the basis for her Telnet BBS, Shadowside, that formally launched in May of 1987. Shadowside would last until 1996 and its influence in online esoteric circles would be subterranean until interest in their writings coalesced into the development of a new occult order, the Temple of the Red Lodge, which began in 2015 without any awareness on her part, by then, she was already pushing her late 40's and had long ago lost any kind of interest in the esoteric, living in relative obscurity as a front and back-end web developer and freelance computer programmer, as well as occasionally dabbling in graphic design. As of today she's around 56 years old and her whereabouts are unknown—
—the Temple of the Red Lodge was created in 2015 and was largely the collaborative effort of three occultists who all had various ties to progressive and left-wing politics, these three people were Bruja del Sur, Meinhof Pandemonium, and Commissar Murnau. All of them were broadly Marxist-Leninist in orientation but had an undeniable and palpable interest in the occult, a passion often disregarded and trivialized by the other leftists they often associated with. They formed the Temple of the Red Lodge on the basis of these two shared interests, one political, one occult, and found the basis for their occult systems in the writings of Dr. Jonathan Hubbur as well as the collected, often anonymous writings gleaned from the Shadowside BBS, which were all later collated onto a Geocities website in 2003, and then finally transferred to a semi-permanent website in 2009 before the closure of the platform. This website finally closed in 2013, but not before its data was scraped by Bruja del Sur and painstakingly collected into a PDF that she would often distribute to those interested free of charge. As for the works of Dr. Hubbur, many of these had been scanned and collected on the Internet Archive, making them quite easy to access despite their obscurity and the general lack of interest in his work. Finally, the Temple of the Red Lodge formally dissolved in March of 2022, and the whereabouts its members is largely unknown—
—Bruja del Sur was born in 1994 and had been only 21 at the time of her creation of the Temple of the Red Lodge and had turned 28 when it had finally dissolved. At 19, she had met one of her contacts in the Leninist Communist Brigade, who she would fall in love with, but do to a rather eventful and nasty breakup a year later, she would spend the rest of that year drifting aimlessly—
—Erik Vildsvin, a rather fringe and dogmatic member of the Temple, had been 25 when it dissolved and is roughly 28 today, his whereabouts are also unknown but he seems to have abandoned any political or esoteric activity, preferring to run a blog on Neocities under the name “Mental Labour”—
—1955 was the breaking point, the year of no return, the year when The Canticle of Satan was first channeled, 14 years before the publication of The Satanic Bible by Anton LeVay, and 29 years before Anton Long's The Black Book of Satan, the first significant work of Theistic Satanism had been conceived, although it was many years before it reached a state where it could be published, that wouldn't be accomplished until 1959, a year before Dr. Hubbur would finally abandon the Selven Institute—
[more than likely I'll have to abandon the idea of the book being 333 pages unless I decide to get out a ruler and measure out how big Liber 333 is, the overall project might be too long to condense to that size. Another idea I had, after reading an article on Iron Gates, is that since I want the book itself to be in 9 sections (if that's even possible), I should conclude every section with a chapter from Rusted Gates, a novella set in the same world, which essentially means that I'll end up writing two different books at the same time, and that Liber 909 will end up a sort of two for one deal, which I think is more appropriate to the project]
—Dr. Hubbur had been in the process of writing a letter to a dear friend of his, a painter named Gwydion Greenwood—who had been kind enough to paint several different depictions, whether figurative or representative, of the 9 Archons of Hell that Hubbur had placed on his walls throughout his house—when he was interrupted by knocks on his door. He snuffed out his cigarette and got up to answer it—
—Jonathan typically wears suits, either tweed or with evocative, yet subtle patterns, though the one he had been wearing now had the pattern of a grid. These days his hair is rather long, and he ties it up into a ponytail or a bun most of the time, allowing two strands near his ears to come down and frame his face, aided by his octagonal sunglasses with lenses of pink quartz and a spindly gold frame. His nails are often painted and filed to a point. He wears lavish silk ties along with a brown leather watch that had once belonged to his father, which he received for his birthday a year before his father was gunned down—
—the Backwards Dark is a more general concept, where each of the demons of the Numogram of Gaubni is channeled from—
