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The Feast of St Cyprian: How To Honor Both Christ and the Devil

Today is the feast of St Cyprian, and I thought I might take this opportunity to talk about how St Cyprian taught me to honor both Christ and the Devil.

Early on in my workings with Cyprian, he appeared to be standing at the mouth of a cave that led to the underworld. It looked a lot like the Dunmore cave in Ireland actually, minus all the stairs and tourist queue’s. My eyes were drawn to his Crozier, which was normal at the top, but which had a bident at the bottom. Angels descended from heaven as if hooked by the top of the crozier, and the bident seemed to be attracting and binding demons ascending from hell through the mouth of the cave.

When I started the Black School of St Cyprian, Aidan Watcher was kind enough to design a Crozier of Cyprian that combines both his and my vision of Cyprian, and make me a talisman in that shape. It has since become one of the key Ikons of the Black School System that I teach. I like to draw attention to artists, so if you like this image of Cyprian, please head over to the Hieronymous webpage and order a print. 

After this vision, a system emerged that explored how Cyprian is both fully a Christian and a Diabolist. Some are confused by this seeming contradiction, and can’t get past the cognitive dissonance. Last month I received this comment in an email:

“I have been following you for a long time, and have seen you use the Lords Prayer in magic, but also note you have written a Pater Noster for the Devil that starts off  “Pater noster qui es in infernum Profanus nomen tuum”*  How can you do this? How can you pray to St Michael to “Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil” then turn around an pray to the Devil for freedom and summon demons for spells?  I mean, don’t you have to pick a side?”

I get it. I do. These days everyone wants you to pick a side. Some people do pick a side. Traditional Christians are on one side for sure, but most people who describe themselves as LHP are just as firmly on another side exclusively.

Those that don’t want you to pick a side, often want to create a bland and mediocre synthesis where all the juicy details get painted over with a beige shades of perennialism or worse, solipsism that thinks anything means whatever they want it to mean in the moment. I am a fan of neither.

Some see Christ and the Devil as the same being, the Morning Star. This is an attractive view, but not one that I subscribe to.

Others see the Devil as essentially an agent of God, secretly role playing the bad guy for humanities benefit. Also a view I am not a fan of.

I don’t see Christ and the Devil as the same, or in league. I don’t necessarily believe in the objective reality of any of this in the way that some people do, but the spirits and powers are real enough and as I perceive them, they are in conflict. In fact, its precisely because they are in conflict that they are useful. Isn’t the world in constant conflict?

The conflict I see between Heavenly Hosts and Infernal Legions isn’t one of Good vs Evil but Collectivism vs Individualism. God gets born on earth to be sacrificed for the collective sins of the world. Lucifer falls to earth for individual freedom. Both of these are noble in their way.

The angels are about obeying god, and working along the lines of order and conformity. What is good for most people, most of the time. Of course, just as too much freedom can create chaos and suffering, too much order and conformity creates oppression and suffering. So a force of rebellion is needed. A Rebel Angel.

Rebellion is a part of growth. When we are children our parents set certain rules and parameters to keep us safe and help us become productive adults. As we become young adults we naturally push against these barriers and test them. This is dangerous in that breaking some rules can lead quickly to ruin, but never testing them is equally dangerous in that it stifles growth.

Most of us rebel, and learn that some of our parents rules were wise indeed, and we wind up having a deeper appreciation for them when we adopt them as our own. We also find that some rules no longer apply, and we abandon them, as we should. Most of the rules and guidelines are ones that we keep for the most part, but learn to bend with skill when its beneficial or enjoyable to do so. Some we even need to break from time to time and deal with the consequences.

So should you love God and hate the Devil, or should you love the Devil and hate God? Neither. Just as a rebellious teen still loves their parents as they break curfew, and the parent loves the teen even though they are frustrated that they are not home yet, you should love them both for what they are. Moreover as a Sorcerer you should call on them for what they are, when you need to.

THAT is why I can do a Black Liturgy on a Saturday Night, and go to Mass on a Sunday Morning.

That, and the fact that I don’t feel the need to believe in the factual objective reality of every myth and legend and religious view. There is more to this than we know, and more than we can know, so a little cognitive dissonance from time to time is simply a sign of being on the right track.

 

For those interested in exploring the Black School System of St Cyprian further, the next cycle starts on November 1st. 

 

Translates as *Our Father who art in Hades Unholy be thy name