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CHLow: Dark/Light Neopaganism

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan,alt.satanism
From: Clifford Low 
Subject: Re: CHLow: Dark/Light Neopaganism (Was Re: Dark roygbiv Light)
Date: 7 Jan 1996 04:05:46 GMT

In article <4cnaug$49m@News1.mcs.net> Dean, deanm@mcs.com writes:
>Sacrifice was to give, and the gift reflective of the giver.  The more
>you wanted, the better the gift needed to be.

Yet there is a heirarchy of gifts offered in most of these cultures, and
blood sacrifice is usually at the top. This does not reflect the inherent
value of the calf, when in many cultures, calves were common but 
swords and money were not (and thus, more valuable). If we try to analyse
blood sacrifice using a symbol system, holes also peer through. There is
a pervasive cross cultural belief that the sacrifice of a living thing is
the only suitable sacrifice, or the best sacrifice of all. There is
something inherently superior about this kind of rite.

Also, more times than not, the sacrifice is not reflective of the giver,
but that the kind of sacrifice was extremely ritualized. If it was an
offering of penance, six goats beheaded on the new moon. For rejoicing, a
dove is burned alive with a cat. Yes, in many cultures, refined gifts
composed of flowers and weavings are expressions of personal devotion,
but such was considered a trivial sacrifice in comparison to the fairly
non-expressive hacking up of livestock.  Even in the Bible it says God
notably preferred the offering of Abel's livestock, over Cain's grain and
plants. What kind of message is that trying to send? Both were symbols of
devotion; but ya see, blood simply beats everything else.

-CHL

+----------Clifford Hartleigh Low-----------+--------------------+
| Email: Cthulhu@tfs.necronomi.com          |.love..hate..wire...|
|        luckydevil@tfs.necronomi.com       |.steel..rust..blood.|
|        familiar@intac.com                 |.rain..lust.&.fire..| 
+-------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| WWW: http://tfs.necronomi.com/u/cthulhu/  | * VIOLET SHADOWS * |
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