tam-tam

Tomorrow begins year LVII, Anno Satanas. Perspective is a crucial tool for all of we sorcerers. We must accurately judge our own abilities, then cultivate these talents, so that we may engage the world with what we produce from our mind’s forge, fired by the Black Flame within us. Our creations are at first judged along side of, and by, our contemporaries, and that is but a transient evaluation. As the years pass, one’s handiworks might enter the realm of timelessness. They must then stand or fall amongst those icons wrought by the giants of the past, and those yet to come—if we are fortunate enough to have produced achievements that merit such an honor. Our great challenge is to realize our unique potential, to stride towards personal bests, evolving our conceptions through the unfolding journey of our consciousness. Expanding perspectives will enhance what our desires catalyze from our internal imagination. We dare to create, for it satisfies us to be as the Gods of myth and legend. And, if we excel, our efforts might find inclusion in the treasure trove of cherished human endeavor. The struggle is always to surpass oneself, and that is a bracing means towards transcendence, to craft our self-hewn monuments to mark the glory that imbued our own ephemeral existence. From our Black House—in what we call The Witchcraft District here in the Haunted Hudson Valley—to your comfy and secure domiciles, High Priestess Nadramia and I offer our blessings to all of you, the energizing individuals whose pursuit of vital existence will never be stifled. May your works stand forth as exemplars of the majesty of all of we who embrace Satan as an inspirational symbol. As is our tradition, we raise our glasses to our kind—Satanists, fellow secularists, freethinkers, and all advocates of the best qualities of our species—marking the dawning of a New Year of vigor, productivity, and prosperity: “Here’s to champagne for our real friends, and real pain for our sham friends!” Joy to the flesh—forever! Shemhamforash! Hail Satan! Now, strike your gongs so that your mighty voices reverberate throughout the endless Universe! —Magus Peter H. Gilmore

tam-tam

To a Creative New Year!

The Year of the Gong