#no affiliation with the satanic temple or the church of satan or any of that

[circumlocutoryconlanger]

honestly im such a silly billy (live manifestation of baphomet)

[the-devils-library]

The Satanic Bible, by Anton LaVey

Title: The Satanic Bible

Author: Anton Szandor LaVey

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Publishing Date: December 1, 1969 (First Edition)

ISBN-10: ‎0380015390

ISBN-13: 978-0380015399

Alright, let's start with the elephant in the room. This little book is often the only thing people read on Satanism, and for good reason - it made quite a splash when it was published.

Considered the foundational text of the Church of Satan and their specific style of atheistic Satanism (often called LaVeyan Satanism), The Satanic Bible is part philosophy, part religious teaching, and part magical instruction. LaVey is well known for his stance that humanity does not need God, and that believing in God (or Satan, for that matter) as real entities serves only to hold back our potential. However, LaVey argues that humanity does need religion, and that religion requires dogma and ceremony. The dogma and ceremony LaVey offers to the reader is based on one's own happiness and self-satisfaction, as opposed to the Christian values of self-sacrifice for the greater good. His Nine Satanic Statements, Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth, and Nine Satanic Sins are easy to read and understand, and seem to be the inspiration for other Satanist's lists of values, such as The Satanic Temple's Seven Fundamental Tenants.

LaVey embraces sexuality and indulgence, framing sexual energy as the best and most potent source of power for magical workings. Magic is described not as an appeal to a higher power but a seizing of one's own fate, aiming for success and happiness through the manipulation of the world around oneself. The practices he recommends are rooted in ceremonial magic, especially Enochian magic.

The Satanic Bible has had multiple editions and translations since its original publication and is widely available through most online book retailers, as well as sometimes being stocked in magical and metaphysical shops.

[DISCLAIMER: The Devil's Library is not affiliated with any of the previously mentioned groups or authors. It is an independent project by a single Satanist. Do not mistake my mentioning of an author or group as endorsement for their beliefs and practices.]

Beneath the cut you'll find my personal review and opinions on this book.

I've said before on this blog that I am not LaVeyan, and that's still true. While I greatly respect the concept of a non-theistic religion and I lift my glass to all those who work hard to form such religions, I prefer a theistic view of the world. On top of that, LaVey's philosophy does little for me. In truth I consider LaVey's work to not be particularly revolutionary in terms of philosophy. He was a self-admitted fan of Ayn Rand and his brand of Satanic individualism has oft been compared to Randian philosophy with a coat of occult paint slapped on top - I think that evaluation holds true. His magical system also strikes me as unoriginal, given he simply reworked the Enocheon keys. My overall evaluation of the man was that he was a lazy philosopher and a lazy magician, but a skilled showman, and that's how he pulled in as many followers and critics as he did. People were rejecting God and practicing ceremonial magic long before LaVey came along. He just cultivated a compelling aesthetic around it.

I think it's safe to say the book is a product of its time and creator. LaVey is both progressive and regressive, endorsing kink and queer sexuality while also objectifying women in his magical practice (LaVey is, as far as I can tell, the originator of the Satanic tradition of using a nude woman's body as an altar, and he makes a note that during ritual, men should wear robes, but women should dress scantily in order to titillate the men) and having some deep misunderstandings about asexuality. It's also not to be taken lightly that while as far as I'm aware, LaVey himself didn't profess to be a white supremacist, his fondness for Ayn Rand shows a fondness for fascism, he certainly rubbed elbows with white supremacists, and various individuals and groups that broke off from the original Church of Satan have been noted as having a range of Nazi-adjacent views and values, namely the Temple of Set. His list of "Satanic names" is also a very sloppily cobbled together list of names of any god, deity, or spirit who's ever been even slightly associated with negativity, utterly ripped from their cultural context and reduced to keywords that, I assume, LaVey expects the readers to either claim as names of their own or use in rituals. The list includes outright racist cultural appropriation, such as the inclusion of Kali's name, to ignorant misrepresentations of myth, such as calling Loki the "Teutonic devil." As always, I recommend referencing scholarly and culturally conscious resources when it comes to discussions of other religions and mythologies. Do not take a single writer with no credentials at face value.

That being said this is a book I generally recommend people read, with the added note that taking it entirely at face value and assuming it's the one true Satanic text is a mistake. The Satanic Bible is integral to our religious history at this point, but we need not cling to it as entirely or even mostly correct. It is also useful to be familiar with it when interacting with other Satanists, as it's possibly the most commonly read book in the entire religion, so like it or hate it, you probably should have some opinion on it.

[prismsanctuaryofficial]

Frequently Asked Questions

✨ What is the Prism Sanctuary?

We are the first "church" in the Prismatic faith which is an LGBTQIA+ focused religion that values the true self.

✨ What are members of The Prism Sanctuary called?

Followers of Prismatism are called Prismatists!

✨ What are the Seven Tenets?

Our tenets have been made to coincide with the colors of the rainbow flag

Red represents Life.

I am worthy, I have a right to dignity as a being. I choose my life.

Orange represents Healing

I am deserving of all forms of consensual love without fear of discrimination. Love is love. Love is healing.

Yellow represents Sunlight

I have the right to discover and accept myself and to take steps to present my true self to the world. I am the sunlight.

Green represents Nature

I have the right to the medical care I feel is needed, it is my choice. This includes the right to gender-affirming and reproductive medical care. I decide my nature.

Blue represents Harmony

I will seek to give compassion and empathy to all living things to the best of my ability. I seek Harmony.

Indigo represents Serenity

I will fight for the rights of myself and others to take a stand against injustice. It is my duty. Justice is my serenity.

Violet represents Spirit

I have the right to my bodily autonomy, I decide what is best for my body. I rule my spirit.

✨ Can I be a part of another religion and still join?

Yes! Prismatism is non exclusionary.

✨ Do you worship a deity?

No. We celebrate the love of your true self and your identity as a human being.

✨ Is there a statement of faith?

Yes! We believe like the emanations of light through a prism that we are all unique and beautiful beings worthy of love, self discovery and dignity.

✨ Is there a website where we can officially join the church?

Yes! Visit [https://prismaticlightchurch.org/](https://prismaticlightchurch.org/) and enter your name and email address. You should receive a certificate of membership soon. Don't worry, we won't spam your inbox!

✨ Are you affiliated with another religion?

No. We are an entire unique religion, separate to all others.

✨ How do I become ordained?

Ordination is in the works. Hopefully within the next few months this will be available.

✨ Can I start a local chapter in my state?

Eventually! First we need to get federally recognized as a religion and are working towards that now!

✨ How can I help?

We need publicity! Spread on social media and word of mouth. Make art! Help us make merchandise we can wear at Pride! There’s lots of ways to help us grow! Ask any staff member to become a volunteer!

✨ How is this different that The Satanic Temple?

We are more LGBT focused but do share a lot of similar ideas! Prismatism has transitioning as a sacred ritual.

✨ Where is church service held?

Service is held Saturday from 6pm-7pm central standard time on the sanctuary’s TikTok page

✨ Will you fundraise?

We have a donation link in the website and all donations will be used to create promotional material, start services for LGBT youth, and to cover any future legal fees. We also have a cashapp if that is easier: $churchPrismaticlight

✨ Is this more of a social community or is it a deeply religious/spiritual faith?

Prismatism is as religious/spiritual as you need it to be in your life. If you simply need a loving, supporting community then that is what it is. If you want to dive in an truly embrace the Tenets, then that is what it is.

✨ Will there ever be in person services?

We sure hope so! We’d love to be able to grow enough to have physical building where we could bring communities together and offer services and resources.

✨ Can I promote my GoFundMe within the community? Will the church publicly promote my GoFundMe?

Unfortunately at this time, we do not allow the self-promotion of GoFundMe (or similar) campaigns within this community. Nor will the church promote GoFundMe (or similar) campaigns on your behalf. It is our hope that this will change in the future, but for the time being we cannot allow it.

