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 Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 5:00 am
I thought I was comfortable in my choice to be purely LaVeyan Satanist. Although lately I find myself being drawn more and more towards spirituality.
I really don't know what's come over me sweatdrop
I'm researching reconstructionist religions, as I'm becoming more interested in them. I took the quiz on Beliefnet just for fun, and in doing so learned some things about myself. The questions really made me think if I had done right by limiting myself to LaVey's philosophy.
My top five results, if anyone is interested were:
1. Unitarian Universalism
2. Neo-Paganism
3. Liberal Quakers
4. New Age
5. Secular Humanism
I've started having dreams of the Egyptian deites Yinepu and Ra. I don't know what they mean, or why I'm having them, but they're increasing my desire to delve into reconstructionism.
To summarise my theories on creation might help you all a bit when I ask my questions. So I'll summarise it now I guess whee
I believe that in the beginning, there was only the void. Nothing came before it, because nothing can't spring from something. There was no matter, no universe, nothing at all. Then, I believe that the void imploded (much like a star when it devolves into a black hole), creating the universe. The first primal matter was a sort of force ...that in the end is in every object and every living being. That force could influence life and separate. Separation, I mean, by breaking off into deities (possibly). It is my belief that this force either branched off into creating deities, or it just never developed enough to do so. The deities would be closer to the force than the matter on planets because they are pure force, merely taken on characteristics.
As for afterlife, the pure force in all of us could escape the body and be taken in by the deities for judgement or whatever. Or it could just rejoin /the/ force itself and the being ceasts to exist.
Now on to my question xD
How did you find your path?
Have you ever heard of beliefs similar to my own?
If so, what religion are they found in? (and note that I say similar, not the same)
Thanks for your time smile
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 9:31 am
Aspects of your story remind me of the Brahman in Hinduism, which is the unifying oneness of the cosmos that we all strive to unite with in the afterlife. The idea of the force being able to seperate reminds me of some things I've readin Greek philosophy; some of them saw a couple fundamental forces, one designed to seperate the other designed to unite. But I'm far from an encyclopedia of creation myths; there are whole books on them that collect different ones from different cultures worldwide. I suggest you check one of these out.
I'd be cautious about picking a religious path based solely on creation story though as that's only one itsy bitsy piece of what a religion is in total. Some religions don't even really address the creation question, such as Buddhism. Pay some note to the fact that Unitarian Universalism was your first pick. These people are basically the religious/spiritual ecclectics. They might adhere to a specific tradition but they believe that all paths have value and merit so they draw on the wisdom of many religions instead of just one.
As for how I found my own path, you could say it was fated in that so many of my past experiences built up to it. I won't give you some long story about how I got there, but I will say that I don't expect the journey to be done yet. There isn't any 'ending' point. It's a journey with many twists and turns. I know now that whatever I do will fall under the umbrella of "Neopaganism" (which I typically define as Nature-centered practices whose conception of deity includes (but is not limited to) polytheism, pantheism, and animism); the specifics I fully expect to change over time.
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A Murder of Angels Captain
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 8:40 pm
omnimodus How did you find your path? When I was Wiccan, I had a growing curiosity in me to find out what the origins of the beliefs and practices in Wicca were. Doing quite a bit of research, I discovered Hermeticism, which is a compilation of many different Western forms of magic and mysticism. Studying the different schools of Hermeticism, I felt drawn to the Golden Dawn system, which is the one I study from. omnimodus Have you ever heard of beliefs similar to my own? The big-bang theory is very similar to your theory, in terms of the origins of physical matter. I don't see it as much of a stretch at all to state that spiritual matter or energy arrived in the same way. As far as the nature of the deities themselves, Plato mentioned a long time ago the theory of archetypes. That is basically, ideas that exist in heaven or the spirit world or whatever that manifest themselves to humans as gods. omnimodus If so, what religion are they found in? (and note that I say similar, not the same) I know Hermeticism is a current religion that very roughly shares this view of creation/gods/afterlife. I believe others might by certain sects of Hinduism, and perhaps a few other mystic religions from the East.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 8:27 am
I've learned that questioning ones religion is natural. It's a growth potential both spiritually and in knowledge about ourselves and the world we live in. Also not everyone is a perfect fit for the religion they were raised in as we all have a different perspective, and need a chance to grow and mature in our beliefs.
