Unique Vampyre Community Religions

Being a Vampyre is regarded by Vampyres as a matter of nature rather than religion, and so therefore, most Vampyres who feel the need for spirituality attend the churches, temples or covens of whatever religion appeals to them.

Some Vampyres will create a syncretic blend of one religion (or sometimes several) and their own beliefs about Vampyres, Vampyre nature, and well – whatever suits them. Others – a gifted few – will make up unique religions providing something useful to the community without creating any opportunities for abuse. More than a few cult-like groups have arisen in the VC over the years which claimed to “turn” people into “vampires” in return for something else, be it adoration, worship, money, or fandom.

That said, there are numerous “temples”, “orders” and “churches” around wearing the mantle of vampyric spirituality, and we will show you a few examples of the different types visible today.

“Vampires For Money” Pay-Cults

Occasionally, someone comes along who starts a religious cult which claims that membership in his order, paying fees and buying books will qualify them as “vampires”. There are several examples of this form active today, mostly in the United States, but also in Europe.

Examples of this type are listed below:

The Sanguinarium and its “legacy” groups

“Sanguinarium, the” – (www.sanguinarium.net) was and is a network, community and resource for the vampyre subculture and scene and was founded in 1995 as Clan Sabretooth in New York’s underground club scene. It has expanded to include organizations, businesses, havens and individual members who are united under a code of ethics and morality known as The Black Veil (a.k.a. The Thirteen Rules of the Community). Although officially disbanded as an actual organization in 2001 or 2002, the Sanguinarium continues to exist in practice.

Anyone, including individuals and Houses, using the terminology and concepts provided by the founders, movers and shakers of the Sanguinarium is considered by them to be a part of the Sanguinarium, and now the Ordo Strigoii Vii. See also “Ordo Strigoi Vii”.

The OSV does not consider itself to be a part of the community of real self-identified Vampyres, but separate from it. Numerous comments and writings by its founder reflect a trend of condemnation and rejection of Psi and Sang Vampyres, in favor of ordinary shinai (mundane) followers who join the religious cult in order to pretend that they are Vampyres as part of their belief system. This in turn prompts much of the real self-identified VC, which holds to the belief that Vampyres are born and not “made” nor created by a religious belief, to view the OSV as a cult operating on misrepresentations which are harmful to the VC.

The Temple of the Vampire (ToV)

A religious organization that practices the religion (business) of Vampirism. According to the temple, its faith is an ancient religion that has, through the centuries, been known by many names including the Order of the Dragon, the Temple of the Dragon, and the Temple of the Vampire Dragon Goddess Tiamat (ancient Sumeria).

The modern public temple has attempted to locate those people who might be of the Blood – those who have realized their difference from the mass of humanity, who resonate with the Dark of the Night, who recognize themselves as predators, who know there is something more to life, and who wish to possess it. According to the Temple, vampires exist as the predators of humans. Vampires emerge out of humanity and represent the next stage in evolution. They claim theirs is the religion of the elite – the rulers. They believe that vampires created the religions of the world to ensure humanity’s basic docility. (Well, somebody sure did.) The basic perspective of the temple is summarized in “The Vampire Creed”. See also “The Vampire Creed”.

Actually, it seems to be all about business, since the Temple has also been marketing itself as a channel for cryogenic science (as in, if you die you can freeze your head so one day you might live again), and downplaying its religious aspects. It also claims to have a vast occult library resource available to members only.

Vampyre Spirituality Groups

It is a rarity however, that Vampyres will set up a completely new unique religion which caters directly for Vampyres, but this has happened in the past and such religions do exist. These are listed below:

House Kheperu, and other “Kherete” groups and Houses of the Kheprian Vampyre religious tradition.

“House Kheperu” – founded 1991. A Vampyre House, which is primarily centered around a neo-pagan psychic Vampyre religion created by controversial poet and author and Vampyre cummunity figure Michelle Belanger. Psi-Vamp members are divided into “castes”, “Warriors”, “Counselors” and “Priests”. Belanger is the author of “The Psychic Vampyre Codex” and other titles and has been involved in the Vampyre Community since the 1980’s.

“Kherete” – A project or offshoot of House Kheperu. http://www.kherete.org/kherete.php “The Kherete Project is House Kheperu’s attempt to answer a desire we have seen among many people and groups within the community. This desire is both to have something to be a part of, as well as to have a template to work off of in the developing of their own groups and practices. Kherete gives people a word to identify with and define themselves. It’s also an attempt to actually present our material in a way which is aimed at a more specific audience – one which already has familiarity with the community and with our general material.”

