Some ideas for Death and the Cult of the Black Moon

The US version made a lot of changes compared to the French version. In the French, all the Arcana had basically the same structure with centralized leadership in the form of a “Prince/ss” for each Arcanum. In the US version, as expounded on in Major Arcana, each Arcanum had a unique structure ranging from extremely hierarchical to completely disorganized. The closest in structure to the French version seems to be The Devil. To match that, I thought I would do a similar rewrite for the Unnamed Arcanum (“Death”) and the Cult of Lilith.

Much like how The Devil is divided into the debased Shabs and a minority of solitary old true Devils (see my post on that), the Unnamed Arcanum is divided between the Arcanum proper and the debased Cult of the Black Moon. Most Nephilim are unfamiliar with Selenim, so they rely on rumors and hearsay propagated by encounters with the Cult. This self-fulfilling prophecy makes it easy for newly sundered ex-Nephilim, overcome with horror and self-loathing, to fall in with the wrong crowd. The Cult of the Black Moon is organized into largely isolated Black Shabs, like The Devil, and believe themselves one and the same as the Unnamed Arcanum or “Death” in Selenim parlance. The true members, however, considered the Cult debased and ignorant. Potential enemies, even. More opportunistic Initiates find the doomed worshipers of the Black Moon and their sycophants useful patsies.

By some estimates, the Black Shabs compose ~50% of the Selenim population in the US and Europe, Death’s Initiates ~20%, plus numerous sympathizers of the latter. The distinction between “outer members” and solitaires is blurred for Selenim, given their generally craven and individualist attitudes. Their Arcane Techniques include Shemmut and a Black version of Thes, in addition to the Black Sciences common to Selenim. The Black Shabs practice Nesheni, probably learned from fraternizing with The Devil.

Although both the Cult and the Arcanum venerate the Devouring Messiah, sometimes referred to as “Lilith”, “Baobhan Sith” and “Edimmu” among other names, both hold diametrically opposed views of this figure. The Cult believes in an Apocalypse where the Devouring Messiah will raise a Black Moon to cover the world in eternal darkness. The Arcanum believes that the Devouring Messiah was the first Selenim, who heroically sacrificed his Pentacle for the power to fight Orichalc and deliver their Nephilim brothers from the evil of the Black Star. Their Pharaonic Egregor, Nephren-Ka, was supposedly an apostle of this Messiah. There are multiple prophecies regarding the return of the Devouring Messiah, including claims of involvement in past events such as Zoraster and Ahriman releasing the Selenim from the center of the world, the Kingdom of Carthage, the Mongol Empire, the Black Crescent raised by the Aztecs and destroyed by Cortez’ alliance, etc, though different secret societies interpret these prophecies differently.

The Black Shabs are concerned primarily with causing chaos and upheaval to generate the intense emotional states most conducive to Assuaging. They often work with The Devil’s Shabs and the Cultes des Goules to accomplish this. Like their Khaiban brothers, they are prone to internecine conflict that prevents them from making much occult progress. The Shabs aren’t intrinsically opposed to Death’s Initiates, not like they are to the “racists” among the other Arcana, but the Shabs don’t treat the “wannabe Lestats” any better than rival Shabs. They don’t believe Agartha is possible for Selenim, if it’s possible for any Immortal, but they do believe that Anamorphosis offers its own “Apotheosis”.

Death’s Initiates concern themselves with advancing their occult development: studying the cycles of the residual Black Moon fields, communing with the dead, summoning black entities, constructing their imagoes, searching for the Ebon Tablet, recruiting and studying natural Selenim and Ar-Kaïm of Serpentarius, etc. They sometimes work opportunistically with The Devil, the Black Shabs and the Cultes des Goules, but find them distasteful and untrustworthy at best. The Black Shabs are pawns of Nyarlathotep, they say, the dark prophet who destroyed and tarnished the reign of Nephren-Ka. They work best with the few true Devils, the Serpentaries, their allies among the dead and their living relatives, and other opened-minded Nephilim and Ar-Kaïm. They believe the Ebon Tablet carried the instructions to transform Selenim into Solar-Ka beings, thereby achieving Agartha.

There are two other secret societies of note in this equation: the accursed shadows of the Ardat-Lili and the 666. It remains unknown if they are different societies, different names for or factions of the same society, or a puppet or protectorate of the other. They manipulate the Black Shabs and other secret societies via their appointed messengers and missionaries, who hold Black Masses under the New Moon and pray to the Devouring Messiah. Supposedly they orchestrated the witch cult hysteria during the Dark Ages. What is suspected by their age-old opponents is that they have dark plans involving the raising of the Black Moon where Tezcatlipoca failed, the resurrection of the dark prophet Nyarlathotep (another incarnation of the Devouring Messiah? The mythical tyrant-king Mu?) after his banishment by Nephren-Ka, the surgical creation of Selenim/Nephilim hybrids incarnated in corpses(?!), the acquisition and concealment of the Ebon Tablet, opposition to the pursuit of Agartha, creating Black Fire-Ka and other abominable experiments, and the annihilation of all who oppose them. Why so many plots within plots? Their ultimate goal remains unknown…

As of the Great Awakening, fraternization between Nephilim, Selenim and Ar-Kaïm has dramatically increased. As understanding of Selenim has grown among the general Nephilim population, the traditional fear and disgust of them has steadily decreased except among extremists. The growing exchange of occult knowledge has been a boon to all three magical races.

And that’s all I can think of right now. Hope you enjoyed!