Author: Darth Striga

I see the Force as just another name behind the energies that assist in both Left Hand Path and Right Hand Path magick, Seeker. As such, my particular brand of Sithism has much in common with occult traditions and beliefs. Performing a ritual, meditation, prayer, spellwork – it’s all using the Force, even if by a different name.

That being said, I do believe that the philosophy and practice of Sithism is compatible with other beliefs. One can be a Satanist and a Sith, a Druid and a Sith, any flavor of modern neo-paganism and a Sith, a Thelemite and a Sith. Sith philosophy does conflict quite a bit with the philosophies of some major religions, such as Christianity, though I would argue in practice that it does not. You’ll have a hard time finding a Christian who is truly a Christian. However, more than practical behavior, the fundamental exclusivity found in revealed religions will exclude a belief in the Force – even though prayer is an active use of the Force.

Other major religions, such as Hinduism, Taoism, and indigenous traditions have no incompatibility with Sithism – at least to my knowledge. Many traditions have the description or belief of an all-encompassing or omnipresent force (with a small f) that, even if they don’t describe it as the highest power as I do, does not contradict Sith philosophy.

This is a short one, Seeker, but the only point I wish to get across to you is that most people use the Force, whether they call it by that name or not. Magickal workings call upon the Force, and a mastery of the Force will lead to a more powerful working. Go forth, Seeker, and may the Force ever serve you.

If you have read On Metaphysics, Seeker, you may be asking – you believe in the Force, but say you would have things in common with a Jedi; so why claim to be a follower of the Dark Side?

The answer is simple, Seeker. I disagree with their code.

There is no Emotion, there is Peace.

Emotions are real. To deny emotions is to deny humanity. Emotions should be felt, examined, understood, and used in magick. This is a fool’s view, as is the view that peace is anything but an illusion.

There is no Ignorance, there is Knowledge.

To deny ignorance is to be willfully blind. Ignorance exists all around us. Ignorance is nearly as permeating as the Force. As well, ignorance is the default state, and learning is the conflict between new and old knowledge. There is, however, no denying knowledge exists and the pursuit of it should be encouraged.

There is no Passion, there is Serenity.

A life without passion is an empty, sad, and boring one. A world without passion is stagnant. Would you want to read a book written by an author with no passion, or watch a movie directed by a director with no passion? Didn’t think so. To be serene with society as it exists is to accept your oppression. However, to be serene with nature and the Force is the gateway to power.

There is no Chaos, there is Harmony.

Chaos is change. Chaos is the new. Change may not always be good, but change exists. To deny chaos is to deny that settings and circumstances change. The world is different every minute. Harmony does not exist, it is an ideal. Nothing is in a state of true harmony, but the entire universe exists in a state of true chaos. And if you look into a telescope and see the Pillars of Creation or are lucky enough to look into the night sky in an area without light pollution (ironic) and see the arms of the Milky Way, I challenge you to honestly say that the chaos of the universe isn’t breathtakingly beautiful.

There is no Death, there is the Force.

People die. Everything dies. Such is the nature of the universe. While we may become one with the Force upon death, we should not avoid the topic. It’s not healthy. It’s not helpful, either.

Beyond the code, I don’t feel at home with right hand path religions. The words of Anton LaVey influenced me deeply. The writings of Aleister Crowley shaped my practice. I have many friends who are Satanists and Thelemites who I consider to be philosophical allies. The darker sides have always attracted me – gods and goddesses of death, stories of afterlives, horror movies and novels, goth fashion, metal music.

This is just a snippet as to why I choose to immerse myself in the Dark Side of the Force. I hope this answered your question, Seeker.

I would not call you my apprentice, Seeker. But if you wish to apply to me the title of Mentor or Teacher, you may. Don’t call me Master, Seeker, because… it’s kinda weird okay? The modern connotations are just not what they are in Star Wars. And you know exactly what I’m referring to, Seeker. Don’t pretend to be innocent.

