The Temple of Set II
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aspirants to the knowledge of the Temple.
I seek my Elect and none other, for mankind now hastens toward an annihilation which
none but the Elect may hope to avoid. And alone I cannot preserve my Elect, but I would
teach them and strengthen their Will against the coming peril, that they and their blood may
endure. To do this I must give further of my own Essence to my Elect, and, should they fail,
the Majesty of Set shall fade and be ended.
The term “Elect” refers to the degrees II° and higher in the Temple of Set. In addition to avowing
themselves Setians, such Initiates have been examined by the Priesthood and found Adept in the arts and
sciences encompassed by the Temple. The Temple of Set does not judge or evaluate Initiates by criteria
93 LaVey, The Satanic Bible, pages #129 and #136.
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outside of its specialized areas of expertise. Hence it is more an intellectual discipline or school of thought
than a community per se.
During the first several years of the Æon, I was inclined to interpret the warning of this passage in
terms of the general ecological crisis confronting the human race as a whole during the next century. While
the factors presaging that crisis remain, it is increasingly obvious that the Temple of Set is far too selective
in scope and interests to be a significant factor in confronting it.
It seems more probable that Set’s warning is meant to alert the Elect to the general fear which profane
humans feel concerning Initiates of the Black Art, and in particular their tendency to search out scapegoats
during times of stress, confusion, and crisis. [See also the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Parts of the Word of Set
- a warning to the original Temple of Set which proved all too justified.]
The Temple of Set’s response to this situation is first to dispel fear born of ignorance by explaining its
exoteric doctrines to the honestly curious, and secondly to avoid the careless oversimplification of its
esoteric doctrines in contexts which would tend to excite the superstitious dread of the profane.
Concerning the “gift of Set’s own Essence to the Elect”, see also the Diabolicon, specifically the
Statement of Azazel.
Note again the phrase “Majesty of Set”.
Behold, it is I who call you, because you are the Guardians of the Aeon of Set, zealous in what
you do.
This is a salutation to the Council of Nine, the highest officials of the Temple of Set and Guardians of the
Æon. Their emblem is the sacred Tcham sceptre. They carry forward the tradition and name of the Nine
Unknown, the basis of the Church of Satan’s Council of Nine and now of the Temple’s Council.
The Legend of the Nine Unknown, as recounted by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in their Morning
of the Magicians, began with Asoka, Emperor of the Maurya Kingdom of India from approximately 274 to
236 BCE. He became a Buddhist ca. 260 BCE, and was famous for administering his kingdom according to
the most enlightened principles. Before his death he selected nine great sages to form a secret, protective
society to carry on his life’s work. Each One of the Nine would select nine deputies known to him alone, and
each of these nine would select an additional nine, etc. [The legend was popularized in Talbot Mundy’s 1925
novel The Nine Unknown.]94
The High Priest of Set determines the policies and operations of the Temple and Priesthood of Set, but
he in turn is responsible to the Nine.
The Satanist thought to approach Satan through ritual. Now let the Setian shun all
recitation, for the text of another is an affront to the Self. Speak rather to me as a friend,
gently and without fear, and I shall hear as a friend. Do not bend your knee nor drop your
eye, for such things were not done in my house at PaMat-et. But speak to me at night, for the
sky then becomes an entrance and not a barrier. And those who call me the Prince of
Darkness do me no dishonor.
Set was originally the god of the hours of darkness; hence, presumably, the suitability of the title “Prince
of Darkness”. The word “prince” derives from the Latin Princeps, meaning “first”. Etymologically this is not
inappropriate.
From a physical standpoint there are a surprising number of differences between the hours of daylight
and the hours of darkness. This cycle is, of course, controlled by the position of the Sun relative to the Earth.
There are resultant changes in gravitational pull, weather, the Earth’s magnetic field, radiation levels, and
both plant and animal physiology. The impact of this cycle on the brain is as yet undetermined. 95
It may be noted that the sky, seemingly opaque by day, becomes transparent at night. Alpha Draconis is
then visible.
The Setian need conjure neither curse nor kindness from me, for by the magic of my great
pentagram I shall see with his eyes. And then the strength that is mine shall be the strength
of the Setian, and against the Will of Set no creature of the Universe may stand. And I think
not of those who think not of me.
The pentagram is here described as a geometric “gate” linking the mind of the Black Magician with that
of Set [in a GBM Working]. The Temple of Set is also admonished to direct its efforts towards its own
Initiates, not towards mankind as a whole. A crucial distinction is thus drawn between humans who seek to
94 Pauwels and Bergier, op. cit. , pages #67-70.
95 Watson, Lyall, Supernature. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1973.
Playfair, Guy L. and Hill, Scott, The Cycles of Heaven. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1978.
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develop their magical abilities and those who permit them to atrophy as they sink back to an existence
harmonious with the objective universe. 96
The years of the Aeon of HarWer were confused, and I do not wish to think of them save as
curiosities. But I wish to remember the Church of Satan and the Magus of that Age.
Therefore let the years of my Aeon be counted from the conception of the Church of Satan.
