The Dragon and the Path of the Night

Posted On 25 mayo 2023

Beginnings

With the arrival of 2023, I am celebrating 30 years doing magic, and they are not few, nothing more and nothing less than 30 years doing this. The truth is that I wanted, in part, to commemorate such an event, but I also feel the internal need to make a summary of my beliefs of how I see the magic after so many years, and I wanted to share it with all of you since you have been an essential part of this whole process. Briefly, I will tell you how I started with all this, I will not say all the details because it would be too long, but I consider that some events deserve to be mentioned. Then we will see how I have configured my magic system.

            Since I was very young, I have had a series of nightmares, which I could not describe in words, they were terrible, and I can say that they accompanied me quite often. Although from a distance, it seems a bit abstract, the nightmares consisted of feeling that I was inside the static, like the one you could see in the old TV sets when there was no signal. Being in there was desperate; I did not understand what was happening. There was no up or down or sound; it was strange. Then I would wake up with great fear and could not explain what was happening to me to my parents. This started happening to me when I was four and continued for years. In between, from time to time, I would see shadows, silhouettes passing from one side to the other, and others standing in my room. It was another complex stage, but one day, I saw in a movie that the protagonist could control dreams and mentioned her technique without understanding what she was doing; when I dreamed with static, I applied what I had learned and managed to wake me up, or I knew that I was dreaming and changed the dream.

            At the age of 11, I became interested in spiritualism and parapsychology. I read everything I found in the public library, and one or two years later, I met Afro cults, dabbled in various forms of prevalent witchcraft, and at 16, I met Satanism; I could say that it was my first formal foray into the Left Path. At the same time, I experimented with whatever resonated with what I was feeling at the time.

            Some years later, I met Dragon Rouge and decided to apply; this was a great challenge for two big reasons, one for the language; although I had already studied English for some years, I did not feel that it was enough, but practice makes perfect, but the other big problem was the distance. I did the first three degrees, but then I felt that I could not continue advancing in the order; it demanded to travel to Europe, and the truth is that it was impossible for me then. Everything led me to leave the order, although, on good terms, it did not make much sense to continue in a space where I could not advance. Eventually, I was encouraged to write to a Polish group known as KRĄG XUL. This was another challenge because I didn’t speak Polish, but I managed, translated each document, and then communicated in English for informal chats. These two groups were the ones that gave me the basis for my Draconian Magic, I learned a lot from both of them, and I will always be grateful for everything we have done together.

            During the following years, my focus was always on Draconian Magic, especially the work with the Dark Feminine, the exploration of the Qliphoth and its Tunnels, among other projects, some minor, some major. Much of it I have published in books, publications in which I have been invited to participate, and of course, in this blog.

            Also, most of the time, I have worked alone, although I have collaborated with other magicians in some groups; in essence, the path has always shown me something clear, this is a solitary way, and it is a unique journey for each of us, so group work is not always the best way to do things, or at least it has not been for me. This is not to say that transitorily one cannot form some alliances with others, but these will be temporary and not something permanent.

            But leaving a bit of history, here I will list some key concepts about how I understand Draconian Magic and the Path of the Night. This is not something that I have invented; I have put my stamp on it, I have made it my own, but I have had profound influences from some people who have marked me magically and to whom I will always be grateful, although today we do not work together or our lives have taken separate paths.

The Dragon and the Serpent

            I have to admit that my first steps in Draconian magic were not something simple because, in the beginning, it cost me a little to understand the idea of the primordial in the figure of the dragon; it is something that has happened to many people, and especially at that time the definitions of the Draconian path were somewhat cryptic, and there was not the information and exponents that there are today. But beyond this, my greatest fascination with one of the manifestations of the Dragon was the Babylonian Goddess Tiamat. Something about her called to me more than any other figure; the more I read about her and her myths, the more I felt the connection. By actively working with Tiamat, I think I understood more internally the energy of the Void and what the Dragon represented. Other representations came later, but I can say without hesitation that Tiamat was the first, the Great Primal Mother, and the one who made me understand the essence of this path.

