Astral Vampirism
Last Updated: 5 July 2014
Astral Vampirism is different from the term 'Psychic Vampirism' used by LaVey to describe emotionally draining people, i.e. those with undiagnosed psychiatric personality disorders. However, many occultists use the term 'Psychic Vampirism', 'PsiVamp' or Pranic Vampirism to actually describe Astral Vampirism, so it is in this context that I shall use these terms.
Psychic Vampirism is a practice employed by numerous LHP practitioners, mainly those who are chiefly interested in Black Magic, including many of the more militaristic or predatory LHP orders, whether Satanist or Luciferian - as it embodies the spirit of the predatory nature. Some dark pagans are also interested in the practice.
Psychic Vampirism is a type of self-healing modality, but whereas practises like Reiki and Quantum Touch are based on drawing in 'universal' energy from the cosmos into the body, Psychic Vampirism is the practise of taking energy from external limited sources in one's immediate environment and drawing them into one's body and integrating that energy - in whatever literal or metaphoric sense you like. This could include 'feeding' from plants, from the natural environment, emotional intensity created in public places by large numbers of people like night clubs or a crowd of people at a concert, the 'energy' produced during orgasm by both partners, or pre-arranged feeding from usually consensual human donors. In a sense it could be viewed as the direct opposite of Medical Qi Gong which is the act of putting one's own Qi or life force directly into a patient (after having generated that extra Qi using Qi Gong practice so that one has the Qi to spare).
Human donors tend to be friends with Psivamps and agree on regular feeding times. I have heard it reported that feeding on a donor can actually be beneficial for the donor if it is targeted at Qi blockages, but then presumably that donor would have to have abundant Qi in the body and not Qi deficiency and/or Qi stagnation as well, or it might just be detrimental. The idea with most feeding on donors is to only take a small amount and allow the donor to build that lost Qi back up again prior to any further feeding. There are 'rogue' Psivamps who will perform 'unauthorised feeding' on anyone they like but this seems to be a minority of practitioners - probably.
Most psivamps claim that they need to feed regularly or their energy levels drop. They also claim that the energy they draw from human hosts is not the same kind of energy as the others described above they can draw from the ambient environment or plants etc., and indeed which they can receive in the form of Reiki, Quantum Touch or other healing modalities. However it is interesting to note the use of the term 'Pranic Vampirism' if the energy drawn from hosts is not 'prana'. However, one cannot say that one type of 'energy' of one modality is exactly the same as another and most new agers interchangeably use the terms 'qi', 'prana' and 'quantum energy' as if they are all identical. Lono F. Verspertillio in his book The Psychic Vamipres Guide (2011) claims that psychic vampires cannot be 'cured' of the vampiric feeding needs and attempts to do so by well meaning 'lightworkers' will not work. He does state however that some Psivamps can make do with energy from plants for extended periods. In such instances then one does not feed from the same plant all the time as the amount of available energy would decrease and it might eventually die. This might suggest that it is a permanent condition that either has a genetic basis or that is impossible with current means to unravel once it has developed.
To look at the need to feed from a broader, more holistic perspective, there is likely much more going on that merely a deficit in certain energy types. Energy often describes underlying biochemical or electromagnetic phenomenon, e.g. in TCM or Ayurveda, where Qi is really a description of or is very closely tied into blood circulation and composition, and it is likely to be the case here also in some manner (not necessarily cardiovascular related but could well be in some format). Rarely is anything as simple as we initially believe. I am not necessarily suggesting that the condition is definitely cureable but the possibility is there. Targeted blood, urine and hair analysis tests by specialist environmental medicine laboratories along with emotional and psychological evaluations would be helpful in determining what else is going on in the body which may be partly or wholly contributing to the phenomemon. The Vampirism community holds a great deal of power to organise psivamps, and numerous studies could be performed, directed by those knowledgeable in holistic medicine and/or the better schools of naturopathy. I would also be interested in see the results of a number of Psivamps being diagnosed by a TCM professional and if any patterns were observed or not beyond surface issues. Evidently not all psivamps have the same needs and it is likely to be more heterogeneous in terms of precise line of causation than is believed. These are generally not not avenues of investigation that are of interest to many Psivamps who appear to like the practice, culture, identity and image perhaps a little too much. It would be untrue to state that no Psivamps were interested in nutrition or health, but those I have spoken to see to have a rather narrow focus. If the condition has a holistic basis that can be identified then clearly what is happening is that the form of 'feeding' is merely addressing short term requirements or addressing symptoms (and treading water) rather than getting to the root of body's requirements, a little like giving sugar to a diabetic. Some commentators have even suggested it is merely a form of physiological adaptation (to receiving certain energy types regularly) in persons who have merely average health or possibly worse, in a similar manner to those taking a Co-enzyme Q10 supplement may well find that their body becomes reliant upon it and makes less effort to produce it's own Q10 (as it is more efficient not to do so); or maybe it is a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - which is not such a sexy term. I have understood from certain Psivamps that psivampirism can help those with CFS - traditionally healing or self-healing modalities like Reiki or Quantum Touch are believed to help with such patients.
