Skepticism and the Supernatural
By Thomas LeRoy
It has been stated that if one is a skeptic, they can not call themself a Satanist, or even a member of the left-hand path. If you are a truth-seeker and not a believer in the supernatural, you are not worthy. Strange. I could be wrong, but isn’t the LHP more than just liking creepy shit and thinking spells and curses actually work? Isn’t it a path to manifesting that “black flame” for one’s own personal betterment, and utilizing mythological archetypes to tap into the subconscious? Isn’t it also about embracing that dark-side of one’s character? Some see this dark-side as a curse brought on by the actions of a prehistoric “rib woman”, and that one should beg the “Good Lord” to take it away! But it’s a large part of who we are. It is the truth within the soul/psyche, not a mask-like persona.
“But what about the supernatural aspect of the LHP? Why not embrace that?” says the believer.
For the skeptic to try to believe in the supernatural would be like trying to embrace a puff of smoke. It can’t be done. Why can’t it? Because the skeptic has thoughts, and these thoughts bring about doubts. And the skeptic lacks the ability to ignore their doubts. Others might be able, we can not. Besides, the word supernatural is an oxymoron. It means “beyond nature”. How can anything be “beyond nature”? If these claims of the paranormal exist, then they are a part of nature. But, still, one can’t deny the “Unknown”. Science has not explained everything.
“But I have seen, felt and experienced the supernatural! I know it’s true!”
No, you don’t. You “believe”. You don’t “know”. There’s a difference. But maybe you’re content with believing. Not the skeptic. We want proof.
“But performing ritual, casting spells and throwing curses are a major part of the LHP! Not believing in one’s supernatural abilities would be like a Christian saying they don’t believe in the power of prayer!”
Hate to break it to you, but ritual, spell-casting and cursing others are all cathartic activities. They feel good! Nothing really happens except for that which takes place in one’s own mind.
Children believe in Santa. Adults know where the presents really come from!
Skepticism is simply a method of evaluating claims. It is a way of reaching that point where doubt is pushed aside and one can then “know”. It’s not that we don’t want these claims to be true. It would be great to be able to caste spells, commune with demons and put a working curse upon enemies. But just because one wants something to be true, does not make it so. There are irrefutable absolutes in this reality. Things work a certain way. The laws of physics can not be broken, not matter how hard one tries.
“But life is little more than an illusion, and we can conquer the lie of reality and reach Godhead! Push aside your skepticism! Quit believing the lies of the mind that keep you trapped in this 3 dimensional world and set yourself free!”
For those that believe that life is an illusion, step off the roof of a skyscraper and try to make the “illusion” of gravity go away.
I wish you luck.
Zach Black: Alive and Well
Sect of the Horned God versus Haters
Machine Gun Etiquette
By Octavius
An open letter to the keyboard warriors of the LHP:
“Challenger” and “Adversary” does not mean “one-who-criticizes-everything-possible-in-hopes-of-drawing-affimation-or-accolades-from-other-on-line-Satanists.” You’re boring. You’re unappealing. You’re uncouth. Far be it from me to posit absolutes, but I will say that being adversarial or agnostic in your life does not require bitching about the perceived “satanic value” of various television programs, movies, books, or fellow internet denizens. It does not require you to dissect every post or video on multiple LHP forums in an attempt to bolster your Satanic internet credibility. Your opinion was likely not solicited, and your post only illustrates your need to socially display your pseudo-superior understanding of all things LHP in the most transparent and desperate way possible. These cyber-Satanists will often retort with ham-fisted excuses, my favorite being, “Why did you post this if you didn’t want it challenged?” What are you doing in your own life away from the computer screen to validate your assertions of superiority? Have you nothing better to do than surf the internet looking for “fresh prey?” Why is your Axis Mundi an unrelenting focus on YouTube or forums? What a sad existence. I can make this accusation because, at one time, I was one of these idiots.
So many find it necessary to belligerently give their alternate opinion or perception of a given topic in an attempt to present themselves as credibly Satanic. Varying degrees of hostility are not a benchmark of Satanism. Rather, I suggest that it’s the ability to politely carry on a conversation or contribute to a healthy debate that garners respect, if respect from others is what’s needed or desired. Belligerent criticism and posturing mean nothing. In any discussion, one must first have an intelligent and informed platform in which to present the issue or topic. Alas, these basic concepts of common courtesy are all too often assumed unnecessary within the cyber world of Satanism.
Then there are the schemers and trolls; those who spend most of their free time with eyes glued to their computers and post vague ideas under the guise of philosophy. They may also obfuscate overlong essays designed to repackage what has already been said by someone else in hopes of impressing the credulous or confusing the informed. They wait for someone unfortunate person to reply, then proceed to elevate themselves above the questions posed by bullying or denigrating the questioner. This is a common practice among many cyber-Satanists, some of whom are well known in many on-line communities. They are tolerated for a time, then banned, and move on to another forum or Facebook group to start again. These are parasites of the LHP, not Satanists.
