It is during the newborn phase of the “tradition” that a potential initiate tries to discover all what they can about the said Necronomicon Tradition. Naively, they will search out any “grimoire” that uses the term Necronomicon. In some ways this is part of the process .and problem for those who are never able to reach the purpose of initiation. For example, in the introductory notes of the Necronomicon by Simon, we read the following concerning the text itself:
“These were the sorcerer’s handbooks, and generally not meant as textbooks or encyclopedias of ceremonial magick. In other words, the sorcerer or magician is supposed to be in possession of the requisite knowledge and training with which to carry out a complex magickal ritual, just as a cook is expected to be able to master the scrambling of eggs before he conjures an “eggs Benedict”; the grimoires, or Black Books, were simply variations on a theme, like cookbooks, different records of what previous magicians had done, the spirits they had contacted, and the successes they had. The magicians who now read these works are expected to be able to select the wheat from the chaff, in much the same fashion as an alchemist discerning the deliberate errors in a treatise on his subject.”
Based on the notes found in The Necronomicon by Simon, it is not a path for the beginner, but for those who have cultivated, at least on a basic level, certain prerequisite knowledge about magic, sorcery, and the meaning of the Greater Mysteries overall. One example of this can be seen in the mythological figure of the Mad Arab.
The Mad Arab possessed not only the essential “perquisite knowledge,” described in the tome’s introduction, but was a student of occult knowledge and an initiate before discovering The Necronomicon. This is confirmed for us Testimony of the Mad Arab Part 1:
“For this is the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Black Earth, that I have writ down at the peril of my life, exactly as I received it, on the planes of the IGIGI, the cruel celestial spirits from beyond the Wanderers of the Wastes.”
How could the Mad Arab even walk upon the planes of the Igigi to receive the text, if he did not first have a certain knowledge of extending himself along such a plane first? We learn later his spiritual path before encountering The Necronomicon later in his testimony:
“I came to possess this knowledge through circumstances quite peculiar, while still the unlettered son of a shepherd in what is called Mesopotamia by the Greeks.”
The passage above indicates that the Mad Arab was a priest of Din.Gir Marduk before his discovery of The Necronomicon, as the “shepherd” mention by the Mad Arab is symbolic of the deity Marduk. The Shepherd-Flock Motif in the Miletus Discourse by Bernard Aubert, page 128, confirms this:
‘In the Creation Epic, the god Marduk is called a shepherd. In the context of unrest, warfare against Tiamat’s forces, and plots “night and day”….His shepherding of mankind is the result of his victory. “Marduk is both a caring shepherd and warring protector (ANET, 69, VI, 124-26).” Unlike Gilgamesh, Marduk is called “faithful shepherd” (Tablet 7) and “their righteous shepherd.” In addition to shepherding mankind, Marduk guides the stars and the gods. Finally, Marduk has a special relationship with literal shepherds.”
While there were other deities referred to as “shepherd” by the ancient Chaldeans, Marduk played a prominent role in their cosmology. If we were to distinguish Marduk as the “shepherd” mentioned by the Mad Arab, then his early writing would described him as an ‘unlettered son of Marduk,’ which is later confirmed as such in the Magan Text:
MARDUK
Victor
Took the Tablets of Destiny
Unbidden
Hung them around his neck.
Acclaimed of the Elder Gods was he.
First among the Elder Ones was he.
He split the sundered TIAMAT in twain
And fashioned the heavens and the earth,
With a Gate to keep the Ancient Ones Without.
With a Gate whose Key is hid forever
Save to the Sons of MARDUK
Save to the Followers of Our Master
ENKI
First in Magick among the Gods.
“Man’s power to alter the nature of his environment must develop simultaneously with his ability to master his inner environment, his own mind his psyche, soul, spirit. Perhaps, then, the lunar landing was the first collective initiation for humanity, which will bring it one step closer to a beneficial Force that resides beyond the race of the “cruel celestial spirits”, past the Abyss of Knowledge. Yet, he must remember that the occult powers that accompany magickal attainment are ornamental only, indications of obstacles overcome on the Path to Perfection, and are not to be sought after in themselves,”
Unfortunately, we find that many who pick up the Simon Necronomicon refuse to heed Simon’s insights on the systems technology. Instead we hear boasts of an all-powerful system, which is nothing more than infatuation of phenomenalism. As we will discuss shortly, anything associated with the Necronomicon is, in itself, a right of necromancy –“the First Magick.”
Access to the realm of the Dead is not far off from the Land of the Living. The Spirit Realm is not the Divine World in cases of specific study. However, if the student is not aware of such differences on an emotional level, they will take joy in the special effects and poltergeist activity, which is neither progress nor a sign of power. It is just confirming the power of hallucination, written about in Gates of the Necronomicon by Simon. Warnings against such reasoning is also found in Simon’s tome:
“Yet, there are many terrors on the Way to the Self, and an Abyss to cross before victory can be declared. Demons, vampires, psychic leeches, ghastly forms accost the aspiring magician from every angle, from every quarter around the circumference of the magick circle, and they must be destroyed lest they devour the magician himself.”
