The foundations of Satanism... as I would have it.

In a recent comment to my post on the TotBL someone asked me what my views were on the LHP and Satanism. I did give him/her an answer but it also inspired me to make a post. I dont claim to hold this as a true version. I consider it the one that resonates the most with me and the one I think would be closest to the truth. I am however sick to death of the attitude in satanic circles about "True Satanism" and "Pseudo Satanism". This is how I would have it:

1. Non-duality. One of the things I immediately saw as a core with Satanism was the attitude of non-duality. This is hardly explained as deep as in hinduism or buddism and it doesnt even mean the same exact thing but I found it to be a fundumental principle whenever I thought of satanic concepts. Let me explain.

I regard Satanism as something seperate from Christianity but that grew out from it which is why we use the lingo we use today. Much like Christianity grew out of Judaism but really isnt Judaism anymore. Satan was the concept of what opposed the good, the perfect (i.e. God) to the christians. My conclusion was always that as a Satanist one wouldnt just accept the christian worldview but "choose the other side of the coin" so to speak. The real opposition would be to throw away the coin alltogether. That would be truly Satanic in my world.

This means that from opposition of a christian worldviewwe get something totally different. First of all one main tenets of Christianity is that they divide everything into good or bad. We have concepts such as hell, Satan, sin, chaos and material reality that opposes all that the christian views as being good. To me this means that a Satanist is one who doesnt accept the dividing of the world like this. As I have already been writing about I dont view the soul as seperate from the body. It is all one thing (or several things combining - depending on the language/explenation used - think of the difference between Nietzschean hindu "soulview"). They cant exist apart because they depend on eachother and the words sould, spirit and body are just distinctions of different processed within the whole. They cant exist apart from eachother because they are eachother.

The same way I dont believe there is a material and a spiritual world. It is all the same but we categorize the processed differently. One can say that this related to the eastern concept of the physical world as maya - or illusion. This wouldnt mean that this world doesnt exist at all only that its true "core" may be hidden. It isnt what it seems to be alot of the time. This can be strongly related to modern sub-atomic physics as well.

Furthermore Satanism would be a focus on the world we live here. Alot of religions do prepare for the inevitable death of the self and whatever they think happens after that point. Satanism would then be something quite different in that it doesnt necessarily have to deny that something can happen after this life but that the focus should be on this life because its the only one we can ever know of.

Chaos is another thing that is linked to Satan in the bible (from where we often take our words and concepts). Or more correct Leviathan and Behemoth. The christian worldview has it that chaos and darkness did indeed precede God, order and light but the two are at odds with eahother. I think you know where Im going with this by now. I wouldnt accept this at all. I do reognize both chaos and order but much like spiritual and material the two are entwined and essentially the same. Chaos with its full potentiality manifests itself in order which if we look deep enough isnt something apart or seperate but it is also chaos at its core. This too is strongly related to modern sub-atomic physics. And while things may appear as stable and unchanging everything does indeed change at all times. There is no exception. This is very Heraclitean. and this also leads to another opposition of Christianity and how it described God.

In Christianity God is actual perfection. To be perfect means to not change at all. The perfect is the highest state and to change would mean to depart from that. And something that isnt perfect at all times isnt really perfect at all. Satan and chaos would be concepts of change and dynamics that opposes concepts of an unchanging and static "anything".

On a less metaphysical side of things I would consider Satanism not as immoral but amoral. There would be no static moral laws. Morals do exist and they need to exist if we are to lie together and function well. However no rule can always be true in every situation. Some may be more useful at more times and during longer times but there are always exeptions. This would be very un-Kantian and also un-christian since both recognizes eteral laws and morals.

I may elaborate even more on this in the future but this will do for now. Any comments or questions? Feel free to ask.