Wisdom of Eosphoros: The Luciferian Philosophy

by Michael W. Ford

What is Luciferianism and how is it different from other beliefs and paths? What do Luciferians actually practice and where is this philosophy derived from? These questions and so many more are explained within this concise, philosophically-oriented book which is entirely focused on the spiritual and carnal approach towards life and the desire towards self-excellence and power. Luciferianism must be approached as a way of thinking, shaping the mind and attaining insight and power within your life. This work is the Introduction of the Greater Church of Lucifer (GCOL) and its philosophy is presented by Michael W. Ford, Jacob No, Jeremy Crow and Hope Marie; each has provided foundation for the GCOL and the New Luciferian Era! Eosphoros is focused on applying the self-transforming philosophy into tangible results, without any specific concepts of Ceremonial Magick. Beginning with the ideals of a Luciferian, exploring the origins, beliefs of life after death and how to attain individual power, Eosphoros offers The Luciferian Philosophy to those with the courage and wisdom to explore it.

Genres: Occult, Spirituality, Philosophy, Witchcraft

139 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2015

About the author

Michael W. Ford was born in 1976 to William and Judith Ford. His older brother, Mark, was a successful drummer who was on the road through most of Ford's early years. Ford began writing horror fiction as a child. In the late 1980s Ford attended The Cushman School in Miami, Florida, where he found an interest in music and history.

In 1990 Ford started playing in death-metal bands in Indianapolis, having spent time there again before relocating to Homestead and the Miami area in 1991. Ford and his family lost all of their possessions in Hurricane Andrew in 1992, as a result of which Ford moved to Indianapolis and started Black Funeral with various session members. Ford's interest in Magick and specifically Satanism was into its early phase, echoed in Ford's lyrics at the time. Ford studied the history of occultism and magick for some time before joining various left hand path orders from 1993 to 1995.

Recording with Black Funeral and Darkness Enshroud, a ritualistic-darkwave band, Ford relocated for the first time to Houston, Texas, having just recorded and released his first industrial record, Valefor - Death Magick on Cold Meat Industries "Death Factory Records" in 1996.

Michael Ford was granted the Order of Nine Angles command by Christos Beest in 1996, from which Ford operated until 1998 in Indianapolis. Ford left the active ONA due to what he has described as its Neo-Fascist stance and political ideals, which in his view are not an inherent part of Magick or Satanism.

Michael spent several years developing his Magickal practice between 1998 and 2000, when moving to Houston, Texas in October 1999 and editing his Book of the Witch Moon, where he had previously corresponded with Kenneth Grant. Ford continued working on music and recorded several ritual-music albums in the late 1990s, under the band name Psychonaut. Michael's interest in the works of Austin Osman Spare, Kenneth Grant and the mythology of the Adversary throughout the history of humanity were his primary interest during that time.

In 2001 Ford met Dana Dark, a gothic model and vocalist from Houston, and two others to begin recording ritual workings and the practice of the specific "luciferian" magick. The band recorded several albums from that point on, performing several live rituals. The group practiced magick as a Coven during this time period.

In 2003 Ford began publishing chapbooks and distributing them at low cost throughout the Satanic and Left Hand Path underground, which was designed as a type of "hit and run" guerrilla tactic. Ford had written in numerous published interviews that his goal was to upset and redefine the often-stagnant occult genre with an "Adversarial" approach. 2004 brought Michael's first contribution to a soundtrack, during his collaboration with Hexentanz, a ritual-medieval music project, with The Soil Bleeds Black and Psychonaut 75.

Ford published Luciferian Witchcraft in 2005, which quickly reached LULU.com's top 100, where it remained through 2008. Soon after Ford published numerous other left hand path and satanic books, redefining and presenting a new approach to so-called Dark paths of Magick and religion.

Ford is also the founder of The Order of the Phosphorus and The Black Order of the Dragon and a co-founder of The Church of Adversarial Light, a Luciferian Church. Ford has been an initiate and developer of the Luciferian Path for over ten years and also takes a significant interest in ancient Zoroastrian mysteries and Yatukih Sorcery. Ford is the co-owner of Succubus Productions and The Luciferian Apotheca.

He has done soundtracks for the movies Cadaver Bay and Hell Bound Book of the Dead released in 2004.

Reviews

[Ashur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am interested in the Greater Church of Lucifer and one of the requirements prior to joining is reading this text. The content is an interesting and concise description of Luciferianism (as interpreted by Ford & Co), but it suffers from two major issues:

1. Poor copy-editing. Numerous typos.

2. Questionable accuracy regarding historical fact, particularly when discussing various spiritual systems and mythologies. I find this tends to be very common in occult-based texts and I don't like it. I tend to both write and read from an academic perspective, so shoddy research and editing irks me.

Not a bad choice if you're just starting to investigate Luciferianism, but exercise discernment when authors start talking about old Mesopotamian religion.

