Finding Liberation Through Unbaptism

Many of us carry wounds from religion or ideologies that were thrust upon us over our youth. For many years, they may go unobserved and untended, and continue to fester as the years pass.

Becoming conscious of these wounds has been an important part of my Satanic journey. Looking back on my religious upbringing since becoming a Satanist has truly been a revelation; it’s helped me identify where unhealthy views about myself came from; dissect assumptions I carried about myself and the world at large; and accept and love myself in a way that was never possible before.

Cleansing/destruction rituals have played an important part in this work. In 2019, I had the honor of publicly unbaptizing members of our community at TST Headquarters in Salem in what became the most powerful rituals I had ever witnessed. Now, as much as I’d like to conduct these services in person as a Priestess/Minister of TST, COVID has me on the sidelines until it’s safer to join together once again.

Luckily, these rituals are flexible. Last year I created an Unbaptism ritual that you can do at home where you can unbaptize yourself. This year, I’ve created an Unbaptism ritual that I guide you through if that method works better for you. Check out this page to participate in a guided Unbaptism that I lead - you can do the work at your own pace in a safe place. After completing the ritual, you can submit your info to receive an Unbaptism certificate that you can personalize and another small gift from me.

Hoping my work can serve you,

Shiva

How to Unbaptize Yourself

Unbaptism 2019 at TST Headquarters. Photo by Stephen Pompeo // June of 87

Unbaptisms are one of the core rituals performed by Satanists. Although not obligatory, many adherents find the act of formally separating from their former, often traumatic, religious life a freeing act of defiance and empowerment. In 2019, I created an Unbaptism ritual that I performed at The Satanic Temple Headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts. That ritual had an incredibly strong effect on participants. I witnessed a level of catharsis I had never before seen during a group ritual and felt incredibly moved myself as the officiant of these Unbaptisms. The experience of conducting the Unbaptisms was so powerful that I documented the event in my book, The Devil’s Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual, and created a solo Unbaptism ritual for the book that solitary practitioners could perform. One of the many things I enjoy about being a Satanist is that you don’t have to rely on someone else to lead you through the ritual process - you can do something like perform an Unbaptism on yourself without the need for a higher authority.

As COVID continues to ravage the world and prevent us from gathering together, it’s incredibly important for us to be able to engage in solo ritual. As we know, non-theistic ritual brings a wide array of benefits to the practitioner. I’ve found it an incredibly important tool for dealing with uncertainty, anxiety, and my own PTSD during the last few months.

I’m sharing my solo Unbaptism ritual with the hope that you will find it a useful tool in your journey. Many of us have endured religious abuse in our life - the memories and harm can resurface particularly violently when we are dealing with the circumstances COVID has brought upon us. I give this ritual to you in the hope that it can help you heal and enrich your religious life.

This particular version of the ritual is stripped down quite a bit so that it can be accessible to the masses while still holding on to its power. Feel free to modify further if you need. This is a tool for you to help reprogram your brain - trust your intuition and power. It will work as intended as long as you are committed and mold it to fit your needs.

If you’d like any ritual tools to assist in the process, I carry an Unbaptism Kit and other Satanic ritual tools in my shop. If you’d like more rituals, check out my book The Devil’s Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual.

The Unbaptism Ritual

Tools:
Fire pit
Votive candle
Box
Tokens from your past that you want to separate from
Pen and paper

Sacred Space: A secluded outdoor space where you have the opportunity to make a sizable fire and dispose of the items in the ground.

Preparation: Spend the weeks leading up to the Unbaptism collecting relics from your past - objects that remind you of your former religious life and which have held power over you or remind you of trauma that you’ve endured. You can also begin to write down experiences, thoughts, or people you attach to that former life on paper.

Ritual: Once you have collected all of your relics, put them in a box and bury them in the dirt. Place a small votive candle on top. On each day preceding the Unbaptism, go to that spot and light the candle. Meditate on what you are freeing yourself from and what you’re letting go. Wait until the candle has completely burned down to begin the Unbaptism ritual.

On the day of the Unbaptism, dig up your box and place it near the area that you will have the fire. Create a large fire.

Say, “This fire represents my infernal will, destroying all that does not serve me.”

Feel the heat of the fire on your skin as you walk around the fire saying,

“I reject religious bondage!

I abandon victimhood!

I accept my power!

I pledge allegiance to myself!

I claim my perfection!

This fire represents my infernal will, destroying all that does not serve me!

Tonight I free myself!

Tonight I destroy all gods placed above me!”

Take your box and remove each article one by one. Throw each article into the fire, proclaiming, “Non Serviam!”

Once the final item is thrown in the fire, say “It is done.”

You may collect the ashes from the fire and place them in a necklace or bottle as a reminder of your commitment to yourself.