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I am pretty interested in these two books, but haven’t read anything by either author before. I was wondering if anyone else has, and if they’d recommend them. I’m particularly interest in the mentioned oneiric and astral travel related elements. Even more so than the vampirism stuff.
The books are
“NOCTULIUS: He Who Devours by N. D. Blackwood”
“GAMALIEL: Lunar Vampirism, Post-Human Tantra, and Oneiric Metamorphosis by Edgar Kerval”
I am pretty interested in these two books, but haven’t read anything by either author before. I was wondering if anyone else has, and if they’d recommend them. I’m particularly interest in the mentioned oneiric and astral travel related elements. Even more so than the vampirism stuff.
The books are
“NOCTULIUS: He Who Devours by N. D. Blackwood”
“GAMALIEL: Lunar Vampirism, Post-Human Tantra, and Oneiric Metamorphosis by Edgar Kerval”
Dont get anything from Blackwood. His practices are rather dangerous and not to mention, one of his books is simply a trap to feed off of the readers energy. You must be cautious with "BALG" in general. A lot of there stuff is very dangerous or unreliable.
Dont get anything from Blackwood. His practices are rather dangerous and not to mention, one of his books is simply a trap to feed off of the readers energy. You must be cautious with "BALG" in general. A lot of there stuff is very dangerous or unreliable.
So, Blackwood managed to scare you from a distance? That fits perfectly with his claim that one of the first things a vampire novice should rid themselves of is the illusion of space. That means that when choosing suitable victims, none are inaccessible, because physical distance is not an obstacle. Terrifying, isn't it? Of course, his books have that twisted effect, because even if you just read them, it doesn't come without any consequences. Maybe your advice does have merit, but it depends on the person who is reading it, doesn't it?
As for Edgar Kerval, I haven't read him and can't say anything about his books.
So, Blackwood managed to scare you from a distance? That fits perfectly with his claim that one of the first things a vampire novice should rid themselves of is the illusion of space. That means that when choosing suitable victims, none are inaccessible, because physical distance is not an obstacle. Terrifying, isn't it? Of course, his books have that twisted effect, because even if you just read them, it doesn't come without any consequences. Maybe your advice does have merit, but it depends on the person who is reading it, doesn't it?
As for Edgar Kerval, I haven't read him and can't say anything about his books.
Indeed. I have read most of the BALG books. Including Blackwoods. The issue with Blackwood is he did not write his books to guide people, he wrote them to "feed" on them without them knowing.
Hmmm... Blackwood didn't that much scare me as much as he disgusted me. Though he didn't do as good work as Luis Marquez, when it comes to the building of network to feed upon.
But hey, if the brutal human-devouring vampire is what you want to become, who am I to stop you?
I say that Blackwood is worth reading, even if only for education about the dangers. Definitely I do think that all the books should be permited to read, even the dangerous ones, because we all know effects of the forbitten fruit. Read and learn. That is always useful, even if only to find out that the author is not to learn from.
But when it comes to getting attuned and to practice, better to use discrement and common sense. (and to have some idea about what you are getting yourself into) It's not only about how to do something but also about the price that is to be paid for it. (or in other words - how it is going to change you)
Hmmm... Blackwood didn't that much scare me as much as he disgusted me. Though he didn't do as good work as Luis Marquez, when it comes to the building of network to feed upon.
But hey, if the brutal human-devouring vampire is what you want to become, who am I to stop you?
I say that Blackwood is worth reading, even if only for education about the dangers. Definitely I do think that all the books should be permited to read, even the dangerous ones, because we all know effects of the forbitten fruit. Read and learn. That is always useful, even if only to find out that the author is not to learn from.
