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Subversion Tactics Archives - Spiritual Satanist Blog

Category: Subversion Tactics

  • The Satanic Panic – Then and Now

    The Satanic Panic – Then and Now

    Today at 7pm eastern, I will be on the Hail and Horns live broadcast at Trovo (you can visit here), discussing the Satanic Panic. In light of this discussion, I wrote this post outlining some of the dark facts about this grim time in America, both past and present.

    It is surprising at how many Satanist don’t know the history of the Satanic Panic. It could be that since the late 90’s and early 2000’s Satanism had evolved to be more accessible through books, online forums and through new groups that had formed. These new Satanists often weren’t aware of the dark history of the Satanic Panic that happened decades prior.

    A Moral Panic Lasting Centuries

    The Satanic Panic was (and is) a moral panic. A moral panic is described as ‘A mass movement based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group of people is dangerously deviant and poses a threat to society’s values and interests.”1

    The most famous example of this was the Witchcraft trials that spread throughout Europe and North America. Lasting from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Witchcraft trials of Europe executed an estimated 100,000 people, mostly women, who were put to death for crimes which they were innocent of2.

    The Witchcraft Trials of America came about at the tail end of this killing spree. It is estimated that 200 people in Salem, Massachusetts were accused of practicing witchcraft. Of these, 20 people were put to death for their supposed crimes. It was the perfect storm of social, religious and political uncertainty that lead the people of that time to seek out what they thought was witches who were causing problems in society. The basis of the prosecutions were based on the infamous Malleus Maleficarum book, that sought to point out the various ways that witches could be identified.

    Two things that this moral panic has in common with the modern Satanic panic is that it was a social movement Matthew Hopkinscaused by political and social unrest, fueled by the media. In the age of the Salem trials, it was the Puritan belief that spiritual forces were causing the ills of society – everything from sickness to crop failures was blamed on witches and the devil. And this belief was fueled by the media of the time. Books like the Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins, and the Malleus Maleficarum by Catholic Church inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, were widely used as prosecution manuals3.

    Fast forward 276 years to our modern time. In 1983, the perfect storm of social uncertainty, and religious fervor involved with politics once again manifested in America.

    In the 1980s, women had more freedom and were entering the work force in record numbers. Because of this, women were forced to seek out child care, and so the daycare industry became useful for working mothers. At the same time, because of this, women were at fault for “abandoning” their children to strangers.

    We can also blame this shift of social values on the rise of right wing evangelicals who embraced and backed Regan in the 1980s, leading to his election win. America had suffered through the Vietnam war and other problems of the 1960s and 70s, and so having a group of religious people backing the president was a new idea and seemed morally appealing4. It is from this political and social era where the Satanic Panic of modern times evolved.

    The Breakthrough Case

    McMartinThe breakthrough case that brought it all to light was the 1983 McMartin Preschool case. This was the longest and most expensive trial in American history. They took seven years and 15 million dollars investigating claims of sexual abuse at a preschool5.

    First reported by a mother, Judy Johnson, the accusations were bizarre – where the children were transported to a church to watch a baby’s beheading, forcing them to drink blood, underground tunnels, suggestive photo sessions, kidnapping, and animal sacrifices.

    It was later found that Judy Johnson, the woman who first reported the abuse, suffered from schizophrenia, but by then it was too late. The over 200 parents of the school began to have their children interrogated by police and psychologists. In this scenario, like throughout the whole Satanic Panic, the parents and authorities wanted to be the hero, to protect children.

    In time, over 400 children were interviewed in this case using a variety of techniques. From rewarding them, to using leading questions, and hours long interviews that ended with most children just agreeing to what they had been asked to say, prosecutors built a case. However, searches of the homes and preschool did not produce any evidence. There were no photographs as claimed, no secret rooms, no tunnels. With the case being widely publicized, in a poll, it was found that 87% of the public who knew about the case thought that the people involved were guilty, despite the very questionable testimony from children and the lack of evidence.

    By then the damage had been done, and America fell in love with finding the devil in every facet of society. From movies, to books, music and games, somehow the religious right thought that Satan was influencing America’s youth through an underground cult.

    The Modern Witchfinder Manual

    Michelle RemembersThe book that gave these lawyers, investigators, psychiatrists and counselors fuel was Michelle Remembers. Written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Padzer. In this story, Michelle Proby recounts her experiences of being held and tortured by a Satanic cult. Much like the Malleus Malifecarum of the Witchcraft trials, “Michelle Remembers” became a literal template for how investigator and psychologists handled these kinds of cases. His book was used by cult investigators and was even endorsed by the Catholic Church!Years later, Michelle married Lawrence after they made over a million dollars from their book deal.

    And, it was professionals like Dr Bennett Braun, a psychiatrist, who pioneered the practice of gathered confessions or stories from patients. Labeled as “Satanic Abuse Disorder”, Dr Braun (among other doctors of the time) used hypnosis, drugs that cause hallucinations, and chemicals like sodium amytal (‘truth serum’) to extract stories from patients7.

    Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, over 12,000 accusations of abuse surfaced, and over 200 people were charged with Satanic Worship on Oprahcrimes. Nationally broadcast specials on 20/20 and on talk shows like Oprah and Geraldo fueled America’s morbid interest in these non-existent cults. Without getting too detailed, the long history of the Satanic Panic includes people that are still imprisoned or had been released recently.

    For instance, in 2018, Dan and Francis Keller were finally released after spending 25 years in prison. They were awarded 3.4 million dollars upon their release and exoneration. They spent twenty-five years in prison for a crime that never happened, thanks to a doctors false testimony. The doctor later admitted the mistake8.

    Pizzagate and Qanon – Right Wing Conspiracy Theories

    But as interest in these cases waned, they never really truly disappeared. There is till to this day an undercurrent of conspiracy theories that fuel the idea that Satanic cults are kidnapping, enslaving and killing children. Except this time, the targets aren’t preschool teachers, they are political figures.

    The same ideas, same stories have shifted to politics where the religious right are accusing the left wing of participating in a secret cabal of baby killing. Born from the conspiracy theory of ‘Pizzagate”, hacked emails were made to seem encoded with information that high ranking democrats were involved in child trafficking and Satanic rituals.

    The center of this ring was supposedly at a pizza establishment in Washington DC. The rumors were spread throughout social media, where it finally took a dangerous turn. A man showed up with a rifle to investigate the claims himself, shooting inside the building. The owner and staff, and even neighboring businesses were sent death threats by these ‘heroic’ internet warriors who believed in the conspiracy. The conspiracy spread so far that even celebrities like Alex Jones started using it as a focus for his show9.

    These ideas started to surface in 2017 through the group known as Qanon. Formed in the internet wastebasket known as 4chan, Quanon started as a few posts by anonymous people who claimed that they knew what the president was doing in secret, and that they also knew how the democrats were secretly running everything through a worldwide Satanic cult.

    QanonThe story evolved to include celebrities, movie stars and musicians, who were all, according to Qanon, rich, famous, powerful and kept youthful by drinking the blood of children. The extracted blood was called ‘adrenochrome’. What is so frightening and stupid is that the effects of ‘adrenocrhome’ are fictional. Authors wrote about it in fictional stories, like Aduolus Huxley (Doors of Perception), and Anthony Burgess’ Clockwork Orange, and Hunter S Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It is widely known to be debunked as a fictional exaggeration10.

    What is so sad about all of this is the many lives that were ruined because of these false accusations. Innocent people had their lives ruined. Children suffered the most. And even today, Quanon, while claiming to care about children, has no interest in pursuing abuse where it is really found in America – in Churches and social institutions like Boy and Girl Scouts. The truth of the situation is sad but it’s not as exciting as believing that there is some secret cabal behind all of the evil in the world. And so today even in the information age, the disinformation campaign against Satanism (real or imagined), continues.

