Aesthetics of the Left Hand Path

[Nefastos]

There are those who feel that a certain aesthetics, certain nocturnal element belong to the Left Hand Path or Satanic devotion. Then there are people who use some other religion's imagery, even if they emphasise on the points within those images that are enough to make them heretics in the eyes of more traditional / Right Hand Path minded devotees: Cainites, Ophites and some Shaivites, for example. Then there are people who'd rather want to blend in and/or don't feel a personal need to surround themselves in Satanic trappings, although they consider themselves as Satanists. And finally there are those who feel thrill when the aesthetical side is deliberately ugly: not so much woodcuts & gothic cathedrals than soiled garbage & misshapen fetuses.

How do you feel?

(Please note: Herein I have used the words Satanism, Left Hand Path and the dark side all heaped together as one. There are differences and nuances, of course, but in this context I think this can be forgiven.)

[Fomalhaut]

I chose the first three choices. Depending on what I do and what my heart tells me, it can change though within those three choices.

I would like to put a comment on this choice still, even though I did not choose it: "I feel that Satanism shouldn't be aesthetically pleasing, but ugly" Some form of art can be very beautiful to one when it is very ugly for some other people. And for myself, I usually find aesthetics within ugly forms of art.

[Absconditus]

I chose other, as I feel I could have easily chosen all of them. For me aesthetics has always been dependent on what phase I'm going through. When I was younger, I was surrounded by LHP imagery and symbolism, and of course imagery of the uglier sort. I remember watching tons of gore and horror films, looking at images of dead people, etc. Then, when I gradually entered new phases, other religions' aesthetics became more appealing, especially of the eastern flavor. Nowadays I am quite pragmatic in what I do, and there aren't even any religious items on display in my apartment. I could still imagine being in any of these situations in the future. The aesthetics are a tool to keep the mind focused on what needs to be achieved and how, helping to cultivate different kinds of energies. Now I just don't see them bringing anything to my current phase, but things could change quite quickly.

[obnoxion]

I also chose other. The aesthetics, and especially those of the Left Hand Path, are very important to me. But i do not surround myself with them at all, but rather wish to blend in to what ever happen to be my surroundings. This symbolism is imoprtan to me as an inner language. I'd call it the language of my Heart.

For me satanism is a sort of western, christian tantra. And much of the satanic symbolism of the West can be found - many times in even more disturbing forms - from the imagery of, say, tantric buddhism, where wrathful deities dress ih flayed human skins and wield weapons such as stakes through which criminal is impaled trough the anus and the mouth. The aesthetics of western satanism almost never reach such levels of macabre. (I actually think that the aesthetic side is important for the satanism of the protestant Northern Europe much because of the iconoclastic nature of protetantism, especially in Norway, where the iconoclastic tendency is extremely strict).

To use the terms of psychology, this might have something to do with the potentially traumatic aspects of the left handed, tantric practices. One could say that the creative self overcomes these traumatic aspects by giving them aesthetic significance. Or one could say it makes them into instruments of spiritual ascension. And this applies not only on personal level, but on collective level too. This is one of the great achievemnts of tantrism, and here in lies also the collective importance of satanism. It actually benefits everyone.

Now i do not wish to use this sort of imagery outside of myself precisely because it might severely shock the uninitiated. I wish to lead a "quiet, normal life", and i do not want to be a rebel. But i consider it an utterly holy way of communication, and i meditatete on these themes daily. For me the aesthetics of the Left Hand Path form the most accurate & the most effective symbolism of spiritual ascension, for this Age at least.

[Heith]

I chose the first and third option.

For me it matters very little where my inspiration comes from, but in my vision it seems to transform into something that other people often view as "dark". This is why I ticked LHP aesthetics, as I suppose they are there even if I don't think of it like that. I'm a little morbid, people say, but I never viewed myself like that- I just find beauty lurks in strange places. For a long time I never showed my art to people, save the occasional family member or close friend, so I didn't get that feedback from people and in truth, I never saw my pictures as dark. Quite the contrary- to me they were brimming with love, and aspiring to light. There's this great struggle and sweet achievement in the world that I want to portray. I thought of that today when I was reading Argarizim II, Nefastos wrote that each of us is given the exact amount we can carry and to learn from that. I can understand that, I think. It's a little difficult to explain. But I think we tap on the same source or idea.

People think that my works are so black, but there's always some source of light in them, and often that is very bright. So, the most majestic, magical and powerful light shines in darkness, so to say.

As to this "ugly" thing, well. I guess my sense of what is ugly is a bit warped. Things that are easy to look at and pleasing in general I often find flat, bothersome -like a beauty pageant thing. Whereas I can be extremely fascinated, moved and spend a lot of time studying or looking at things that other people deem as repulsive- such as dead animals. I also find art that rides solely on shock value to be boring and frustrating. I know quite a bit of folk who dwell on satanic imagery for the heck of it, and all of their things are boring and obvious.