[lupinedreaming]

just as a side note, The Satanic Temple is not representative of satanism as a whole, or even the majority. They're a weird little fringe group. The vast majority of satanists are 1) normal 2) good people 3) not affiliated with TST, or even any group at all. I consider myself nondenominational because I don't subscribe to TST, the Church of Satan, or any other specific branch.

Hi there! :) I actually knew this stuff, but I haven’t mentioned that, so I can see why you would assume that I think most Satanists are associated with TST. My general perception of Satanists is that they overall seem like chill progressive folks

[dfroza]

A stand for the Message

“If we have to choose between obedience to God and obedience to any human authority, then we must obey God.”

the sharing of spiritual truth matters, even in the face of this world’s fear and intimidation.

Light cannot be quenched and eternal Love never ends…

(God is Love)

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 5th chapter of the book of Acts:

Once a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira fully cooperating, committed fraud. He sold some property and kept some of the proceeds, but he pretended to make a full donation to the Lord’s emissaries.

Peter: Ananias, have you allowed Satan to influence your lies to the Holy Spirit and hold back some of the money? Look, it was your property before you sold it, and the money was all yours after you sold it. Why have you concocted this scheme in your heart? You weren’t just lying to us; you were lying to God.

Ananias heard these words and immediately dropped to the ground, dead; fear overcame all those who heard of the incident. Some young men came, wrapped the body, and buried it immediately. About three hours had passed when Sapphira arrived. She had no idea what had happened.

Peter: Did you sell the land for such-and-such a price?

Sapphira: Yes, that was the price.

Peter: Why did the two of you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Do you hear those footsteps outside? Those are the young men who just buried your husband, and now they will carry you out as well.

She—like her husband—immediately fell dead at Peter’s feet. The young men came in and carried her corpse outside and buried it beside her husband. The whole church was terrified by this story, as were others who heard it.

Those were amazing days—with many signs and wonders being performed through the apostles among the people. The church would gather as a unified group in Solomon’s Porch, enjoying great respect by the people of the city—though most people wouldn’t risk publicly affiliating with them. Even so, record numbers of believers—both men and women—were added to the Lord. The church’s renown was so great that when Peter walked down the street, people would carry out their sick relatives hoping his shadow would fall on some of them as he passed. Even people from towns surrounding Jerusalem would come, bringing others who were sick or tormented by unclean spirits, all of whom were cured.

Of course, this popularity elicited a response: the high priest and his affiliates in the Sadducean party were jealous, so they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But that night, a messenger of the Lord opened the doors of the prison and led them to freedom.

Messenger of the Lord: Go to the temple, and stand up to tell the people the whole message about this way of life from Jesus.

At dawn they did as they were told; they returned to their teaching in the temple.

Meanwhile the council of Jewish elders was gathering—convened by the high priest and his colleagues. They sent the temple police to the prison to have the Lord’s emissaries brought for further examination; but of course, the temple police soon realized they weren’t there. They returned and reported,

Temple Police: The prison was secure and locked, and the guards were standing in front of the doors; but when we unlocked the doors, the cell was empty.

The captain of the temple police and the senior priests were completely mystified when they heard this. They had no idea what had happened. Just then, someone arrived with this news:

Temple Messenger: You know those men you put in prison last night? Well, they’re free. At this moment, they’re at it again, teaching our people in the temple!

The temple police—this time, accompanied by their captain—rushed over to the temple and brought the emissaries of the Lord to the council. They were careful not to use violence, because the people were so supportive of them that the police feared being stoned by the crowd if they were too rough. Once again the men stood before the council. The high priest began the questioning.

High Priest: Didn’t we give you strict orders to stop teaching in this name? But here you are, spreading your teaching throughout Jerusalem. And you are determined to blame us for this man’s death.

Peter and the Apostles: If we have to choose between obedience to God and obedience to any human authority, then we must obey God. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death. You killed Jesus by hanging Him on a tree, but God has lifted Him high, to God’s own right hand, as the Prince, as the Liberator. God intends to bring Israel to a radical rethinking of our lives and to a complete forgiveness of our sins. We are witnesses to these things. There is another witness, too—the Holy Spirit—whom God has given to all who choose to obey Him.

The council was furious and would have killed them; but Gamaliel, a Pharisee in the council respected as a teacher of the Hebrew Scriptures, stood up and ordered the men to be sent out so the council could confer privately.

Gamaliel: Fellow Jews, you need to act with great care in your treatment of these fellows. Remember when a man named Theudas rose to notoriety? He claimed to be somebody important, and he attracted about 400 followers. But when he was killed, his entire movement disintegrated and nothing came of it. After him came Judas, that Galilean fellow, at the time of the census. He also attracted a following; but when he died, his entire movement fell apart. So here’s my advice: in this case, just let these men go. Ignore them. If this is just another movement arising from human enthusiasm, it will die out soon enough. But then again, if God is in this, you won’t be able to stop it—unless, of course, you’re ready to fight against God!

The council was convinced, so they brought the apostles back in. They were flogged, again told not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released. As they left the council, they weren’t discouraged at all. In fact, they were filled with joy over being considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of His name. And constantly, whether in public, in the temple, or in their homes, they kept teaching and proclaiming Jesus as the Anointed One, the Liberating King.

The Book of Acts, Chapter 5 (The Voice)

A set of notes from The Voice translation:

In these formative days, God sends some strong messages about His work in the church: the power to heal, the beauty of life in the Spirit, and His hatred for arrogant religion. If God does not rebuke the married couple who chooses to make a show of their supposed generosity, then Christianity might drift in the wrong direction. While the Jewish leaders are using religion as a means to gain power and increase their reputations, the teachings of Jesus lead down a path toward the kingdom of God rather than toward human advancement. God chooses to expose these bad motives quickly, so that the church can give out of pure motives rather than out of a desire to appear righteous.

•

These emissaries of Jesus inspire us with their passion to serve Jesus and advance the gospel in the face of torture and abuse. After a night in prison and a public flogging, they moved forward with smiles on their faces. Believers in the Western church often enjoy the benefits of social and political power and are unwilling to suffer persecution for their faith as these men did. At the same time, many believers throughout the world face daily pressure to renounce their faith but choose boldly to remain faithful despite social, economic, and even physical persecution. These believers follow closely the path trodden by the Anointed One and His early followers.

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 28th chapter of the book of Isaiah about God dealing with deception:

Oh, it will be bad for you drunkards of Ephraim.

That once proud elegance of yours

Now droops and falls like a fading flower.

You leaders of the fertile valley are now drowning in your own wine.

Look well—the Eternal has called up one who is fierce and mighty.

Like a powerful hailstorm followed by destructive winds,

Like a storm that spawns devastating floods,

God’s agent will drive Ephraim down and smash him to earth.

Then the tarnished elegance of intoxicated Ephraim

will lie trampled in the dirt.

And the fading flower of its glorious beauty

that crowned Ephraim’s fertile valley

Will be snatched up and consumed as soon as someone sees it,

like the first ripened fig before summer.

In that day the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will be a beautiful crown,

a glorious diadem, for His people who survive.

He will be a spirit of justice to those who sit in judgment

and a source of strength to those who battle at the gate.

Ah, what contrast to the drunken and bumbling priests and prophets

who can’t even see straight, whose minds are addled,

Whose steps wobble, whose visions mislead,

whose judgments waver, because of all their drinking.

There’s vomit on all of the tables,

filth all over the place.

The priests and prophets mock:

“Who is left for God to instruct in knowledge?

Who will listen and understand His message?

Maybe those infants just weaned off of milk,

those innocents just taken from the breast?

For here is how it goes: Command after command. Command on top of command.

Rule after rule. Rule on top of rule. A little here, A little there.”

For now that God’s people reject His message,

He will speak to them through the stammering lips

And foreign language of an invader.

Eternal One: This is the way: here is rest for the weary.

I am showing you rest.

But they wouldn’t listen to Him.

And so the word of the Eternal One to them will be just as they said:

“Command after command. Command on top of command.

Rule after rule. Rule on top of rule. A little here, a little there.”

But they’ll go and fail. They’ll fall back, broken and trapped,

and be taken away by another people.

