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To: alt.satanism From: jyouril@netcom.com (John Youril)] Subject: Re: ToS Faq Date: 6 Oct 1994 01:59:42 GMT | THE TEMPLE OF SET FAQ |Last revision: August 21, 1994 |Next expected revision: September 21, 1994 [much omitted] |Originally a sort of "prosecuting angel for YHVH", the Hebrew Satan |was changed by Christianity into a personification of everything God |was not - and since God was supposed to be "good", Satan was |necessarily "bad". Alluring or mysterious deities from religions |competing with early Christianity - such as the Hellenic/Roman |Mysteries and the Persian Mithraic faith - were also "bad", hence |the Christian Satan was decorated with many of their |characteristics, such as Pan's horns & cloven hoofs. Non-Christian |gods generally were redefined as Christian "demons" and given a |place in the Christian "Hell" (another name stolen and perverted |from ancient Norse mythology). |In 1904 an Adept of the G.'.D.'. named Aleister Crowley broke away |from that disintegrating body to form his own Order of the Astrum |Argenteum (A.'.A.'.). To the Rosicrucian/ceremonial magical |philosophy of the G.'.D.'., Crowley added first a strong emphasis on |attainment of the highest level of self-consciousness ("Knowledge |and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel") and later the |Masonic/sexual magic practices of Germany's Order of Oriental |Templars (O.T.O.). The latter practices, together with Crowley's |cavalier lifestyle, brought him public notoriety. His organizations |survived his 1947 death only in highly-fragmented and doctrinarily |simplistic factions. |In 1966 a San Francisco sorcerer named Anton Szandor LaVey founded |the Church of Satan as a medium for the study of the Black Arts and |as an ethical statement repudiating the religious hypocrisy of |conventional society. This event marks the creation of Satanism as a |religion in its own right. Publicly its "Satan" was not the evil |scarecrow of Christian myth, but rather a champion of anti-hypocrisy |- a crusader against the corruption and moral bankruptcy of society, |which LaVey blamed largely upon Christianity. In another, more |private context, the Satan of the Church of Satan was understood to |be an authentic metaphysical presence: a being not evil, but rather |independent, assertive, and creative - a true Prince of Darkness |after the imagery of Milton, Blake, Baudelaire, and Twain. | |The Church remained principally a San Francisco phenomenon for its |first four years, then during 1970-1974 branched out across the |United States and Canada with local "Grottos" headed by those |ordained to the Satanic Priesthood (the Priesthood of Mendes - named |after a city in Ptolemaic Egypt whose hedonistic festivals |particularly horrified the early Christian church). | |The Church of Satan's attitude towards magic was more pragmatic and |utilitarian than that of such mystically-based organizations as the |G.'.D.'. and A.'.A.'. It saw no need for exhaustive studies into the |often incoherent and inconsistent concepts of the Cabala, nor did it |see anything extraordinarily significant in sex-magic. Rather it |chose to approach the occult arts and sciences more rationally and |even scientifically, employing "Occam's razor" to design and conduct |Workings of ritual magic that were simple and direct, yet effective. | |In this the Church was generally successful, but it continued to |experience increasing difficulty with the basic nihilism and |negative connotations of its religious imagery. It could not escape |the self-assumed limitation of being "anti-Christian" in a society |in which Christianity - and its "evil scarecrow" concept of Satan - |were overwhelmingly predominant. Simultaneously the Church began to |feel constrained by even its own redefinition of Satanism, as the |parameters of philosophy and metaphysics extend far beyond the |conceptual and symbolic limits of the Judaic/Christian tradition. |The Satanic religion proposes to raise the individual to personal |godhood, free from enslavement to any other "God" [or gods]. |Unfortunately this is a question not just of power, but also of |ethics, morality, and psychological maturity. The Church of Satan's |initial prescriptions - as outlined in LaVey's 1969 book _The |Satanic Bible_ - were used by some as a basis for metaphysical |growth, but by others as merely an excuse for egoistic |irresponsibility. The Church suffered periodically from petty crises |and scandals among the general membership, and finally Anton LaVey |lost confidence in its organizational viability. In 1975 he made a |decision to redesign it as a non-functional vehicle for his personal |expression, exploitation, and financial