“Kherete” Houses are not directly affiliated with House Kheperu or the Kheprians in any way, other than some common links of lore and ritual. Like most Kherete-inspired traditions, they follow an ethical code equivalent with the Black Veil, as published in “The Psychic Vampire Codex” by Michelle Belanger.

“House Noctura” Among the Vampyre Houses founded under the Kherete” style are House Noctura in 2009, North Carolina, “in connection with the Kherete Tradition of House Kheperu in Ohio”.

“House Rosa” June 2007 “a vampire & Otherkin House founded as a collaborative effort with the Kherete Tradition of House Kheperu and located in Reno, NV. The House is dedicated to the education of Otherkin and other fringe communities as to the nature of Otherkin: Vampires, Fey, Witches, Therians, Myth-Kin, etc.” http://www.houserosa.org/

Books on vampyrism and the paranormal and occult written by Michelle Belanger as a private author are sold on the open market. The Kheprians do not seem to require book or other purchases as a condition of membership.

“Vampyrian TempleUVUP (c) for Vampyr or Vampire Spirituality” – 2003

“We are a Vampyrian Temple for spiritual Vampyres, Divinity, unity, support, and strength. The whole purpose is to unite and educate the Vampyr community on its abilities, capabilities, beginnings as well as focus on the spirituality of Vampyrism. We are a United Vampyr Unitarian (eclectic) Pagan Temple in Ohio founded Dec. 18, 2003; though we have members from all over. Our belief is all religions have there basis in truth as well as not and by trying to understand each other we may come closer to the real truth. We are generally Dark Vampyr Temple and not everyone has to agree with that but we are an open minded Temple and hope you will be open minded too. I hope we can each share own personal beliefs here and be OK with that. Take in what you wish and ignore what you wish. Dark blessings to you all… © Founding Father J P Vanir ChrstVampyr” This temple also adheres to the Vampire Creed, although it has its own doctrine, called “The Vampyrian Creed”.

The Vampire Church

This is a moderate spiritual Group devoted to the real Vampyre Community and the study of vampirism and energy work. “The Vampire Church believes in “willing” donors and do not agree with the unwelcome taking of any kind being it blood, sexual or empathic or psychic energy. The Vampire Church understands that there are some forms of psychic energy taking that can be done without the donor knowing and there is no harm. There are other organizations which believe in the practice of forceful psychic attacks upon others. This is totally unacceptable by the Vampire Church.” “The educated person with vampirism is more able to cope with their condition. Vampirism is also about the empowerment of self and thru that the development of self thru this knowledge which will help ensure heath and survival. People with vampirism must be able to cope with the misconceptions brought on by media and the film industry as well as the ridicule and the disbelief of others to be able to live with this condition. This Organization hopes to help other people better understand the vampire condition thru research, and shared knowledge and experience.”

Aset Ka: Secretive Order of Vampires

Aset Ka: Secretive Order of Vampires

In a time when everyone is fascinated with the vampires from myth and film, it might be interesting to pay a closer look to a reality that in many ways can be more thrilling than fiction. A world of darkness, surrounded by mystery, where those predators walk among us. That is the reality of the Aset Ka, a secretive order of real life vampires that presents a spiritual path and metaphysical system centered around dark magick and a paradigm of predatory spirituality. The organization holds a close connection with Ancient Egypt, where its name “Aset Ka” can roughly be translated to “The Essence of Isis”. You may have heard of Isis before, as she is the Greek designation for a very ancient goddess from Egypt, known as Aset in their native language. Spread throughout the modern world, the Order of Aset Ka is believed to hold one of its main strongholds in the city of Porto, in Europe, being considered cultural capital of Europe in 2001. Known for its typical gothic architecture, rich spiritual culture and extensive history, the city of Porto has one of the most impressive occult undergrounds in Europe, with a long history of witchcraft, pagan influence and governed by different centenary covens. Seems like the perfect dark grounds for a vampire order to establish themselves in modern times, no?

According to the Asetian culture, the primordial vampires lived in Egypt, among humans, and as part of the pharaonic royalty and its armies. This theory is in tune with the Ancient Egyptian belief that the Pharaoh, and sometimes his royal family, were not human, but partially divine. These vampires were known as the Asetians, where the word vampire represents a modern designation created by mankind to describe them, due to their predatory nature. In their theology, they are said to be the spiritual descendants of Aset, and they can be metaphysically distinguished by three Lineages:

– The Serpents, from the Viperine Lineage;

– The Scorpions, from the Guardian Lineage;

– The Scarabs, from the Concubine Lineage.

