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6.0 -- Setians and Setianism

Setian is the generic term which applies to each member of the Temple of Set. Setians is the term which applies to two or more members, and to the entire membership together.

Setianism is a term which can be applied to the Setian philosophy, the Setian religion, and/or the Setian way of life. Some (many?) Setians prefer the terms "Setian philosophy," "Setian religion," and "Setian way of life" over the term "Setianism." I find "Setianism" a convenient term to use when I am referring specifically to the Setian way of life, or to any combination of these ideas.

6.1 -- Activities

What do Setians do? This topic is covered in the REF document.

6.2 -- Setians

6.2.1 -- Specific Setians

  • Executive Director -- can be contacted through the Temple's postal address, or through email (balfaq.ed@xeper.org).
  • High Priest -- Dr. Michael Aquino, High Priest and founder of the Temple of Set, can be contacted through the Temple's postal address or through email.
  • Magus Don Webb, High Priest until he stepped down from that office in 2002, can be contacted through the Temple's postal address, or through email (balfaq.dw@xeper.org).
  • Balanone, an active long-time member (and author of this document), can be contacted through the Temple's postal address or through email (balfaq@xeper.org). [One frequently asked question is why Balanone signs his email and posts with "PP" below his name. As stated in April, 1993 on the Base of Set echo and many other times, "That's as close as I can get with this keyboard to the Egyptian hieroglyph for Shuti (the double Maat feather), symbolizing my personal dedication to Balance."]
  • A few others are mentioned in the REF document.

6.2.2 -- Questions about Setians

Are Setians Pagans? That's a question which depends heavily upon your definition of "pagan." See the REF document for this discussion.

6.2.3 -- Imposters

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then how should you look at people who claim to be members of the Temple of Set and aren't? If you encounter someone online (or offline) who claims to be Setian, how do you know if they really are?

Our High Priest, Magus Don Webb, offers an excellent answer in his essay How to Spot a Setian. My personal answer is less meaningful, but they're techniques you might find useful.

  • All members of the Temple of Set can be identified physically by their colored cloisonne point-down medallion, and by their membership card (with expiration date). If you have physical contact with someone who claims to be Setian but who can't show you the membership card or medallion, that person is not a member.

    June 2001: Recently we've seen a couple of medallions being auctioned on Ebay. If someone has our medallion, that is not proof they are currently a member, and maybe not proof they ever were. But if they do not have a medallion, then they aren't a current member.

  • All online members of the Priesthood have a xeper.org email address. (Example: Priest Thomas White's email address within our domain is twhite@xeper.org) Anyone claiming online to be a member of the Priesthood should be able to supply their name@xeper.org or alias@xeper.org email address, and should be able to respond to any email sent to that address. Anyone online who cannot give you an email address @xeper.org, or who cannot answer mail sent to that address, is not a member of the Priesthood.

  • The Executive Director's staff will confirm the membership of any Setian who asks to have that membership confirmed. The member should send the email from their email address of record to confirm@xeper.org -- this email will be validated, and the confirmation will be sent to any email address desired. Any person claiming to be a member online but not willing or able to provide this confirmation is not a member.

While the Temple of Set and its members normally will not reveal, confirm, or deny anyone's present or past membership in the Temple of Set, there are exceptions:

  • If members indicate it's OK, such as through the request method above, we'll confirm their membership.
  • Some members are very open and public about their membership. We'll confirm those members' status.
  • In our view, people who publicly claim to be members, and aren't, are claiming to be part of that second group. We will therefore provide the information that such people are not members.

There have been a few people who fall into that last group, as identified by members of our Priesthood. These include:

  • Ravenwrld@aol.com -- I am told he has claimed to be the High Priest of the Temple, and that he offers to sell the Crystal Tablet. The High Priest of the Temple of Set at the time this person came to our attention was Don Webb. The current High Priest is Michael Aquino. No member of the Temple may sell their Tablet. (Past members may sell the copy they received from us -- it's their property. However, they can sell only that one copy -- they are not permitted to make additional copies for sale.)
  • Reverend77x@aol.com -- I am told he has claimed to be a IV° member of the Temple of Set. He is not a member.
  • Lilithdarkmoon@aol.com and/or lilithvmp@aol.com -- I am told she claims to be a former member. She is not.
  • magussatanicus@aol.com -- I am told he claims to be a member of the Priesthood in "German Chamber" and claims as well that lilithdarkmoon@aol.com/lilithvmp@aol.com is actually Lilith Aquino. He is not a member. There is no "German Chamber." Lilith Aquino does not use either of those two aliases on AOL.
  • Xeper879631179@aol.com -- While this person has not yet claimed to be a member of the Temple of Set, he apparently has proclaimed himself the Magus of Xem. Xem is an Aeonic Word within the Aeon of Set, and the Magus of Xem was Magus Ronald K. Barrett. This is not Magus Barrett, and this person has no membership nor recognition within the Temple of Set.

Finally, on reading Magus Webb's How to Spot a Setian, one Adept mentioned,

Along those lines, I have encountered those who claim that they have been approached by a Setian, which tried to "recruit" them. I find this very funny. This right here shows that they have no idea what they are talking about. I guess it makes them feel good to tell others that such a wonderful organization as ours was wanting them to be a member. Anyone who really knows anything about the Temple would know that does not go on.

I've asked a few, "and why would they want you?" Maybe not the polite thing to say, but I can only laugh at these people.

The Temple of Set does not recruit. Individual members who feel that their friends might benefit from membership might mention this to their friends, but we do not ever try to recruit anyone, and don't even approach those people who have no ties of friendship to us.

6.2.4 -- Who is a Setian?

Various people continue to call themselves Setian even though they are not members of the Temple of Set. The question as asked on the Xepera-L mailing list in May, 1999 was:

If one can be a *Satanist* without being a member of CoS, can one be a *Setian* without being a member of ToS?

My answer:

  • If you mean "Can someone believe in the Prince of Darkness as Set without being a member of the Temple?" Then yes, they can.
  • If you mean "Can someone actively seek and accomplish Xeper without being a member of the Temple of Set?" Then yes, they can.
  • If you mean "Can someone practice Setian forms of magic without being a member of the Temple of Set?" Then yes, they can.
  • If you mean "Can someone be recognized as and called a Setian by theTemple of Set's administration, Priesthood, or general membership without being a member of the Temple of Set?" Then no, they cannot.

This evoked the question "Why not?" I responded with the following two definitions:

Setian (n)
A member of the Temple of Set.
setian (adj)
1. action, statement, or belief inspired by the philosophy of Xeper and/or the being or idea of Set. 2. action, statement, or belief compatible with inspiration by the philosophy of Xeper and/or the being or idea of Set

6.3 -- Why are we here?

"Here" may be any digital forum -- you may be reading this on a web site, a newsgroup, or FTP archive. I've tried to generalize the answer to apply to most situations. For that matter, "here" may also apply to Pagan gatherings, meetings in hotels, new age fairs, etc. These questions are examined in the REF document.

6.4 -- Miscellaneous

There isn't much in this section, and it all resides in the REF document at this time

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