BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE VAMPIRE IMPERIUM

2010 will not disappoint.

We are coming into focus as both an online and offline community. You who have had faith enough to join with us here will find the opportunity to become a vampire of means and ways in this coming year.

Keep looking for the Second Creed of the Kindred, a new statement reflecting a new decade and a new perspective.

Yours,
Lupia Sappho Wolf

I AM VAMPIRE.
I HAVE THE COURAGE TO BE WHAT I AM.
I HIDE NOTHING.

Many thanks to Sanguinarius for including Vampires Evolving in the Real Vampire Directory!


My Online Brothers and Sisters:

In 2006 we celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the Order of Maidenfear in an event we called The Year of the Vampire.

If it seems difficult to be a vampire in this day and age, imagine how things were for our founder, Anne de Molay (1930-2002). She claimed descent from the infamous last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay, and all documentation supports her claim that Anne de Molay was in fact her birth name.

In an era of horror film schlock, Anne investigated the archetype of the vampire and came to the conclusion that vampirism was a very real interaction with life energy that could benefit the practitioner. Having shared her vision, Anne was able to form a group of like minds and established the Order of Maidenfear in 1966.

Why "Maidenfear"? Why use a word with no obvious associations with vampirism to communicate the Order's existence to the world? Anne wrote, "I came upon this term, and for some reason it struck me deep, it resonated within me. What a perfect concept, the nervous excitement of fear and desire captured in a single word. For me, this word was so replete with energy itself that I could see nothing else but to apply it in my own form of vampirism."

In 1970, Anne inherited a generous amount of money after the passing of her father. She was about to turn 40, she was a history teacher, she had decided against having a family, and her one absorbing passion was the Order of Maidenfear. Anne invested in the future of her Order by buying a large Victorian house in Philadelphia, the building that became House Maidenfear. Dedicated to Anne's vision of the vampiric life, vampires from the city and the Eastern seaboard came to live in House Maidenfear.

In council on the Summer Solstice of 1970, the Maidenfear vampires wrote and approved the Maidenfear Entente, a document which would be the constitution of Order operations. Additionally, a special shrine to the universal guiding force, called Raven, opened within the house. For the next twenty years, House Maidenfear and the Order operated in relative obscurity. After all, this was not a philosophy that everyone was ready to hear. Like minds found and joined the order.

Anne de Molay was the first Grand Master and remained in that position until 1987. She passed away in 2003, but not before leaving volumes of her thoughts and ideas for the vampire community.

Two months before Anne's death, I was elected Grand Master of the Order of Maidenfear. One of my first acts, with Anne's blessing, was to change the title from "Grand Master" to "Matriarch". And so I am here today.

Ananke!

Matriarch Lupia Sappho Wolf

I am vampire.

I kneel before no other creature. I am an intelligent animal who has retained my animal intelligence.

This flesh of mine is a gift in which I revel passion and ecstasy, but my lot in the convoluted universal matrix is to exist as a creature of energy. I thrive on the energy of the cosmos around me. That energy exists in many forms. It exists in lifeblood, in psychic forces, in the angry hurling of lightning bolts from cloud to cloud.

This diversity manifests on the earth in the many different and legitimate breeds of vampire which share the world with mortal humans. Knowing my lineage, I seek to mate my personal energy with that of magic and nature as a vital part of my existence. Pounding surf, rustling crisp leaves, magical ritual-all of these empower me, and I take what is offered or what I have made for myself.

As a vampire, I am a natural being part of the natural universe. I am not confined to this plane or this dimension. I am a cosmic being of fluctuating energy. The matter that makes my flesh and flows through my body drifted down from the stars over millennia. My sight and my vision are necessarily wider and broader. Life, death, what are these to me? They dance as close as hungry lovers. This is no two-sided mortal coin but one great continuum.

The impetus of eternity, then, is the power of the vampire. It is my power, and I claim that power for myself.

Welcome to Maidenfear, celebrating the pranic path of vampirism. We have recently become advocates of hybrid vampirism as well, which is a most effective practice. Before you go any further, you should understand a few things about pranism, vampirism, and especially pranic vampirism. We should look at hybrid vampirism as well.

Let us look at what we mean by "vampire". We're not talking about ghouls, revenants, or other creatures from folklore. We're not talking about immortals walking around preying on the innocent. To us, a vampire is an individual who understands and indulges in energy play and exchange.

In this context, we borrowed "pranic" from the Sanskrit prana, which is essentially life energy. Pranic vampires feed on and share this energy. We believe prana is generated by all things. No one is going to teach you a rote form of pranic vampirism. You must learn it through your own experiences. But Maidenfear is here to help and support you.

How can we ignore all the vampires who have said the same thing..."It's getting damn hard to feed anymore?"

By and large, these are sangunarians who are finding trouble in many places for many reasons. The threat of HIV and other blood-borne diseases is certainly very real. We wish we could say we have never known any sangs who have taken ill and died. There comes a point where no matter how much screening and such is done, something can slip through.