Would I draw pageants? No. I don't want to make ugly art, I don't want to look at meaningless ugly. I rather draw deformities, corpses and flowers, as they are much deeper, beautiful, soulful. It's a inverted beauty, and reversed ugly. Or something of the sort.

[Nefastos]

For me it matters very little where my inspiration comes from, but in my vision it seems to transform into something that other people often view as "dark". This is why I ticked LHP aesthetics, as I suppose they are there even if I don't think of it like that.

That is also why I like (for example) your art so much. In art that is not trying to be dark, that beautiful nightly feeling can present itself; but it one tries to be Mr. sinister grimdark, that will almost never work. The true creative spirit has already fled in that forced separation of those which are only seeming opposites.

It's not even uncommon these days for people to think that dark side aesthetics (or even religion/philosophy) can be made independently from the "white light" side. But that won't work, because the world isn't truly dualistic, but both of these are just in our minds as human beings, and we can sense things only by sublime contrasts. There are no angels whom many people wouldn't see as demons, and no devil that isn't some good aspect of God gotten out of check by its followers.

[Benemal]

Also first and third. I know my work seems strange and dark to most "normal" people, but it's rarely deliberately meant to be dark or satanic. Pretension is repulsive to me, though sometimes intentionally getting into the dark and necro, can bring beautiful results. So, sometimes it's necessary to make a decision and try to hold back the chaos that comes "from the heart", being very astral.
I listen to strange and dark music a lot, but this isn't therapy or trying to be dark "for fun", it is for magic and beauty, visions of the future and distant past, inspiration and love. There is music and art, in which the darkness feels really pretentious, like a lot of metal. Some people think that, if they put a pentagram into their painting or illustration, that makes it mysterious and occult. It doesn't.

So the dark aesthetics are quite important to me. I think i will need to relive an earlier creative period, with grown skills and make really deliberately dark and satanic paintings. Of course with honesty and love, so nothing false or pretentious can be seen. And no pentagrams. So i will turn into James Darker, alone in the night, like ten years ago. Perhaps i will also mix my blood into the paints, like i did then. This probably sounds like regression and black metal, but that doesn't mean it's not necessary.
My work is divided and the "light" side of it is psychedelic. This inspiration i also received at the same period ten years ago. So, a blood ritual doesn't cause dark and ugly thing, but creative power.

[Nefastos]

Perhaps i will also mix my blood into the paints, like i did then. This probably sounds like regression and black metal, but that doesn't mean it's not necessary. (...) So, a blood ritual doesn't cause dark and ugly thing, but creative power.

I must confess I miss those bloodletting times of mine, too. When there's an excess of energy, it like blazes forth when the blood is drawn (from oneself!!) & fits the devotional goetic art perfectly. Be that art ceremonial magic or painting/drawing/sculpting.

Sadly, there's hardly going back from the point where you see cutting yourself as cutting some helpless familiar who is distorted by the process of even that slight violence.

[Benemal]

I don't understand. What do you mean by "helpless familiar"? I assume you mean that bloodletting is not beneficial. I've never cared about consequences or what's rational and correct. This anarchist attitude has ruled my life and without it, i wouldn't be here. I'm always sacrificing myself. Never any other.

[Nefastos]

I don't understand. What do you mean by "helpless familiar"?

In the topic about blood sacrifice I wrote:

Personally, I stopped making blood sacrifice to any entities when I fully understood that the microcosmic body is not actually mine to give, but is a compound thing made of goetic entities. (See Fosforos, footnote 49.)

This might be a bit tricky to explain, but I'll try.

In a certain phase of my occult path I became to see my bodily self as a pet animal or a familiar spirit of my true self, the Ego. Before that I had thought that this body & lower psyche are, well, limitations to my true self, but still mine; something I'm allowed to harm if I want. It's like one can't be blamed on hitting the bars of his undeserved jail cell.

After that changed and I became to see my body like another body owned by the Great Mother, the universal divine spirit of nature, consisting of tiny sparks of lives completely innocent of my personal distress, I couldn't bring myself to act violently towards the body I no longer felt as only a neutral substance, but filled with its own (not mine) yearn for harmony & happiness.

By the way, after that experience few years back I have seldom been sick, and most of my allergies are either completely gone, or much lessened. I think it's very understandable: the holistic, harmonious view brings integrity, which in turn has the power to fight away much illness. It's the same in spirit, soul, or body. But it was one hell of a process to attain even that minor "initiation".

I'm not trying to say others should feel the same way I do; on the contrary, one must find his own path. The only thing I strongly advice against is harming another animal or a human being.