A brief history of the Unnamed Arcanum

Ian Young's "A History of the Selenim" fails to account for the Unnamed Arcanum, as he admits. I present here a companion piece to his history, exploring the Unnamed Arcanum's perspective and exploits. This account is incomplete and will be revised as I continue my work on rules for Selenim.

After the fall of Tarshish, the Selenim appeared for the first time within the living memory of the Nephilim. Everything before then is the subject of myth and rumor, such as the mythical Selenim Wars. During these wars, the Selenim led by a figure known only as the Devouring Messiah were supposedly responsible for the Toba catastrophe (74,000 years ago!) before the Nephilim rescued humanity. However, no surviving Nephilim nor Selenim reliably bore witness to these events and their veracity is questionable.

While the Cult of Lilith rose from the shadows to patronize nomadic conquerors and sacrificial cults across the Occident (i.e. Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Siberia), the Xixiegui formed an amicable compromise with the Xian-ren in the Orient (i.e. East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia), and the Xibalbans founded their Blood Dynasties in what would become Latin America, the precursors to the Unnamed Arcanum took their own path.

The Cult of Lilith are true monsters, hiding on the periphery of civilization to prey on terrorized victims by night and then by day walking among the streets in subtler form to prey on social anxieties. Supposedly they were once allies to the Nephilim, defending them against the initiates of Black Star via their insensitivity to Orichalc, but those days are long past if ever they existed. They have abandoned the quest for Agartha in favor of their own dark designs. They despise humanity and Nephilim alike: mortals they see only as prey and slaves, Nephilim they see as enemies and potential converts. The Cult is known to abduct Nephilim and, through dark rites, transform them into Selenim and indoctrinate them in the ways of the Cult. Most Nephilim aren't even aware they're distinct from the Unnamed Arcanum. Even The Devil initiates know no such distinction when allying with Selenim and remain the only Arcanum the Cult of Lilith has any amicable relationship with.

However, the Cult of Lilith never represented all Selenim of the Old World. Many dissidents disagreed with their reigns of terror and sought an equitable relationship with Nephilim and mortals alike, seeing themselves as glorified martyrs who protected the Nephilim from Orichalc in exchange for tithes of Solar-Ka from mortal supplicants. Through the Assuaging of mortal emotions and the practice of Necromancy, they came to understand psychology and the afterlife in ways the Nephilim could only dream of achieving. They came to love humanity and desire Agartha ever more strongly.

To some of these Selenim appeared visions of a trio of mysterious Agarthan Selenim known only the Fates, the Moirai, the Parcae, the Grey Sisters, the Stygian Witches, the Gorgons, and the Mórrígan. These three Agarthans promised them that their sacrifice was not in vain, and that Agartha awaited them. As above, so below: just as the Black Moon could refract Solar-Ka into more of itself via the Law of Eroticism, so too could the process be reversed and the Selenim become beings of Solar-Ka. The Selenim's transformation was not Death, but a Renaissance!

In Egypt, a number of such Selenim took part in the Pact with Menes and made peace with the Pharaonic Nephilim. They founded the mortuary cults to further their studies of Necromancy, resulting in the creation of the tombs and mummies that would aid them and their Nephilim brethren in the search for Agartha. The process of mummification allowed the residual Solar-Ka within a corpse to be preserved indefinitely, and for an Immortal to retain awareness after death rather than returning to stasis or dissolving. The process could be further boosted through the ritual sacrifice of Solar-Ka to consecrate the burial. It was a golden age for relations between Nephilim and Selenim.

Then came Nephren-Ka, future Pharaonic Egregor of the Unnamed Arcanum. Little is truly known about him, but both the Major Arcana and Unnamed Arcanum tell contradictory stories of the same events. What both agree on is that his tomb was uncovered by Akhenaton and that he presented the Ebon Tablet containing the secret of the Selenim's Agartha. Otherwise...

The officially accepted history, passed down by the other Major Arcana, goes something like so:

Nephren-Ka was supposedly the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt. He was the one who introduced the cult of the animal-headed gods to that nation and always stood out as a sorcerer. Nyarlathotep was not long in taking an interest in him and, summoning him to the city of Irem, proposed a bloody pact: Nephren-Ka would sacrifice thousands of victims in his honor and Nyarlathotep would give him the gift of prophecy. This was done and Nyarlathotep granted him the power to see the future. He secured the Shining Trapezohedron for Egypt, but after being convinced by the resident Haunter of the Dark, he had a lightless temple created to hold the stone and the deity within. That temple became a center of abominable happenings, and the rites carried out there were so monstrous the temple was destroyed.

