What is Setianism?

[Ahanit]

As MacKinnon has stated in his Lack of Sticky thread, we here in our Setian Section have no Threads about basics.......

So I think why not starting one?

What are the main points of Setianism? My Opinion

Xeper, The Kemetik God Set and the ideas and Tasks he give the world

The Self its understanding and Transforming. The creation of the self after the will and the environment the Indivdual want to live in.

The use of Techniques and Ideas of equal base to realise Xeper.

Setianism is about growing, going forward in the direktion of one or more Goals the individual has choosen.

It stands also for the understanding of theories, the aware analysing, reformulating and remanifesting within the own words.
To Be Setian means to see every thing you find with a critical view, Only those points you are realy able to remanifest in own words can help you going your own path.

With focus on the Self it is definitly a Left hand Path. The Magic worked within this path to reach the creation of self and Enviroment is called Black Magic.

As it is said above their is a need for every one who walkes the path to find an own Idea and own words for what it is...

MY Idea of Setianism is, Xeper m djer Chabas

Come into being out of the StarOcean The meaning of Chabas, the Starocean seen alone is: one thousand stars are her soul, what shows a literal Image of Nut in the first meaning, and an overview about the Soul of Individuals also as Groups, paths, Ideas in the second meaning.

So friends
What are your Main Points of Setianism? and
What is your personal Idea of Setianism you work with on your path?

Xeper m djer Chabas
Ahanit

 

[Reverend Rick]

I have some respectful questions from a different thread:

What does the label "Setianism" mean?
- Who or what is Set?
- Does a Setian "believe" in Set?
- Is there some afterlife in Setianism?
- If yes, what is the afterlife like?
- Is there a predefined way/procedure/ritual of how to become a Setian?
- What are the main ethical values in Setianism?
- What are the differences between Setianism and Satanism?
- What does LHP mean?
- What practices are included?
- What about magic?
- What about curses? (I already encountered that question. *sigh*)
- What Setian literature is recommended?
- What general literature is recommended?
- Where can I find further resources? (I hope many of the participants here have interesting websites with Setian stuff.)

 

[Ahanit]

@referend Rick

- Who or what is Set?
- Does a Setian "believe" in Set?
- Is there some afterlife in Setianism?
- If yes, what is the afterlife like?
- Is there a predefined way/procedure/ritual of how to become a Setian?
- What are the main ethical values in Setianism?
- What are the differences between Setianism and Satanism?
- What does LHP mean?
- What practices are included?
- What about magic?
- What about curses? (I already encountered that question. *sigh*)
- What Setian literature is recommended?
- What general literature is recommended?
- Where can I find further resources? (I hope many of the participants here have interesting websites with Setian stuff.)

That Are wonderful questions,instead of other Religions There is not one Setian Believe in this things But Individual Opinions and thoughts.

I can only answer for me, out of my point of view:

Set is an Existance, a God of Old Egypt. The Master of the Outer land, Guardian of the sun at the voyage through the lands of Dead, Examiner of those who wish to be creators of the self. He is a warrior, a Shaddow...

I am not sure if Belief is the right word, The Energy I identify as Set is a friend, a brother, an Examiner. He is for me an own individual existence. But I know that others here and elswhere see him only as Principle, as Idea. So I think if other try to give an answer you will find many differences between Setians in that Point.

In my View there is an Afterlife and also an remanifestation/Rebirthing.. But I'm coming from a Kemetic Path into Setianism so I think I am no good Example for that Believe. I think you have the free will to choose, to go into the duat or to go back into a physical existance. Looking on the Concept that our main goal is to create our own life, the idea of creating a life after death is a logical consequenz for me.

How to become a Setian is also not easy to answer, because you will find different fractions which difine this point with great differences...

I think to become a Setian is a very individual thing. You have to understand the basic, that The Individual is the center, and you have to choose the path through the dessert, the path of growing and creating to call yourself Setian.. As you have choosed well and with your heart, you are what you are.
But I think you will read the next time others here, who have the opinion that the Task of ToS is the path to become Setian. What means that you have not only to choose the Path of Set alone but to make a try within the Temple of Set..

