Impressions, Priesthood, & Understanding

I was recently approached by a young man in his twenties who, after telling me he was new to Daemonolatry and his family condemned him for his abilities as a medium, expressed an interest in the priesthood.  I went through my classic explanation that unlike most pagan/occult groups (especially online) that we actually required our priests to do a bit of work before they could claim the title Daemonolatry Priest(ess). I also explained, like I do at least fifty times a year, that being a priest only has meaning within the group where you hold that title. It has no meaning outside that group. Just like a Catholic Priest would have no flack in a Jewish Community, a Daemonolatry Priest is only that to the group/people who recognize that title.  With this revelation, the young man asked me if I knew of a group he could join.

Luckily he was in a state where there is an active Daemonolatry group, so I put him in contact with the high priest of that group. That particular group is a traditional family sect. After a few days, the priest of the group contacted me asking what I knew about the young man because the young man was telling the priest that he, too, was generational. Basically, the young man gave the priest an entirely different backstory than he gave me. Now he was generational beholden to a different Daemon than the one he told me he was dedicated to, (his new Daemon was one whose sigil he’d asked me for the day before), and he had a family history of Daemonolatry that was never revealed to me during our conversations.

This lead both the priest of the group and myself to think the young man was lying. If he wasn’t lying to me, he was lying to my friend. Regardless – he was lying.

I often wonder about the point of such lies. I realize some people are impressed by generational ties in the Daemonolatry community. I’m not one of them. Probably because I have a lot of generational friends and none of them are any different than you or I. They simply had a different upbringing. None of them are any more spiritual or “knowing” than anyone else. The only difference (if they are actually practicing Daemonolaters) is they grew up learning Daemonolatry so they have more knowledge about the religion in general. Just like someone who is a practicing Catholic all their lives has more inside knowledge of the practice and worship than someone who just converted. It’s the same thing.

I have met generationals who are Daemonolaters in name only and who don’t practice. I’ve even met generational dabblers. Sad, but true. Birth alone doesn’t make one an adept or give someone birthright to titles or anything like that. One must still practice.

This young man, like so many into the occult these days, is in a rush to get to the priesthood. They believe the title or claiming to be generational makes them above reproach. They seem to think it will bring them accolades and respect. That people will immediately treat them as if they’re an authority.  But none of them want to WORK for it. Earning people’s respect and becoming a respected authority is no easy task.  Respect is earned and you’ll never earn the respect of everyone because not everyone is going to agree with you or feel you deserve your title. There will always be people you are at odds with or have a difference of opinion with. Not to mention – titles are work. Being a priest means you are a good organizer. You can help  others. You are a people person.

I laugh because I know so many young folks chomping at the bit to become priests because of the power they think it will give them, while those who truly should be priests either try to avoid the title or bring humility to it. I’ve recently begun the process of handing my title on to my assisting priestess because I want a different role in our group. I need a role better suited to what my spiritual needs are right now and that role isn’t the High Priestess. No, that role is Hekau (which is a Lector Priestess role, but it means I don’t have to be in charge anymore.)  Being in charge of a group is A LOT of work. It often requires you attend to others more than yourself. It requires you to fret over details and organization and that sometimes takes from your own spiritual practice.

This wasn’t the first time I stepped down from my priesthood title. When I was suffering from severe depression, I stepped down from my post for over a year so I could help myself. You can’t help others if you can’t even help yourself. These young people, however, have no desire to help others. Their want for titles is purely selfish and vain. They want respect and power, not responsibility and humility. Clearly they will lie, like this young man, to get it.

What a sad state our culture is in where, to feel important, people are willing to lie to get titles just to boost their poor self-esteem.

Don’t get me wrong. Being the high priestess did teach me a great deal over the years. It did teach me that it’s really not all about me. It did teach me humility. It also taught me a great deal about myself and the nature of deity and energy, and in that knowledge I did become quite powerful.

But lies aren’t required to gain that power. Work, on the other hand, is. And titles are often the result of hard work. The hard work doesn’t stop with a title either. It simply adds more.

I respect people more if they do the work. I don’t care if you have a title or not or if you’re generational or not, and that’s the truth. I don’t respect a lazy Daemonolater with a title any more than I’d respect a dabbler. And I most certainly have no respect for liars.