"In the heart of the Hsifan Khanate lies the Temple of the Black Sun religion, rhough it is said that ancient ritual sacrifice is not unknown to the Black Sun priests." (Cerebus #7).
DIRECTORY: A fictitious (and often renamed) document sold by the Palnan bureaucracy, allegedly to help deal with that bureaucracy. No one has ever actually seen a copy.
KEVILLIST ORIGINS: A book by Astoria. Excerpts follow:
![[Astoria]](chars/astoria.jpg)
"The penis is an organ without scruple, without humanity,without common sense. Those women who understand this fact and make use of it have at their command all the resources of the modern world. I first had sexual congress at the age of fourteen with a high-placed government official in my native Lower Felda. He had pursued me, despite (or, rather, I suspect because of) my extreme youth for a period of several months. I was drawn very much to the power that he wielded within that government. I was attracted, however, not as a would-be life-mate, potential concubineor wife-to-be. Rather, I was drawn as someone who desired that same power for herself, as a means of instituting societal change for my own betterment and for the betterment of those elements of female society with which I was (and am) sympathetic. I presented my decision to him in the form of a bargain. He would answer all of the questions that I had about achieving, maintaining and using power and in exchange (once I was satisfied with his answers), his unscrupulous organ would be free to do with me asit would. We had a series of five meetings, each of several hours duration. I took meticulous notes, asked for clarification where I lacked understanding of the subject matter, and began to get the first sketchy impressions of the parameters and dimensions of the task which lay before me. Once satisfied that I had learned all that this particular individual had to teach me, I then fulfilled my half of the bargain. The act itself took only slightly longer than eight minutes. I cleaned myself thoroughly,dressed, and left his apartments. I had retained many of his letters of earnest entreaty and when (as I knew he would) he attempted to renew our relationship, I threatened him with exposure as a pederast. He ceased his unwanted attentions and I began my political career." (Cerebus #163)
"The great flaw of any matriarchy is that it limits political power to those individuals who are the least concerned with progress and achievement. While any society must see the safety of its children as a priority;it must not, should not and can not be that society's first priority. Advancement in the quality of female lives, advancement in the sciences, in medicine, in exploration, in the arts; the conquest of new territories, the expansion of borders in all areas of endeavor, both physical and mental, is critical to the health of empire. An empire which contents itself to build layers of insulation, both physical and mental, around itself and its citizenry, will soon find itself atrophying and falling swiftly intodecay; easy prey for the competitors for whom aggression, whether between individuals, geographic regions or empires, stands as the foremost characteristic of their governing body. Where aggression is the primary characteristic of empire, it soon makes short work of those competitors who are quiescent, complacent, and passive. The nation-state which is not prepared to consume its neighbors, will, inevitably, be consumed by those neighbors." (Cerebus #163)
"Most of the matriarchy's rhetoric centerson the family (or, rather, the Family); they are obsessive regarding children's' needs for caring and nurturing and they hold in the greatest contempt those who hold any viewpoint contrary to this. The bond between mother and child is their most sacred totem and their universal rallying cry. It is, therefore, curious to note that at the upper levels of Cirin's government (and, in fact, at most levels of her bureaucracy) the children of her officials are cared for by nannies and governesses until the age offive when they are unceremoniously shipped off to government-run boarding schools. Cirin's own son, Gerrik told me that he did not spend a full day in his mother's company until he was nearly sixteen; and then it was merely to observe her working day so that he might have a fuller appreciation of the complexities of governing Upper Felda." (Cerebus #163)
"The matriarchists misinterpret, intentionally I think, the true nature of a woman. They persist in the notionthat a woman must adhere to a single male, forming a family unit, which they then endeavor to dominate as a superior force. This is nonsensical. The best working model for a woman's life is a beehive; a solitary queen, serviced and catered to by a diverse group of males who exist exclusively to advance her cause. Those with wealth must serve as her personal treasury; those with brawn as her soldier/warriors; those with fertile minds serve as debating adversaries, allowing her to keep sharp her mental skillsand to dissect and reinforce her beliefs and theories. The woman who owns the allegiance of the wealthiest, the strongest and the most brilliant of consorts; to her pass the reigns of absolute power. Inevitably she will rise, like heavy cream through thin milk, to the very summit of human existence." (Cerebus #164)
"One of the few matriarchal programs with which I heartily concur is the Alcohol Sanction. It should be noted that the Sanction was devised only when a general prohibition provedcompletely unworkable. I do feel, however, that the taverns should be accessible to the general female population, as well. Illicit consumption of alcohol among homemakers, the trading of sexual favors for smuggled alcohol, as well as a proliferation of illegal distillation in Upper Felda's kitchens, is glossed over to an unconscionable degree. Alcoholism is destructive of societal progress wherever it occurs and the sooner the vice can be bred out of every aspect of male and female existence, the sooner trueand meaningful progress can be achieved." (Cerebus #165)
"The Matriarchists are heedless of the fact that the Goddess is a Deity of All Womankind. While She is Mother, She is also Daughter. Though She has her bountiful aspect, She is also Virgin. She is both Seductress and Celibate. The Multiverse itself has issued forth from Her Womb; and yet she is untouched; inviolate. The Matriarchists invite disaster, courting, as they do, a single aspect of Her being. The Goddess is Mystery in All Things. IfCirin persists, single-mindedly, in pursuing a False Ascension, the fate which awaits her is the same fate that has befallen all who have stood before the Gate of Heaven." (Cerebus #166).