     

    Trigger warning. Please be aware that some of the references for this article contain graphic and sensitive materials

    References:

    1. Oxford Reference, Moral Panic https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100208829 (accessed 07/08/21)
    2. Witchcraft Trials Timeline https://www.dcba-pa.org/pdfs/eventAds/Witchcraft%20Trials%20Timeline.pdf (PDF, accessed 07/08/21)
    3. Matthew Hopkins Witch-Finder General, Compiled by George Knowles, http://www.witchtrials.co.uk/matthew.html (accessed 07/08/21)
    4. Religion and Right-Wing Politics: How Evangelicals Reshaped Elections, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/us/religion-politics-evangelicals.html (accessed 07/08/21)
    5. The McMartin Preschool Abuse Trial: A Commentary by Doug Linder (2003) http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcmartin/mcmartinaccount.html (accessed 07/08/21)
    6. The destructive conspiracy theory that Victoria unleashed upon the world – Capital Daily https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/satanic-ritual-abuse-michelle-remembers-lawrence-pazder-victoria (accessed 07/08/21)
    7. ‘Satanic Abuse’ Disorder Pioneer Comes Under Fire, By Martha Irvine, March 7, 1999, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-07-mn-14693-story.html (accessed 07/08/21)
    8. Texas Couple Exonerated 25 Years After Being Convicted Of Lurid Crimes That Never Happened, By Jordan Smith, The Intercept, 2017,  https://theintercept.com/2017/06/20/texas-couple-exonerated-25-years-after-being-convicted-of-lurid-crimes-that-never-happened/ (accessed 07/08/21)
    9. Wiki: Pizzagate Timeline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizzagate_conspiracy_theory (accessed 07/08/21)
    10. Wiki: Adrenochrome ((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenochrome))

    Remember that today on 7/9/21 at 7pm eastern, I will be on the Hail and Horns live broadcast at Trovo (you can visit here), discussing the Satanic Panic. Join us! And if you liked this article, please share:

    Left Hand Path Books
  • 5 Expectations vs. Realities in Satanism

    5 Expectations vs. Realities in Satanism

    I love having a Satanic chatroom. It allows me to talk to people from all around the world about Satanism. I have co-hosted the Satanity chatroom for about a decade now, so I’ve had an opportunity to meet all kinds of people who are interested in Satanism. People want to know about the expectations vs. realities in Satanism.

    I’ve met people who were just curious about what Satanism is, and Ive also met those who want to become serious and take the next step. It always surprises me and makes me laugh a little bit when I here some common tropes about Satanism being asked in the chatroom. Most of them fall into the typical Hollywood Satanism stereotype. Here are 5 of them in an expectation vs. reality scenario.

    Expectation: Satanists sacrifice animals! How Wicked!

    My 3 Legged Tabby
    I read Tabby’s tarot the other day. His card was incredibly appropriate for his situation. He sat there listening to his reading blinking his eyes.. so cute!

    Reality: no, I can’t recall knowing any Satanists who sacrifice animals. In fact, I’ve never met one in my life. I have two cats and an eclectus parrot, and I love them all dearly.

    I also foster a neighborhood cat named Tabby who hops around on three legs. He deserves a good home even though he’s still wild after a year of feeding. Animals are more connected to nature than we are. That seems kind of sacred to me, since I feel that Satan is a part of wild nature.

    But, what purpose would animal sacrifice serve, anyway? In many instances throughout history it has been used as a way to appease a god and it may be consumed in a meal.

    Outside of Satanism religious animal sacrifice is protected by the constitution. It is practiced in the Santeria religion, a religious syncretism or blend of Afro-American and Roman Cathlocisim, where the animal is consumed afterward in a meal.  There are several other religions that practice sacrifice who are protected under the humane slaughter act in the United States.

    The idea that Satanists sacrifice animals can be rooted in the Satanic Panic, and ideas created by Christian leaders who claimed that Satanists were killing animals. However, most Satanist literature doesn’t promote the idea of animal sacrifice. Satanists who participate in these kinds of things are following along with a Christian idea of Satanism, and Christians are obviously not an authority on what Satanism is or what Satanists do.

    Expectation: I will join Satanism so I can participate in orgies!

    Reality: Most Satanists are loners. In the rare times that Satanists have gathered together, it has been for public events. Satanists do not have wild orgies at these public events. While there may be a rare or odd cult put together by a small organization that focuses on sex magic, it is not something that is widely practiced in Satanism.

    Ke$ha Satanism
    Oh look! A Satanic orgy… psyche! It’s just pop artist Ke$ha from her Die Young video, which made Christian conservatives claim that she was promoting Satanic sex orgies. She admits to cashing in on the illuminati craze, just for fun. Jokes on them.

    I would also be concerned if sex was a a part of an initiation ceremony. Throughout my two decades in the occult, I’ve heard at least two personal stories of Wiccan and pagan leaders who took advantage of young initiates in that way. It could happen in any kind of occult group setting with the wrong kind of leaders. It’s just ethically wrong, no matter what religion it is.

    Also, in mention, the Satanic Bible states their disapproval about ‘Satanic orgies’ on pg 36:  “It is often assumed that sexual activity is the most important factor of the Satanic religion, and that willingness to participate in sex-orgies is a prerequisite for becoming a Satanist. Nothing could be farther from the truth!”    

    While LaVey didn’t speak for all of Satanism its a common sense general guideline that seems reasonable to many Satanists.

    Satanic orgies are another idea that is promoted by Hollywood, and the Satanic Panic lead by the super religious, who think that sex is bad, therefore all Satanists are sex crazed and hold orgies every week. You can also find examples of this in conspiracy theories suggesting that Hollywood celebrities hold private parties for orgies. How ridiculous.

    If you want to hook up with someone, you’re better off just trying a dating service instead. No one will think you are weird for that.

    Expectation: Satanists sacrifice humans!

    Reality: Yeah, right. The human Satanic sacrifice. Well I guess it wouldn’t be a Satanic themed movie without some unwitting people stumbling onto a Satanist circle in the middle of the woods on the night of a full moon – then subsequently being hunted down for a human sacrifice. The thing is, these are fictional movie portrayals. It’s not realistic at all.

    How dull it would be to have a movie showing that Satanists don’t bathe in human blood, sacrifice babies or stab virgins in the heart on a sacrificial altar? That would be one boring movie indeed. Hollywood’s duty isn’t to tell the truth, otherwise you would be watching documentaries on Satanism instead of fictional thrillers. Hollywood’s profit comes from sensationalism. Its Hollywood’s equivalent to clickbait.

    Expectation: Satan’s gonna make me rich or famous! Where do I sign?

    Reality: I’d like to know too. Maybe then I could afford a lavish lifestyle, you know, get that new Benz.

    I am not aware that Satan or any other god just hands out money. If it were that easy don’t you think everyone would be doing it?

    Free money sounds great, and it plays on the basic principle of greed. But people who promise to make you rich through Satan are just making themselves rich. Consider yourself scammed.

    Once again, it all goes back to the conspiracy theory that people who are rich or powerful attained their wealth by making a deal with the devil.

    What Satan and Satanism can really do for you however, is make your life better by making you responsible for your own actions. Maybe if you actually get out there and try, instead of praying and hoping, you can succeed. Sometimes you need to put yourself in a different situation so you can thrive. These are the things that you need to do on your own, they aren’t magically handed to you. I always say, Satan helps those that help themselves.

    Some say the greatest gift that Satan can give to you is knowledge. Satanism can help you refocus your priorities in a beneficial way. Hell, any system can do that for you – its just all in how you use it, but it’s just more edgy with Satanism and it requires some self motivation and self introspection. And, Satanism is not meant for everyone.

    Expectation: God wont listen to me, maybe Satan will..

    Reality:  This one is a bit tougher to answer. if you are turning to Satanism out of desperation, you might want to rethink your strategy. Nothing good comes from desperation.

    Satanism can provide to you a better way of living by giving you the freedom that you need to be the best person that you can be. You can live a life free from sin and guilt by realizing that you can walk away from Christianity. But until you are ready to change your mindset, you will enter into Satanism expecting to have the same rules, ideas and relationship with Satan that were handed to you as a Christian.

    Perhaps you’ll be paranoid thinking that you’re going to end up in the Christian hell. Maybe you will expect that Satan wants to command you in some way. Maybe you will think that Satan is evil, like the Christians say. Well, these are not the kinds of things that most Satanists believe or have experienced with Satan after they walk the path for a while. You have to put aside all of your assumptions and beliefs when you first enter into Satanism.

    Satanism isn’t a final destination, its a journey, and what you experience in that journey is up to you. You will have to learn the Satanic way, and it takes time to do that. Some people are lazy and just want an easy way out. That’s why Satanism isn’t for everyone, because from the outside it seems like it would be the easy way out but the reality is, its one of the most difficult paths to walk in the occult.

    For some people, taking the time to read, learn and explore is more work than they feel that it’s worth, so they are better off just staying with Christianity.  With Christianity they can just sit back and let their god do the work for them, ‘put it in gods hands’. They can be taken care of and they can lead a life without making any difficult decisions.

    Was any of this surprising?

    As you can see these are some of the common scenarios I discuss with people from time to time in the Satanity chatroom. Sometimes people are disappointed when they find out that Satanism is not what they thought it could be. As a long time Satanist, I find these ideas kind of funny, but I always try to think that the people who don’t know any better are just seeking some advice. Who knows, maybe someday these myths about Satanism will be long gone in the past, and people will have a better understanding of Satanism overall. We can only hope.

