Calling All LaVeyan Satanists: Ritual?

[Human]

I was wondering how destruction and other Satanic rituals are reconciled with your disbelief in a spiritual entity.

I've heard that these rituals are intended to be symbolic, but that if this symbolic ritual actually brings about the demise of the cursed, the practitioner should "Rejoice!"

Is this relation, then, supposedly a coincidence over which you are to rejoice, or is it believed by Satanists that their "symbolic" destruction ritual actually causes their demise? (Wouldn't it be contradictory to the meaning of symbolism, then?)

If it is the latter, what do you suppose is responding to your ritual?

[Terra Mater]

I am not a current practitioner of this path, nor was I ever a red card holder. I did attend more than a few goat romps though, and there is much in that path that was always part of the tradition I was raised in.

My personal take on it? Let's say there is a woman at work that does nothing but complain. Day in day out listening to the same grating nasal voice uttering the same pointless complaints over and over. Short of one of us getting fired, one of us quitting, her getting permanent larygitis, or one of us dropping dead, I am stuck with the situation.

So of course, I first try and get the bosses to assign the front three stations on each side for the fastest packers. The leaves me in the spot I am in and moves her far enough away from me that I can tune her out. They are gonna need a few days discussion amongst the managers, so all I can do is wait.

Sometimes, when you feel powerless, doing something pointless helps you regain your focus which helps you regain your power. It doesn't matter if I do that ritual in honor of Satan, Santa, or Arkvoodle the lord of the sacred crotch; they are all imaginary beings.

My intent may only have been she get short term laryngitis that lasted until the bosses ended up following my suggestion. Since the reasons I gave for the change were an increase in processing efficiency since the faster people could maintain their rate while dealing with trouble carts leaving easier carts for the slower people who would get a boost in their own rates for a change. Of course the boss is gonna go for it.

LaVey warns that the only risk is that if you don't get what you want, you had better want what you get.

If coincidentally the whiny bitch at work who is driving me nuts suddenly develops long term laryngitis, As a Laveyan, I can and should enjoy the results. Same goes her for her quitting, getting fired, or even dropping dead.

However, if the pointless activity leads to me quitting, getting fired, or dropping, dead, it also solves the problem. It becomes a failed gesture only if I am set back in some way. Dropping dead is not seen as a setback, life ends at some point for all who live. Quitting or getting fired might be a temporary setback, but only if I fail to replace the job with something better.

A formal destruction ritual is pretty much overkill for something like this, but some people have really short fuses and do destruction rituals for almost anything. When your temper is up you might not take the time to focus your intent from "silence her" to "I don't want to have to listen to her for another day."

So instead of her getting short term laryngitis, I could go temporarily deaf. Or she could get into an accident with a medium to long recovery time. Or I could. The possibilities are endless.

Now destruction rituals aren't just formal affairs; in general anything done magically with harm as the intent is a destruction ritual. I could simply write seven times "I wish she'd shut up." and then she gets laryngitis. Did I cause it, who knows, but I will take the credit for it. If, on the other hand I worte "I am tired of hearing her" seven times and went deaf, then I still got the same result of not having to listen to her. I'll still take credit for it and be a little more careful with my wording the next time.

If I don't get what I want, I usually want what I get. At the very least, I can always make use of what I get.

Hope this helps!:thumbsup:

[Human]

I am not a current practitioner of this path, nor was I ever a red card holder. I did attend more than a few goat romps though, and there is much in that path that was always part of the tradition I was raised in.

My personal take on it? Let's say there is a woman at work that does nothing but complain. Day in day out listening to the same grating nasal voice uttering the same pointless complaints over and over. Short of one of us getting fired, one of us quitting, her getting permanent larygitis, or one of us dropping dead, I am stuck with the situation.

So of course, I first try and get the bosses to assign the front three stations on each side for the fastest packers. The leaves me in the spot I am in and moves her far enough away from me that I can tune her out. They are gonna need a few days discussion amongst the managers, so all I can do is wait.

Sometimes, when you feel powerless, doing something pointless helps you regain your focus which helps you regain your power. It doesn't matter if I do that ritual in honor of Satan, Santa, or Arkvoodle the lord of the sacred crotch; they are all imaginary beings.

My intent may only have been she get short term laryngitis that lasted until the bosses ended up following my suggestion. Since the reasons I gave for the change were an increase in processing efficiency since the faster people could maintain their rate while dealing with trouble carts leaving easier carts for the slower people who would get a boost in their own rates for a change. Of course the boss is gonna go for it.

LaVey warns that the only risk is that if you don't get what you want, you had better want what you get.

If coincidentally the whiny bitch at work who is driving me nuts suddenly develops long term laryngitis, As a Laveyan, I can and should enjoy the results. Same goes her for her quitting, getting fired, or even dropping dead.

However, if the pointless activity leads to me quitting, getting fired, or dropping, dead, it also solves the problem. It becomes a failed gesture only if I am set back in some way. Dropping dead is not seen as a setback, life ends at some point for all who live. Quitting or getting fired might be a temporary setback, but only if I fail to replace the job with something better.

A formal destruction ritual is pretty much overkill for something like this, but some people have really short fuses and do destruction rituals for almost anything. When your temper is up you might not take the time to focus your intent from "silence her" to "I don't want to have to listen to her for another day."

So instead of her getting short term laryngitis, I could go temporarily deaf. Or she could get into an accident with a medium to long recovery time. Or I could. The possibilities are endless.

Now destruction rituals aren't just formal affairs; in general anything done magically with harm as the intent is a destruction ritual. I could simply write seven times "I wish she'd shut up." and then she gets laryngitis. Did I cause it, who knows, but I will take the credit for it. If, on the other hand I worte "I am tired of hearing her" seven times and went deaf, then I still got the same result of not having to listen to her. I'll still take credit for it and be a little more careful with my wording the next time.

If I don't get what I want, I usually want what I get. At the very least, I can always make use of what I get.

Hope this helps!:thumbsup:

It does help. :)

It just doesn't quite make sense to me. (I don't think any explaining will.)

Thank you for the very detailed response.

[Bettie]

I don't tend to worry about the why's and wherefore's - I just focus on the end result, and what I want it to be.

If I get what I want - which is usually the case - then I'm happy. I don't worry about the fine details, I'm too busy enjoying whatever it was I was trying to achieve.
If I don't get what I want, I just suck it up and assess what else can be done, if anything.

[GEBS]

Perception creates reality. Sometimes elaborate steps are needed to change one's perception. That's where ritual comes in (IMO). Going through the motions helps your conscious mind to accept the changes you are after. It may be that the way you conduct yourself based on this new perception leads to something that changed your reality, not that any magickal influence actually existed. In the example above, without the new perception would the worker have gone to his boss to suggest a solution?

[Human]

Perception creates reality. Sometimes elaborate steps are needed to change one's perception. That's where ritual comes in (IMO). Going through the motions helps your conscious mind to accept the changes you are after. It may be that the way you conduct yourself based on this new perception leads to something that changed your reality, not that any magickal influence actually existed. In the example above, without the new perception would the worker have gone to his boss to suggest a solution?

I'm approaching understanding here.

Thank you.