Published in The Heretic #8, April 1994
(1) The origins of the ONA seem to be shrouded in mystery, which causes much speculation by both the ONA’s friends and foes. Could you tell us about the origins of the Order, something of its history, and of previous Grand Masters/Mistresses?
1) According to Tradition, the ONA originated in Albion during the Hyperborian Aeon (some 6,000 years before present) where there existed a cult surrounding a dark, violent goddess – to be known later in the 10th century as ‘Baphomet’ – and whose rites made use of crystals and sound vibration (later Esoteric Chant –identical in sound and method to Gregorian Chant but with obviously different texts!). Some of the rites – many unnamed (one of which was the sacrificial form of the ‘Ceremony of Recalling’) – were known to be concerned with the rising of certain stars – hence ‘henges’ etc. Other later aspects of this Tradition concerned the real ‘Arthur’ and the origins of ‘Camelot’ – now just beginning to be recognised by archaeologists and historians.
The Order was of course, not known as the ONA then, nor was it even an ‘order’, but a way of living, of the folk – of a community. Nor was it, in essence, what is understood today as ‘religion’ but instead a partaking of life (‘mystery’ as the Ancient Greeks understood the word – qv. the ‘mystery’ plays of Aristophanes) and not a flight from it; the way of Empathy.
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Mousa of Swords – Dark Goddess Baphomet holding the head of the traitor Claus von Stauffenberg[/caption]Gradually the Tradition declined to something much more clandestine as the Nazarene tyranny took hold, until only a few folk per century preserved its teachings and ways of living – mostly on an oral basis. This survival continued in the place of its birth – Shropshire on the Welsh border.
It must be remembered that all this occurred quite separately from the development of magick via people like Crowley and those of the Golden Dawn, who were essentially romantic individuals who promoted the traditions of other countries and strengthened (usually unconsciously) the Nazarene hold via such forms as the qabala. In contradistinction to these latter Magian forms, the Tradition has been preserved throughout the ages mostly by women – at one stage sinister Temples consisted solely of women. It should also be realised that the Satanic aspect was just one later manifestation of the Tradition (an aspect that could be described as ‘militant paganism’) something that was, and is still strategically necessary but one that is not the beginning nor the end of the Sinister.
Around the sixth decade of this present century, the Grand Mistress who represented the Tradition (nothing is known of previous Grand Masters/Mistresses), aware that the next stage of Sinister strategy was imminent, named the few temples that existed (such as ‘Camelot’, ‘The Noctulians’, ‘Temple of the Sun’) collectively the Order of Nine Angles. She passed on what remained of the original teachings to her heir, who in turn codified and extended those teachings, making them more accessible to others, thus spreading Sinister energies to hasten the end of this current Aeon and to create the next – Satanic Aeon. Central to this strategy was the return of those entities known as the Dark Gods and that which was greater than the power of Satan Himself (which Lovecraft fearfully had intimations of). This decision was not taken on a mere whim – it was known that the cosmic tides were aligning and that the time was right for such tactics. This strategy was intensified during the eighties by the succeeding Grand Master with the (underground) publication of books such as ‘Naos’ and the founding of a magazine, ‘Fenrir’.
There are really only a handful of individuals associated with the ONA, and most of these are hidden and have nothing to do with the Occult scene, working real magick in secret. Nor does one individual have authority over another, simply because the Seven-Fold Way is the way of the individual; a structure/guide as it always was, for that individual to discover his/her own unique Destiny. It is the Way of the lone Magickian.
Thus, the ONA is not really an ‘order’ – at least not as all other occult organizations are ‘orders’. There are no members for the sake of numbers; no meetings for cosy chats; no grades awarded; no hierarchical power structure; no rules, regulations, proscriptions etc. Only a few hard working individuals creating History.