Let this be a warning, the Eternal’s word to you sarcastic jokesters,

you leaders in Jerusalem.

For you have made an audacious claim:

Leaders: We have made a pact with death; we’ve made a deal with the grave.

When the scourge of disease and doom comes our way, they won’t touch us.

Death and the grave will pass us by

for our fraud disguises us, and deception is our shield.

So the Lord, the Eternal, has this to say:

Eternal One: See here, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone—

a cornerstone, chosen and precious—for a firm foundation.

Whoever trusts in it will never be disgraced.

Justice will be the line by which I lay out its floor plan,

and righteousness will be My leveling tool.

A hailstorm will pulverize and wash away the fraud and deception behind which people hide,

and floodwaters will overrun their hiding place.

Then your pact with death and the grave will be annulled.

When the scourge that you fear comes along,

It will find you and pummel you down.

Whenever it does come your way, it will grab you.

It could be anytime—morning, noon, or night.

To fathom its message will be sheer terror.

The bed is too short to stretch out and the blanket is too small

for you to hide in or pretend you are not here.

For the Eternal will stand as He did at Mount Perazim

and shake it all up as He did in Gibeon Valley,

To accomplish whatever it is that God wills to accomplish—

strange deeds indeed.

So don’t keep laughing it off,

or your chains will be made even stronger.

For I heard from the Lord, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,

that an absolute end has been determined for the whole earth.

Pay attention! Listen well;

take care to hear my words.

Does a farmer constantly plow and turn the soil to plant his seed?

No, of course not.

When he’s leveled and tilled the soil,

doesn’t he plant each seed according to its specifications?

He scatters the dill, sows the cummin, plants the wheat in rows,

puts barley and spelt where they grow best.

God instructs and directs the farmer

in how best to manage the land.

For dill isn’t threshed with a sledge,

and you don’t roll a cart over the cummin.

Dill is properly beaten free with one kind of stick,

and cummin with another.

Similarly, you have to grind grain to have flour for bread,

but you don’t grind it endlessly.

When the wheel on the cart and the horses go over the grain,

you must be careful not to crush it.

The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies,

is the source of such wisdom.

His advice is wonderful.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 28 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, july 24 of 2023 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about True “rest”:

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Yeshua calls out to the exhausted, the careworn, the tired of heart, the downcast, yea, to all those who often feel like they can't go on. He looks to those weighed down with troubles, sorrows, and the pains of this world. His invitation is for the "poor in spirit" - to those sick of themselves, to those unable to do anything and who are in need of everything. He seeks the impoverished, the leper, the outcast....

Yeshua turns to the paralytic, to one carried by the dust of death before God, powerless, forlorn, and broken. And this is the first movement of the Spirit, when in desperation the heart awakens from its delusions and realizes its great need (Luke 15:14). And it is there - in the midst of this brokenness, when the soul, reaching deep for its last gasp, encounters God, the one who calls us to deliverance, newness of life, and life beyond the power of death. The cross of Yeshua is the place where death and eternal life meet; it is the place of being "lifted up" (John 12:32). "If any one thirst, let them come to me, and drink" (John 7:37).

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Psalm 107:9 Hebrew reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm107-9-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page pdf:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm107-9-lesson.pdf

7.21.23 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

What truly matters is humbling oneself before God.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

July 24, 2023

Water and Spirit Conversion

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

John 3:16, the most quoted Bible verse in history, is declared by our Lord Jesus Christ at a private meeting with Nicodemus, a “ruler of the Jews” (John 3:1) who was a key member of the Pharisees (John 7:47-50). If you only focus on the famous words “for God so loved the world,” the rich color of our Lord’s point is entirely missed. Nicodemus also missed Christ’s point, asking, “How can these things be?” (John 3:9). The great prophet Ezekiel has the answer: “For I will take you [future restored Israel]…[and] sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean….A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit….and [I will] cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:24-27).

Having New Covenant implications with Israel’s future conversion, this passage clearly describes anyone in the kingdom who repents and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. In fact, unless the Lord transforms our hardened hearts, we cannot be in His kingdom. The water and Spirit point to the hidden work of the Holy Spirit (who’s like the blowing wind, John 3:8) in producing cleansed and renewed hearts (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5).

After Nicodemus asked, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). That evening, Nicodemus walked away undecided and unchanged. What’s your response to our Lord’s urgent call? CM

[queersatanic]

Devil's Advocate: TST sides with Church Militant

The Satanic Temple chooses to support anti-gay, ultra-conservative Catholic group in court battle

The Satanic Temple (Inc.) recently filed an amicus brief in support of St. Michael's Media Inc., otherwise known as "Church Militant". Wonder who that might be. Journalist Robert Allen, then of Detroit Free Press, please tell us.

Oh neat. They really hate gays and abortion.

(We had missed this one; h/t to @cwdefllc)

Church Militant broadcasts pro-life, anti-gay, anti-feminist, Islam-fearing, human-caused-climate-change-denying orthodox Catholic news on its website churchmiltant.com and through social media using high-tech, professional production studios that rival those at local TV news stations. It has 35 full-time employees (and is hiring more) who publish about 10 stories and three videos every weekday. Its leader, Michael Voris, has compared Trump with Constantine, the Roman emperor whom he says was "not a moral man" but a "power-hungry egomaniac," but who saw it desirable to end the persecution of Christians. He was a human vessel who elevated Catholicism to the state religion, Voris said.

...

Many of Church Militant's headlines are similar to those on Breitbart News, the far-right news organization that White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon previously ran. Many of Breitbart's articles are cited on the Church Militant website. But unlike Breitbart, Church Militant is under a Christian, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It's not affiliated with the Catholic Church, which has taken action to distance itself from Church Militant. And Voris said he doesn't think his organization's political statements are violating what he calls the "stupid" restriction on political campaign intervention for tax exemption from the Internal Revenue Service. Church and state have long been linked in this country, he said, and the combination of social media and Trump in the White House have altered the notion of mainstream media. "The entire established order has been thrown up into the air," Voris said. "What we say now has some credence. We're allowed into the discussion." Among the headlined stories on churchmiltant.com Friday were: "Bombshell: Priest at forefront of pushing birth control in Canada admits gay lifestyle," "Dismantling Obama's legacy," and "72 terrorists come to U.S. from seven banned Muslim-majority countries."

Now, given all the things there are to do in the world, why would The Satanic Temple give one of its limited number of fucks on something like this? Wouldn't you know it, Church Militant is represented by none other than lil ol' "free speech* lover" Marc Randazza.

Have we written about Marc Randazza before? We have. The most famous example of The Satanic Temple's collaboration with him was 2018, leading to the Great Schism that saw TST's most prominent local groups walk away then.

But for an explanation of why utilizing some lawyer in particular might matter to The Satanic Temple's leftist and otherwise antifascist members, please do read any of journalist Luke O'Brien's pieces on Marc Randazza

Anyway, here's the lower court docket.

And here is TST's amicus brief:

Feel free to read for yourself. (And to pester @RECAPtheLaw about getting an appeals court extension; until then, thanks again @cwdefllc).

Now, we know what The Satanic Temple will say: they just love free speech so much.

But ain't it funny how once again they're on the side of the likes of Randazza and Milo Yiannopoulus, as well as Donald Trump and Steve Bannon?

St. Michael's Media successfully signed a contract with a city vendor Thursday, hours after the appeals court announced its decision, according to the media outlet's attorney, Marc Randazza. "Baltimore hopefully learned a lesson in First Amendment law that its taxpayers now have to pay for," Randazza told the AP. St. Michael's has said its rally will include speeches by former President Donald Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos.

Ain't it funny how—despite claiming they just HAD to accept the pro bono help of Marc Randazza—they tried to raise $50,000(!!) for that same cause?

That's the same one where TST co-founder and owner Lucien Greaves compares himself to Laura Loomer and Richard Spencer, by the way.

Speaking of pro bono, presumably Matthew Kezahaya and his team didn't file this amicus brief for free. How much money did The Satanic Temple put in legal fees toward defending ultraconservative Catholic dominionists?