    Speaking of hope – I hope everyone had a wonderful Helliday weekend! Happy Krampusmas from Venus Satanas & SpiritualSatanist.com!

    Like & Share this post if you enjoyed it! And, feel free to comment below.

    What do you think are some of the most common myths about Satanism? Let’s discuss!

    Dark Moon Merchant
  • The Devil’s Kiss – Kiss of Shame

    The Devil’s Kiss – Kiss of Shame

    The Devils Kiss Woodcut
    As the image shows in this famous 1500’s woodcut, Christians believed that witches and Satanists would kiss the rear end of the Devil in order to show their solidarity with him. Legends like these are an important part of what Christians believe about Satanists, yet as Satanists we do not have the same understandings that they do. That is because we do not see Satan as the enemy. All the same, it is an important part in the development of the stories of Satan throughout the Medieval era.

    There are also images of Holy Popes kissing the devil’s rear. It is known as the ”kiss of shame” – the “OSCULUM INFAME“. In legendary tales this infamous kiss is what sealed the fate of those who chose to walk in line with the devil. This shameful act sought to identify those that were in league with Satan. Unfortunately such things never occurred and they were just urban myths that were spread throughout christian lands, a useful myth that allowed Christians to unite under the cause of destroying what they thought was Satan’s work here on this earth. In the end, all they did was destroy each other.

    Perhaps it had to do with Christian’s continual obsession with associating the body with either saintly or sinister things. Consider how holy the body of Christ is to Christians. The image of the pallid, dying savior on the cross, his body tortured beyond belief, yet he lived. He entered into the underworld through the cave and rose three days later on what was later to become a celebration of Easter. This holiday was symbolic of the coming of spring, and the ending of winter. It was adopted from earlier religions and created into a christian story.

    There are other associations with the body as well – like the association with the head as the seat of the heart and spirit; the association with the head and things that are on top or above with things that are christian or holy, and the association of the bottom or things below [including the feet] as things of the devil. You see, only sweet things have potential to come from the mouth…but only stinky and sinful things come from those lower parts having to do with sexuality and elimination of bodily wastes.

    Christians really thought that sweet scents and pleasing scents were more divine than those scents that are repugnant or repulsive. We see this in their association of brimstone [sulphour] to Satan, which bubbles up from below the earth and does indeed stink. In this way the Christians weren’t much different than their pagan predecessors in using environmental associations and the body to describe their religion.

    In this we see a map of heaven and hell, and their two entrances. Speak the name of Christ and ye shall be in heaven – kiss the ass[hole] of the devil and be eaten by it’s vicious mouth after death. The ‘Osculum Infame’ was not just a kiss on the cheek of the ass; lets just say that it was supposed to be placed where it counts most! Gross,eh? Its an ugly and improper thing to suggest in general..but then again if you are bedfellows with the devil, whats to stop you from committing an act like that to show that you are indeed in league with Satan?

    Of course it bears repeating that this is a Christian notion rather than a notion of modern Satanists. To be a Satanist is not a shameful thing. Perhaps Christians see us this way, but they have been taught to hate those kinds of things.

    Throughout history, Christians are rather infamous for suggesting the most horrible things possible about those who aren’t part of their religion, such as cakes made of babies, and candles made of their fat, or the ritual slaughter of animals for their blood to use as a drink during rituals.

    Of course none of it was true, but the main purpose was to defame, demonize and insult people of other cultures. This relates especially to the Jewish, and the Christian stereotype of the Jewish looking Satan, including the use of the goat as being symbolic of sin. This type of subversion was further discussed in my other blog post, Symbols of Satan, The Pentagram and the Goat.

    So as you can see, the Osculum Infame may identify what is Satanic to Christians.. But for us, as Satanists its just another lesson in how their prejudice and demonization of others has affected the world for centuries. During the medieval era it was a subversion tactic that served Christians well.

    Dark Moon Merchant
  • The Continued Tragedy in Haiti – Revelations of The Modern Witch Hunt

    The Continued Tragedy in Haiti – Revelations of The Modern Witch Hunt

    Island Nation of Haiti

    Last year, the Caribbean island nation of Haiti went from obscurity as a third-world country directly into the worldwide spotlight, when a massive earthquake hit 25 miles from Haiti’s capital center Port Au Prince. In the devastation, an estimated 300,000 people were killed, and the earthquake left more than 1.5 million homeless. The whole world witnessed the tragedy almost as fast as it unfolded. The news of this event spread like lightning across the internet, and people and aid agencies immediately responded to help Haiti. Relief poured in just as fast as the call was put out, from all corners of the globe.

    Unfortunately, all of the millions of dollars that have been pledged and donated has not helped their situation. The people of Haiti are still dealing with the economic aftershocks of the earthquake, because their society and government infrastructure in shambles. Currently, Haiti is without adequate housing, food, clothing, medical care and other necessities. Even though we arrive at the one-year anniversary of this tragedy, the people of Haiti still suffer in so many ways. Most of those that did survive the earthquake are living in temporary shelters. These are the tent camps and shanty towns that have been provided to them by humanitarian aid.

    With very little clean water available to the population, a cholera outbreak spread throughout the island, with it’s center located at the U.N. base in Meille. Cholera is a vicious intestinal disease that causes dehydration and could eventually lead to death if there is no medical intervention available. It is estimated that over 2,400 people have become ill so far, and this disease could affect another 600,000 or more people, in the near future.

    Unfortunately, the religious leaders of Haiti have sought out a supernatural cause for this cholera outbreak, and they made the accusation that this disease was caused by the residents of Haiti and their religion – Voodoo. These same religious leaders, who influence the police and control of the government, have killed and tortured those people that they accuse of causing the recent deadly outbreak. The Associated Press recently reported that so far 45 people have died for allegedly using Voodoo and black magic to cause the recent outbreak of cholera, an infection that is caused by dirty water.

    Religious folk magic is at the heart of the society of Haiti. The people of Haiti descended from slaves who were transported to Haiti by the French, in the 16th century. These African slaves brought their spiritual and magical Vodun tradition with them to the western world. Because they were slaves, they were forced into submission by accepting the beliefs and practices of their new Catholic culture. The practice of Haitian Voodoo developed when these slave descendants used their traditional magic along with the Catholic religion. It is estimated that today, 9.6 million people on the island of Haiti, are a part of the Haitian Voodoo religion.

    Now the blood is on the hands of the religious leaders who are looking for a scapegoat to solve their problems. These religious leaders have used the cholera outbreak to target individuals whom they think are causing the fear and panic, and spreading the deadly disease. On the island, a local Voodoo priest, Max Beauvoir comments on the current state of affairs. “Most of the killings are occurring in the southern coastal town of Jeremie, where people are being lynched, set on fire and attacked with machetes.” These same killings have also been reported in places like Cap Haitien and the Central Plateau.

    In other reports that show the severity of this situation, Haiti’s national police spokesman Frantz Lerebours said, “machete-wielding mobs had killed a dozen people accused of practicing witchcraft to spread cholera.” The UN is aware of this activity but they are slow to respond. Local law enforcement does not step in to stop the killings, and many incidences remain unreported. This senseless violence affects all the residents of Haiti. This attack comes from their own religious leaders. These are the same people who should be providing spiritual relief and healing, and uniting them under one cause.

    Island Nation of Haiti

    With archaic ignorance the Haitian religious officials make the claim that Voodoo and black magic is the source of this cholera epidemic. The nation of Haiti has suffered more than their share of loss, sadness and heartbreak in the past year alone, and now they have to live in fear due to their own government. As these religious leaders target and murder these innocent people who practice Voodoo, they cut deeply into the religious roots of the Haitians, destroying whatever remains of their culture and heritage, one group of people at a time.

    This isn’t the first time that black magic and Voodoo has been blamed on Haiti’s recent woes. When the earthquake struck the island nation last year, it was Pat Robertson who made the judgment that the people of Haiti were affected by an earthquake because they deserved it. In this 700 Club interview, while they were soliciting donations for the people of Haiti during a televangelism fundraiser, Robertson spoke out against the people of Haiti, accusing them of colluding with the devil so they could gain their independence from the French.

    As stated by Robertson, “..something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal’. According to Robertson, the Haitians deserved what happened to them because they were cursed by (the Christian) god ever since they made that fateful deal with the devil.

    This view was criticized by many, even within Christianity. A nationally known urban legend expert, Rich Buehler, stated that Roberston was incorrect “..on a variety of historical points, and (that he) propagated a common yet false claim that Vodou is Satanic in nature.