That Opinion has also a Truth, because to Understand what it means to be Setian can be very confusing and so for some people it is the true and needed path to find people that give example and inspiration what it means to be Setian to become Setian themselfe...

No choose is Major or Minor, No way is good or bad, it is the question of what we search and how fare we are to understand what the path through the dessert means...

Ethical Values: All are Equal, all have the Right to be Individual, All life is sacred... That I think are the Main Points How I see them

Differences Between Setianism and Satanism? For me as I see many Satanists in Germany, satanism is not only in the word but often also in the path only the contrary to Monotheism. It is also centered into the self, but often with only looking at the moment. Most of them life for the moment not thinking about the future. And That is FOR ME the main difference, Setianism has a Goal, has a future, The wish to Xeper, to grow, to came into being, to create the life after the own will..

LHP means in the first line to focus all work to the Self, to the Individuum and. That includes all techniques and non...

Speaking about Techniques I have a point of view, not many share with me... Techniques are neutral, no left no right, no good no bad, it is not the Technique we use for our work, who gives this work a direction, it is our heart which chooses the path our work and our energys are going.

For Example If I made a version of Abramelin with the goal to became one with the great Universe it is RHP, If I do it with the wish to find out something about myself and to get a more clear picture of my own soul than it is LHP... So the Work is the same, it is the heart who choose the Path.

Magic is the way most of us work on their own growing and Creation.

I am not sure what you mean with curses... Do you mean Spells? I have worked with them before choosing the Setian path, but not after it. There are better ways to deal with things than to use spells..

Members of the Temple of Set become the resources they need from the Temple about the Setian path. Those who are not affiliated have to search themselfe for finding resources. But there are some Books about, you can look through Runa Raven Press, there you find some really interesting books.

Also there is A reading list, with intersting Literatur, but I can not tell you all in Detail But give you some Hints:
Philosophy, History, comparing Religion, Spiritual Theorys, Alchemy, Magic ...
All fields are big, and intersting, not only for Information but also for understand the great picture where the Path Of Set lies, where it has come from. The questions of who we are, how our Physical and Psychical Existence work, why we think like we think... That all are points interesting to study within the Setian path... That does not mean that all work with all this points or books related to them, but a good overview is helpful.

Resources:
Official Website of ToS: http://www.xeper.org
Interesting Public texts: Xeper.org - Library
other resources:
Balanone: Temple of Set Information
Temple of Set: Is it Satanic, The
http://www.runaraven.com/index.php?main_…&products_id=34
KHPR: The Voice of Darkness

Please excuse me that I have no Websites of non Affiliates, I know some German resources but I have never searched for English Versions

Maybe the others here can give more Ressources to read around..

 

[Daelach]

I have been a Setian for about a decade now, so I will give my answers to some questions that a newcomer might have. Note that I am not member of some organisation and thus do not speak for anyone but myself.



What does the label "Setianism" mean?

Setianism is derived from Set. So it is a world-view that revolves around Set. Note that I write world-view because it can be a religion and/or a philosophy; world-view comprises both possibilities and is more neutral.



Who or what is Set?

The ancient Egyptian god Set.

Actually, he was not a god, but a "neter". The difference between neteru (plural of neter) and gods is that while both have personylity in the sense of a specific way of being, neter do not have individuality. This means that neteru can be mixed like colours: blue and red give violet. Or Ra and Horus were mixed into Re-Harachte. This is not possible with gods because they are individuals. Think of the neteru rather as "functional aspects of all that is".

The reason for this difference is, IMO, that man forms gods to his own image. We think of gods as individuals because we think that way of ourselves, so it is natural for us. The ancient Egyptians, IMO, did not think of themselves as individuals, but as functional aspects of their society. This explains why the society stayed stable for millenia, longer than any other society including our own.

So the ancient Egyptians treated Set not as a god, but as a neter. I, however, treat him as a god since my consciousness has developed a sense of individuality. So I give the form/shape to Set under which I can grasp him best.

