Left-Hand Path

Left-Hand Path

Left-Hand Path (LHP) religions are religions that share most of the following characteristics:

An agnostic view of the existence of gods and goddesses, often a Platonian-like view of gods and goddesses as "First-Forms".
The belief that people should strive to become as god/desses and that some (probably not all) people have the potential to do so.
The rejection of karma, divine retribution, Threefold Law, and similar, in favor of self-determined codes of morality.
The goal of becoming god- or goddess-like and retaining one's isolate intelligence and identity for as long as possible.

In addition to the distinctions made above, most Left-Hand Path religions accept:

The possible existence of both a male and female polarity of natural forces.
The possible existence of more than one god.
That practice and knowledge, not faith, makes a Pagan.
That deity, internal and external, is both transcendent and immanent.
That a person is solely responsible for his own actions and there is no external salvation from the results of those actions.
That the forces of the universe can be bent to one's personal will (magick).
That magick is based on natural laws and works in accordance with scientific principles that cannot (yet) be explained.
The understanding that we are all interconnected to, and are an inseparable part of, this Earth.

Some Pagans and Satanists are considered to be Left-Hand Path. On the other hand, most Wiccans and Christians are considered to be Right-Hand Path.

The term does not seem to have distinct origins. Some people believe that the terms Right-Hand Path and Left-Hand Path and the philosophy relevant to them came from India. However, there are some who hypothesize the term came from this Biblical verse:

And he shall separate them one from another,

as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.

And he shall set the sheep on his right,

but the goats on his left.

-- Matthew 25: 32-33

Followers of the Left-Hand Path sometimes utilize the symbol of a goat or Baphomet. They sometimes refer to followers of the Right-Hand Path as sheep, implying that they exhibit a "herd mentality."

The religion of Thelema meets many of the listed criteria. However, founder Aleister Crowley did not include himself in the Brethren of the Left-Hand Path, reserving that name for Christian clergy. He wrote in Magick that "'The Devil' is, historically, the God of any people that one personally dislikes."

Further Reading