Subcategories
Left-Hand Path
2 of 186 entries in Religions. Click any to see everything it connects to.
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Traditions that take the self, rather than submission to a god or dissolution into a greater whole, as the aim of practice, and that deliberately invert or transgress the symbols of the surrounding religion. The term is borrowed from Indian Tantra and was applied to Western movements much later. Groups classed this way differ sharply over whether they treat their central figures as real beings or as symbols.
Facts
Status
Status TodayLiving: the movements grouped here are current organisations with members, published doctrine and a documented history, and are described here in the present tense. 4 Standing as a Comparative CategoryContested: left-hand path is used both as a self-designation by the groups themselves and as a label applied from outside, and the two uses do not pick out the same set. 2 Overview
What Defines This GroupingCurrents that take the self, rather than submission to a god or dissolution into a greater whole, as the aim of practice, and that deliberately invert the symbols of the surrounding religion. They differ sharply over whether their central figures are real beings or chosen symbols. 2 Origins
Origin of the NameBorrowed from Indian Tantra, where vamachara, the left-hand practice, names rites using substances and acts the orthodox path forbids. It was applied to Western currents much later and carries none of the Tantric context. 3 Learn More
Left-Hand-Path Traditions
This group gathers left-hand-path traditions, a modern category for spiritual currents that deliberately set themselves against mainstream religious norms, emphasising self-deification, individual will and the transgression of taboo rather than submission to a higher order.
The browser will find the traditions the atlas classes here. The entries describe each in its own stated terms, distinguishing a considered philosophical stance from the popular caricatures often attached to the label.
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.