(2) The life of the previous Grand Master, Stephen Brown, sounds fascinating, judging by the annoyingly few titbits he’s released here and there. This has also led to speculation by both friends and foes, and conjecture on his possible academic background. Would to be able to tell us something of the backgrounds of both prior Grand Master, and yourself?
2) Stephen Brown spent his early life in the Far East and Africa. His experiences of witchcraft and LHP Taoism led him to pursue Darker forms of magick in Europe until he found/was found by the Grand Mistress of the Tradition. He was initiated into this Tradition (at the time, the first to be initiated for five years) and went on to become Heir. He implemented the next stage of Sinister Strategy – to make the teachings known on a large scale. In the meantime he trained as a Physicist and Classical Scholar. His exploits are too numerous to mention here – those interested will have to wait some ten or so years until his memoirs are publicly available (an excerpt has been published in ‘Hostia’).
My background is in the Arts – most notably musick and painting; I have had several exhibitions – including one of the Sinister Tarot. Before and since my Sinister education, my experiences of magick have been practical and diverse – including an interesting time spent in the IOT. I subsequently became heir to the Tradition (passed on by Stephen) and have since added my own creativity to the teachings, finding new expressions of the Sinister.
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Richard Moult (Christos Beest) - Bean Na Bainnse[/caption]I have, as Stephen had, a limited public role – a focal point for the Order. This is not solely for the benefit of my ego – I would prefer for the most part to remain reclusive – but it is necessary at this stage that some individuals are prepared to make Sinister teachings available to the public, thus to: a) undermine the influence of pseudo-Satanic groups such as the Temple of Set, and restore the real Darkness of Satanism; b)undermine (and destroy) the qabbalistic hold over the Occult in general; c) create works-of Musick, Art, Politics et. – that by a psychic contagion create change on a large scale (presencing the ‘New Aeon ’via a nexion). It is a case of either standing on the sidelines and watching, or playing a part in aiding the greater Destiny of a civilization: for Satanists, the only real option is the latter.
(3) The ONA is distinguished in part for its creation of a new pantheon of archetypes or Dark Gods for a new Aeon, and the rejection of Old Aeon pantheon and esoterica. However, in books such as NAOS seemingly Old Aeon archetypes such as Satan/Shaitan are referred to. Please explain this seeming paradox. Are there archetypes that are trans-Aeonic?
3) It is important that the terms “Old Aeon” and “New Aeon” are clearly defined since there seems to be a general confusion with regard to their specific meanings.
Very generally, “New Aeon” is the triumph of a creative elite who will lead the creation of a (‘Satanic’) civilization to fulfil-amongst other things – the challenge of Space as implied by the Wyrd of the West. The creation of a New Aeon implies the founding of an Imperium – all this evolves over a determined period of causal time.
“Old Aeon” is a much misused term of occult speak. Most occultists take this term to meaning anything that has existed in the past; that which has ceased to be in a casual sense, and by virtue of this alone, is not longer of relevance – indeed the use of past forms in magick is generally considered a hindrance. This viewpoint has become a rule propounded by the less discerning, and this, with regard to certain matters, is a grave mistake. It is a mistake because it is true of somethings – such as the attempted resurrection of dead Ancient Egyptian forms (ie. ‘Set’) – but not of others. The term “Old Aeon” as used in the correct sense by the ONA means those energies which have, and are, distorting the development of Western civilization, and which have their genesis in “old” forms such as the qabala. The “Old Aeon” is thus comprised of forms that work counter to the evolution of the West – and, importantly, just because these particular forms are “old” does not make their influence irrelevant. Essentially, the age of something is not important in an acausal sense (for obvious reasons).
Hence the use of ‘Satan’, which, as discussed in several ONA MSS does not originate from the Hebrew, but from Greek aitia – an ‘accusation’ (qv. Aristotle: ai aitioii ex auagkhj ); the Hebrew is a corrupt derivation of the Greek. Thus ‘Satan’ is not an Old Aeon archetype, but one directly relevant and vital to the Western psyche.