    Pat Robertson

    Robertson, host of the television series The 700 Club and outspoken Baptist minister, also blamed 9/11 on gay people in America. According to Robertson, in an interview after the tragedy in New York, he blamed ‘..the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays, and the lesbians who have helped the terror attacks of September 11th to happen’. When the people of America spoke up against Robertson for making this accusation, Robertson eventually apologized to everyone and to President Bush, and he retracted his statement.

    Throughout all of the confusion in Haiti, one thing remains clear. Without raising awareness of the issues that these people are now facing, their future as a Voodoo culture looks uncertain. I wrote this article to help spread some of that awareness. Even in this modern-day society, while some are able to enjoy are supposed to be religious freedoms and rights, the ignorance of religious leaders endangers the lives of innocent people who have become the target of this most recent witch hunt. This new moral panic is a genocide of people who, according to these religious leaders, deserve to die for spreading fear and disease. The only intentional destruction of human life that is happening here, however, remains in the hands of these religious leaders.

    – Venus Satanas

    *****
    References/Resources

    Voodoo killings reportedly rise in Haiti epidemic: Dec 25, 2010 The Associated Press
    http://www.aolnews.com/story/cholera-epidemic-spreads-in-haiti-nearly/1347181/?cid=12

    Robertson’s “true story”: Haiti “swore a pact to the devil” to get “free from the French” and “ever since, they have been cursed”: January 13, 2010, CBN, The 700 Club, video: (accessed 1/9/11)
    http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001130024

    Urban Legend Expert Debunks Haitian ‘Pact with the Devil‘, By Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (accessed 1/9/11)
    http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2010/s10010104.htm

    Read about the history of Haiti, and their freedom from the French. This article is about a man, Dutty Boukman, Hatian Priest and leader of the Hatian Slave Revolution, and the man who brought freedom to the island nation of Haiti. (accessed 1/9/11)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutty_Boukman

  • Explain Satanism to Me? Reader Q&A

    Explain Satanism to Me? Reader Q&A

    What is Satanism?

    I got a letter from a fan who asked, ‘Could you explain satanism to me?’.. Well, Satanism is complex, and because of this, I offered a very brief overview along with some useful links to various sources on Satanism.

    Satanism as a social movement started in the late 60’s with the creation of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey, and it has developed into many other forms of Satanism since then. It is complex because it is so diverse, so I doubt that any one letter or post could possibly cover all the information that you need to understand it. Because of this, I am posting some links for you, where you can explore these concepts for yourself.

    Subversion Ideology
    To understand Satanism, it is important to see the difference between the christian subversion ideologies that have been used by the church for centuries, versus the social movement of Satanism that has only existed in society for the past 40 years.

    Taking this into account, you can pretty much dismiss the many stories created by Christians that portray satanism to include anything from folks who are christian but are not from the same sect, to other groups and peoples who are not christian, yet they were labeled as ‘satanic’ by the church, all the way up to the many people who have died under christian accusations of satanism (including the witch trials and inquisitions, for example).

    The Satanism Bibliography
    There is a great bibliography on Satanism that you can find at the satanservice.org site. This bibliography includes many different sources on Satanism, arranged by subject. It includes some documents that can be viewed online. While you are there at the satanservice site, take some time to visit the ‘Real Satanist’ Page, to read about notable public figures in Satanism.

    The Real Satanists Page (nocTifer)
    The Satanism Bibliography (nocTifer)

    The Satanic Bible
    The Satanic Bible is a good starting point for understanding LaVeyan or philosophical Satanism, wher Satan is recognized as a symbol for ‘the dark forces of nature’. This book is generally regarded as a resource for members of the Church of Satan. The secondary book, “The Satanic Rituals” contains information on LaVeyan Satanic ritual. Reading these two books are necessary for understanding Satanism in general. You can find a copy online at these sites:

    The Satanic Bible (Review at Left Hand Path Books, Anton LaVey)
    The Satanic Rituals (Review at Left Hand Path Books, Anton LaVey)

    Spiritual and Theistic Satanism
    In spiritual or Theistic satanism, Satan is recognized as a force or entity that Satanists relate to in a favorable way. According to Diane Vera [of theisticsatanism.com], ‘A theistic Satanist, also known as a ‘traditional Satanist’, ‘Spiritual Satanist’, or ‘Devil Worshiper’, is one who does believe in and worship Satan as a deity, or who at least is strongly inclined in that direction”.

    Some satanists of this variety (like me) are Independent and work alone without belonging to any groups or organizations, and others enjoy being in different Satanic Organizations where they can share common beliefs and practices. Overall, the beliefs of Satanists vary according to what interests them in the occult.

    Here are some reliable resources on spiritual and theistic Satanism:
    Diane Vera, theisticsatanism.com
    My website, SpiritualSatanist.com

    Conclusion:
    Satanism is the focus on Satan through philosophical, spiritual or religious practices. What Satanists choose to believe in and associate with are varied and unique. Some of the common values that Satanists share is the need to be independent, free-thinkers, and of course, a focus on Satan.

    Venus Satanas

  • The History of Subverson

    The History of Subverson

    Satanic Kindred

    The group, Satanickindred.org has written an article, called the ‘History of Satanism’. Let me say at first, that the article itself has no references or source material with it, so I have to approach their writing largely as a matter of opinion instead of fact. What I do not accept is the history that they claim is real, and this history does quite a disservice to what Satanism really is, and what it was in the past.

    What was most striking to me in this essay, was that the people who wrote it seemed to agree with the Christian notion of blood-cult sacrificing Satanists! I know many Satanists who personally would have nothing to do with anything like this, and it is my feeling that the author (Rev. R. Fairhall ? ) agrees with the ideas of the subversion ideology of Christianity.

    This essay will be reproduced in part, as a means of analysis. Under the copyright law, essays and texts are legal to reproduce for the means of education or analysis or for the purpose of criticism. The original text will be in italics, along with my replies below the text, along with credit and a link to the original article.

    Replying to this essay is important to me, and it should be important to other Satanists as well. The main goal of this analysis is to expose the common misconceptions that even some Satanists believe about their own religion.

    Original article can be read here, found at the Wayback Machine:
    Satanic Kindred, History of Satanism
    Author: Rev. R. Fairhall (?)

    The worship of Satan, or the devil, the god of evil in christianity, during the renaissance, witches, along with heretics, were accused of worshiping the devil.

    The Christians do not hold the belief that Satan is a god. Not only that, the witch-hunts began as early as the 1400’s and continued until the 1950’s when the witchcraft law was finally repealed in England.

    Many confessed to it, probably coerced by torture. In popular lore, witches are still believed to have worshiped the devil. (In modern neo-paganism and witchcraft, or wicca, as it is often called, there is no belief nor worship of the devil.)

    There is no ‘probably’ about it. The people who died were innocent, and most who were killed were eliminated so that the church could take their money and property. Along with this the Jewish people suffered as well, many of them being branded as ‘evil’. This was where the Jewish caricature of Satan was developed (having a long nose, being greedy etc.), and Christians claimed that the Jewish attended ‘sabbats’ with the devil. We can read about this in the Malleus Mallefacarum, a text that was used as a manual for the persecution of so-called witches.

    Satanism has been far less common throughout history than many would believe. The Inquisitors and witch hunters of earlier centuries tried to persuade the populace that devil worshipers were everywhere and posed a serious threat to their well being. For about 250 years, from the mid-15th century to the early 18th century, the height of the witch hunts, that argument worked. It is possible that some devil worship may have actually existed in those times, as an act of defiance among those who opposed the authority of the Christian church.

    The writer fails to take into account that there were NO satanists of the time, because the ruling class was Christian. There is absolutely no evidence of their existence, outside of Christian scare stories and witch trial material. Not only that, since the accusations were false, then why would the author agree with the Christians in believing that the people were so-called ‘witches’?

    Satanism as an organized activity did not exist much before the 17th century. As early as the 17th century, however, the catholic church was condemning priests who subverted the magical powers of the holy mass for evil purposes. The Grimoire of Honorious, a magical textbook first printed in the 17th century (but perhaps older), gave instructions for saying masses to conjour demons.

    The grimorie of Honorious was written by a Christian, for use in Christian ritual magic. If the author bothered to read the book, or if the author had any knowledge of Grimoires, they would have known that ritual magic that was used by the Christians was developed from the church’s need to use magic, and much of it was developed from Judaism, hence the Christian manuals of magic available from the 15th ct. onward. And, since the Grimoire of Honorious was written by a Christian, it is not satanic, nor was it ever intended to be used in a so-called satanic context.

