Practical Altar-Keeping

Notes on maintaining a Traditionally Satanic Altar, for both Temples & Solitary Practitioners.

When it comes to the Black Magick of the Sinister Tradition, perhaps nothing is more important to an External Adept (Grade 3° of the Sevenfold Way) than keeping & maintaining an Altar, whether it be for one's Satanic Temple or one's personal Practice. Not only does having a well maintained Altar reinforce to oneself the gravity of what one is partaking in (the only true Western occult Left Hand Path left), but having a well maintained Altar also ensures one is ready to perform powerful acts of Black Magick at a moment's notice, further delineating the power of this space from it's mundane surrounding in the only way that's real: through maintenance & effort, thus imbuing it with that Acausal energy of one's own focused Will.

This is also why using Natural materials (such as wood, bone, crystals, herbs, etc) is much more powerful than using cheap, manufactured goods bought off of the internet; Natural materials, being borne of life & Nature, are still imbued with Acausal energy due to coming from a life form (all life is animated by Acausal energy, the substance of consciousness), and as we know from our practice & studies, the Black Magick of the Sinister Tradition draws on & directs this Acausal energy to affect change in the causal world.

Thus, it is obvious why one should strive to not only use Naturally occuring materials in their Black Practice & Altar space, but also maintain it with work & effort; the same principle is true of handmade crafts & wares- the focused intent of crafting handmade items for Black Magick imbues it with the Acausal energy of your conscious focus, thus enhancing the items power in Ritual. The same is also true of Art & all forms of practical Creativity; they essentially becomes Nexions in themselves- Connexions between the causal material world & Acausal immaterial world, the same Acausal immaterial world from which we draw & direct energy in Black Magick.

It is therefore obvious why one should strive to include only Natural materials & handcrafted items, including Art & practical Magickal implements (such as Swords, Rune carved Wands, vials of Blood, & skulls), for use on one's Altar. This intentional selectiveness of accepting only the highest of quality materials for ones Altar further reinforces your practice's power, as well as literally presences energies of the Acausal.

According to Codex Saerus, a Traditionally Satanic Altar, whether one is running a Temple with a congregation as an External Adept or one is a Solitary Practitioner, should have the following items:

• A Black Altar Cloth, with either a white inverted Pentagram or Septagram on it

• Silver Candle Holders

• Hazel Incense

• A large pointed Quartz crystal, with an Oak wood stand

• A traditional image of Mistress Baphomet, whether it be a sculpture, tapestry, or painting

• An Incense Burner, silver censor or oak stand

• Silver Chalice(s)

• Silver Bowl and/or Cast Iron Cauldron

• Athame/Ritual Knife/Sword

• Tall Black Taper Candles

• Matches

• A Silver Bell

• Graveyard Dirt

• A deck of the Sinister Tarot

• A Black Ring

• A Wand, wood or bone

Further, Outdoor Altars should also be sure to include:

• Seven Stones, to delineate the Ritual space's boundaries

• A Lantern with red glass

One specific Altar item worthy of further attention is that of the “Idol” or Statue. Hollow, empty vessels born of factories & plastic abound on online markets; these items, being of neither Natural material nor crafted by hand, lack the essential Acausal essence that one should strive to include on their Altar space, & should thus be avoided if possible- as mentioned in Codex Saerus: Black Book of Satan, by the ONA, it is better to have just a few items of value & sentiment, instead of many items of consumerist & impersonal origin.

As an example, an associate of our Nexion found a stone Buddha statue being sold for cheap at a local Buddhist market; feeling the call of extempor Creativity, he decided to acquire it & desecrate it by suffocating the Buddha with a velvet bag, using Tibetan Yak Bone Mala & a Quartz point as finishing touches. Through such a blasphemous modification, what would otherwise be a common sight along the RHP has become a perfect statue for a LHP Altar, a slaughtering of a sacred cow & thus an Artistic invokation of Shaitan's ethos.

But even better, if one is of a more Creative Artistic nature, one can craft their own Altar statues via sculpture.

The above sculptures, courtesy of a talented Solitary Practitioner whom this Nexion admires, are a prime example of a causal vessel that presences the Acausal; a proper Naos, in other words. Not only does crafting one’s own Altar items imbue them with Acausal energy, but it also allows one to fine tune the occult details therein, such as infusing the sculpture with blood, crystals, bone, etc.

Indeed, one could even go so far as to craft a unique idol/statue for each Sphere of the Tree of Wyrd based on the esoteric symbolism of said Sphere- for example, carving an Eagle out of Oak wood for Sphere 4° Sol & painting it gold, or sculpting a Horned Beast (Daemon) out of clay for Sphere 1° Luna & incorporating Quartz into the statue.

Although it is not mandated in Codex Saerus, this Nexion has found that performing a Satanic Blessing on every Creative work & new item added to one's Altar prior to Ritual use helps orient the item's essence towards the aggregate Sinister energy of your Altar/Ritual space.