I am not generally against the idea of the Mentor/Apprentice relationship, but I do not think it is the be all end all of Sith education. I have had four Mentors over my journey of the Sith, and I’ve learned something from all of them. From one of them, I have learned what not to believe. And this, Seeker, is just as important.

There is less information on Sithism than there was when I started my journey in 2005. Due to extremists infiltrating our religion, a lot of information was tainted or lost. Several web hosts have been forced to drop Sithist pages and forums due to extremist content. If you haven’t noticed, I have disabled comments site wide – this is why. I will not have my holocron jeopardized by fools and frauds.

I will be working on this holocron as I continue my journey and have time to do so. I have a plethora of knowledge already to put to paper, but I know there is still more to learn. It’s hard to believe I have been a Sith for 20 years, mostly because I dread losing my youth, but also because I know there is still so much the Force and the Dark Side have to teach me.

This holocron will have much to teach you, Seeker. Though I understand that the impersonal words on your screen may not carry the weight of personal instruction, so should you decide to seek me out specifically, I will not turn down those who I deem worthy.

This, Seeker, is my religious view. I would define Sithism as both my philosophy and religion. I do believe in the Force as real.

This is not to say that I believe the story of Star Wars, no matter how influential, is a true story. If I did, I most definitely would not consider myself a Sith. I am not a fascist, I’m an anarcho-syndicalist. I do not condone murder. Nazis should fuck off. Queer people are here to stay and deserve rights. Racial minorities are going nowhere and deserve rights.

If I had never heard of Sithism, I would likely be labeled a dark pantheist. I borrow many aspects of Celtic Druidry, other than the views of deity, in my practice and belief.

To unfortunately quote a Jedi, “it surrounds us and penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.” I believe in a God, but it is not personal. It does not hear prayers, it does not judge the dead, it does not hold a golden palace in the sky or otherwise. The God I believe in is one of the forces of nature – the Spirit in the circle, accompanied by Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. Philosophically speaking, I am in good company:

-Laozi, the author of the Tao Te Ching and philosophical founder of Taoism

-Spinoza, often hailed as the “prince of pantheism”

-Beethoven, the composer

-Ralph Waldo Emerson, founder of transcendentalism

-Henry David Thoreau, author and transcendentalist

-Nietzsche, philosopher – really, look it up!

-Tesla, genius inventor

-Carl Jung, psychologist/psychiatrist

-Einstein, physicist

-Audrey Hepburn, actress

-Carl Sagan, astronomer

I’m also in pretty terrible company:

-That Vegan Teacher, TikTok idiot (nothing against vegans, she’s a bigot)

-Someone I can’t name because I might get disappeared, but he’s a prominent businessman

This God I believe in is what I call the Force. And I believe it can be harnessed and manipulated, much like what a modern occultist would call magick. No, you can’t shoot lightning from your fingers, choke someone with your mind, or make someone believe something with a wave of your hand. But you can draw energy and inspiration from it, you can use it as the extra “oomf” to achieve your goals, you can call upon it to divine the future, you can channel the energies to assist others. I believe that your emotions are powerful, and can be used to empower your magick.

With my definition and practice of Sithism, you would not be wrong to call me a chaos magician. I believe you should use anything and everything that works for you. If you find a meditation, practice, ritual, symbol, whatever that works for you, you should use it. Such is the nature of the Sith – Sith is the symbol, the name, the belief, the practice that works for me, so it’s the one I use.

I would find a lot of common ground with left hand path occultists (specifically Satanists and Thelemites), Druids, chaos magicians, pantheists, modern pagans, wiccans, Taoists, Buddhists, and yes, even Jedi. Despite all of our differences, we have more in common than not. And the enlightened will see that this is true in all cases.

Except Nazis. Fuck Nazis. Never associate with them, Seeker. Real Sith are not far-right extremists, those are pretenders and cosplayers. They are frauds and should be dismissed without thought.

