Anyone who seriously thinks about their life realizes, pretty soon, that there are two paths that are open to them: a path that takes you to where you want to be faster and a slower path.
In occult terms, the path that takes you to your goals faster is known as the left-hand path, whereas the slower path is known as the right-hand path. The left-hand path is often characterized as an “evil” path, whereas the right-hand path is seen as more “righteous”.
No matter which path you follow, though, there is a problem of balance. Before we look at the problems, though, let’s make sure we know what we’re talking about when we talk about the left-hand and right-hand paths.
Characteristics of the Left-Hand Path
The left-hand path is focused on the individual instead of the group. People who follow this path are concerned about developing themselves to their highest potential and elevating themselves spiritually. The left-hand path rejects both societal norms and taboos as well as the authority of religions.
Adherents of the left-hand path work on developing their strength and will., as well as developing a strong .
Examples: Thelema, Goetia, Satanism (both theistic and non-theistic).
Characteristics of the Right-Hand Path
The right-hand path is primarily focused on religion. Whether you are a Christian or a Wiccan, you are still on the right-hand path. This path is concerned with developing goodness and submitting one’s will to either God or some higher power. There is also a focus on building community, to the point where many followers of this path end up adopting a herd mentality.
Individual paths on the right-hand path usually have a list of dos and dont’s to live by (the yamas, the niyamas, the Ten Commandments, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Wiccan Rede, etc.). People who follow this path can tend to be overly pious and concerned with what other people are doing — or not doing — to get into Heaven (or whatever analogous concept the path holds).
Adherents of the right-hand path tend to have an .
Examples: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Wicca, the eight limbs of yoga.
Problems on the Path
No matter which path an individual chooses to follow, however, there are some problems that will have to be addressed. At first, the problems encountered might not even seem like problems. To illustrate the problems, let’s look at some examples of the true believers of each path.
Have you ever met a true believer of the right-hand path? I bet you have. They’re the people that when they first meet you want to tell you about how they’ve developed a relationship with Jesus and want to know if you’ve been saved. They’ll happily invite you to a prayer meeting, or church social. After all, they want to spread the good news far and wide.
Or they might be the preacher on TV who lets you know how much of a sinner you are and that they can get you right with God. They’ll also let you know that God wants you to send a generous donation so that they can continue to reach the most sinners possible. Funny how God always appears to be broke, isn’t it?
If you think those examples are funny, let’s now look at the examples of people on the left-hand path.
First up is the adherent of Thelema who will use all kinds of drugs and alcohol to reach up to the highest highs in search of enlightenment. It’s funny how their version of enlightenment often looks like a big orgy, isn’t it?
Then there is the demonolater who will drain copious amounts of their own blood to invoke and be possessed by spiritual forces. This type of person is willing to do anything and everything to attain their every worldly desire. When they have realized the emptiness of their worldly pursuits, they then turn to developing the powers of a god. E.A. Koetting, I’m looking at you.
Diagnosing The Problems
As funny as some of these examples may be, there’s a deeper truth here. The Jesus freak has found something to believe in that gives him something to latch onto when life starts to suck. The same is true of the various left-hand path examples.
To begin to fix the problems of each path, let’s take a deeper look at the strengths and weaknesses of each path.
If you want the power to reshape your life and world, the left-hand path is the path to take. You will learn to access the energy of transformation. The motto of the left-hand path could easily be “no pain, no gain” because to gain access to the deep transformation that is offered, practitioners will have to plumb the depths of their psychological trauma and learn to transmute that trauma into transformation. When these deep lessons are learned and integrated successfully, the successful practitioner will go through life as though they are wearing a permanent crown.
And the transmutation phase is where left-hand path practitioners often go wrong. They get down to the depths of their trauma and end up consumed by it. While they can channel their trauma to create effects in the world, these effects serve to further harm them and others attracted to them. In essence, those who can’t successfully transmute their trauma go mad. The left-hand path examples given above illustrate what can go wrong when our trauma takes us over. Instead of being possessed by another being, the shadow side of the practitioner takes them over.
Now let’s take a look at the right-hand path. If you follow this path, you will learn how to participate in beautiful rituals, how to order your life to ensure peace, and be exposed to various texts of great spiritual beauty that comfort you when life does not go the way you would like it to. Your focus will be on community building, praying to a God or Goddess, and how to live in accordance with the cycle of the year.
While the right-hand path is full of beauty, the danger is found in becoming so outer-focused that you lose touch with your . Instead of believing that you can change your life in the here and now for the better, you will be petitioning an outside power to help you while you focus on what you are doing to ensure a pleasant afterlife. In short, you will abdicate your personal power to a power outside yourself that you believe will either punish or reward you later based on the actions you take today. You will also generally believe you need to be saved from various temptations in life.
The dangers of both paths, then, lie in becoming imbalanced in your approach to life. Practitioners of the left-hand path become mad with power, while the adherents of the right-hand path tend to become as appealing as milquetoast.
Finding Balance
So, how does one find balance as a practitioner of either the left-hand or right-hand paths? Is balance even possible?