But when it comes to getting attuned and to practice, better to use discrement and common sense. (and to have some idea about what you are getting yourself into) It's not only about how to do something but also about the price that is to be paid for it. (or in other words - how it is going to change you)
The book seemed very interesting, I’m sad to hear it’s basically a walking warning sign. I was originally drawn to it because of its astral travel aspect, and the fact the entity it’s about seemed very akin to one I’m familiar with. I have similar reasoning with the other book. Oneiric/astral work is my main interest. And darker, more ‘eldritch’ entities. I had hoped the book had value in itself, not just as a reference of what not to do. But I am uninterested in something that is so dangerous or edgy that it’s unusable.
The book seemed very interesting, I’m sad to hear it’s basically a walking warning sign. I was originally drawn to it because of its astral travel aspect, and the fact the entity it’s about seemed very akin to one I’m familiar with. I have similar reasoning with the other book. Oneiric/astral work is my main interest. And darker, more ‘eldritch’ entities. I had hoped the book had value in itself, not just as a reference of what not to do. But I am uninterested in something that is so dangerous or edgy that it’s unusable.
There is a folder on astral travel in the library. If you want to work with vamps, you can find some good material in Liber Hirudo, there is some material on getting in contact with historical vampires.
The problem with occult books is that there is gold and shit in every book. It is just about how much of shit and how much of gold is in each book. If there is only shit, the book is useless, but shitless book on occult probably doesn't exist... There is no perfect book in other words.
I'm surprised with the amount of respect Liber hirudo gets, I have read the majority of vampirism books, I would have thought that Liber hirudo would have been one of the intimidating ones, if a novice or begginer adept he would get confused at the literal metaphorical language, try to create the visceral super effects the book speak at the beggining, find that he couldn't replicate it and then think he did something wrong.
But this post is not about hirudo.. as for my perspective, people may not like to hear me say it, but I consider N.D blackwood books probably in the best variety of vampirism books. It's more practical and direct in its language and instructions, it doesn't trap your attention in pages and more pages of vampire different global folklore story, or philosophy while taking the vampire for its dark predatory nature but under a philosophy that turns this dark predator into a ethical morally correct spiritual path while also speaking of otherkin (Looking at you Psychic Vampire Codex from Michelle Belanger.. I will apologize if it offends anyone, its not my intention with that opinion of mine.. but a energy lethargic guy that ethically requests and take energy from night club contacts using eastern colorfull chakra systems its not a vampire, its ridicolous).
I'm surprised with the amount of respect Liber hirudo gets, I have read the majority of vampirism books, I would have thought that Liber hirudo would have been one of the intimidating ones, if a novice or begginer adept he would get confused at the literal metaphorical language, try to create the visceral super effects the book speak at the beggining, find that he couldn't replicate it and then think he did something wrong.
But this post is not about hirudo.. as for my perspective, people may not like to hear me say it, but I consider N.D blackwood books probably in the best variety of vampirism books. It's more practical and direct in its language and instructions, it doesn't trap your attention in pages and more pages of vampire different global folklore story, or philosophy while taking the vampire for its dark predatory nature but under a philosophy that turns this dark predator into a ethical morally correct spiritual path while also speaking of otherkin (Looking at you Psychic Vampire Codex from Michelle Belanger.. I will apologize if it offends anyone, its not my intention with that opinion of mine.. but a energy lethargic guy that ethically requests and take energy from night club contacts using eastern colorfull chakra systems its not a vampire, its ridicolous).
All the respect, you definitely have valuable opinion on the matter.
I agree that Hirudo is not exactly beginner's book. A lot of rituals offered there make me roll my eyes, because they are useless for solo practitioners, being group rites. But there are parts that have great value, especially the ritual for connecting with myth vamps along with list of them. That's useful info.
Blackwood has some cool stuff in his book too. No denial there. My point is not do not read at any cost, because it is trash, my point is, that there are dangers in trusting that book too much. In fact that is issue I meet with any occult book I read.
On a pedestal of quality concerning vampirism I would put an entirely different books, honestly. There is Vampires way of psychic self defense, that one is good and simple. Drakul (really written with K) is also good book, though it is questionable if it is vampiric, rather it's necromantic...