            As for the serpent, although it is a symbol that, in one way or another, has been present in my other magical practices, my most profound relationship came with my initiation into Draconian Magic. It appeared first with the concept of Kundalini, meditations, and ritual exercises to awaken it and activate each chakra. However, from the beginning, I understood that it was a concept redefined by the Draconian path, an archetype, and not a form of Kundalini Yoga. But my subsequent, direct encounter was with Lilith, who used to show herself as a woman with a naked torso but with a snake tail in my visions, rituals, and dreams. I could say that this was the first manifestation or mask of Lilith that I came across.

            But beyond that, I do not want to overlook something that may seem obvious, but in reality, it is not so obvious, or at least it was not for me. What is the Dragon? As a classic definition, we say that Draconian Magic or the Draconian Path is inspired by the figure of the Dragon and the Serpent; this explains why we can be so eclectic in our practices. But then we come across the basic idea; the Dragon is the name of the proto divinity that manifests the Primordial Energies, the Primordial Void. It is not a God or Goddess in particular, but a force, an energy that existed before creation, before the form, before the gods, and many before man. Is it complicated? Well, yes, because many believe that the Dragon as a force is this or that divinity, and it is the opposite. Many gods, spirits, demons, etc., have the essence of the Dragon or are specific manifestations of this force, for example, Tiamat or Leviathan, but none is the total of this primordial energy. It took me some time to understand this because, in reality, it is not only necessary to understand it on an intellectual level but also a spiritual level, and for this, it is necessary to live in the Void; only then can we understand, at least as far as our capacities allow us, what we are talking about.

A solitary and self-initiated path

            After leaving the two work groups that most marked my life, I had to continue and understand that this path is lonely and self-initiated. The decision to walk alone was not simple either, but it is often the same path that pushes you to some conclusions, and this is just what happened to me. There comes the point where others can no longer tell you how to do things; in fact, the function of many teachers is to help those who are just starting to take their first steps, but after a formal rite of initiation into the Current, the person has no more to do for the other, and it will be the initiate who will have to face his journeys.

            The first thing we have to face is the loneliness that this path keeps us, it is difficult to feel alone, but it is not necessarily a bad thing; it requires a particular maturity to understand that there will not be a teacher who will tell us how to do things, and that the work and your growth depends only on you and no one else. But in the end, we seek to awaken the divine potential in us and become the gods of our universes. Therefore, no one can take us by the hand towards it. Amid all this loneliness, we meet those who dwell on the Other Side, gods, spirits, demons, and entities from the spiritual world who become allies, teachers, and mentors. For this to happen, we must learn to earn their respect and willingness to work with us. This is not done through prostration or blind acceptance of any dogmatic truth. It would be illogical and disrespectful to the philosophical principles of the Sinister Path. This is achieved with dedication, daily and systematic work, opening our astral senses, listening to what they have to say, and channeling their energies in our lives, both magical and mundane, which allows us the initiatic evolution. These figures are initiatory models to follow, not divinities to be worshipped as a practitioner of the Right Path would do.

            Then we come to self-initiation, but what does this mean in practical terms? First, we must assume that it is possible to perform the first initiation within the Draconian Current in an order, temple, or ritual circle and that it is conducted by a magician with some time already traveled. Many have started this way, it is a very valid option if you find a working group that you like and that seems serious to you. The other option is to do the ritual alone; you present yourself before the Primordial Dragon and declare your intention and commitment to follow this path, manifesting your desires and ambitions.