They differ in both spiritual and metaphysical characteristics, where the Serpents are usually connected with the leadership of the Aset Ka, known for their powerful and devastating metaphysical abilities in parallel with an ageless sense of wisdom; the Scorpions are an archetype of love, loyalty and intense sexuality, known for their impressive subtle shields and advanced defensive magick; at last the Scarabs are the most common of the three Lineages, highly adept at energy and mental manipulation, cherished for their inborn ability to operate as high quality donors in an energy exchange or vampire feed. Although they are diverse and impossible to fully define, each Lineage completes the other, and the strongest power of the Aset Ka is said to be in their union and unbreakable sense of loyalty, both hallmarks of their whole culture.

The path of the Asetians is known as Asetianism, and although it isn’t professed as a religion, it is a complex spiritual system and initiatory occult framework. Many of the mysteries from their tradition aren’t public knowledge, in a society that is surrounded by secrecy, but a good idea of their basic beliefs, practices and history can be found in the book Asetian Bible. Not a common publication from an esoteric publishing house, but a work distributed on a global scale directly from the Order of Aset Ka itself. Within it, from ancient hieroglyphs and magickal seals of the Asetian culture, the author takes his readers through a timeless journey back to Ancient Egypt, where he explains how it all started and the origins of the vampire creature, and how it evolved through the ages until today. The Asetian spiritual system is explained, although the details on initiation are not shared, but it presents some thought-provoking theories that explain the vampire subtle system and soul in detail, as well as the metaphysics behind their practices and its underlying foundations. It is a serious work on vampire culture, and the first to present vampires with a full spiritual system with a strong foundation on predatory spirituality, occult culture and magick.

Also interesting is to realize that Asetianism, although centered around the foundations of vampirism, it is not a spiritual path restricted to the Asetians, as it is open to anyone that commits to its philosophies and has been through some level of initiation or awakening. A recurrent term in Asetian terminology is also the word Asetianist, that is used to describe anyone who studies the path and art of Asetianism. So while an Asetian is a vampire, a spiritual descendent of Isis and initiated into the mysteries of the Aset Ka, an Asetianist does not necessarily define someone as being a vampire, but just a member of the Asetian path and culture. In reality, and unlike Asetians, most Asetianists aren’t directly connected with the Order of Aset Ka, being independent students and seekers that found within the Asetian culture a path they feel as home.

Another peculiar detail we can find among the modern Asetian community is the respect that everyone holds not only for the Asetians and their culture, but for each other Asetianist in the path. They represent a very united community with a strong sense of art and wisdom that brings vampirism to a whole new level in terms of spiritual awareness and metaphysical knowledge.

To end this short introduction to the vampire world of the Aset Ka, we will leave you with the infamous symbol of the Asetian vampires. No respectable article on the Aset Ka would be complete without some mention of the Dark Mark, would it? So we at Vampires.com wanted to end it by giving you a glimpse into this mysterious symbol. Said to be a magickal seal, the Asetians call it The Asetian Sigil, but most of the world knows it simply as the Dark Mark, a mystifying symbol that members of the Aset Ka are known for having tattooed on their left wrist. The symbol is believed by occultists to hold talismanic properties of unknown power, being formed by distinctive Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic icons, as the major Ankh in the center, a representation of immortality and eternal life, and the upper horned-shape structures, described as Rays of Aset in their own literature, said to represent energy and enlightenment.

Would you like to know about their vampire initiation known as the Dark Kiss? What is the Asetian view on immortality and reincarnation? The process of awakening and how does a real vampire feed? Is it anything like in the movies or entirely different? You will have to wait for our next article…

Cheers!

R.T.”

Conclusion:

To date, few local Vampyre religions or specific religious movements have emerged in South Africa. For the most part it appears that many of the religious or spiritual Vampyres known to us in this part of the world, are either agnostic, Christian, Pagan or Wiccan or just outright eclectics – and of the few who attach a unique spiritual identity to their vampyric nature and who have built a temple identity around it, even fewer seem willing to publicize the existence of such temples.

Reference Articles On Or About Vampyre Religious Groups:

Will to Power and Elitist Societies – by Cian Ashling December 5, 2012