Blackwood has some cool stuff in his book too. No denial there. My point is not do not read at any cost, because it is trash, my point is, that there are dangers in trusting that book too much. In fact that is issue I meet with any occult book I read.
On a pedestal of quality concerning vampirism I would put an entirely different books, honestly. There is Vampires way of psychic self defense, that one is good and simple. Drakul (really written with K) is also good book, though it is questionable if it is vampiric, rather it's necromantic...
Agreed, thats a good point.. I think that with adepts that are excited and looking forward to something they feel will be that supernatural switch alongside their own fantasy desires, after all, i doubt there is a single vampirism adept who didn't fantasize over being the undead in black cape with super strenght and speed drinking blood of humans at night. I actually miss those old days, when you read a lot of things, it just start to become methodical and repetitive, you see the patterns, and become more critical and picky, the pages loose the enchant they used to have.. I think practice can do that too, spiritually and mentally at the beggining of a vampirism initiation, the mind is in wonderland, its like how when you fall in love and have that passion phase, but in both cases the passion goes away, and things start to feel as neutral as it has been at the beggining.
Why did i mention that however? because vampirism by its own practice concerns itself with the draw and manipulation of energy, which tends to interact a lot with mood, motivation, emotions and more, which is the alchemical practical way we engage with energy, or just use it to intensify a ritual.. if its a lifestyle where the vampire current is tied to identity however, and that neutrality phase happens, I think here brings a quite ironic contrast, because your energy/mood levels get low, the "hunger" of the vampire makes itself known at the setbacks of the path, when things stagnate.. Don webb in his energy vampyre book did spoke about the interaction with energy in a way that is more technical with energy and more larp in a way other books don't adress, though part of the whole point was one example he gave at the beggining, an attendant that did a poor job at doing his work while being in automate mode, so one of the premises was that the vampire would master the energies, to not exist as just a automaton in his own life.. but despite Don webb efforts, I think he didn't think of a good way to deal with the worst enemy of energy, homeostasis, hell i have to discover a ritual that can curse that away lol.
And what do you think of Michael W Ford's book, Akhkharu? I bought two days ago the paper copy that was created in Italian, for practical exercises it seems valid to me.
And what do you think of Michael W Ford's book, Akhkharu? I bought two days ago the paper copy that was created in Italian, for practical exercises it seems valid to me.
Luciferianism is about the philosophical and metaphisical identity alchemy of Nigredo, Albedo and Rubredo.. it engages mystical forms, of demons, gods as masks, and by mask its not a theistic look on them, its archetypal, interacting with them through ritual is a means of alchemical technology, which in more simplistic terms, its a complex technology that is being operate through ritual, through trance, through symbols and through psychodrama to simply make use of a edit program, like editing archives in excel or office writer, in these 2 you edit looking at a monitor and using your mouse to manually change a graphic of letters before you, but you don't have such sort of interface when it comes to your own psyche, you play with your own subconscious, you act, you play, you trance, you believe, you feel, you affirm.. all these are being used to re-configure your self, your personality, your values, your impulses, your persona, your ego, in means it aligns you with the luciferian philosophy, with the left hand path philosophy.
Akhkharu has this sort of foundation, but the book goes further, so not just about who you are but also how you perceive and position yourself relative to others.. it does that for example - normally people perceive others as mirrors, i'm not saying its everyone, but a lot of people perceive who they are by what they THINK others THINK who you are (not what they actually think), the book subtly replaces that perception in interaction with others to a a subject and object asymmetry (You = agent, others = fields/resources), so others are not mirrors, they are environments, how it replaces "relationship" with such others to "extraction" because its a vampire, so its rewiring your social "cognition", it also devalues mutuality as a weakness, the reprogramming is that if power is not taken or granted, mutuality becomes a handicap, the idea is that if you consider another person autonomy you hesitate, if you respect reciprocity you limit your extraction, if you seek someone agreement you give up your initiative, and if you treat others as equal you weaken the asymmetry, but the point of this is not cruelty, its all about the posture.
