I like to think I’ve been a Pagan since birth; I just didn’t realize it until I turned 14. I never cared that much for Bible stories as a kid; I took much greater interest in ancient mythology, which was showing up in everything from cartoons to comic books to heavy metal records at the time (this being the 1980s). I loved tales of imagination and magic, witches and druids, ghosts and cryptids, and finite gods and demigods. When I came of age, I learned there are new religions that are inspired by the ancient faiths of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Northern Europe, and Great Britain—some of which are reconstructionist, and some of which are eclectic. I started to realize I was one of these people myself, but this self-awareness didn’t fully crystallize until August 15, 1997. Just in time for Egyptian New Year, the annual flooding of the Nile, and my freshman year of high school, I had an awesome experience in which the Egyptian god Set suddenly became quite real to me, and in a very internalized way that’s difficult for me to describe. I’m proud to say I’ve been walking with Set ever since that magical Dog Day afternoon (and what a walk it has been so far!).
Over the years, I’ve met other people who resonate with Set, and we’ve become a coven of sorts. We’ve developed our own techniques for weekly services, holiday celebrations, and rites of passage (such as weddings, funerals, etc.). We humorously named our way of doing things “the LV-426 Tradition” in honor of Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979). The central myth in our faith is that of Set facilitating the sun’s rebirth at dawn by protecting it from Apep (a monster which resembles something Eiji Tsuburaya or H.R. Giger would conjure up). For us, this story represents the cyclical banishing of fear, ignorance, stagnation, and anything else that holds us back from reaching our full potential. It’s also the original horror story, from which damn near every monster movie ever made is descended.
I’m a legally ordained minister in the Universal Life Church Monastery, and I serve the Pagan, agnostic, and “spiritual but not religious” communities in southeastern Michigan and northern Ohio. I don’t care if you agree with all of my beliefs or not; Set doesn’t work that way, and neither do I. I’ve officiated weddings and administered last rites for plenty of people who aren’t Setian (or even remotely Pagan). My ministerial services are always free, so if you think I might be able to help you in some way, feel free to use my private contact form and I’ll be happy to see what I can do for you.
It must be understood, however, that I am not some kind of “psychic.” I can’t tell your fortune, I can’t put you in literal contact with your departed loved ones, and I can’t teach you how to be some badass witch or warlock. I’m just a Pagan minister, a devotee of Set, and an LV-426 initiate; that’s it. While I am an expert on certain esoteric subjects, I’m not much of a supernaturalist, and I take what all the seers and gurus say with a grain of salt. True wisdom lies not in treating any of this stuff like it’s the literal 100% Truth (with a capital “T”), but in being quick to question and slow to believe.
For those who might be interested, here is a detailed explanation of how the ancient Egyptian religion worked, and of who and what Set is within that context. Everything else on this site is either a sermon, a monster movie review, a ceremonial ritual, or some weird mishmash of two or even all three of these things. Believe or don’t believe; my greatest hope is that you will enjoy and be blessed either way.
