According to the constitution of the state that I live in, any minister of any denomination of the gospel may solemnize a marriage as long as they are over eighteen and validly ordained. This implicitly includes ministers ordained by ULC, which I am and have been for a year and a half. The thought struck me while reading this article on the state legislature webpage of all the connotations that are implied by this statement. First the idea of what the gospel entails. Usually, it is thought of within Christian context, and trying to win equality as a Satanist gospel within perspective is a definite uphill long-term battle that I am willing to pursue.
The Gospel is a message. Usually defined as the message of Jesus Christ, and the activity related to be Christian orientated by spreading the gospel and baptizing and winning converts of belief over to Jesus. The Message I have is a bit different. The message presents Satan as God of this world (2 Cor) who is not a liar and a murderer, but the original creator god of the universe, and that there are many gods besides him.
Within the dragonwolf tradition of Satanism, we hold the values of morality to be ethically clear within scope of relations to the human species. Morality counts. There is evil, there are turn of events that beg the question about why. But these do not excuse unjust behavior, and there is punishment due to the simple fact of cause and effect. Hence, we are not teenage miscreant drug users out to vandalize churches and cause problems, we are not the shock value type to troll for responses in amazement. We are the standard individuals in daily lives across America, and highly value intellect in the truest sense of the word.
Satan is the liberator who challenged the tyrant. He saw how things were skewed and how suffering existed and sought to make us aware of our actions (Gen 3) so we could further appreciate the benefit of living.
This is the central avenue of what the dragonwolf tradition entails. It is the reason for our devotion and our commitment, and display of faith. We use some tools cross-relevant to standard witchcraft such as Tarot and Pendulums, Ouija boards and the like. But always with rationality and logical thinking, never losing our sense of self-identity.
I do not like the idea of just ripping from other people’s works. I like them. I like to read lots of different things, but I do not like stealing from others' ideas and set out on my own to define things within perspective of all the multiple resources I’ve found.
Our baptism is thus cross relevant to the Un baptism of the satanic temple. A refutation of former values whereby a person is distinguished as no longer serving under their former faith, but living as a new person. A new being.
Dedication and commitment are exactly that. No need for fancy words of difference in theology here. Devotion is a standard persistence and consistency of the relevant architectural factors of faith. Precepts upon precepts.
Prayer is the act of invoking god, and evoking emotions within us and drawing out our personalities. Manifesting change within the universe. Worship is the feeling of awe and admiration towards Satan, the magnificence of his being and magnitude. We celebrate with Worship and Prayer, and see things very greatly different than the average Christian individual.
There are gifts that I believe are prevalent within typical operations, that can manifest even randomly, the idea of after knowledge and forethought being relevant to those gifts, eros, and knowledge itself. Prophecy is almost considered a gift, but much less within the spectrum of Christian style prophecy.
These things encompass the basics of what the totality of the Satanist lifestyle entails. It’s a lot of the same common activity as your standard citizens, but when the darkness falls and we recluse to our hideaways, there is a different story to be told.
We do not have a central text that we relate to as authoritative prophecy from former leaders, or some type of lineage black book of spells passed down through the ages. We use the same information within the public sphere of literature as anyone has access to. So, we may actually even quote the bible and use biblical references to paint a picture.
With all of that stated, it doesn’t really take a lot except some significant investment in focus of studies and time to put things in action. So don’t be overwhelmed if you decide that you want to be a Satanist according to the dragonwolf tradition of Satanism. Take your time and go at your own pace, and don’t get down if things don’t exactly work according to your design.
Always be thoughtful and considerate of the tools you work with. It can be exciting to browse through occult shops and stores to find interesting trinkets, but don’t waste money if you’re in reform. Even the chalice and scrying mirror I use are actually bought from the dollar store and personally crafted to suit my taste. So be wise in spending according to your budget.
Don’t be disappointed if things don’t work out the way the books write about. You may have different levels of giftings that are not talked about. It really does take significant time to focus on things and bring yourself an awareness. Even where I’m at I always explore things with a beginner's mind and I am within spiritual practices for 20+ years.
Remember that nothing is set in stone as divine revelatory information authorized by some divine being. Remember that they are only suggestions that point the way, Study, discern, and apply the practical thinking skills that encouraged even the most advanced historical persons like Aleister Crowley.
Don’t beat yourself up that you are not like any professional satanists or otherwise. Just keeping yourself going consistently in the right direction. Begin with simple meditation, reciting prayers and practicing different elements of ritual. Some believe that there is no such thing as practice in magic, which I find inaccurate. Practice does make perfect.
It is thus important to reflect always on what you want to achieve. An author I admire greatly has said that Magic is about change. What you want to accomplish in your life makes all the difference and may take you through some different avenues of unexpectedness. I did not think I would ever not be homeless off and on for ten years of my life, and for the past ten years after that I have not been homeless. I did not think I would ever change and had difficulty conceptualizing personality differences, seeing a lot of people the same. But now I am more aware through applications of astrology and tarot of the differences.
Don’t give up is very important as a factor of faith. You will never know if you don’t try. If you stick to the same comfort zone over and over and don’t branch out and explore new things, cabin fever can settle in very quickly.
When you put things into this perspective of beliefs there are potentials to be considered a denomination. The word denomination is actually different than the typical definition that people use signifying a Christian one which is a definition given in standard dictionaries. A Minister of the gospel of any denomination may solemnize marriage as long as they are ordained and over the age of eighteen.
It's even possible to found your own denomination in the process. Don’t limit yourself to the possibilities. Reach for the heavens.