When it comes to Satanically Blessing Ceremonial Grave Dirt, a short Rite formulated by an associate of this Nexion is given thus:

Satanically Blessing Graveyard Dirt

~ Why ~

Any & all items used in Black Magick should ideally be saturated with the energy & intent of the Sinister Tradition & our Dark Gods. This naturally occurs as one accumulates & uses the more permanent items of their practice (such as incense burners, skulls, swords, cauldrons, etc.), but when it comes to items that regularly need replenishing, such as Graveyard Dirt, incenses, charcoals, etc., fresh batches of these items coming into your Temple/Altar space have not been "touched" by the energy of our Magick, and thus are not in perfect harmony with the unique Acausal aggregate/resonance of your space. Although this Acausal resonant harmony is not strictly necessary for Black Magick, it does seem to enhance the power of your workings based on my & others' experience, as well as distort any residual Nazarene energy in the Dirt & thus reinforces the Satanic intent.

~ How ~

You will need:

- 1 Black Candle

- Musk Incense (Sphere 5° Mars)

- Traditional image of Baphomet

- Bones, human if possible

- Quartz point, Tetrahedron if possible

- Ceremonial Bell

- Non-conductive Receptacle for Graveyard Dirt, such as a wooden box or glass jar

- Ritual Knife or Sword

Arrange the items in a way that resonates with you, placing the freshly collected Graveyard Dirt into the receptacle, with Baphomet's image placed above or close to the receptacle. Light the Black Candle, and light the Musk incense with the flame of the candle. Ring the Bell 3 × times to signal the beginning of the Satanic Blessing.

With Baphomet witnessing, take up the Quartz in your left hand & recite the Invokation to Baphomet as given in the Black Book of Satan, visualizing your energy saturating the Graveyard Dirt as you do so.

After the visualization, recite the 21 Satanic Points & the Sinister Creed. Then, take up the Knife or Sword in your left hand, point it at the Grave Dirt, and perform a Satanic Blessing as given in the Black Book, drawing the inverted pentacle with the blade.

Afterwards, sit and meditate on the nature of your practice, the role of the Graveyard Dirt, or anything else that comes naturally while our Mistress' potent energy is present. When it feels complete, stand, state "it is complete," ring the Bell 3 more times, and let the candle & incense burn all the way down.

Once everything is burned down, the Graveyard Dirt is ready for use in Magick & should be stored on your Altar.

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A few more practical tips on practical Altar-Keeping in Traditional Satanism are in order.

Depending on whether you are a Solitary Practitioner or running a Temple with a congregation, incense should be burned regularly to keep the Altar space saturated with the essence of our Dark Gods. In Codex Saerus, specific instructions are given for Temple Altar preparation depending on the Ceremony being performed, though usually it is recommended either Musk incense or Hazel incense be burned frequently. For the Solitary Practitioner, we recommend burning the incense of whatever Sphere's energy you are trying to benefit from the most at this specific point in your practice.

For example, if you are seeking a Companion as part of your alchemy in the Sevenfold Way, burning Sandalwood incense daily to presence the energy of Sphere 3° Venus (Love & Ecstasy) would suffice; and likewise if you desire the destruction of someone or something, burning Musk incense daily to presence the energy of Sphere 5° Mars (Death, Destruction, & Sacrifice) would be beneficial. The same principles also apply to the burning of a colored Candle on your altar nightly, which perhaps can be coupled with a contemplative meditation/sigil visualization of a specific Dark Sphere or Pathway of the Tree of Wyrd- something that also draws down & presences the energies of the Dark Gods in your Altar space.

Further, cleaning & tending to your Altar space daily is a crucial practice that shows respect & seriousness towards one's practice. Drawing on aspects of Folk Pagan Witchcraft, sweeping in a circle the direction of Widdershins (counter-clockwise) is a Ritual act in itself, imbuing your space with your essence & reinforcing control over the causal realspace & Acausal energies therein. Once clean, a simple daily morning recitation of the 21 Satanic Points & the Sinister Creed helps keep both your psyche & the space itself oriented towards your Satanic intent.

And thus some practical guidance on Altar-keeping for both the Solitary Practitioner & Temple Magus/Mistress; for at the end of the day, what matters the most is whether or not your Altar space resonates with you & reflects your unique Creativity, borne of & inspired by those Dark forces from beyond the Abyss. Like all forms of Art, Ritual Black Magick & the crafting of wares for one's Altar & practice should be wholly unique- not merely a pale imitation of things that came before you, but a reflexion of one's unique apprehension of the wordless essence of the Acausal dimensions- for an Altar should be something personal & beyond rationalizing which straddles the boundary between the causal & Acausal worlds.

And thus is a Nexion in itself.

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