No fixed duration; remain within an attentive, workable posture
The Rite of Descent gives worship a bodily form. You come down from the day, lower the forehead to a folded cloth, address Satan, remain, and rise. The room can be an ordinary room with other life continuing around it. Read the complete short book before beginning; this page keeps its sequence in view.
Clear a patch of floor and bring a folded towel or mat and a notebook. A sign is optional. Choose a time when you can return to the rest of the house without resenting it. If another person needs you, attend to them. The devotion can wait.
Prepare the place and lower the body
Lay out the cloth and stand at its end. Feel the feet meeting the floor. Notice the unfinished matter or thought that followed you into the hour. You do not need to clear the mind before addressing Satan.
Satan, I lower myself before you with nothing hidden in my hands.
- Speak the opening address when ready. Kneel at the cloth’s edge, keeping the feet where the knees can rest easily.
- Place the hands on the floor ahead of you. Lower the forehead onto the backs of the hands, the cloth between them, or a folded part of the mat.
- Settle into a position the body can hold without strain. Let breathing find its ordinary pace.
- Remain for as long as attention and a workable posture allow. Change position carefully if needed. Pain is not a measure of devotion.
Remain and speak the name
Thoughts about work, laundry, anger or someone you miss may continue. Let them be present without following each into a conversation. If attention drifts far away, return to the pressure of cloth, the palms or a nearby sound. A quiet evening does not need a more impressive story.
When the body has settled, say Satan once, aloud or inwardly, in an ordinary voice. Remain after the name. This beginner presentation retains Satan as the address of the rite; the book does not invite a newcomer to experiment with a new divine name here.
Rise, close and record
I rise and return to the work before me.
- Lift the forehead. Keep the hands grounded briefly, then return to kneeling. Pause before standing and rise carefully.
- Put away a sign if you used one. Say this section’s closing line.
- Wash and dry the hands. Open the notebook and date the entry, including the time.
- Write what remained when you stood and what waits outside the room. Keep the description factual enough that you could stand behind it tomorrow.
Where the body needs another form
The source permits careful adjustments and explicitly rejects forcing the knees through pain. If lowering to the floor is unsuitable for your body, choose a supported attention practice from the meditation guides and study the full rite before deciding on an adapted devotional form. There is no need to injure the body in order to keep an address sincere.
Read the source
Page numbers refer to the original-language PDF edition, not a translation of the book.
- The Rite of Descent: Complete short text, PDF pp. 2–10