This may seem counterintuitive to what you’ve likely come to believe about the Sith, Seeker. The Sith, empathetic? Preposterous! But hold your disbelief for but a moment, Seeker, and see that this may not be as outrageous as it seems.

Consider a society where empathy doesn’t exist. Without empathy, no one is motivated to become a doctor. Sure, some become a doctor for the profit motive, but I would argue that most doctors are incredibly empathetic. Your doctor wants to see you healthy. If they didn’t, every appointment your doctor would tell you to drink a glass of bacon grease every day, and cut off one of your toes every so often. Doing everything your doctor tells you to do will, if you’re otherwise healthy, cause you to only see them once a year for your physical – if you even do that! Keeping your customers away doesn’t seem very profitable to me. Without empathy, we’d surely have less doctors. Without doctors, Seeker, you’re going to die from something preventable. It’s selfish to desire empathy.

Move on from doctors to teachers. In the US, people do not become teachers out of greed. They don’t get paid what they’re worth. Yet, people get education degrees and become teachers, to educate the next generation. We can argue about how flawed the education system is – and I would agree with you, Seeker. We do not properly empower our children. The policy of No Child Left Behind is just as ironic as most legislation ends up being, as it directly caused so many children to be left behind intellectually. But broadly speaking, an informed society is a better society. It’s selfish to desire empathy.

And more on topic, empathy is required for the Sith code to be properly fulfilled. Empathy is a building block of passion – the foundation of the Sith code. Without empathy, the largest cause of passion would be gone: your loved ones. To love is to feel empathy. To love is to have passion. A Sith must be empathetic to be Sith. Feel your empathy, Seeker, and allow it to fuel you. Allow it to push you to break your chains. Empathy will lead to your freedom.

Hello again, Seeker. Today, we touch on a topic with many facets that is, unfortunately, loud in today’s climate. The culture war. Cancel culture. Identity politics. It’s all a distraction.

The “culture war” is a convenient propaganda tool to keep everyone blaming each other for the world’s problems, instead of holding those in power accountable for their actions. Anyone who falls for it is a fool, and any Sith who falls for it is a fraud.

Cancel culture is an excuse. Those who invoke it are just angry they’re facing consequences for their actions. No one is being “cancelled”, they’re being held responsible for their actions. Sith are champions of personal responsibility, and that includes accepting every consequence – even the unforeseen – for every action we take.

Identity politics is just a dirty phrase those in power want us to associate with recognizing the truth that immutable characteristics – ones we are either born with or otherwise can’t control – exist and affect daily life. Black people are faced with discrimination, this is just a fact. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are faced with discrimination, this is just a fact. We should seek to remedy this, as an equal and prosperous society is a safe and secure society. Anyone who pulls this phrase is a weak fool who wants you to disregard that WASPs (white anglo-saxon protestants) have an unearned advantage in society. If you can’t or refuse to see this, you’re simply lesser. Remember, a Sith should absorb new information and, whenever necessary, change their opinions. A Sith’s opinions should be informed by facts, not their facts informed by opinions.

Reactionary beliefs and actions are the inevitable reaction that those with unearned power have when others are elevated to their level. It’s not that anyone is losing rights or status – these ingrates are upset that other people are succeeding as well. These people are fragile snowflakes who can’t handle seeing anyone outside their circle doing well.

See the culture war for what it is, Seeker, and don’t allow yourself to be distracted by it. It is a chain that deserves to be broken.

Hello, Seeker. I wish to give you my thoughts on the Sith Code. Read them, Seeker, and form your own thoughts. Never take my word as concrete, but anything you find that resonates with you is yours to keep.

Peace is a lie, there is only Passion

Conflict is inevitable. Even avoiding conflict causes inner turmoil, as conflict avoidant people suffer injustices to keep the illusion of peace. And while conflict, when violent, should not be purposely sought unless necessary, non-violent conflict is more often than not incredibly positive.