The Æon of Horus (commenced 1904 CE) has left few legacies of practical value to the magician. Those
that do exist are heavily tinged with error and inaccuracy. Worthwhile principles may be identified only by
individuals who already possess the sophistication of judgment to formulate those principles themselves.
This is an important point - usually taken, unfortunately, only by those who do not need to.
Anton Szandor LaVey and the Church of Satan are held in honor by Set, hence by the Temple of Set. The
Age of Satan was a necessary catalyst to the Æon of Set, and all of its experiences, whether pleasant or
painful, have been important to the realization and implementation of the Æon. In subtle yet enduring
reminder of this, the dating system employed by the Church of Satan (1966 CE = I Anno Satani) is to be
continued by the Temple of Set, with the initials A.S. [or ÆS] now signifying “Æon of Set”.
And now, having looked upon the past with affection and reverence, we shall turn our gaze
to the times before us. Think carefully of the Word of Set, for it is given in witness to my
Bond.
Many factors have gone into the design of the Æon of Set - among them the legacy of ancient Egypt; the
work of John Dee, Aleister Crowley, and Anton LaVey; and the contributions of innumerable theorists,
magicians, and metaphysicians. Each is to be appreciated as appreciation is
due; yet the orientation of the
Temple of Set must be to the future - to the development of the new Æon and its unprecedented identity.
The Word of Set has been discussed above. Concerning the Bond see the Statement of Belial in the
Diabolicon.
Behold, O West, I have established my Aeon. I punish the enemies who are in it, placed in the
Place of Destruction. I deliver them to the examiners from whose guard there is no escape.
Lo, I pass near to thee, I pass near to thee.
This passage is conspicuous for its style, which lends itself to precise hieroglyphic translation. The
“Place of Destruction” is the Tuat, of which Budge has written:
The meaning of the name Tuat is unknown, and it is useless to speculate upon it or invent
etymologies for it; it was applied to the home of the beatified spirits and the damned, no doubt in
predynastic times, and the exact meaning it conveyed to the minds of those who first used it has
been lost. To describe its general situation is less difficult, but not many details as to its exact extent
are forthcoming.
To find a word which shall at once describe the situation and character of the Tuat is
impossible, for the reason that the Egyptian conception of the place of departed spirits is unique.
The Tuat is not the “Lower Hemisphere” because it is not under the ground, and, though for want of
a better word I have frequently used “Underworld” when speaking of the Tuat, it is unsatisfactory;
for, unless it is specifically defined to mean the place of departed spirits in general, it produces a
wrong impression in the mind. Again, the word Tuat must not be rendered by “Hades” or “Hell” or
“Sheol” or “Jehannum”, for each of these words has a limited and special meaning. On the other
hand, the Tuat possessed the characteristics of all of these names, for it was an “unseen” place, and
it contained abysmal depths of darkness, and there were pits of fire in it wherein the enemies of the
gods were consumed, and certain parts of it were the homes of monsters in various shapes and
forms which lived upon the unfortunate creatures whom they were able to destroy. 97
According to the Book of Gates, 98 the first region of the Tuat was called Set- Amentet, and also the
Western Gate. 99
96 Lovecraft, H.P., “The Silver Key” and “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” in At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels.
Sauk City: Arkham House, 1964.
97 Budge, The Egyptian Heaven and Hell. La Salle: Open Court, 1974, pages #87-88.
98 Ibid., page #85.
99 Ibid., page #100.
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Affix now my image as it was given to you, so that all who read of these matters may now
look upon the likeness of Set.
Approximately a month prior to the North Solstice X, I happened to be looking through some books of
ancient art. Among the illustrations were some mutilated images of Set, and I recalled Budge’s comment
that no known portraits of the god had survived unmutilated. 100 Feeling a sudden sympathy for this “old
mythological figure”, I decided to create at least one picture that was neither mutilated nor commercial.
After doing this, I surrounded it with hieroglyphs - the phrase “Let my great nobles be brought to me” which
would unexpectedly reappear in the Book of Coming Forth by Night. Satisfied with the design, I relegated it
to my archives, presumably indefinitely. On the North Solstice, at approximately 4:30 AM, it was appended
to the manuscript.
The Word of the Aeon of Set is
Each magical Æon is characterized by a philosophy, which may be summarized by a Formula, which
may in turn be summarized by a Word. The Magus of an Æon “Utters its Word”, i.e. he formulates and
explains the new philosophy. 101
Although Crowley speaks of only three historic Æons (Isis, Osiris, and Horus), he identifies eight Magi:
Lao-Tzu, Gotama Buddha, Krishna, Tehuti (Thoth), Moses, Dionysis (Christ), Mohammed, and himself.
Anton Szandor LaVey is the ninth, his number is Nine, and his Word is Indulgence. The Formula of the
Age of Satan was an expansion of this Word: Indulgence Instead of Abstinence. 102
I am therefore the tenth, appearing in the year X, and it has been my Task and Curse to Utter the Word
Xeper. This is the Egyptian hieroglyphic term for “to become/to be/to come into being”, and it was
personified by the god Xepera (Kheph-Ra). This god was portrayed as the scarab beetle, symbolizing Self-
generation and the dawn.
