So I Might Be Stepping Out Of Line Making This Post But I Feel It Needs To Be Made So Yolo I Guess.

I don't know if I just haven't encountered it yet, but I haven't really seen anyone talking about or acknowledging something that's neither Unverified Personal Gnosis or Shared Personal Gnosis, but rather a third thing: Personal Group Gnosis.

PGG emerges from a small group of people having similar experiences to each other, which may or may not resemble anything that people outside of the group are experiencing.

This isn't inherently a bad thing. But among those who lack critical thinking skills, it can lead to some real trouble if they conclude that their similar experiences means that they're uncovering an actual objective truth, regardless of whether it's congruent with anything anyone outside of the group is experiencing.

One thing that many people fail to account for is the fact that they and their group generally share many of the same preconceptions and biases. For example, a group of younger Wiccans are very likely to believe in now-debunked ideas such as the great goddess hypothesis and the witch cult hypothesis. They'll believe in the existence of pagan gods, but they'll probably have a Christian-influenced understanding of divinity and morality, with little to no comprehension of the role that animism played in the development of pre-Christian traditions, nor with any real appreciation for how different values influenced the stories that people told about gods and other spirits.

They might even be exposed to similar media, which gives them all similar ideas about gods, spirits, and history. Even if they don't directly engage with the most popular media, it can still reach them through second or third hand exposure.

They're also likely reading the same spiritual, occult, and esoteric writers; or at least, reading people who have very similar ideas to one another.

And finally, since they're most likely friends and therefore trust each other, they are naturally biased toward accepting each other's experiences as valid, and working them into their own mental maps of the spiritual or metaphysical world.

In short, they're all primed to have very similar experiences to each other.

Without awareness that exposure to similar ideas can influence similar mystical experiences, it's very easy for a small group like this to generate a sort of shared map of reality that they feel justified in regarding as absolutely, objectively true.

It's at this point that people begin to feel confident telling you that if you just talked to your gods about what they're claiming, your gods would absolutely confirm them to be true. And if they don't, you were never really talking to those gods.

Having one's entire internal map of reality dictated by Personal Group Gnosis can be incredibly dangerous. It alienates you from the rest of the world by making you feel as if the only people you can trust are those who agree with your PGG. It can make you see outsiders as spiritually inferior, especially if they disagree with you outright. It can even encourage conspiracy thinking, because attributing what outsiders believe (or apparently believe) to the actions of a malicious conspiracy is a very common rationalization.

In other words, this is how you get a cult.

Now, a lot of people won't recognize it as a cult (and some will vehemently deny it's a cult) because it might not have a clear leader (though there's almost certainly a small number of people who have the most influence), and it probably doesn't have a financial goal. However, the destructive capacities of small groups of people living in their own reality cannot be denied. Members who don't go along with the group's accepted model of reality are often treated harshly, and are frequently targets for harassment. They may say that if you don't like it you can just leave, but let's be real, that's no simple matter if you believe that these are the only people with a real grip on reality, or if these people are basically your only friends, or even just your only friends who share your spiritual beliefs.

(If you're in this kind of situation? My advice is to start making more friends outside of this group. You don't have to cut yourself off from this group cold turkey; you can just start hanging out with other people more.)

Now, I'd like to emphasize that none of this is to say that PGG is inherently bad; I am only pointing out that it can be incredibly dangerous for people who lack knowledge, perspective, and critical thinking skills. Additionally, a group where there's a lot of this going on can be very dangerous for those who desperately just want to belong and get along, and push themselves to adopt their groups popular beliefs for fear of consequences.

Just like a single person's UPG doesn't dictate reality for everyone, neither does a single group's gnosis. PGG isn't inherently any better or more "correct" than UPG.

Phenex- An Infopost (Short)

Since this is an infopost of a daemon I do not work with, I will share basic info and stuff from basic research I have done, and a seperate section for other's UPG's.

Phenex is a daemon originating from the Livre des Esperitz, Psuedomonarchia, and Lemegeton.