Surely that's an answerable question.

Pure principle and random chance that this keeps happening, huh?

Maybe Lucien Greaves will again claim he didn't bother to learn the views or circumstances behind his and Cevin Soling's decision to align with the interests of the ultra-right again That's what Lucien Greaves says about August Invictus being disinvited from a speaking panel (for inviting people to stab him at it)

By coincidence, August Sol Invictus is also a violent Neo-Nazi Satanist.

Also note the mention of The Satanic Temple's first "high priest" Brian Werner in that archived link.

Wonder why TST doesn't talk so much anymore about this guy who says he'd been close friends with Lucien Greaves for years?

"I'm not a fascist. I'm just willfully and repeatedly ignorant and constantly align myself with the interests of literal fascists" is certainly a defense Lucien Greaves could make. But at some point, it becomes a distinction without a difference, doesn't it? In any case, lovers of free speech that The Satanic Temple are, TST continues to sue us in federal court and still claim slander despite a judge disagreeing on explicitly First Amendment grounds. If you've learned anything new from this thread, please toss us a few bucks.

At the end we're left with two questions:

how many more amicus briefs in support of reactionaries like this are out there that The Satanic Temple isn't telling anyone about?

how much has it cost TST (or more really, their donors)?

[tipsycad147]

Wicca

During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft in English-speaking and European countries began to increase, inspired particularly by Margaret Murray's theory of a pan-European witch-cult originally published in 1921, since discredited by further careful historical research Interest was intensified, however, by Gerald Gardner's claim in 1954 in Witchcraft Today that a form of witchcraft still existed in England. The truth of Gardner's claim is now disputed too.

The first Neopagan groups to publicly appear, during the 1950s and 60s, were Gerald Gardner's Bricket Wood coven and Roy Bowers' Clan of Tubal Cain. They operated as initiatory secret societies. Other individual practitioners and writers such as Paul Huson also claimed inheritance to surviving traditions of witchcraft.

The Wicca that Gardner initially taught was a witchcraft religion having a lot in common with Margaret Murray's hypothetically posited cult of the 1920s. Indeed, Murray wrote an introduction to Gardner's Witchcraft Today, in effect putting her stamp of approval on it. Wicca is now practised as a religion of an initiatory secret society nature with positive ethical principles, organised into autonomous covens and led by a High Priesthood. There is also a large "Eclectic Wiccan" movement of individuals and groups who share key Wiccan beliefs but have no initiatory connection or affiliation with traditional Wicca. Wiccan writings and ritual show borrowings from a number of sources including 19th and 20th-century ceremonial magic, the medieval grimoire known as the Key of Solomon, Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis and pre-Christian religions Right now there are just over 200,000 people who practice Wicca in the United States

Witchcraft, feminism, and media

Wiccan and Neo-Wiccan literature has been described as aiding the empowerment of young women through its lively portrayal of female protagonists. Part of the recent growth in Neo-Pagan religions has been attributed to the strong media presence of fictional works such as Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Harry Potter series with their depictions of pop culture, "positive witchcraft", which differs from the historical, traditional, and Indigenous definitions. Based on a mass media case study done, "Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches", in the result of the case study it was stated the reasons many young people are choosing to self-identify as witches and belong to groups they define as practicing witchcraft is diverse; however, the use of pop culture witchcraft in various media platforms can be the spark of interest for young people to see themselves as "witches". Widespread accessibility to related material through internet media such as chat rooms and forums is also thought to be driving this development. Which is dependent on one's accessibility to those media resources and material to influence their thoughts and views on religion

Wiccan beliefs, or pop culture variations thereof, are often considered by adherents to be compatible with liberal ideals such as the Green movement, and particularly with some varieties of feminism, by providing young women with what they see as a means for self-empowerment, control of their own lives, and potentially a way of influencing the world around them. This is the case particularly in North America due to the strong presence of feminist ideals in some branches of the Neopagan communities The 2002 study Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco suggests that some branches of Wicca include influential members of the second wave of feminism, which has also been redefined as a religious movement.

Traditional witchcraft

Traditional witchcraft is a term used to refer to a variety of contemporary forms of witchcraft. Pagan studies scholar Ethan Doyle White described it as "a broad movement of aligned magico-religious groups who reject any relation to Gardnerianism and the wider Wiccan movement, claiming older, more "traditional" roots. Although typically united by a shared aesthetic rooted in European folklore, the Traditional Craft contains within its ranks a rich and varied array of occult groups, from those who follow a contemporary Pagan path that is suspiciously similar to Wicca to those who adhere to Luciferianism".  According to British Traditional Witch Michael Howard, the term refers to "any non-Gardnerian, non-Alexandrian, non-Wiccan or pre-modern form of the Craft, especially if it has been inspired by historical forms of witchcraft and folk magic". Another definition was offered by Daniel A. Schulke, the current Magister of the Cultus Sabbati, when he proclaimed that traditional witchcraft "refers to a coterie of initiatory lineages of ritual magic, spellcraft and devotional mysticism". Some forms of traditional witchcraft are the Feri Tradition, Cochrane's Craft and the Sabbatic craft.

Stregheria

Modern Stregheria closely resembles Charles Leland's controversial late-19th-century account of a surviving Italian religion of witchcraft, worshipping the Goddess Diana, her brother Dianus/Lucifer, and their daughter Aradia. Leland's witches do not see Lucifer as the evil Satan that Christians see, but a benevolent god of the Sun.

The ritual format of contemporary Stregheria is roughly similar to that of other Neopagan witchcraft religions such as Wicca. The pentagram is the most common symbol of religious identity. Most followers celebrate a series of eight festivals equivalent to the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, though others follow the ancient Roman festivals. An emphasis is placed on ancestor worship and balance

Contemporary witchcraft, Satanism and Luciferianism

Modern witchcraft considers Satanism to be the "dark side of Christianity" rather than a branch of Wicca: the character of Satan referenced in Satanism exists only in the theology of the three Abrahamic religions, and Satanism arose as, and occupies the role of, a rebellious counterpart to Christianity, in which all is permitted and the self is central. (Christianity can be characterized as having the diametrically opposite views to these.) Such beliefs become more visibly expressed in Europe after the Enlightenment, when works such as Milton's Paradise Lost were described anew by romantics who suggested that they presented the biblical Satan as an allegory representing crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom and enlightenment; a few works from that time also begin to directly present Satan in a less negative light, such as Letters from the Earth. The two major trends are theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism; the former venerates Satan as a supernatural patriarchal deity, while the latter views Satan as merely a symbolic embodiment of certain human traits.

Organized groups began to emerge in the mid 20th century, including the Ophite Cultus Satanas (1948)  and The Church of Satan (1966). After seeing Margaret Murray's book The God of the Witches, the leader of Ophite Cultus Satanas, Herbert Arthur Sloane, said he realized that the horned god was Satan (Sathanas). Sloane also corresponded with his contemporary Gerald Gardner, founder of the Wiccan religion, and implied that his views of Satan and the horned god were not necessarily in conflict with Gardner's approach. However, he did believe that, while "gnosis" referred to knowledge, and "Wicca" referred to wisdom, modern witches had fallen away from the true knowledge, and instead had begun worshipping a fertility god, a reflection of the creator god. He wrote that "the largest existing body of witches who are true Satanists would be the Yezedees". Sloane highly recommended the book The Gnostic Religion, and sections of it were sometimes read at ceremonies. The Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey in 1966,views Satan not as a literal god, but merely a symbol. Still, this organization does believe in magic and incorporates it in their practice, distinguishing between Lesser and Greater forms.

The Satanic Temple, founded in 2013, does not practice magic as a part of their religion. They state "beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world," and the practice of magic does not fit into their belief as such. It was estimated that there were up to 100,000 Satanists worldwide by 2006, twice the number estimated in 1990.[ Satanistic beliefs have been largely permitted as a valid expression of religious belief in the West. For example, they were allowed in the British Royal Navy in 2004,  and an appeal was considered in 2005 for religious status as a right of prisoners by the Supreme Court of the United States. Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon, although it began to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s around the time of the fall of the Soviet Union.

