Anton LaVey recognised the human need for corporate ceremony and ritual when modernising Satanism. So, drawing on his day job as a stage magician, he invented the satanic ritual as it now stands — group ritual for its own sake, shorn of any deeper significance.
Satanism serves as an interesting contrast to Christianity (and it is Christianity, specifically, that LaVeyian Satanism stands against), an indication of where one ends up if every last little bit of Christianity is negated, something that — to me, at least — seems equally as valid if we concentrate solely on rational arguments, but which "feels" wrong. Before I was a Christian, I tried to fool myself I could step away from Satanism through reason alone, but I'm not sure it genuinely worked.
If you recognise a need for ritual, but are happy with neither organised religion nor something entirely artificial and meaningless, maybe you're looking for something based in our heritage? You can try to trick people on April 1st, or chase a cheese down a slope, or whatever. I get the impression that the burning of wicker men is a tradition especially strong in Scotland? And this book lists a great many old customs that are not yet extinct and could do with preserving… provided you can tolerate being labelled an eccentric. (-8
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-03-27 12:08 am (UTC)Satanism serves as an interesting contrast to Christianity (and it is Christianity, specifically, that LaVeyian Satanism stands against), an indication of where one ends up if every last little bit of Christianity is negated, something that — to me, at least — seems equally as valid if we concentrate solely on rational arguments, but which "feels" wrong. Before I was a Christian, I tried to fool myself I could step away from Satanism through reason alone, but I'm not sure it genuinely worked.
If you recognise a need for ritual, but are happy with neither organised religion nor something entirely artificial and meaningless, maybe you're looking for something based in our heritage? You can try to trick people on April 1st, or chase a cheese down a slope, or whatever. I get the impression that the burning of wicker men is a tradition especially strong in Scotland? And this book lists a great many old customs that are not yet extinct and could do with preserving… provided you can tolerate being labelled an eccentric. (-8