According to legend, when Nephren-Ka felt that his life was coming to an end, he took refuge in his own crypt and there he spent what little time he had left writing down on its walls everything that the future of the world held. It is said that the Black Pharaoh was buried in the Bent Pyramid of Dhasur, but the truth is that no remains have been found at the site. It seems that this is because, when he passed away, Nephren-Ka merged with Nyarlathotep and became one of his avatars. It is also said that, years later, Queen Nitocris had a son whom she named Nephren-Ka. According to some rumors, this could be the reincarnation of the Black Pharaoh and would therefore be Nyarlathotep himself in a new human avatar.

Long after his death, Nephren-Ka once appeared to Pharaoh Akhenaten to propose that he resume the cult of Nyarlathotep, but Akhenaten refused and, in addition to this, had Nephren-Ka's name struck out from all records and monuments to let no one remember the atrocities he had committed. For this, Nyarlathotep cursed Akhenaten, causing the collapse of his empire.

A more detailed account goes like so: 

During the last years of the reign of Pharaoh Zoser, a man known as Nephren-Ka came to Khemet. Nephren-Ka was a powerful sorceror; he brought madness and death to his enemies with a word or a glance. The stories say that he came from an ancient city in the deserts of Arabia, whose name was Irem, the City of Pillars. All who know of this place hold it in dread. Nephren-Ka impressed Pharaoh with his power and knowledge of things hidden, and Pharaoh made him Vizier, second only to Pharaoh throughout the land.

Nephren-Ka revived the worship of an old, foul god - the Black Pharaoh. Soon Nephren-Ka and the Black Pharaoh were interchangeable in the minds of the people. Now no one can distinguish their deeds.

Pharaoh Zoser died of a wasting disease, and the sorceror proclaimed himself Pharaoh. For many years the Black Pharaoh fought with Zoser’s sons for control of the land. So great was the power of the Black Pharaoh that no record of Zoser’s sons now remains. For a time, Nephren-Ka ruled the land and its peoples.

It was said that Nephren-Ka was served by a huge beast, of which the Sphinx is but a small, inaccurate representation. The voice of Nephren-Ka was said to have been carried throughout the land within a black wind, a wind which destroyed at his whim.

Nephren-Ka built the Labyrinth of Kish, a place of darkness and despair. Here he practiced many foul sorceries. At last a hero named Sneferu arose, and with the aid of Isis and Bast thwarted the evil magic and slew Nephren-Ka. Sneferu then ruled as Pharaoh and brought the favor of the gods back to the land.

A pyramid was built to contain the soul of Nephren-Ka and to protect the land from his evil magic. The first pyramid was not strong enough to hold the spirit of the Black Pharaoh and it collapsed. A second pyramid was built, with strange geometries calculated by the priests to withstand the power of the Black Pharaoh. This pyramid stood, and the body of Nephren-Ka was entombed, accompanied by the curses of the priests. Yet a third pyramid was built to guard the site, lest Nephren-Ka return from death and plague the land.

Pharaoh Sneferu ordered all traces of the Black Pharaoh stricken from the land. Nevertheless, worshippers of the Black Pharaoh remained and schemed for the Black Pharaoh’s return. In time, Pharaoh Khafre, son of Khufu, son of Sneferu, drove these evil ones out of the land and into the hideous swamps beyond the cataracts.

The worship of the Black Pharaoh was revived during the reign of Queen Nitocris, after the death of her husband Pharaoh Merenre. It was said that she invited the priests and generals who had conspired to slay her brother to a banquet in a subterranean chamber, then opened a secret door and flooded the chamber with the waters of the Nile.

Queen Nitocris unsealed the entrance to the Labyrinth of Kish and learned much from the Black Pharaoh. The land again became a place of darkness and dread. Those who worshipped the true gods were persecuted and lived in fear. When Queen Nitocris gave birth to a son, whom she named Nephren-Ka, the people rose up and slew her. Her body was buried in a secret place, lest any evil ones attempt to recall her soul.