"The Matriarchists are at great pains to eliminate the true histories of female dominated societies. Most particularly they disavow any awareness of the brief period in the history of Iest's Upper City when the singular philosophies of the T'Capmin writer Kevil took hold. To me, this was the only period ofenlightenment in the sordid history of Cirinism when a natural division of responsibility and interests was put in place; Mothers in charge of all issues governing the family and child care and Daughters in charge of all issues not concerned with family and child care. The evolution from one group to the other was natural and well suited to the needs of society as a whole. Upon giving birth, a woman�s task changed from those extroverted concerns to a mother�s more naturally introverted concerns. The fact thatthe matriarchy, as constituted in Upper Felda, has been forced to become totalitarian and dictatorial is the surest sign that it is completely out of synch with the natural rhythms of human existence." (Cerebus #167).
"On the subject of dreams, most particularly, the matriarchists reveal themselves to be dictatorial and uncompromising. From a very early age, they train their daughters to regard all of existence as real and tangible; that any transgression awake or asleep is to be regarded asequally suspect and as a punishable offence. Naturally enough, there is no way to control people's dreams, but their vehemence on the subject has caused more than one small child to regard herself as depraved, evil and unworthy through having dreamt herself in a circumstance which does not meet with matriarchal approval. Dreamers, awake and asleep, have been responsible for most, if not all, of the great developments in all areas of human endeavor. Small wonder that, apart from inventing itself, the matriarchy isbarren of anything that could (even by the most charitable) be described as an idea; and further that they are always in the forefront of those who seek to oppress, inhibit and eradicate new thought. Until, of course, that new thought proves itself beneficial to their society, whereupon they embrace it whole-heartedly and strike all references to their original opposition from any written record." (Cerebus #168).
"It is curious to me, in the writings of the Matriarchists, that they allude oftento the unseen and unknowable mysteries of female existence; inexplicable and harmonious convergences and coincidences; and yet, at each juncture when they raise the issue, it is dismissed out-of-hand as wicked and false with no explanation of why, exactly, that is the case. Childbirth is the universal panacea. Have a baby and the inexplicable becomes untroublesome and irrelevant. In my efforts to raise and confront these issues, I am faced, often, by malice and indignation; most particularly when I suggestthat, far from being a panacea in the area of the inexplicable, childbirth functions as a soporific; deadening natural curiosity and intellectual examination beneath layers of mindless habit, ritual and duty. The effect is not unlike military training, whose sole purpose is to transform the reasoning individual into a mindless drone." (Cerebus #170)
"The Eye in the Pyramid (unlike the ancient symbol of wisdom) is located in the middle of the pyramid, not at its apex.It applies to all hierarchical systems. As applied to Kevillism, it is an illustration of the power which resides at the so-called lower echelons of hierarchical systems. Anyone with any experience in government or business knows that those supposedly in power have only a cursory awareness of how the system operates, and a nearly complete ignorance of the day-in-day-out exchange of information, book-keeping and paper-work which is its life's blood. Through my writings on the Eye in the Pyramid, I endeavor only to make secretaries, bookkeepers, executive assistants, and others aware that they, and not their superiors, control the levers of power. That awareness is my sole motivation and the goal I wish to achieve. What they choose to do with that awareness, once they have achieved it, is entirely up to them and of no interest to me whatsoever." (Cerebus #172).
