Jedi

All posts tagged Jedi

Jedi ‘ism’

Posted by TheWickedOne on November 30, 2012
Posted in: Force Realism, General Studies. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Jediism. It’s not a phrase I enjoy. Sithism less so. Sithism sounds like a cruel joke played on someone with a lisp. I’m not a fan of organised religion, on the whole. I enjoy the slight chaos of brotherhoods and folk groups, rather than organised, churchy stuff.

I personally believe creating more ‘isms’ is the last thing this world needs at present. Jediism is an unnecessary mouthful, as well as making clear, dogmatic definitions of something that should largely remain part of your personal interpretation: The Force. I view the Force with LaVeyan Satanist eyes: I am the Force, you are the Force. The Force is within the individual, giving them their spark, their potential. However they use it is up to them. Everything begins and ends with choice, no matter how hard the choices are, or whether or not they make sense.

Paganfolk see the Force as the power of nature, Christians as the divine spirit, Easterners as ki energy and other such life-force concepts. In creating a religion, we run the risk of making rules and concrete definitions. From there, we get schisms and arguments on definition. It is the same as the Sith and Jedi Codes; they require personal interpretation to make them work, were people to take them serious, Jedi would be dull, librarian automatons and Sith would probably be sociopathic, chain-breaking gymgoers.

There’s nothing wrong with the word Jedi. I feel that Jedi’ism’ is an attempt to make Jedi sound more socially acceptable, less nerdy, and more sanctified. Adding the ‘ism’ makes it sound like a religion, thus closing it to acceptable criticism. Which doesn’t work. The same goes for Sith’ism’. And while Jedi’ism’ is the preferred term for some, I wonder why they’re using the word. To me, it sounds like hiding from the truth. But hell, to each their own.

A slight update on things? I’ve created a series of works as a definition of my approach, and ‘path’, as such. It is called the Path of Heresy and is a companion piece to the Codex Chaplain. It is available to view in the Dark Lecture Hall at the Force Academy. I’m currently stuck as far as studies go; I’m not sure what to do right now. I’m torn between following my own study, or doing the Order of the Sith assignments. Ah well, time shall tell. It always does.

The Code in Action I; Peace is a Lie, there is Only Passion

Posted by TheWickedOne on August 21, 2012
Posted in: Codex Chaplain, Force Realism. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.

The first line of the Code is most likely the one that requires the most interpretation. First, we must define Peace. If peace is the absence of war then peace has been a lie since the dawn of human civilisation and will continue to be so until society is able to evolve past current ideas and allow peace to reign supreme.

But if peace can be defined as the absence of conflict in your day to day life, then peace is achievable for a time. But lasting peace? Unless you’re Amish, or a monk, unending peace is a lofty, but unattainable goal. The idea of a perfectly serene life is a lie. We must be prepared for conflict and struggle. The strongest motivator for many is their emotions and their desires. Passion. By tapping into our passion we can explore ourselves and gain knowledge of the Self. We can learn our strengths, weaknesses, abilities and desires through introspection and awareness.

If we learn about who we truly are, we can achieve more. By embracing strengths and overcoming weaknesses we can further improve ourselves. As passion inspires us, so can passion be inspired.If we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of peace and complacency we will be poorly prepared for adversity that comes our way.

Enjoy what peace you can attain, of course. The enjoyment of good times and the fulfillment of passion is the spice of life. But rest assured, it won’t last forever. We must be prepared for the day the peace ends and chaos threatens to consume.

The Bhagavad Gita talks about dharma; natural order that must not be interfered with, lest chaos be courted. Literally dharma means ‘that which supports’, and can be considered the basis of harmony and justice.When we say peace is a lie, we state our readiness and intent; when dharma is displaced and chaos threatens, it is through our passion, strength and power that we re-enforce order upon the chaos.

Because of our acceptance of the inevitable conflict, we excel at it. We revel in the struggle and being able to overcome whatever stands before us. By acknowledging that peace is a lie, we can prepare ourselves, by embracing passion and gaining strength.

Codex Entry: Lightsabers

Posted by TheWickedOne on July 26, 2012
Posted in: Codex Chaplain. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 comment

A Codex Entry from Force Realism.

 

In the Star Wars setting, Jedi wear simple clothing in humble browns and tans. To us, anyone wearing such garb is instantly a Jedi, but only one thing really symbolises the Jedi within the setting; the Lightsaber. The Lightsaber, called so even when used by a Dark Jedi or Sith, is basically a laser sword. A sword of light, when used by Jedi, wielding for the purpose of upholding truth, justice and peace in the galaxy. Each Jedi had to craft their own, though they were given basic blueprints for the initial contruction but later they would personalise them. The Lightsaber in the hands of a Jedi represents all they uphold.

In the modern realist tradition, a lightsaber of a kind still exists; the illumination of the mind. We wield it against the chaos and the shroud of ignorance, as well as whatever inner demons may plague us. The mind is a blade, some allow theirs to dull and rust, others keep theirs keen. To a Jedi, a Lightsaber is a symbol of devotion and justice; a tool and weapon. To a Realist, the mind is the same. Our tool, and sometimes weapon, to illuminate in times of darkness, kept keen by study and strengthened by faith. It can be the marker of a Realist; a symbol of the philosophy we study and the willingness to put it to action.