In a broad context, conflict is what brought minorities the rights they enjoy today. The battle is far from over in this aspect, but many victories have been rightfully claimed. While the Civil War in the US is an example of violent conflict bringing an ultimately good outcome, the Civil Rights Act was born of (mostly) non-violent conflict. To say the Civil Rights Movement was without violent conflict would be ignorant at best, much of the movement was non-violent. Sit ins, civil disobedience, protest, speeches, and legislation were non-violent.

The ultimate wins of unions were an alternative to violence. The collective bargaining process and the use of strikes are the non-violent compromise to breaking down the boss’s door in the middle of the night. However, these are still, by nature and definition, conflict.

On a more personal level, therapy is conflict. You are working with your therapist to identify areas of thought and behavior that you seek to change. Processing trauma is inner conflict. Disagreements with an intimate partner are conflict, and compromise brings resolution to the conflict.

All change is wrought by conflict. Rights were fought for, not freely given. Peace is an illusion, a powerful tool of the oppressor to convince you to be content with your oppression. And these struggles, these conflicts, are fueled by Passion.

Through Passion, I gain Strength

Passion. Love. Vigorous agreement. The will to proceed, to fight, to keep moving forward. Passion is instrumental to change, self betterment, and the success of the world. For a moment, imagine a world without passionate people. Boring, isn’t it? People without passion rarely make history, and even those who don’t make history still have passion in their own way.

Passion is the fire within you that drives you towards your goal. Passion is the reason you don’t give up when you face an obstacle. Passion is the reason you overcome obstacles. Passion is the reason you get up after you’ve been knocked down. Passion is not just love, though love makes up a great deal of passion. Passion is your human desire to survive.

Your career, your physical fitness, your hobbies, your loved ones – all of these are examples of things that can, and often will, make you feel passion. Further, the more passionate you are about your particular cause, belief, or goal, the more likely you are to achieve it. Have you ever read one of those stories about a mother summoning the strength to lift a car to free her trapped child? Passion gives you Strength, both literally and figuratively.

Through Strength, I gain Power

Strength can be easily defined by those of you who enjoy role playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons. Strength itself is a stat, but your constitution and wisdom stats also encompass strength. Strength is not just physical power, but mental and emotional fortitude, problem solving and critical thinking, and health.

Physical power is important to everyday life, but without the other facets, is just brute, dumb force. No direction, destroying everything in its path. This kind of strength can be momentarily admirable, but it is a flame that burns quickly. Your physical strength is important to maintain, and is often directly linked with all other types of strength – a decaying musculature will lead to brain fog and poor cardiovascular and respiratory health. But it is not the be-all-end-all of strength.

Mental and emotional fortitude, when properly maintained, give you the ability to navigate the world in true Sith fashion. You see things the way they are – through the lies of politicians, religious leaders, and corporate parasites. You’re better at reading people; understanding their true motives and being more resistant to manipulation. This also tends to lead you to have greater empathy – more on this in the next paragraph. You’re able to better control your emotions, to navigate your personal life with care and be the steady rock your loved ones depend on. This fortitude is fairly similar to the benefits of being strong in problem solving and critical thinking. Touching on seeing through lies, you’re better able to resist propaganda. Understanding that no one, even you, are immune to propaganda is an incredibly important critical thinking skill. Being able to examine the news and see the truth behind the curtain is invaluable. Removing your focus from the culture war nonsense those with fragile egos and an untamed lust for power want you to be distracted by while they remove your rights and steal your money is one of the hallmarks of a true Sith.

You may have seen my comment that a quality of strength is a developed sense of empathy, and thought – why would a Sith wish to feel empathy? The answer is that a Sith strives to be intelligent, powerful, and each day better than the last. A Sith is not a monster, and should any monster claim the mantle of Sith, a true Sith will recognize them as a charlatan. But, you ask, how does this make a Sith different from a Jedi? This is a more nuanced answer, but the short is that a Sith has a more developed sense of empathy, while a Jedi does not inwardly examine it. A Sith is ultimately selfish, and the truth is that a developed, educated, and prosperous society allows a Sith to truly live to their full potential.

