Gates of Revelation

The Gates of Revelation, called the Nine Gates of Wisdom in the Book of Going Forth by Night or Revelations of the Void, describe the process of shedding the imposements of the Aeons and achieve freedom, as taught by the Followers of Set. The Gates of Revelation mark the spiritual development of a cultist, even when others outside the cult would often accuse the Setites of "corruption".

The Setites believe that everyone, Kindred and kine, wraps their true soul in layers of self-deception and social conditioning. More old-fashioned Theophidians speak of the Chains of the Aeons. Setites who prefer the language of modern psychology speak of "character armor" and "false consciousness". Sentiments of this have been voiced by Set himself in arguments with Malkav over the nature of Truth, in which Set stated the belief that the soul already contains everything and by breaking one's preconceptions one could access this knowledge.

As losing one's illusions is rarely a pleasant process, most of the Gates are difficult to pass and involve highly uneasy practices. Setite doctrine claims this as the result of adaptation to the prison of the Aeons, and seek to open the eyes of their claimants to their own slavery.

Each cult and Founding Temple has a different approach on conducting the Revelations. Some are taught in tandem, others kept secret until the proband is ready to face his own flaws.

Revelations

  • The Revelation of Blood: The act of the Embrace
  • The Revelation of Chaos: The act of disproving any beliefs about the predictability of the world
  • The Revelation of Desire: The inducement of pleasure in revolting acts (criminal activities, sexual preferences, etc.) to shatter the false self-image of the proband
  • The Revelation of Despair: The inducement of helplessness by destroying or perverting that which the proband values most in his life (persons, ideals, etc.)
  • The Revelation of Ecstasy: The inducement of trance using extreme sensations, often as a means of "communication" with Set
  • The Revelation of Ignorance: The inducement of massive doubt by showing that a long-hold certainty is actually hollow. The target is often the moral center, by showing how good actually brings evil and that what is thought was evil actually brings good
  • The Revelation of Satiety: The overindulgence of a desire, until enjoyment palls and what once gave such pleasure now cloys and disgusts
  • The Revelation of Terror: The inducement of raw fear
  • The Revelation of Wrath: The inducement of extreme anger to forget social conditioning, calculation, and even survival in that moment, stripping the soul bare (favored among Warrior Setites)

References

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