Grimoire appearances

From the Livre des Esperitz:

Fenix is a great marquis who appears in beautiful form, and has a sweet and soft voice, and he is courteous and very obedient of all one wants to ask him about or command him to do, and he does them without dallying; and has 25 legions.

From Psuedomonarchia Daemonum:

Phoenix is a great marquesse, appearing like the bird Phoenix, having a childs voice: but before he standeth still before the conjuror, he singeth manie sweet notes. Then the exorcist with his companions must beware he give no eare to the melodie, but must by and by bid him put on humane shape; then will he speake marvellouslie of all woonderfull sciences. He is an excellent poet, and obedient, he hopeth to returne to the seventh throne after a thousand two hundreth yeares, and governeth twentie legions.

From the Ars Goetia: PHENEX. - The Thirty-Seventh Spirit is Phenex (or Pheynix). He is a great Marquis, and appeareth like the Bird Phoenix, having the Voice of a Child. He singeth many sweet notes before the Exorcist, which he must not regard, but by-and-by he must bid him put on Human Shape. Then he will speak marvellously of all wonderful Sciences if required. He is a Poet, good and excellent. And he will be willing to perform thy requests. He hath hopes also to return to the Seventh Throne after 1,200 years more, as he said unto Solomon. He governeth 20 Legions of Spirits. And his Seal is this, which wear thou, etc.

What he can help with (based on grimoire information, not UPG):

☆Songwriting

☆Musical Magice

☆Poetry

☆The Sciences

☆Anything else you could ask of him (first grimoire appearance)

Others' Experiences:

"Phenex was quite excited when talking to me about the sciences last time I talked to him"-Anonymous

"My experience with Phenex is that he's a patron of amatuers. That is amateur in the original definition, "one who does things out of love." I petition him for aid in creative endeavors, mostly, and he never pushes me to be creative just to meet a standard or to make money. He encourages me to try new things or pick up new artistic skills purely for the joy of creation. I've also noticed he seems to prefer devotional singing, over spoken or silent prayer, at least from me. Singing is one of the things I've asked for his help with, so maybe he considers it a way to keep track of my progress."-Anonymous

Offerings:

Music note imagery, Pheonix imagery, Poetry, Burning him Incense, Orange Imagery, Fire Imagery, Art

“Eve’s ingestion of the forbidden fruit becomes a heroic act of rebellion against the tyranny of God and Adam. This closely parallels how socialists like Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876) used Satan’s battle with God as a symbol of their fight against a capitalist and monarchist society (God being the ultimate monarch).”

— “Satanic Feminism: Lucifer as the Liberator of Woman in Nineteenth-Century Culture” by Per Faxneld (via luciferianbuddhism)

Who is Azazel to you?

My view of Azazel is very shaped by his role in the Book of Enoch, which I'll explain for those reading this who are less familiar, and also because I don't know if you have any knowledge of the story therein. There's also a bit of him that borders on UPG/Unverifiable Personal Gnosis, which I'm fine admitting to. I think more people should be inclined to fess up to when there's ideas or experiences that work for them (and maybe others) that might not have textual evidence.

I suspect I was sent this question at least partially because, depending on your religious background, the name can evoke a pretty different set of emotions and ideas. I can't get into it in dept here without writing an essay, and the question was "who is Azazel to you" instead of just "who is Azazel", but I've found in my research that the name appears in some form in Christianity, Islam to a degree (not as Azazil/Iblis though, their names are just similar, but rather in a story similar to his Enochic appearance), Judaism (which I'd posit is his origin, based on what I've read), and the apocrypha. That last one is where my view of him comes in!

In the Book of Enoch, Azazel is one of the Watchers or Grigori: angels who were meant to watch over mankind, but who were enticed by their leader to pursue their desire for mortal women. The result of this union was the Nephilim, a race of giants. Genisis describes them like so.

Genesis 6 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

During this time, the Watchers were said to teach mankind new knowledge and skills... the act of which ultimately led to them being cast out of Heaven. Each Watcher taught something different, such as Penemue teaching about ink and paper so mankind could write, Sariel teaching about the lunar cycle, and Baraqel teaching astrology. Azazel, in my opinion, is credited with an incredibly interesting set of teachings. We get in Chapter 8...

