Balanone's Temple of Set FAQ

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7.0 -- Contact and Information

7.1 -- Formal and Official Contact

  • Postal Address:
    Temple of Set
    P. O. Box 470307
    San Francisco, CA 94147
  • Electronic Mail: You may send email to the Executive Director c/o balfaq.ed@xeper.org.
  • The Priesthood of Set: To contact a member of the Priesthood, send your request by postal mail to the Executive Director, who will forward it to an appropriate member of the Priesthood. (That member of the Priesthood may not indulge in electronic mail capabilities, so postal mail is usually a requirement here.)
  • Copyrighted material
    Almost all of the Temple of Set's internal documents are copyrighted and intended for internal distribution only. We do release some material for public consumption from time to time, but other material is not released. We have problems from time to time with people copying or publishing our copyrighted material. We'd appreciate anyone and everyone who helps us maintain our intellectual property rights.

    See the REF document for comments concerning the Book of Coming Forth by Night, Crystal Tablet of Set, and other publications.

7.2 -- Informal Contact

  • "My name is ... and i wish find a Setian Priest in my area to inquire as to joining the Temple."

    Information on how to join the Temple of Set is readily available at the Temple's web site, by following the General Information and Admissions Policies links.

    To ask the Executive Director if she can help you contact a Priest of Set in your area, a) find her email address above, b) send her your request, including your postal address and/or phone, so our local Priesthood can contact you (they may not have email).

  • Electronic Mail mailing list(s)

    Xepera-l is the only public mailing list hosted by Setians. Moderation is minimal, topics can be anything of interest to Setians, and participation is open to all who are not openly hostile to the Temple or to Setians. 2002: We have indefinitely closed the Xepera-L mailing list. We may reopen it in the future; that decision has not yet been made.

  • Internet newsgroups

    1. alt.satanism

      alt.satanism is a newsgroup for discussions of satanic philosophy, religion, organizations, activities, etc. Most Setians avoid the newsgroup because of the high level of juvenile behavior that we run into there. However, there are a few Setians who can be contacted through that newsgroup.

    2. alt.pagan

      alt.pagan attracts several Setians who belong to that community. We prefer to avoid discussing simply Setian philosophy and religion or Satanism in alt.pagan, since those are more appropriate to alt.satanism, but the relationships between Setian philosophy and religion and other Pagan philosophies and religions are on-topic and suitable for that newsgroup.

    3. soc.religion.paganism

      soc.religion.paganism is a well-moderated newsgroup in which the same topics can readily be discussed. There are probably fewer Setians on this newsgroup than on the other two, but from time to time you may find enough visiting soc.religion.paganism to hold a meaningful discussion when necessary.

  • FIDO/PODS echoes

    The Setian Discussions echo (tagname: SET, and previously named "Base of Set") was the only FTN (Fido Technology Network) echo hosted by Setians concerning Setian philosophy or the Temple of Set. Moderation was minimal, and topics could be anything of interest to Setians. Participation was open to all who were not openly hostile to the Temple or to Setians. This echo was carried on the FIDO North America backbone, and by most major hubs within PODS. It was carried in Australia by both FIDO and PODS, and in Germany (and perhaps other areas of Europe) by PODS. Unfortunately that echo closed down in 1999, and is no longer operational.

  • World Wide Web sites and pages

    • The Temple of Set's "official" World Wide Web site is http://www.xeper.org; most sites dealing with the Temple of Set can be found through links from this site.

    • The Order of the Trapezoid maintains its own web site at http://www.trapezoid.org/

  • FIDO/PODS bulletin board systems: There used to be quite a few bulletin board systems owned and run by Setians, but it seems that all have them have disbanded or gone to mail-only operations.

7.3 -- Friendly and Neutral Others

Though I've often quoted from others' responses to frequently asked questions, still this document is just one person's compilation concerning the Temple of Set. Anyone who needs a more comprehensive view should contact one or more of the other Setians (above ), and perhaps one or more people who aren't Setian. A few people who are active online, whose independent views concerning the Temple of Set at this time appear to be informed and reasonable, are listed in the REF document. Please note that neither I nor the Temple of Set have much influence over nor agree with everything these people say.

7.4 -- Unfriendly Others

The REF document identifies a few people whose messages, documents, or web pages you're likely to run into on the Internet, and who are biased against the Temple of Set for a variety of reasons.

7.5 -- Getting More Information

  • General Information Letter

    The current General Information letter (including membership information and policies) is available upon request. Write to: Executive Director, Temple of Set, Post Office Box 470307, San Francisco, CA 94147, USA. Or provide a postal - not E-mail - mailing address to: balfaq.ed@xeper.org

    There are copies of that letter floating around cyberspace, available on various FTP sites and on BBSs. Unfortunately, most of them are out of date, since the introductory letter is updated semi-regularly, and the files on these unrelated sites aren't. The primary site known and guaranteed to maintain a current copy is the Temple of Set's official web site, http://www.xeper.org.