    In the 17th century, satanic activities were conducted by christians who indulged in the magical/sexual rites of the black mass, presided over by defrocked or unscrupulous priests. The most notorious of these escapades took place in France during the reign of Louis XIV, engineered by the kings mistress, Madamme de Montespan, and led by an occultist named La Voisin and a 67 year old libertine priest, the Abbé Guiborg.

    The author once again (without clear references) chooses to believe Christian subversion as fact. This story was a fiction designed to sensationalize the church at the time, and it had nothing to do with satanism. It is a Christian fiction.

    There is no reliable evidence of satanic activity in the 18th century. In England, the Hellfire club, a society founded by Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-1781), has often been described as satanic, but in actuality it was little more than a club for adolescent-like men to indulge in drinking, sexual play with woman called “nuns” and outrageous behavior. The Hellfire club, or the “Medmenham monks” as they called themselves, met regularly between 1750 and 1762 in Dashwood’s home, Medmenham Abbey. The members were said to conduct black masses, but it is doubtful that these were serious satanic activities. Similar groups were the brimstone boys and blue blazers of Ireland.

    These so called Satanic cults were little more than a social gathering of men who decided to enjoy their lives through drunkenness and revelry. They did it in secret because they could not enjoy these things within their repressed society. There is no written materials or records of rituals from them, nor is there any proof that they claimed to be Satanists.

    Perhaps the most famous Satanist in the 19th century was the Abbé Boullan of France, who became the head of an offshoot of the church of Carmel and allegedly practiced black magic and infant sacrifice. The church of Carmel was formed by Eugene Vintras, the foreman of a cardboard box factory Tillysur-Seulles. In 1839 Vintras said he received a letter from the archangel Michael, followed by visions, of the archangel, the holy ghost, St.Joseph and the virgin Mary. He was informed that he was the reincarnated prophet Elijah, and he was to found a new religious order and proclaim the coming of the age of the holy ghost. The true king of France, he was told, was one Charles Naundorf. Vintras went about the countryside preaching this news and acquiring followers, including priests. Masses were celebrated that included visions of empty chalices filled with blood stains on the Eucharist. By 1848 the church of Carmel, as the movement was known, was condemned by the pope. In 1851 Vintras was accused by a former disciple of conducting black masses in the nude, homosexuality and masturbating while praying at the alter. Shortly before his death in 1875, Vintras befriended Boullan, who formed a splinter group of the church of Carmel upon Vintras death. He ran the group for 18 years, until his death, outwardly maintaining pious practices but secretly conducting satanic rituals. Boullan seems to have been obsessed with Satanism and evel since the age of 29, when he took a nun named Adele Chevalier as his mistress. Chevalier left her convent, bore two bastard children and founded with Boullan The Society for the Reparation of Souls. Boullan specialized in exorcising demons by unconventional means, such as feeding possessed victims a mixture of human excrement and the Eucharist. He also performed black masses. On January 8, 1860, he had Chevalier reportedly conducted a black mass in which they sacrificed one of their children…..Boullan’s group was infiltrated by two Rosicrucians, Oswald Wirth and Stanislasde Guaita, who wrote an exposé, The Temple of Satan. Boullan and de Guaita supposedly engaged in magical warfare. Boullan and his friend, the novelist J.K. Huysmans, claimed to be attacked by demons. When Boullan collapsed and died of a heart attack on January 3, 1893, Huysmans believed it was due to an evil spell cast by de Guaita, and said so in print. De Guaita challenged him to a duel, but Huysmans declined and apologized.

    Once again, the author decides to take Christian conspiracy theories and weave them into the fake history that he purports is true. There is no evidence of these things happening historically, and to find reference to them outside of Christian literature is difficult if not impossible. This tells me that it is little more than a Christian tale, meant to slander the name of a man who did not fit the church’s idyllic views of what a Christian should be, and at worst, it is only a fiction meant to entertain the morbid curiosity of a repressed culture. This tactic has been used for centuries, beginning with the gnostics who were labeled as heretics.

    In his novel, La-bas, Huysmans included a black mass, which he said was based on his observations of one conducted by a satanic group in Paris, operating in the late 19th century. He said the mass was recited backwards, the crucifix was upside down, the Eucharist was defiled and the rite ended in a sexual orgy.

    I find it humorous that this author believes the words of a man who openly admitted in his life that the story of LaBas was nothing but a fiction. It is sad, sad indeed when Satanists accept the Christian views and stories, and try to claim them as their own history, especially when the stories are nothing more than slander and propaganda.

    By the early 20th century, Aleister Crowley (known as the black pope) was linked to Satanism. Although he called himself “the beast”, used the words “life” “love” and “light” to describe Satan and once baptized and crucified a toad as Jesus, he was not a Satanist but a magician and occultist.

    Crowley did not take the title of Satanist but there were plenty of so-called Satanic elements in his work. He lived in a repressed Victorian society and his hatred towards Christianity fueled much of his work. I would label him as a de-facto Satanist with Thelemic interests, instead. Also, Crowley never labeled himself as the ‘black pope’. He called himself ‘the great beast’ after the stories of revelation from the bible.

    The author then skips ahead many, many years later, until he reaches the era of LaVey, in the 1960s. He quotes a few things from LaVey’s checkered past, which I find to be humorous, because LaVey embellished many of his life stories in order to seem more important and relevant. Regardless of the supposed history (That is clearly uncovered at the COS website), Satanism had no history until the advent of the Church of Satan. It began as one of many social and religious movements in the era. To me, it makes sense, as there was a revival of the occult during this time.

    Film director Roman Polanski hired LaVey for his film version of Ira Levin’s Devil-worshipers, Rosemary’s baby, released in 1968. LaVey portrayed Satan and advised Polanski on Satanic ritual details.

    A friend of mine, (nagasiva, satanservice.org) brought to light the truth about this. Nowhere in the credits of this film is LaVey to be found, and I do not believe that he had anything to do with this film. His involvement was a lie, like many other things in his life that he lied about to take advantage of the gullibility of the members of his org. LaVey never worked for the circus, nor did he work as a crime scene photographer. His family knows the truth, and it is printed at the Church of Satan website.

    A number of other Satanic groups formed in the united states in the 1970’s were defunct by the 1980’s. Nevertheless, Satanic activities remain widespread on both sides of the Atlantic; some experts say they were on the rise as of the 1980’s. The extent of Satanism is impossible to gauge, because of the great secrecy of many orgonizations (sic).

    The spelling in this essay is…. Also, these are very vague comments that do not prove anything about the existence or the history of Satanism. It would have been nice if the author did some research to show what organizations did exist during those decades, and why they were important to Satanism. The ‘secrecy’ and size of Satanic organizations, as written by this author, reminds me of some of the Christian material from the Panic era, where Christian writers attempted to scare their readers into believing that Satanists were around every corner waiting to prey on innocent people.

    There is evidence of small “family traditions” of Satanism, passed down from one generation to another. Some Satanists are associated with Neo-Nazi organizations or sex magic orders. Some Satanic cults are alleged to be involved in drug, prostitution and pornography trade and to have real estate holdings. Members are said to include white-collar professionals. These do not pertain to the modern day Satanists(LaVeyan)

    I would ask, ‘what evidence’? but I know that there isn’t any. This material here seems to be the typical bs, that is spouted by the new-world order conspiracy theorists, who’s Christian aim is to show, to prove that there are Satanists doing illegal activities all around the world for centuries, and also, who have their hands in the government. Again, I would ask for proof, but, alas, there is none to be found, except in the imaginations of paranoid conspiracy theorists. Whether the author agrees with these conspiracy theories is very unclear to me.

    Michelle Remembers (1980), by Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder, M.D., recounts the terrors Smith experienced as a child of five in Satanic rituals in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1954-55. She said her mother yielded her to devil worshipers, who used her as a living pointer in rituals. She witnessed the ritual killings of animals and infants and was shut in coffins that were put into graves and into which were thrown dead animals. She also watched the cult members attempt to bring life to a white statue of a man with horns. She said she was tricked into defacating (sic) on the cross and was asked to renounce the christian god. Smith descibes (sic) instances in which during the rituals, she witnessed the devil emerge from the fire, a man animal with a whipping, snake-like tail that struck her on the neck and seared her flesh. Fire shot from his finger tips and filled his mouth. He had clawlike hands, steaming nostrils and odd toenails. His shape constantly changed, and he appeared to be apart of the fire. Smith was able to purge her memories in psychiatric therapy at age 28.

