I’m a slow reader, and at the end of each year I find myself mildly disappointed by my low book count. However, this was the year of COVID-19, political unrest, and existential uncertainty. All my previous forms of entertainment (news, social media, shows, gaming) became too stimulating in an already over-stressed existence. I retreated to books, and they sustained me through this dumpster fire of a year.
Continue reading “Top Fifteen Books of 2020”
In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Belial, Hell’s cutest demon and second in command to Satan himself. We discuss Hell’s Christmas plans, the finer points of possessing a nun, reptilian overlords, and much more. Watch Belial’s show on TST TV here, and use my code SACREDTENSION at checkout to get one month free.
You can listen to this episode on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your favorite podcast app, or on the player below.
Please subscribe to Sacred Tension wherever you listen, share it with your friends, and leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts.
Become a patron so I can continue my crippling content creation addiction here.
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Let me know your thoughts on this episode by writing me an email or leaving me a comment below. If your comment is excellent, I might feature it in my monthly Best Comments series.
My work is sponsored by The Satanic Temple TV: a streaming platform featuring documentaries, livestreams, conversation, rituals, and more. Use my code SACREDTENSION at checkout to get one month free.
Find other Rock Candy podcasts here.
Music for the show is by Eleventyseven and The Jellyrox.
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In this episode of Sacred Tension I speak with podcaster and youtuber Benjamin Boyce about “wokeness” and the events that took place at Evergreen State College in 2017. He is part of a growing movement of centrists and liberals who object to the current woke movement, and are worried about its implications for the future.
You can find Benjamin’s YouTube channel here.
Watch Mike Nayna’s documentary about Evergreen State college here.
You can listen to this episode on Podbean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your favorite podcast app, or on the player below.
Please subscribe to Sacred Tension wherever you listen, share it with your friends, and leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts.
Become a patron so I can continue my crippling content creation addiction here.
Join my Discord server here.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode by writing me an email or leaving me a comment below. If your comment is excellent, I might feature it in my monthly Best Comments series.
My work is sponsored by The Satanic Temple TV: a streaming platform featuring documentaries, livestreams, conversation, rituals, and more. Use my code SACREDTENSION at checkout to get one month free.
Find other Rock Candy podcasts here.
Music for the show is by Eleventyseven and The Jellyrox.
Join my mailing list here.
Follow me on twitter here.
This is a guest post by Penemue, long time leader in The Satanic Temple and current director of Satanic Ministry. You can find Penemue on twitter. If you are interested in writing a guest post for my blog, please send me an email.
Continue reading “Guest Post: Denominating Satan”
I struggle mightily with social media. It is the most fraught and challenging part of my job as a content creator. On the one hand, I truly enjoy connecting with readers and like-minded individuals. On the other hand, that one upside feels like a tiny oasis in a desert of desolation and destruction. I recently had yet another realization about why social media is hard for me, and why it makes me worried for the future of humanity.
Continue reading “Social Media: Where Cruelty Is Easy and Kindness Is Hard”
In this episode of Sacred Tension I speak with Christian author, professor, and theologian David Dark. We discuss Satanism, our interactions with the Bible, how we engage with the cultural religious lore we are given, and David’s never ending fight against Christian theocracy. Find David Dark on twitter here.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Overcoming the Faith Cartel with David Dark”
The title of this article is, of course, something of a trick. If you know me or are even remotely familiar with my work, you know that I am robustly of the left. I am somewhere on the Social Democrat to Democratic Socialist spectrum, and I am pro sex work, pro degeneracy, and pro sex positivity. I believe every billionaire is a blight on the human race and a failure of our system. I believe Black Lives Matter, that trans women are women and that trans men are men. I believe we should have a broad social safety net, correct climate change, and empower minorities. If you gave me a list of leftist mantras and talking points, I would affirm most of them.
Instead, this title has to do with where I place my own identity, with how I name myself to myself. When I look at myself in a cognitive mirror, what do I see, first and foremost? What words do I use to filter the unfathomable complexity of self into a single narrative?
Continue reading “I’m a Satanist, Not a Leftist”
In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Carrie Poppy.
Carrie Poppy is a journalist, host, podcaster, and speaker who examines everything at the corner of belief and behavior.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Carrie Poppy on Pseudoscience, Conspiracy Theories, and Claims of the Paranormal”
Matt, Rebecca, and I wrap up our book discussion of The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension Book Club: The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart, Part 2”
I live by rituals. I do so deliberately, knowing that if I don’t consciously impose rituals on myself then the attention economy will do so for me. There is no middle ground, no place for passivity. If I don’t practice discipline and ritual, I will be captured by the invisible manipulators of the attention economy who are intent on holding me hostage.
A staple of my daily ritual practice is my candle ritual. This ritual has become one of the most important in my day-to-day life, and I thought I would share it with you. I hope you find it as enriching and transformative as I have.
Continue reading “Candle Ritual for Deep Work and Deep Reading”
Stephen Bradford Long 