Luciferianism, on the other hand, is a belief system and does not revere the devil figure or most characteristics typically affixed to Satan. Rather, Lucifer in this context is seen as one of many morning stars, a symbol of enlightenment,  independence and human progression. Madeline Montalban was an English witch who adhered to a specific form of Luciferianism which revolved around the veneration of Lucifer, or Lumiel, whom she considered to be a benevolent angelic being who had aided humanity's development. Within her Order, she emphasised that her followers discover their own personal relationship with the angelic beings, including Lumiel Although initially seeming favourable to Gerald Gardner, by the mid-1960s she had become hostile towards him and his Gardnerian tradition, considering him to be "a 'dirty old man' and sexual pervert."  She also expressed hostility to another prominent Pagan Witch of the period, Charles Cardell, although in the 1960s became friends with the two Witches at the forefront of the Alexandrian Wiccan tradition, Alex Sanders and his wife, Maxine Sanders, who adopted some of her Luciferian angelic practices.  In contemporary times luciferian witches exist within traditional witchcraft

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Witchcraft

[godsporncollection]

Sunday GC Sessions Summary

(long version) (personal commentary in parenthesis)

M Russell Ballard

List of how the second coming is described followed by a huge list of the very obvious things wrong with the world right now. 

We pray for you. 

Remember to pray. Pray lots, and for lots of people, because the leaders of the world need divine inspiration. 

Quotes the lord's prayer. 

Pray for everyone, even people you don't like. 

(Do deaf people sign their prayers, when praying alone? What about when they pray in small, maybe family, groups?) 

Prayer will help us by making feel better. 

Pray everywhere you go. 

Personal story of being in pain from a surgery on the hand; prayer helped the pain.

Lisa L Harkness

Story of a child jumping into a lake and feeling she needed help, even though she was safe. Sometimes we do this too, because we can't see that we are safe with god. 

Biblical story of JC falling asleep in the boat that entered a storm and the disciples got scared and asked him to save them. 

Recent events can leave us feeling lost and afraid, but we should have faith in god.

Ulisses Soares

Seek JC in every thought and follow him with all our heart. 

Metaphor of magnet + metal object. Magnetic force holds objects tightly, but looses that power when the object is far away. 

Temptation will fade when we continue to resist it. 

JC told JS when in prison "let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men and women, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughths unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of god. The holy ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth." 

If you fall into temptation, there is hope. 

Story of friend who fell into temptation. He was sad. 

Prodigal son story.

Carlos A Godoy

I believe in angels. They're important. Some are here on earth. I'm gonna talk about those. 

I converted at 16, after two angels (sister missionaries) introduced me to the gospel at a church activity. 

I met another angel at youth conference. Her squad became my squad. 

Then I met two other angels; my seminary teacher and young men president. 

"Thanks to all these angels and many others I encountered during those important early years, I received enough srength to remain on the covenant path as I gained a spiritual witness of the truth." 

"Please, please do not give up on your efforts to be part of this big family. It is the true church of JC. When it comes to your happiness and salvation, it is always worth the effort to keep trying. It is worth the effort to adjust your lifestyle and traditions. The lord is aware of the challenges you face. He knows you, he loves you, and I promise he will send angels to help you."

Neil L Andersen

Jc's resume. 

"A recent study revealed that in the last 10 years, 30 million people in the US have stepped away from believing in the divinity of JC. Looking worldwide, another study predicts that in the decades ahead, more than twice as many will leave christianity than those who will embrace it." 

Use the correct name of the church and talk about JC more. We have to talk more about JC because the world is talking about him less.

Russell M Nelson

'Israel' means 'let god prevail'. 

Israel's descendants stoned the prophets. (...) 

My grandkid's wife was sad that her father was dying, but I told her she was being near-sighted. She felt better after looking at the big picture of god's plan. 

I greive for black people. 

(I can't listen to any more of this asshole, sorry.)

AFTERNOON SESSION 

Henry B Eyring

"My hope is to give encouragement when life seems especially difficult and uncertain. For some of you, that time is now. If not, such a time will come." 

Personal story of pulling weeds as a child and the frustration of the weeds breaking instead of coming out. Mother said "oh, Hal, of course it's hard; it's supposed to be. Life is a test." 

Story of us choosing to come to earth and satan disagreeing and getting followers. "Now, he tries to cause as many as he can to turn away from god during this mortal life." In the spirit world, we must have decided that whatever hardships we were going to face, "the forces of good would be overwhelmingly greater." 

Two quotes that say that god will be with us, and will help us, even in our darkest hours. 

God occasionally shows me the next couple of steps, but never a glimpse of the far future. 

Also, we need to help others. 

Another story of mother, who "all her life, she felt effects of the trials of illness. In her last 10 years of life, she required multiple operations. But through all, she proved faithful to the lord." "The last speaker [at her funeral] was elder Spencer W Kimball. After saying something of her trials and her faithfulness, he said essentially this: 'some of you may wonder why Mildred had to suffer so much and so long. I will tell you why. It was because the lord wanted to polish her a little more."

Jeremy R Jaggi

My youngest brother died two years ago. "We found comfort in the words of elder Neil L Anderson in general conference the week before Chad died: 'In the crucible of earthly trials, patiently move forward, and the savior's healing power will bring you light, understanding, peace, and hope.'" We'll be with him again, but losing him hurt. 

James 1:2. 

We thought 2020 would be all joy. Shit happened, but we're determined to see joy in this year anyway. 

Chapter 6 of 'Preach My Gospel'. 

"Blessed are the meek (etc)". 

Many unsourced quotes saying that the more you seek/follow/believe in JC, the happier you will be. 

Daughter, Emma, is a missionary. "[Emma] asked us to connect [online] with friends she was teaching [in the Netherlands]... We invited them to join our weekly online... study... All have become our friends." They've all converted. 

Nelson recently said "Voluntary fast offerings from our members have increased, as well as voluntary contributions to our humanitarian funds." 

"My brother Chad's passing came just a few months after our release from presiding over the Utah Ogden mission... Of all the 417 missions we could have been assigned to, we were assigned to... a 30-minute drive to Chad's home. Chad's cancer was diagnosed after we received our mission assignment. Even in the most trying circumstance, we knew that our heavenly father was mindful of us."

Gary E Stevenson

I was serving a mission in Japan. Kimball was speaking in Tokyo. I wanted to go. It was a long commute, so the mission president said no, but the rest of the branch went, so we were alone. Kimball announced a temple in Tokyo. I was disappointed to miss it. 

This is like the even deeper disappointment people today experience due to covid. 

How do we move forward? Consider the first verse of the BoM. 

Wife and I met online with many missionaries who still managed to do lots of ministering, despite covid restrictions. 

Think of "JS, languishing in Liberty Jail, feeling abandoned and forsaken, then hearing the words of the lord: 'these things shall be for thy good' and 'god shall be with you forever.'" 

"We, too, can draw parallels, as individual members and as a church, in the way in which we have been highly favored of the lord during the challenging times we have encountered during the past several months." 

"Let [these examples] strengthen your testimony of the seership of our living prophet, who prepared us with adjustments before any hint of a pandemic, enabling us to endure the challenges that have come." 

List of ways that we have been told to prepare. 

Story of a young woman who was just barely able to go to the temple right before leaving for her mission.

Milton Da Rocha Camargo

Gave his entire backstory before getting around to the topic: prayer. 

"An important part of heavenly father's plan is the opportunity to communicate with him anytime we want." 

"Every one that asketh, receiveth (etc)." 

"Recording our impressions is an important part of receiving. It helps us recall, review, and re-feel what the lord is teaching us." 

I like it when I have strong feelings after praying, but, more often, we're likely to hear the "still, small voice of the lord whispering to our mind and heart, 'I am here. I love you.'" 

"Revelation often comes when we are in the act of doing good."

Dale G Renlund

Can I be a better person? 

And "how can I, as a flawed person, qualify to 'dwell with god in a state of never-ending happiness'?" 