    The author never takes into account that the story created by Michelle was later recanted as false, and that ‘recovered memory syndrome’ was the real issue at stake here. Recovered memory syndrome is a psychological impairment caused through hypnosis, most often through the use of suggestive counseling. She had a relationship with her counselor and they co-conspired to make a lot of money from the book sales that ensued. By the time she re-canted it was too late, as the ‘Satanic Panic’ had already fallen out of the limelight.

    It disturbs me that the author here believes Michelle’s false and misleading story to be true. It sets the tone for the rest of the essay..

    Perhaps most dangerous of all are small cults whose members call themselves Satanists and practise (sic) ritual murder and animal mutilation. Such groups are said to kidnap runaway children and the homeless and use them as sacrificial victims, this is known as devil worship by LaVeyan followers. Ex-Satanic cult members have reported gruesome rituals in which hearts are cut out of living victims. Others report that victims are sexually abused before being killed; then their blood is drunk and their flesh is eaten. Women “breeders” produce babies for the “ultimate” and “ideal” human sacrifice. Former breeders report witnessing their babies being skinned alive, eaten, burned, poured in concrete and cut up and thrown in the ocean. Ritual tools are made from their bones.

    Where this author gets his information I would like to know. Maybe I already do know. It was from Satanic Panic material. Just like his belief in the supposed witches and his agreement with Christians on the persecution of witches, he also (sadly) believes the stories of the Christians in this modern era – who would try to paint Satan and Satanism as the enemy, even when there is not one shred of evidence to ever be found. Since there is no evidence that has ever been brought to trial, I wonder why this author thinks that it is valid and useful.

    That is the thing with moral panics, they are incited by the hyper-religious who feel that there is some invisible forces in this world that use people as their puppets. It is truly sad when even Satanists, such as this author, believe these lies.

    In 1985 a ten year old boy in Bakersfield, Califonia (sic), said that he and about two dozen other children were taken to a bad church by some 40 adults, who took off their clothes while chanting prayers to Satan. The children were forced to throw knives at a living baby, which was killed and dissmembered (sic). The children were then forced to drink its blood. Then the boy said that the adults molested the children. Similar cases were reported throughout California, but the authorities found little evidence to support the claims. In 1987 a report issued by the Alberta Royal Canadian Mounted Police suggested that Satanism might be related to unsolved cases of missing children. Satanists where also believed to be responsable (sic) for some grave desecrations (sic) and robbings (sic).

    More Satanic panic material, ripped from the headlines of Christian right wing material, all of it lies.. The money that the Christians made from the panic was unbelievable, and the number of innocent people who were sent to jail and had their reputations ruined for the rest of their lives is unforgivable.

    Many of the people who accused the innocent were untrained investigators, and they had a moralistic christian agenda, and many innocent people were put on trial for crimes that they did not commit. In trials, they pushed for conviction by coaching the children on what to say after they yanked them from their parent’s arms.

    Some people spent years behind bars, awaiting their cases to be brought to trial in kangaroo courts. A kangaroo court is a colloquial term for court proceedings that deny due process to those convicted in the name of expediency. Much of the innocent party’s information was dismissed in court, while the judge and jury depended solely on the testimony of children who were coerced to saying what the prosecutors wanted to hear. The same thing happened in medieval times, during the witchcraft trials, where children made up testimonies and innocent people were burned alive (to save their souls, of course).

    Satanism has been linked to certain oppresive (sic) heavy matal (sic) rock bands and teenage suicides and murders. Some troubled teens apparently turn to Satanism when they feel powerless and abandoned by thier (sic) families, the world and the christian god. They join cults that encourage, or require, them to carry out acts of violence to prove thier (sic) homage to Satan. Drug abuse is common. The ritual violence gives them a sence (sic) of power.

    The accusation of heavy metal and Satanism was another thing that gave the religionists a weapon to use in society, as they claimed that music, movies and comic books were poisoning the mind of the youth. Why this author agrees with this nonsense and tripe is beyond my understanding.

    Author Maury Terry, in the Ultimate Evil (1987), asserts that David Berkowitz, the convicted “Son of Sam” killer who terrorized New York neighborhoods in the late 1970’s, was a member of a Satanic cult that operates in Westchester County and planned the Son of Sam murders. Terry states the cult is linked to a network of cults across the country, with a primary headquarters near Los Angeles, and that Charles Manson may have been involved with it. The cult is reportedly an offshoot of a Satanic group in England.

    Maury Terry is a conspiracy theorist, not a historian, and not an investigator. Things that are written to sensationalize, accuse, and marginalize often sell, and its unfortunate that the public would rather consume these stories than to hear the truth. The truth is, Berkowitz was criminally insane, and judging him, or anyone else on the basis of religious belief is archaic at best, and at its worst, a shame on society and justice.

    LaVeyan Satanists, Neo-pagan Witches and neo-pagans are wrongly blamed for devil worship activities. Several organizations carry on public relations and education programs for the media and members of the law-enforcement community to counteract such accusations

    Unfortunately these lies are still believed to this day, even by some Satanists such as this author. This author’s research was very poor, full of conjecture and assumption, and does nothing to reveal the real history behind satanism and its impact on society.

    Satanic religious organizations, such as the Church of Satan and Temple of Set, DO NOT condone the violent blood sacfifices (sic) of the cults and are not associated with them in any way. According to Aquino, the Temple of Set emphasizes “rational self interest” and taking responsibility for one’s own intellectual and ethical decisions.

    I would like to know if the author includes his OWN org into this definition? He seems to have left that out, and you would think that he would not want his own org. confused with this panic-material and falsehoods that he holds as the truth, as the history of Satanism.

    This article was depressing, maddening. It upset me because I didn’t understand how a satanists would be so willing to accept the false accusations and ideas of Christians. I do not think that Christians have the right to tell us what our history was, nor should we accept their witch hunting materials either from the past or here in the present as some sort of history of Satanism. I also have the feeling that the author skimmed through wikipedia to write this article.

    I hope that my article has come to shed some light on a very dark subject.

    Read the original page here, found through the Wayback Machine

    Also, feel free to read a later post by Diane Vera where she points out how Christians eventually got a hold of this article from Satanic Kindred, and used it as their own propaganda! It was just a matter of time..

  • Loving Christ and Satan – Reader Q&A

    Loving Christ and Satan – Reader Q&A

    Loving Christ and SatanA reply to a very touching letter sent by a fan, and a discussion on duality in Satanism. This letter was not easy to reply to but this reader had a very serious issue. As she is new to Satanism, I wanted to offer some of my advice to her.

    ..I have read a good bit on your website, and I have watched many of your videos. I am fascinated by Satanism, and especially your ideas on Independent Satanism. But I am fairly new to all this. I became a Christian when I was very young. But in recent years I have become repulsed by Christians and the church. I see no value in associating myself with either. At the same time I find myself very much attracted to Satan.

    Yet I still feel pulled in two directions. What I read about Jesus makes it hard for me to hate him. I don’t see the same bullshit coming from him that I see coming from Christians and the church. So I would like to know if it is necessary for me to denounce Christianity, that is to denounce Jesus Christ, in order to practice Satanism.

    I feel like I am falling in love with Satan. Yet I still respect the words of Christ. From some of my reading, it seems that most satanists really despise him. Any insight into my dilemma would be appreciated. Hail Satan.

    I do not believe that you have to hate Jesus in order to be a Satanist. Now, I’m waiting for the mail to pour in because of that statement, but allow me to explain.

    The hatred of Christ by Satanists has a long history. Even before LaVey made his church and declared that Satanism should be a practice and a religion, the Christians created a reputation for Satanists that included rites that transversed Christianity.

    You can read stories like this in books such as ‘LaBas’ (Huysmans), and ‘Satanism and Witchcraft’ (Jules Michelet). Authors like this drew from the tales that were used during the witchcraft trials. They included morbid scenes of black masses where the (defrocked) priest would trample on the host, offer unholy sacraments and assist the priestess who was usually described as a street-whore or a former nun. Other rites included horrible things like using baby fat for candles In reading these tales you may think that there were some people who did some very morbid things in pursuit of denying the church.

    Why would the church make up horror stories like this? For authors like Huysmans it made them a lot of money through sensationalism. It enabled the Church to create an environment of fear, where they were able to gain control. It allowed for the witch trials to happen and many died, needlessly. Their propaganda enabled them to have social control. The early church also did not want the competition from Jewish society. Many Jews were killed, labeled as witches, their holy ‘Sabbat’ becoming the witch’s unholy sabbath.. The tales the christian writers created were centered around these ideas. It worked for a very long time.

    Even LaVey, who had the most social control over popular satanism, created an environment that focused on denying the Christ-figure and embracing the ways of Satan. Much of that was influenced by anti-Christian rhetoric of philosophers. It seems that since then, it has become almost traditional for Satanists to behave in this way.

