Left-hand path and right-hand path
In Western esotericism, left-hand path and right-hand path are two opposing approaches to magic. This terminology is used by various groups involved in the occult and ceremonial magic. In some definitions, the left-hand path is equated with malicious black magic, while the right-hand path is equated with benevolent white magic.[1] Other occultists have criticised this definition, believing that the left–right dichotomy refers merely to different kinds of working and does not necessarily connote good or bad magical actions.[2] Other practitioners state the difference between the two is that the desired outcome of the right is to be beside God and to serve him, while the left believe in self-deification and bow to no one.
More recent definitions are based on the Indian use of the terms in
The godhood self sought by left-hand path followers is represented by the
Terminology
Right-hand path
The right-hand path is commonly thought to refer to magical or religious groups which adhere to a certain set of characteristics:
- They divide the concepts of mind, body and spirit into three separate, albeit interrelated, entities.[5]
- They adhere to a specific moral code and a belief in some form of judgement, such as Threefold Law.[5]
The occultist Dion Fortune considered Abrahamic religions to be RHP.[6]
Left-hand path
Historian Dave Evans studied self-professed followers of the left-hand path in the early 21st century, making several observations about their practices:
- They often reject societal convention and the status quo, which some suggest is in a search for spiritual freedom. As a part of this, LHP followers embrace magical techniques that would traditionally be viewed as taboo, for instance using sex magic or embracing Satanic imagery.[7] As Mogg Morgan wrote, the "breaking of taboos makes magic more potent and can lead to reintegration and liberation, [for example] the eating of meat in a vegetarian community can have the same liberating effect as anal intercourse in a sexually inhibited society."[8]
- They often question religious or moral dogma, instead adhering to forms of personal anarchism.[9]
- They often embrace sexuality and incorporate it into magical ritual.[10]
History of the terms
Tantra and Madame Blavatsky
Returning to Europe, Blavatsky began using the term. It was relatively easy for her to associate left with
Adoption into the western esoteric tradition
In New York, Madame Blavatsky founded the
A figure Fortune considered to be a follower of the LHP was
Later 20th and 21st centuries
In the latter half of the 20th century various groups arose that self-professedly described themselves as LHP but did not consider themselves as practicing black magic. In 1975, Kenneth Grant, a student of Aleister Crowley, explained in Cults of the Shadow that he and his group, the Typhonian Order, practiced the LHP. Grant's usage takes meaning from its roots in eastern Tantra; Grant states that it is about challenging taboos, but that it should be used in conjunction with the RHP to achieve balance.[19]
See also
- Aghori – Tantric sect within Shaivism
- Charnel ground – Above-ground location for disposal of the dead
- Chöd – Buddhist religious practice
- Kapalika – Tantric form of Shaivism
- Kaula – Religious tradition in Hinduism
- Sorcery – Magical practice involving evocation of demons
References
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 152.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 176.
- ^ Carroll (1987), p. [page needed].
- ^ Karlsson (2019), p. [page needed].
- ^ a b Hine, Phil, quoted in Evans (2007), p. 204.
- ^ Gray (2004), p. [page needed].
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 197.
- ^ Shual (2012), p. 31.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 198.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 205.
- ^ Bhattacharyya (1999), pp. 81, 447.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 178.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 177.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 181–182.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 183–184.
- ^ a b c Crowley (1991), ch. 12.
- ^ Evans (2007), pp. 182–183.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 189–190.
- ^ Evans (2007), p. 193.
Works cited
- Bhattacharyya, N. N. (1999). History of the Tantric Religion (2nd rev. ed.). Delhi: Manohar Publications. ISBN 81-7304-025-7.
- ISBN 978-1609255299.
- ISBN 978-1-56184-018-2.
- Evans, Dave (2007). The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing.
- ISBN 978-0-9584493-1-1.
- Karlsson, Thomas (2019). Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic. AJNA. ISBN 978-0972182065.
- Shual, Katon (2012). Sexual Magick: Secrets of Sexual Gnosis in Western Magick. Oxford: ISBN 978-1906958480.
Further reading
- Sutcliffe, Richard J. (1996). "Left-Hand Path Ritual Magick: An Historical and Philosophical Overview". In G. Harvey; C. Hardman (eds.). Paganism Today. London: Thorsons/HarperCollins. pp. 109–37. ISBN 978-0-7225-3233-1.
- Svoboda, Robert E. (1986). Aghora: At the Left Hand of God. Brotherhood of Life. ISBN 978-0-914732-21-1.
- ISBN 978-1-885972-10-1.
External links
- Media related to Left-Hand Path at Wikimedia Commons