A Treatise on Modern Sacrificial Worship

We think of sacrifices as something that ancient civilizations would do. Cut out the heart of a captured warrior, burning a priest raised from childhood to be a sacrifice, throwing villagers into an active volcano. Hollywood and popular media sensationalized these rituals, made them seem out of reach, fictional, unbelievable. Modern people are so much more civilized, we don't sacrifice anymore. We're too smart for that. Right?

Oh, darling, no.

Sacrifice as an expression of ritual is core to the human experience. We look back at past civilizations through a contemporary lens and chuckle to ourselves, "Why would they possibly think cutting someone's tongue off would make the harvest bountiful the next year?" Meanwhile, your uncle Jack wears the same pair of sweaty socks he refuses to wash every time his favorite sports team has a game because "It's good luck."

In a chaotic, impermanent world such as ours, where mortal men have relatively little control over their environment and the trajectory of their lives, sacrifice was an attempt to regain control. It is portrayed as attempting to control what will happen next by currying favor with a god. However, as a modern goddess with an interest in the behavior of mere mortals, I argue that the act of sacrifice itself is the very control the worshipful seek.

A reframe, if you will:

• The farmer gives the first harvest of his crop to the gods, hoping they will be pleased and make his harvest season long and fruitful this year.

Nay, if the farmer gives the first harvest of his crop to the gods, he will already be planning ahead not to count on using the first harvest as food. He sees the first harvest and decides it isn't for himself, and so he makes his decisions and builds his future harvest season around this sacrifice. Whether or not the season is bountiful, he has direct control over where his harvest goes. To the gods, to his community, or to his family.

• The gambler whispers a special word and kisses his dice before making a big roll. He says the dice get upset and roll poorly if he doesn't.

You and I both know the dice will roll how they'll roll. If the House has weighted them, they'll roll worse. If they're poorly made, they may roll unevenly. if they're neutrally balanced, then it will truly be up to luck. The gambler can't control this. But he can control whether he kisses the dice. If they roll badly, he'll say it was bad luck, but he will have done everything he could in his power to appease the dice.

The ritual itself is the control, not the outcome.

Now, ritual sacrifice still exists outside of findom and BDSM, of course. Church collections, tithing, donating to charity, retirement accounts. These are all in some way or another a sacrifice people make right now in hopes of influencing a future outcome. Some have more tangible results than others, but they are indeed sacrifice.

So why sacrifice in the context of worship and devotion in findom, especially when so many finsubs prefer to feel out of control, ruined, devastated by the findoms they serve?

Because you crave to have control over your one, wild and chaotic life. If something is going to be unpredictable, you'd rather to choose to lean into the unpredictability rather than simply have another force acting upon you without rhyme or reason.

Choosing sacrifice is a gift to oneself in the same way choosing submission, choosing obedience, and choosing to give up control. In the right situation, it calms the mind. It feeds the soul. It provides purpose instead of uncertainty, drive instead of apathy. Choose to sacrifice and experience the intense swell of relief that washes over you.

And maybe, just maybe... if you sacrifice to your goddess, she will watch over you. She will bless you. A goddess treading upon the same earth as you is a rare opportunity not to be squandered. What will you do with this gift?