Often times, the curious will interpret these “terrors” described by Simon, as signs of the tomes power and miss the theme of the Necronomicon and its tradition. What is the Necronomicon Tradition?
Understanding The Necronomicon Tradition
A clear and concise definition of the phrase Necronomicon Tradition can be found on The Ninzuwu Shinto Monastery of the Necronomicon Tradition’s website. Under the topic, Necronomicon Tradition, it states:“The Necronomicon Tradition is a phrase that describes a seven-gated initiation that priests and priestesses of the ancient animistic faith had to undergo in their work as spiritual ambassadors and mediators between the race of man and otherworldly beings.
While the term necronomicon is derived from the fictional texts of author H. P. Lovecraft, it should be remembered that it is common practice, in the fields of religious and scientific study, to apply academic meanings to words that originate in fictional literature. For example, terms like genetic engineering, robotics, and zero gravity, are just a few words that are used by scholarly institutions, which find its origin in fictional novels.
For the purposes of Ninzuwu spirituality, use of the term Necronomicon (a treatise on Chaldean Alchemy) perfectly defines the underworld journey of initiation, where the initiate must pass through seven stages or gates, a process similar to practices described by Herodotus concerning the Greek Necromanteion rituals.”
According to the definition given, the Necronomicon Tradition appears at the root of all the world’s religious systems, as the term in interchangeable with the scholarly cult of the dead. All clairvoyant powers, religious observance, are found in alliance with the cult of the dead. Spiritism and the Cult of the Dead in Antiquity by Lewis Bayles Paton, Ph.D., D.D. , states:
“All the occurrences that are associated with modern Spiritism have been known from the earliest times, and have been interpreted as due to the influence of discarnate spirits. The great historic religions of China, India, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome are full of so-called “spiritistic” phenomena, of beliefs based upon these facts, and of rites of worship based upon these beliefs. No scientific study of the subject can be complete without taking into consideration the ancient as well as the modern evidence. The aim of the present work is to present in outline the main elements of the ancient evidence…….Relation of Ancestor-worship to Religion in General. — From the foregoing survey it appears that the cult of the dead is one of the most ancient and most widely-spread forms of human worship. Starting with this fact, a number of ancient writers formulated the theory that ancestor-worship was the origin of all human religion.”
The Necronomicon Tradition’s history stretches back to times of remote antiquity. It’s not about the newborn’s thirst of looking at every text that calls itself a necronomicon, for this is surely a sign of those who would like to make entertainment sacred. It is, however, accepting the signifiganance that was placed on ancestor worship and the veneration of the dead. Yet, in the aesthetics of these necromantic rites was preserved a rare form of alchemy that allowed one to see beyond the veil.
What we call the Necronomicon Tradition today, existed in all prominent societies of the past, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Far East. It is for reason that the novice will overlook necronomicons from other cultures and continents. For example, The Sacred Text of Ghost Dragon Kotodama by Warlock Asylum, with an introduction by Ashida Kim, is not only a necronomicon, but a legendary piece of literature. Such treasures can easily go unnoticed by the novice, who is intoxicated with the “big shiny coin” forms of occultism. The fact that a necronomicon is said to exist in every indigenous culture can easily be gleamed from the words of the Mad Arab, as they appear in his Second Testimony:
” Watch well, however, all that they do and all that they say, and write it down in a book that no one will see, as I have done, for it will serve thee well at some future time when thou wilt recognize them by their words or by their actions.”
The Necronomicon, nor its tradition, can ever be understood if its technology is worshipped and not used for the tool that it is. Once the student gains awareness of the Necronomicon’s true purpose, they will also understand what it is used for and what it isn’t. The Necronomicon Tradition is a path of ancient necromancy. It is through initiation into the system that one’s life move in synch with the sexual force that bridges the gap between Heaven and the Netherworld, symbolized by the two sexless beings that Enki sent to rescue Inanna/Ishtar, known in Ninzuwu as the Ayaqox.
Based on the ancient Calendar of Mu, the spirit of life, Inanna, the Divine World (Summerland) and Bride of Nyarzir, rites were performed during the summer. During the winter, the Initiate visits the Netherworld. In this case, Heaven, the original paradise, is symbolized in the veneration of nature and the Netherworld in the chthonic rites. And these things have occurred since the beginning of time. The Simon Necronomicon states:
“The Witches of today, however, while acknowledging the importance of the Male element of telluric Power, generally prefer to give the greater honour to the Female Principle, personified as the Goddess. The Goddess has also been worshipped all over the world, and under many names, but is still essentially the same Goddess. That TIAMAT was undoubtedly female is to the point; and that the Chinese as well as the Sumerians perceived of two dragon currents, male and female, gives the researchers a more complex picture. The Green Dragon and the Red Dragon of the alchemists are thus identified, as the positive and negative energies that compromise the cosmos of our perception, as manifest in the famous Chinese yin-yang symbol.