—Beelzebub, Lord of Darkness, King of Hell, the figure of Satan himself, embodied, personified. His word is chaos. It's to his glory that every sacrifice is made. He tends to appear wearing a crown, the only one of the 9 to wear such an extravagance. His realm is that of an infinite blackness, which is kept closed by the Seal of Dormin. He's responsible for the production of every succubus, who he anoints with his oils of myrrh, gifting lustful obsessions of sensuality to his wicked children, which extend to the point of manipulation. The consecration is typically completed by passing the body over the smoke of a censer. Camphor is considered a useful alternative if myrrh is unable to be sourced. As for the occult sciences, his domain is that of crystallomancy and theory. He can also be of use in the construction of servitors. A gateway to his realm can be constructed with a ritual mirror within a magical square. It's Beelzebub who unites the macrocosm with the microcosm. As far as bodily associations, his most prominent is the throat. An aspersorium can also be used as his ritual vessel. Scarification can be practiced in his honor. Any ritual artifacts for him are to be primarily constructed from copper, but he has a fondness for musical instruments and song. Rather disturbingly, his forearms and hands tend to appear in the process of decay, with maggots oozing from the orifices of his wounds, and his wings tend to be covered in filth. Intense feelings of vanity are his domain. His spirit is most strongly felt near rivers, during rainfall, and in places reputed to be haunted. Of all the demons of the Asmodean Numogram, it's Beelzebub who tends to confer secrets of the future. In his kingdom he resides within the Crimson Towers, with the pathway to the gates lined with rows of gibbets on each side, filled with preserved corpses that have kept their shape in dust. As far as I know him, he is beyond earthly comprehension and beyond being as we know it. His alchemical association is with air. Dr. Hubbur had once sent me a letter that he had come across Beelzebub while under the influences of salvia, though I've yet to believe him. When he makes an earthly appearance, he tends to do so in the form of vapors. I believe it's he who is responsible for tendencies towards masochism. He's the patron of every scriptor, or pure writer before the presence of a reader. I had first encountered him while reading the works of Hegel and Eliphas Levi. In the legends, it's written that Beelzebub had destroyed and taken over the realm of Stolos—
—on the second throne, Leviathan, who I also identify with the figure of Lucifer. Lord of Hatred and the Broken Seals, the King in Yellow. His infernal realm is littered with endless processions of spirits and their funeral pyres. Leviathan is the figure I most strongly identify with the current that I call Orthodox Satanism, which I've developed and counterpoised to the disgusting writings of a certain Dr. Jonathan Hubbur. As far as I understand, he's the only one of the demons to typically appear in a suit of armor, which is a rather pleasant red, his armor tends to match that of his horse. When not appearing to be somewhat human, he tends to appear as the great beast that most of us are familiar with. Portals to his realm usually take the form of a black fire. The first depiction I had ever commissioned was an elaborate vase, which I had shown to my good friend Richard Cavendish. It's Leviathan who I believe to have caused the most problems for one Sébastien Michaelis. Alongside Beelzebub, he tends to have the most sexual associations, and it's Leviathan that I associate with orgasms, orgy, semen, and quite unfortunately, the forbidden fruit of necrophilia. Leviathan also tends to teach the arts of black seduction. Despite his penchant for those sinful arts, his largest sin is that of sloth. He's also said to be quite fond of lips. According to my memory, I had first encountered him in a graveyard, but others have told me that he also tends to make an appearance in asylums. As far as the occult sciences, he tends to help the most strongly with evocation, banishing and thaumaturgy, and tends to guide those on journeys of asceticism. He's also strongly associated with acts of simple prayer, supplication, and meditation. His stone is the sapphire and oddly enough his symbol is the cross. His servants are his Shades, although I've been unable to ascertain how many there could possibly be. He demands the loyalty of every sorcery on their quest towards gnosis. The services of his shades can be utilized by trapping them in a bottle, within which they take the appearance of flames. Leviathan, unlike Beelzebub, is the demon who confers the secrets of the past. As far as any ritual implements, he prefers offerings of horns, ambergris, frankincense resin, as well as severed tongues. Strangely enough, he also seems to accept eggs and opium. Dr. Hubbur had once told me that he had encountered Leviathan while under the influences of datura in Peru, I've still yet to believe him. Leviathan tends to be associated quite strongly with oppression, whether its imposition or its resistance. His presence is felt in solar rays. Although it isn't him, there's a particularly strange satyr that I associate with him. I had been sending letters with a friend regarding his nature, at the time my friend was a physicist who had been studying wormholes. I tend to associate Leviathan strongly with mud, especially the mud of battlefields, as well as the companions that develop in such rotten places. His favorite crimes are those of stabbing, especially out of a sense of hatred or sadism. It's Leviathan who I most strongly associate with the figure of death. My first channeled text had been the Gospel of Leviathan, which was later collected into a larger book called—