And Azazel taught men to make swords and knives and shields and breastplates; and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them; and bracelets and ornaments; and the use of antimony and the beautifying of the eyelids; and all kinds of costly stones and all colouring tinctures.

I just think it's very interesting that blacksmithing for the purpose of making armour and weaponry came from the same entity that was said to teach the creation of jewelry and cosmetics. So to me, all three of these acts and their results are very connected to Azazel. His punishment for being generous with this knowledge also makes him (and every other Watcher for that matter) an incredibly Promethean figure, which is a theme that comes up A Lot in my Luciferianism to the surprise of literally no one. It's not that unique a taste to have.

And now comes the parts that get a bit less concrete textually, but I incorporate into my understanding and relationship with Azazel: I see him as a potential teacher of magic, particularly witchcraft, occult and medicinal herbalism, and by extension veneficium. My reasoning for this is twofold.

To be fair, magic is not attributed to him specifically by name among the skills he taught. It is mentioned in regards to their leader Semjaza, who taught enchantment, and Armaros, who taught the "resolving" (I assume breaking) of enchantments. These two are interesting to me (as all the Watchers are) but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew when dealing with this sort of entity, if you follow, and Azazel was the one I felt most drawn to and got a very positive response from.

However! This is just when looking at their individual attestations that begin in Chapter Eight or so. In Chapter Seven, when their actions are described as a group, we get the following passage:

And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.

The fact that no other Watcher is credited as teaching herbal lore leads me to believe that magic and herbalism were skills that they universally understood and taught as a collective regardless of other specialties/focuses/areas of mastery, rather than this being an overview of a few subjects they individually taught. So, in my opinion, if you feel drawn to the Watchers but Azazel doesn't feel right to you and/or doesn't seem to reciprocate your interest, I personally do not believe he is the only means of working with them in an explicitly magical context.

He is, however, the only one of them with a long and repeated association with goats, which are of course also a very popular symbol in witchcraft (especially portrayals of the Witches' Sabbath when the Devil is involved), so to me that only furthers my association between Azazel and the teaching of magic, but witchcraft in particular. I'm not saying he's the true and universal identity of the Witch's Devil, or the Sabbatical goat, or the Man in Black, or anything else so universal. Many, many figures can fill those roles for different people, practices, and traditions. However, for me (so far), he seems well suited and well inclined to fill that role, and it's another appealing detail when viewing him through a lens of folkloric witchcraft.

I hope that answers the question! Thanks for asking.

Flames out- Celebrating Phenex

Image Source: Freepik

Flames out- Honoring Elemental Phenex (September 15th)

Honoring Elemental Phenex, whose symbol is the Pheonix bird for the season of fall, a season of harvest, as well as a season when plants die, this will symbolize Phenex as a symbol of rebirth, but a symbol of harvest and life and death.

Sacred Plants:

◇Flowering Dogwood

◇Tea Rose

◇Licorice

Devotional Activities:

•Burn incense in honor of your ancestors or the deceased

•Play music about fire or rebirth in honor of Phenex

•Harvest your herbs you have grown

•Pick up and observe dead leaves, because it's fall of course.

•Write to a deceased loved one or to someone deceased that you wish you got to meet (such as a celebrity you look up to)

•Look back on your old art progress if you're an artist. Phenex is a patron of arts and liberal sciences, after all.

For some other daemonopagan holidays I have made, check out my Wordpress Article linked below, because I may not be posting any others besides Quintessence for Baphomet in January.

https://sortiarusdedaemonicmagice.wordpress.com/2023/09/01/shayerahs-list-of-daemonopagan-holidays/

does anyone got any luciferian resources? i found a post that i was gonna look into but then all the links there were old

Pink 🩷

Vepar in my experience is very much like her domain, the sea - dangerous and fierce, life-giving and nurturing, a being of both creative and destructive power.

Eve Lockscreens