Black, White, who fuckin' CARES already.?!

[xi_o_teaz]

As I continue my surf around LJ-land, I'm stumbling across some interesting communities, personas, and whatnot. As I look at the various sites (?), I find it more than a little hilarious to see certain individuals/communities so focused on One particular side of something or another. In particular, certain spots seem to be more "Dark/Left Hand/

Comments

[masque12]

OK, I see where the dichotomy lies. You seem to be defining LHP and RHP based on the techniques and behaviors commonly attributed to them. My definition of the two is based on the goals of the two paths. I will elaborate, and I think I'll be able to successfully explain why I think there is a significant difference between them.

The Right Hand Path is one where the objective is to become part of a greater whole, union with God, or whatever you want to call it. It is characterized by submission, "THY will be done." Most devotional religions go this route, but it doesn't necessarily mean that one is a "fluffy bunny", the Golden Dawn, for example, was a serious RHP institution, while it had its flaws, it did serious work. Christianity and most other organized religions can also fall into this category. The foundation principle is that you are putting your faith and trust into something outside yourself, and hoping it takes care of you, even though there is work that the individual can do actively to speed up the process.

The Left Hand Path is one where the objective is to become a God, to perfect the self, in other words. It is characterized by self-determination, "MY will be done." Many magical schools follow this route, the Temple of Set, (which my experience is with), the OTO to an extent, and the Rune-Gild are a few examples. Most of Robert Anton Wilson's stuff can be viewed in this way as well, particularly Prometheus Rising. The foundation principle is one of self directed action, relying on yourself to create your own destiny, and to become the equal of the other Gods, but distinct unto yourself.

By those definitions, I don't really see a middle path in between them. People on the Right and Left Hand Paths can even use the same magical technology in pursuit of their goals, meditation, sigils, etc, but it's the purpose that they are putting them towards that defines which path they are on, not the way they travel upon it.

I look forward to your own comments on this.

[xi_o_teaz]

Good summary of what I was stumbling about. I was looking at it more from a Comparative Religions viewpoint...but I like your definition (which seems similar, if a bit more definite) than mine.

Could you give examples of Traditions exemplifying them both? I mean, within the field of Chris+ianity, Chris+ianity itself would be RHP, whereas Satanism would be LHP. Would Isis worship be RHP to Set's LHP? What about other Traditions? Would "becoming 1 with the Tao" be RHP? What about Taoist Alchemy--LHP? I know you said that it has more to do with Intent or Objective, but could you give some examples from different Trad's, and why?

And I had at least one question re: The Middle Path: What about 1 (equal) Part of the Whole? I.e., A stance wherein I Desire to become a God, but also Accept my Role in the Greater Cosmic Whole???

Sorry if I don't reply as quick as I'd like...my computer access is off and on...

Looking forward to your reply.

"Know Thy Selves"'

[masque12]

Could you give examples of Traditions exemplifying them both?

Well, I can see where you're going with the examples you gave, but I don't see RHP and LHP within traditions as an important issue. The Christianity/Satanism one, in particular, I do not view as two approaches to the same tradition. You might be able to say that about Christianity's IDEAS of what Satanism is, but those ideas are not representative of Satanism in practice. This is not to say that practitioners of the R or LHP can't draw from the same tradition, but in my view, the path of the person is way more significant than the traditions they may or may not choose to utilize on that path. I'm goal-oriented, and coming from an eclectic background, Traditions(TM) don't mean shit to me except as things I can mine for further inspiration.

One other thing I wanted to make note of, is that the Eastern philosophies like Buddhism and Taoism seem to be the best examples of a sensible take on RHP notions, whereas Judeo-Islamo-Christianity seems to be a great example of how it can go wrong. The only religion that I can think of that has a good example of both R and LHP is Hinduism, sort of. I say sort of because the West tends to think of Hinduism as one religion, and it's really not, it is a huge number of different cults and traditions.

As for the Middle Path thing, in my view, the closest you could come to something you describe is the LHP. In the RHP as I understand it, one simply cannot become part of the whole and remain independent. The purpose "is" to become one with it, not part but apart. The LHP, on the other hand, seeks self-deification, but once you reach that hypothetical point, you can still associate with other self-deified entities. It is a path of self-reliance, but it is not necessarily one of self-isolation. So you can be a part of a greater whole in that respect, but it's more like being part of a peer group than say, something like a drop in the ocean. Instead of being in union with them, it seems to me to be more of a mutual association and respect kind of thing.

As with everything, YMMV.