            Then we find that initiations are not always of the ritual type, they are not always pacts or commitments with this or that entity, but the initiation goes through the mind of the magician; it is the individual who changes, transforms, and lives a complete initiatory experience, some are softer, others are highly complex, painful and create destruction in their path. Here it is worth clarifying that the Path is not the one who destroys, not that the ritual went wrong, or similar things; it is that our psyche was transformed and that the old and useless, that which anchored us and did not allow us to progress was consumed, and this is what will give way to the new. Of course, this is often experienced as a crisis, and many people decide to return to a previous state, but this is impossible; when the change is made, there is no way to undo it. Yes, you may want to put everything aside and pretend that nothing has happened, but then this path is not for you, and you are simply entering a state of self-deception. For this reason, many believe Draconian Magic is one of the fastest and most effective but also the most destructive, which is why it is for the few and not the many.

            If we follow the previous ideas, imagine that this can’t be something collective; the experiences are too individual, and we cannot grow with others because each Draconian magician has their times of growth, and the experiences will not be the same for all. We can form temporary alliances with others, for example, to explore a space astrally, to summon this or that divinity, or even to cast a spell that will benefit us in this or that way in an aspect of our lives, but this as I say, will be something temporary, and then everyone will return to their solitary and individual path. This often explains the absence of Draconian temples, orders, or ritual circles. There are, but their members stay for a while, perhaps learn the basics and then retire to pursue their existences.

Personal gnosis

            Always a controversial topic, but an essential element within Draconian magic. I could not say this is only part of this tradition because personal gnosis is an element in many forms of theistic spirituality within the Left and Right Path.

            But what do we mean by personal gnosis? It is information, symbols, sigils, rituals, words of power, or any other mystical or spiritual knowledge that is given to the magician by spirits, gods, demons, or other entities but which often have no correspondence with mythology nor with the texts of classical magic, nor can be found in other sources. Usually, the word «unverified» is added behind it and is generally attached to it as a pejorative adjective.

            The problem behind personal gnosis is that people often exhibit it as a universal truth, which is when things get complicated; other people start asking: where did this come from? And the whole controversy begins.

            I am a firm defender of personal gnosis. I take away the pejorative first because I firmly believe in a non-dogmatic form of spirituality, so the rules are those that each initiate creates for himself. There are no universal truths; otherwise, we would repeat the same thing imperative religions do with their sacred books. But I am also rational, so I do not accept any form of personal gnosis, be it my own or someone else’s, without a previous analysis to see if it is valuable or applicable to me. On the other hand, not everything that one receives from the Other Side is something to share with the world, and here comes the other big problem; today, we live in a world of a total exhibition; we have to go around some of the many Facebook groups about demonolatry, spiritual Satanism, or left path in general to find a testament written by someone who says that Lucifer told him such and such a thing, or the end of the year message from Samael, Lilith, Satan or any other divinity like that. And let’s be honest; these statements don’t usually make sense. They seem like prophetic messages that lead nowhere. Why is this? Simple, because if the magician connected with the Other Side and received a message, it is for him, not the world; it is personal and may have a meaning for his spirituality, magic, or path, but not for the rest. Much of the personal gnosis is just that, personal, not universal.

            The latter does not mean not to share; on the contrary, we must know what to share and what to leave to ourselves. And this brings me to the other big issue, many people with this type of information begin to develop a complete state of megalomania; the person believes to be a chosen one of this or that divinity and therefore creates temples or spaces for these gods, but they are the only ones who have the truth, all the rest is wrong, is inferior, and in the worst cases these people often persecute others who talk about their work, it happens much more than you think.

            Throughout the history of magic, there have always been people who channeled entire books, for example, the «Book of the Law,» a book that allowed Crowley to create Thelema, and yes, it was part of his gnosis, or instead of his scarlet woman of the moment, who served as a medium for such channeling. Another example is the book, also channeled and part of the personal gnosis, «The Book of Coming Forth by Night» by Michael Aquino, a sort of revelation of the Egyptian God Set, who presents himself as the Prince of Darkness and, thanks to this book leaves the Church of Satan and forms his Temple of Set. And like these, there are so many others of all colors, shapes, divinities, and sizes.