Just because some things have formed the basis of some understandings does not make them “outmoded”: a tradition is made great not be destroying its foundation but by adding to it (some traditions anyway!). Thus, in one sense, the significance of a ‘Temple’ and the rites in the Black Books of Satan – they structure the acausal in a specific way to achieve specific goals; they bring about the change from what we describe as ‘External Adept’ to ‘Internal Adept’ and will continue to do so for every Initiate(for the next few centuries at least). The ‘Internal’ is when creative energy assumes temporal manifestations, vectoring changes on a level fundamental for the Adept: beyond the Abyss is when those forms-or other ones – cause large scale changes via a nexion, such a nexion often “invading the unconscious of non-Initiates… thus to see some forms and techniques as “out-moded” is to mis-understand them – just as to dismiss them as “dogmatic” is to mis-understand their form and significance for each individual.
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The Devil (Deofel) Noctulius - Sinister Tarot by Christos Beest[/caption]The Dark Gods are not really “new” creations – eg. The word ‘Azanigin’ is comprised of the Babylonian for ’Mother of Demons’ (‘Aza’) and the Gnostic for ’Earth’s interior’ (‘Nigin’); the symbol for ‘Noctulius’ is a fifteenth century alchemical symbol for the Moon, and so on.
(4) The ONA talks in terms of centuries before the emergence of a New Aeon, yet the present Western Civilization seems to be NOW in a state of collapse. Do you see the current Aeon being prolonged over the course of several more centuries, perhaps in a state of perpetual chaos?
4) It is indeed centuries before the emergence of a New Aeon – that is, that which could be identified as a new civilization. At present, we are entering the ‘winter’ stage of this current (Western) Aeon – a stage only in its beginnings, a ‘Time of Troubles’ that does not actually precede ‘collapse’, but a Universal State, or Imperium – predicted to occur between 1997 and 2020 eh. The Western Aeon runs from c. 500eh to 2000eh, but the civilization itself dates from 1000eh to 2500 eh: this is so because, as with all Aeons, its outward manifestation lags 500 years behind. This means that the New Aeon will not become manifest on the practical level until at least 2390eh.
Essentially, the model for a civilization (as proposed by Toynbee) can be briefly stated as:
- a) Civilizations arise from a challenge. This challenge may be either social or physical. In responding to a challenge, a society must possess a certain “élan” if its response is to lead to further growth.
- b) Growth originates with small numbers of creative individuals who by either “mimesis” (as individuals) or as creative minorities transform (revitalize) the civilization from within.
- c) Growth of a civilization achieves differentiation of the society.
- d) Disintegration of a civilization occurs with the schism of the society into dominant minority, internal proletariat and external proletariat.
- e) Disintegration also produces a schism in the ‘soul’ – ie. ‘decadence’.
- f) The last form of disintegration is the Universal State- founded by a creative individual (‘Vindex’).
- g) The Universal State is founded after a series of false starts and is preceded by a ‘Time of Troubles’.
However, because we possess this Aeonic understanding, it is possible for this organic trend to be altered – that is, Western civilization may be prolonged, extended into a new expression of itself; this would imply the creation of an Imperium of the NS variety. [The Western civilization is the first to approach the ninth stage in the metamorphosis of a culture (Adept (Adept)) – that is, the stage beyond the Universal State.] Or this Aeon could be allowed to die out in four hundred years time, to be replaced by something entirely new… It is up to each Adept to decide which way the future lies.
(5) Some associates of the ONA have been promoting National Socialism as part of a sinister dialectic. Couldn’t N.S. be considered a dead form; a part of the Old Aeon in its end phase?