Akhkharu wants to install the predator in you Structurally, so it picks -> Hunger as motivational engine, predation as relational model, consumption as growth logic, and power by taking and feeding as its value axis.. all else -> astral feeding, vampiric imagery, chakras, demons is the monitor, its the operative interface, the dressing of it, they exist so that configuration is felt in you.
Another strong point is that Hunger is a persistent drive-state, so a baseline sense of lack, constant orientation toward acquisition, reflexive “take” and "feed" posture, a worldview where others are energy fields. Why is this hunger so prevalent in the book? It's because it cuts through hesitation, suppresses guilt, overrides social conditioning, produces intensity, keeps identity energized, so its a crude but powerfull power source.
It has limits of course, which in a word i would repeat homeostasis here again, because hunger dulls, intensity drops, vampire identity weakens, your senses will then demand escalation so to be more like previously.
As for alchemy, Nigredo the death is the deconstruction, you're dissolving prior identity coherence, breaking habits, destabilizing valuation - Albedo the purification is reconfiguration, Introducing new structures, ideals, internal order - Rubedo the red and philosophy stone is embodiment, its here that identity stops being “worked on” and becomes how you operate.
In this process it aims for polarization, the book intentionally intensify nigredo by attacking moral conditioning, rejecting mutuality, reframing others as prey/resources, that will weaken the old social self - Albedo will take the predator configuration, hunger as engine, dominance as orientation, extraction/feed as growth, and asymmetry as default relation to others, HERE is where ritual matter the most, you will repeatedly smash the hammer until this new self becomes reflexive - Rubedo in result brings certain results, the identity no longer needs reinforcement, your motivation is internal and self-sustaining, power is present without effort, the self is complete and not striving, BUT, Akhkharu does something interesting with Rubedo, because it cannot let you reach Rubedo as designed, why? Because the predator identity it installs requers hunger, external targets and asymmetry to stay alive, so once hunger does fade and motivation drops, identity weakens and your mind demand reactivation with more feeding and more ritual, it produces PERPETUAL albedo, a endless reassertion, which is also a reflection that the vampire keeps drinking blood, seeking more prey to feed, to keep itself alive.
My account is new so apparently i can't send private messages yet to respond your message over there, so to what you asked me in private, i'm gonna have to answer here, i hope you don't mind.
In theory, using the draconic system as the metaphysical skeleton and Akhkharu as the operational musculature can work. Their structure is coherent, though Nomini draconis have a ontological frameworks, while Akhkharu does not, it has was i said in my above comment - in a simple way, Draconis answers the question of who you are, while Akhkharu answers how do you feed and you operate.
There is a vector problem though, the draconic systems aim at one inflation and ascension by the means of becoming more, so more force, more presence, more pressure agaisnt the cosmos. Meanwhile, vampirism as with the case of Akhkharu aims at your personal sovereignty through dependence asymmetry, the perpetual albedo i spoke about.
They can work together, if the draconic system becomes subordinate to the vampiric one, and it serve as a pressure engine instead of an identity. But you did say you want the draconis as your core framework, having both work together in harmony is possible, but you need to understand that they are contradicting each other.
First i must clarify what i meant by ontological before, because all the Akhkharu operation might give the impression is transformation on the self that is ontological.. but its not. A ontological system here asserts a change of being, not merely a change of function, state, or mode of operation. It does not just say you operate like X, it says you are X at the level of identity, metaphysical status, or mode of existence.
Akhkharu is operational-alchemic like, it enforces asymmetry and cultivate perpetual albedo, It conditions predatory psychology, valuation, and energetic behavior, It reshapes identity functionally. But it does not assert claim that vampirism is your nature rather than your method, instead it implicitdly says that you remain a human operator who maintains vampiric function through discipline, technique, and structure, this is why its not ontological.
