Set has fascinated occult practitioners from the very beginning. Rituals devoted to him abound in all facets of esoteric thought. Unfortunately this is misinterpereted in most cases as "satanism". Although satanism forms an important part of occult history, satanism in its most commonly accepted sense originally had little to do with the left-hand path, which is probably the ultimate journey of self-discovery. It was rather a political statement and rebellion against the authority of the Church, which at that period dominated both secular and temporal life. Instead, the worship of Set is, in reality, the following of the principles of enlightened self-interest. This is not to say that contemporary Satanism doesn't have the same ultimate goal: rather, that it is, by definition, Christian. One cannot believe in Satan without subscribing to the other trappings of Christianity. Thus, to my mind, it is forced to conform to the inconsistencies which abound in Christian dogma.

Set himself appears in occult thinking in numerous forms, including the proper form of Satan as a materialistic metaphor; as Saturn, in astrology and numerology; as Chaos and unanticipated change; and, if one theory is correct, as Aiwass, Aleister Crowley's holy guardian angel, and the disincarnate intelligence behind the "Book of The Law". This is certainly possible, given the numerous references to Set, Horus, and other Egyptian Gods in this and other examples of Crowley's work.

If it is possible to reduce the complex concept of Set, and his later alter-ego Satan, to a single sentence, it would most likely be "My Will be done" rather than "Thy Will be done". Even this statement, particularly in the well-known form of Crowley's "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law", has been consistantly misinterpereted as unrestrained anarchy. When one chooses to impose one's OWN will on their life, they also choose to accept the responsibility for doing so, and so impose the highest form of restraint upon themselves, rather than anarchy. It is definitely NOT a choice to be made lightly!

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