—on the third throne, Astaroth, Lord of the Abyss and the Other World, whose dominion is the boundless cosmos. Sigils to Astaroth are to be written only in blood. To summon him, all one needs is a candle made of human fat and the severed head of a black cat. As far as the occult sciences are concerned, his provinces are that of necromancy and ensoulment, better known as goetia. His stone is the ruby and his symbol is the death's head. I believe it was Astaroth who was mostly responsible for the initiation and occult journeys of Abramelin the Magician. Any altars for him are to be constructed only from wood, and adorned with fruits and bread. Golden kiwis are his favorite. An inverted golden crucifix is to be prominently displayed behind such an altar. Alcohol is also an appropriate intoxicant during his rituals. His ritual instrument is the black mirror. Astaroth is also the demon responsible for the science of augury. His presence can be felt most strongly in the presence of lunar rays and tornadoes. Unsurprisingly, he's also the demon most strongly associated with themes of defilement, but also that of resurrection and transformation. His army is composed only of skeletons. He tends to manifest most strongly near springs, monasteries, and in the oceans. As far as sacrifices are concerned, he tends to prefer those done via suffocation. It's Astaroth who I associate most strongly with the evil and strength of Orthodox Satanism. He's also the patron of anyone who suffers through imprisonment. His shape tends to be either the spiral or the shape of a whirlwind. I believe it's Astaroth who goads one into feelings of envy, particularly regarding sex. Astaroth is the demon with the largest tendencies towards bloodshed and atrocity. Long ago, I had a shield with his crest commissioned from a friend of mine who happens to be a hobbyist blacksmith. I keep it prominently in my kitchen. His animal is the crocodile. His providence is everything profane, and he has a particularly affinity for judges, whether legal or the simple judgmental banalities of everyday life. His spirits are known as the Lemures. I also tend to associate him with emotions surrounding neglect. and hypocrisy. He also, strangely enough, has a tendency towards atheism, and denies the existence of gods despite being a god himself—
—the fourth throne had been stolen from Alloces by the demon Belial, Lord of the World Soul and the Other Side, the Annihilator, who had granted his powers to Solomon the King and is the patron of every libertine and those who dabble in mysticism or other carnal arts. Belial is typically known as a creature of intense curiosity for whatever he comes across, whether in works of art or in human subjects. I most strongly associate Belial with the figure of the Behemoth of the Old Testament. I also refer to him as the Great Intriguer and the Evening Star, who tends to lead his followers to all manners of wickedness and treachery through his malefic influence. In his own realm he tends to appear as a man on fire, burning endlessly while covered in sores that refuse to cauterize. His preferred ritual implement is a great bell. As far as the occult sciences, I tend to associate him strongly with the schools of illusions, curses, pyromancy, and alchemy. As far as the human sciences, he tends to prefer mathematics. Any altars to Belial are to be covered in candles, skulls, overlayed with a fine cloth, and desecrated with the urine of priests, for Belial is the Lord of the Unsacred and all its impurities. Perhaps as a sick joke, in earthly appearances he tends to appear as the cynocephalus, Saint Christopher. I tend give close friends rings with his sigil. The most important rituals to Belial are to be undertaken in locations with a rather deafening silence. His highest servants he refers to as his daughters, regardless of the biological sex of the person involved, who must spend considerable amounts of time during rituals anointing themselves and him with perfumes, despite the heat of his flames. The Pact of Havoc links Belial to his daughters, who are typically cambions from his seed and those who drink their blood. He tends to appreciate food with cloves. Belial is ultimately the demon who confers judgment when one reaches the gates of Hell, and it's he who sorts you into your respective domain. His animal is the toad and his stone is the emerald. Belial is associated with all manners of bizarre buggery. As far as the arts, he tends to prefer drawing. Temples formed to Belial with his cambions are referred to as as a Covenant. Unfortunately, it seems as if his followers always tend towards feeling as if they're superior to the followers of other demons or occult systems. Exaltation towards Belial typically takes the form of chanting. He also tends to appreciate offerings of obscenity and disobedience, whether civil or familial, as well as acts of violence. He tends to protect those in abject poverty as best as he can. He's the demon whose presence I tend to feel most strongly during my periods of absence and contemplation—