So...if you're a real vampire and you have a true hunger for lifeforce, what are you supposed to do when donors are scarce and the need is fierce? Welcome to hybrid vampirism!

A hybrid, essentially, is a combination, as we see in hybrid flowers and hybrid cars. The hybrid vampire, then, is a vampire who does not rely exclusively on one method of "feeding". It's our conclusion that this is an evolutionary step forward in that vampires can adapt to use many different methods when their primary method becomes difficult.

This began with sanguinarians having trouble finding donors. We suggested we all look into other options to supplement what blood we could find. Now many disregard any of the psi methods as being silly at best and fake at worst. But under the circumstances, we had the will to make it work.

Learn what you can from what is offered here. Choose what does and does not suit you.

You will not be made an immortal.

You will not grow overlarge canine teeth (fangs).

You do not need to sleep in a coffin (unless you want to).

You’re not going to suddenly possess any kind of super powers, unless you count the ability to play with energy which in and of itself might be considered a super power.

You’re not going to be immune from disease, although you may find yourself becoming a stronger person physically as well as mentally.

Walking in the steps of the vampire is not going to give you instant sex appeal or improve your social status. These are things mostly empowered by personality.

You will most likely feel more in control of yourself and your surroundings.

You may experience a dramatic increase in confidence.

You may come to understand how thought becomes deed in very real terms.

As vampires go, we are very much real. Hold this thought fast to your heart, because doubtless you will encounter cynics and scoffers. They don't matter. You know the truth.

I. Here on this day of the Summer Solstice 1970 CE do we declare our union as the Order of Maidenfear and establish the existence of House Maidenfear. This is the coming to fruition of an idea that has been growing and expanding for these past four years.

II. It shall be noted that we have come together as vampires and have adopted the term "vampire" for our use. In our practice, a vampire is someone that seeks to tap into the living energy found in all things and throughout the universe. In common belief, vampires get this energy in blood. While we do recognize this method, we prefer to feed by means of the mind.

III. The Order of Maidenfear will espouse and teach a kind of vampirism that transcends planes and dimensions. The major purpose of being a vampire is heightened awareness and attunement with all things. People who come to Maidenfear with an interest in our ways will most likely have already experienced an intensity of sensation strong enough to make them understand that they are not quite part of the status quo.

IV. Maidenfear vampires should be people of integrity and tolerance. They should take joy in learning and try to learn new things as often as possible. They must be able to view the term "vampire" as a term in transition, as something that may be bogged down in legend yet still free for new applications. We are not an Order to involve ourselves with gossip or verbal venom. We choose to exist as part of the vampires of the world. We choose alliances, not arguments. We choose concord, not discord. It is in this way that we keep the living energy strong and accessible.

V. The Order of Maidenfear is founded in the memory of Jacques de Molay, who was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. We believe that early in his life he taught the precepts of Maidenfear vampirism to students he called his corbeaux, or ravens. Eventually when de Molay was sentenced to die at the stake in 1314, he put a curse on the powerful men who had put him there. It was said that ravens flew out from the fire. This is why we also call ourselves Ravenkin.

VI. The Order of Maidenfear is a community of the spirit, but not a kind of religion. Our objective as vampires is to attain Pranic Crystallization, or that point of intersection between the individual and the living energy of prana. This is done through methods that involve transcending the physical body and the alteration of consciousness. To this degree, Maidenfear is a shamanic order comprised of vampires at all levels of achievement. We acknowledge Raven as the spiritual archetype of our Order as well as the cultural lineages of Lilith and Pazuzu.

VII. We are a free community for a free breed. Even as we are an Order, we affirm that the locus of power is the individual. The only true allegiance a vampire of our Order has is to her/himself.

VIII. Embrace the Pandect as a guide for interaction both within the Order and in the outside world. Its purpose is to make relations simpler and civilized, as opposed to telling you or anyone else how to conduct yourself with a formal and rigid intention.

IX. Our arms are open to you, whether you are of vampire kind, a friend of the community, or simply curious about this strange idea of true and real vampirism. Understanding is achieved through education and the sharing of information. Secrets may keep us strong, but secrets can also weaken us. In the Order of Maidenfear, we walk forward as vampires secure in the knowledge we have discovered. As the moment of vampiric epiphany is something that occurs differently for each of us, the knowledge we can share divulges nothing. Instead, it may bring the vampire within to the surface.

This is the Maidenfear Entente.

And so it was that after agonizing months of torture at the hands of the Robber King and after watching one Brother after another be led to the flames, Jacques de Molay came to understand that he could do nothing less than recant his own confession that sent him to prison for the rest of his earthly life. Jacques de Molay rose up and proclaimed the innocence of the Templars. At this, the Robber King abandoned his mercy and ordered that Jacques de Molay be burned alive before all who would witness the spectacle.

