The Apple

 

This is a very controversial symbol, and the core of the Eden myth.  Because we are dealing with a visual symbol, I won’t debate on what the fruit is (probably a pear or a pomegranate).  Because the word for evil in Latin was also the word for apple, the apple is the most common depiction.

 

I give you thisI am talking, of course, of the “fruit of the tree of knowledge.”  My own views of this come from my Jewish heritage.  One thing my people have is really strange rules about what we can eat, and how we have to eat it.  The original commandment that God gave his creations in Eden was, “Do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”  Given the nature of the curse of Adam, which is to be a farmer, combined with Kosher eating laws, there is a clear connection between  “Good and Evil” and “Edible and Inedible.”  Reworded, this gives us, “Do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge that makes the Inedible Edible.”  While sufficient in and of itself, we can further understand this riddle by understanding that what is a tree in the Western Esoteric Tradition is seen as a weave in the East.  In Greek, “Weave of Knowledge” would be “Technos Logos.”  That is -Technology.  The answer to the riddle is, in my opinion, “do not eat of the technology that makes the inedible edible.”

 

In “NeanderThin,” author Ray Audette makes a convincing case for why one should obey this law, and details, which foods are in the “inedible” camp.  While the Temple has no desire to tell people what they can and can’t eat, the “NeanderThin” diet is part of “Lylythian Monasticism.”  This level of commitment is highly personal, and is not asked of any member.  Rather, it is a personal dedication to the Demonic, and is symbolic of the rejection of the Curse of Adam.

 

Many Satanists would see the eating of the apple as a good thing.   “Knowledge is power”, says the Satanist, “and God wanted to keep us from getting that power.”  The Temple of Lylyth takes a different view.  According to the expanded Eden legend, Lilith left before anyone ate the apple.  As we model our understanding of the Feminine Demonic Principle (Lylyth) on the persona and mythology of the First Female (Lilith), we make the bold statement that eating the fruit (or rather, eating of the fruit) actually is sinful, and started the Kali Yuga: a period of 10,000 years of suffering and Patriarchy.  More details on the Kali Yuga, and how the “Original Sin” of agriculture lead to it, are available in the Tree of Destruction article on the Satanic Reds website.

 

Another disagreement we have with most Satanists is on the “heroism” of Lucifer in temping Eve.  While this could be seen as an act of rebellion against a tyrannical God by a humanitarian Devil, we see it as an act of malice – if Lucifer is cast out of his Paradise, than humanity shall be cast out of theirs.  This is analogous to an older child being the object of abuse at the hands of the parent, and then taking revenge through the proxy of the younger child.

 

Mostly, the apple is as essential to Christian soteriology as the Crucifix.  Soteriology is the branch of theology that studies the nature of salvation.  The Bible teaches that the death of Jesus Christ brings redemption and forgiveness.  The question is, redemption and forgiveness from what?  Almost any Biblical scholar or student should be quick to answer: from the Original Sin of Adam.  (We see Eve as innocent of this Sin).

 

Because Lilith is free from Original Sin, neither her nor any of her children (that would be me, and probably you), need the Sacrifice of Jesus in order to be “saved.”  This is the ultimate reduction to absurdity of Christian theology.  “Yes,” you can say, “Jesus died for the sins of the children of Adam.”  You are outside of those sins.  You are born with the same immaculate nature as the first of your kind.  Be not ashamed, but revel in what you are.

 

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