You are not a vampire by being, but a human maintaining vampiric dominance through sustained operation. You remake yourself instrumentally, not essentially, a good example of this is how bodybuilding can radically remake your body, military training can remake your psychology, but neither change your ontology.
The draconis you focus however is Rubedo instead of perpetual albedo, its ontological and mytho-metaphysical, it affirms a primordial, adversarial, or draconic mode of being, and a claim about what you fundamentally are aligning with. Its work culminates in being, its like "I am the fire and my existence itself is sufficient" while Akhkharu is like "I am because I feed, If I do not feed, I decay" this is why they contradict each other.
If this particular detail is not resolved, you will engage in both systems and 3 things can happen:
Draconic dominance
Vampirism collapses into a flavor you feel or a tactic for you to engage.
Feeding becomes symbolic or optional.
The vampire becomes just aesthetics, not structural.
Vampiric dominance
Draconic sovereignty becomes aspirational, its not rubedo.
Identity is never allowed to settle in you.
The dragon is always “becoming,” never being.
Oscillation
Periods of inflation and grandiosity.
Followed by collapse, hunger, and frantic feeding.
The practitioner mistakes this instability for “intensity”
The only coherent way to hold both is to hierarchize ontological claims, so the dragon is a ontological identity and the vampire a ontological condition. The vampire condition changes from i'm a vampire because i feed, into I feed because I am a vampire.
As for Don webb, his book is fine, but you did say path of pure vampirism, so there is a implication on your perception of Don Webb that i must correct. In The Energy Magick of the Vampyre, “vampire” is a symbol, a metaphor for energy dynamics, and his own pedagogical advice too.
His book teaches about control of your attention, the circulation of energy, to influence dynamics you involve yourself in, and a psychic economy per say. It does not teach you about predatory ontology, or vampiric identity, a metaphysical claim for vampirism, or becoming something other than human which is to say becoming an actual vampire, if you REMOVE the word vampire, Don webb entire system works unchanged, he borrowed the costume of vampire because it makes his work more attractive for people to read and feel engaged while reading his content, thinking "Uhh, vampire, vampire, vampire".
For Don webb vampirism is not the goal, vampirism is not the identity or even the frame, it is at best a didatic skin for general occult "energetics".
That all said, i'm not sure what kind of vision or ultimate goal you have on your initiation for vampirism, which is somewhat important to answer about the 5 books you wanna know about. So what i will give you what I consider the most relevant vampirism books, that fit best on my conceptual alignement for true vampirism and a true vampire.
1 - for this Slot, either Draugadrottin or Scholomance the books of N.D Blackwood.
2 - Vampyros Magicae - Real Vampyre magick by Asamod Ka
Overall the first 2 are sufficient, there are many other vampire books but don't neatly fit the other 3 slots, there are more that you could as supplement, but you would have to know how to filter a good use for yourself, so: Liber hirudo, the infernal vampire handbook D.H thornes, the vampire bible of Atazoth, Father sebastian books of Vampyre sanguinomicon and Vampyre magick the grimoire of the living vampire, Vampire Sekhem Apep. Its kinda of a exploration really, but the first 2 are quite good, i think you can develop more up from that by studying just other occult and magick stuff aside from vampirism to expand your knowledge..
Thanks for the deep breakdown, it really clarifies the friction between the Draconian expansion and the Vampiric feeding loop.
I think that you may be right about the "vector" issue in which most people try to mix them and end up in that cycle of inflation followed by a crash.
My approach is to set the Draconian side as the core identity, the Foundation, and use the Vampiric side strictly as the "engine" so that i’m not feeding to become something but I feed because it’s the natural function of what I already am.
Your take on Don Webb is spot on, I always felt his work was more of a "costume" for energy work rather than a real shift in being, Of course, it doesn't mean that it can't work or that it doesn't provide results, in fact I'm sure it does, but it's just something else. I will read more about the works of Blackwood and Asamod Ka to tighten up the actual mechanics, that said, a few weeks ago the new book by Daemon Barzai, known for his work within the Draconian current, on Vampiric Magic came out, perhaps it might be worth looking at if there is something interesting inside it.
