I am I(1) . I have shut myself up from the spendthrifts, my gold is safe in my treasure-chamber, and I have made every living thing my concubine, and none shall touch them, save only I. And yet I am scorched, even while I shiver in the wind. He hateth me and tormenteth me. He would have stolen me from myself, but I shut myself up and mock at him, even while he plagueth me. From me come leprosy and pox and plague and cancer and cholera and the falling sickness. Ah! I will reach up to the knees of the Most High, and tear his phallus with my teeth, and I will bray his testicles in a mortar, and make poison thereof, to slay the sons of men
Crowley, Liber 418:The Vision and the Voice, 10th Aethyr, ZAX

In an essay discussing the seemingly unending fascination of occultists with the Necronomicon, a book of sorcery invented by the pulp writer H.P. Lovecraft (as if you didn’t know!) Colin Low writes:
Choronzon is mentioned only once in John Dee’s diaries, during a communication from the angels concerning the expulsion of Adam from the garden of Eden:
"But Coronzon (for so is the name of that mighty devil), envying man’s felicity, and perceiving that the substance of man’s lesser part was frail and unperfect in respect to his purer essence, began to assail man and so prevailed. By offending so, man became accursed in the sight of God, and so lost both the garden of Felicity and the judgement of his understanding, but not utterly the favour of God. But he was driven forth (as your scriptures record) unto the earth which was covered with brambles. ... But in the same instant when Adam was expelled, the Lord gave unto the world her time, and placed over her Angelic Keepers, Watchmen and Princes." (James p.1)
In this context C(h)oronzon is identical with the Serpent of Genesis, and with the rebellious angel Samael in Jewish midrashic and kabbalistic legend. We can equate Choronzon with the Devil, but I must emphasise this is not the Devil of Christian myth; this is the Devil from myths that predate Christianity.(2)
Low’s point regarding the equivalence of Choronzon with Samael is the key to the mystery of Choronzon for the
malice of Choronzon is not the malice of a being; it is the quality of malice, because he that boasteth himself "I am I", hath in truth no self, and these are they that are fallen under my power, the slaves of the Blind One that boasted himself to be the Enlightened One. For there is no centre, nay, nothing but Dispersion.
--Liber 418, op cit.

In other words, Choronzon is nothing since he has no reality in the Supernal Universe. He is the creator of the material universe but
I have prevailed against the Kingdom of the Father, and befouled his beard; and I have prevailed against the Kingdom of the Son, and torn off his Phallus; but against the Kingdom of the Holy Ghost shall I strive and not prevail.
Which is to say, he cannot stand against the Spirit that comes from the Supernal realm or Plenum. As Low pointed out, Choronzon can be identified with Samael who in Jewish lore is
(the p) rince of the demons, and an important figure both in Talmudic and in post-Talmudic literature, where he appears as accuser, seducer, and destroyer. His name is etymologized as "the venom of God," since he is identical with the angel of death … who slays men with a drop of poison (3)
and
he was regarded simply as the principle of evil that brought upon Israel and Judah every misfortune that befell them. Even at the creation of the world he was Lucifer, who ever sought evil and who began his malignant activity with Adam. (4)

Samael was also part of the cosmologies in some Gnostic sects. The recently discovered Nag Hamadi(5) codices has four texts which contain references to Samael:
1. The Apocryphon of John
2. The Reality of the Rulers
3. On the Origin of the World
4. Trimorphic Protennoia

In the Apocryphon(6) of John, Samael (also called Yaldaboath) is described as
… the first archon who took a great power from his mother. And he removed himself from her and moved away from the places in which he was born. He became strong and created for himself other aeons with a flame of luminous fire which (still) exists now. ...And he placed seven kings – each corresponding to the firmaments of heaven - over the seven heavens, and five over the depth of the abyss, that they may reign. And he shared his fire with them, but he did not send forth from the power of the light which he had taken from his mother, for he is ignorant darkness.
`And when the light had mixed with the darkness, it caused the darkness to shine. And when the darkness had mixed with the light, it darkened the light and it became neither light nor dark, but it became dim.
`Now the archon who is weak has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael. And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him. For he said, `I am God and there is no other God beside me,` for he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come.
Here Samael is the first of the ‘evil’ or lesser beings created or “conceived from his mother, Sophia of the Epinoia. Notice the use of the number seven as the number of “kings” set over the seven heavens. Samael also creates abortive or deformed Aeons but unlike his mother does not comprehend the evil of his creations as he “is ignorant darkness”.

