Michael W. Ford

Michael Wayne Raptor (born July 4, 1976, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American occultist, author, and musician. [1][2] He is the former co-president of the now closed Greater Church of Lucifer (GCOL) which was the first Luciferian building in the United States. It was located in Old Town Springs, Texas.[3] More recently, he works with Jeremy Crow and Hope Marie Ford operating the Assembly of Light Bearers. Ford has published a number of books on the occult and recorded a number of albums as well. Ford's company, Succubus Productions Publishing publishes a majority of his English Language books, while his works have been translated into a number of languages and published by companies in Italy, Peru, Brazil, France, Germany, and Serbia. His magical name is Akhtya.[4]

Michael W. Ford
Born(1976-07-04)July 4, 1976
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
GenresBlack metal, Dark Ambient
Occupation(s)Occultist, musician, author

Luciferian work and books

Ford began to study and write about Lucifer and established a philosophy and magickal practice which formulated one avenue of modern Luciferian. He self-published his first book in 1999. He generally works without an editor.[5] To date, he has self-published over 27 books on the occult such as Bible of the Adversary, Luciferian Witchcraft, and Apotheosis. Ford is the owner of Luciferian Apotheca, a Left-Hand Path Occult Shop opened in 2007 that still operates as of 2023.[6] Luciferian Witchcraft was a top seller on Lulu.com.[7] Regarding the content of his books, Ford presents both theistic and atheistic approaches to Luciferianism.[8][9] His writings found in The Wisdom of Eosphoros (2015) were the basis of the Luciferian philosophy taught at the Greater Church of Lucifer.[10]

Ford worked to open the Greater Church of Lucifer in Old Town Springs, Texas on Halloween 2015. There were a variety of responses from the Christian community. Many Christians came to protest the event.[11][12] Protestors sprayed holy water on the church and surrounding buildings.[13] Some people boycotted the town of Old Town Spring in response to the church. The church itself was vandalized. Its windows were smashed. Most notably, the branch of a 200-year-old pecan tree hanging over the church was sawed off in the middle of the night and damaged the roof. The Greater Church of Lucifer described this as an act of terrorism.[14][15][16][17] Ford stated that The Greater Church of Lucifer was forced to shut down one year later because their landlord refused to renew their lease after receiving death threats.[18]

Music

In 1993, Ford formed Black Funeral,[19][20][21][22] a black metal band, in Indianapolis.[23][24] He relocated to Houston, Texas to continue making black metal music.[25]

Ford recorded with a number of other metal bands as well: Valefor, Sorath, Darkness Enshroud, Akhkharu, Ordo Tyrannis, Atra Mors, Hexentanz,[26][27] and Psychonaut 75.[28][29] Michael W. Ford composes and records a type of ritual music, described as Dark Ambient under the name Akhtya Akhtya and has performed in Portland, Oregon in 2019 and in Italy in 2022 at the Left-Hand Path gathering, Sitra Ahra.

He also did guest work for several other bands such as Drowning the Light, Horda Profana, Profezia,[30] Bitter Peace (band),[31] and Corona Barathri.[32]

References
  1. Reigstad, Leif (November 10, 2015). "In Lucifer's Name: Michael Ford's Invented Religion Comes to Old Town Spring". Houston Press.
  2. "Michael W. Ford – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  3. Rice, Harvey (October 31, 2015). "Protests mar first service at Greater Church of Lucifer". Houston Chronicle.
  4. "Michael W. Ford – Author and Composer | the Luciferian Apotheca".
  5. Reigstad, Leif (November 10, 2015). "In Lucifer's Name: Michael Ford's Invented Religion Comes to Old Town Spring". Houston Press.
  6. Goransson, Niklas (May 29, 2019). "Black Funeral". Bardo Methodology. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  7. "Michael W. Ford".
  8. Faxneld, Per (2013). The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977923-9.
  9. Introvigne, Massimo (2016). Satanism: A Social History. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-28828-7.
  10. Introvigne, Massimo (2016). Satanism: A Social History. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-28828-7.
  11. "Protest, prayer collide outside Greater Church of Lucifer". ABC News. November 2, 2015.
  12. Garvin, Keith (October 6, 2015). "Church of Lucifer Set to Open in Old Town Spring". Click2houston.com.
  13. "Vandalism, protests greet Luciferian church in Old Town Spring". 12 News Now. October 31, 2015.
  14. Le, Nguyen (2016). "In a small Texas town, a place to follow Lucifer". The Cougar.
  15. "Controversial Church of Lucifer vandalized, grand opening still set for Friday". ABC News. October 30, 2015.
  16. Rice, Harvey (October 31, 2015). "Protests mar first service at Greater Church of Lucifer". Houston Chronicle.
  17. Hanson, Hillary (November 3, 2015). "Christians Protest Church Of Lucifer, End Up Fighting Among Themselves". Huffington Post.
  18. Goransson, Niklas (May 29, 2019). "Black Funeral". Bardo Methodology. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  19. "Black Funeral – Ankou and the Death Fire Review". September 9, 2016.
  20. "Review: BLACK FUNERAL "Ankou and the Death Fire"".
  21. "Black Funeral – Scourge Of Lamashtu". July 14, 2020.
  22. "BLACK FUNERAL – the Dust & Darkness EP (2018) | Album / EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine".
  23. Introvigne, Massimo (2016). Satanism: A Social History. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-28828-7.
  24. Faxneld, Per (2013). The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977923-9.
  25. "Michael W. Ford".
  26. "Hexentanz - Nekrocrafte".
  27. "CoC : Hexentanz – Nekrocrafte : Review".
  28. "Psychonaut 75 – Stealing the Fire from Heaven Review • metal.de".
  29. "PSYCHONAUT 75 Infection CD-Review | Kritik".
  30. "Michael W. Ford – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  31. "Bitter Peace – Opus II (2013, CD)". Discogs.
  32. "Corona Barathri – Speculum Diaboli".
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