Transcendence without Tears

The faces of Death

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have harmed us little; but someday the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

— H.P. Lovecraft, The Horror in Clay

“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are evil.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

The Necronomicon

The first taste of magic never truly leaves you—the lingering question of something more, something deeper out there in the vast unknown. The Necronomicon has never been more relevant, more vital for the times we find ourselves in, and those that are yet to come. This grimoire, filled with knowledge of the Great Old Ones—ancient entities predating humanity, existing outside of space and time, imprisoned or dormant in various corners of the universe, including Earth—offers a glimpse into the horrific truths that lurk beyond our understanding.

In my own work, I perceive monsters as residing at the edges of rationality—where the human meets the pre-human, where primal, atavistic forces clash with the unfathomable. These are beings so far beyond human comprehension that they defy our very understanding of what it means to be human. The work I pursue here, which extends beyond the scope of this essay, involves confronting these horrors and mastering the chaotic powers they represent.

In Buddhism, the five poisons—anger, arrogance, envy, hate, aversion—are forces that can spiral into destructive outcomes. Anger can escalate into rage and murder; lust and judgment can mutate into obsession and violence. Like cards in a game, it's better to have these powers in hand than to leave them lurking in the deck, ready to emerge at the worst possible time. But wielding these powers is dangerous work—it forces us to acknowledge that we, too, can become the monsters we fear.

The Esotericon

Peter J. Carroll’s Esotericon, a cornerstone of chaos magic, explores similar themes. Chaos magic posits that belief is a tool, not a truth, and that magical systems are constructs that can be adapted or discarded as needed. But can they? Or is the horror of the Lovecraft mythos a genuine threat, lurking beneath the surface?

The 21st century is steeped in subliminal horror—not in the distant reaches of space, but in the streams we click, the social media we inhabit. Violence, despair, and hate have become normalized, seeping into our consciousness unnoticed. I remember as a youth, when the snuff film Faces of Death circulated among friends. They were disappointed that I refused to watch people die on screen, and this trend has continued throughout my life. Today, it’s nearly impossible to avoid such imagery on social media—it’s beamed into our feeds, imprinted into our minds before we even realize what we’re seeing. A joke from The Simpsons comes to mind: "You know, FOX turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice." While that prediction was off, the reality is much darker: everywhere has become a "Faces of Death" channel.

How do we defend ourselves against this constant bombardment of horror and violence? As we move through this decade, the hyperreal existence of watching the world crumble while pretending everything is fine allows the monsters behind the facade to seep into our reality. Denial and unacceptance are not viable options. We need tools to break this trance, and that is what these essays aim to provide.

The King of All Tears

Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles introduces the King of All Tears, an Archon of the Outer Church, who epitomises this hyper normality. The King weeps for the end of the era and all that he—a ruler of this world—has built. As we discussed in the previous essay, this horror exists in our minds, beamed into our psyche from external forces. As I sit here, looking out at a river and savoring my coffee, I realise our goal should be to focus on the six inches in front of our face—to truly be present, free from the burden of shame, fear, guilt, moral dilemmas, death, and all the rest. In the end, none of it matters.

To guide us in developing these tools, I propose a method of question and answer, similar to what Aleister Crowley used in Magick Without Tears and my mentor Christopher Hyatt in Tantra Without Tears. This will be my brief contribution to the canon—Transcendence Without Tears.

Transcendence Without Tears

Q: What is transcendence?

A: Transcendence is the realisation that you’ve been pretending to have an affliction and experiencing it as something unchangeable. It’s the awareness that you’ve chosen to believe in this affliction, leading to its effortless release or a new perspective on it.

Q: What is affliction?

A: Affliction occurs when you believe in your ideas and expectations about what’s happening more than you are aware of what is actually happening in the present moment. It’s the gap between belief and reality.

Q: Why is transcendence often misunderstood?

A: Transcendence is often thought of as something achieved in a monastery or through a guru, but it’s actually the most basic form of conscious perception happening right now. It’s about stripping away distortions and getting close to the direct experience of who you are and what’s truly happening in your awareness.

Q: Who am I? God?

A: What does that even matter? The key is to be present, dealing with real-life situations as they come. The future is uncertain, and no plan can prepare you for everything. Life will always throw surprises your way.

Q: How do I make progress and improve myself?

A: Progress is measured by how much enjoyment you experience on a consistent, moment-to-moment basis. Track the minutes of your day spent in authentic satisfaction—measured by fun and enjoyment.

Q: What is fear, and how can we use it?

A: Fear is a reminder to check in with your body and what’s actually happening. It can either guide you through a situation or keep you in a constant state of emergency. Most fears are imagined, and by recognizing this, you can transcend them and live more fully in the present.

Q: How do I stop caring about what others think?

A: You have two choices: laugh or cry. No one cares which you choose. Everything and everyone in your life is temporary. Face that reality, and you’ll find that life becomes a beautiful, fleeting experience, one to be enjoyed without the weight of others’ opinions.

Q: Is it really a choice?

A: Yes. Some people wait for happiness to find them, but you can choose to embark on an adventure right now. Life is full of surprises, but the key is to start laughing and turning every challenge into part of your ongoing adventure.

The Nothing

As this series unfolds, I’ll explore nihilism through the lens of transcendence. What I refer to as "The Nothing" is the force behind the erosion of creativity and individualism, reducing us to mere echoes of the past, clinging to nostalgia. But that’s a discussion for another time.