"Good deeds are not sufficient. Salvation is not earned... Left to our own devices, the prospect of returning to live in god's presence is hopeless. Without the blessings that come from heavenly father and JC, we can never do enough or be enough by ourselves... Because of and through JC, we can become enough." 

"We can be redeemed and stand clean and pure before god" by the ordinances of the gospel. 

"Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy god." 

*Jewish appropriation* 

Story of someone who had to remind someone "Dr. Jones, you became a physician to care for people and work to heal them. You didn't become a physician to judge them [on a self-infilcted wound]. If you don't understand the difference, you have no right to train at [Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD]." 

Don't think you're above others. 

"To be christlike, a person loves mercy... gracious, kind and honorable. These individuals treat everyone with love and understanding, regardless of characteristics such as race, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and tribal, clan, or national differences."

Kelly R Johnson

Story of daughter who set the microwave to cook [instead of timer] for 30 min. It caught on fire. This is because microwaves need something in them to absorb the energy. 

"Our entire microwave went up in flames and burned because there was nothing on the inside. Likewise, those who have faith and the word of god deep in their hearts will be able to absorb and overcome the fiery darts which the adversary will surely send to destroy us." 

(As someone raised with a fire extiniguisher in the kichen, I feel the sudden urge to suggest this to anyone with children) 

(I have no idea what else he said because he used the word 'power' 34 times in his short talk, and it lost all meaning)

Jeffrey R Holland

Covid sucks and it's going on too long. 

We want to know when our struggles will be over. 

I'm now speaking about "those who would like to be married and aren't or who are married and with their marriage were a little more celestial. I speak of those who have to deal with the unwanted appearance of a serious medical condition, perhaps an uncurable one. Or face a life long battle with a genetic defect that has no remedy. I speak of the continuing struggle with emotional and mental health challenges that weigh heavily on the souls of so many who suffer with them and on the hearts of those who suffer with them. I speak of the poor, whom the savior told us never to forget. I speak of you, waiting for the return of a child no matter what the age, who has chosen a path different from the one you prayed he or she would take." Plus economic, political,and social concerns. 

Your prayers "are heard and they are answered, though perhaps not at the time or in the way that we wanted." They'll be answered when and how god thinks they should be. 

We shouldn't ask for a stress-free life; struggles make us worthy to live with god.

Russell M Nelson

"We live in a glorious age, foreseen by prophets for centuries... Despite the world's commotion, the lord would have us look toward the future with joyful anticipation... The gathering of Israel moves forward. The lord JC directs the affairs of his church and it will achieve it's divine objectives. The challenge for you and me is to make certain that each of us will achieve his or her divine potential." 

Let JC be your 'new normal' by "repenting daily. Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed. Minister to others. Keep an eternal perspective. Magnify your callings. And... live each day so that you are more prepared to meet your maker." 

Six new temples: Tarawa, Kiribati; Port Vila, Vanuato; Lindon, Utah; Greater Guatamala; Sao Paulo East, Brazil; and Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

[swanwinged-princess]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame owo

@wouldhope// Disney Headcanon Meme

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - What is your muse’s religious beliefs? Have they ever experienced oppression at the hands of religion?

//Ok well FIRST of all

//And also this is;;; probably gonna be long;;; made twice as long because i’m gonna do one for standard!tutu (the one where she’s basically swan jesus) and one for verses/aus where she’s… at least a LITTLE bit more normal (see: her dad’s not a LITERAL DEITY)

I’m actually gonna start off with the latter here bc i think the former is probably gonna be longer anyway SO

(continues under cut)

In verses/aus where Tutu’s father isn’t a literal, actual spirit/deity/entity/god/what-have-ye (BNHA/affiliated spinoffs; duckverse/anthro/etc.; wizarding world; etc.):

She is… SOMEWHAT religious; definitely not overly so (see: not an asshole about it) but believes in angels/miracles/god/heaven and-or the afterlife. Definitely christianity-adjacent but not any particular type of christianity; possibly believes in hell/purgatory/some sort of punishment system after death but doesn’t really like to think about it, and her qualifications for GETTING there are stuff like, say, ‘committing many horrible murders’ or ‘being an unapologetic bigot’ as opposed to ‘not believing in jesus’ or ‘enjoying having sex’ or whatever.

 She doesn’t really even, say, go to church regularly (she’s heckin BUSY come on), but does enjoy being IN church, especially alone; it’s like a bit of a meditation for her/helps her clear her head and feel closer to god/spirituality/the universe/heaven/her mom.

She also prays pretty much every day- specifically once in the morning and at night- but also prays informally whenever she feels the need, and probably wouldn’t own much religious iconography besides maybe a few cross necklaces– you know, small, tasteful, very expensive; delicate, real silver or gold, maybe a single pearl right in the middle of the cross but that’s about it.

Whereas on the OTHER hand

//HOO BOY//

In main verse and associated, she’s… um.

Ok, so the Swan King may not technically be an actual GOD per se, but, well… He’s close. And people DO worship him. Not as many as there used to be, but they’re still there, and generally speaking basically everybody in the kingdom and round abouts that area observe it (swanianism or something idk) at least casually, by at least saying ‘swansdown’ and ‘swanfeathers’ and ‘by the swan’ instead of, for example, ‘oh my god’. 

There’s, like, one official church, with stained glass and pews and everything, where all the high-class weddings and funerals and etc. get held there, but there aren’t really any ‘priests’ and they don’t really hold services. 

There are lots and lots of old swan statues all over the area from centuries back, and while some of them got moved onto the tops of buildings/in fountains/ended up centers of various village squares, a lot of them had sort of… had temples built around them over the years- it just sorta happened- and that’s mainly where the average people observe their worship. 

Also, the Schwanensee royal family featured pretty largely in the theology, being sort of… the same thing as saints in Catholicism; whenever anybody was born/died on the sacred island a messenger dove got sent over to the mainland and there was an announcement made about it to the village. The sacred island/lake wasn’t really thought of as a real place- it was more like if you could see heaven a little bit from a high window, or if you climbed a really tall tree.

So when the island was basically burned to the ground and almost all the royal family was killed, it was… um….. 

Kind of a big fuckin’ deal.

When Tutu was rescued from the ruins, and everybody saw her, and everybody knew who she was, it was an even bigger deal. Everybody, in unison, basically decided that this tiny, traumatized, soot-covered, gray-feathered 6-year-old was the chosen one who was going to save them from everything from minor disagreements to, y’know, being ripped apart alive/having your heart and emotions pulled out and eaten by flocks of devil birds. 

People even started… worshipping her.

After the initial adjustment period, she actually handled it pretty well; at least externally. Of course, anyone who knows anything about actually being royalty knows that the whole trick is to be royal on the outside and a cobbled-together mess sustained by stress like that physics thing where you hold up a legless table by strings and the buckets of water on it, but as she got older she actually managed to get more of a handle on it. 

All in all, she’s… 

I mean, she’s more or less got it. Apart from sudden attacks of crippling, soul-crushing anxiety. But she really, really, really wishes that people would stop, or at least give the whole actually worshipping her a rest a little. Generally speaking, everybody in the kingdom (or at least in the castle village) does genuinely like her, but sometimes she gets people who want to, like, kneel at her, or try to touch her dress/feathers as she walks past, and when she tries to talk to them they start flinching away and holding up their little carved swan amulet necklaces like they think it’ll protect them and she’s just like dad dammit i am trying to be friendly do i have to say ‘be not afraid’ or something every time i go up to introduce myself to someone???

But yeah, generally speaking it’s not really a problem from the swan-leaning side. Where it starts going wrong is the raven-leaning side.

The swan-leaning people are all in all, y’know, normal fucking people, and their religion-worship-belief-etc. only ever gets to obnoxious-christianity levels. 

But the raven-leaning people can generally be qualified altogether as a crazy ransacking-and-pillaging murder cult.

 And they actually have backup from real, actual infernal blood magic demon stuff, a seemingly infinite supply of flocks of murderbirds and various and sundry quirky miniboss squad-types, whereas the normal people really only have Tutu and, allegedly, the faerie folk (those affiliated with the Lilac Fairy/Queen, at least) but they haven’t been seen in generations so it’s really anyone’s guess on that. 