But what of INANNA, the single planetary deity having a female manifestation among the Sumerians? She is invoked in the NECRONOMICON and identified as the vanquisher of Death, for she descended into the Underworld and defeated her sister, the Goddess of the Abyss, Queen ERESHKIGAL (possibly another name for TIAMAT). Interestingly enough, the myth has many parallels with the Christian concept of Christ’s death and resurrection, among which the Crucifixion (INANNA was impaled on a stake as a corpse), the three days in the Sumerian Hades, and the eventual Resurrection are outstanding examples of how Sumerian mythology previewed the Christian religion by perhaps as many as three thousand years – a fact that beautifully illustrates the cosmic and eternal nature of this myth.
Therefore, the Goddess of the Witches has two distinct forms: the Ancient One, Goddess of the Dragon-like telluric Power which is raised in Magickal rituals, and the Elder Goddess, Defeater of Death, who brings the promise of Resurrection and Rejuvenation to her followers those who must reside for a time after death and between incarnations in what is called the “Summerland”.”
What usually confuses the novice is the difference in how Heaven is approached in comparison to the Netherworld. Once the use of candles, incense, and etc, come into our ritual space, we hae open the gate to the Netherworld, regardless of the deity invoked, even if it is Jesus Christ. The upper worlds are not intrigued, nor enticed by the customs of sacrifice. Appeasement of the heavenly powers relies on purity of mind, focus, and above all else virtue. Continuing in Spiritism and the Cult of the Dead in Antiquity by Lewis Bayles Paton, Ph.D., D.D. , states:
“Adam Semitic gods are regarded as forefathers of mankind and as discoverers of the arts. The work De Syria Dea, ascribed to Lucian, which certainly depends throughout on Semitic sources, shows the same point of view. The idea that the gods are all men who have been deified after death for the services that they have rendered to humanity was first given currency by Euhemerus, a contemporary of Alexander the Great, and hence is known as Euhemerism. It gained favour particularly among the Romans at the beginning of the Christian era, and found a fanatical advocate in Philo Byblius. This theory has been revived by Herbert Spencer, who is followed by Grant Allen in his Evolution of the Idea of God, but it has not won the approval of the majority of students of comparative religion because in all early and savage religions numerous nature-spirits are found whose names and characteristics are entirely different from those of spirits of the dead. A truer view of the relation of ancestor-worship to religion is that the conception of spirit was first gained through the fact of death, and was then extended to other beings than man.
The recognition of a distinction between soul and body in man furnished a basis for the interpretation of nature as a whole. Every striking physical object, everything that could do something, or was believed to be able to do something, was supposed to be animated by a spirit that could leave it temporarily or permanently, just as the soul left the body. Thus, besides spirits of the dead, primitive man came to worship a multitude of other spiritual beings that manifested themselves in all sorts of phenomena. These nature-spirits were not conceived as ghosts of the dead, but they were beings of a similar character to disembodied spirits and might be called by the same general names. Thus arose what is often called Animism, but which is preferably called Polydaemonism, or the worship of a host of demons {baifxoves) , or minor divinities, in contrast to Polytheism, or the worship of a few great gods, and Monotheism, or the worship of one God.”The difference in passing Necronomicon Tradition’s initiation versus those who are led down the path of egotism, is the same difference between those who search for every technique of power that candles, incense, and other tools can offer versus the cultivation of the mind, emotions, and thoughts. Yet the foolish will look upon the mental plane as something that is weak, while he returns to his altar, begging some spirit of the dead for a work of salvation. Ironically, the Mad Arab recognized the differences between candles and incense versus the mind and emotion towards the conclusion of work, as he left the Netherworld pursuit of the higher wisdom:
“The Stars grow dim in their places, and the Moon pales before me, as though a Veil were blown across its flame. Dog-faced demons approach the circumference of my sanctuary. Strange lines appear carved on my door and walls, and the light from the Windows grows increasing dim. A wind has risen. The Dark Waters stir. This is the Book of the Servant of the Gods . . .”
The Magan Text reveals that the Mad Arab experienced the same signs as one who is to leave from the Netherworld:
Upon the corpse
Hung from a stake
They directed the Spirit of Life
INANNA AROSE.
The Dark Waters trembled and roiled.
AZAG-THOTH screamed upon his throne
CUTHALU lurched forth from his sleep
ISHNIGARRAB fled the Palace of Death
IAK SAKKAK trembled in fear and hate
The ANNUNNAKI fled their thrones
The Eye upon the Throne took flight
ERESHKIGAL roared and summoned NAMMTAR
The Magician NAMMRAR she called
But not for pursuit
But for protection.
INANNA ascended from the Underworld.
*applause* BRILLIANT!!
Thanks brother for stopping through
do initiation signs exist?do you have one?
Excellent commentary, thank you.