    I take a different view. I accept that there are many gods in this world.

    In my article, “My Advice on Leaving Christianity“, I try to take a neutral view in suggesting how to leave that religion. I do not see a need to waste emotional energy on hate. That is why i suggest to this reader that if she wants to leave Christianity, then she should, but its not required of her to hate anything.

    In Satanism, it is useful for some to mock or ridicule their former beliefs, as that enables them to subconsciously break with the former beliefs of the past.

    If she finds that the majority of her Christian friends are actually hypocrites according to what they are supposed to be living by as Christians, then maybe she will be able to see that their way of life and their religion is a moral ideal, and that very few people in this life will ever achieve this perfected ideal.

    I would not blame this on the god, but i would place the blame on the people within that religion who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. Of course, I am not a Christian so it is not my place to judge.

    Satanism in general is more accepting of the human condition and that is why there is no need to restrict the self to moral conditioning. That is why as a Satanist she may be able to see this ‘hypocritical self deceit’ that others continually choose to accept as a way of life. She may have to transition from an accepting and faithful way of life, to a more modern rationalist humanist approach. Some never make that transition and they merely invert the values of Christianity. Even though the story is inverted, they never leave the sphere of Christian influence.

    Overall, her biggest issue is going to be the situation of duality.
    Accepting Christ is fine but according to the Christian tradition, there can not be room in one’s heart for both god and Satan. There are generally no rules as to how Satanists accept other gods, but generally from a Satanists point of view the Christian god would be either:

    1. nonexistent
    2. Denied, hated or reviled;
    3. The eternal enemy of Satan
    4. tolerated as the god of others who are Christian.

    wanting to love Jesus and Satan at the same time, while being dedicated to Satan is a noble thing to do. I do not think it would be easy. My suggestion to her that she examine her motives and sincerely explore whether she is ready to leave Christianity or not. and if she is, then she is free to leave it behind without hating it. If that decision is too much to handle or her Christian belief in Christ prevents her from doing it, then she would be better off returning to her god and praying for forgiveness for straying from the path of Christian righteousness.

    ~Venus

     

    Dark Moon Merchant
  • Misconceptions About Satanism

    Misconceptions About Satanism

    What are some of the popular myths and misconceptions that people believe about Satanism? Let’s explore this in a two part series here at the Spiritual Satanist Blog.

    MYTH: All Satanists worship the devil.

    REALITY: Satanism is diverse and there are many different viewpoints and ideas in Satanism. We can see this by understanding the Christian idea of Satanism first, and that usually involves the belief that all Satanists worship the ‘devil’.

    Outside of Christianity it can be understood that Satanism began as a deist practice with the Church of Satan who eventually represented Satan as a symbol, not as a deity. After this came the spiritualists and theists who either worship the Christian aspects of Satan, or who have a uniquely spiritual view that maybe entirely interdependent of Christian beliefs.

    Either way, the amount of Satanists that could be classified as devil worshipers are relatively small in number and make up a very small percentage of the varieties of modern Satanic expression. An even fewer of this amount identify strictly with the Satan found within a purely christian context.

    MYTH: Satanism is for Teenagers!
    REALITY: It is a fact that there are teenagers that can be found in any religion – Christianity, Wicca, Satanism, or even Paganism. While there are teens that can be found in Satanism, it seems that for the most part, teenage Satanism is either a phase or a transitory practice that many abandon when it no longer suits their need. Many Satanists who have a long term practice of Satanism found it later in their lives, after their teens in their early 20’s. James R. Lewis did an excellent survey of Satanists in 2001, where he recorded that most Satanists that he interviewed were between the ages of 18- 30 years old, with more than 5 years average involvement time. So, no, Satanism is not just for teenagers – in fact, those that it appeals the most to are already away from their parents and living their own lives, able to make their own choices about what religion suits them best.

    From the Lewis Survey of 2001:
    Does this phenomenon, however, exhaust the significance of religious Satanism? Are most Satanists, in other words, just angry teenagers who adopt diabolical trappings to express their alienation, only to renounce the Prince of Darkness as soon as they mature into adults? While many youthful Satanists undoubtedly fit this profile, I came to feel that this was, at best, only a partial picture. Instead, I reasoned, there must be a core of committed Satanists who–for whatever reasons they initially become involved–had come to appropriate Satanism as a mature religious option.

    Also: “The average Satanist is 26 years old (ranging from 14 to 56) who has been a Satanist for eight years (ranging from less than a year to 44 years for an individual who claimed to have been raised in a Satanist household). This means that the average Satanist became involved at age 18

    – text selected from James R. Lewis, Who Serves Satan? A Demographic and Ideological Profile. Referenced from: http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf [accessed 9/24/09]

    MYTH: All Satanists are Criminals.
    REALITY: The Satanic Panic of the 80’s, the same myth machine that perpetuated this lie, sustains this lie in the public view even to this day, even though not one shred of evidence has ever been found of secret Satanic societies that are criminal! It was reported time and time again that these sensational stories of Satanic criminals were the fodder of book publishers, counselors, preachers, news reporters and corporations who used these stories to sell books, interviews, tv airings, and counseling sessions.

    The amount of money that they profited from telling these lies is beyond belief. Reports of Satanic crime were falsified, and testimonies from so-called SRA survivors were sold to the media and book publishers. Children were coached in how to act and what to say. It was a moral panic that society has not yet recovered from, as some still hold the belief that Satanists are associated with crime.

    Jefferey S. Victor in his book “Satanic Panic, Creation of a Contemporary Legend” did a great job of exposing many of the people behind the 80-‘s and early 90’s panic. In his book he tracked the history of the moral panic, and the court cases that fell through because of lack of evidence. Unfortunately there are still some people who are in jail from the trumped up charges of the Satanic panic, more than a decade ago! Why? because no one bothers to revisit the cases, evidence is created or non existent making a real trial and acquittal impossible.

    The fact is, that Satanists represent a very minute portion of society as a whole, and as such, it is impossible to know what kind of crime, or lack thereof they produce. It is also a fact that the majority of people who are in prison for violent and non violent crimes are Christian, come from Christian families and are rehabilitated with Christianity while in prison. And, its not just because Christians represent a majority of the population; it is because many of these people have problems living in society and abiding by societies rules. Whether or not their Christian background is a factor in this, I do not know. My belief is that people should abide by the laws of their own government, if only to keep the peace and so that we may live in a civil society.

    Then I will have a letter sent to me by some Christian who gives me a news story about the 15 year old girl who set a church on fire in Canada. My opinion on that is that she is mentally disabled and needs emotional support and should be tried as an adult. Wwhile her crime seems to have been motivated by her ‘satanistic’ religion (as they called it) what really happened is that a mentally unbalanced girl lived a very unsupervised life and because of that she went out of control, committed a crime, and used religion as an outlet for it. A person should not be persecuted on the merit of what religion they believe in.

    That’s what happened in the witch trials – people were murdered for being accused of being cohorts of the devil, a false charge that assumed immediate guilt by association instead of a fair and legal trial. Criminals should be tried for the crimes they commit regardless of what religion they claim to be. Should we think any worse of the many religious criminals associated with Christianity, and assume that all Christians are therefore evil because of a few people that used their religion as a scapegoat to crime? [ for an interesting read, see, List of Convicted Religious Criminals at wiki]

    When people like Warren Jeffs [see Warren Jeffs, wiki] use Christianity to commit crimes, its conveniently forgotten about and no one dares to ask, “Was what he did right? did Christianity lead him to commit his crimes?” . In other words, no one ever consults with the pope when Christians commit a crime, but they certainly want to pursue Satanists, Wiccans, pagans and all others who are not Christian once a mentally unbalanced person gets out of control and hurts themselves or other people. Its a double standard with no solution in sight.

    In my view, any professional lawyer, social worker, or judge should leave religion out of the courtroom.

    MYTH: All Satanists are Ignorant!
    REALITY: This is obviously not true. There was an excellent survey found at Wikipedia which explained the IQ of people compared to religious beliefs. it was found that the majority of people who had a higher IQ were either spiritual or atheist, and that the more fundamental a person’s beliefs, the lower the IQ seemed to be. You can explore it HERE [Study of IQ and Religiosity].

    Mr Lewis, in his wonderful essay of 2001, surveyed 140 people and over 14% of those people had at least one year of college, 20% had 2 years of college, and 11% had their bachelors degree. Many had professional jobs and had family lives. 23% of those surveyed were married.