They do a lot of, you know, general murder and mayhem- or at least they did, but the last really big thing they managed to pull off was the massacre on the sacred island, and technically speaking they actually failed to complete their objective because Queen Leda put Tutu to sleep with some ~magic~ and hid her in the hollow base of a swan statue in the middle of a rose thicket, which, by some sort of ‘coincidence’, didn’t seem to catch fire very much, and they were all too drunk on moonshine and bloodlust, and generally crazy and stupid, to actually look further for any survivors when everything was on fire and there were crows everywhere and they just sort of decided ‘yeah that’s it let’s go home’ and fucked off. 

At the current time, most of them aren’t actually too much of a threat because most of them are the stupid crazy ~3edgy5me~ idiot types– y’know, the kind who’d, say, march around waving factory-produced tiki torches at night and demand a police escort if they’re gonna be shouting in the general vicinity of a pride event because they’re ‘fearful of their safety :’(’ 

so, like, nowadays they’re really only like Team Rocket-level nuisances on a day-to-day basis because the kingdom had learned from their history and swore in a lot more ‘guards’ and ‘knights’- enough to mostly keep the peace in pretty much every town unless things get really, really bad. 

Uuuunfortunately, it’s not just idiots who want to wear black cloaks with pointy hoods to look like beaks and wave big curved swords around– i mean, it’s MOSTLY that, but also a lot of very smart, very greedy, bored, evil, and/or scheming people end up gravitating towards anything that’ll give them a lot of dumb people who they can tell what to do. 

So occasionally- very occasionally- they actually do something that’s… actually impactful, and everybody who gets out of it in one piece talks about how fucked up that was and ‘curse those raven bastards’ and etc. etc., but the crowmen (as they’re informally known) are also surprisingly good at apparently vanishing without a trace so it’s hard to catch them or do anything really constructive about the problem as a whole. 

Weeellllll, okay, ADMITTEDLY a few various gangs of them HAVE managed, by coincidence or the type of brief narrative luck that dumb people like that seem to have sometimes, to briefly kidnap Tutu, but she either gets rescued very quickly OR escapes by herself while they’re arguing with each other about HOW to kill her, WHETHER to kill her, and what the prospects of killing her now or maybe ransoming her and then killing her LATER would be, or they all sort of trip over their own and each other’s feet, cloaks, and swords and blunder their way into harmlessness in one way or another. 

TL;DR Tutu sort of... IS a part of her religion like how Jesus is a part of Christianity/associates and all things considered she’s handling it pretty well. Her entire family was murdered by basically a crazy satanic cult who still run around causing problems, but not as much as they used to, so.... Does that count as religious oppression???

[betterthedevilyouknowuk]

Blog announcement!!

With the world of Satanism growing substantially, we thought it best to inform you (our followers) that our blog and the group 'Friends of The Satanic Temple UK' are not affiliated with any other satanic groups. This includes but is not limited to: The Church of Satan, The Church of Rational Satanism, Global Order of Satan (formally Satanic Temple International/STI) and Satanic Britain.

[nerdygaymormon]

Reaction to “Truth and the Plan” by Dallin H. Oaks

I finally read the talk from October 2018 General Conference that has everyone worked up. I’m not surprised that Elder Oaks talked about the Family Proclamation and gender, those seem to be favorites of his. I’m also not surprised he spares no words of sympathy or love for LGBT individuals. I am upset that Elder Oaks essentially said anyone who disagrees with him is confused and under the influence of the devil.

—————————————————————

Elder Oaks begins his talk by saying we have access to a lot of information and we need to think critically about the source of that information. What expertise or qualification does that individual have in that subject area? What is their motivation?

This is a valid point. Not all opinions are equal and some people misconstrue or selectively choose facts to support a particular point of view.

—————————————————————

Part I

Elder Oaks teaches that spiritual truths and non-spiritual truths are separate, we should not look to “secular” sources for spiritual truth. Mentions that people who rely on scientific truth risk losing their faith.

In the temple it’s taught “all truth may be circumscribed unto one great whole.” In other words, scientific knowledge is valid and goes together with spiritual truths, they inform each other.  

He teaches that spiritual truths help us understand who we are, the meaning of life and what happens after death, things which can’t be learned by scientific or secular methods.

I agree with Elder Oaks on the purpose of spiritual truths, which is to give meaning to life, not to undermine the truths we learn from other sources.

—————————————————————

Part II 

God is the father of our spirits.

Gender is eternal, we all lived as male or female spirits before being born.

God created a Plan for us to receive a physical body and make choices between good and evil.

The Savior provided an atonement, making it possible for all people to be saved.

Most of my trans friends speak of their gender being eternal but not matching their biological sex, but Elder Oaks uses these words to mean the opposite of that. He gives no credence to the truths shared by transgender, genderfluid and nonbinary individuals about their reality. 

Elder Oaks says that exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom can only be obtained by an eternal marriage between a man & a woman.

The purpose of the Church is to “qualify” God’s children to be exalted. For people who don’t desire that or don’t qualify, God provides other lesser kingdoms of glory.

Given the purpose of the Church is to help people become exalted, it seems as a gay man I’m not wanted because even if I live the rest of my life celibate and do the best I can to keep within the Church’s rules, I won’t qualify for exaltation. My presence is a distraction from the Church’s purpose.  

—————————————————————

Part III 

We honor individual agency and we promote religious freedom around the world.

Individual agency is good. I largely support the idea of religious freedom for individuals but too often “religious freedom” is code for discriminating in public against LGBT individuals, and that I have a problem with.  

The church sends missionaries to the world to teach our spiritual truths. The church also gives money to humanitarian aid to help people regardless of their religious affiliation, we don’t tie it to our missionary efforts.

We do send missionaries around the world. And I’m pleased we contribute to humanitarian causes.

Life is sacred so we’re required to oppose abortion and euthanasia.

Opposing all abortion goes further than the Church’s official position. This change means the life of the baby is worth more than the life of the mother in all circumstances. I’d like if the opposition to abortion included support for things shown to reduce the number of abortions including providing teenagers with comprehensive sex ed, easy & affordable access to effective contraception and for the pregnant woman to feel she can afford to raise the child.

He didn’t specify these restrictions on abortion or euthanasia are specific to humans, so can pets be euthanized? Given all mortal life is sacred, why no comment about war or murder? 

The paragraph about marriage and children says the church cannot retreat from traditional marriage or make changes that confuses gender or homogenizes men & women.

The church will fight the legal and social acceptance of marriages it doesn’t approve of. This seems much in conflict with his idea that people have individual agency.

People who don’t agree with their assigned gender or conform to their gender norms are “confused.” Here’s an instance of scientific/secular knowledge being disregarded. Rather than accepting this is a proven reality and finding a spiritual meaning for it, he dismisses trans, non-binary and genderfluid individuals as “confused” because they don’t match his theology. 

I don’t even know what he means by the homogenization of men & women. I can think of a number possible meanings, most of which I find problematic. People deserve the ability to pursue opportunities and have legal protections regardless of which sex they are. There are biological differences among people that should be noted and accommodated, but not serve as disqualifiers. 

Having children is a duty of “those given power to participate in it.” Children are the ultimate treasure on earth and heaven. We must provide the best conditions for the development & happiness of all children.

WOW. I think he just implied only people who can create children via sex should have children. What do his words mean for Infertile straight couples, single individuals and gay couples who use artificial insemination, surrogate pregnancy, or adoption?

The best conditions for children, I presume he means they should have a mother & a father. Studies show that children raised by same-sex couples do no worse than those raised by straight couples, and actually often do better. Having two moms seems to be optimal for children. Two gay men also works well. Actually, research is showing family situations with straight men are often the least advantageous for children as those men tend to focus on careers and let it distract them from nurturing their children. Straight men are prone to be more violent or abusive than other types of individuals. But recognizing this reality would mean accepting secular truths. 