(Kevillism has appeared in Cerebus #28, 62, 168, 171-172)
NEW MATRIARCHY, THE: A book by Cirin. Excerpts follow:
![[Cirin]](chars/cirin.jpg)
"The mother Terim directs, and we, her priestesses obey. We seek the divine inspiration within us and we spread the word our mother. As we learn to face toward the hub of the wheel, it is incumbent upon us all to show the path of reason, of love, and of obedience to those who areunable to perceive the symmetry of mother, child and the true path. It is our goal not only to find our own illumination, but to give illumination to others. For some we need only point the way. Others we must lead. Still others we must push. Above all, we cannot dismiss any soul as extraneous. All originate within the mother and all must be instructed in her ways..." (Cerebus #20).
"Great tolerance must be exercised when dealing with daughters. It is very difficult for a mother to recall thatconfused and turbulent time in her life when existence is profoundly unfocused and a girl feels very strongly all the myriad forces which exert themselves upon her; both external forces and, more perniciously, her own tendency to submit herself and her will to that which is transient, attractive, compelling and ill-advised. Childbirth is the Goddess' greatest gift to womankind wherein an ordered mind supplants a disordered one; reality breaks through the thin membrane of interwoven and convoluted illusion whichis a girl's consciousness to that point. Suddenly genuine purpose and True Womanhood make of her a contributing member of society, where previously she had been merely a discordant and willful obstruction to all that is ordered and healthy. The birth of a child takes the mother out of her own limited and self-absorbed vanity and shows her, clearly and in a way which will brook no denial, what the Goddess' purpose for her is. The irrational rage of the young girl who is reminded of this fact is proofpositive that within her, at the core of her essential being, a True Voice is speaking always to her; reminding her that it is her destiny to bring forth new life; to care for it and to nurture it. When a daughter rails against this nature, the wise mother is silent and leaves it to the True Voice within the daughter to work its sweet magic on its own timetable, as it surely will. Time is always on the side of that True Voice." (Cerebus #163).
"The principle reason that we allow only mothers to governand to decide the large issues of government in Upper Felda is that they are the only individuals with a genuine stake in the future of our country. If, as many advocate, we extended the voting franchise to daughters once they have reached an arbitrarily chosen age of majority, we would be submitting the fate of our grand and noble experiment to the caprice and whim of individuals who are seeking to escape their own nature. To give them such an outlet would provide an alternative to the following of theirTrue Voice, the dictates of the Goddess Herself and would result in universal madness of the first water. Why have we forbidden men a role in the affairs of state? Because men seek to escape the fact of their expandability (once they have fertilized the egg which becomes new life) with incautious adventurism. Aware that nothing will remain of them to mark their passing, they inevitably seek to make their mark through destruction of peace and order. The young girl's unreasonable fear of childbirth will findoutlets in exactly this kind of destructiveness. To open the flood-gates even fractionally; allowing daughters to wield political power; is to invite swift and chaotic inundation." (Cerebus #163).
"Those daughters who attempt to achieve political power without first having the benefit of childbirth are not nearly so trouble-some as one might be led to believe. In a majority of cases, their seeking after power andinfluence is largely a means of attracting male attentions. Once a suitable mate presents himself, they will continue to go through the motions of climbing the ladder of success for a time; but soon, they are married and shortly thereafter, they are with child. In those situations where the cart is before the horse; where career comes before childbirth; it is interesting to note that few daughters ever return to that career. In those situations where the career comes after childbirth, career is kept in itsproper place as an ancillary interest to the fuller and more important task of child-rearing." (Cerebus #163).
"A daughter thinks her youth and beauty are timeless. I remember walking through a marketplace with one of my senior advisors and her beautiful daughter (who was then in her mid-teens). A flower-seller extended a single flower to her, with his compliments. This she accepted with only the slightest acknowledgment. My advisor said to her, "You'd better enjoy it while you can. It doesn't lastforever, you know." The girl's attentions were drawn elsewhere, to a booth nearby with a display of gaudy trinkets and she ventured no reply. Now in her late twenties, needless to say, the adoring throngs of men who have surrounded her all of her life have dwindled to a handful of low and deceitful characters; charlatans, petty criminals, and brigands to a one. Gone are the industrious, reliable and noteworthy suitors of days past. One of these will undoubtedly father her children someday and she will liveout her days in degraded circumstances, going from unsuitable mate to unsuitable mate. Her children, when they are of an age to understand, will pity her, mock her, be disgusted by her.
The Goddess has neither mercy upon, nor patience with the willful, the proud and the self-centered woman." (Cerebus #164).