    “Satanists are employed in diverse occupations. Eighteen respondents were involved with computers and/or the internet. Forty were students. And eleven were writers or artists (fourteen if web writers are included). Otherwise, they ran the gamut from stripper to clinical psychologist, and from salesman to engineer.”

    – text selected from James R. Lewis, Who Serves Satan? A Demographic and Ideological Profile. Referenced from: http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf [accessed 9/24/09]

    Next: Misconceptions About Satanism, Part 2

  • Satan’s Ancient origins?

    This is a commentary on a blog post that I found from this blog site: Satan’s Truth

    Quoted from this blog:
    “Satan is not and was never “evil”. Nor was Satan ever an “angel”. Satan was always a God. A God many thousands of years before the coming of Christianity, the most important God in the ancinet world. As opposed to what many people say about Satanism being a “reaction” to Christianity, and Christianity was actually a reaction to Satanism. Satanism being the original, Pagan, religion of the world.”

    Hm, I see several errors with this type of thinking. Historically, Satan originated with the teachings of Judaism. As much as this person would like to believe that ‘Satan’ has been repressed, he has not. Satan is not some ancient being, he is a creation by the leaders of the religious which symbolized the potent forces of nature, and human nature, both of which Judaism and Christianity seek to dominate over instead of conceding to.

    There is no Satan of the ‘ancient world’. There have been other gods who have been similar to the form and idea of Satan, but they were not Satan themselves. They were gods who belonged to other religions [Ahriman, Loki, Pan, etc], and these gods are distinctly a part of the religion from which they originate from. The name ‘Satan’ was first used in the teachings of the Talmud, as ‘ha-Satan’ a title which was a descriptive and derogatory term, describing the enemies of the armies of Israel. In other teachings, like the Life of Adam and Eve[800bc?], and the Book of Enoch [300bc?] the figure of Satan is named Shemyaza, or Samael. Shemyaza, ha-Satan, Azazel, and Samael were known as angels from their mythological legends.

    Of course in the spirit of mis-information the teachings that this person from this blog refer to are anti-semetic, xenophobic and very paranoid teachings of a leader who openly plagarizes the work of other authors, and who willingly denies the actual history of humanity in favor of a fantasy created to pander to the beliefs of the easily mislead. Of course, along with this the claims of satan as a pre christain ancient deity can not be substantiated with any type of reference beyond the word of the author.

    These ‘satanic’ figures did not exist outside of their original source of Judaism. They may be used today by modern Satanists but their supposed ancient and pre-Christian history is a fantasy that is best entertained by those who do not have the time and inclination to do actual research on their own religion, for themselves.

    Therefore, we have the evolution and development of Satan within Judaism and Christianity which was a process that occurred over many centuries. If you would like more information on the original influence of the Christian Satan as it was developed from Judaism, feel free to read my article, “Ha Satan, the Adversarial Prototype” on my website.

    The practice of worshiping Satan was only made popular in the 20th century. Prior to this there is absolutely no evidence of the existence of Satanist, excluding the church propagandist writings that have fooled people for centuries into believing that Satanists were some kind of hidden conspiracy. The belief that is held by the type of people that I am referring to in this blog post, are no different than the Wiccan idea that their religion is some kind of ancient repressed practice held back by the leaders of society. OF course it has been proven that the ‘burning times’ of which [some] witches use as a defense, were the creation of the religious upon thier own innocent people.

    From the blog post, Satan’s truth: “As opposed to what many people say about Satanism being a “reaction” to Christianity, and Christianity was actually a reaction to Satanism. Satanism being the original, Pagan, religion of the world.”

    Satanism is by and large a reaction to Christianity. For those who have read the satanic bible, it is easy to see how the first founder of Satanism built his church upon denying the standards of the religious. Satanism came from a time when people were seeking change, and Satanism was a movement started in the 1960’s as a reaction to what LaVey conceived as ‘hypocritical Christianity’. Satan was not worshiped as a god until this century. I do not believe that the age of a religion is a good indication of whether it qualifies as useful or not – it is the members and what they do that demonstrate this.

    There is no ‘original pagan religion’. The word ‘pagan’ is Latin, and Christian and it refers to those who lived in the countryside who were less educated and who held folk beliefs despite the major conversions of Christianity in the Roman state by the third century. Prior to Christianity there was no paganism there were only polytheistic beliefs, theism and other forms of non monotheistic religions. The word ‘pagan’ has lost its meaning as being a derogatory comment into what it is known today, Neo-paganism. Neo-paganism is a reconstructionist religion, not the original practices that were done hundreds of years ago. We do not live in the third century and we are not facing a conversion of Christianity from polytheism, therefore we are not the original ‘pagans’ as they were labeled by the Christian religious right.

    From the blog post, Satan’s truth: “Satan was always a God. A God many thousands of years before the coming of Christianity, the most important God in the ancient world. ”

    Satan was never a god until the acceptance of Satan as a god by people of the 20th century who were interested in aligning with the force of Satan. Prior to that there is absolutely no evidence of actual Satanism, or the worship of Satan. [Excluding, once again religionists and Christian writers who wrote about Satanism and black masses to delude the public. a modern example is the satanic panic of the 90’s, claims of Satanism that were totally unfounded.] Nobody creates better fear and panic in the public than the religious right who had claimed that Satan was around every corner – this was best seen in the medieval era where people felt as if their entire life was directed by the forces of god and that Satan was the ultimate enemy.

    I do not accept the fake history of Satan as created by the literature of the church. Nor am i interested in taking it upon faith that Satan is some sort of ancient god. If Satan represents nature then there is no need to label him as a god and to personify the forces of nature, they are what they are. For people to believe that all forces of ‘darkness’ that were ever worshiped represent Satan, they should also consider that every non dark force would also represent the forces of god. The labeling of all other gods of the past as one god is an attribute of monotheistic beliefs, and it is an element of religion, something which I oppose upon its principles of the promotion of fallacious belief.

    Note: an etymological look at the origns of the word, pagan.
    c.1375, from L.L. paganus “pagan,” in classical L. “villager, rustic, civilian,” from pagus “rural district,” originally “district limited by markers,” .. likely derived from the use of paganus in Roman military jargon for “civilian, incompetent soldier,” which Christians (Tertullian, c.202; Augustine) picked up with the military imagery of the early Church (e.g. “soldier of Christ,” etc.).

    Dark Moon Merchant
  • The Devil’s Mark

    In the dark ages during the witchcraft craze, the fear that the devil was winning over god was at its height. One of the most famous inquisition methods was to find the mark of the devil upon the accused witch.

    The Devil’s mark, the mark of the beast was an identifying mark that was given to a witch after she dedicated her soul to Satan, in a gesture that was considered to be a mockery of the christian baptism. This accusation came from the book known as the Malleus Maleficarum, The Witch’s Hammer, designed to be a legal and social guide for the inquisition of witches.

    According to these witch hunters, the devil marked the bodies of those that served him, as a pledge of obedience to him. This mark was considered by the inquisitors to be the proof that the one they were accusing was a witch. The mark was usually hidden in a secret place, under the clothing, inside the armpit or underneath the eyelid, at the bottom of the foot and other places.

    These marks that were found, could have had an environmental cause. The author M. M. Drymon, who studied the witchcraft trials diagnosed the Witch’s mark not as a mark of the devil, but as an epidemic of Lyme disease in Europe during the middle ages that had caused lesions which were often found in dark and warm places on the body. These were the same places that the inquisitors searched and claimed that the mark of the devil was to be found.

    According the Encyclopedia of witches and witchcraft, all of the people who were accused of witchery were searched in front of a public gathering of people, while their skin was searched and pricked with pins. Natural skin conditions like scars, birthmarks and blemishes were also considered to be a mark of the devil. The story of the devils mark was often confessed to by these ‘witches’ as a way for them to end the torture. If the witch had no marks to be found, she was stuck with pins by a person officially known as awitch pricker until they found a place that caused no reaction.

    Margaret Murray, an English author had theorized that the mark of the devil were actually tattoos, a type of identification shared by witches in the middle ages. This was an attempt to try and prove that witchcraft had ancient pagan roots. Murray’s theory has been proven by anthropologists and academics to be inaccurate and not historically true.

    I have the mark of the devil upon me. In the same week of my initiatory ritual of 2004, I got my first tattoo, an eternal pentacle, a very symbolic gesture. The sting of ten thousand needle pricks upon the back of my neck, one of the most sensitive and painful places to tattoo, was a small sacrifice to symbolize my re-initiation into satanism.

    Blessed Beast! Happy Winter Solstice!
    VenusSatanas
    [venus666]

    Sources: Disguised as the Devil, M. M. Drymon; Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, Rosemary Guiley
    .