—on the fifth throne there is Murmur, the Lord of Corruption and Great Adversary who presides over the Witches' Sabbath. Murmur is most strongly associated with the crossroads, and is the demon Robert Johnson conjured before his performance of Crossroad Blues. Thus, he is the Lord of Fraud, who confers talent and glory in any domain to all who are willing to bargain with him, but he particularly attracts musicians and poets. This is perhaps due to his tendency to become fascinated with the domains and arts of human languages. Murmur is also the patron of every conjurer. I had first come across him at Death Valley, in a salt flat. Although I think the name is rather inappropriate, he tends to refer to me as his Frater. I have a rather small statue of him in my home, depicting him in the height of fashion of the 18th century. His animal is the snake and his fruit is the apple. He typically prefers to travel on Earth as a rather unsuspecting bat or a crow. As far as his connections to the occult sciences, he confers the gifts of conjuration and ecstatic revelations, as well as the binding of lesser demons. He also tends to be strongly associated with themes of illumination. The most effective method of summoning him is burying 3 infant skulls in three separate holes at the middle point of a dirt crossroads in El Paso, his city of residence. He has a certain penchant for everything ceremonial, being a fan of pomp and circumstance. His preferred ritual implement are a chalice made of brass and wooden implements made from blackthorn, as well as a brass thurible. Unfortunately for any victims of possession, no exorcist is his equal. His realm is littered with the corpses of those who he had previously bestowed gifts in their previous lives, including one Michael Psellos. A particular chamber in his palace itself contains an infinite vortex of grimoires, as he tends to collect them, being rather fascinated by the occult discoveries of humans. His servants archive the occult lore of man. Surprisingly, he's the only demon associated with the symbol of the pentagram. As well as apples, he tends to enjoy offerings of figs. In the past, he had been called Samyaza, and had taken the form of a crane. He also has a particular fondness for effigies made of clay. His corruption tends to enter through the mouth, in the form of a pillar of flesh. Rituals that are the most effective in communing with him tend to take place during intense storms. Rather curiously, he also has a particular taste for dismemberment, most of the corpses that litter his realm are in pieces. During one conversation he told me that he's the dragon that Bel confronts in one of the books of the biblical Apocrypha. For those who undertake unholy devotion towards Murmur, he confers power and joy, but both of these will be met with cruelty and anger when the summoner crosses over. Perhaps Murmur is after all the most diabolical of the archdemons, who leads his followers to ruin through the pull of his magical cord—
—and on the sixth throne I had met Belphegor, Lord of Desire, who had usurped the seat of Agares, the last of the archdemons to be cast from Hell. He travels through Earth in the form of a disturbing thousand-eyed raven. His realm in Hell is an endless maze, which his slaves travel through endlessly, each carrying an unlit lamp. He's the patron of heretics. His symbols are varieties of different hexagrams, which during summoning rituals are meant to be placed within a magical circle. For lesser rituals, the magical triangle is appropriate. He's the only demon who requires the ritual use of a wand, imbued with the blood of a whore poured from an ewer. Once within the circle, adherents are expected to participate in acts of self flagellation, as well as the flagellation of others. His rituals are most strong when they take place during a solar equinox. Any incense is considered appropriate, as he has a wide taste for different scents. He also has a particular fascination with the roots of plants and a fondness for wine. His rituals must always be carried out in front of a window with the curtains closed, and a small trio of trumpets must be present. Belphegor is the demon most strongly associated with magic in general, and presides over those who attempt to learn its secrets, but has a particular strength for channeling and purification, as well as the gifting of obscure prophecies. At one point in my life, I had belonged to a particular Order dedicated to his worship, but they tended to quite often perform rituals to Belphegor under the influence of various drugs. I politely declined to return. He tends to favor imbalance and is responsible for the dreams of man. He's also the demon most strongly associated with acts of possession, preferring to wander around in the skin of his human hosts. His realm in Hell is filled with hordes of furies. His stone is topaz. Belphegor tends to find himself within theaters quite often. During