Satanism

From The Depths Of Darkness

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Satanism

People are Strange

In today's culture there is too much labeling by the appearance of another human being, if someone wears a particular article of clothing or has tattoos ect., it defines how others perceive them and is enough for most feeble-minded humans to say what that person is. In reality I may wear all black, have tattoos or piercing, but this does not mean I am stupid or am a particular type of person. In reality, someone can wear the same clothes I do, and even wear the Baphomet and inverted crosses, which symbolize Satanism and not be a Satanist. But, because they look a particular way, they would be considered a Satanist in the public eye. If you were to ask me, I would tell you the people that try hard to fit into society and dress in the "so called" proper way just to suit another person, is the true weirdo. I encourage everyone I meet to dress how they, and I stress “they” want to dress and not to please the mass media.

Beliefs and practices of Religious Satanists:

There is one main Satanic denominations, many smaller traditions, and many solitary practitioners who are unaffiliated with any Satanic organization. They total perhaps ten to twenty thousand adult followers in North America. They differ somewhat in beliefs. The following list is valid for most religious Satanic groups:

Satan in his original pre-Christian Pagan forms is respected, as a principle rather than a deity. Satanists do not worship Satan just as most Buddhists do not worship Buddha." As Vexen Crabtree has written:

"Satanism is Satanism not due to our worship of any deity, but for the philosophy that we stand for. We recognize ourselves as gods, and we hold our own perspective on life as holy and revere our own experiences as the only truth we can ever know. "

"Satanism is the utter rejection of the spiritual way of theistic religions, and the honest admittence [sic] that we are just animals who evolve as any other complex system." ₁

	Major emphasis is placed on the power and authority of the individual Satanist, rather than on a God or Goddess.
	*They believe that "no redeemer liveth" - that each person is their own redeemer, fully responsible for their own life.*
	"Satanism respects and exalts life. Children and animals are the purest expressions of that life force, and as such are held sacred and precious..." ₂ Children and animals are not abused or killed.

	Those Satanists who believe in Satan or Set as a living entity do not worship or demonstrate their faith in him (as, for example, Christians worship and pray to their God).
	*They believe that one should live out their lusts and desires, and enthusiastically explore the "seven deadly sins" with other consenting adults.*
	They follow many beliefs, practices and rules of behavior which are in conflict with traditional Christianity, and essentially all other religions.
	Uniqueness and creativity are encouraged.
	Many *Satanists use as their main symbol the Sigil of Baphomet. It is a goat's head, drawn within an inverted* pentacle (5-pointed star with one point downward and two up, enclosed by a circle). Although elements within the Sigil have been in use since the 19th century, the version as shown has been a registered trademark of the Church of Satan since 1983.
	*A second Satanic symbol appears above the Nine Satanic Statements* in LaVey's book: The Satanic Bible*, page 25. It is an infinity sign (a figure 8 on its side). A shortened Lorraine Cross* is placed on top. [A Lorraine cross is a Roman '†' cross, with a second, longer cross piece added below the main cross piece.] This is an ancient symbol which alchemists -- many of whom were Satanists -- used to represent brimstone. ₂ Brimstone is the element sulfur, and was long associated with Satan by the Christian church. LaVey might have adopted a brimstone symbol as a humorous gesture to poke fun at Christianity.

Religious Satanism - its supposed origin:

Modern Satanism is generally (though mistakenly) regarded as a creation of Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). Aleister was in fact a very prominent ceremonial magician who based his rituals partly upon Judeo-Christian principles. He was raised in a Plymouth Brethren family, but developed an early dislike of organized conservative Christianity. After university, he joined the Order of the Golden Dawn, which practiced ceremonial magic based on:

	the Kaballah (a.k.a. Cabbalah, Cabala), a Jewish mystical tradition,
	Rosicrucianism (a mystical blend of alchemy, Judaism, etc.),
	Freemasonry (a men's fraternal organization), and
	Theosophy (a Gnostic tradition believing in a common thread that links all religions).