            I do not believe in the messianic role of anyone. I think that many of these books or elements that are used as a cornerstone for the creation of a mass space, rather than a mystical element, there is a great charisma on the part of its creators and a good handling of psychology; they know how to handle people and in this world, it is easier to follow others, and that others decide what is right or wrong, rather than taking the reins of one’s own life and spirituality.

            The other essential element with personal gnosis is to have an acute sense of what we receive, not to take it for granted, but to analyze it, test it, criticize it, and if it has a real value, then we give it as valid. First, for us, and then, if we want to share it, it will or will not be helpful for others. But we must always be transparent; if you channel a word of power, you have to clarify the source, and already, whoever wants to take it will do it, and whoever does not, well, that’s fine too.

            My first sigil came through this medium after years of training in the Draconian Path. Although my astral experiences were very concrete, I had never seen something as specific as a symbol; I was doing my initiation in the Draconian Current, a very extensive ritual that lasted seven days, and in the middle, a Draconian divinity showed me a symbol, it was elementary, but it made a lot of sense. I remember that when I finished the ritual, I was so happy. I shared it with who was my mentor and friend at that time. She told me: «It is normal; as you go forward, this will become more and more common.» And so it did; the symbol grew and changed shape over the years; it became more complex until it acquired a more defined and complex form. But it is a symbol you find in my temple and altar that nobody sees because it is personal.

            In summary, personal gnosis has an essential subjective component but no more than any magical experience in general. If done correctly, it can be a rich source of information and power, first for oneself, and then it can potentially affect the lives of other initiates. In the words of Nietzsche, we must never forget: «There are no facts, only interpretations.»

Dark Devotion

            Within the Draconian Path, we understand and see the Gods, Demons, and other Spirits as our guides, mentors, and teachers. While the concept of archetype is very present, we also know that these beings are much older than men and existed before us. With this in mind, when we work with them, we do so from a place of deep respect, not from fear, not from submission, nor do we set up barriers that separate us, as the practitioners of the Right Path would do.

            In turn, in magic, nothing is free, and we cannot go and demand help or knowledge from the Other Side and expect not to have to give anything in return, in magic as in everyday life, everything is an exchange, and this is where the idea of Devotion comes in.

            First, let us understand devotion as an act of respect, not as a state of submission, supplication, or worship. Dark devotion is usually expressed by employing offerings that we make before or after some rituals with the dwellers of the Other Side. If we are successful with a ritual and we know that this or that divinity provided us with his help, energy, or wisdom, it is not wrong to give an offering through gratitude. Sometimes, especially in evocation rites, the spirits that we call to help us with this or that task or to guide us in this or that matter openly demand an offering or a sacrifice (this is a symbolic element), and it will be up to the magician to see if they can or cannot comply with such a request. If the magician cannot, he must manifest it, in which case either the ritual is suspended, or the offering is renegotiated. We should never commit ourselves to something we cannot do or give. We do not want the wrath of the spirit world or even our subconscious to act against us.

            Offerings can be very elaborate or small tokens of devotion; there does not always have to be an exchange for these tokens. Sometimes we light a candle in honor of our guides and patrons without having asked for anything. But going back to the offerings, these can be candles, incense, alcoholic beverages left on the altar for a few days, flowers, tobacco, bodily fluids, and some drops of our blood. As I mentioned, there are much more elaborate offerings, with ritual processes that can last several days, but these types of things are more exceptional and are usually part of much larger rituals. The instructions on making such offerings typically come from the spirits’ mouths, which is part of the magician’s work.

            Perhaps remember that the subject of dark devotion is that the magician should not confuse devotion with dependence and submission. Everyone is free to relate to the divinity as they wish, but the Draconian Gods are not divinities that seek blind devotees; on the contrary, much independence is needed mentally and spiritually for this work and to succeed in this path. Although it is a theistic path, there is no room for prostration here, so supplications, prayers, and waiting for the spiritual world to solve our life has no reason to be in this tradition.

