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In a few DM conversations the subject of vampirism has arisen within the context of the Left Hand Path. I share my perceptions below. Take them or leave them as you will.
It is not a coincidence that the vampire transformed when the precepts of the "Enlightenment" ascended in the West. As the forces behind liberalism began their long march towards our own age of enlightened Philosopher Kings, the Ancien régime did not wither away. Nothing that powerful could. If anything is to be learnt from psychoanalysis it is that, as with thermodynamics, psychic energy does not die, it only resurfaces in a different, perhaps distorted, form. And so the Romani/Southern-Eastern European folkloric symbol of The Thing that refused to die became a vessel through which the image of aristocracy continued in an age of aristocratic demonisation. The fetid scavengers of graveyards and villages became Countesses and Princes, endowed with the refinement, hyper-intelligence, chivalry and sensuality which, in an earlier age, were their aristocratic accoutrements.
The Vampyr is aristocracy seen through the lens of the Kali Yuga. Hardcore Traditionalists would argue that the distortion is to be resisted, that to imbibe the corrupted form is to imbibe venom. I tip my cowl to my brothers but the Vampyr is a gate for those who have chosen to find ecstasy in the Kali Yuga, not in mindlessness but mindfully, in a type of spiritual accelerationism. It is a dangerous, hard path because it requires supernatural strength to indulge desire and drain all pleasure from Living while not becoming a slave to lust or the senses. Of those who try it, many will find themselves burnt to ashes under the heat of their own desires. Others may find villagers trying to stake their Heart, the most-feared and subversive centre in this dying age. The Heart is the driving force of the Vampyr and Heartbeats, those impressions which come to the mind directly from the Essence and not from outside, are studied closely. Aligning with the Essence through listening to the Heartbeat is the key to surviving what Gurdjieff called "the shock of Death". Life and energy, symbolised by blood, are refined and renewed by the Heart.
All of this makes Vampyrism a difficult thing to teach through words. Of the books which promise to teach, Webb's Energy Magick is the superior volume; there would be still much fine-tuning needed, much more to learn, after completing that course, but it takes the fledgling someway down the path. However, the secrets of Vampyrism are best learnt directly from a Master who can teach how to apprehend the Heart, how to revitalise oneself and how to exchange energy. Such Masters do exist but, in accordance with tradition, you have to find and knock on their door for yourself.
The magic of the Vampyr, from lycanthropy to MetaMind powers, also emerges from a deeply personal introspection. While rituals may be learnt from words, nobody can manifest psychic powers simply through reading a book. These gifts emerge from beyond the conscious mind and its obsession with language and categorisation. Interestingly, the same is true even of those exoteric skills which the Vampyr needs at their disposal. The acquisition of those skills will probably involve in-depth training in mentalism/mesmerism, ninjutsu and self-presentation. These skills must be taught from experienced teacher to worthy student, a reminder that in-person exchange filters down to every level of the Dark Heart of the Left Hand Path.
It is not a coincidence that the vampire transformed when the precepts of the "Enlightenment" ascended in the West. As the forces behind liberalism began their long march towards our own age of enlightened Philosopher Kings, the Ancien régime did not wither away. Nothing that powerful could. If anything is to be learnt from psychoanalysis it is that, as with thermodynamics, psychic energy does not die, it only resurfaces in a different, perhaps distorted, form. And so the Romani/Southern-Eastern European folkloric symbol of The Thing that refused to die became a vessel through which the image of aristocracy continued in an age of aristocratic demonisation. The fetid scavengers of graveyards and villages became Countesses and Princes, endowed with the refinement, hyper-intelligence, chivalry and sensuality which, in an earlier age, were their aristocratic accoutrements.
The Vampyr is aristocracy seen through the lens of the Kali Yuga. Hardcore Traditionalists would argue that the distortion is to be resisted, that to imbibe the corrupted form is to imbibe venom. I tip my cowl to my brothers but the Vampyr is a gate for those who have chosen to find ecstasy in the Kali Yuga, not in mindlessness but mindfully, in a type of spiritual accelerationism. It is a dangerous, hard path because it requires supernatural strength to indulge desire and drain all pleasure from Living while not becoming a slave to lust or the senses. Of those who try it, many will find themselves burnt to ashes under the heat of their own desires. Others may find villagers trying to stake their Heart, the most-feared and subversive centre in this dying age. The Heart is the driving force of the Vampyr and Heartbeats, those impressions which come to the mind directly from the Essence and not from outside, are studied closely. Aligning with the Essence through listening to the Heartbeat is the key to surviving what Gurdjieff called "the shock of Death". Life and energy, symbolised by blood, are refined and renewed by the Heart.
All of this makes Vampyrism a difficult thing to teach through words. Of the books which promise to teach, Webb's Energy Magick is the superior volume; there would be still much fine-tuning needed, much more to learn, after completing that course, but it takes the fledgling someway down the path. However, the secrets of Vampyrism are best learnt directly from a Master who can teach how to apprehend the Heart, how to revitalise oneself and how to exchange energy. Such Masters do exist but, in accordance with tradition, you have to find and knock on their door for yourself.
The magic of the Vampyr, from lycanthropy to MetaMind powers, also emerges from a deeply personal introspection. While rituals may be learnt from words, nobody can manifest psychic powers simply through reading a book. These gifts emerge from beyond the conscious mind and its obsession with language and categorisation. Interestingly, the same is true even of those exoteric skills which the Vampyr needs at their disposal. The acquisition of those skills will probably involve in-depth training in mentalism/mesmerism, ninjutsu and self-presentation. These skills must be taught from experienced teacher to worthy student, a reminder that in-person exchange filters down to every level of the Dark Heart of the Left Hand Path.
I just think this is a funny concept, for some reason all people from left path talk about the three years thing.