It could be that some LHP practitioners who practise Astral Vampirism, are also trained in internal martial arts, and may also practice Yoga, meditation and/or similar, and may practice all of these. One would expect the energy thirst should be quenched with Qi building and healing techinques alone, but the desire for Vampirism for its own sake may be part of exploring one's own sinister nature and expressing oneself. I am unsure exactly. One might argue that becoming accomplished at such activities might come in useful one day (in an extreme situation, e.g. hostage situation where one could put one's captors to sleep from a distance etc.) and too much knowledge is never a bad thing.
Contrary to the Darwinian bravado of many Satanists, some practitioners of psychic vampirism admit to being weak and needing to 'feed' regularly in order to feel well, which is rather 'non-Satanic', even if the actual act is (depending on if the intended victim 'deserves it' or not). This might suggest that practitioners own bodies perhaps become lazy in producing their own Qi if they are reliant on external sources, creating a type of addiction pattern.
Ford states in his book, The Vampyire Gate - The Vampyre Magickian, that one should not harm the other person but merely steal a little energy, so as not to make them too ill (maybe this is evidence of LaVey style morality or is perhaps a disclaimer and P.R. exercise). When picking a victim, it is clearly relevant the exact state of the person's energetic health as to what effect stealing a little Qi from them might have, as it may prevent long term physical health or recovery that cannot be easily perceived by the Astral Vampire. Clearly some people can afford to 'spunk off' a little Qi here and there and others cannot. Those with very low Qi may well be having their Jing depleted. I am unsure of the extent to which practitioners assess their 'victim' and the effect it might have. I doubt there is a comprehensive screening process however!
Theistic Satanism does not always have the same limitations as LaVey Satanism, which has more moral restrictions, despite claiming to be amoral. Psychic Vampirism is an activity described by Ford in various books of his own magic and compilations of magick from groups such as Order of Nine Angles and the Werewolf Order, as discussed on the Chuch of Satan page.
A friend of mine who has practised Astral Vampirism reports that it can become a paranoia-inducing experience, as fellow order members may worry about others preying on them. There is a code amongst some, that they will not prey on each other as it is more aggravation that it is worth. Vampirism is reported to be highly addictive by my friend and his friends, which is arguably also a negative. Some vampires wear sunglasses so that they are not detected whilst staring at their victims, particularly watching the chest moving as they breath, to establish a connection, during the several minutes of the operation. This should not be confused with goths or emos who like to wear shades for fashion reasons - but that is not to say that Psivamps who wear shades frequently aren't doing so for reasons of vanity at other times.
It should be noted that not all Luciferians who are interested in Black Magic practice Astral Vampirism and some just stick with Goetia (summoning of demons - often a form of self-induced, controlled psychosis and exploration of and interaction with the unconscious), which is not deemed to be malevolent or predatory in the same sense as astral vampirism, necessarily, although it could be applied in this manner. There are also synergies between the two and goetic vampiric practices, as far as I am aware.
Psychic Vampirism, practised by 'Vampires' or 'Vampyres' is different from the gothic fetish subculture whereby adherents, calling themselves Vampires or Vampyres, have the enamel on their canine teeth ground down in order to resemble to classical fictional vampire, and whom may use their sharpened teeth to bite each other during sex and lick up the blood, to act out the vampire fetish. That is not to say that some Psivamps don't undergo destructive cosmetic dental surgery, as a significant number have this body modification fetish.
Sanguinarian Vampires are people who state the need to consume raw blood, either human or from animals, regularly to keep up their strength. This is IMO not really a form of 'vampirism' as has nothing to do with 'sucking' some vital component out of another person or animal - in the classical image of a vampire biting live victims and sucking their blood. Indeed African bushmen who mix cattle blood with milk and consume it do not call themselves 'vampires'. Sanguinarian Vampirism is a different form of 'vampirism' to Psivamping. At the end of the day, what practices are included in the term and what are not are not particularly important but one should be aware of the psychological pay offs involved.
Sanguinarian vampirism has less to do with 'vampirism' and more a nutritional issue as it has to do with eating, drinking and diet; and perhaps reflecting iron anemia or possibly an amino acid deficiency, possibly carnitine or carnosine (which could be a form of mild Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)) - going by the fact that raw steak is reported to be adequate but not as satisfying as raw blood. From what I am aware there is little actual data available on the nutritional composition of live or raw blood. Raw spleen might have a similar profile in certain respects as it has a high blood concentration - or possibly blood sausage, although this is cooked.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/pork-products/2203/2
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sausages-and-luncheon-meats/1323/2
Every case will be different and without a comprehensive set of tests it is difficult to comment. There could be some psychological or 'energetic' ('pranic') aspect to this also, the latter perhaps being an Eastern way of describing the nutritional qualities.
It could be argued that there is an excess of pretentiousness, gothic fetishism and wannabe 'badassery' one upmanship in a significant proportion of the Vampire community, in part owing to the adoption of the term 'vampire'. Vampires from what I can gather for the large part like the label.