From: "Michael Kelly" <manxb...@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: Sutek...@yahoogroups.com
To: Sutek...@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Sutekh-l] Four Horsemen
Date: Mon. 11 Nov 2002 14:14:46 +0000

Dear Initiates,

In this time of upheaval, it has been my wish to analyse the archetypes of
initiatory change and to try to present them to you as something positive,
things which can be ongoing tools and guidelines for us all to use in our
everyday lives.

Therefore, what follows is an allegorical account of recent events, which
should provide some potent initiatory symbolism.

In Set,
Michael
The Horseman of Famine
Confederacy of Black Magical Orders

*****

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
by Michael Kelly
The Dragon Fafnir

On 8th September 2002, four Masters of the Temple of Set Inc (including the
High Priestess of Set) resigned their membership in that organisation and
tranferred their allegiance and duty solely to Set's Eternal Temple.

In the wake of this apocalyptic occurrence, the four Masters were
humourously referring to themselves as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
As the chuckles died away, however, it became apparent that the label was
actually very close to the truth indeed. These four achretypal figures had
indeed been at work in the events at hand. And do not forget, following the
time of Hyksos rule over Egypt, the symbol of the galloping hose was a
Setian animal to the extent that it was forbidden in art for long
afterwards.

The purpose of this article is to shed some light upon the initiatory
Principles underlying these Horsemen, and to investigate the Manner in which
they manifest and how we may use them in the Work which lies ahead of us,
both collective and individual.

Death

The first Master to ride out was Aaron Besson, Grand Master of the Order of
the Vulture, the "Death Order". Death represents a moment of crisis, which
changes things irrevocably and for ever. A way of life is ended and a new
life must arise from the dust of death.

On 8th September, the scythe of the Grim Reaper severed our links with the
human organisation known as the Temple of Set. For those who pursue the
Left-Hand Path towards immortality, the spirit is not severed at death, and
our spirits remain linked with the Essence of Set.

Thus dead to ToS Inc and reborn into a larger and unshaped initiatory
matrix, what lies ahead of us now? And how can Death continue to be a
positive shaping influence?

Death is always a catastrophic event. Suddenly, things end; nothing is the
same as it was. It is an upheaval, it is not comfortable. Do you see how
close this definition is to the most meaningful and transformative instances
of Xeper in our lives?

The decision to sever our ties with the ToS Inc was upsetting and difficult.
Yet it has also been liberating and empowering. We need to actively invoke
catastrophe into our lives at those times when we are most comfortable
and/or most stifled. If we do not actively shatter our own shackles and ride
with the Horsemen, we are instead taken by surprise and trampled beneath
their hooves as they pass.

Be Awake, be master over your own life and death. When the chains chafe your
wrists and ankles, break them or be broken by them. This is a Principle we
should all live and die by.

War

The second Horseman to ride out was War, embodied by Nikolas Schreck.

The Co-ordinator of the War Element spoke to those assembled in Helsinki for
Conclave about conscious conflict, the necessity to choose your enemies, to
understand them, and to work out the correct strategies to resolve the
conflict to your satisfaction, whether through diplomacy or arms.

Conflict is inevitable. When your opponents are dishonourable, as in the
events of recent days, we chose to cut the ground from beneath their feet
and sever our sovereignty from their empire.

But War is a principle which is always with us. Every time we draw breath,
our efforts win us a victory over the forces which would destroy us, we live
to fight a moment longer.

The Black Magician must learn the honour of the warrior. We need to
understand the balance of forces, the strategy required to Work our Wills in
the face of those forces which are opposed to us. Sometimes these forces are
hostile, those who will not accept us or our principles under any
circumstances. Fundamentalist RHP groups are an instance. Sometimes those
forces are afraid and reactionary, seeking to stifle our freedom, desperate
to shut out the refreshing winds of change. Sometimes those forces are
mindless and inertial, such as the crushing weight of media-shaped modern
life, against which we rebel.

But make no mistake, we are forever at War.  The passion with witch we fight
on the battlefield must be matched with the calmness and precision with
witch we formulate our strategies.

Plague

The third Horse (wo)man was Plague, made manifest by Zeena LaVey-Schreck,
the High Priestess of Set. As GM of the Order of Sekhmet, the attribution of
Plague is highly relevant to that Goddes and her mythological actions.

On the one hand, Plague may be seen in the festering corruption and
hypocrisy which was revealed to us and led to our reisgnations. But there is
also a more positive element tied to our actions.

consider disease; what does the word mean? Dis-ease = not at ease =
uncomfortable. Comfort and complacency are the deadliest enemies of the
Left-Hand Path Initiate. Satisfaction is a curse which leads to dissolution.
The sense of Self and the sense of purpose must both be kept razor sharp.
The metaphysical principle of Plague is that which is an irritant in our
complacency, that which itches and afflicts and breaks down those things
which lie static and decaying. Our preconceptions are challenged, our cosy
plans and schedules are rendered meaningless, we must marshal our strengths
and fight for our survival. When Plague afflicts, one of two things will
happen to the psyche; either the antibodies of the Will arise from their
slumber and fight for life, or else the Psyche decays and succumbs to
dissolution.

We cannot afford complacency. Comfort and cosiness and satisfaction weaken
us more than any other factor.

So when dis-ease strikes, Wake up! Seize the moment, root out the corruption
that has taken hold and use the whetstone of your Will to sharpen your
psyche. Then pass the infection on, shocking others out of their indolence.

Plague is a contagious phenomenon. The Black Flame (which is the ultimate
dis-ease) leaps from kindling to kindling. And so it has proven. I am proud
and humbled that in the wake of our departure, the I* and II* Initiates of
the ToS have lifted their voices and found that they are strong.

Famine

The final Horseman to ride out was Famine, embodied in Michael Kelly, whose
Teaching revolves around Desire = Hunger. Hunger for survival, Hunger for
Knowledge, Hunger for truth, Hunger for those experiences which lead to
Xeper.

Set is the Lord of Storms, of Transgression, of the breaking of barriers and
the crossing of frontiers. His is the Hunger for more, ever more. It is the
same with our Initiation as it is with our food: we either feed or we
starve.

If the farmer does not leave fields fallow to recover their goodness, his
crops fail. To remain fed, he must find new lands to plant in. If new
livestock is not added to the herd, they become inbred and sicken and die as
the seasons pass. Likewise, we cannot feed our souls by recycling the same
old stuff; we need to move, to act, to seek out those strange new lands over
which Set has sovereignty.

To see the fate of those who are spoonfed, who are provided with their food
by others, look at modern western society. Food comes in packets and cans
bought off shelves. If a catastrophe struck the civilised world tomorrow,
who could survive once the supermarket shelves had been looted? How many
would be able to feed themselves?

Initiation depends upon the Work of the individual, and our initiatory
well-being is dependent upon our initiatory diet: fresh foods from good
soil, not mass-produced packets of preservatives.

It seemed to me that the avenues for Xeper within the ToS were denying the
very adventurous routes along which my hunger and craving were drawing me
for those six weeks that Zeena served as High Priest. When some of the
powerful and uncomfortable aspects of Set were mentioned the reply was "Oh,
we don't talk about that mythological stuff." One does not pick and choose
with Set the Mighty!

So stir up your Desires, feel the craving of your Hunger and follow the
scent of your Initiation.

*****

And so the Super Fiends have been born