I was raised as a Christian (baptised as a member of the United Church). But a couple of discrepancies lead me to question the authentisity of the Christian religion. At the time My uncle was studying to become a Past life Regresionalist and a Spiritualist Minister and introdused me to some of the things he had been learning. As a result, I have some respect for the basics of Christianity, Buddism, Shamanism, Wicca and Paganism as they share similar aspects with Spiritualism.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 7:13 pm
I described before my path to the Kemetic Orthodox, but I suppose it bears repeating ^.^
I am a Shemsu in the Kemetic Orthodoxy. I was for most of my life a Roman Catholic, but I could never truly feel the Divine in my life, and the way I was taught to view other faiths did not seem to hold true to the teachings of Jesus. In fact, most everything seemed contradictory. While I was stationed in Iraq, that was when Sekhmet came to me, and through study and research, i found a faith I never knew existed. Eventually, I became a Kemetic Orthodox, and now I have a very personal and wonderful relationship with the Gods and Goddesses, and always my strongest connection and love is with my mother Sekhmet, though I do always give respect, prayer and praise to the Others, and I especially enjoy the combination of fun and seriousness with Yinepu ^.^ (He goes crazy over offerings of chocolate xd ) And above all else, my life is balanced, and I now have the kind of support to overcome my hardships that I never had before, and with a family of Shemsu and Remetj that actually acts like a family.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 3:42 am
Sorry for the late reply everyone. Thanks for sharing your stories and advice with me heart I greatly appreciate it. Being that I follow the Satanic road, I thought perhaps I might try some form of Theistic Satanism. PirateEire Yes, theistic Satanists do worship deities, however worshipping and mindlessly groveling/forfeiting oneself to a deity are not synonymous. Theistic Satanists worship deities in the sense that they show them respect, not utter and complete obedience, willfully shunning their own right to make their own life decisions. They are worshipped because, in accordance with theistic belief, the deities assist the Satanist by lending them their power and/or services. For this, they are thanked with a bit of devotion but not utter self-less devotion. As Satanists, theistic and atheistic alike, it is important not to forget what Satan represents--the advancement of human kind and acting on human desire--self-interest at it's finest. We should never devote ourselves to anything outside of ourselves. A Satanist who would bow down to a deity and pledge him his life and will is nothing more than a sheep in wolves' skin, so to speak. The inverse of Christianity does not involve the exact same practices in regards to an entirely different deity. Theistic Satanism is still a self-before-gods religion. Keep that in mind before you decide you want to put your soul on eBay. Theistic or atheistic, you, as a Satanist, will always be your own supreme god. Basically means that I wouldn't devote my entire life to a deity instead of devoting it to myself. However, I must disagree and agree on the words in bold. If one devotes him/herself to a deity more than perhaps other theistic Satanists do, and they purely enjoy it and feel fulfilled and happy by doing so ...is that not in turn helping themselves? Anyway. I've been trying very basic prayers to a few Kemetic gods. Even set up a small altar for such and ancestor veneration. The experience of doing so is incredibly fulfilling. I always feel calmer, happier, and in general more relaxed after. Netjer and Ma'at have stolen my heart. I find myself believing in things that I thought impossible before. I certainly don't know what I would call myself if I were to slap a label on me. Kemetic Satanist perhaps, but I'm not all that worried on having a name for it. I can't call myself a theistic Satanist, because I disagree with some of their concepts. Satanist, because Anton LaVey's philosophy flows in harmony with how I live my life, and Kemetic because I actually do believe in Netjer and the many Netjeru. Out of all the pantheons, I feel that I've been called by this one. I could separate the two beliefs of Satanism and Kemeticism, but I don't feel that they clash with each other at all. They go rather well together for me. I'm going to continue to learn, and keep on searching to better my religious path for myself.
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 2:37 pm
Sometimes labeling yourself is more trouble than it's worth. I stopped trying to pigeonhole what I 'am' religiously a bit less than a year after I started becoming more religious/spiritually oriented again. xd
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