Mysteries Of The Temple Of Set

by Don Webb Ips

For several years the High Priest of the Temple of Set, unveils some of his own personal inner teachings originally shared with Initiates of the Temple. From the contents of this book all persons who are serious about their own initiatory self-transformation will learn things of deep value which can be put into practice for purposes of self development, regardless of the path they are on. The Temple of Set is the leading philosophical branch of the Left-Hand Path Initiation openly operating in the world today. This book makes some of the inner teachings of the Temple available to the general public for the first time. Don Webb was for some years, before his retirement, the High Priest of the Temple of Set.

Genres: Occult, Nonfiction

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is something of a mixed bag, but it finally won me over (mostly). It is a record of the internal messages Webb shared with the Temple of Set during the first couple of years of his High Priesthood (1996-1998 or so) by way of the Temple’s internal newsletter, The Scroll of Set. It doesn’t give much insight into the actual internal politics or gossip of that organization (those sections have been redacted, and most names have been reduced to a title and a single letter), but focuses on the spiritual teachings of its leader at the time. Because of this, a certain amount of background understanding of the spiritual position of the organization is necessary, and Webb provides this in an extended (more than one third of the book) section at the beginning.

Unfortunately, something went seriously wrong in the production of this first section. I suspect that Webb was late getting it in, and there was insufficient time for post production, but whatever the case, it is among the worst copy-edited materials I have ever seen in print. It doesn’t help that Webb himself has dyslexia, but even a really precise writer needs more copy editing than this received. The first time I tried to read it, shortly after it came out, I put it aside with tears in my eyes. I found it literally unreadable. I’m probably pickier than most people, especially those who have been raised reading the instantly-published writing one finds on the Internet, but be forewarned: there is more than one error per page, even more than one per paragraph, throughout this section of the book. Someone did run it through a spell-checker, at least, but there are lots of words substituted for other words. Even in the better edited second section, “effect” is consistently substituted for “affect” as a verb and “your” is generally used for “you’re.”

The good news is that if you take a half hour to look at the Temple’s website at www.xeper.org, you can skip that section and move on. The second section was presumably available sooner, since it all had been published before, and also had the benefit of whatever copy editing was done by the newsletter’s editor at an earlier time, so it’s much easier on the eyes. And these are really the “mysteries” that the title boasts about. This material was written for insiders who were already working with the methods the Temple teaches, and it does give outsiders insight into the ways these ideas were put into practice at the time. I think it also gives some insight as to why the period when Webb was High Priest is looked back at with much nostalgia now. He has a friendly, accessible style and while he tries to put across wisdom, he never comes on like a heavy, or gives the impression he thinks himself better than his audience. The practices and exercises he suggests can be tried at various levels, adjusting for differing lifestyles and levels of interest. Even someone who has done a lot of this kind of work may find opportunities to remember themselves and become more aware for a time. Thus, I would say that despite its deficiencies, this remains a worthwhile contribution to the literature of occult spirituality.

[Eric Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nice little book written by a former High Priest of the Temple of Set, so it is safe to say he knows his stuff. There are two parts to the work, and they speak to different readers, though an Adept can certainly enjoy them both. The first part is essentially an introduction to the Left Hand Path school of thought. Primarily useful to a Neophyte, it is also primer on a theistic approach approach to the LHP, as opposed to the more materialistic slant, as propagated by some. The second part is a series of essays originally written for Temple publications, now available (obviously) to the public. Quality here varies, but all are valuable and could be a catalyst to some interesting interchanges in a discussion group. Good luck finding a copy that isn't overpriced, but I think it a worthwhile addition to any occult library.

[Shaun Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to reading this I had fairly accepted the CoS' views on ToS: that the ToS is a pathetic and pandering spin off of the Church. Webb's writings helped clarify a great deal. This is solid philosophy that serves as a think tank for progress, instead of the common back-patting rhetoric I've grown numb to in traditional LHP works. This is solid, worthy reading, and I look forward to digging deeper into this corner of the Left Hand.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

totalmente recomendable para aquellos interesados en el tema

[Shea Mastison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another slightly entertaining book from Don Webb. As a phenomena, the Temple of Set interests me; as a LeVeyan Satanist, it humors me. How do you go about totally ignoring any reputable historical/cultural work on Egypt while writing a book about the supposedly original antinominan figure: Set?

Apparently, if you do it exactly like the Temple of Set, while charging people a little less than $100/year; you can do it quite successfully.

This book is only for those interested in the occult as a sociological phenomena. If you're looking for Satanism, look to the Church of Satan. Anton LaVey and Peter Gilmore are the only people currently writing (or, put that in the past tense for the first high priest) about Satanism that actually matter.

[Äsruþr Cyneaþsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for the student of the left-hand path or those interested in the Temple of Set. Whilst not as intense or valuable as Aquino's works, Webb provides a useful and clear insight into the Temple. A good insight for those considering an application.