My unsolicited advice to anyone still reading is simply this; honesty, courtesy and curiosity are still in style among those who know better. Your attitude will always define your behavior. Then again, this entire post is merely my opinion. How you interpret it is up to you. However, it’s my responsibility to present it with respect and candor, which I have genuinely tried to do here, and try to do with anything I do, say or write. Thanks for reading.
Connections on the Left-Hand Path
Satanism and Knowledge
Mistress Babylon Consort explains how it’s wise to read more than the Satanic Bible.
Pity
By Mistress Babylon Consort, Sect of the Horned God
Pity
‘.. It preserves what is right for destruction; it defends those who have been condemned and disinherited by life; and by the abundance of the failures of all kinds which keeps it alive, it gives life itself a gloomy and questionable aspect.’ Nietzsche –The Anti-Christ
An important and all encompassing part of the Sect philosophy revolves around self-responsibility, independence, and living life to the fullest. They all go hand in hand. The destructive nature of pity, (not to be confused with empathy or sympathy) whether given or taken, opposes this. In its entirety, Nietzsche’s essay on it has always resonated on a primal or instinctive level as it is brings to light its contrary nature against ‘wanting to live’, as well as its aversion to accepting the laws of nature when our time is done. While he quite correctly states ‘Christianity is called the religion of pity’, compatible with this, and in line with any faith based theology, it can also be viewed as a slave/master relationship. The master of pity insists on supplication, lives for it and from it. Each breath depends on its continued existence through the guilt of the slave by holding them hostage through emotional and physical submission. Christianity, among many, can indeed be paralleled to the very physiology of Pity as both demand the same irrational expectations of those it holds in its clutches. Like any faith, it demands full submission.
Many of know someone who makes a vocation out of reaping pity: the hypochondriac, the professional victim or complainer, the perpetual ‘down and outer’, and those, of course, on their eternal ‘death-bed’. I once knew a woman who I quit asking ‘how she was doing’. The result was a hang dog-look mixed with anger and impatient posturing with my refusal to contribute to that which gave her life. But if I refuse to feed faith in any of its insidious guises, why would I contribute to the selfish life-line of any self-defined master willingly.
The very essence of the Sect is to foster the ‘black flame’, to encourage responsible independence. It is also to encourage critical thinking in recognizing that though the essence and mask of faith comes in many forms, its stratification always remains the same: Master and slave.
Pity is contrary in its distinction of ‘will to live’. Those who choose to live it as ‘way of life’, have already died.
The LHP Island
~Mistress Babylon Consort, Sect of the Horned God
There are times I wish I could sink the islands that compromise the LHP universe. The logical thing to do would be to fix the holes in at least one of the battered boats that line the dock, and sail from shore to shore. I’d even be willing to help repair a few, but why bother. Though that would be one step toward ‘bigger change’, you still can’t lead a horse to the pond if they are happy slurping from their ‘near autonomous’ trough. What gets me thinking like this? What’s most frustrating on the road I have chosen? It’s the holes in my own boat that leave me on the island drinking from a common well. The trigger for some time now has been reading of Aghori lifestyle and philosophy, as well as others that are similar to them. While I am an atheist, that does not mean that the ‘spiritual’ side of their practice is without meaning, that it cannot be incorporated. It can, should and will be. There are times I am ashamed when considering my own limited view of the world, for allowing myself to even consider entertaining the thought of engaging in the seedy rituals acted out on the island playground. On the island, my voice is merely anothers broken record when personal introspection is only skin deep. If I can’t smash my own taboos, it would be arrogant to think that I smash those of others and be heard with a minimum of courtesy. It’s time to go sailing.
Adversarial?
By Mistress-Babylon Consort
However we want to define our path (Satanism, LHP, etc) have you ever been introduced to a ‘new’ LHP concept which punches you in the brain so hard that it made you rethink/reconstruct it, as you understand it? I most certainly did upon the introduction to the Aghori. Not that I will ever eat bung burgers over a funeral pyre, but it made me realize that most of us practice ‘safe Satanism’ within the parameters of the culture we live in. It’s easy to be adversarial when personal choice and voice is legal. Big deal. What I’m more interested in is how do we challenge ourselves and where does real personal change come from?
Trading Faiths
By Mistress Babylon Consort
Bashing religion is easy, and in of itself becomes a faith for those who make it their mantra. Any new idea or cause born of personal passion will initially and whole-heartedly encompass our entire being, but the idea that anyone would willingly stand still on their path at the embryotic stage remains disturbing. It is little more than blindly trading one faith for another. What is the point of that? The scope of this beautiful world we live in, with its often insidious underbelly, is nearly inconceivable in its vastness and we have little time to explore it. But we have to try. Question everything. To build the walls of faith around you, in all its guises, is as good as giving up.
The Orders of The Sect of the Horned God
