The First Lady of Satan and the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow
Very few Satanic cults live up to the hype popular media and Hollywood horror movies portray. Concerning Maria de Naglowska's Satanic cult of the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow, Satanic Panic is all hysteria and has no legitimacy.
"First Lady of Satan"
Born in 1883 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Maria de Naglowska was the daughter of a provincial governor of Kazan, Russia. Orphaned at 12, Naglowaska's family sent her to Institute Smolina, a private institute. When de Naglowska fell in love with Moise Hopenko, a Jewish commoner, her wealthy family disowned her. Naglowska and Hopenko traveled to Berlin and then Geneva, where they married and had three children. In about 1910, Moise abandoned his family for Palestine. de Naglowska earned a living as a school teacher and a journalist. However, de Naglowska's radical views led to her imprisonment and expulsion from Switzerland. Around 1920 she moved to Rome.
While in Rome, she met philosopher Julius Evola. Described as a "fascist intellectual," a "radical traditionalist," "antiegalitarian, antiliberal, antidemocratic, and antipopular," and as having been "the leading philosopher of Europe's neo-fascist movement," Evola even admired Nazis. You know—a real party person.
The Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow
In 1929, de Naglowska moved to Paris and began holding occult seminars to support herself. These seminars pulled in modest audiences, but de Naglowska's reputation as an occultist grew. People, especially artists, wanted to know more about her ideas on sex magic. de Naglowska's seminars caught the eye of notable Avant-garde writers and artists. Julius Evola, William Seabrook (who dabbled in cannibalism), Man Ray (who named shit after himself), and Andre Breton. These talks led to the formation of the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow.
In 1935, de Naglowska presented a speech at the Club de Faubourg, where they billed her as the "High Priestess of Love of the Temple of the Third Era." She spoke on the topic of, "Magic and Sexuality: What is Magic Coitus? What is the Symbolic Serpent?" de Naglowska's talk earned the club a charge for an" outrage to public decency" by authorities. Found guilty, the club appealed the verdict and won.
Naglowska's Contribution to the World of Literary Satanism
In 1931, de Naglowska compiled and translated into French a collection of writings by American occultist Paschal Beverly Randolph on sexual magic and magic mirrors. These translations brought Randolph's magic teachings to Europe, profoundly influencing the occult (The Setian Illuminati, 2013).
Paschal Beverly Randolph was a Rosicrucian Brother. Rosicrucian refers to a spiritual and cultural movement in Europe in the early 17th century. It proposed the existence of a forgotten esoteric order that could provide insight into the spiritual realm. In addition, Rosicrucians claimed that science had solved many magical mysteries but kept their findings secret until society could accept these truths (Wikipedia).
While in Paris, de Naglowska also published La Fleche (The Arrow), a newspaper to which she and other occultists, including Evola, contributed articles (Wikipedia).
In 1932 she published a semi-autobiographical novella titled Le rite sacré de l'amour magique ( The Sacred Ritual of Magical Love). Later that year, de Naglowska published La lumière du sexe ( The Light of Sex) and required initiates to read it before joining the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow (Wikipedia).
Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow Rituals
One first-hand account tells of a ceremony that included a naked Maria de Naglowska reclining on an altar. At the same time, male initiates placed a chalice upon her genitals and proclaimed: "I will strive by any means to illuminate myself, with the aid of a woman who knows how to love me with virgin love…I will research with companions the initiatory erotic act while transforming the head into light arouses Lucifer from the satanic shades of masculinity."
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One source referred to Naglowska as a "call girl." It is possible that "research with companions the initiatory erotic act" may refer to orgies or other sexual conduct as a ritual. If true, these initiations might be equated to sex work by some.
Female Initiates
de Naglowska referred to her female acolytes as Sophiales and said they were the 'new matriarchy.' Within the Brotherhood of the Golden Arron, the feminine is the deified priestess. Priestesses can pass on potentially dangerous, esoteric power to male initiates through sexual acts. Only those spiritually awakened can confront such power ( Schreck, 2002).
Trial by Hanging
We may be able to thank de Naglowska for auto-erotic asphyxiation. Her rite dubbed the Trial of Hanging, is described in Demons of the Flesh (a book about sex magic that details some of de Naglowska's rituals): "male adepts were sexually stimulated, then voluntarily hanged until they passed out in a state of controlled semi-asphyxia…..When the male sex magician hovered in psychic limbo, in a state de Naglowska described as 'above all delights,' one of her personally initiated female adherents would position herself on his asphyxia-induced erection. The ligature around his throat would then be released. As he came back to consciousness, he would experience what de Naglowska describes in her The Light Of Sex: Ritual Of Satanic Initiation as 'the explosive penetration of the resplendent woman at the sublime moment of holy coitus" (Schreck, 2002).
Third Term of the Trinity
The Light of Sex: Initiation, Magic, and Sacrament expanded upon Maria de Naglowska's Doctrine of the Third Term of the Trinity. She claimed that a mysterious Catholic monk revealed the mystical system to her. The monk drew a triangle on a piece of cardboard that explained the true nature of the Holy Trinity; two sides represent the Father (Judaism/Reason) and the Son (Christianity/Heart). The third was a feminine interpretation of the Holy Spirit with distinct sexual connotations (Southgate, 2018).
de Naglowska used these concepts to reconcile nature's light and dark forces. The backbone of de Naglowska's beliefs was that the universe was in constant flux and nothing perfect. de Naglowska argued that Catholic dogma had relentlessly used this false idea to pit Nature and the Divine against each other. These ideas created a dangerous separation between Man and God. In Catholicism, people can't speak directly to God. We need a mediator. Maria de Naglowska rejected this idea (Southgate, 2018).
Issues with Feminism
According to de Naglowska, the roles of Priestess and Mother encompassed the true satisfaction of womanhood. This more traditional view gave women religious agency but kept them cloistered in convents, churches, and homes. This view fell contrary to her feminist contemporaries. Women had recently received the right to vote, amongst other freedoms, like the right to drive (Wikipedia).
Employment of Satanic Symbolism
de Naglowska referred to herself as "a Satanic woman" and encouraged her disciples to imagine Satan as a force within humanity rather than an actual external evil with destructive tendencies. However, not everyone felt de Naglowska was sincere (The Setian Illuminati, 2013).
Julius Evola claimed that de Naglowska used satanic symbols to shock and awe. She aimed to scandalize her readers with imagery of Satan and referred to herself as "a Satanic woman" (The Setian Illuminati, 2013).
Beyond the Occult
de Naglowska had a considerable influence on the Surrealist movement. Mentioned in the 1959 International Surrealist Exhibition in Paris as a significant influence.
Naglowska's Death
In 1935, de Naglowska had a premonition of her death and went to live with her daughter in Zurich. She died there on April 17, 1936, at 52.
References
Schreck, Nikolas; Schreck, Zeena, (2002). Demons of the Flesh: The Complete Guide to Left Hand Path Sex Magic. Creation Books.
The Setian Illuminati, (2013)." The Golden Arrow of Satan." https://setianilluminati.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/the-golden-arrow-of-satan/
Southgate, Troy, (2018). Maria de Naglowska and the Doctrine of the Third Term of the Trinity. https://nowhere.news/index.php/2018/12/06/maria-de-naglowska-and-the-doctrine-of-the-third-term-of-the-trinity/
Wikipedia. “Maria de Naglowska.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_de_Naglowska
Originally published at https://demiworld.net on November 25, 2019.
