In the brightly lit world of day there are few surprises.

There are no dreamy shadows that make a bush a bear, nor the
darkling thrill of longing for another world that you know
somehow must be just around the corner. The experience of
physical darkness is one of constant surprise, it is the
exact spiritual analog of the experience of the future. The
future is rushing upon us at all times, and has one expected
quality: its unexpectedness.
Mankind generally dreads the future. Most of us cringe at
change -- even when it is change for the better. That is
hard-wired into humans, whether Initiates or not. But some
very few, the naturally arising elite respond to change by
acting better/smarter/more creatively. About ninety-five
percent of mankind regresses in a change-filled situation.
They drink, they sleep more, they lay around with the covers
pulled over their heads. Indeed there is so much change in
our world now, that sadly many people suffer from chronic
depression.

There are times in our lives when our body chemistry helps
us out with the onrushing future. Late adolescence, that
time so often magically associated with the crudest symbolic
Satanism, is a such a moment. I have said that everyone is
on the Left Hand Path for a couple of weeks when they are
17. Another time, when body chemistry tends to help us deal
with the onrushing future is our late twenties, when aging
processes first show up. Then we have to make certain
decisions that will determine the type of people that we
want to be, and the circumstances of that being.

But even with the biological boosts of these times, very few
are willing to take on the path of Darkness. They prefer
(what they believe to be) the safer path of the Light. They
would rather have their reality determined by an outside
source like the Church, the State, Big Business or (now I
will mention the great god) TV. This outside source makes
everything real and fixed -- just as the sun does everyday.
The "Light" they go into as they die is a collective one, a
place of Union with others, as welcoming of their
individuality as the sea might welcome a drop of pure water.

The darker path has a better aesthetic -- at least for many

of us -- but it is not the "look" that would make the Black
Magician. One of the most powerful Black Magicians I know

IS a musician. In a Country and Western band. Whereas most

of the Black Metal shock rockers I come across are aiming
for a collective afterlife, they have merely replaced
crosses with bad upside-down pentagrams and goat heads.

The real gate to Darkness opens when you decide to pull your
own world out of the matrix of Darkness, rather than accept
a prepackaged one. Thus begins the magic art. If you
didn't have love or gold yesterday but you have it today -you pulled it out of the Dark. The Unmanifest. The Unknown.

Many magicians get this far. They can get this or that, and
safely tell themselves that some god or demon helped them to
do so. It would be too scary to think that they might be
responsible -- and then they would have to beginning with
the hard questions of why (on very rare occasions) magic
works and most of the time it (thankfully) does not.

They would be hard pressed to deal with the idea that they
should create an entire world, rather than merely attracting
a lover or healing a friend.

At this point you can raise the objection that this is not a
proper _Morbid Curiosity_ article at all. It does not deal
with personal experiences. Has the soft spoken Texan
ensorcelled our fearless Loren?

No, because I will bring experience much closer to you. To

the very few of you that will dare the Black Magic. Waht I
am about to say, can be tested -- and most of the testers
will find it lacking. But I am not here to speak to most.

Most people will never try the following experiment. Those

that do, will be for the most part disappointed since they
will not get those move special effects that we all long for
at our most childish level.

But a few will Try, and they will find in the following
months that have seen a little of the great Darkness within
them, and the Darkness without -- and a fewer still may find
it more exciting than the Light.

This experiment is not a Working of the Temple of Set. It

presupposes no theology, cosmology, or any magical
background. It is intended for sane, curious adults -preferably with a high degree of introspection, daring, and
intelligence. But you may try it as well.

1. Buy a notebook with a black cover. Once you have it

home, wrap it in black cloth. Show it to no one. Tell no one
what you are about to do.

2. For two weeks, take the book out from its hiding place.
Do not unwrap it. Light two candles. Ask the following
questions ALOUD. "Do I really want to confront my internal
fetters? Do I really want to know my potential, when that
will also tell me how much work I will have to do? Do I
dare take on those things outside of my head that hold me
back? Am I ready to learn magical Secrets about myself and
my world that will set me apart from my neighbors, friends,
and family?" By very still afterward for a minute or two,
then blow out the candles.

