Sacraments and outer initiations

[Cerastes]

I do not think that pride necessarily has anything to do with the willingness or refusal to revere this or that authority. For e.g. a Satanist, the will to be ones own master in spiritual matters can certainly boil down to a prideful psychological inclination, be it positive or negative. But the opposing of formal or informal hierarchies in an organization is different. I can't say of course that this kind of stance is never taken simply out of pride, but I'd guess that more often antiauthoritarian people, be it consciously or unconsciously, recognize that power is dangerous and that we should be very careful who we give it to. When we flawed creatures are involved, unaccountable power is very likely to be abused.

Good point.
As I said before, the persons who are longing for power are usually the ones who should not have it and maybe this is (sub)consciously recognized by the potential pupil.
For a teacher or leader, I think it is extremely difficult to remain humble and to question your own path again and again. The power to implant ideas and methods into someones mind should not be underestimated. I consider it as a potential danger. Well, maybe I'm too pessimistic or too suspicious in this matter.

I’ve been thinking about the battery analogy a little.
Last night I was laying awake sleep because I am currently experiencing a rather tormenting time and in addition, a heavy winter storm knocked the tiles off the roof. At some point I got up and decided to read a book because I couldn't fall asleep anyway. Sometimes I intuitively pic a book from the shelf, open it and read whatever page shows up. This time it was the Catechism of Lucifer:
„We do not see our prayer as a gesture of growling, willigness to please or anguish of sin but plainly as a practice for concentration of the soul; the kind of service where the servant and the server are as ONE“

I think this can be transfered quite well to the teacher/student situation. Even if it is of course extremely idealistic as it refers to human beings, not to pure spirit.

[Polyhymnia]

Did you find any spiritual value in the church rituals by the time you where a Christian?

I honestly don't know if I've ever identified as a Christian. Even as a child my main fear related to the church was fear. There was alot of pressure to be a certain way because I was the daughter of a pastor, and my dad always used to say the children of clergy were either the best people or the worst people. I started questioning everything by the time I was 10, and I suppose I never stopped. Once my dad passed I felt free in a way. My children go to Catholic school, and every year when we have to go to mass I'm very restless. It's only been this past mass that I finally made peace, as I've come to embrace the idea that there is value to be found within all spirituality, as long as it follows the triple key.

This time it was the Catechism of Lucifer:
„We do not see our prayer as a gesture of growling, willigness to please or anguish of sin but plainly as a practice for concentration of the soul; the kind of service where the servant and the server are as ONE“

I think this can be transfered quite well to the teacher/student situation. Even if it is of course extremely idealistic as it refers to human beings, not to pure spirit.

I think so too. Very neat that you opened it to this passage.