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LaVeyan Satanism is a Religion based upon the Philosophy of Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey as outlined in '' The Satanic Bible '' and other works. " Satan " is appropriated as a positive Symbol of this worldview, and is considered to exist only as the Dark Force in nature and as a positive symbol. HISTORY The seeds for LaVeyan Satanism were planted in the 1950s , when LaVey and several others formed a group known as the Order Of The Trapezoid ; the group worked with a combination of Magick and LaVey's Hedonistic , egoistic philosophy. Seeking to change the world with his ideas, LaVey later decided that only a ''religion'', and not a mere philosophy, would be sufficient to do so; with this in mind, he founded the Church Of Satan in 1966 . Three years later, in 1969 , LaVey wrote and published '' The Satanic Bible ''. ORGANIZATIONS There are two primary organizations based upon this type of Satanism, which tend to be at odds with each other despite their shared basis: the Church Of Satan , founded by LaVey and now administered by Peter H. Gilmore , and the First Satanic Church , administered by LaVey's daughter Karla . These are not the only organizations based upon LaVeyan Satanism; furthermore, there are many individual LaVeyan Satanists who do not affiliate with any religious organization. The LaVeyan organizations do not have (nor do they seek) the tax-exempt status normally granted to religious organizations in the United States . The religion as a whole does, however, enjoy the same legal protection afforded any other religion in the United States by the First Amendment To The US Constitution . PHILOSOPHY Fundamental individualism Satanism is often mistaken as being a religion that encourages Cruelty and irresponsible behaviour, but LaVey's brand is very different. Central is the idea inherited from Nietzsche that an Individual must enforce his own meaning on life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. The Satanist is seen as equivalent to Nietzsche's '' Übermensch ''; LaVey claimed "Satanists are born, not made" and that " {Link without Title} have a disease called independence that needs to be recognised just like Alcoholism ." There is a Libertarian element here; diversity is encouraged, everyone is expected to discover their own Sexuality , chart their own Personality , and decide their own ambitions in life. In this stress on individuality, Satanism is considered a " Left-Hand Path " religion. Satanism and self-transformation Adherents to "life-denying" religions are often regarded as self-abnegating in their devotion to their own servility. LaVey's Satanic creed viewed religion as promoting an impersonal relationship with what the churches referred to as "God". Satanism was presented as an opportunity to self-identify with one's own concept of God. Great attention was paid to details gleaned from Noir films like White Heat and The Big Sleep in creating one's ideal Self from deliberately invoked forms. The Satanic Golden Rule Lex Talionis , the Law of Retaliation (lex/legis f. nom, "law" and talio/talionis f. gen, "retaliaton, returning like unto like") informed much of LaVey's Satanic formulation. "Do unto others as they do unto you" supplanted the Christian directive to "do unto others as you would have them to do unto you", so that you are only to give compassion and sympathy to those who deserve it. It is a reactive rule, compared with the Christian proactive rule; further it is a rule that most LaVeyan Satanists try to live by. By the rule, love, compassion, and sympathy are not to be wasted upon ingrates; these are to be given only to those who deserve them. LaVey felt that intelligent and strong people spent too much time caring for "psychic vampires" — weak individuals who always demanded attention and care, yet would never give any back. He taught that Satanists should strive to remove themselves as much as possible from such people in order to live in accordance to their instincts and individual wills. As time has gone on, the magic and anti-Christian elements of Satanism have become less and less noticeable compared to the misanthropic element. God in Satanism The LaVeyan Satanist does not generally believe in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic idea of God; the function of God is performed and satisfied by the Satanist him/herself. That is, the needs of worship, ritual, and religious/spiritual focus are directed, effectively, inwards towards the Satanist, as opposed to outwards, towards God. A belief in God would not necessarily exclude someone from being a Satanist; however, many Satanists would have trouble functioning within a Satanic group or community, or practising ritual magic. LaVey's writings point towards a more pagan perspective, and view animals and nature as a model and focus of religion. LaVey's views echo much of the Marquis De Sade 's writings - questioning evidence for a divine, supreme being, and believing in the forces and power of nature instead. A LaVeyan Satanist is likely to differ from other types of Satanist in this respect; in LaVey's philosophy, God is rarely mentioned, and never discussed directly. A LaVeyan Satanist is less likely to hold a belief in God than a Satanist who sees Satan as a rival to God. The nine Satanic statements 1. Satan represents Indulgence instead of Abstinence ! 2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual Pipe Dream s! 3. Satan represents undefiled Wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit! 4. Satan represents Kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates! 5. Satan represents Vengeance instead of turning the other cheek! 6. Satan represents Responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for Psychic Vampires ! 7. Satan represents man as just another Animal , sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all! 8. Satan represents all of the so-called Sin s, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification! 9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years! Duplicated from http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/NineStatements.html ©1969 The eleven Satanic rules of the Earth 1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked. 2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them. 3. When in another’s lair, show him/her respect or else do not go there. 4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him/her cruelly and without mercy. 5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal. 6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he/she cries out to be relieved. 7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained. 8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself. 9. Do not harm little children. 10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food. 11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him/her to stop. If he/she does not stop, destroy him/her. Duplicated from http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Eleven.html ©1967 The nine Satanic sins 1. Stupidity —The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid. 2. Pretentiousness —Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. On equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not. 3. Solipsism —Can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point. 4. Self-deceit—It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements” but deserves to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit! 5. Herd Conformity —That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many. 6. Lack of Perspective—Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints—know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world. 7. Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies —Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society. 8. Counterproductive Pride —That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow, then do it. 9. Lack of Aesthetics —This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time so they are discouraged in a consumer society, but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing—it’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied. Duplicated from http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Sins.html ©1987 THE BLACK MASS The " Black Mass ", a symbolic inversion of Catholicism , is wrongly attributed to LaVeyan Satanism; this "mass" is merely an elaborate prank played on occasion by various Satanists for the media. Various theatrical elements are intentionally incorporated into the performance in order to elicit labels of blasphemy from Christians. It is not, and never has been, an act of serious worship by LaVeyan Satanists. The first Black Mass performed by the Church of Satan took place in 1968 . Black Masses are not normally performed by LaVeyans (except on rare occasions for their entertainment or publicity value). EXTERNAL LINKS
Lists of books that shed light on influences on, and relating to LaVeyan Satanism: SEE ALSO |
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