3. Now the work starts. During the next five days, watch
no TV, don't go clubbing, drink no liquor, take no drugs.
Speak to as few as people as possible, don't read anything
for fun. Now is the time when you start to decide if you
want to be an immortal independent entity. Is godhood for
you, or is the collective Light better? On the first night,
light the two candles as before. Open the book and draw an
inverse pentagram. Under write the word WATER. Then write
down all the real life experiences, that you have had that
felt truly magical. Censor nothing. This is for you, and
you alone. When you have written as long as you can, stand
and face the West and say these words, "Each of these things
come to me because my Secret Soul beckoned, each were
oragnaized by my Mind which gives meaning, each were felt by
my Heart which unifies me, each has registered in my body,
which is my primary magic tool. Hail my magical potential!"

Blow out the candles. (You may have to buy a lot of candles
for this, choose colors that appeal to you).

4. On the second night, light the candles as before. Open

the book and draw an inverse pentagram. Under it write the
world FIRE. Then write down ever really hard and painful
things that you have done for yourself -- from leaving a bad
relationship to going through boot camp. When you are done,
stand and face the South and say these words,"My Secret Soul
told to struggle and I struggled, my Mind learned how the
world works, my heart gave my courage and my example gave
courage to others, my body was toughened by the scars and
bruises of hard work. Hail my capacity for struggle!" Blow
out the candles.

5. on the third night, light the candles as before. Open

the book and draw an inverse pentagram. Under it write the
word AIR. Then write down every idea of yours that changed
the world around you -- from chaging how things are done at
work to selling a short story. When you are done, stand and
face the East and say these words, "My Secret Soul has the
power of magical utterance, my Mind has the ability to shape
magic into form, my Heart knows when others are ready to
hear my magic, my body know how to work it into the world.
Hail the whispers of my innermost Self!" Blow out the
candles.

6. On the Fourth night, light the candles as before. Open

the book and draw an inverse pentagram. Under it write the
word EARTH. Then write down a list of all the assets you
have from your education to your car. Try not to over- or
underestimate. When you are done, stand and face the North
and say these words, "My Secret Soul has drawn these
elements for the lifework about to start. My Mind has the
capacity, if I train it, to turn these things into
world-changing engines. My Heart if tempered by Love and
Resolve can teach what to build on and what to sacrifice. My
body is eager for the labor. Hail my treasures!" Blow out
the candles.

7. On the fifth night light the candles say these words, "I
have seen that I have magic, shown to me by own sense of
wonder. I have seen that I have endurance shown by my

transformations. I have seen that I can change the world by

Will alone by the life of my ideas in the world. I have
seen that I am rich in what I Need. With these four Joys, I
now allow myself to honestly see how much I Need to do. By
my Secret Soul I reject delusion and Pledge to ask myself
everyday, 'What is the Work for today?' And my Secret Self
will tell me by Open and Hidden Signs." Then take the book
out and read it. Then say these words, "By the Power of my
Secret Soul I call Treasures, Wonders, Advisers and Testers
form the Darkness without, by the Power of my Secret Soul I
open the Door to Dreams, Visions, Inspirations, and Wisdom
from the Darkness within. I Pledge myself to myself, and
with this Pact effect all worlds with my Black Magic." Then
write down what you plan to do with your life. When you are
write the word OMIDINON, and sign your name. Put the book
away.

8. Keep the book wrapped up for 18 days, telling no one you

have done this thing. You have not signed a Pact with
anyone or thing other than yourself, you used only yourself
to find the deeds -- and depending on your honesty and
accuracy of memory -- you will have given yourself a Taste
of darkness during these 36 days. After this it's up to you

I can't give you an experience more personal than this, yet

I have shared nothing. I can't give you greater magic than
this, yet I have uttered not a charm or spell. I can't
better advice for the direction of your life, yet I have
told you to do nothing. Like all Black Magicians I am but a
flute player in the desert night. Never seen, and only
barely heard, for the secret and few the melody will live on
for lifetimes.