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Member A friend of mine asked about Satanic self-worship. I wrote the following in response to his brief inquiries and reflections:
As a Satanist, self-worship means to me applying most if not all of the categories of treatment generally regarded to GODS by other religious to oneself, not just metaphorically or euphemistically, but honestly and fully. I've thought long and hard about this, in part because i sought such worship of my Goddess and in part because i think it is an egotistical challenge to worship myself actively, rather than merely as part of some interest in outrage or humour.
I'd list those categories as:
• exaltation -- supernalizing in a personal and emotional sense for the time being of the worship; regaling those present with the glories and virtues of the focus of worship; praising aloud and with sonic volume, singing or dramatically portraying these virtues; celebrating the being and character of that entity, and particularly their importance to the worshipper and to the wider world. (lifting up from above)
• obeisance -- subordinating oneself before that entity or intelligence, especially physically before objects of worship inclusive of statues, images (generally 'idols') conceived as in some way representing and/or participating in the presence or person of the entity being worshipped; recognizing and paying tribute overtly to the dependency we have upon that entity, how their existence is central, essential, or of extreme importance to the continuation of what we value. (lifting up from below)
• ardour -- expressing emotional devotion in whatever capacity and role is pertinent (guardian, grandparent or parent, uncle or aunt, spouse or sibling, lover, friend, or comrade, cousin or child, pet or mascot; reciting or reading poetry, singing rapturous love songs, recounting tales of sweet, deep, and abiding love, attesting to the heights and depths which this love did, could, would, or will inspire, (establishing intimacy out of love on variable footing)
• alliance - declaring with force and faith one's solid testament to the entity, portraying, describing, or artfully depicting the tests to which this loyalty and compact has been put, establishing by dint of accompanying testimony and proof in endeavour (as by rite, blood pact, etc.) one's thorough commitment to the cause of the other. (establishing strength out of trust of a comparable equal)
You ask if the things you mention count (to me) as self-worship ('with that end in mind'? not sure what this means), and i will take them each in turn below:
-- giving yourself adoration and devotion: too vague.
-- loving the person one has become: fairly weak, perhaps a start.
-- appreciating one's finer qualities, self-improvement, attention to integrity, intentionality, and health: weak but a good start.
-- admiring one's own image as part of ordinary affairs: merely vainglory, but headed in the right direction if pursued to purpose.
So i'd have to say no they do not count, and i think i have made the extremity and intensity of ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF PRAISE AND DEDICATION, particularly in a ritual and ceremonial sense, clear as a criterion.
For Satanists i have repeatedly made it plain that i think it will be helpful for them to study in some detail how other religious conduct their worship, catalogue this to an extent, as i have, and then exercise this with respect to oneself, as i have experimentally achieved with canonizing myself and paying tribute to myself as a saint while attempting a communion with the Saint of Occultism.
{interlude after which further questions seemed important to put forward}
So does worshipping oneself create a sense of other? Does worship of a god predispose or necessitate the division of that object of worship into an other?
Let me broaden this a bit for philosophic purpose: ALL images of oneself are different than oneself. An observation of a mirror will demonstrate to us that the image is reversed right-to-left. A video reflection or phone-camera reflection for a selfie are very close, but as soon as we snap the photo to capture that image, the person of whom it was an image (us in the past) is necessarily different than our present being.
Thus the worship of oneself might be likened to a god in that we are always, when issuing devotion or exaltation, turning our worshipful attention to the PAST of the god. Why a god would necessarily need be different than ourselves is nothing i can answer. Is canonization something new or different, and does the fact that this is popularly issued by large churches make it of a different character than (and thus a more authentic version of) what we are doing?
I had already identified with the Jesus character many times, with bodhisattvas, with spiritually advanced images, prior. Prophethood, identification of my birthplace as a holy city (on account of my having come from it), was both arch and genuinely felt.
When does ego outstrip the usefulness of our activities as regards ego expansion with interest toward self-development? I suppose that once one integrates disciplines of humility and non-self-destructive asceticism that this curtails some if not all of the negative effects of egotism exercises, with titles, self-re-envisioning, and dramatic rite, role-playing, or faking-it-until-making-it.
You ask what connection there is between the object of worship and the idol. I suggest to you that you could merge those magically and therefore prevent any distinction through a spell (comparable to making a doll-baby of yourself and unifying with it, but instead doing it with a candle or a statue or a photo, and then directing your obeisance and dedication to that object).
Yes, there is a common TEMPORARY distinction, just like with all idols and most states of consciousness. Very few bhakti yogis can engage in worship sufficient that the idol *becomes* the very deity during that worship. For most religious that is an unimportant and merely ephemeral distinction operating during the prayers or worship event.