This account is biased and inaccurate. As the Unnamed Arcanum describes him:

One of the direct devotees of Lilith and one of the oldest Selenim. Nephren-Ka rose to the position of Pharaoh as part of his search for Agartha. During his search, he summoned an entity to give him the knowledge he needed. This entity took physical form and served as an advisor to Nephren-Ka. During this time, Egypt was pulled into an age of darkness. Using the powers of foresight granted to him by the entity, Nephren-Ka realized the true goals of the being. The two battled and both seemed to be destroyed. The Egyptians did their best to erase the reign of Nephren-Ka from all historical records. Nephren-Ka was awakened briefly in 1336 BC, where he revealed the 13th Arcanum, and then returned to his resting state.

After the collapse of Akhenaton's empire and the scattering of the Major Arcana, Nephren-Ka and the Unnamed Arcanum were given blame for this and thereafter despised by their former allies. Their vital contributions to the very foundations of the Major Arcana were deliberately forgotten and erased. Even so, they kept their faith and remembered that when push came to shove then the Nephilim would always seek their aid in the darkest hours. Yet they did chafe, and they were reticent to interact with their brethren outside of emergencies and then only after exacting equitable payment.

The Unnamed Arcanum was widely credited with patronizing Ahriman, the Kingdom of Carthage, and founding the Cultes des Goules, but in truth most of the Selenim patrons were solitaires and cultists of Lilith. The Unnamed initiates present in Carthage did little more than advance their studies of Conjuration (aka Black Summoning). A few Kabbalists in Carthage were willing to exchange knowledge, and this allowed the Unnamed initiates to advance their understanding of the forbidden Sefira Da'ath and the Qlippoth.

For most of the intervening history the Unnamed Arcanum seemingly kept to themselves, though in truth they worked against the plots of the secret societies and the Cult of Lilith. Their valiant efforts kept these enemies from causing greater harm that the Nephilim remained ignorant of. As the Cult's fortunes declined, the Unnamed Arcanum rose to power.

During the colonization of the New World, the Unnamed Arcanum encountered the Selenim of the Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Traditions. The Xibalbans generally refused to have anything to do with them, and the Unnamed Arcanum in turn was reticent due to Tezcatlipoca's failed plot to raise the Black Moon, while the Tlaciques who followed Quetzalcoatl were happy to seek refuge among them. The Loa Guédé were founded by a mix of solitaires, lapsed Unnamed initiates, refugees from the Cult of Lilith, and a minority of indigenous Taíno Selenim. They were generally happy to reconnect with the Arcanum and exchange knowledge. The Hierophant Arcanum displayed great interest in these traditions as well, but share the Major Arcana's disgust for Selenim and were reticent to interact with them. 

The Unnamed Arcanum thrived in the New World's occult scene: what areas weren't already claimed by the Xibalbans were readily filled by the Unnamed initiates and sympathizers. The declining Cult of Lilith was never able to establish power in the New World, though a few Satanic cults allied with ignorant Shabs were able to take residence and fester.

As time went on and the world grew smaller, it was inevitable that the Unnamed initiates would come into increasing contact with initiates of the other Arcana. This actually proved to be a boon: as younger Nephilim with fewer prejudices increasingly fraternized with Unnamed initiates, they came to learn that the Selenim were not the monsters of legend but Immortals that shared the same emotions and soul that they did. This came to a peak during the Spiritualist Movement, when numerous Selenim sold their services as mediums to open-minded mortals otherwise ignorant of the occult.

At this time the Unnamed Arcanum also formally recognized the existence of the natural Selenim. Unlike the former Nephilim, the natural Selenim awakened to the occult world as Selenim and never knew what it was like to be Nephilim. Although evidence suggests they existed since time immemorial, they were so rare that they remained shrouded in myth and legend. After the ascent and destruction of Tezcatlipoca's Black Moon crescent, their population exploded due to the disruptions in the residual Black Moon fields. The activities of the spiritualists and occult organizations like the Golden Dawn that gave rise to the Great Awakening would also boost Selenim awakenings as well.

Since the 20th century, it is not uncommon to see parties of relatively young Immortals including both Nephilim and Selenim members. The older members of the Major Arcana frown on such fraternization, but old prejudices are rapidly eroding in the wake of major occult events like the failure of the Templar's Great Plan in 1999 and events surrounding 2012, which many occultists claim heralds the Age of Aquarius.

In olden days the initiates of the Unnamed Arcanum referred to it as its name in the Tarot: Death. Now they call it The Renaissance...

Hope you enjoyed!