He resigned from the Golden Dawn and later was appointed chief of the British section of the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), which blended ceremonial magic, sex Magic and Freemasonry. He remained the Outer Head of the Order from 1922 to 1947. He created a religion, called Thelema. Crowley's story was picked up by two tabloid newspapers, which called him the Wickedest Man in the World and the Great Beast 666 of Revelation. It is mainly from these "yellow press" articles that opponents of Crowley have assembled his present-day reputation. He is alleged to have committed at least one animal sacrifice, experimented with many illegal drugs and engaged in some sexual orgies. It is not known how much of this actually happened, and how much is imaginary -- created to satisfy his insatiable desire for publicity. Nor is it known how much of the time he was serious, and when he was behaving with tongue-in-cheek. Crowley has been accused of many criminal activities; however, he was never arrested, charged, tried or convicted of any crime. His prime aim was to contact his Holy Guardian Angel Aiwaz. The religion The Law of Thelema is largely derived from his work. He is known to have practiced a great deal of consensual sex magic with a single partner in private. His goal was to recapture the ancient pagan and Gnostic Christian mysteries of the Middle and Near East, which, he believed, incorporated sexual activity as part of their religious rituals. He was a prolific writer on Magick, a term that he created. (The term refers to ceremonial magic, and is used to differentiate that form of magick from performances by professional magicians.) Although Crowley did not consider himself a Satanist, many Satanists have incorporated elements from his writings into their own rituals. Many authors and TV personalities have stated that Crowley was the first Satanist, even though evidence points to the contrary. He passed through a Satanic phase, and did identify his guardian angel with Satan. But a number of 19^th century literary greats such as Baudelaire, Byron, Shelley, etc. should more properly be regarded as the first Satanists,

Religious Satanism - its actual Origin:

Religious Satanists existed in the 1950's, both in the United States and the UK. But they were little known to the public. There are many beliefs about the origin of modern Satanism:

It is said to have burst into mass consciousness on Walpurgisnacht, 1966-APR-30, (I Anno Satanas) when Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997). created the Church of Satan. ₃ Actually, he founded the relation later in that year.

Anton is said to have drawn on his previous experience as a lion tamer and sideshow barker, and on his readings into psychology, Magic etc. There does not seem to be any information confirming that he actually held these jobs.

Anton is said to have been the technical adviser for the movie Rosemary's Baby in 1968. Again, there is no confirmation of this.

LaVey did write a series of books which are essentially the only readily available books on Satanism available in most bookstores. There have been enormous numbers of books about Satanism written by Fundamentalist or other Evangelical Christians. They are readily available through conservative Christian bookstores. However, they are usually unrelated to religious Satanism. They often contain misinformation that is traceable back to the Witch burning times in Europe (circa 1450-1792 CE) rather than to any present or past reality. Another source for their misinformation was the novel called "Michelle Remembers." This was allegedly a documentary about the sexual and physical abuse of a girl by an underground Satanic group. In reality, the book was a work of fiction. However, it triggered a Satanic Panic in 1980, and helped convince millions of people that Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) was a clear and present danger. It wasn't real then and it is not today. By the turn of the century, belief in SRA had died down, largely because of the absence of hard evidence that any such crimes had ever been committed.

A number of Satanic periodicals exist. Many other Satanic traditions exist in addition to the Church of Satan. These are mainly found in North America and Europe.

Religious Satanism - today:

Local groups of Satanists may be called grottos, pylons, temples, or by a similar name. They correspond to Christian congregations and Wiccan covens. Many Satanists feel that Wiccans are hypocrites, because the latter restrict their work to positive, healing activities. Satanists use Magic and other rituals to benefit themselves and their friends, but also use these same rituals to harm their enemies. Some have incorporated some anti-Wiccan elements in their rituals.

Satanists have been accused of conducting rituals that are specifically aimed at attacking Christian beliefs and practices. Many authors, almost all conservative Christians, have described alleged Satanic rituals in which religious Satanists recite the Lord's Prayer backwards, or desecrate and use the host and wine that they have stolen from a cathedral. This fiction can be traced back to books written during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance periods.

Satanists tend to be highly critical of all other faiths. They are particularly opposed to Christianity, because of its paramount position in Western society and the historical persecution of Satanists and other religious minorities by Christians.

