Setianism is often linked with something Western occultists call “the left-hand path" or "LHP."

This term originates from Hindu and Buddhist Tantra, in which the Vama Marga or “left-handed way” to enlightenment involves practices that most orthodox believers find “repugnant” (e.g., erotic mysticism).

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Western occultists appropriated this term from Tantra and used it as a synonym for "black magic" and "devil worship." Even Aleister Crowley was quick to demonize other occultists he didn't like as "brothers of the left-hand path" (though he himself was also characterized as such by his own critics, too).

The "LHP" did not actually become a positive self-label in the West until Kenneth Grant, Anton LaVey, and Michael Aquino came along. They each defined the concept in radically different ways. Since the 1970s, many other LHP traditions have developed, with such notable recurring themes as autotheism (the worship of oneself); an indiscriminate affinity for so-called “dark” forces (like conflating Set with His enemy, the isfet serpent); an intersection of Gnosticism, hedonism, nihilism, and/or anti-cosmicism; and some rather unfortunate dispositions toward right-wing sociopolitical ideologies (from American Libertarianism to outright National Socialism).

Though some Setians identify as “left-hand path,” not all of us do. Until more recent years, you had to really immerse yourself in the LHP subculture if you wanted to meet anyone else who might be sympathetic to Set. But in more recent years, we are seeing a definite increase in Setians among the Kemetic devotionalist community, and I am seeing fewer and fewer references to a "left-hand path" in Setian literature and art - which makes my heart glad.

My issue here is not necessarily with LHP philosophy or beliefs in and of themselves (though I certainly take issue with some of the more right-wing influences and activities I have seen). Rather, my issue is with the idea some people have that you "can't really be a Setian" without Crowley's Book of the Law, LaVey's Satanic Bible, Aquino's Book of Coming Forth by Night, or some other Thelemic, Satanic, or Western occult literature or dogma.

Let me say this loud enough for everyone in the back to hear:

THERE IS ONLY ONE THING ANYONE NEEDS TO BE A SETIAN, AND THAT IS SET.

Of course, Setians are always welcome to share additional interests. There is nothing to say you can't consider the Book of the Law or the Satanic Bible to be sacred, if that is truly how you personally feel. But the point is that Set was there long before Vama Marga, Typhonian Thelema, LaVeyan Satanism, the Temple of Set, or any other LHP variant, and a person doesn’t need EITHER of those things to know Him or walk with Him. To claim otherwise is to ignore the fact that Setianism began over five millennia ago as a North African animist and polytheist tradition in which our Namesake was clearly revered and venerated (as He deserves to be).

None of this is intended to dissuade anyone from identifying as "LHP" if they choose to do so (though I would encourage everyone to at least consider the colonialist history of this term, if nothing else). My point is just that nobody HAS to do this in order to be a Setian, because there were Setians long before the LHP subculture ever came into existence.

For more, check out this link:

http://desertofset.com/2020/09/30/lhp/

#setianism #sutekh #kemetic #egyptian #pagan #polytheist #lefthandpath #lhp #satanism #thelema #aleistercrowley #antonlavey #kennethgrant #buddhism #hinduism #tantra #vamamarga #vamachara #gnosticism #colonialism