5) Again, it is important to clearly define the term “Old Aeon”. It is unfortunate that a trend has emerged amongst various Occult bodies to denounce National-Socialism as an “Old Aeon” form, a “distortion”, and so on. Such people do not have a clue about what is actually happening in the world – their thinking (if it can be called ‘thinking’) derives mainly from sentiment influenced by the present day constrictions of thought: this awareness is in no way ‘Aeonic’ (and thus not magickal). Rather, it is temporal, temporary – and manipulated. National-Socialism was and is a healthy expression of the Western psyche – a direct attack on Old Aeon forces; most certainly not an Old Aeon form.
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Sinister tarot - Warrior of Pentacles[/caption]National-Socialism is a fundamental expression of the Wyrd of the Western Soul. It is a real practical form enshrining real spiritual feelings in a way that most Occult bodies will never achieve. For the most part, all Occultism does (like most Art) is reflect, usually unconsciously, a societal consensus. Because society is soft, Occultism is soft, based as most of it is on wishful thinking and hedonistic behaviour. Since Medieval times, Occultism has continually upheld the distortion of the West – via the qabala, Grimoires, Crowley – and now this manipulation continues with the denouncement of something so vital to our survival as National-Socialism. It is interesting that this trend should emerge now considering the political climate…
It is an inescapable fact that one is part of the greater Destiny (wyrd) of one’s own folk. How one aids this Wyrd is of course dependant upon the Destiny of the Individual – but it is important for individual to at least intellectually understand what is happening; this understanding then being diffused in unique and varied ways – all in accord with the wyrd of the West.
It is true to say that National-Socialism is an expression of Satanism (and vice-versa) – both seek to create a ‘new’ type of Individual (esoterically ‘Adept’) and this type can only emerge from the foundations of evolution. Only then can evolution continue, because this growth is in harmony with Nature. But National-Socialism is also separate from Satanism, as ‘Satanism’ is separate from the Essence of which it is an expression. This separateness lies in the form (or appearance) and this is an apprehension vital to those who wish to work practical magick (ie. In the ‘real world’).
National-Socialism is exoteric – that is, its form was created to speak directly to the ‘people’/folk/’public’, to express in a direct way what a society really feels about life on a practical day to day basis, and to provide basic, realistic solutions to what are viewed (usually secretly) as fundamental problems.
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White Aryan Resistance (Vitt Ariskt Motstånd, VAM) - Sweden[/caption]Satanism too is a form designed to fulfil a specific purpose, the outcome of which is beyond the form itself. But Satanism is esoteric and can never be made respectable – this is something the Temple of Set in particular has failed to grasp: in trying to make Satanism an ‘ethical religion’ they are in essence doing the work of the opposition. Because Satanism is concerned with individual alchemy, the Satanist is, in one sense, beyond external forms; that is, s/he judges a form to be useful or not via a rational, detached approach – not by an opinion swayed by emotive social prejudices. Thus forms are judged by their capacity to produce practical change in accord with the Aeonic goals of the Adept. Thus the promotion by some Satanists of National-Socialism – a form that needs to be understood as it is now, but also as it will be understood in the future, and this understanding will be quite different to what it is today.
For the Satanic Adept, if there has been active NS support (perhaps initially as an ‘Insight Role’), this separateness between Satanism and National-Socialism often produced an internal conflict that must eventually be resolved via a difficult choice. One either goes on to publicly support or create and lead further expressions of National-Socialism, where it is detrimental to be known to be associated with certain things, or continues along the Seven Fold Way. If the choice is the latter, the Adept does not go on to denounce National-Socialism as a “distortion” etc, just because s/he has decided to withdraw from overt support – there remains an understanding that enough has been achieved for individual Destiny; the esoteric understanding of National-Socialism continues. Unlike most other Occultists, the Satanist is beyond solipsism.
(6) Mastery of the Star Game and other techniques such as Physis as a martial art, are said to raise the consciousness of the practitioner – a kind of mental alchemy – by unfolding what is latent within “everyone”. Does this imply that everyone has the same potentialities just waiting to be unlocked? Are the differing genetic qualities and potentialities among individuals taken into account?