The Reality of the Rulers says of Samael:
Their chief is blind; because of his power and his ignorance and his arrogance he said, with his power, `It is I who am God; there is none apart from me.` When he said this, he sinned against the entirety. And this speech got up to incorruptibility; then there was a voice that came forth from incorruptibility, saying, `You are mistaken, Samael` - which is, `god of the blind.`
His thoughts became blind. And, having expelled his power - that is, the blasphemy he had spoken - he pursued it down to chaos and the abyss, his mother, at the instigation of Pistis Sophia. And she established each of his offspring in conformity with its power - after the pattern of the realms that are above, for by starting from the invisible world the visible world was invented.
Here, as in the Apocryphon of John, Samael “blasphemes” the higher regions and the powers that reside there saying `It is I who am God; there is none apart from me.` Compare Samael’s blasphemy with Choronzon’s
I feed upon the names of the Most High. I churn them in my jaws, and I void them from my fundament. -- Liber 418, op cit.
The text repeats the same story with some slight variations from the first telling
Opening his eyes, he saw a vast quantity of matter without limit; and he became arrogant, saying, `It is I who am God, and there is none other apart from me`. When he said this, he sinned against the entirety. And a voice came forth from above the realm of absolute power, saying, `You are mistaken, Samael` - which is, `god of the blind`.

In the book titled On the Origin of the World:
Now when the heavens had consolidated themselves along with their forces and all their administration, the prime parent became insolent. And he was honored by all the army of angels. And all the gods and their angels gave blessing and honor to him. And for his part, he was delighted and continually boasted, saying to them, `I have no need of anyone.` He said, `It is I who am God, and there is no other one that exists apart from me.` And when he said this, he sinned against all the immortal beings who give answer. And they laid it to his charge.
Then when Pistis saw the impiety of the chief ruler, she was filled with anger. She was invisible. She said, `You are mistaken, Samael,` (that is, `blind god`). `There is an immortal man of light who has been in existence before you, and who will appear among your modelled forms; he will trample you to scorn, just as potter`s clay is pounded. And you will descend to your mother, the abyss, along with those that belong to you. For at the consummation of your (pl.) works, the entire defect that has become visible out of the truth will be abolished, and it will cease to be, and will be like what has never been.` Saying this, Pistis revealed her likeness of her greatness in the waters. And so doing, she withdrew up to her light.
Now when Sabaoth, the son of Yaldabaoth, heard the voice of Pistis, he sang praises to her, and he condemned the father [...] at the word of Pistis; and he praised her because she had instructed them about the immortal man and his light. Then Pistis Sophia stretched out her finger and poured upon him some light from her light, to be a condemnation of his father. Then when Sabaoth was illumined, he received great authority against all the forces of chaos. Since that day he has been called `Lord of the Forces`.

Pistis (faith) condemns the “Chief Ruler”, once again Ialdabaoth or Samael, for his declaring himself god, or the highest power and says
…at the consummation of your (pl.) works, the entire defect that has become visible out of the truth will be abolished, and it will cease to be, and will be like what has never been.
Compare this to Choronzon:
and these are they that are fallen under my power, the slaves of the Blind One that boasted himself to be the Enlightened One. For there is no centre, nay, nothing but Dispersion.
This text also describes the Sabaoth, the ‘son’ of the Demon who is aware of the Higher Realm of the Pleroma and is empowered by the Pistis Sophia to be “a condemnation of his father”. This indicates that Ialdabaoth or Choronzon is not by nature “evil” but has, in believing himself the highest power in the universe, is in ignorance (thus he is called blind) which, as his son Sabaoth having been instructed or illumined by Sophia, is able to be remedied. Therefore Samael/Ialdabaoth is not inherently antithetical to the “Most High” but is out of ignorance and, perhaps rejecting the truth, spite.