OK, so Set was the neter of war, the foreign lands and of intoxication/extasy. There were no specific Setian things themselves, it was rather that many things had a Setian aspect. So, water could be Setian - but not the fertile rain or the Nile flood (which watered the fields), but rather a violent hailstorm, or the wild, foreign, stormy ocean. So the point is not so much WHAT a Setian does, but HOW he does his things.

Set was NOT a god of isolate intelligence because this would necessarily have comprised individuality, something a neter could not have. Set, actually, neither was the god of knowledge, that was Thoth.



What is a Setian?

"Setian" is the adjective derived from "Set". So is denoted something or someone related to Set. A Setian, in particular, is someone who is loyal to Set. A follower of Set, so to say, although this is easy to misunderstand. To follow Set does not mean to obey to Set, but to walk one's own path in a Setian way.



Does a Setian "believe" in Set?

Difficult question for me because it only makes sense if you believe in some kind of objective reality. I can act as if Set were a being independent of mine, or like if he were a current/force, or like if he were a concept or a symbol. The point is, I can change between these models at will. These are only maps, not the territory.

If I want some communication, then treating Set as a symbol will not work, so for such a purpose, I would treat him as a being. If I want to invoke more force for getting something done, then treating him as a current makes sense.

See Radical Constructivism for a more general explanation of this approach to "reality".



Is there some afterlife in Setianism?

Nothing fixed. I myself think that the reincarnation stuff has the misunderstanding the we reincarnate from within time instead of incarnating into time. So actually, right now, I also live in the middle ages, and in the future. Time is only a category, a mode to sort our thoughts by.



Is there a predefined way/procedure/ritual of how to become a Setian?

No. The point is feeling akin to Set, and then just see whether that will work out. I do not need the guidance of some priests or so. Since proselytising does not play a role in Setianism (because it is a way for the few, for the exceptions, and not for the herd), a Setian must get his things done himself anyway.



What are the main ethical values in Setianism?

Just like in Set's birth myth (he cut himself outside his mother's womb in his hurry to come into existence), becoming is the main value. Apart from that, Setianism is amoral. Which means that there are no fixed ethics, especially none by conviction. The question is not whether something is ethical or not, but whether the Setian can bear the consequences or not. All acts and omissions have their consequences, we are unable not to choose.

Since becoming is so important, and since Set has this self-born aspect, the Egyptian word kheper (pronounced like chjapr with CH like in the Scottish "Loch", J like in "Joy", "A" like in "MAD", P like in "Power" and R like in Resistance, although the R rather is spoken like with a strong Russian accent. Khepra was a neter symbolised with a scarab head because the scarabs dug in their eggs into the ground, so it looked like their offsprings just popped out of the ground.



What are the differences between Setianism and Satanism?

Satanism is more about hedonism while Setianism is more about development. Setianism is NOT Satanism, something which most Satanists and Setians will agree to.

See Setianism vs. Satanism for details.

 

[Daelach]

What does LHP mean?

Left Hand Path. In the Eastern spiritual traditions, there have been the right hand path and the left hand path schools. The difference between them lay only in the means, not in the aim of enlightment. The RPH schools are geared towards safety, so that everyone can take the way without risking much, but the way is long and means much, much work. The RHP rests inside what society considers as acceptable. The LHP is a shortcut, but at the expense of a higher risk. This path is for the few, not for the many because the shortcut can as well lead to enlightment as to destruction. The LHP means include also those that society frowns upon, like the use of certain substances, passing society's taboos on purpose etc.

LHP has nothing to do with the aim of becoming an immortal existence. This misunderstanding was introduced in the late 19th century by Blavatsky who was heavily into moral bias. Essentially, she observed that LHP rites included sex, substances, flesh (a taboo for adepts there and then), and all that even amidst of corpses. In a word, it was something shocking for her small, bourgeois mind. Shattering these small limits is the very purpose of such radical means.