6) All humans are possessed with the faculty of thought – which marks us out as unique from other animals. We possess not only ‘life’ (symbolised as 0) but also that from which consciousness arises (symbolised as T). These qualities may be designated ‘modes of Being’ – the T mode is the apprehension of Being; the formative processes underlying all Nature (ref. D.W. Myatt, ‘The Logic of History’). Being may be apprehended in three distinct stages: “in time”; “above time”; “against time”. The first is the “ego” or “feeling” stage; the second the “intuitive”; the third the “thinking”. This third stage is characterised by two models: the Philosopher (introvert mode) and the person of ‘action’ (extrovert mode) whose actions are orientated toward creating change – or ‘redeeming’ – the world.
The potential for this process of growth is inherent within all humans (mirroring the growth, change and decay of civilization to which a people belong). However, it is the creative minority of a civilization who are most Aeonically significant in fulfilling this individual process, since they, through a natural “mimesis” affect the civilization to which they belong [there is a greater connectedness between such individuals and the archetype of the civilization].
Magick – of the Sinister sort – aims to speed up within individuals this process of growth, producing an advanced awareness that most, do not possess until old age. The Septenary System is designed to unfold what is latent within everyone, latent by virtue of being human. Everyone has the capacity to fulfil the potential of their existence – some may achieve things more historically notable than others (i.e. become ‘famous’ for their creativity), but that is not, with regard to the individual and their unique potential, magickally important.
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Septenary Tree of Wyrd[/caption]However, the term “everyone” applies to those people of Western civilization – the Septenary System is a Western Tradition: as stated, the magickal growth of a people can only be achieved via a system indigenous to, and reflective of, those people. So: the Septenary System is available to “everyone”, but requires a great effort (to say the least) – who can be bothered when it is easier to submerge one’s life in the comforts of material possessions? Traditional Satanism creates a few genuine Adepts and perhaps two genuine Masters/Mistresses per century, and these numbers are unlikely to change – at least not for the next century or so – simply because of laziness as opposed to ‘genetic deficiencies’.
(7) Which world leader would be a most suitable candidate as an ONA opfer?
7) The problem with ‘world leaders’ is that if one is removed, another pops up – essentially, the only role such people fulfil is as focal point for the ‘power behind the scenes’. Most usually the assassination of a President or Prime Minister will be turned to Party/Government advantage – the assassin (probably not the real one) being dubbed as a “madman”, etc.
The best candidates are key members of covert political organizations, groups which actually rely on membership structure – in terms of numbers and personalities – and also whose presence actually has some effect on the higher political echelons.
(8) Which “Satanic” leader would be a most suitable opfer?
8) I don’t think it takes much imagination to work that one out!
(9) Returning to the subject of Aeonics, if each Civilization has its own specific ethos, élan, etc. and the influence of a prior civilization on it could be viewed as a “distortion”, how does this accord with the ONA’s admiration for Classical culture, which is presumably that of an Old Aeon.
9) The influence of a prior Aeonic civilization is not, and should not, be viewed as a “distortion”. ‘Aeonic civilization’ I take to mean those higher civilizations associated with the five Aeons that have so far defined human evolution, those five Aeons being: the Primal, Hyperborian; Sumerian; Hellenic; Western. The sixth, or “New” Aeon is called, by Sinister Tradition, the “Galactic”. [Each Aeonic stage is symbolised by the spheres of the Septenary Tree of Wyrd.] There is no influence from the prior civilizations in their genesis that is a distortion” on the West. This is so because all previous Aeons have led up to, indeed created, this present one, and the subsequent achievements (all going according to plan) of the Galactic – and the stage(s) beyond that. This is to say (abstractly) that each Aeon has been a stage in the growth of ‘one thing’, thus there is a magickal connectedness between each Aeon (symbolized by the pathways on the Tree of Wyrd).
