Grand Master:
Robert Menschel IV*
Post Office Box 2369
Citrus Heights, CA 95611, U.S.A.
MCI-Mail: 339-4584
_____________________________________
Shu and Tefnut, the twin lion gods, are opposites. Shu and Tefnut
are male and female, hot and cold, dry and wet, public and private,
intellectual and emotional, et cetera and so forth.
Alone, either one would be dangerously unbalanced, and would have
earned an evil reputation for his or her excesses. But Shu and
Tefnut are always together. Each defines the other; each requires
the other. Each balances and tempers the other. Shu's most prominent
headpiece, the feather of Ma'at, emphasizes this balance, as does
the representation of Shu through the use of this feather alone, as
a single hieroglyph. Shuti is Shu and Tefnut together, under one
name, as one composite being.
The Order of Shuti is dedicated to the study of Opposition and
Balance, Opposition in Balance, Balance in Opposition, and Balance
through Opposition. By 'Opposition' we don't mean just conflict
(though of course that is included). We will study and use
opposites, the actions and forces of these opposites, the ranges of
existence between these opposites, the balance of these opposites,
and the dynamic magical implications thereof.
One obsolete philosophy of magic was that to achieve balance, the
magician had to experience and participate in the extremes (often
the extremes of good and evil).
There are simply too many different pairs of opposites and extremes
for a magician to experience them all. Further, many extremes are
downright dangerous, such as extreme hot and cold, unnecessarily
evil and unlawful acts, and excessively self-sacrificing acts. But
the Initiate of Shuti will recognize and work with any and all
opposites/extremes, and with the ranges and balances between them,
whenever and however appropriate.
"For with no purpose the force of the mind must fall..." This study
of opposition and balance can support many diverse goals.
One such purpose will be to study and understand the physical and
objective universe, and the magical and subjective universe, so that
we may change those universes (per the challenge of Michael, found
in the _Diabolicon_'s Statement of Satan ArchDaimon).
Other goals and purposes will be supported; this is but one which
has been defined and will be offered to interested Initiates. Any
and all sets of opposites will be valid and appropriate areas of
study for the Initiate. The universes are our library and our
laboratory. But some topics will be of global interest:
Life and Death are the major pair of Opposites. We will work to
recognize all forms and degrees of these opposites. We will work to
always strive for Life, to always reject Death.
One set of Opposites of major interest is Self and Not-Self. How do
we define our Selves? When we Remanifest continued existence without
these bodily shells, how will we then define our Selves? How will we
differentiate between personal _Xeper_ and the willful modification
of the external universe?
We will also study Set and the Opposite Self, HarWer. We will study
them as individual entities, as Opposite Selves, and as Satan (Set
and HarWer fused).
Related to these above topics, we will examine the opposites of your
own Higher Self, that towards which you _Xeper_, and your Lower
Self, that which you Will outgrow.
Some other pairs of opposites are knowledge and ignorance, ability
and inability, comprehension and noncomprehension, perception and
nonperception, etc. Shu is a god of knowledge, the light of the sun.
With Tefnut's influence, Shuti is a god of active Satanic
enlightenment. We therefore expect the Order's Initiates to actively
contribute material to the _Scroll of Set_ and the _Ruby Tablet of
Set_. We also expect the Order's Initiates to participate in,
assist, and/or lead pylons as appropriate, whether local pylons,
pylons structured like the Gates of Hell, or otherwise.
The Order will publish a newsletter. The publication schedule will
depend upon the quantity of material submitted. The majority of this
material will be Order specific, dealing with the topics mentioned
above. But reflecting Shuti's attribute of Enlightenment, the
newsletter can also be used to circulate drafts of articles destined
for the _Scroll of Set_ and the _Ruby Tablet of Set_, for feedback
and refinement before their official publication.
The newsletter will also carry information useful to pylon leaders,
and may be used as a means of communication between pylon leaders.
All II*+ Setians may subscribe to the newsletter. These
subscriptions will be automatic and without charge for active
members of the Order, Masters of the Temple of Set (as members of
honor), and pylon leaders. Others may request subscriptions by
writing to the Grand Master.
Any II*+ Setian may apply for Initiation into the Order, by writing
to the Grand Master. There is no fee for Initiation or membership in
the Order. The only requirement is the ability and commitment to
Work within the above areas of concentration.