Self-deification

            The idea of self-deification is not only present in the draconian tradition but can be said to be one of the central themes within the philosophy of the Left Hand Path and its different schools. As in all these subjects, there is no unique point of view. There is no truth; the experience is always very personal, and people usually disagree because it is a somewhat controversial subject. On the other hand, if we follow the idea that this is an individual path, then the experience of self-deification will also be a personal path, which may represent something different for each of us.

            Within Draconian magic, we start from a series of myths that say that man was created from the blood of the primordial gods, usually seen as dragons or carriers of their divine essence. Thus, the man himself is a God in Potency, and as we advance in our self-initiated path, these powers housed in the subconscious awaken us until we become the essence of the dragon itself.

            Usually, the way for this to happen is to follow an initiatory path in which a map is generally used for this awakening. Perhaps the best known are the Qliphoth and the work proposed by Michael Kelly with the 7 Dragon’s Heads; both can be combined and have great results.

            It is worth making a series of essential clarifications, the fact that we advance to the last Dragon’s Head or reach Thaumiel, the last Qlipha in the Tree of Shadows, does not guarantee us self-deification in its most mystical sense. It is not that we get there and that’s it, or that we will become supermen with fantastic magical abilities. First, we must understand that self-deification is about our universe and not about the universe at the macro-cosmic level. Yes, we can influence others, but this we could do before utilizing a spell. Of course, on a deeper level, it is possible to affect other people’s lives in different ways, but this should not go to our heads. This is not a race or a goal, for the purpose is the path itself. At the same time, the path always offers us new challenges, adventures, and things to learn.

            In my experience, self-deification must be divided into two stages, one that is more internal and one more mental, which is when we realize that we have all this potential. We can see that possible state, that image of the divine or impious in us; generally, this happens when the magician reaches Thagirion, and there is another purely spiritual process, which is the complete autonomy of the self and the psyche. This is when we have full responsibility for us what we do; even beyond this body, we will be the ones to decide our future; it is the state of complete sovereignty. Can we categorically state that someone in this world has already achieved it? My answer is no, someone may have approached such a state, but I am unaware of such autonomy in anyone I know. Believing in such independence is not the same as this being a fact. As always, here, there are no dogmas, and it is always good to keep an open mind, thinking that there is always more we can do, and that is the beautiful thing about this path, the possibility to keep on doing and growing.

Magic and Sorcery

The Draconian Path transcends any duality since everything has originated within the Dragon’s Womb; it is the primordial source of creation and destruction, and the universe originated before anything existed. The womb gave life and birth to gods and monsters, to life, death, and nature. Draconian magic encompasses both light and darkness, it can lead the initiate to find and develop his divine potential and become an independent and autonomous being, but it can also be the worst of nightmares if you do not know what you are doing. At the same time, draconian magic is both greater and lesser, spiritual and mundane.

Based on everything said above, magic is the art of change. Through the various initiatory processes, the magician transforms himself and transforms his inner and personal universe, producing modifications in the universe of form. But the Draconian magician lives here and now and enjoys the pleasures of the earth and the flesh. Many times the magician does not need or does not have an interest in making a significant change or a remarkable transformation, but seeks to fulfill a desire, to look more attractive in the eyes of others, to conquer someone’s love, to instill sexual urges in a person or to punish an enemy. When any of this happens, it is sorcery that comes into play, which by definition is a magical/ritual act that produces a change only in the universe of form; it does not aim to change the magician but to materialize a desire they have.

Many traditions, including some of the Sinister Path, frown upon using power for such purposes, as they consider the earth and its worldly pleasures far removed from their spiritual aspirations. This is great for those who want to identify with this path, but not for us. In my experience, the key is balancing the spiritual and the mundane. As I always say, we can want to be very spiritual, but if we can’t pay the rent at the end of the month or can’t buy food at the grocery store, or pay the utility bills, maybe what we are living is just an illusion of sinister spirituality, a fantasy of our mind and not a real breakthrough. Magic and spirituality should also be reflected in the magician’s life and how he lives. By this, I do not mean that, as magicians, we should be millionaires and live in mansions, but we should live in a dignified way and enjoy the pleasures of life. There is nothing wrong in executing a spell; it gives us just what we want because having a balanced material life gives way to our spiritual focus being on the axis. No one likes to be poor, alone, with no friends, social life, or a person to share life with. Sorcery can be, and is, a handy tool to achieve all this and more.