The final text we shall examine is the Trimorphic Protennoia:
there appeared the great Demon who rules over the lowest part of the underworld and Chaos. He has neither form nor perfection, but, on the contrary, possesses the form of the glory of those begotten in the darkness. Now he is called `Saklas`, that is, `Samael`, `Yaltabaoth`, he who had taken power; who had snatched it away from the innocent one (Sophia); who had earlier overpowered her who is the Light`s Epinoia(7) who had descended, her from whom he had come forth from originally.
Now when the Epinoia of the Light realized that he (Yaltabaoth) had begged him (the Light) for another order, even though he was lower than she, she said, `Give me another order, so that you may become for me a dwelling place, lest I dwell in disorder forever.` And the order of the entire house of glory was agreed upon her word. A blessing was brought for her and the higher order released it to her.
And the great Demon began to produce aeons in the likeness of the real Aeons, except that he produced them out of his own power.
Here Samael/Yaltabaoth is explicitly called “the Great Demon” who has “neither form nor perfection”. This description is so perfectly fits the comparable text from the Vision and the Voice it is almost impossible to believe that this text was unknown to Crowley, yet there is no doubt the Trimorphic Protenoia was lost for 1600 years and only found, read and translated some 30 years previous to this writing. In keeping with the concept of Samael (and thus Choronzon) as the creator of the false world of form the passage concludes by describing the “creation” of the “great Demon” as a likeness of the real Aeons, except that he produced them out of his own power. There does not seem to be any doubt, considering these texts that Choronzon is the Gnostic Demiurge and, though, as Colin Low points out, was mentioned by Dee only once in his diaries which were written in the 15th century, the Demon has been known, albeit under a different name, for thousands of years.

While it should not be necessary, I will repeat Crowley’s warning from Liber 418; The Major Adept is warned most seriously against attempting to emulate this operation, which is (in any case) improper for him to perform. To call forth Choronzon, unless one be wholly above the Abyss, is to ensure the most appalling and immediate catastrophe. (my emphasis)

As has been already mentioned, the confrontation with the Demon is only possible once the Angel has been called forth from the Abyss. If anyone should be stupid enough to disregard this warning they will run terrible risks. It is not, however, possible in this, the Aeon of Horus, to conceal these concepts any longer, as the unearthing of the Nag Hamadi texts have shown. Therefore, we shall endeavor to provide whatever direction there can be to the would be Adept, as no doubt so many who are now incarnating have done so for expressly this purpose.

1. See a commentary on Liber Os Abysmi
2. Colin Low, Dr. John Dee, the Necronomicon & the Cleansing of the World - A Gnostic Trail at http://www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/essays/GnosticTrail.htm
3. Note that this is precisely what Choronzon tells Neuberg: I will reach up to the knees of the Most High, and tear his phallus with my teeth, and I will bray his testicles in a mortar, and make poison thereof, to slay the sons of men.
4. Jewish Encyclopedia http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=106&letter=S
5. All quotes taken from translations of these texts at http://www.gnosis.org
6. Or Apocalypse in the original sense of the word, meaning Revelation.
7. The meaning of the term Epinoia may be taken as :"of two sorts. The first is the faculty which analyses and elucidates the view of things undissected and in the gross (olosxerh): whereby a simple phenomenon becomes complex speculatively: for instance, man becomes a compound of soul and body. The second, by a union of perception and fancy, produces fictions out of realities, i. e. divides wholes into parts, and combines those parts, selected arbitrarily, into new wholes; e. g. Centaurs, Sirens." Analysis (scientific) would describe the one; fancy, the other. Basil and Gregory were thinking of the one, Eunomius of the other; but still both parties used the same expression.
If, then, there is one word that will cover the whole meaning, it would seem to be "Conception." This word at all events, both in its outward form and in its intention, stands to perception in a way strictly analogous to that in which =Epinoia stands to =Ennoia. Both Conception and =Epinoia represent some regulated operation of the mind upon data immediately given. In both cases the mind is led to contemplate in a new light its own contents, whether sensations or innate ideas.” – Introduction to Epinoia
Entire article at http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-05/Npnf2-05-24.htm#P2150_1306957