There is a lot of propaganda, confusion, and simple absence of knowledge on the topic of the Western Left-Hand Path (WLHP). In the first category we have individuals who believe the WLHP is evil, wholly selfish, and overall generally frown upon it. In the second category there are those who believe that the WLHP claims heritage of the Eastern Left-Hand Path (ELHP), that the WLHP somehow does not exist, or that it is inauthentic in some way. Some simply have no idea the WLHP is a thing. I would like to alleviate some of these concerns.
The best place to start is the beginning, and the WLHP does not claim a very ancient one. One thing that almost everyone gets correct about the WLHP is that it can be essentially equated to Satanism. I fought this a long time myself, but only because I was misinformed and ignorant (and I highly recommend the newish text “The Invention of Satanism”). Rather than being as simplistic as LaVeyan Satanism or pure reactive Satanism (pseudo-satanism), Satanism has become a complex movement consisting of everything from the aforementioned groups to mature, esoteric, and academic groups such as the Temple of Set. Look at how respected Dr. Stephen Flowers has become in the academic occult community, especially his Lords of the Left Hand Path.
However, up until the formation of the Church of Satan in 1966, there really was no organized, religious form of Satanism. There were romanticized Satanism or the use of satanic imagery to mock the church, such as with the Hell-Fire clubs, but there was not a large, organized, evolving community. That all started with LaVey, and so the WLHP, despite what many claim or think, only traces its roots back 50 years. While LaVey may be taken much less seriously today (rightly so?), there is no denying his importance in this matter. There would be no WLHP without LaVey. He turned “satanic” ideals of self-betterment, enlightenment-era thinking, acceptance of the material world, and all similar beliefs into one complete and organized religious system. Sure many of the ideas had been touched on before, but LaVey synthesized them (to the point of plagiarism?) in a whole new way.
Despite LaVey’s atheistic and pantheistic leanings, Satanism / the WLHP has evolved over time in to many different paths, including Luciferianism, Setianism, Ahrimanism, Dionysianism (sp?), and all such similar paths. All together these make up the WLHP, and they all share certain common traits – apathy towards cultural norms/values, a high respect for subjective experience, and perhaps most importantly, a focus on the individual Self. This is taken to the extreme extent of self-deification, whether that means becoming metaphorically godlike in this life, or literally continuing as godlike being after death. Many people try and say that the WLHP is invalid and such because of this, as the traditional LHP in the East still had the goal of the loss of ego, nirvana, etc. This, however, is specifically WHY the WLHP specifies that it is not Eastern in its very name. The WLHP is also apathetic to values and such, rather than strictly heterodox in nature. In some of Don Webb’s texts from the Temple of Set, for instance, he explicitly explains that sometimes teaming up with authority can be a means to success and power. A follower of the WLHP will obey State laws not because they accept the authority of the state, but because the punishment is not worth the reward. Try getting a meaningful job with multiple felonies, for example. Understanding how the system works does not mean one agrees with or supports it.
So yes, there is a lot of misunderstanding and lies about the WLHP. It boils down to nothing more than that. The WLHP is not evil, and practitioners tend to keep out of trouble. Something like assaulting a man you are upset with would never be worth the monetary and temporal loss. The WLHP does not claim a relation to the ELHP, heterodoxy and loss of the self are not of interest to practitioners of the WLHP. It’s also ridiculous to claim that the WLHP somehow is not real or is inauthentic, and there are many academic works out there discussing the topic, the two best I’ve read already being mentioned, and containing many more sources within them. Finally, to view the WLHP as selfish in some way is not entirely accurate. The WLHP essentially deifies the Self, but not just the individuals Self, the Self in general. All people are individuals, and so all people are deified at least to an extent. Yes, in the WLHP there is no belief that all people are eternally equal, and people can certainly be seen as “beyond hope”, but this is not the same as the selfishness often presented.
I hope this clears up some concerns or misunderstandings, and will answer any questions.
