about
The Left Hand Path
LHP
Darkside teachings…
I can remember the Satanic Panic in the 1980’s. It was a terrible time of abuse and fear mongering. People were driven into panics about false data on Satanic crime. The amount of violent crime committed by Satanists could possible be counted on one hand. It is far overshadowed by the criminal behavior of those self-identified Christians. After all it’s the Christian pastor who racks up 6 arrests a week for child pedophilia, not the Satanist.
Talking about Satanism is difficult because most groups don’t believe in an actual figure of Satan. The modern Satanist is often an atheist, and sometimes a political organization (such as the Satanic Temple). The atheist Satanist views Satan as a figure of rebellion (antinomianism). Through that image they seek personal freedom. Those who are political use the imagery of Satan (which upsets most religious people) in a way to make equivalent arguments to prove bias on the part of religious America. An example of this behavior is when a state court put a statue of the 10 commandments in front of the courthouse, they erected a giant Baphomet (Goat headed figure with the inverted pentagram on his forehead) in front of the same court house. It’s so easy for religious zealots to be blind to their own bias, and using extreme examples helps expose that.
There are however, people who seek spiritual entity that represent the Isolate Intelligence – the one who rebelled against Union. This philosophy is based on the idea of spiritual identity being separate from Source. In other words, Union is their negative word, a state of “spiritual suicide,” where one is melted away into the oblivion of Divinity.
Rather than overcome the ego, the Left Hand Path practitioner seeks to solidify a personality that survives death in an encapsulated soul. This state exists separate from Divinity and seeks the companionship of those spiritual entities that guide a path away from Union (separation).
Such people do not view themselves as villains, but rather seekers of the Light and may use Lucifer as a guiding principal or entity. Others have used the Egyptian deity Set, as the prime example of individuality and spiritual separation.
I studied the works and philosophy of the LHP for a short period, as it interested me. During that time, in isolation, I opted to disconnect from my spiritual influences of the past. Specifically, I sought to separate from the Christian dogmatic influence. I still recall the snap – that physical sensation of being cut off from the past influence. While a tad depressing, the isolation also afforded me to look at life with new eyes. From that vantage point of individual freedom, I was able to re-evaluate ideology without the control frameworks influencing my views.
Another view of some LHP is the seeking of influence by the personal daemon. The daemon (not demon) is the guiding principal of a seeker. We call this the “Higher Self,” or “HGA” today. The word daemon is perhaps most known in the writings of Socrates who stated he was in contact with his higher authority (the daemon) which guided his philosophical actions. Socrates’ view that “an unexamined life is not worth living,” is an adage of many LHP practitioners today.
Perhaps the most flushed out, positive focused, self-development organization is the Temple of Set. Founded by Michael Aquino (who penned most of LaVey’s Satanic Bible) who claimed a spiritual connection to an Egyptian deity of Set, wrote much on the topic of the Left Hand Path. Aquino passed in 2020, but the organization still maintains its existence. The Temple of Set is made up of thinkers from a variety of socio-political backgrounds (Liberal, Conservative, and so on).
To be clear, the Temple of Set (like most LHP groups) wasn’t guilty of committing any crimes. However the FBI did investigate them and other “satanic” groups in the fear mongering of the 1980’s. To put criminal behavior into perspective, the average federal prison has an estimated 90% population self-identified as a Christian (either Catholic or Protestant). Each week several protestant pastors are arrested on accusations of sexual abuse (usually against minors). Most of this data is not promoted or told through traditional media as it’s too frequent and doesn’t fit the views and bias of the demographics they report to.
I did not continue with looking into LHP philosophy and never did join any LHP organization, although I do respect the intellectualism behind it. I talked with Don Webb, who was a fascinating person with a deep and compassionate heart for others (especially marginalized groups). In my view, union with the Divine is not spiritual suicide, but the fulfillment of Self. The seeking of a Higher authority, or guide (the daemon) is paramount. But to shove off the interplay of a Divine Source is a mistake. I made contact with my Higher Self after this period and in doing so, found new resonance and respect with the Divine Source.