7. The Five U’s of Epiousios

Adoption of Epiousios is an urgent need because as long as Xeper is taken as simply an idea, people with think they can interact with it at a purely ideological level. We don’t want to see the Temple of the future become an ‘ideology pool’ where varying systems or political strategies vie for control. In a very real sense Epiousios represents a ‘fuel source’ for Xeper, which means there is an ‘Energy Economy’ to the Aeon of Set that has never been fully acknowledged. We all know what happens to societies that do not recognize and acknowledge their source of fuel.  We understand the need for fuel/energy in all things in life but when it comes to our initiation suddenly we think we can get by with just shuffling ideas around. Epiousios rebels against this notion, and redirects us to consider the tangible aspects of our existence – the substantia of Xeper.

Epiousios is a unique solution because it challenges the adopter to embrace the materiality of personal development and evolution. No other word has highlighted this particular aspect of existence.  On a socio-political level it provides us with a non-confrontational connection with the strongest memes of mainstream Western Culture (Matthew 6:11). There may be a point in the future where the Temple of Set has an opportunity to  contribute to culture on a grand scale, where we will need to be able to speak to not only to the Elect, but to those outside the Temple who follow the Left-Hand path, as well as those who follow a different path or no path at all.

Epiousios is useful because it helps us identify, highlight and optimize the value of certain initiatory activities, like direct exchange with other initiates, reflection on certain ideas or images, certain physical exercises, and so forth. As we talk about a fuel source for Xeper, it’s reasonable to ask, where is that fuel source? As we study the power of impressions, higher influences and inner states of receptivity, we begin to see that certain initiatory activities seem to carry more weight than others.  We may find certain impressions resonating deeply within our hearts, or literally feel the power of direct exchange with other initiates. Epiousios gives us a context for understanding these sorts of experiences and thereby optimize our experience with Xeper.

Epiousios is ultra-specific in that it focuses temporally on the front and back-end of Xeper. It directs attention specifically to those actions leading up to Xeper  – the reception of the Supersubstantial; and the state that results from Xeper  – the Remanifestation of a Supersubstantial state of being. It responds to the question, “What feeds Xeper?”

Epiousios is User-friendly in that it is easily understood as “Supersubstantial,” an English innovation with two rather common root-words. It offers a simple context for approaching questions like what is the Black Flame, and why is it relevant to Initiation? Why do we value direct interaction?

5. Epiousios – Formulae

S.:E::T

Substantia .: Energia :: Telos

Substance .: Energy :: Purpose

“And after uncounted ages of this great ferment, a force fused to focus that became God, and this force presumed to effect not the creation of substance and energy – for these transcended this God – but the conformation of all the Universe to a single and supreme order.”

-Arch Daimon Satan, The Diabolicon

Epiousios is a triadic concept; three words bundled into a whole. The three words Substantia, Energia, and Telos act as supports for Epiousios, and combine and coagulate to form Epiousios. For some this may initially seem a spurious complexity, but with sufficient study of the nature of the word and the circumstances surrounding its birth one will find that it could not have come into being in any other way.

Substance, Energy, and Purposefulness are the three primary components of the Black Flame identified in the Diabolicon, which is the Setian Aeonic Text that goes the furthest in examining the idea of a consciousness enhancing cosmic substance, (The essay The Set Substance in the book Daimonosophy describes in much greater detail the process by which these key elements were identified). In essence, the Black Flame is a substantial thing, containing energy, and moved by purpose.  S.:E::T is also a powerful formula in the hands of a Black Magician – a tool for creating a more consciously vibrant world for everyone to live in.

There are many powerful triads in the universe, each containing its own positive, negative, and neutralizing force; or Active, Passive, and Reconciling force. S.:E::T is an exceptionally powerful triad which congeals to form Epiousios and illuminate the promise of conscious evolution. Let us break the Word down so we can examine each component separately.

1. Substantia (Latin); Substance: ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestations and change; physical material from which something is made or which has discrete existence (Merriam Websters)
2. Energia (Late Latin); Energy: the capacity of acting or being active; vigorous exertion of power; a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work; usable power (as heat or electricity); also: the resources for producing such power (Merriam Websters)
3. Telos (Greek); end, purpose or goal; an ultimate end (MW);

In all that we have called the Black Flame we see these three components working together, and the Black Flame itself is revealed as Epiousios.

On a Macrocosmic Level then we can see the S.:E::T triadic structure mapped out in the Book of Coming Forth by Night:

1. Set as Telos. He states “I am the ageless Intelligence of this Universe.”
2. HarWer as Energia. He ‘Cancels the imbalance’ between Substance and Purpose
3. The Cosmic Inertia as Substantia: Set states “I cannot destroy the Cosmic inertia without having to assume its place. And so HarWer must exist while Set exists.”

With triads it generally is the third or Reconciling Force that’s really significant, but which aspect of any given triad is manifesting the Reconciling Force, or for that matter the Affirming or Denying Forces, can change based on circumstances. Consider that on one level the natural universe provides us with substance and energy. The non-natural element to the universe, also called Set, provides us with the possibility of purpose. Energy is usually an active force, but approached in the right manner it may become a reconciling force between matter and mind, set in motion by intention from the mind. The Substantia/Energia duality is what constitutes the natural universe. It is substance and energy struggling with each other that set the planets spinning around the sun, keeps the oceans from swallowing the land, and keeps a breathable atmosphere close enough to the surface that organic life can exist here. But without Telos it is all simply a thing that happens – or what Arch Daimon Satan in the Diabolicon referred to as a thing of insignificance. The function of Telos is to bestow significance.

On another level we can see the Substantia/Telos duality is also prevalent throughout philosophy and the sciences, even up to the modern field of neurophysiology and  the so-called mind/body problem. The eternal question here is, how can a non-material thing such as the mind (Telos) can exert a direct influence on a material thing such as the body (Substantia). The answer perhaps is that the mind does not exert a direct influence on the body, but rather an indirect influence via the reconciling force of Energia. Would-be scientists and philosophers can waste hours, days, even years of their life debating this mind/body problem, but if the fire of Energia is added they may actually begin moving somewhere.

And finally we can see the Energia/Telos duality embodied in the inspired artist or thinker who is unable to manifest any tangible results from all their fiery visions. Great ideas and inspirations are wonderful things, but are transient and incomplete until they are Remanifested ‘in Substantia’ – in the material. It is the basic material laws of supply and demand that will determine purpose for Energia.

Wrapped up in Epiousios there is an old story about this whole process embodied in the ancient art of making bread . If you wish to make bread – that is, something ‘real’ – you need flour and water of course, but without fire there can be no baking – no reconciliation and synthesis of flour and water, and thus no bread. Flour is the body, water is the mind, fire transforms these into substance, or in the case of the Black Flame and Man, the result is Supersubstantial.