HATRED & MISINFORMATION DIRECTED AGAINST SATANISTS

About Satanism:

Religion has probably the least exact language of any field of human study. Many common religious terms have multiple and often contradictory meanings. For example, the single term "Satanism" has at least eight meanings: Two refer to actual, but very different, Satanic religious belief systems; the remainder are unrelated groups:

16th Century Satanists: "Satanism" is sometimes used as a modern name for a Christian fable introduced during the late Middle Ages. The Church taught that some "Witches," mostly women, worshiped Satan. They gave an oath to submit their lives to him; they kidnapped and killed babies; they devoted their life to harming others through the use of curses and black magic; they flew through the air on broomsticks; they changed shapes from human to animal and back. This type of "Satanist" who allegedly engaged in Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) did not exist then and does not exist today. However, a "Satanic Panic" was triggered in 1980 and continues in a much diminished form today, largely among a minority of feminists and conservative Christians. Their beliefs about evil Satanists has largely evaporated because of the complete lack of hard evidence that abusive Satanists exist, or that these crimes actually happened. There has been considerable "soft" evidence about SRA. It was in the form of recovered memories of childhood abuse. These were eventually shown to be false memories of non-existent events, created during recovered memory therapy and other dangerous therapeutic techniques. ₁

Religious Satanists: Some of these are adults who worship a pre-Christian deity, (e.g. "Set" from the ancient Egyptian pantheon of deities). Others are Atheists or Agnostics who do not view Satan as a living entity; they see him as as a symbol of power, vitality and pleasure. To our knowledge, there has been only one conviction since the 17^th century Salem Witch hunts of Satanic perpetrators of a serious crime. This involved the sentencing of three teenagers for multiple murders and a mutilation of children in Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis, AR. However, recent bite mark evidence on the skin of one of the victims has indicated that the alleged perpetrators were almost certainly not responsible for the crimes. Also, they knew little about Satanism when they were interrogated. One was a Wiccan and is now a Buddhist. The other two were and are Christians.

Satanic dabblers: These are typically rebellious teenagers who have created their own form of black magic. It is composed of rituals taken from benign sources: religious Satanism, Wicca, other Neopagan religions, ceremonial magic, etc. These are the individuals who are typically responsible for the Satanic graffiti that is occasionally seen on the sides of buildings. Some dabblers might sacrifice a cat or small dog; but this is quite rare.

Other meanings:

	Sometimes, the term "Satanist" will be used as in articles or sermons of religious hatred as a general-purpose "snarl" word.
	Satanism may be used to refer to a follower of a small minority religion such as Wicca, Santeria, Vodun, etc.
	Sometimes it will refer to the follower of a major world religion such as Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.
	Occasionally a mass murderer will claim to have been under the influence of Satan when they committed their crimes. Investigations generally reveal that the perpetrators knew little or nothing about Satanism, but were simply using the "Satan made me do it" defense.
	Occasionally an abusive pedophile will pretend to engage in Satanic rituals in order to better control his child victims. But these molesters are not actually Satanists; they are merely abusers who find Satanic trappings useful.

Quite often, a writer will mix and match all four types of "Satanists" in a single article, without differentiating among them.

Satanism and the Police:

A series of Satanic Panics swept North America in the 1980s and 1990s. Satanists were accused of kidnapping, killing, and even eating infants and children. Estimates of 50,000 ritual murders per year were common. Many in law enforcement were initially convinced that a secret, underground, multi-generational, international cult of Satanists were perpetrating horrendous crime on an enormous scale; they were literally getting away with mass murder. Some police officers became alarmed. They devoted enormous effort in an unsuccessful effort to track down those believed to be responsible. They were unsuccessful because the crimes never happened. Satanic ritual abuse "experts" began giving seminars to social workers, law enforcement personnel, and others. In the early 1980's, Kenneth V. Lanning of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, VA started to follow the escalating reports of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). He became convinced that SRA was non-existent (or almost so), largely because of the lack of hard evidence that any crimes had actually occurred. A second indicator was that a conspiracy of the magnitude necessary to support large scale SRA could not remain secret for long. He documented his conclusions in a report in 1992 titled "Investigator's Guide to Allegations of 'Ritual' Child Abuse. By the middle of the 1990s, most of law enforcement had become very skeptical of the existence of SRA. Only a few -- commonly called "cult cops" -- remain as true SRA believers today.

Anti-Satanic hate literature:

Typical hate literature directed at Satanists is characterized by a number of beliefs:

Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) exists as a massive conspiracy.

Community leaders are often involved in SRA. These include city government, lawyers, physicians, judges, police, etc. They are sufficiently powerful able to cover up evidence of serious crimes.

Criminal Satanists exist as a multi-generational, underground movement, controlled by a secret international organization.

