The Gray Man in Satanism

The Traditional Satanist will wear many masks along their Satanic Quest...

When it comes to the individuals that the Sevenfold Sinister Way produces, it has often been said they would make a superb recruiting pool for Western intelligence operations candidates; indeed, there are many parallels between Western intelligence operators & Traditional Satanists, from long term aims, such as a desire to psychologically influence society (undertaken as part of Aeonic Magick), to short term infiltration missions (notably undertaken in some Insight Roles).

Thus, it is a popular opinion among some Nexions that studying the tactics & strategies of Western intelligence agencies (such as MI6 & the CIA) is a worthwhile endeavor, with very practical benefits on both the personal & supra-personal levels.

One such tactic this Temple has found particularly relevant is the concept of the Gray Man; within the scope of intelligence operations, a Gray Man is a person who blends in with his environment, so much so that he is considered an unimportant part of the background to both casual & astute observers alike, if he is even considered at all. A person who is practically indistinguishable from the people around him/her. Thus, a Gray Man is, of course, exactly what a spy seeks to appear as exoterically- someone completely unremarkable, not memorable in any way whatsoever & inconscpicuous in every sense, a non-descript part of the environment flowing around the observer.

The skill of blending into one's environment, of becoming a Gray Man, must be learned like any other skill; it is an art that is honed through experience & refined with practice, requiring as it does mastery over one's own impulses & emotions in order to maintain a composed covert demeanor- disrupting the peace with an offended outburst, for example, certainly makes one memorable. A degree of study beforehand is also necessary in some instances, as the specific guise a Gray Man may take is culturally & geographically relative- a Gray Man in the Southern United States for example will look very different from a Gray Man in Iraq.

What is seldom mentioned in the context of the Sinister Tradition, however, is the fact that the ability to Gray Man becomes necessary if one wishes to progress to higher Grades in the Sevenfold Way.

In the earlier Grades, such as Grade 1° Neophyte and Grade 2° Initiate, the Traditional Satanist will often feel the desire to be outwardly defiant of the Nazarene System & it's imposed social norms; this is due to a variety of factors, such as a Satanic desire for intense experiences of life & excitement with the Sinister Tradition, still feeling as they do a psychological desire to express their authentic self & openly declare war on the Nazarene. This will usually take the form of “dressing Satanically” (such as wearing black clothing in an occult or military style) and being openly confrontational/hostile with the Nazarene System & mundanes in the real world, a most exhilerating experience for the beginner.

Although some may call this behavior “immature,” this disposition of “extraverted Satanism” is a necessary stage in one's Alchemical development, as are the subsequent experiences of life that happen as a consequence of this disposition- all of which are part of the conditioning & process of growth implicit in the Sevenfold Way.

However, after some time, if one is following the Sevenfold Way in earnest, once one reaches the threshold of Adeptship- perhaps Grade 3° External Adept and onward- one will usually begin to feel a more “introverted Satanism,” favoring a more subtle & covert approach to Satanic acts as opposed to the open defiance exhibited in earlier Grades. More often than not, at this point in one's Satanic Quest, one will have developed a more Machiavellian approach to social scenarios, choosing to “flow with” other individuals rather than engage in open hostility, practically donning different external personas for different individuals to achieve Satanic aims. This, of course, is manipulative- but such is Black Magick, founded on the belief that true Power comes from the ability to manipulate things, circumstances, & people towards one's own ends.

A crucial aspect of this Satanic manipulation is the ability to blend in to whatever situation or environment one finds oneself in; in other words, the ability to Gray Man. Ideally, if an Adept Satanist finds themself in a politically leftist social circle, they should be able to convincingly adopt the external persona of a leftist as to not arouse suspicion- and likewise, if an Adept Satanist needs to infiltrate a Church of the religious Nazarene, they should be able to convincingly engage in worship & casually converse with the Nazarene congregants.

When it comes to practically learning the ability to Gray Man, certain Tasks of the Sevenfold Sinister Way actually provide opportunities for the development of this skill; for example, one of the Secret Tasks of Grade 1° Neophyte requires the Neophyte to acquire a Nazarene artifact (such as a Bible or Hosts) from a Nazarene place of worship in order to desecrate it during their Self-Initiation. While some may opt for more brazen acts of acquiring this artifact, others may opt for a covert infiltration mission, perhaps adopting an external Nazarene persona & manipulating a Nazarene Priest into gifting them a Bible- a most Satanic act of manipulation indeed.

Further along the Way, the Task of the Insight Role, undertaken at Grade 2° Initiate, involves living a completely unfamiliar & perhaps dangerous way of life for 6 to 18 months, such as joining an Islamic Sect or a radical political movement. This of course will require the Sinister Initiate to suspend their desire to express their authentic self, for disclosing that one is a Satanist to non-Satanists during one's Insight Role is forbidden. Due to the 6 to 18 month duration of the Insight Role (which is essentially an extended Ritual of Internal Magick), the Sinister Initiate must psychologically adapt to being unable to express their true thoughts, must learn to restrain their emotional impulses & resist the urge to act “out of character”- all of which are foundational aspects of the ability to Gray Man.

Finally, once one reaches Grade 3° External Adept, when it comes time to form & direct a traditional Satanic Temple (as outlined in Codex Saerus), the Traditional Satanist will fully crystallize the Sinister manipulation & “social chameleon” skills gained in the previous Grades. From testing & fielding prospective Temple congregants, to inflaming the collective emotions of the Temple congregation during Ceremonial Rituals, the various social experiences of leading a Satanic Temple are the true “sharpening of the blade” when it comes to the skill of Sinister Manipulation. Further, according to Codex Saerus: Black Book of Satan, it is up to the Sinister Initiate as to whether they inform their Temple congregants of their participation in the Sevenfold Way & Sinister Tradition- as in, the Sinister Initiate may choose to keep their Temple congregation in the dark concerning the Temple's association with the ONA tradition, effectively lying to & manipulating the entirety of the Temple.

Although this may seem cruel to some, the truth of the matter is that congregants of Satanic Temples are by their nature “less Satanic” than the Magus/Mistress of the Temple- simply because they are followers, and the Magus/Mistress a leader. Put simply, the Black Book makes clear that if any of these Temple congregants had within them a genuine Satanic Spirit, they would openly defy the Magus/Mistress of the Temple in favor of leading & directing their own congregation, thereby proving themselves a genuine Satanist & perhaps qualifying themselves for personal tutelage by the Magus/Mistress in the real Sinister Tradition- being brought deeper into the fold & shown the genuine Sevenfold Way after proving themselves worthy with their defiance, and so participating in the “conspiracy” against the rest of the un-Initiated Temple congregants with the Magus/Mistress.

Such is the nature of true Evil; it tests, manipulates, bends its environment to its Will- a generative force of Evolution via the conflict it ignites, a force that recognizes not all Beings are created equal, abiding by the eternal law of Natural Selection.

Thus the Machiavellian progression one finds along the Sevenfold Way; at first, the Initiate is “extraverted” with their Satanism, a necessary learning experience that catalyzes the intrinsic elitism of our Tradition through hostile experiences in the real world resulting from their open defiance.

Then, wisdom gained, manipulation perfected, & Gray Man skills honed, the Adept will become “introverted” with their Satanism, recognizing both the tactical (immediate) & strategic (long term) benefits of a subtle, covert approach- a true internalizing of Predatory Spirituality, the Wolf in Sheep's clothing.

For the Devil need not announce himself with flashy black robes & haughty battle cries; he seduces like a gentleman, with purposeful charisma & astuteness of Empathy.

---