a conversation, he had informed me that he had used to be an Archangel in Heaven, but refused to specify which. I had encountered him for the first time when I had been doing archaeological field research on the Canaanites. In his honor, I tend to wear a black rosary underneath my clothing, with an inverted cross at the very end. I associate Belphegor the most with the torment and adversity of war and the struggle for justice against domination. I also tend to associate him with strong feelings of lament and negativity. In a period of madness brought on by my repeated contact with Belphegor, I had attempted to cut off my ear as a gift to a whore. Other than his darker side, I tend to associate him most strongly with the blessing of virtues, as well as carrying a disposition of strict severity. Dr. Hubbur had told me that he had encountered Belphegor under the influence of some kind of psychedelic seed that I'm unfamiliar with. His stories get stranger every year. Quite curiously, he tends to prefer moving around the human world in the form of a cat or a raven. For casual visits, he tends to be communicable through the light of an oil lamp. I had first encountered him in a particularly flowery heath. I tend to feel him most strongly during periods of introspection and intense guilt. I've included a Hymn to Belphegor in my first collection of occult writings—
—on the seventh throne is Baal, Lord of Transgression, the Great Opponent from the Endless Labyrinth. He tends to be most strongly associated with the sins of wrath and pride, often intermingling the two. In his realm he is flanked by an infernal parade of unclean cherubim, covered with worms and constantly spewing vomit. Every soul who enters his realm from Earth has been a victim of suicide. His mortal enemy is the archangel Raphael. As far as ritual implements, an altar to Baal is expected to have a goblet, a sword, and a bowl full of sulfur, as well as four nails from a coffin, he also prefers his rituals to be referred to as “ceremonies.” His highest priest is expected to be holding his aspergillum, to anoint the other followers. His preferred animal is the goat, and during his rituals he expects one's heart, but a pomegranate is considered a suitable substitute for the squeamish. His most common symbol is the heptagram. He also tends to manifest as a simple fly or a serpent. Baal, unlike the others, confers the mysteries of the present. He tends to manifest most strongly near creeks and strongholds, as well as places of extreme cold. Much like the other demons, he tends to have an interest in the pleasure of the erotic arts, he's also most strongly associated with those with an erotic interest in cannibalism. Strangely, I had founds artifacts to Baal slowly after the publication of my first book, in archaeological sites far removed from the Near East. It's said that Baal was present during the construction of the Tower of Babel. Rather curiously, he seems to be the favorite of my mother, she told me that she associates him with the trinity. Baal tends to have the most compassion for those with very unorthodox sexual proclivities, including incest. He also has a place in his heart for those that exhibit acts of impiety and malice towards the gods, he also enjoys the presence of thieves and robbers, as well as those who enjoy games of chance. He's most commonly associated with philosophical problems related to essence and intelligence. Both his color and flower are saffron. Unfortunately for his followers, Baal also tends to be the archdemon most likely to induce psychosis. Much to the chagrin of the other demons, Baal tends to teach the arts of exorcism. I had first encountered him at the gymnasium at Sardis. It's Baal who helped the most with the writing of the book that would make my name, as he has a love for anything to do with ink, especially dangerous writings. I learned quite many a things from his red book. He often comes to me during periods when I feel an intense worthlessness, when I become incredibly cognizant of my every imperfection—
—on the eighth throne is Azazel, Lord of Agony, the archdemon I most strongly associate with myself. We've been walking this path together for quite some time. Azazel is the demon who helped me complete the goetia operation. His realm is infested with myriads of devils. It's Azazel who I most strongly associate with the Symbolic in Lacanian psychoanalysis. In the Earthly realm, he tends to prefer taking the abstract shape of a sphere, but I tend to communicate with him when he takes the form of charcoals. In his own, he seems to take the form of an incredibly beautiful thousand-armed man, at the center of Pandemonium. A rather strange caveat of his is that he tends to prefer any writings that come from him to be written on parchment. He has a particularly strange obsession with rank, and ranks his devils accordingly to their accomplishments on Earth, the highest of which he refers to as his seraphim. He demands unconditional obedience from his thralls. His rites require a human eye, a human brain, and charred fetuses, perhaps due to his rather bizarre association with the womb. I had first encountered Azazel when I was in the midst of a bitter polemical struggle