Finally, we have health. Without your health, you have nothing. Without honing your other areas of strength, you have no health. Everything is intertwined, and recognizing this complexity is necessary for all Sith. You must eat balanced meals, seek medical help when you’re sick or injured, drink plenty of water, and stay away from poisonous substances. Additionally, your mental health is just as important. Rest, socialize with friends, bathe yourself, keep your living area clean. If you maintain all aspects of your strength, you will have Power – over yourself, and over the world.

Through Power, I gain Victory

Power is not simply political or economic. There are aspects of power present, but true power lies much smaller in scale. While a Sith may aspire to political or economic power – and rightfully, all Sith should at least somewhat, even if that doesn’t mean being an executive or politician – power is directly linked to respect.

Just as one cannot fully love another without first loving themselves, a Sith cannot gain respect if they do not first respect themselves. This lies partially in the last paragraph of strength, but has more facets than just taking care of yourself. A Sith should strive to lead by example. Earn respect by treating those around you with respect. A Sith should educate themselves on a topic before speaking on it. A Sith should strive to seek out new information on every topic. A Sith should listen to the perspectives of those around them, as it furthers their own education. A Sith should fiercely protect those they love, as they are the greatest source of and fuel for passion. By treating those around you with respect, it will show that you respect yourself as well.

While this will not always be possible, a Sith should strive to be the smartest, strongest, most powerful person in the room. A Sith should also know their limitations. Many people often speak louder when they realize they’re wrong. A Sith should know how to admit it.

All of this is to say that a Sith should have power over themselves. A Sith should always remain in control, and by doing so, outward power naturally follows. And when one finally gains and successfully retains power over themselves, there is no situation in which they won’t be Victorious.

Through Victory, my chains are broken

Victory, simply defined, is achieving your goals. Living as you want to live, in all aspects of life. Victory over the big things – getting handed your diploma, the keys to your new house, saying “I do”, rearing children, landing your dream job – to victory over the small things – eating your favorite meal, spending time with your pet, telling the ones you love that you love them, and for some even just waking up.

Sith should have goals in all aspects of life. Setting big goals can drive us to achieve things we never dreamed of, and setting small goals keep us going along the way. Think of each of your big goals as the top of a ladder, and each of your small goals as a rung on the way up. It may sound silly or childish to say, but waking up each day is a goal for all of us – a more visible goal for some of us than others. For those of you whom waking up is a visible goal, Sith or otherwise, I’m personally proud of you for each day you achieve that goal. Every time you feel yourself slipping, hear me cheering you on, telling you that I believe you can make it to the morning.

Victory is the outcome of each conflict, for one side or another. Often, victory breeds further conflict. It all ties together – peace is an illusion, as even in quiet times, conflict brews. This does not mean that we should avoid victory, but that no fight is ever entirely over. And everything worth having is worth fighting for.

Every building block of the Sith code is required to reach victory. You must practice each step to reach it. Missing even one part of the code will cause victory to slip out of your hands. But with each victory you get under your belt a chain holding you back is broken.

The Force shall free me

Your chains are all that prevent you from being true to yourself. Each person has many chains, and they are both imposed by others and by ourselves. We struggle with body image, eating disorders, mental illness, physical illness, and disability. We struggle with impatience, trauma, imposter syndrome, and fears. We face government oppression, economic insecurity, food insecurity, and infrastructure breakdown.

Not every chain can be broken. But just as victory is never truly final, this does not mean we shouldn’t try to break as many as we can. You break your chains by recognizing your capabilities and shortcomings. A Sith is to break those they can themselves, seek assistance to break others, and seek support for those that cannot be broken. Each victory breaks a chain, and while it may be true that a new chain takes its place, or more chains are revealed, this only gives us more opportunity to break chains. Each obstacle should be faced with Passion, Strength, and Power. Only then will a Sith ever break their chains and be truly Free.