"The Alcohol Sanction is called into question frequently by many sincere followers of our creed. It falls into the same category as prostitution in our view. That which cannot be eliminatedmust be sequestered. The consumption of alcohol, once isolated from the general community, permits those self-destructive and troublesome elements within the male population to hasten their own demise. Since no one is permitted to leave a licensed establishment until entirely sober, each tavern becomes an effective prison to those unable or unwilling to forego inebriation as a state of perpetual existence. If a husband is absent for three consecutive days owing to intoxication, his marriage is automaticallydissolved and his possessions seized and distributed for the general benefit of his own and other needy families. He then becomes a tavern "resident", provided with alcohol and a subsistence diet and mean accommodation for the rest of his days. The average life expectancy of one of these individuals is six to eight months. Indisputably, wives find the enforced separation to be a great trial, but in a majority of cases, they will choose their subsequent life-mate with greater care and less emotion, and willfind a reliable provider for themselves and their children." (Cerebus #165).
"In the history of Iest, there have been several attempts, some real, some illusory, at an ascension into heaven. In each case, the individual attempting that ascension has been male. In each case, the Tower has risen erratically, and has been structurally unsound. In each case, it has then collapsed on the Lower City, causing massive destruction, nearly unimaginable loss of life and injury. This, then, is the surestsign that exists of the Goddess' intolerance of male-dominated, male-directed society. It will be a mother who ascends, when the time comes. And that time will be soon. The Goddess will reach down to us, even as we reach up to Her. When that glorious connection is made; when that wondrous day arrives; the long-promised Golden Age will dawn and our successes and triumphs in Upper Felda will pale by comparison; mere flint, mere stone, mere spark, beside the miraculous, world-wide Blaze of Glory that isyet-to-be." (Cerebus #166).
"There have been various aberrant forms of the pure Matriarchy in our long history; experiments where the Daughter rules the Mother. Without exception, these experiments have been disastrous. To limit a Mother's influence to family and childcare alone is to ignore the fact that family and childcare are irrevocably connected to all aspects of society. A foreign policy, which is not founded on the family, is misguided adventurism. An economic policy, which is not founded on thefamily, is unenlightened avarice. And so on." (Cerebus #167).
"It is most important to have a thorough-going discussion with your daughters each morning on the subject of their dreams. For it is in dreams that depravity and wickedness find their surest handhold. The morning discussion should begin as soon as the child is capable of expressing herself so that she can learn as soon and as completely as possible what constitutes a Good Dream and what constitutes a Bad Dream. Great care should beexercised in making the child aware that dreams are inside their own heads and do not originate elsewhere. Once advised that Bad Dreams represent inner poison, which must be dealt with and eliminated by the child herself, she will soon embark on a fit and proper course of self-awareness, self-preservation, and self-development. If a daughter is made to confront the demon within, she will have little difficulty in distinguishing the demon without." (Cerebus #168).
"We must be ever-vigilant againstsudden and spontaneous outbreaks of sorcery. It is tempting, when events and people begin to rearrange themselves in distinct lines and configurations, to mistake such arrangements for expressions of the will of the Goddess manifesting itself. The very fact of these occurrences dictates a need for extreme caution and strict adherence to the guidelines of our ancient and revered texts. We must never forget that the Divine Light of the Goddess's Path is often accompanied by the false light of distraction anddivergence. Demons and false teachings line the true path, ready, always, to ensnare the unwary. Birth! Birth above all else. For in childbirth even the most gullible finds the Divine Light of the Goddess to shine most brightly. With the birth of a child, the young mother finds her way in the world and the division between false mysteries and the True Path becomes as sure and as apparent as the difference between night and day. Choose an appropriate mate, choose procreation, choose the path of the True Motherand all else becomes clear." (Cerebus #170).
"If there was ever a more concrete example of the sheer willful and contrary nature of daughters when they are allowed to roam the corridors of power, unchecked and unfettered, it is the Eye in the Pyramid. Ostensibly based on an ancient and marginal philosophy, it amounts to little more than disobedience and rebelliousness as political theory. Fortunately the adherents of this cult are easily discovered and rooted out; a wise and organized leader hasonly to seek out those areas of government where information and decision-making are regularly impeded or neutralized and remove the person responsible. It is less a political movement than it is a haven for misguided pranksters." (Cerebus #172).
(Cirinism has appeared in Cerebus #20, 26, 28, 40-41, 151-161, 164-167, 170)
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