against the anti-semite Ben Klassen of the Church of the Creator, as he had become a legislator in my home state of Florida at the time, it was around the first time I had read the Psalms. I believe Azazel was the demon most responsible for my most unspeakable visions. It's Azazel that I associate the most with operations of occult inversion. Whatever his form, he always tends to smell strongly of spices or styrax. He tends to be pleased by acts of self mortification and mutilation, and has a particularly disturbing interest in seeking out youth to corrupt. As far as the sins, his strongest is gluttony. I believe it's Azazel that I most associate with feelings of strong faith, although he's often the cause of personal ruin. Unfortunately for myself, he has taken to referring to me as his most exalted prophet, and he tells me that on the day of my death, I am to join his choir, where for eternity I will sing, in unison with the others, “Holy, Holy, Holy” with his putrid seraphim, for he conferred upon me his baptism. I tend to find organizations that form around the worship of Azazel to be similar in structure to the ancient Greek mystery cults, and they seem to wish to invoke their memory. I had once been a part of a temple devoted to his worship, during the turbulent years of the 1980's. He tends to manifest himself most strongly in overflowing morgues and wherever plague spreads. After my first encounter with him, I had lost my hearing for quite some time, and I never thought I would get it back. He tended to come to me during my strongest moments of apathy, when I would reach for the comfort and cheap excitements of gambling houses—
—on the ninth and final throne sits Dantalion, the Lord of Scandal and Lies, the Great Corruptor, who presides over the Black Mass. He resides in Hell in a realm called Gehenna. In his own realm, he commands a large stone colossus, wandering aimlessly within his pit of vast ruins. I tend to most strongly associate him with the biblical figure of Cain. His mortal enemy is the angel Gabriel. As far as the occult sciences are concerned, his realm is that of ritual, protection, divination, the enchantment of magical objects, and the creation of talismans and potions. All of his followers tend to wear the same matching necklace, all with a small golden amulet at the end. All of them tend to carry a very similar ritual knife. I have no idea where they come from. Dantalion also tends to enjoy drinking milk, although I've never asked why. Either that or chicory. He also tends to enjoy drinks made from wormwood. His preferred incense is a bit of sandalwood. For any Hermetic associations, I tend to identify him with the microcosm. As far as his more human concerns, he's quite knowledgeable and fascinated in all manner of human law, geometry and physics. For his artistic interests, he tends to prefer poetry. As for the human body, he tends to be quite fascinated by breath and hair, as well as the human voice. When he visits Earth, it's typically while riding an elephant and surrounded by smoke, holding a trident. His entrance is marked by the crash of thunder. Surprisingly, it's his presence that feels the most demonic of all the archdemons. Rituals for Dantalion tend to be the most effective during a full moon or a new moon, although he seems to be the only demon with any particularly strong associations with any of the lunar cycles, these should preferably take place by a river or within undergrowth. On his person, he carries a small satchel of a mysterious powder, I've let to learn its effects. In Gehenna, he resides within a great cathedral. On Earth, he will manifest of his own will a large stone tower to live at the top of. He also tends to manifest most strongly within sepulchers. He's one of the few demons that doesn't seem particularly taken to flights of lust. I associate him most strongly with pestilence and overflows of virus and disease, as well as catastrophe more broadly. The depths of his knowledge seem to be vaster than I could possibly hope to imagine. He was kind enough to help me with the writing of a Litany to the Archdemons of Hell. I believe I first met him at the time I was reading the Critique of the Power of Judgment, particularly Kant's writings on the sublime. I tend to also associate him most strongly with libidinal investments. If one doesn't make a serious attempt to gain his trust, he lies quite often. I had first felt his presence in a church I was attending dedicated to Saint Walpurga. I had sent quite a few letters about my experiences with Dantalion with a colleague, a Dr. Henry Blanchard who I had met at the Selven Institute around the time I had first been introduced to Dr. Hubbur, although I tended to find Blanchard much more pleasant than that burnout. Dantalion takes a rather strong theoretical interest in everything irrational. I tend to feel him most strongly when I feel at my most unworthy, in moments of my deepest despair and during flights of my most petty jealousy—
—here, we have a rather long selection from Postscripts on the Theory of Aeonic Materialism by Dr. Jonathan Hubbur: “[…] Deleuze was correct to identify two different—but mutually overlapping—conceptions of time, Chronos and Aeon—