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Nelly’s, Ionic capital and the northeast corner of the Parthenon, 1925-37[/caption]One of these stages, the Hellenic, is of great importance simply because it allows us to see, through what remains of its culture, what we have lost thanks to the sickness of the Nazarene. The Hellenic was not an “Old Aeon” civilization, but one which was a vital stage I the evolution of Western paganism; it was a continuation of the Hyperborian culture of Albion (qv. ‘Kabeiroi’), Albion being the original home of Apollo. Its influence – as with aspects of the other Aeons – well, as long as there is a Western civilization, always be of some relevance.
This is not to say that we should start building Henges or create Oracles – but simply to open ourselves to that which previous Aeons have attempted to express (mostly in their early stages); in other words, develop the Empathy that other outside influences have tried, for their own ends, to obfuscate.
(10) The concept of “Vindex” as avenger of the New Aeon seems akin to the Hindu Kalki mentioned by the Hindu N.S. Philosopher Savitri Devi. Did Devi ever have an input on the ONA’s conception of Aeonics?
10) Yes, “Vindex” is akin to “Kalki”. Savitri Devi (“Lightning and the Sun”) has been one of those – as has most notably Toynbee and Spengler – whose labours have contributed to the leaps in the understanding of Aeonics.
(11) “Vindex” seems to be a mortal of Caesarian stature akin to that type whom Spengler predicted would re-emerge. Yet Vindex is named as one of the Dark Gods in such texts as The Black Book of Satan II. Would you explain the nature of Vindex?
11) The Dark Gods exist in an acausal space-time – in a region of the acausal. The psyche of the individual is that place where the causal and acausal intersect – a “nexion”. Thus the Dark Gods, being aspects or ‘entities’ of the acausal, are latent within us: a racial memory. This latency does not always evolve to confrontation; that experience requires provocation. This either happens to appropriate individuals and is not consciously understood, producing sometimes destructive consequences without the benefit of insights (and thus ‘wisdom’), or it is the result of deliberate contact via Sinister magick, hermetic and ceremonial [the former individuals are non-Initiates, the latter Initiates]. Sinister magick, by its nature, is disruptive (sometimes devastatingly so) but there exists in the Initiate at the very least the intellectual capacity to learn and develop from the experience. The genuine Initiates succeed, while the failures become casualties of themselves. Thus when an individual commences the Seven Fold Way, they will be progressively expanding their consciousness into the acausal (the Master/Mistress is more acausal than causal) – opening the seven gates within that creates Adeptship and beyond.
From one perspective, the Dark Gods are re-presentative of this deliberate evolution; re-presentative of, or rather are, the acausal counterparts of that which blossoms of the causal level. But to extend that perspective further: a Dark God, such as ‘Vindex’, if greatly presenced according to the Destiny of an Individual, is that quality which makes a mortal of Caesarian stature what s/he is in a practical, causal way (e.g. Leader of an NS Imperium – more than a conventional ‘world leader’: someone who creates a new expression of a revolutionary form). Vindex – realised in its ultimate sense (that is, beyond what is glimpsed when an Initiate undergoes a pathworking) – is the most overt of the acausal/causal manifestations known as the Dark Gods. Vindex is a specific existence and action of energy and (human) form – specific to the archetype of “folk-hero”, “Saviour” etc.
(12) The ONA is distinguished for its versatile creativity. What else can we expect from the ONA in both the near and not-so-near future?
12) New items recently produced include a volume of Sappho’s poetry (translated by D.W. Myatt) with five colour illustrations by myself; an audio tape entitled EORPE – a soundtrack for use in hermetic and ceremonial magick; a new booklet entitled ‘The Sinister Path: An Introduction to Traditional Satanism’. Future plans include the recording and performance of seven piano sonatas – each on depicting a Septenary Sphere; possible musickal collaboration with other Artists/Occultists – such as Ian Read’s group ‘Fire and Ice’; and the realization of a performance piece based in the Sinister Tarot, using multi-media.
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