Criminal Satanists, religious Satanists, teen-age dabblers in Satanism, psychotic killers, etc. are all different aspects of the same movement.

(Sometimes) other religious groups are perceived as being forms of Satanism. Wicca and Santeria are most often targeted in this way.

Some of these beliefs are seen in the article which is analyzed below.

Analysis of the article "Satanism and Crime:"

This article was published in POLICE magazine. ₂The author is Sgt. Craig Meissner, a member of the New York City Police Department. Some points raised in the article are listed below, with a brief description of reality:

Satanic crimes are a major challenge to law enforcement.

Some teenage dabblers engage in crimes that are minor in nature, and almost invariable involve minor acts of vandalism. But other "Satanic crimes" (i.e. criminal activities motivated by a belief in the Satanic religion) appear to be non-existent.

Some religious Satanists have undoubtedly engaged in criminal activity, just as Christians, Jews and Muslims have. But it is unreasonable to call any crime by a Satanist by the title "Satanic crime" just as it is unreasonable to call all crimes by Christians as "Christian crime."

The total number of Satanic cults is unknown.

By far the largest religious Satanic tradition is the Church of Satan. They do not release their membership numbers.

The term "cult" is not a useful term with which to describe any religious group. It has essentially lost its original meaning, and is now generally used as a general purpose snarl word used to denigrate groups. The most common meaning in the media is of a destructive, doomsday religious group that has led to loss of life among its members. None of these factors are found in Satanism.

The most common criminal acts by Satanists are: desecration of cemeteries, vandalism of churches, mutilation of animals, arson, ritual abuse, assault, murder, and use of illegal drugs.

Here, the author has linked religious Satanists with the minor trespassing and vandalism of teenage Satanic dabblers. The latter do occasionally desecrate and vandalize cemeteries and perhaps even churches. Very rarely, they have been known to mutilate and kill small animals. However, most animal mutilations in which Satanist perpetrators are suspected, are found to have been killed by non-human predators. Very rare instances of arson, ritual abuse, assault and murder have been done by people who claim to be Satanists. However, further investigations have shown that their prime motivation was their own mental illness, not their religion.

"Although intelligent, creative and possessing a highly developed sense of curiosity, they usually experience a high degree of stress, anxiety and fear."

Some studies have indicated that although many teenage dabblers enter Satanism with feelings of stress, etc., the religion helps them overcome these problems.

Satanists may suffer from underachievement, poor social skills, low self esteem.

Many if not most teenage dabblers n Satanism form social groups, often called temples or grottos, with other like minded youth. Again, some studies indicate that their involvement in Satanism improves their self esteem and social skills.

"Satanism fills a void in their lives."

This is commonly found in all religions. Youth are attracted to a religion because it gives them answers, allows them to fellowship with other believers, and (sometimes) gives them a deity to worship. This is true of Satanists, Christians and members other faiths.

Satanism promotes destructive behavior, and promotes teen rebellion.

Like other religions, Satanism may have positive or negative effect on a teen's life. It has motivated some teens to engage in acts of minor vandalism; it has motivated others to lead very ethical lives.

Satanists deny the existence of the Christian God.

All the great religions of the world, other than Christianity, deny the existence of the Christian Trinity. Satanism is no exception.

A few Satanists believe that "violence and service to Satan" will bring them money and power.

Here, the author has suddenly switched from discussing teenage dabblers to talking about Christian legends about nonexistent 16th century Satanists. We have been unable to find instances of ritual abuse, or murder that were associated with religious Satanism.

Some Satanists are obsessed with fantasy role-playing games (RPG) and heavy-metal rock music.

The author appears to have switched back to teenage Satanic dabblers again. Studies of RPG players indicate that they are above average in intelligence and creativity. We have not seen any studies which indicate a higher than normal involvement with RPGs among Satanic dabblers. Enjoyment of heavy-metal rock music is near universal among youth.

Possession of ritual tools, such as candles, robes, and knives may indicate Satanic involvement.

Candles, robes, an athame (double-edged ritual knife with a black handle) are far more likely to indicate involvement in Wicca than Satanism. Wiccans are far more numerous than are religious Satanists, outnumbering them by perhaps 30 to one.

Occult-related crimes...

