Satanism and Jediism

Hello Satanist Jedi,

I am just curious. And, anybody can contribute... but, I thought I might ask. How do Satanism and Jediism fit together? I know it's probably fairly obvious. But, enlighten us less knowledgeable about the combination.

Mostly, I'm curious because, while I am not a Satanist, I have and am studying principles that may go along with it. So, that being the case, this broadens my information about a subject I am interested in.

If you do not want to discuss it in a thread, PMing is fine with me too. But, I bet many people would benefit from hearing your stories.

I can only speak from my experience and therefore it is limited to that, but here's what I think.

Traditional Satanism resembles, if not mirrors, Sith ideology. I'm not a traditional Satanist. A better way to think of it would be that I'm a neo-Satanist as exemplified by the Tenets of The Satanic Temple.

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own.
• Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
• People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word

The Satanic Temple, and by consequence I, do not believe in a literal being called Satan nor do I worship this boogeyman/antithesis of the Abrahamic god. Satan is literary figure who represents rebellion against tyranny, against oppression and injustice. To say, "Hail Satan" is to write a shorthand for, "Hail archetype of rebellion, hail freedom from oppression, hail free-thinking, hail truth in spite of ideology." The Satanic Temple diverges from traditional Satanists in that individualism, Nietzsche's will-to-power, and magical work to transform the world according to one's own will are not a part of daily life. The Satanic Temple does not have any ritual nor does it practice any form of psychodrama, yet it is not a humanist organization nor is it gimmick. It is a new wave of Satanism aimed at using Satan as the epitome of rebellion against tyranny and is an actual religion which strives to operate in a way that is authentic and in line with the best-known practices of science and religion.

Wow! I had no idea that's what Satanists believed. That is inspiring. Thank you for sharing, Jamie.

I think to compare Satanism and Jediism, you have to define what "brand" of each you are talking about, as there are more than one.

The story I've heard (which I like) regarding Satanism goes something like this:
Once man had been created, Yahwen claimed rulership over all. He had designed man to worship and obey him without question. When Lucifer saw that man was without freedom, he rebelled against Yahweh, guiding man to eat from tree of knowledge of right and wrong. Upon eating from the tree, man became like God (partially).

Yahweh, upset by the betrayal and fearsome that man might eat from the tree of everlasting life, expelled man and Lucifer from the garden of eden and into the world.

Since then, Lucifer, now called Satan, has devoted himself to helping any who wish achieve God-hood, by spiritually evolving into "eating from the tree of everlasting life". Yahweh, on the other hand, designed religion to bring chaos and ignorance, so that man would subject to God in submission.

Yahweh demands obedience. Satan wishes us to rise as equals.

In this sense, Jediism and Satanism are very compatible, once you take away the literal archetypal images out of the way, as in any religion.

On a related note, in Thelema (created by Aleister Crowley, whom regarded himself as the Antichrist), the only law is "Do what you will". When studied indepth, "will" is understood as our deepest essence and desire (rather than our every whim and impulse), so despite being selfish, it is inherently the same as Joseph Campbell's concept of "follow your bliss".

Though Manu is correct with regards to the story of Satan (not necessarily the biblical story I might add), I've come across very very few Satanists who actually believed in Satan to be a fallen angel.

In order to explain how Satanism and Jediism work for me, I need to give a bit of background as to what Satanism is for me.

I became a traditional Satanist at 14-ish, ditching the theistic aspect somewhere in my very early twenties, but if you've read my sermon on priesthood you'll know that I still use gods, including Satan, in a personal kind of way. Satan exists for me, but not for others, if that makes sense.

As a Theist, for me Satan was not the fallen angel but a god in his own right. Now he is sort of an archetype.. he represents to me not only rebellion, but a kind of self sovereignty.. personal power and pushing boundaries...rebellion against what we assume ourselves to be. For me Satanism is egocentric, in a way selfish... encouraging one to challenge themself... challenge one's assumptions, commonly held beliefs, fears.. to push through perhaps into the taboo to find what is self empowering and to understand the self deeper, perhaps identifying where we may be deluding ourselves. It's focus is on the self solely. Indeed some Satanists say that 'Hail Satan' actually means 'Hail Thyself' though I have never used the phrasemyself. There are similarities to Sithism, but I don't think they are the same.
As an extension, and what the Satanic Temple is also putting forward, is the choice not just to challenge the self, but to challenge other places of inequality and weakness.. they have been challenging the fact that Christians gets to put monuments at government buildings in the USA but they do the same and they get wrecked, or face government opposition despite the law allowing them.

When I first came to TOTJO I was in a kind of turmoil with Satanism and felt that I had to ditch it entirely in favour of Jediism, but after about a year I realised that it really wasn't working for me. Satanism and Jediism have some overlapping aspects, but they are still different for me.. contrasts that allow balance when held together, although I lean less towards Jediism now and more towards Quakerism (lots of isms in my life). Satanism is self centred primarily, Jediism/Quakerism connection centred. I need both sides to feel whole.

I do have a constant interest in the depiction of Satan within literature... although that's really just a side interest.

Overall.. Satanism has many different branches and types and I've really only told you my side... From my excursions around current Satanic forums the viewpoints can be very different and from reading the opinions of people at the Satanic Temple they tend to lean closer to TOTJO than other places that I visit.

Edan: is there anything about your view of Satanism that is particularly irreconcilable with Jediism?

Manu wrote: Edan: is there anything about your view of Satanism that is particularly irreconcilable with Jediism?

Nothing irreconciliable... just different. If something didn't reconcile I'd probably drop what didn't work for me... that might mean that I moved on from Jediism or Quakerism.. but then I'd see that as a natural progression..

I work with a satanist at work. He is one of the most responsible, hard working, funny, person I have ever met. If he represents what that path does for people I say Hail Satan.

Interesting thread. Learning lots. Thanks!

All doctorine aside the statement "do as thou wilt ...harm none" left me at 13 with a diferent view all together . Every religion organization cult group had their " extremist" but what I had become at 14 was a young large potential for disaster and or greatness. I saw the greatness rather than the harmful. At 13 I saw the differences in the sects I had never notice before. Me personally I now give no glory or credit to any God or man but to the individual for doing the action of work their self. It very much removed the God from things for me , rather than place credit on things ... Heavenly or earthly I found my self in the thick of it alone, and it was ok . Hope that helps Conner .I saw the very possible possibility of there not being any God or any one in charge and ... Filled it with my own ideas ... Still do to this day