The Left Hand Path

The path of Satanism has had a long history in western thought as being classified or associated with a "left-hand" path practice. There are several comparisons that illustrate this difference. The left hand, in most cultures, has always been considered as the weaker hand, and the right hand is usually the stronger one. The word Left comes from the Anglo-Saxon lyfy which literally means "weak". The Latin word, "sinister" was used as a description of the direction of left, and also of evil and this association is still used today. People who were left handed were seen as odd or peculiar, and a reversal of the normal order of society. This association with left and the reversal of the natural order of things is another opposite that is illustrated by this comparison.

It has been said that the left hand takes in and receives energy and the right hand exudes energy. In traditional magic practices, such as Gardenarian Wicca, it is taught that the magician creates a circle by moving (clockwise) to the right. When the witch then banishes the energies or closes the circle, it is done with a left hand motion,(counterclockwise). The right hand action is what creates, and the left hand action is what destroys.

These two opposites of right and left are an important association from which a balance of positive and negative can be illustrated. In the teachings of Black magic, the spell worker moves to the left during circle making and other activities, literally to unwind someone’s life and to cause havoc. This practice of the left side meaning "evil" has a root in ancient times. The Babylonians used a system of drawing omens that included the right side as a good portent and the left side signifying the negative aspects. In ancient Greece, Homer wrote about type of divination using flying birds- the bird that flies to the left represents the bad omen and the bird that flies to the right represents the good. Left and right were common associations with evil and good, which persist to this day.