By the way, I think that your point about Perpetual Albedo is a crucial admission of the system’s limits, in which, If the predator identity requires constant hunger to exist, it suggests that Akhkharu is an engine of dependency, not true sovereignty.
How do you reconcile this with the Draconian goal of Rubedo? Is it possible to stabilize the Dragon as a self-sustaining ontological core, where vampiric extraction becomes a strategic choice of dominance rather than a desperate necessity for survival? Or do you see the predator identity of the vampyre as an inherent dead-end for anyone seeking absolute self-sufficiency?
By the way, I think that your point about Perpetual Albedo is a crucial admission of the system’s limits, in which, If the predator identity requires constant hunger to exist, it suggests that Akhkharu is an engine of dependency, not true sovereignty.
How do you reconcile this with the Draconian goal of Rubedo? Is it possible to stabilize the Dragon as a self-sustaining ontological core, where vampiric extraction becomes a strategic choice of dominance rather than a desperate necessity for survival? Or do you see the predator identity of the vampyre as an inherent dead-end for anyone seeking absolute self-sufficiency?
Indeed, it has limits and it's something that Don Webb work that focuses on energy primarily did not understand, he assumes that discipline is sufficient, that by engaging in his method for manipulating energy the results will come consistently, it's somewhat strange, he even has a whole dedicated part of his book speaking about biology, about the 2 brain hemispheres, and even a cientific theory backed up by citation by which i don't remember what it was, all so to give this impression of "see? we of the temple of set, we are intelligent gentlemen who takes things seriously, and not just a bunch of edgylord teenagers in all black that may claim to be the ultimate sorcerer", but he totally skipped basic neurochemistry.. our bodies are not biologically design to keep excitement and energy running non stop, if there is something that you are engaging with that makes you feel awesome, the brain by design will seek to balance everything in due time, the end of it all is a baseline of neutrality, this is the ultimate opponent that stands before you as vampire, sorcerer, dragon and etc. And of course, with magic this is not different, a lot of alchemical like magic, high magic overall is a technology for self change, self refinement, shadow work, personal growth and so on.. magick absolutelly is a thing and it does crazy shit from time to time, absurd stuff that only those of us who do magick have experienced in some level, but even if things are like that, the brain just doesn't care, his design for balance and neutrality is for everything, the dogmatic rituals, magic operations and psychological means that you use, the brain will seek to balance them too.
It ultimatelly is what has happened to me in my years of practice and being a vampire, most ironically nowadays I have some level of anhedonia, so feeling high levels of energy and peak emotions for me is just difficult, magick and vampirism helps, but its like a boulder holding you back while chained to your ankle as you try to run.
And yes it is possible to stabilize the dragon as a self-sustaining core and the vampiric feed as strategic dominance, if anything the vampirism alchemical core may change according to the source, the perpetual albedo thing I spoke about is more mostly true of Akhkharu, you either see vampirism instrumentally or you say I'm a vampire, the first one is what wizards do, they use vampirism in rituals to weaken someone and then throw a curse afterward and then they leave vampirism in the closet until they need it again, and the second is the ontological state of being, in Akhkharu case you just have to change your mind shift, you replace perpetual albedo by affirming that your being is vampiric and as such you feed, its just what you are, Rubedo is the alchemical process which is about the final culmination change, its used symbolically but in practice its just the final step of transformation, in Akhkharu this final step never happens because vampire is a conditional existence tied to feeding, this is why i said before "I'm a vampire because I feed", its conditional, take that away and they stop conflicting together.
I will say here just in case you ask, but i haven't figured it out the ultimate formula agaisnt homeostasis, which stands in the way when you practice for a long time.. my only reccomendation in regards to it, is if you seek intensity, try to keep the novelty flowing.
