Satan is Thyself Thyself is Satan

A lot of us have been told what to do our whole lives. Who to be, who to love, what’s right and what’s wrong. We begin to hide parts of ourselves we are ashamed of. Let it be sexuality, creative expression, or a list of countless items. We end up becoming so mixed up we don’t even know who we are anymore.

Our natural desires often can be called evil, wrong or satanic by so called religionists or others who don’t really have our interests at hand. Often large institutions will call people evil just for who they love! With all this being said we also need to understand we can’t step on others ether just to get what we want.

“Satan represents wisdom instead of hypocritical self deceit!”

The 3rd Satanic Statement of Anton LaVey

As Satanists we need to recognize our actual situation. We need to learn our conditionings and discovery truly who we are. There are many ways of doing so the key is figuring out what works for you. This is the wisdom of Satan, the wisdom of thyself.

“God can do all the things man is forbidden to do – such as kill people, perform miracles to gratify his will, control without any apparent responsibility, etc. If man need such a god and recognizes that god, then he’s worshiping an entity a human being invented. Therefore, he is worshipping by proxy the man that invented god. Is it not more sensible to worship a god that he, himself create, in accordance to his own emotional needs – one that best represents the very carnal and physical being that he, himself, has created in accordance to his own emotional needs – one that best represents the very carnal and physical being that has the idea –power to invent a god in the first place”

Satanic Bible – Book of Lucifer – the god you save may be yourself

Anton LaVey

The idea of the self being god is not a new idea. It has existed in various traditions for centuries if not longer. It’s a powerful concept that can really change your entire life view. When we start to recognize we are our own masters, we can begin to identify the negative conditioning place on us by outside sources.

Think of the innocence of a young child and the bitterness of an older person beaten by life. What happened in between where did they lose themselves? A practice of self reflection, journaling and in cases of trauma or other mental health issues a qualified therapist (unfortunately in some societies this is harder than in others.)

“Lack of prospective”

6th Satanic sin of Anton LaVey

One of the most important things we can do is broaden our prospective. We need to be open in our interactions even if we don’t agree with a person. Ask yourself why you don’t agree, how did this other person come to that conclusion? If it’s a hateful exchange it’s important to remember that it is their pain creating the hate not YOU. This does not mean their behavior is acceptable, we should always continue to stand up for those being oppressed by dogmatic views. What it does mean though is we should try to understand something happened to this person to create the level of hate and paranoia. We need to safe guard ourselves otherwise they will do the same to us.

Something to remember is this is a lifelong practice. No one is perfect and all we can do is try and continue to grow. This is just an opinion and what has helped me through various hard experiences. I encourage you to find your own way using whatever guidance is suitable for you.

Lessons from the far east

Very often Hinduism is presented in an overly simplified manner. Most people don’t even realize it’s more of a cultural identity that unites then a religion. Within Hinduism you have people who believe in a very dualistic concept of the divine to people who are self identified Hindu Atheists. You have various different ideas and interpretations of gods and books. The Vaishnava, Shaivites, Shaktas and Smarta traditions or branches of what is called Hinduism. Even within these branches you will see large differences in the ideas, concepts and practices based on the lineage and teachers.

How does this relate to Satanism? Well two of Satan's name according to LaVey are Shiva and Kali. LaVey describes Shiva as a destroyer, which is true but another meaning is consciousness or the self. Kali is seen as a goddess of death, time and change. Its important to understand in a lot of the traditions they represent a symbol or something to meditate on not a actual entity.

With that being said this isn't true to all Hindus as some do believe the gods to be beyond mythology. Typically in the west we are exposed to more Orthodox, dualistic or personality cults within these traditions. Keep that in mind when engaging with someone as it could be easy to offend without realizing.

Using this as a way to deepen our prospective we can look at some of the Shiva, Kali and tantric Buddhist traditions. This is the direct link to Satanism and Yoga. Shiva is the lord of yoga within the Indian mythology. The wisdom of the east that applies to us is usually within non-dual and tantric traditions. Within these traditions the common theme is the self is god or everything is one. They tend to understand Shiva more as a symbol of consciousness or the self. The practices become more meditative and internal then external. The idea is to transcend self imposed limitations and ultimately the fear of death (my opinion).

Before we dive a little deeper lets understand the word tantra properly. In the west the idea of tantra is very sexualize, although it may be a part of tantra it’s the not the only part or even required. In the east it’s looked at as black magic by the orthodox sects. Really it simply means to weave and was a series of texts from teachers who rejected the orthodox ideas of India at that time. It can be looked at as weaving practices together to connect to the self in our context.

“Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of the mind”

1.2 Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

So think of this then if Yoga is stilling of the mind, does it have to even be a physical practice in a studio? What if knitting or fishing is what allows your mind to still? Is that not then a way to practice yoga to connect within? Of course, and as Satanists we are given even more freedom as we do not have a concrete system we have to follow. I will detail a simplified version of what I consider my yoga practice. Know this is what works for ME; you are likely going to have a different approach.

Meditation – Mantra, breath, yoga asana (movements), walking and various visualization/concentration practices.

Natural Bodybuilding – This practice creates a strong discipline to my physical health. For me it’s important to have a structure plan and solid goals. Without these I tend to slip into unpleasant spaces. For others this can be really any other goal. The idea is to have a passion and go for it.

Music – Listening or using it as a creative outlet. It’s a way for me to process my feeling and emotions. It’s also a way for me to connect with other people.

Writing – Journaling and other creative expressions.

Study- Don’t worry about what I study; it’s just important to keep the student mindset for our whole lives.

Community engagement – I’ve raised money for various causes. Help those in need but make sure you help yourself first is the lesson I learnt.

RELAX/FRIENDS/FAMILY

Remember this is what I do. You’re your own person take a minute and figure out your system. Think about why you do something how it helps you. What makes you happy?

“The entire perceived world is one’s own self”

Shiva Sutra 1.14

At the end of the day we are in control of how we perceive this world. Our experiences all vary but our response determines our mindset and results. This life is by no means easy; it can actually be very difficult for some. For this reason I look at the number 108 for guidance. It’s a number with many meanings (look it up its interesting if you’re a weirdo like me). I look at it as a self number that is powerful but not perfect.

The power is within us.

Hail Satan! Hail Thyself!