income. | |This decision was emphatically rejected by the majority of the |Priesthood, who immediately resigned from the Church in protest and |denied its legitimacy as a true Church of Satan henceforth. The |senior Initiate, Michael A. Aquino, invoked the Prince of Darkness |in quest of a new Mandate to preserve and enhance the more noble |concepts which the Church of Satan had conceived and outlined. That |Mandate was given in the form of _The Book of Coming Forth by Night_ |- a statement by that entity, in his most ancient semblance as Set, |ordaining the Temple of Set to succeed the Church. The Temple was |incorporated in California as a non-profit church in 1975, receiving |both state and federal recognition and tax-exemption later that same |year. It has since remained the sole "Satanic" religious institution |possessing these legal credentials. |THE CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENT |The "religious impulse" proved to be important to both Satanists and |non-Satanists. In the case of Satanists it brought about an |increasing interest in exploring the "human equation" and the |metaphysical and psychological roots of the great Satanic/psyche- |centered philosophies of history. Even had Anton LaVey not provoked |the crisis of 1975, it is clear that the evolution of Church of |Satan into something like the Temple of Set - a completely non- |Christianized, positive "high Satanism" - would have proceeded |inexorably. |THE SETIAN PHILOSOPHY |"White" magic, as advocated by |primitive pagan and modern institutional religions, offers devotees |the illusion of "re-inclusion" in the Universal scheme of things |through various ritualistic devotions and superstitions. | |The Black Magician, on the other hand, rejects both the desirability |of union with the Universe and any self-deceptive antics designed to |create such an illusion. He has considered the existence of the |individual psyche - the "core you" of your conscious intelligence - |and has taken satisfaction from its existence as something unlike |anything else in the Universe. The Black Magician desires this |psyche to live, to experience, and to continue. He does not wish to |die - or to lose his consciousness and identity in a larger, |Universal consciousness [assuming that such exists]. He wants to be. |This decision in favor of individual existence is the first premise |of the Temple of Set. | |The second premise of the Temple is that the psychecentric |consciousness can evolve towards its own divinity through deliberate |exercise of the intelligence and Will, a process of *becoming* or |*coming into being* whose roots may be found in the dialectic method |expounded by Plato and the conscious exaltation of the Will proposed |by Nietzsche. |The "worship" of Set is thus the "worship" of individualism. In the |Church of Satan this was taken to mean *indulgence* in all [legal] |desires of the body and ego. Since many such desires are impulsive |and destructive, the Church found itself in the awkward position of |_de facto_ endorsing many practices which were degrading rather than |exalting, and which simply accelerated the tensions resulting in the |eventual crisis of 1975. | |The Temple of Set determined to preserve the principle of |individualism, but to add to it the evolutionary "higher self" |aspirations of Aleister Crowley's pre-O.T.O. philosophy of |_Thelema_. Glorification of the ego is not enough; it is the |complete psyche - the entire self or soul - which must be |recognized, appreciated, and actualized. The process by which this |exaltation of the psyche is sought is called by the name _Xeper_ |[pronounced "Kheffer"; it is the Egyptian hieroglyphic term for "to |become" or "to come into being"]. |STRUCTURE AND OPERATION |Executive authority in the Temple is held by the Council of Nine, |which appoints both the High Priest of Set and the Executive |Director. Initiates are Recognized according to six degrees: Setian |I*, Adept II*, Priest or Priestess of Set III*, Magister/Magistra |Templi IV*, Magus/Maga V*, & Ipsissimus/Ipsissima VI*. |The design, care, and operation of the Temple are entrusted by Set |to the Priesthood. All Initiates of the Priesthood are originally |highly-qualified Adepts in the Black Arts. Most of your contact with |them will be in this context. Because they are responsible for the |integrity of the Temple as a whole, however, they have the authority |both to evaluate and Recognize Initiates' competence and, if |necessary, to suspend or expel individuals who have proven |themselves incapable of maintaining Setian standards of dignity and |excellence. |AN IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION | |Regretfully there still exist some individuals whose idea of |"Satanism" is largely a simple-minded synthesis of Christian |propaganda and Hollywood horror movies. The Temple of Set enjoys the |colorful legacy of the Black Arts, and we use many forms of |historical Satanic imagery for our artistic stimulation and |pleasure. But we have not found that any interest or activity which |an enlightened, mature intellect would regard as undignified, |sadistic, criminal, or depraved is desirable, much less essential to |our work. | |The Temple of Set is an evolutionary product of human experience. |Such experience includes the magical and philosophical work of many |occult individuals and organizations which have preceded us. Some of |these were socially acceptable by contemporary or modern standards; |others were not. Some made brilliant discoveries in one field of |interest while blighting their reputations with shocking excesses or |tragic failures in others. In examining the secret and suppressed |corners of history for valuable and useful material, the Temple |insists upon ethical presentation and use of such discoveries as it |makes. Setians who are in any doubt as to the ethics involved in any |of the fields which we explore should seek counsel from the |Priesthood. All Setians are further expected to display a high |measure of maturity and common sense in this area. | |The Black Arts are *dangerous* in the same way that working with |volatile chemicals is dangerous. This is most emphatically *not* a |field for unstable, immature, or otherwise emotionally or |intellectually weak-minded people. Such are a hazard to themselves |and to others with whom they come into contact. The Temple endeavors |to not admit them to begin with. If such an individual should gain |admittance and later be exposed, he will be summarily expelled. In |cases of doubt the Temple may be expected to place the burden of |proof on the individual, for the sake of all Setians and the |Temple's integrity. | |The Temple of Set evaluates conventional religions as erroneous in |principle and therefore unworthy of peer status. We feel no need to |concern ourselves with their activities, or for that matter to |maintain any sort of "diplomatic relations" with them [as in |councils of churches]. Our position is that they may serve a useful |social function as purveyors of soothing myths and fantasies to |humans unable to attain Setian levels of self-consciousness. Hence |we ignore conventional religious organizations unless they intrude |upon our affairs. |AFFILIATION |The Church of Satan learned that there were many people who wished |to "visit", to "study", and to "observe" without the least intention |of a personal commitment. For many years the Church endeavored to |accommodate such dilettantes on the assumption that, upon exposure |to its philosophy, they would appreciate its essential requirement |for such a commitment. Once being in the position to enjoy the |"accessories" of the philosophy without having to confront its core |principle, however, such persons continued to vampirize the Church |indefinitely. They contributed as little as they could, took as much |as they could, and ultimately constituted the single most |destructive influence leading to the Church's disintegration in |1975. | |The Temple of Set has determined that it will not make the same |mistake. Its activities, publications, knowledge, and services are |reserved for those who affiliate with it, or on an individual-case |basis, for non-Setians who request assistance from the Temple that |we deem to be in our interests or in the interests of the community |as a whole. The First Degree (I*) of Temple affiliation is regarded |as a "status of mutual evaluation" wherein the Initiate and the |Temple can assess one another's merit from the standpoint of minimum |investment and involvement. |Membership in the |Temple of Set beyond the I* precludes membership in any other |religious organization. |...application check ...amount of US$100 ... |Annual renewal fee for all Initiates is US$50 (US$55 overseas). |Special publications of |the Temple and events scheduled by the Temple are customarily made |available on a non-profit basis to Initiates who are interested. |The only physical requirement for admission is that the aspirant be |at least 18 years of age. Those below the age of 18 may not visit |Temple functions, ceremonial or otherwise, whether or not they are |relatives of Initiates. The Temple has no programs for children. |It is our position that children and adolescents should not be |indoctrinated into the assumptions and prescriptions of *any* |suprarational system, whether it be our own philosophy or the faiths |and superstitions of conventional religions.
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