Yes, balance is possible. Let’s take a look at how a practitioner of either path can find balance in their practice and avoid the dangers that we have identified.
The major advantage of the left-hand path is its focus on developing an . By developing an internal locus of control, you are accepting responsibility for every area of your life. If an area of your life is not going well, it’s up to you to fix it.
Additionally, the left-hand path does not encourage people to whine about the trauma they have endured in life. Instead, a practitioner of the left-hand path is encouraged to dive deep into that trauma to discover its lessons and use those lessons to improve life in the future. The ultimate purpose of diving into trauma to take the lead of trauma and alchemically transform it into the gold of freedom and power. With this freedom and power, an individual can shape their lives instead of being shaped by life.
What about the right-hand path, then? What are its advantages?
First of all, the right-hand path encourages practitioners to create relationships with powerful forces that can help protect them as they go through daily life. If you need an example of this, consider the Catholic practice of honoring various saints and petitioning them for help. If a practitioner has a belief in the ability of the saint to protect them, they can lay their problem at the feet of the saint and have faith that the saint will take care of them by aiding with their problem.
The right-hand path is also superb at giving its practitioners direction in life. This direction can cut through the noise of various options when life is confusing. Consider the case of someone who is deciding whether to have an abortion. It’s possible to create convincing arguments both for and against the proposition of abortion, and it can be hard to know which choice is best in a given situation. In such a case, a practitioner of the right-hand path might be reminded they are not God and have no authority to judge whether any given life is worthy; thus, the decision to not have an abortion becomes easier thanks to this clear and uncompromising direction.
If you look at the above advantages closely, you are probably asking yourself the following question, “Why do these things have to be so separate? Can’t I have a bit of both?”
Yes! Yes, you can! Having a bit of both is the solution to the problems faced by practitioners of each of the paths. So, what does that look like? Glad you asked!
Practitioners of the left-hand path can learn from the monastic tradition present in the right-hand path how to create an intentional community focused on a single goal instead of a group of individuals pursuing their own isolated goals. Part of being human, and some might say the finest part, is learning how to depend on others in a healthy way. If done correctly, you won’t be giving up your internal locus of control, merely finding constructive ways to leverage the talents and knowledge of a group of people.
This leads to my next point for left-hand practitioners. The idea of accepting direction when life gets confusing is valuable. All this means is laying your problems before someone you consider a mentor and weighing their advice. It’s common while on the left-hand path to imagine you have all the answers. Maybe you do — but that situation isn’t truly plausible. Accepting direction from someone else who has dealt with what you are going through can help avoid unnecessary lessons.
It would also benefit left-hand path practitioners to read some right-hand path spiritual literature to expand their worldview. If we only read things that agree with the beliefs we hold, we run the risk of seeing everything through a biased lens. However, a book that challenges our views forces us to come to grips with another viewpoint — and may even change our views on life. Besides, how many grimoires do you really need to read?
Left-hand path practitioners would also benefit from acquiring the habit to come out of their ritual spaces every so often to enjoy the beauty of nature. Getting one’s feet on the ground (literally) is a healing practice, one largely abandoned in today’s world that increasingly paves over nature. Getting some sunshine is also good for the immune system. Why bother casting a healing spell when you can have healing for free from nature?
Meanwhile, there are some left-hand practices that would greatly benefit practitioners of the right-hand path.
Can you guess what the first recommendation I’m going to make for right-hand practitioners is? If you guessed “developing an ”, bingo! You guessed correctly.
Practitioners of the right-hand path would benefit from stepping into their personal power. When you feel you can change your life, your life changes in dramatic ways. You achieve your goals. You expand your capabilities. You challenge your limits.
All these benefits are excellent and, if you think about it, exactly what the God or Goddess you believe in wants for you. Even in the Bible, it is stated that man is created in God’s image. Do you think that means God grovels like a slave when he wants something? No. God creates what he wants — and you can, too. Taking responsibility to create the life you want: the true meaning of being created in the image of God.
Remember how I said left-hand practitioners don’t like to whine? Well, here’s a news flash: people on both paths would rather not hear you whine. Instead, they would like you to be introduced to the tools you need to succeed in life. Start finding out what tools you need — and then create a plan to acquire them.
Stepping into your personal power does not mean you cannot appeal to God when necessary. There are times in life when it is beneficial to realize that we cannot control a situation and to put the outcome into the hands of a power greater than ourselves.
It’s not necessary to give up right-hand beliefs in order to access the benefits of the left-hand. What is necessary, however, is becoming honest with yourself. This means acknowledging that God is not going to swoop down, grant all your desires, and set your life in order. Only you can do that.
And what happens when we make these changes? We find what we were originally seeking: balance.
Conclusion
Throughout this article we have explored the advantages and disadvantages of the left-hand and right-hand paths. We have also seen how we can bring balance to both paths.
Now that your eyes are a little more open, please: do something to correct the problems we have discussed.
I’m rooting for you, whatever path you are currently on.