It is not always simple to maintain this balance, sometimes we immerse ourselves a lot, especially in the early days, in making an alchemical change, and our main desire is to grow and awaken all these powers that the dragon has to offer, and we leave aside other things, other needs. It happens to all of us. It even happens the other way around. Many people enter this path, get what they want on a material level and then stop doing it. The important thing is not to lose focus, take time for each thing, improve what needs to be improved in our daily life, and give attention to our spiritual growth. This way, we will become fuller magicians, have better results, achieve everything we want, and more.

Art and Literature

            Both illustration and my literary work have been powerful means of magical expression for me. I started «Diario de un Brujo» I don’t know how many years ago, and I started it as a translation blog of some esoteric texts, mainly for the Spanish-speaking public, but gradually it became my primary means of expression. I stopped translating the work of others and started posting my thoughts, reflections, and rituals, and this gave me a voice among a lot of people who knew nothing about the Left Path and maybe even less about the Draconian Tradition; let’s remember that the latter is relatively new so there is not a lot of written material.

            I was never very skilled with traditional art, although I had made several attempts in the past, attending drawing classes. When I expressed what I wanted to achieve with my art, my teachers considered me impossible. My attempts with traditional art failed, and I discovered the wonderful world of digital art, so I began studying independently. Essentially I am self-taught. I feel happy with what I have achieved and improved over the years, from creating a vectorized design to complex organic art. My inspiration always comes from the same mediums, my visions in my astral travels, my dreams, and the transmissions I receive from the Other Side.

            Dedicating myself to literature is not an easy thing to do. First, I started by developing my writing style, which has also improved over time. I am an independent writer; that is to say, I don’t have a publishing house to support me nor to do all the hard work; I do everything; I write, correct, layout, design, and publish. I am a magician who writes about magic, so in my texts, you will rarely find texts copied and pasted from what this or that author said or endless comparative explanations. It is not my style; I am not an anthropologist or historian, so mentioning a historical fact will be very concrete. As a magician, I write for other magicians or people looking to become magicians. My books are practical, tangible, to the point, and usually end with a suggested bibliography for those who want to go deeper into the subject and perhaps want to see other points of view. That has led me not to have books of 800 pages that, in the end, say nothing or very little. I prefer a 200-page but coherent ritual book to an 800-page book that over-explains the same thing repeatedly. Of course, this has cost me a lot of criticism; people are very incisive when they want to be or think that insulting you or making a bad «review» on Amazon helps their favorite author who talks about the same subject matter. Fortunately, I learned not to let this affect me, and I always think the same thing, you can’t please everyone. On the other hand, some people have told me beautiful things about my work, and I write for them.

            Living as a writer is not a simple task, especially when the inspiration for your books comes from your rituals, but I have to say that it is one of the most wonderful things I have done in this life. I am living the way I want to live, in my own time, in my rhythms, doing what I love, living the Path, and expressing what I have learned, with the desire that perhaps my work can inspire other magicians. So to all of you who read my work, use my sigils, or see my art and say something beautiful, my gratitude.

The Future

            It’s hard to say what’s coming; I don’t know; I’m always in constant movement and change. I have ideas for books for the next few years and things I want to share on this blog. Sometimes I am more reflective, and sometimes more critical. There will be rituals and other things. I will flow with what comes up, but one thing is for sure, there is still a lot to do, to learn, to share. Thanks for reading, and may the Dragon and the Serpent guide you if this is your will.

In Nomine Draconis!

In Nomine Nox!

Daemon Barzai