Rider's Ramblings

"Why the Devil?" I am asked, by people who speak the name in hushed tones. "Why Satan? Why evil?" These questions sound quite valid on the surface and I can understand the incredulity behind an uninformed mind's opinion. Upon closer examination, however, the questions answer themselves.

Lucifer. God's own most-loved creation, the favourite angel of the Almighty. Favoured by a God who created him knowing that he would fall and be cast down - and yet loved him most anyway. It seems odd to me that God's best loved is mankind's most loathed. And I don't understand the reasons he is so hated and feared. If one studies any facet of Abrahamic religion, the only reasonable conclusion is that Lucifer is truly the champion of humankind.

John 3:16 states "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." God loved the world? When did he love it? When he flooded it and killed millions of people? When he had bears maul children for mocking a bald man? When he was so insecure he almost made a father kill his own son just to prove how much faith he had? This is not love. Creating beings imbued with free will and punishing them for exercising said free will is most assuredly not a loving act.

God created man and put him in paradise. But he encouraged man to remain ignorant. This was not for man's own good - this was so man's cognitive abilities would not rival God's own. He created an item that would illuminate the mind of man and then banned him from ever utilising it. That is not love. Love - true, deep, unconditional love - is wanting to see your loved ones flourish; to see them reach the pinnacle of happiness and wisdom. Love is elevation and guidance - hate is suppression and willful obstruction.

Who then, in Eden, acted out of love? Certainly it was not God. It was the snake. The snake identified as Lucifer. It was Lucifer who encouraged humanity to gain wisdom and knowledge, it was Lucifer who supported humanity in their strive for autonomy, it was Lucifer who selflessly stepped in and guided man every step of the way, out of the garden of ignorance and into the world of wisdom. Lucifer lifted the veil God placed across the eyes of man: Lucifer taught man how to truly see.

Lucifer the Light Bringer, the Morning Star. For a being so reviled, he has never stopped loving and protecting us. Where God sees sin, Lucifer sees instinct. Instincts that are, often, pleasurable and beneficial for humanity, and are only considered "bad" when indulgence gives way to compulsion. Lucifer gave man the gift of freedom - freedom from a God who would control our thoughts and actions. Having given us such a gift, it's only natural that he would want us to retain that freedom, and addictions and compulsions are masters we choose to obey. So he encourages us to learn, live, and enjoy, but bow to no master but ourselves.

Humanity has benefited from the indulgence of instinct, often seen as sin in the eyes of the righteous. Pride has given us health and self-esteem, lust has given us procreation and survival of the species, sloth has given us recuperation and reprieve from mental and physical exertion, gluttony has given us agriculture, envy has given us ambition, greed has given us exploration, and wrath has given us motivation. These are the seven deadliest sins, so abhorrent are they that God himself is incapable of forgiving these transgressions. To Lucifer, these are not sins, they are guarantors of health, prosperity, survival, and happiness. In fact, the only acts Lucifer cannot abide are the sins of willful ignorance and purposeful stagnation.

While often portrayed as the Adversary (and rightfully so), it is obvious that he is not the adversary of goodness and purity. Satan is the adversary of tyranny and oppression. It is a mantle thrust upon him by detractors, but to those who understand his motives, it is a banner. Whenever man has created or appreciated art, it is because of the gift Lucifer gave us. Whenever man has applied critical thought to the world around him, it is because of the gift Lucifer gave us. Whenever man has escaped servitude and mental or physical bondage, whenever man has fought for justice and progress, it is because of the gift Lucifer gave us.

This is my answer. "Why the Devil?" Because there is no other acceptable alternative. Lucifer gave us wisdom, joy, appreciation, freedom, love, acceptance, pleasure, and power. Lucifer was cast down from Heaven, rejected by his creator, because of the value he saw in himself and in God's other creations. And in God's eyes, the worst thing any creature can do is value himself, for to do so is to start the journey to self-reliance. And God cannot exist where man has come to rely on himself to meet his needs. The Devil has no such insecurities. He knew full well that by giving man the gift of knowledge, he would eventually find himself obsolete as mankind became self-aware and autonomous. I have no use for John 3:16, this is the truth: "For Lucifer so loved the world, that he gave himself, that whosoever should open their eyes would not wander blind, but have everlasting sight." - Rider 3:16

This is my love letter to the one that set me free. To the one who unbound my shackles of fear, insecurity, and mental servitude. A thank you to the fallen angel who has sacrificed his existence and reality in order to elevate my own. A declaration of gratitude and adoration to the one who is personified within myself. May the light he fell to bring us radiate through me for all to see. There is no God or Devil, no Heaven or Hell - there is only what we create for ourselves. This knowledge, this power, gives us each omnipotence, it requires only that we be brave enough to take it.

I am a Daughter of the Morning Star. I am the Adversary of the Dying Lamb.

My dear Unholy Father,
I thank you for your grace
May the warmth of the Morningstar
Shine eternally upon my face
Grant to me your courage
That I may demolish my fears
I listen for your infernal voice
Whispering softly in my ears

Dearest Sanguine Mother,
I thank you for your grace
May the outcast children that you bore
Help guide me through this earthly place
Lend to me your firm resolve
That I may stand up tall
I speak with your wicked tongue
Words to make the Dying Lamb fall

Hail Lucifer! Hail Lilith!
Cast your favour upon your child
I have become the Adversary
On behalf of the sinful and defiled
Hail my Satanic brethren!
Hail me, for I am god!
I am the Alpha and Omega
On cloven hooves I trod

Nema!

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This is something that I wrote a while ago. I use it for meditation, catharsis, "prayer," whatever you want to call it. I am staunchly atheistic, however I enjoy a bit of ritual now and again. Enjoy and thanks for reading!