[Kristie Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good introduction to Luciferianism (hint, Lucifer is NOT Satan!).

The basic tenets of Luciferianism, along with the history, are presented with this book. It is easy to read and a short book. I read it over a weekend.

A couple areas of improvement: There is one section on human sexuality, specifically gay marriage. I felt it was oddly placed in the book and could have been a whole section on human sexuality (open relationships, birth control, abortion, etc.). I have a feeling Luciferians are OK with these things as long as it involves consenting adults, but it would have been nice to have that discussed.

Also, I would like to know more about their stance on social justice/political involvement. I know they would not tell anyone how to vote as that would go against their whole belief system, but I would like to know their views on society. Luciferianism is definitely more about the individual, but we as individuals live together and all have an idea on how to make the world a better place.

Also, the errors (missing words, misspelled words) were annoying, especially since it occurred quite regularly.

[Spider Goddess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear

This was well written and clear in its message. Though certainly not unlike other belief systems I have encountered, I do like the packaging.

[Bats Mahone · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're familiar with the writings of Anton LaVey, you'll appreciate this rehashing of LaVey's ideas. Admittedly, there is more substance in this book. Be warned, however, as this book is extremely repetitive.

If you're truly interested in reading about the options of following the Left Hand Path, this is not for you. This book is a short primer for the curious and open minded who are more interested in surface knowledge than anything more serious. It's a better book for a concerned mother of a starter kit Satanist than someone actually wanting to follow or study the philosophy.

TL;DR of this book: Luciferians want you to know that you can control your own life by owning up to your mistakes and limitations. You can overcome everything you can face. Satan is a figurehead and they use the idea of Lucifer as more of a symbolic torch than anything more theistic, unlike what your priest told you in the mid eighties.

If you just want to dip a toe in the kiddy pool of esoteric texts, this is a good starting point. Just don't expect to finish the book and be as powerful and knowledgable as Aleister Crowley.

[James Anthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

One thing to keep in mind is that this book is less a "book" than an anthology of essays. Essays from different writers, that were apparently all given the same narrow topic, and who all wrote around the same talking points. I feel like I'd have gotten the same thing out of it by just reading one of the essays (the last one, given a choice) as I did from reading the book as a whole.

The writing is, as has been mentioned elsewhere, uniformly poor. Each essay reads like a transcript of someone asked to speak extemporaneously about what Luciferianism is, with no editing done at all, was cut and pasted into the submission field. As a result the essays wander back and forth topically, the spelling is atrocious, and the grammar is, if possible, worse than the spelling. Sentences start on one topic, then mid-sentence change topic as though the writer forgot what they were talking about. These are not long sentences that they're getting lost in. There's at least one paragraph whose first sentence starts halfway in, as though they were copying it from elsewhere, and didn't manage to select the first half of the sentence.

To say I had a hard time reading it due to these structural problems would be an understatement. This may not be as big of a problem for you, but if badly structured writing bothers you.... just be forewarned.

As to the subject matter. This is an introductory text, and as such is a bit on the light side. The essays give a brief overview of what the GCOL believes, but never seem to get past that into any actual beliefs or practices. I suspect that's intentional as they sell several grimmoires (at several hundred dollars a piece), which likely contain that information. Several of the essays are explicit in saying that they don't believe that these gods are extant beings, but rather that they use the names and their associated meanings (to the original cultures, as well as to themselves) as a jumping off point for accessing those traits in themselves. These same essays will in other places abandon that premise, though whether for ease of writing or because it is just a premise is hard to say. Other essays do away with it entirely, speaking as though there's an extant being that they are trying to commune with. Again, I think this is an issue of poor writing, rather than an actual tennet of their philosophy, but that's supposition on my part that I can't confirm from what has been written here.

I still think it's probably worth a skim, especially as it's free on Kindle Unlimited right now, but I wouldn't say it's worth any kind of deep dive or worth adding to your library in a permanent fashion.

[Brother Nero · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my opinion, this book is nothing more than Lavey styled atheistic Satanism repackaged with a Luciferian label. If you're interested in learning about the specifics of theistic Satanism or religious devil worship, this book won't be of much use to you. If you are interested in learning more about atheistic Satanism, then you might find this book to be worth your time.

[Ryan McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a lot more out of this text the second read through, but Ford really needs a better editor.

[Joshua]

I kept finding myself in the presence of LHP practitioners. I picked up this book to become better educated on LHP philosophy and practice. This book interested me as well because Jeremy Crow had wrote a portion of the work and I already was familiar with his work on YT. As an anthology, some chapters were better than others and some left something to be desired, mostly in terms of writing style or editting. Some chapters I burned through with ease, others were much more cerebral and took more thought and effort to work through.

