Culture and Social Issues

‘I Am My Own God’: Satanic Temple Makes Drag Shows A Ritual

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The Satanic Temple (TST) created a drag ritual in March for those who wish to affirm their gender identity and live according to “Satanic principles,” according to the ritual document.

TST asks those who wish to perform the “Dressing Ritual To Affirm Gender-Expression,” or DRAG, to gather several items including a dollar bill, a beverage, lipstick and a mirror. The ritual includes multiple chants to be said before, during and after performing in a drag show, concluding with the individual reciting the words “I am my own Master … I am my own God … I hail Myself.”

“This is to be conducted as you prepare for either a stage performance, video performance, public appearance, or in the process of going out into the world presenting yourself with deliberate intention,” the ritual document reads. “An audience is not required for us to deliver our best. This is for the individual to prepare oneself, as you deem worthy. Presenting ourselves with deliberate intention is a Sacred Act that we use to honor ourselves, regardless of who sees it.”

Participants are supposed to drink their beverage of choice and perform breathing exercises to begin the ritual while reciting a specific chant, according to the document.

“Behold,” the document reads. “My face, my hands, my moves, my feet, my hips, my lips, my voice, my binders, my [suspenders], my tie, my adams’ apple, my packer, my wig, my beard, my lipstick, my pumps, my oxfords, my feathers, my leathers, my Presence, My Mind, My Heart, My Life; I decide who I am when I choose. I am worthy.”

Performers are then supposed to put on their makeup and recite several other chants before writing a word of inspiration on a dollar bill, according to the document. The ritual then instructs them to put on lipstick and “mark the Bill’s face-side – kiss it, dot it, or cross out the President’s face.”

After several more chants, participants are supposed to write down an obstacle on a piece of paper before “chew[ing] it up and spit[ting] it out into the Napkin,” according to the document. During the drag show, the performer is supposed to keep the lipstick-covered dollar bill in their bra or pocket and afterward, they can either keep it or give it to a fan.

TST did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.