G.B. Marian"In the Desert of Set" Episode #71:
It's Setian, Not "Satanic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaE1_ElM-HM&t=555s
#setianism #sutekh #kemetic #egyptian #pagan #polytheist #religion #spirituality #sermon #podcast
YouTube
From the sermon:
"As for the idea that reaching out to Set will cause a bunch of chaotic shit to happen in your life… Well I’ve been worshiping Him for more than 24 years now, and it has never caused my life to fall apart. In fact, my life has only become more *organized* and *secure* since I first met Him at age 14. Besides, chaotic things will happen to us no matter WHAT we do. They will happen whether we pray to Set or not. They will even happen if we pray to someone else, or if we pray to no one at all. Worshiping Set does not increase anyone’s chances of having chaotic things happen to them; it also doesn’t PREVENT such things from happening, either. But let me tell you, it sure does help to have the Red Lord in your corner during a crisis. Setians do not thrive on chaos; we thrive on SET, who helps us PERSEVERE against chaos."
Caribou_Slim@gbmarian This is the source of the misconception:
The Temple was established in the United States in 1975 by Michael Angelo Aquino, an American political scientist, military officer, and a high-ranking member of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan. Dissatisfied with the direction in which LaVey was taking the Church, Aquino resigned and – according to his own claim – embarked on a ritual to invoke Satan, who revealed to him a sacred text called The Book of Coming Forth by Night. According to Aquino, in this work Satan revealed his true name to be that of Set, which had been the name used by his followers in ancient Egypt. Aquino was joined in establishing the Temple by a number of other dissatisfied members of LaVey's Church, and soon various Setian groups were established across the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Set
That being said, worshiping storm gods in an attempt to persevere against chaos is often a self-defeating enterprise. In my humble experience, they're much better at channeling the energy of chaos than calming it.
@caribouslim Thank you, but I am already well aware of the Temple of Set, and I address them numerous times in numerous articles on DesertOfSet.com, which you are welcome to peruse at your leisure.
As for your "humble experience":
• The personal experiences of the ancient pharaohs and priests who historically worshiped Set say different. He was commonly worshiped for His strength in defending Ra from the isfet serpent. He was not worshiped as an instigator of chaos. He did not become demonized as such, either, until well after Egypt was colonialized by foreign powers.
• The personal experience of every contemporary Setian I know says different. Most people who are drawn to Set today are Kemetic devotionalists, not left-hand path occultists. And most will tell you they are drawn to Him because they find Him dependable and trustworthy.
• If that sounds bizarre, most polytheists who worship Thor will tell you something similar. This will be further echoed by historical evidence that Thor's ancient worshipers considered Him a hero and would even make oaths in His Name.
• Zeus is also a Thunder God, yet He is the head of His pantheon, and He is notorious for issuing decrees and making laws.
• Yahweh is also a thunder God, and He has the Ten Commandments, Deutoronomy, etc.
• Virtually every Thunder God in every culture, including Set, battles a dragon of chaos at one point in Their myth cycle, either to create the universe (like Marduk in the Enuma Elish) or to save it (like Set, Thor, Zeus, Yahweh, etc.). This is a recurring theme across many mythologies that is called the chaoskampf or the combat myth. I recommend that you look this up; it is anything BUT a new idea.
@gbmarian when I initially saw your post, it didn't have the additional information regarding chaoskampf. Thank you, and I agree with you that the overall "struggle against the beast" theme recurring in storm god mythology isn't a new phenomena. Thanks for the links you just sent as well - I'll be reading them at the end of this note.
In my initial comment, I was more referring to how storm gods affect my personal practice when they offer assistance, as opposed to their purpose and positions within their respective pantheons. The net effect is lots of energy, but a significant lack of subtlety and gentleness - making them unsuitable for healing, and often their personalities and strong desires make them unreliable for divination.