  • Computerized archives

    Over the years, a number of other files pertaining to the Temple of Set were made available. These were generally intended for limited distribution, but over time were archived on various Internet and FTN sites along with material about the Temple of Set which did not originate from the Temple of Set. Many of these files contain dated information; the accuracy and authenticity of these is doubtful. In future revisions of this document, comments about these files may be added (if you bring the need for same to our attention).

    • However, be warned that a lot of files of questionable value are floating around the 'net. Check the source for each document, and if you have questions about its value, ask us about it . The REF document discusses at least one such example of this.

    • Archives hosted by Setians
      • ftp://ftp.xeper.org
        Reference: webmaster@xeper.org
        This is the only FTP site both managed by a Priest of the Temple of Set and dedicated to the Temple of Set at this time to our knowledge. The reliability of other FTP sites will be lower -- they will not be as accurate nor current (though admittedly, we do not expend much effort to keep this FTP site current either -- instead we maintain the WWW pages at http://www.xeper.org since we believe they are of more general interest to more people). As other Setian sites are identified they will be listed at http://www.xeper.org

    • Other FTP sites
    • Obsolete FTP sites (no longer useful)

7.6 -- Those Stories About Us

Despite our general policy of keeping a low profile, sometimes rumors about us do get spread, generally by people who dislike or fear us for some reason (perhaps because so little is known about us, or simply because of our non-Christian belief system, or for other reasons). If anyone (perhaps someone else at a location of one of our formal meetings, or someone you meet on the 'net, or some other acquaintance) should ask you any of the following questions, it's good to be able to give them the correct answers.

7.6.1 -- A Cult?

"Is this a cult?" No. Some people may define "cult" to mean any non-Christian religion, and then yes, we don't believe in the Christian religion. But most people reserve the word "cult" to you mean something dangerous to society or its members, and no, we're not a cult since we are beneficial to our members, and we're not anti-social by any means.

The REF document contains more discussion on this topic.

7.6.2 -- Satanists?

"Are you Satanists?" A lot of people say yes, and a lot of people say no. A lot of Setians say yes, and a lot of Setians say no. See the REF document for this discussion.

7.6.3 -- Naziism and Fascism

Are you fascists? Nazis? No. See http://www.balanone.info/nazitrap.html or http://www.necronomi.com/magic/satanism/fascist.set.txt for one member's discussion of this question.

7.6.4 -- Presidio

What about the Presidio stories?

On August 14, 1987 CE the San Francisco home of Lilith and Dr. Aquino was raided by San Francisco Police officer Glen Pamfiloff on a search warrant obtained as a consequence of the accusations of Army chaplain Lawrence Adams-Thompson that the Aquinos had kidnapped and sexually abused his stepdaughter as part of the Presidio of San Francisco day-care witch-hunt.

These claims were investigated in depth by the SFPD, the FBI, and the US Army CID. No charges were ever made in any jurisdiction, and the evidence has shown Dr. Aquino and Lilith Aquino to be innocent of any such activity. Full details can be read in the alt.pagan post, dated Sun Jun 02, 22:14, From : scratch@gladstone.uoregon.edu, Subj : Re: Curio courts the CAW.

7.6.5 -- Other Occultists

  • Why should Wiccans, Druids, and other types of Pagans defend those who call themselves "Satanists" against the Christian majority?

    I've never understood why Wiccans, Druids, and others might think we want their defending. There are ethical and social reasons to do it, and that's why Setians generally defend other Pagans against discrimination and other forms of attack, but Setians and Satanists don't need others to defend them -- Setians and Satanists would be happy if other Pagans would simply stop buying Christianity's lies and attacking the Setians and Satanists as if allied with Christianity's blind bigots.

    There's a little more discussion of this in the REF document.

  • "Are you witches?" That depends upon your definition of a "witch." We do explore activities which many people would call "magic," such as telepathy, divination, and methods of strengthening our souls and spirits through mental and spiritual discipline. However, modern witches usually believe that their magical powers come from one or more gods or goddesses, and many Christians believe these powers come from the devil. We don't believe in any such gods or goddesses or devils. Most modern witches claim we are not witches.

  • Perhaps the most important point to know and remember about us is that we believe a primary requirement of self-improvement and individual Xeper is to be honorable and ethical. We do not tolerate any illegal activity. We do not tolerate any illegal drugs, and we frown upon excessive use of legal substances like tobacco and alcohol. We believe in individual freedoms, and respect everyone else's desire to live life the way they want to, asking in exchange only the freedom to be able to live life the way we want to.

    We do enjoy companionship and camaraderie. At our various conclaves, many of us will gather in private rooms, local restaurants, and the hotel lobby, and we'll just talk for hours, about almost anything. Some of our people will even sometimes forget to go to sleep, being so wrapped up in talking to people they see only once or twice a year.

    We enjoy life, we enjoy growth, and we enjoy each other. If you spend time with Setians, you'll find that most of us smile a lot, honest smiles, reflecting the enjoyment we find in life.

  • What about Magda Graham? This is discussed in the REF document.

7.6.6 -- The Setian Illuminati

These topics are explored in the REF document.

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