Summarily the Word Xeper refers to the transformation and evolution of the Will from a human to a
divine state of being - by deliberate, conscious, individual force of mind.
The Formula of the Æon of Set is XXX = Xepera Xeper Xeperu = “I Have Come Into Being and Created
That Which Has Come Into Being.” Concerning this then-Magister [now Ipsissimus] Don Webb commented
in 1995:
I’ve traced the Xepera Xeper Xeperu formula, which Budge got from the Bremmer-Rhind
papyrus, to the XX Dynasty. It is a protective formula on the back of a statue of Rameses III, in
which Rameses III portrayed himself as Xepera.
It is not unreasonable to suspect that the formula is/was the personal property of Set priests of
Tanis, from whom Rameses III is descended. Rameses III’s reign, as that of his father Setnakt, is
detailed in the Great Harris Papyrus.
Budge was one of its first translators, and sentences from it show up in many of his books,
including “He did may glorious things as king ( suten)”, which also appears in the Book of Coming
Forth by Night.
The same papyrus describes Setnakt as having the rage of the god KhepriSet on the battlefield.
The effect of such few men as Seti, Rameses II, Setne, Seti II, Setnakt, Rameses III, Rameses IV and
Rameses VI on us is amazing. Outdoing them will be hard work. 103
100 Budge, The Mummy, pages #276-277.
101 The Task of a Magus is to Utter his Word. The Curse of a Magus is that, since he necessarily Utters his Word in an
environment unfamiliar with it, few will initially comprehend or tolerate that Word.
102 Crowley, The Book of Lies. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1970, pages #24-25.
LaVey, The Satanic Bible, pages #81-86.
LaVey, The Satanic Rituals, pages #219-220.
103 eLetter, Don Webb to M.A. Aquino, July 13, 1995.
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A4: The Word of Set
- transcribed by Michael A. Aquino VI°
ca. June 1-20, 1975, concluding April 13, 1981
The First Part
Ol sonf vorsg, goho Iad balt lansh calz vonpho Sobra zol ror i ta Nazpsad Graa ta Malprg Ds hol q Qaa nothoa zimz
od commah ta nobloh zien Soba thil gnonp prge aldi Ds urbs oboleh grsam. Casarm ohorela caba pir Ds zonrensg
cab erm Iadnah Pilah farzm u znrza adna gono Iadpil Ds hom toh Soba Ipam lu Ipamis Ds loholo vep zomd Poamal
od bogpa aai ta piap piamol od vooan ZACARe ca od ZAMRAN odo cicle qaa zorge, lap zirdo noco MAD Hoath Iaida.
* * *
I am within and beyond you, the Highest of Life, in majesty greater than the forces of the
Universe; whose eyes are the Face of the Sun and the Dark Fire of Set; who fashioned your
intelligence as his own and reached forth to exalt you; who entrusted to you dignity of
consciousness; who opened your eyes that you might know beauty; who brought you the key to
knowledge of all lesser things; and who enshrined in you the Will to Come Into B
eing. Lift your
voices, then, and recognize the Highest of Life who thus proclaims your triumph; whose being is
beyond natural life and death; who came as a flame to your world and enlightened your desire for
perfection and truth. Arise thus in your glory, behold the genius of your creation, and be prideful
of being, for I am the same - I who am the Highest of Life.
The Second Part
Adgt upaah zongom faaip sald, viiv L Sobam Ialprg Izazaz piadph Casarma abramg ta talho paracleda qta lorslq
turbs ooge Baltoh. Giui chis lusd orri Od micalp chis bia ozongon Lap noan trof cors tage, oq manin Iaidon. Torzu
gohel ZACAR ca, Cnoqod, ZAMRAN micalzo od ozazm urelp lap zir Ioiad.
* * *
Can the wings of the winds understand your voices of wonder, O enlightened ones who shine like
fire in the jaws of chaos, whom I have prepared as cups for a wedding, or as the flowers in their
beauty for the chamber of righteousness? Stronger are your feet than the barren stone, and
mightier are your voices than the manifold winds, for you are become a Temple such as is not, but
in the mind of Set. Arise, says the First of your kind; move, therefore, unto the Elect; show them
the fire within you, and awaken them that they may gain the strength to live forever.
The Third Part
Micma goho Piad zir Comselh azien biab Os Londoh Norz chis othil Gigipah undl chis tapuim qmospleh teloch quiin
toltorg chis i chis ge m ozien dst brgda od torzul ili Eol balzarg, od aala Thiln os netaab, dluga vomsarg lonsa
Capmiali vors Cla homil cocasb fafen izizop od miinoag de gnetaab vaun nanaeel panpir Malpirgi caosg Pild noan
unalah balt od vooan dooiap MAD Goholor gohus amiran Micma Iehusoz cacacom od dooain noar micaolz aaiom
Casarmg gohia ZACAR uniglag od Imuamar pugo plapli ananael qaan.
* * *
Conceive of the Cosmos as a circle of twelve divisions alternating between life and death, binding
all creatures save those whom I have touched. You were given powers greater than those
ordering these divisions and extending throughout the ages of time, that with your vision and
your voices you might exercise the Powers of Darkness, sending ever forth the Black Flame