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To those who did a premature dedication rite and then faltered
by Diane Vera
Copyright © 2003 by Diane Vera. All rights reserved.
A lot of people, when they first become theistic Satanists, make an oath of permanent, exclusive, lifelong -- or even eternal -- allegiance to Satan. A lot of these folks end up breaking that oath by leaving Satanism, either permanently or temporarily. Some then come back to Satanism and wonder if Satan will accept them back.For this and other reasons, if you're new to Satanism, I do not recommend a rite of "dedicating your soul to Satan" or "making a commitment to Satan" as your very first ritual. As explained in Pacts and self-initiation, I don't recommend a dedication rite until you've been a Satanist long enough to know that you will, in fact, be able to keep that commitment. Instead, for newcomers to Satanism, I recommend this preliminary self-initiation rite.
However, if you're one of those people who did make a premature oath of dedication, then left Satanism for a while, and now are wondering whether Satan will accept you back, here is my advice:
First, all is not lost. Don't wallow in guilt.
Instead, resolve to make up for your past faltering by finding a way to put to use, toward some higher Satanic goal, the knowledge gained during your time away from Satanism. For example:
- If you became a hardcore Christian for a while, then perhaps Satan wants you to oppose hardcore Christianity in some fashion. Obviously, the knowledge gained from your own experience as a hardcore Christian will enable you to oppose it much more effectively than you possibly could otherwise.
- If you became a Wiccanesque Pagan for a while, you're now in an excellent position to educate Pagans about Satanism -- not to try to convert them to Satanism, but simply to dispel common Pagan misconceptions about Satanism. (See my collection of articles To Wiccans and other Pagans and occultists, especially Stop scapegoating Satanists! Various Pagan groups and their not-Satanists disclaimers.)
- Consider also whether your experience might put you in a good position to challenge some prevailing social or political dogma. Satan seems to enjoy challenging dogma in general, not just Christian dogma.
Ask Satan for guidance as to what specific goal you can best serve, and how.
When you first come back to Satanism, don't immediately do another rite of permanent dedication to Satan. Don't risk making the same mistake twice. Instead, you now need to demonstrate, through your actions, that from henceforth you will take your oaths to Satan much more seriously. Among other things, this means being a lot more cautious about making such oaths in the first place.
The only oath you should make now is a promise to find a way to put your past experience to use in the service of Satan. Don't promise to do this for the rest of your life, let alone for eternity. Just promise to make up for your past faltering by putting your experience to some significant use.
As a demonstration of your determination, I recommend writing your name (and perhaps the entire oath) in blood. See Writing your name in blood for some practical tips on how to do this.
And, even though you're not totally new to Satanism, it might also be a good idea to perform this self-initiation rite as a way to help you reorient yourself.
If you became a hardcore Christian for a while, or if you were brought up in a hardcore Christian home, I would also recommend a rite of blasphemy - but not immediately. First, make sure you are thoroughly convinced, on an intellectual level, that traditional Christian theology is not true. If you have not done so already, examine the arguments both for and against Christianity in depth. Do the intellectual work first, and only then do a rite of blasphemy to help you banish any remaining purely irrational fears. (See The purpose of blasphemy in Satanism,)
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