Introduction to Force Realists and the Sith Order

Posted by TheWickedOne on May 30, 2012
Posted in: Force Realism, Theology. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

In my introduction post I mentioned Force Realists. Namely, real-world Jedi. Whether or not they actively believe in The Force is up to the individual, but there are a lot of ideals behind the Jedi and the Sith that cannot be ignored. To learn more about this, I went to the Force Academy and the Sith Order.

The Sith Order have a series of lessons which they use for initiation, measuring progress and food for thought. It’s intended to be an introduction to the training, ideals and concepts the Sith Order holds, but can also be good for contemplation or meditation. For the page concerning the Lessons, click here. This will take you to the Sith Order forum page called “Introduction to Sith Realism for Non Sith Realists.” Click here for my Lesson #1 post.

I identify Force Realism as more of a school of study than a religion, personally. A religion requires faith, a place of worship, a ritual and an object of worship. Force Realism tends to lean towards study, self-improvement and contemplation. Your methods and goals are ultimately your own and are loosely defined by the Aspect of the Force that you study under.

I study under the Dark Aspect, which holds passion as a virtue and embraces darkness. What you perceive as darkness comes down to your own interpretation. My interpretation of darkness may change as my studies go further, but I see darkness as that which goes against social norms and becomes the unorthodox. Orthodoxy is what can hold back the self and prevents growth unless you choose to overcome it and embrace yourself for who you are. The Dark Aspect holds to the Sith Code and the belief that the Force is a tool.

The Shadow Aspect are the Grey area in between the Dark and the Light. They hold to no code and seem to be individualistic types who build their own moral codes. They teach personal evolution and that many things in our life can and will differ based on our perceptions.

Last and not least, the Light Aspect. The only Aspect in the Academy to use the word ‘Jedi’ instead of Aspect on the main page, the Light Aspect are akin to Jedi in that they are people of good and lawful morality. I do not know their philosophies as well as I like but I would suppose that they reject the darkness. They are an ordered folk who seek to provide guidance and leadership. Their quest for improvement of the self would be guided by a desire to give aid to others. “To be a Jedi is to live in accordance with spiritual values that’re tried and true”. The Jedi hold to their Code and serve the Force.

There are definite differences of philosophy between the three Aspects, but they all share the same space at the Force Academy and ultimately come under the same banner as Force Realists. I look forward to the furtherance of my studies with the Dark Aspect. I’ve already learned a lot about myself.

If there is anyone from the Force Academy reading this, I’d appreciate your input, especially if you are a student of the Shadow or Light Aspect and are able to provide more insight on the thoughts and ideals behind your chosen alignment. As always, comments are welcome and I can be contacted at someonewickedblog@gmail.com

May the Force serve you well.

The Stygian Traveller, an Introduction

Posted by TheWickedOne on May 29, 2012
Posted in: Something Wicked. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 comments

Well met.

I am William Kaede and this is the Stygian Traveller, an account of my exploration of theology and the occult. This is an off-shoot of my socio-political blog called Someone Wicked, which I heavily used in my days of protesting and social commentary.

My interest in the spiritual side of life has always been mostly restricted to Old World mythology and works of fiction. While reading some Star Wars material after playing The Old Republic, I saw that someone had posted a theory regarding the Sith being based on LaVeyan Satanism. My curiosity was piqued. I’d honestly given no thought to Satanism at that point as anything really beyond something psychotic black metal fans yell about, and self-entitled middle class teenagers used to scare conservative parents.

So I picked up a few books, namely more recent works from the Church of Satan, as the original work by Anton LaVey was proving a hassle to find. I didn’t know what to expect, but I would never have thought that what I read would speak to me as readily as this text. I thought to myself how lucky, or even how unlucky I was that I never found these books during my teenage years. That could have been interesting. Teenage me had a superiority complex and felt unappreciated. Satanic Teen Will? Would’ve been a disturbance in the Force like no other.

So I kept reading, and when I ran out of proper books on Satanism I branched out and picked up a book on Buddhism, a few on Asatru (Norse Reconstructionism), two famous texts written by Samurai, a guide to Wicca and a book I hoped would shed light on Celtic Druidism but ended up being a load of crap waffling on about the gods-know-what. A history of dealing with the English, I suppose, but nothing of cultural or spiritual significance.

I read and read and I remembered that one of my friends once dated a Jedi Realist. Fantastic! A new order religion with people running it and building it up who still live today. So I asked her, and she told me that it wasn’t her ex-boyfriend who was the Jedi Realist, it was her. Brilliant! We discussed for awhile and she linked me to the Force Academy. I pottered about, and jokingly asked her if there were Sith Realists. And there were. She linked me to the Sith Order forum. My smartassery (it’s a word!) paid off.

I joined the Sith Order after some reading, if only to learn more about it. I read a few of the user’s philosophical works and saw how they were primarily concerned with self-improvement. I was on-board fairly quickly. I joined the Force Academy under the Dark Aspect soon after and found even more to read. Books piling up around me and more webpages bookmarked on top of that, I’ve found not so much a religion, but an order of free thinkers who are currently building up their own philosophy.

In addition to theology and the occult, I’ve picked up books on psychology. I’ve learnt more about myself and those around me in the past few months than I have in a long time. And to think that this is only the beginning.

May the Force serve you well.

-

Should you have any interest in what books or Force Academy work I’ve been reading, feel free to ask in comment form or contact via e-mail. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments anyway.