Now, the claims that LHP was about egoism, self-interest, hedonism were quite wrong, but they were handed down from Blavatsky to Crowley, from there to LaVey, from there to Aquino, and that is why many Setians label themselves as LHP although they will never leave the comfort zone of their society and will always stick to the safe, clean RHP methods. With the exception of flesh and sex, of course, since this is not a taboo in our society.

Their way is labeled "Western LHP" and has nothing to do with the original LHP. Whether this is to be seen as adoption to our own culture or as corruption of the path, is subject to discussions. So if you read something like LHP, be certain to understand what exactly the writer is referring to by that term.



What is the aim of the LHP?

I will answer this for the original LHP, not for the "Western LHP" (which I do not regard as LHP at all). The aim is to pass the limits of myself.

Each thing is defined by what it is, and also by contrast to what it is not. Both are necessary.

Now the classical RHP schools do this by dissolving the ego to zero. So then there is a thing which does not comprise anything, thus it is not at all. My LHP approach is the opposite, to encompass more and more while growing, until eventually becoming all.

Now technically, this seems impossible - but it is also impossible to act in this world without having an ego anymore. These are "states of mind" (!) which cannot be uphold in daily life. At least, this is what I am thinking on my current level of development - this may change.

Now suppose one had reached a state of where one would be all - then there would not be anything that one would not be. In this state of mind, one would not exist anymore. The term "oneself" would not have any meaning anymore, in this state.

So the aim is the same - reaching the Zero, or Infinity which essentially is the same thing, seen from different perspectives: leaving behind the limits of oneself.

This relates nicely to Set because Set is the god of the foreign lands and seas, thus the god of the outside of one's comfort zone (which constitutes one's limits).



What practices are included?

Essentially, ALL. The point is not what you are doing, but under wich aspect and for which aim. Taking sacred substances e.g. is part of the way, but not just for the fun of it. The possibility that it is fun may lead to addiction and finally to destruction of the adept. That is one of the risks this path includes. Likewise, when you do anything society frowns upon and get caught, you may get into serious trouble.

On the other hand, also classical RHP methods are part of the way, but they give their results much faster (IF there are results and not destruction). There is a reason that this path is a dark one, and the reason is not talking about some philosphy and believing in Set.



What about magic?

Comes in all kinds of flavours, very individually. You will find Setians who nearly never perform ritual magic, some who like classical ritual atmosphere, and other with a more chaos magic related approach. I myself am somewhere between chaos magic and the magic of the empty hand (i.e. there is no ritual, but things just happen to work out).



What about curses?

My opinion: The best curse is something like a .45 bullet, that will work. Which is the reason why this is called murder and is forbidden. If there is a relation between murderer and victim, murders tend to get solved, and the murderers get punished. Which is the reason why most people will refrain from the .45-curse.

However, of course subtle manipulation is quite possible, something in the vein of self-fulfilling prophecies which are known to work.



What Setian literature is recommended?

I recommend reading some books by Frank Lerch ("Nightworks" and "Io Erbeth"), but I do not know of an English translation - they are in German,



What general literature is recommended?

Nietzsche, of course. His "Antichrist" is fun to read, makes me laugfh every time I read it. But also his others works are quite good. Some works by Watzlawick (regarding constructivism) are worthwhile, as well as Faust 1 by Goethe (preferably in German!). And the "Neverending Story" by Michael Ende, which seems to be a child book but which has also other levels to be read on, at least for the eyes of an initiate.



Where can I find further resources?

It will rather not come as a surprise that I recommend my website:
Netzseite Daelach (go to "my way" for the Setian stuff).

 

[KHPR]

I have a question:

Are members of the Temple of Set allowed to answer general questions regarding Setianism without needing to refer to the Priesthood? Seriously, is there some offical policy that requires all ToS Setians to defer to the Priesthood on all questions Setian?

The members of the Priesthood are the only ones within the Temple who are considered qualified to speak on behalf of the Temple. I° & II° can talk about their experiences, but if you are asking about policy issues that is for the Priesthood to answer.

Xeper,
Magister Robert Adams
Host, KHPR, The Voice of Darkness
Perceptum. Defero. Genero.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

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