Overall I think as a person with minimal anecdotal knowledge of Satanism and Luciferism, this book provided a thorough introduction. I definitely left the read with a better understanding and respect for LHP practitioners and beliefs.

I found this book to be much more easy to read than other books I've seen on the topic, which tend to take a belligerent anti-Christian stance, which I find to be annoying and ironically dogmatic, for a practice that at least draws from Christian mythology and imagery. Other LHP reads seem to be full of egotistic language, poorer editting, and flowery or false histories. This book did steer away from all that foolery and and was actually a pleasant undertaking for the most part.

So overall a somewhat dry, but highly informative read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

[Ronan Louvel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening

This book is a must read and a must have in your library!!! It's explanation of the Luciferian philosophy ; I was completely surprised at what it is, and what it isn't. It really amazed me how much I agreed with it and was doing some of it unconsciously since I was small. It really is an exciting read and I am glad I came across this book. I now am going to start implementing the 11 points of power into my life. AVE LUCIFER !!!🤘🤘🤘

[Manpreet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inte boken jag läste men, den andra fanns ej. "A guide to luceferian alchemy, uncovering the light within the dark" - 10/10, aldrig haft så många syncronicities i mitt liv. Allting jag tänkt på i flera dagar fick helt randomly ett svar. Idéer jag haft i år, personer jag följt i år, Jung, Osho, Hall, Upanishads, allt connected, nästan som att framtida jag skrivit boken och skickat den till mig själv....?

[Candy Einshel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. Poor reasoning.

[JOSEPH Ndungu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[ｍOⓡⓝƗnGˢtαR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leaving aside the grammar errors, the book is an excellent guide to understand the LHP and Luciferianism! I loved it...

[Äsruþr Cyneaþsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have had this work since its publication and have reread it several times in attempts to conduct a revaluation of the work. There are good aspects and equally poor.

The introduction from Jacob No perhaps betrays some of his issues. It reads as a mandate for a mass awakening and overthrow of slave masters. Such is a strange concept for one upon the left-hand path. A mass awakening merely creates an awakened herd, which will ultimately lead to a failed democracy without elite leadership. There are other issues with No's approach which I shall refrain from dissecting here.

The rest of the book is a collaborative effort. Some elements read as if a introductory level reworking of some greater works such as those of Aquino, replacing terms such as 'antinomian' with easier concepts such as 'maverick'. The work is also guilty of making references and statements without supporting reference or evidence. The combination of dumbed down language, non-existent use of citation to support claims and the failure to address the central issue of atheism may suggest an element of middle-ground salesmanship. Claiming that 'Luciferians are not atheists in the strict sense', without a true discussion of the term and the beliefs of the GCOL, then it is simply avoiding alienation of either party. The work further eschews any belief in myths as mere symbology to convey evolution, yet it then retains the use of mythological figures such as Tiamat and Lucifer in self-contradiction. To further illustrate the issue, there is then the inclusion of a 'Prayer to the Angel of Light', yet the concept of prayer is something that should be anathema to the adherent of the left-hand path - perhaps the term autohypnotic mantra would have been more fitting.

There are some real positives to this book. The message is valid and important. My personal hopes for the work were never realised however given the philosophy-lite, psychology-lite and left-hand path lite approach. It is a decent introduction to the left-hand path, perhaps a good introduction to the GCOL. It is certainly far from the works of Uncle Setnakt, LaVey, Aquino or Flowers in terms of depth, quality and significance. I personally expect a more elitist approach from authors of a left-hand path work and this failed to meet that mark.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in an atheistic approach to LHP, this is a book you'll most likely be interested in. This is a good beginners book if it's all you can find, but you could learn just as much from reading anything by LaVey, which might be easier to find in bookstores.

While I agreed with some topics in this book, I was mostly unimpressed. I'm leery of some of Michael Ford's facts about ancient religions, which is a common issue with occult books, and found it hard to concentrate due to poor formatting and numerous spelling and grammatical errors.

[Angela Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not for the person beginning the Luciferian path. The basics are in the book, but it goes much deeper and seems to be more for people who have a better understanding of the subject. Interesting reading, but you need to at least familiar with the belief system to get the most out of the book.

[Leanne Gibz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idk

This book is pretty good at laying the foundation of what is Luciferianism. One of the things that I have noted though in my own practice is that....it is all just different terms, a different way, but it all heads to the same point like the zen master pointing at the moon.

[Kelvin Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and continuing my infernal journey on the Left Hand Path! So it is Done!

Happy Belated Birthday, Michael W. Ford!!!!!

[Album Lepus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction into the Luciferian Philosophy, would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the "enlightenment" of oneself.

[Anthony Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wisdom

A great introduction into the Luciferian Philosophy! Would recommend it to anyone who is starting in Occult works, has some nice philosophical views

[Adam Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. The only problem I had was some of the editing. Not bad for an independent release though.