Sat Nam to all Brothers and Sisters, present and prospective.
Like innumerably many here, I have been with Father longer than just this life. I clearly remember even back when I was 6-7, I'd sit down cross-legged and instinctively try to make chanting, vibrating sounds and makeshift breathing exercises. I'd even try to get out of my body at night, again on pure instinct. I succeeded a couple of times, even. And this was before there was any Internet to speak of, so there was no possible place I could have seen this from. Not on the TV, not from my then-abrahamic parents, nowhere. It came from within, from the past. So I always sailed onward in life with the sometimes vague, sometimes searingly, pulsingly gripping sensation, nay, knowledge that there is something more to life. I knew there was this "Truth" out there that I absolutely had to find, no matter what. On occasion, life would throw me in for a loop and I would focus more on the mundane part of life but always, always, I would find my way back on the search for the occult Truths.
My childhood was spent on pure, instinctive and makeshift exercises and accidental, sporadic manifestations, chasing phantoms so to speak; my teens were a bit better as thanks to the Internet, I could at least find somewhat like-minded folk. But none were quite the "home" I just knew deep in my bones was out there.
I've scoured many a forum, community, group, even some makeshift covens for over a decade before finally coming across JoS in a reliable manner. I say reliable because I vaguely remember somehow finding JoS in my early-to-mid teens and, being strongly programmed into Abrahamism at the time, browsing a little bit but then foolishly yielding to the programming and running away from the site. This is a very vague memory, hardly more than a fever dream, but I am certain it's real.
I also think it was the Gods who led me here, both times; because at the time, and especially in the country I was living in, there was pretty much no way a child could come onto the treasure trove that is the House of Satan. I have managed to find my home, the Joy of Satan, again at the end of a long and arduous search in the bowels of the occult. It was a long journey, not without its fruits but that time would have been far better spent doing Satanic Meditation and warfare. Either way, it is what it is.
I was able to come back much later for my taste, but relatively early enough to join in the empowerment and warfare efforts. The moment I was introduced to the Joy of Satan website through a chance encounter again, the all-too-familiar yearning for my "home" feeling was finally and completely satisfied, damn near instantly too. I just knew, from the first glance, that there was something special to this place. So I jumped from page to page, frantically and hungrily devouring all the content therein. I must have read several hundreds of pages, nearly all of which I still remember to this day, in a scant two weeks. I never did stop learning after that, either. Father Satan and real, authentic spirituality have that much of a pull on me.
It took me a very short time after finding the Joy of Satan to (re-)dedicate my soul to Father. Even the very short period of time, I would say, is too long. This is and shall forever be my home, after all, and what I have been yearning for all my life. My religion and the Path of the Gods is the single most important thing to me in this life and for all the steps I have taken and for all my wavering, I can confidently say that I was born a Satanist and I shall die as one, provided I die again at all to begin with.
I can, do and shall sing praises of Father Satan and the Demons under Him forevermore, for in our Antichrist's words, we cannot be disloyal to the God that has blessed us with cognition!
The night of my dedication was something else. While I had pretty much entirely done away with abrahamic beliefs before managing to find Father again as a more mature person, enemy programming is far more insidious and deeper than surface-level beliefs as anyone worth their salt knows. So showering, putting on suitable clothes and preparing the ritual instruments was an intensely exciting, nervous, even somewhat anxious thing for me. There was an immense anticipation but also a less powerful, still somewhat strong feeling similar to fear. However, I was warned on this beforehand and knew this to be the last dying screeches of the old, decrepit, disused jehovan idol in me before I finally tore it into pieces for good with the omnipotent blue lightning of Father. I also recognized this fear-approximating feeling to originate from outside my body and being. It's hard to explain but I'm sure most Satanists here know exactly what I am talking about. It didn't originate from within and it was very clearly artificial. It was very easy to brush aside. So brush it aside, I did.
And man, when I turned off the lights and sat down for the ritual, oh my Gods. The feeling is still indescribable to this day. Almost as if with the lighting of the candles, I was reviving the fire of my own soul too. There was absolutely no fear or discomfort left from the moment I sat down. The reading of my dedication rite was, however mundane from the outside, utterly transformative for me. Looking back, I must have been so suffused and blessed with Satanic energy that I literally did not feel anything other than a vague pressure when cutting my index for the blood. In fact, I managed to cut far too deep (a needle wouldn't do it and so, I had to makeshift a razor) and bled profusely - but again, I hardly even felt it. And I am certain that I witnessed Father Satan visiting me as I burnt the paper. Never have I ever in my life experienced a being so immensely full of might, and yet exuded such immaculate majesty. I have never and likely never will witness such power, wisdom and above all, indescribable beauty.
In that moment, I knew. The Gods are real. Satan is real. Satan is Truth.
Whatsoever good you may desire from life - be it health, wealth, glory, power, honor, peace, prosperity, fame, or something completely different; it's all here.
The universal master key that opens any and all locks, forever. The price? Merely the sweat on your brow, the effort of your mind, body and soul. The added bonus is the Joy that radiates from the knowledge of building something that will last in perpetuity, for yourself and for your People. No different from any other Way is the Way, save for in scope, magnitude, efficiency, limits, positivity and sustainability. So, even if you are a self-serving knave who thinks of themselves first either through harsh experiences in life or through some manner of lack, you shall find peace here through the joy of experiencing very real, very palpable empowerment and growth through working on both yourself and serving others in a very direct manner. Whether your "god" before this is knowledge, power, love, honor or some other high abstraction, the God of all that is good and just provides it all in the absolute best possible manner for all involved - if only you will dare to accept it.
In one word, Satanism is health and healing. Healing not only from illness but also from unease, pain, lack, mortality even.
In one word, Satan is Truth. Truth heals all ails of the mind, body and soul. I have allowed Truth to begin me on the path of ultimate healing and I work to ensure the entirety of the Earth understands the same.
As such, I find the excerpt from Dr. Faustus on the dedication page all too accurate, and I repeat it at the top of my lungs as I write it:
Had I as many souls as there be stars, I'd give them all for Mephistopheles!
Hail Satan, Hail the Gods of Hell, long live Their glory through Their people!!!