Troll Towelhead, Grand Mufti of Satanism
As a Satanist, self-worship means to me applying most if not all of the categories of treatment generally regarded to GODS by other religious to oneself, not just metaphorically or euphemistically, but honestly and fully. I've thought long and hard about this, in part because i sought such worship of my Goddess and in part because i think it is an egotistical challenge to worship myself actively, rather than merely as part of some interest in outrage or humour.
I'd list those categories as:
• exaltation -- supernalizing in a personal and emotional sense for the time being of the worship; regaling those present with the glories and virtues of the focus of worship; praising aloud and with sonic volume, singing or dramatically portraying these virtues; celebrating the being and character of that entity, and particularly their importance to the worshipper and to the wider world. (lifting up from above)
• obeisance -- subordinating oneself before that entity or intelligence, especially physically before objects of worship inclusive of statues, images (generally 'idols') conceived as in some way representing and/or participating in the presence or person of the entity being worshipped; recognizing and paying tribute overtly to the dependency we have upon that entity, how their existence is central, essential, or of extreme importance to the continuation of what we value. (lifting up from below)
• ardour -- expressing emotional devotion in whatever capacity and role is pertinent (guardian, grandparent or parent, uncle or aunt, spouse or sibling, lover, friend, or comrade, cousin or child, pet or mascot; reciting or reading poetry, singing rapturous love songs, recounting tales of sweet, deep, and abiding love, attesting to the heights and depths which this love did, could, would, or will inspire, (establishing intimacy out of love on variable footing)
• alliance - declaring with force and faith one's solid testament to the entity, portraying, describing, or artfully depicting the tests to which this loyalty and compact has been put, establishing by dint of accompanying testimony and proof in endeavour (as by rite, blood pact, etc.) one's thorough commitment to the cause of the other. (establishing strength out of trust of a comparable equal)
You ask if the things you mention count (to me) as self-worship ('with that end in mind'? not sure what this means), and i will take them each in turn below:
-- giving yourself adoration and devotion: too vague.
-- loving the person one has become: fairly weak, perhaps a start.
-- appreciating one's finer qualities, self-improvement, attention to integrity, intentionality, and health: weak but a good start.
-- admiring one's own image as part of ordinary affairs: merely vainglory, but headed in the right direction if pursued to purpose.
So i'd have to say no they do not count, and i think i have made the extremity and intensity of ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF PRAISE AND DEDICATION, particularly in a ritual and ceremonial sense, clear as a criterion.
For Satanists i have repeatedly made it plain that i think it will be helpful for them to study in some detail how other religious conduct their worship, catalogue this to an extent, as i have, and then exercise this with respect to oneself, as i have experimentally achieved with canonizing myself and paying tribute to myself as a saint while attempting a communion with the Saint of Occultism.
{interlude after which further questions seemed important to put forward}
So does worshipping oneself create a sense of other? Does worship of a god predispose or necessitate the division of that object of worship into an other?
Let me broaden this a bit for philosophic purpose: ALL images of oneself are different than oneself. An observation of a mirror will demonstrate to us that the image is reversed right-to-left. A video reflection or phone-camera reflection for a selfie are very close, but as soon as we snap the photo to capture that image, the person of whom it was an image (us in the past) is necessarily different than our present being.
Thus the worship of oneself might be likened to a god in that we are always, when issuing devotion or exaltation, turning our worshipful attention to the PAST of the god. Why a god would necessarily need be different than ourselves is nothing i can answer. Is canonization something new or different, and does the fact that this is popularly issued by large churches make it of a different character than (and thus a more authentic version of) what we are doing?
I had already identified with the Jesus character many times, with bodhisattvas, with spiritually advanced images, prior. Prophethood, identification of my birthplace as a holy city (on account of my having come from it), was both arch and genuinely felt.
When does ego outstrip the usefulness of our activities as regards ego expansion with interest toward self-development? I suppose that once one integrates disciplines of humility and non-self-destructive asceticism that this curtails some if not all of the negative effects of egotism exercises, with titles, self-re-envisioning, and dramatic rite, role-playing, or faking-it-until-making-it.
You ask what connection there is between the object of worship and the idol. I suggest to you that you could merge those magically and therefore prevent any distinction through a spell (comparable to making a doll-baby of yourself and unifying with it, but instead doing it with a candle or a statue or a photo, and then directing your obeisance and dedication to that object).
Yes, there is a common TEMPORARY distinction, just like with all idols and most states of consciousness. Very few bhakti yogis can engage in worship sufficient that the idol *becomes* the very deity during that worship. For most religious that is an unimportant and merely ephemeral distinction operating during the prayers or worship event.
Troll Towelhead, Grand Mufti of Satanism