Yet no flame could be hot enough to silence Jacques de Molay, and he proclaimed the innocence of his Order and himself. From the pyre he shook his fist and then, in a loud voice, spoke his last words, a curse. "I summon Philip, called King of France, and the weak Pope Clementus to appear with me before God in final judgment. Within one year, we shall all three be departed this world."

His head fell forward and his body slumped, and Jacques de Molay surrendered himself unto his God.

In that same year of 1314, the King of France and Clementus, the fifth of that name, fell in the sweep of Death's blade. The curse Jacques de Molay had proclaimed came to pass.

The Pandect is basically the set of "rules" for the Order of Maidenfear. In reality, these are just suggestions and guidelines for living. No one is held fast to these rules, although behavior within a certain ethical paradigm is encouraged. These may not be hard and fast rules, but they are wise rules.


1)Do nothing unto another without explicit consent.

2)Respect and be respected.

3)Embrace the Creed of the Kindred and the Call of Raven.

4)Acknowledge the Line of Lilith and the Line of Pazuzu.

5)Disavow the vampire of myth, folklore, fiction, and media. These representations are not who we are.

6)Accept that vampirism is both a power and a responsibility.

7)Understand the critical importance of the mental and spiritual energy play, and strive to enhance your skills in this area.

8)Do not participate in any acts that could be considered illegal or criminal. House Maidenfear will not protect those who break secular law.

9)Hold to these simple rules, but never force your conscience upon another.

Maidenfear isn't about forcing myth upon anyone, but we do have our various legends that have been passed from generation to generation. The Line of Lilith and Pazuzu is such a legend.

Many Maidenfear vampires look back to Lilith as the Great Mother and Pazuzu as the Great Father. Depending on what perspective is behind what you read, Pazuzu's and Lilith's roles and natures change. Essentially Lilith was the first woman, the woman who taught Adam the ropes (and the chains and the whips too). Unfortunately, Lilith was a little too headstrong and way too independent to please Adam. At this point Lilith is demonized and the goddess she may once have been recedes into the background. In this version, after Adam realizes that Lilith is too much for him and casts her aside, she becomes the consort of Pazuzu.

Well, we like Lilith and Pazuzu, and the Maidenfear vampires have always honored them through the Line of Lilith and Pazuzu, which connects our contemporary metaphysical Raven with other goddesses and gods back through time and cultures to Lilith and Pazuzu.

LILITH was the primordial vampire goddess.

Through her came the goddess

TIAMAT, and through her came the goddess

KALI, and through her came the goddess

HECATE, and through her came the goddess

HELA, and through her came the goddess

MACHA, and it was through her that the spirit of this age

RAVEN came to us.

PAZUZU was the primordial vampire god.

Through him came the god

SET, and through him came the god

SIVA, and through him came the god

TYPHON, and through him came the god

LOKI, and through him came the god

TARANIS, and it was through him that the spirit of this age

RAVEN came to us.

We're a free society for a free breed.

That being the case, the idea of formal membership into the Order of Maidenfear seems a little silly. You're affiliated with Maidenfear by your own choice and your own acceptance. You don't need to belong to an order, a house, a coven, or any kind of group to be a true vampire, and we recognize that. If you'd still like a kind of freelance participation, the Order of Maidenfear welcomes you.

Nice, but what do we have to offer folks who would prefer a more formal induction into the Order? We understand that people may value this kind of membership, and so we would like to extend the possibility to those of you who may be seeking a tighter kind of belonging. Hey, it's all right. We all need different things.

Maidenfear membership is open to the vampire community online. The position of Scion has been made for vampires who like our ideas and philosophy and need to participate from a distance. Please note that the Scion is in no way inferior to other Maidenfear positions.

But why join the Order of Maidenfear?

1) In joining us, you remain an individual. You are one vampire whole unto yourself who is part of a group without the group dictating your identity.

2) You can participate in some of the most progressive research projects in the vampire community.

3) You can create and propose your own theories and philosophies of vampirism which will become part of a greater body of vampire wisdom.

4) You will never need to worry whether you have done something wrong, as accidents are expected and any path explored is a contribution to wisdom.

5) No one will exalt themselves above you, nor will you ever need to feel inferior.

6) You will never be asked to do anything with which you feel uncomfortable.

7) YOU WILL RETAIN ALL OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF AN INDIVIDUAL WHILE ENJOYING THE BENEFITS OF BELONGING TO A GROUP OF LIKE MINDS.

Of course, you can have all this as an independent as well. Maidenfear offers a collective of like minds with a direction and a purpose. Ultimately, what we're saying is that whether you formally join or occasionally contribute, we respect you as a vampire and value your participation.

If you are reading this, you are probably investigating the SCION state of membership. Simply put, a Scion is a full member of the Order either through the Internet or by some other distance means. If you join Vampires Evolving and fill out the profile questions, you can call yourself an official honest-to-goodness true and proper Maidenfear Scion.

You can use this badge to symbolize your affiliation.