ORDER OF SHUTI
as of July 25,
XXVI Grand Master: Robert Menschel IV*
Post Office Box 2369 Citrus Heights, CA 95611, U.S.A.
Shu and Tefnut, the twin lion gods, are opposites. Shu and Tefnut are male and female, hot and cold, dry and wet, public and private, intellectual and emotional, et cetera and so forth. Alone, either one would be dangerously unbalanced, and would have earned an evil reputation for his or her excesses. But Shu and Tefnut are always together.
Each defines the other; each requires the other. Each balances and tempers the other. Shu's most prominent headpiece, the feather of Ma'at, emphasizes this balance, as does the representation of Shu through the use of this feather alone, as a single hieroglyph. Shuti is Shu and Tefnut together, under one name, as one composite being. The Order of Shuti is dedicated to the study of Opposition and Balance, Opposition in Balance, Balance in Opposition, and Balance through Opposition. By 'Opposition' we don't mean just conflict (though of course that is included).
We will study and use opposites, the actions and forces of these opposites, the ranges of existence between these opposites, the balance of these opposites, and the dynamic magical implications thereof. One obsolete philosophy of magic was that to achieve balance, the magician had to experience and participate in the extremes (often the extremes of good and evil). There are simply too many different pairs of opposites and extremes for a magician to experience them all. Further, many extremes are downright dangerous, such as extreme hot and cold, unnecessarily evil and unlawful acts, and excessively self-sacrificing acts.
But the Initiate of Shuti will recognize and work with any and all opposites/extremes, and with the ranges and balances between them, whenever and however appropriate. "For with no purpose the force of the mind must fall..." This study of opposition and balance can support many diverse goals. One such purpose will be to study and understand the physical and objective universe, and the magical and subjective universe, so that we may change those universes (per the challenge of Michael, found in the "Diabolicon"'s Statement of Satan ArchDaimon). Other goals and purposes will be supported; this is but one which has been defined and will be offered to interested Initiates. Any and all sets of opposites will be valid and appropriate areas of study for the Initiate. The universes are our library and our laboratory.
But some topics will be of global interest: Life and Death are the major pair of Opposites. We will work to recognize all forms and degrees of these opposites. We will work to always strive for Life, to always reject Death. One set of Opposites of major interest is Self and Not-Self. How do we define our Selves? When we Remanifest continued existence without these bodily shells, how will we then define our Selves? How will we differentiate between personal "Xeper" and the willful modification of the external universe? We will also study Set and the Opposite Self, HarWer.
We will study them as individual entities, as Opposite Selves, and as Satan (Set and HarWer fused). Related to these above topics, we will examine the opposites of your own Higher Self, that towards which you "Xeper", and your Lower Self, that which you Will outgrow. Some other pairs of opposites are knowledge and ignorance, ability and inability, comprehension and noncomprehension, perception and nonperception, etc.
Shu is a god of knowledge, the light of the sun. With Tefnut's influence, Shuti is a god of active Satanic enlightenment. We therefore expect the Order's Initiates to actively contribute material to the "Scroll of Set" and the "Ruby Tablet of Set". We also expect the Order's Initiates to participate in, assist, and/or lead pylons as appropriate, whether local pylons, pylons structured like the Gates of Hell, or otherwise.
The Order will publish a newsletter. The publication schedule will depend upon the quantity of material submitted. The majority of this material will be Order specific, dealing with the topics mentioned above. But reflecting Shuti's attribute of Enlightenment, the newsletter can also be used to circulate drafts of articles destined for the "Scoll of Set" and the "Ruby Tablet of Set", for feedback and refinement before their official publication. The newsletter will also carry information useful to pylon leaders, and may be used as a means of communication between pylon leaders.
All II*+ Setians may subscribe to the newsletter. These subscriptions will be automatic and without charge for active members of the Order, Masters of the Temple of Set (as members of honor), and pylon leaders. Others may request subscriptions by writing to the Grand Master. Any II*+ Setian may apply for Initiation into the Order, by writing to the Grand Master. There is no fee for Initiation or membership in the Order. The only requirement is the ability and commitment to