The author has suddenly switched from Satanism to the Occult. He incorrectly assumes that all occult activities are Satanic. The "Occult" is simply a collection of religions, pastimes, men's fraternal organizations etc. which do not publicize their belief systems. Rather, they reveal their secrets only gradually to their trainees. They have little or nothing in common with each other. The Masonic order, Wicca, Satanism, and astrology are four examples of occult activities. Other parts of the occult are tea-cup reading, palm reading, Tarot cards, casting runes, etc. There is no linkage between occult activities and criminal actions. "Occult crime" does not exist any more than "Christian crime" or "Buddhist crime" or "stamp collecting crime."

Occult related crimes tend to occur on occult holidays.

The author lists the believer's birthday and 8 Wiccan Sabbats as Satanic holidays. He substituting Halloween for the Wiccan New Year celebration of Samhain.

Walpurgisnacht, is one of the three main Satanic holidays. However, the author appears unaware of this.

The remaining many dozens of activities that form the occult do not have any holidays associated with them (with the possible exception of the Masonic order; we do not know if they observe seasonal days of celebration).

Here, the author may be equating Wicca, (a reconstructed Pagan religion that is based in part on ancient Celtic beliefs, practices and symbols) with Satanism. This is incorrect. They are two very different, and essentially unrelated religions.

Suicides and homicides are often timed to occur on a Satanic holiday

Suicides have been committed by Satanists, just as they have by Christians and Buddhists. But investigations reveal that the cause of suicide is intense depression and emotional distress, not religion. We have never been able to detect evidence of a homicide motivated by religious Satanism.

Satanists hang crucifixes on the walls where they perform rituals. They use drop cloths to collect blood.

The crucifix is a Christian symbol and is not used by religious Satanists. The main Satanic symbol is a Baphomet - an inverted 5 pointed star inscribed with the head of a goat.

Christian authors who write anti-Satanic hate literature often believe the fables from the Renaissance period that Satanist rituals are parodies of Christian practices. With the exception of a few "black masses" conducted for their publicity value, Satanic rituals are totally unrelated to Christian rituals.

A very small percentage of Satanic dabblers do sacrifice a small animal, but this is very rare. A drop cloth would probably be useful in this instance.

The most important symbol for cult members is a 5, 9 or 13 ft. diameter circle drawn with "paint, flour, chalk or blood."

The word "cult" is a general-purpose snarl word used to discredit religious groups. We advocate that it never be used, except to refer to the very rare doomsday, destructive cults.

A 5 ft. diameter circle would be almost useless, except for rituals by a solitary practitioner.

A 9 ft. diameter circle is very common among Wiccans. The author may be confusing Wiccans and Satanists here.

The use of the number 13 may be related to the Renaissance myth that Satan worshipers organized covens of 13 individual. The story was that they ridiculed Christianity by having the same number of peoples in their groups as did Jesus and his 12 disciples.

Satanic ritual abuse includes carving symbols into the flesh of a victim, smearing a victim's blood over the perpetrators' bodies, dismemberment and removal of organs, forced ingestion of body fluids, ritual sacrifice, etc.

To our knowledge, some gang members have carved symbols into the flesh of their victims. Some murderers have dismembered bodies to avoid detection. Some psychotic individuals have removed organs from bodies, etc. But no religious Satanist has ever been charged or convicted of such a crime. The prosecution believed that the three teenagers charged in the Robin Hood Murders cited above were Satanists who engaged in mutilation and murder. However, recent evidence shows that they are innocent. As mentioned above, none were Satanists; one identified himself as a Wiccan; the other are Christians.

The investigator should look for pieces of paper or parchment on which pacts with the devil were written.

This fable formed part of the teachings of the Christian church during the Renaissance. It does not form part of religious Satanism.

Disturbed earth may indicate where victims were buried.

To our knowledge, no victim of ritual abuse, motivated by religious Satanism, has ever been found -- buried or not.

Investigators should look for a Book of Shadows at a Satanic crime scene.

A Book of Shadows is a tradition of Wicca and other Neopagan religions.

"...crimes associated with Satanic cults are committed by violent and unbalanced individuals."

There is an element of truth in this statement. Although Satanic-motivated crime committed by religious Satanists does not exist, some terrible crimes (including mass murder) have been done by psychotic individuals. Belief that they were controlled by Satan is often one element of their psychosis.

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Tread lightly, she is near,
Speak quietly, she can hear the daisy's grow.