The church’s positions on these topics provokes opposition. Opposition is Satan’s part of The Plan as he seeks to destroy God’s work. Satan operates by discrediting the Savior and his authority, discourages repentance, gives counterfeit revelation, opposes individual accountability. Satan seeks to confuse gender, distort marriage and discourage child bearing.

He just said any concerns or doubts about what he taught are from the devil. I think this also means people who are gay or trans are doing Satan’s work or are under his influence. Under this logic, when LGBT people point out that we’re excluded from the Plan, ask if there’s any accommodation for us or share our experience and realities, we are seeking to destroy God’s work. The revelations that many LGBT people have received confirming their orientations and gender and that they should pursue loving relationships – all are counterfeit by definition.

—————————————————————

Part IV

Being repentant would mean not trying to change the church. If you have issues with what was taught, hold on to what teachings you can believe and stay strong until you get more knowledge.

Once again, the Church is not wrong, it is inerrant. If you have disagreements or other understandings, don’t leave and hopefully you’ll come to see it our way.

The purpose of our creation is joy and is to be obtained by the “covenant path.” 

Except that whole groups of people have been excluded from this covenant path unless they deny essential characteristics about who they are and how God created them.

I don’t believe that loving Heavenly Parents created people to have these alternate ways of experiencing life and not allow them to express it, in fact, even if they keep quiet and deny themselves of much joy & happiness in this life they are not good enough to be exalted in the next.

[queersatanic]

When we saw the press release for this from The Satanic Temple a week ago, we tried to get out ahead of this story in the hopes that some reporter would avoid the easy "conflict" narrative the press release sets up and do some actual reporting, but alas—none did.

For people who don't understand the ecosystems of journalism, it's really important to take note of just how little actual reporting is being done.

When you look at where quotations are coming from, there's:

The press release from TST itself, as well as its own website;

The article then photography by the local Springfield paper's reporter for the State Journal-Register, which involved calling or interviewing "both sides" for quotes;

The article and footage by local TV news affiliate WICS ABC 20 doing the same;

Then, finally, a Religion News Service article that incorporated a statement from a Republican candidate for governor.

That's basically the extent of all journalism that was done, period, for all of the dozens of international media and blogs talking about it, opining, etc.

There then are almost viral strains of news coverage that result. Some, like the Associated Press wire or the sharing of packages by TV news affiliates, are fairly straightforward and intentional. But others are much less obvious, like how multiple bloggers quote from a NY Post story that is itself quoting from local news, or the way that right-wing media in particular stokes outrage, leading to left-leaning outlets covering the exact same thing for an excuse to dunk on them. These then travel to social media like Facebook and Reddit, where already-primed responses let fly and arguing starts.

So far, no one else has actually fact-checked TST's version of the story or seems likely now to report on any of this, so since we have, y'all privy to some really select stuff here.

To summarize:

The Satanic Temple has indeed been successful in these nativity displays before, but it's worth checking their claims because it's not clear they have more than three successes with nativities (Florida, Michigan, Illinois), and only in Illinois in the past five years.

We assumed it was probably the case that TST got a new display for 2021 because the Chicago leaders that TST National ousted in 2020—Lex Manticore and Lux Armiger—took it with them on the way out (along with nuking all TST Chicago social media). Successor chapter "The Satanic Temple Illinois" then helpfully confirmed, yes, this is what happened to the "Knowledge is the Greatest Gift" nativity display before deleting their own comment. Finally, we separately found out that that "Knowledge" display had been a result of the collective labor and funding of the Chicago chapter, but according to a now ex-member of that chapter, the national org did not care about any of this and just moved on to re-branding without bothering to try to recover anything.

The Albuquerque artist who designed the display, Chris P. Andres, is quite talented but best known in some circles for taking people's money without actually delivering on the commissions. Apparently, this has happened to quite a few people, based on Internet comments.

The Satanic Temple's two new media people are "Erin Helian" and "Karen"; it's not obvious if the latter in particular is a real person or another "invented" press contact as Cevin Soling and Lucien Greaves have separately been known to do in the past. However, their contact emails led to recognizing...

There are two domains for The Satanic Temple: ".COM" and ".ORG". While right now and at times in the past, ".ORG" has been a redirect, it's also been a standalone site, just a poorly archived one. Both were registered March 7, 2012, and is just another part of the knot that is "The Satanic Temple" a religion(?) that alternatively calls itself a "tax-exempt organization" as well as "not a discrete entity with tax returns".

That last one is the most esoteric, and if you are not familiar with the distinction between "United Federation of Churches, LLC dba 'The Satanic Temple' " versus "The Satanic Temple Inc.", it will take a moment to get your feed under you.

All the receipts in the three Twitter threads are linked after the jump.

Well bless his little heart

[christology101]

Christ’s Politics???

This begins a much larger work and study of the questions and ideas behind Christ and politics, economics, and social ethics. 

My present exploration and study looks into the social ethics, politics, and themes related to these aspects of our human and worldly walk as they pertain specifically to Jesus Christ.  In this exploration, there must be an attachment to aspects of the Old Testament, but since Christ came to remove the burdens of the laws, to remove the bloody sacrifices, and take on all sins for all time onto Himself and His sacrifice on the Cross, much of the Old Testament is relevant as a frame and story, as lessons and ways of the godly life, but not the focus of the Christ-centered exploration of these topics.  

 In this exploration, I debated and thought through three rather diverse viewpoints:

1.     Christ is directly interested and engaged in politics and the world and its ways and means.

2.     Christ is apolitical and does not demonstrate or discuss an interest in politics and the world and its ways and means.

3.     Christ is political, but not in pure acceptance of the judgments and ideas of politics and the world and its ways and means [more radical and disengaged from the worldly processes and engaged in His own].

 I’ve bounced around and through several authors who discuss these ideas and promote one view over others, and each is convincing to varying degrees, however what I noticed is much of how you perceive these statements and your ideas behind them hinges on the definition of politics. If we look at a modern definition, you would lean to numbers 2 or 3 above, but if you consider an ancient Greek or Roman definition of the word politics, closer in time and space to Christ’s walk and talk upon the earth, then you would lean more closely to 1 or 3 above. This older definition seats us in a community, seeking to deal with the conditions or state of the individual and community, working together to live together.

 Our next stop on this study must come to the Word itself.  If we focus on the New Testament, focusing on Christ’s word as revealed in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, then nothing there suggests Jesus was engaged in the politics of the day, engaging in modern political discourse or playing up or for a political agenda or ideology. If you see it as how we organize and live as individuals and a community, and focus on the ancient definition, then you can argue that Jesus is engaged in the individual and life, how life is lived, and the community and how it lives and loves together. However, in doing so He leans heavily to a more radical view – disavowing Himself of attachments to the organized religions of His day, merely acknowledging the worldly power that political persons and organizations claim, “It is as you say…” but not engaging with them in any discourse, question and answer, and not getting into a debate or anything with these powers, dominions, and thrones. From His standpoint they are the present age of fallen man and Satan’s control, worldly powers who judge and execute in their name or the name of their god(s).  If, as I believe, the tree from which Adam and Eve ate was the tree of judgment of good and evil, not merely the tree of good and evil, it is the usurpation of God’s judgment that is the true and real fall and original sin.  This is why our human judgments carry no weight with God and why Christ tells us that He is the way to the Father, that we must surrender our judgment to Him and must follow Him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Christ does not abandon us to the world and its leaders and ways without a way of escape or a way to find our way through it to live our daily mortal lives. He provides an entirely different model, a radical model by the standards and practices of His day, and one for which, if He were alive today, would be ridiculed by the vast majority of people, including professed Christians.  It is this area, what Christ portrays/models, proposes, and provides for us who must live in this world and its systems.

 Some rather stark aspects of His role modelling and statements show and tell us the following:

1.     He does not attach Himself to the religions of the day – neither Jewish nor Roman.

2.     He does not follow the priests and church leaders of the day, but instead corrects and sometimes chastises them for their actions and apparent continuous monitoring and judging of His people.

3.     He does not attach Himself to any of the political powers or leaders of the day – neither Jewish nor Roman.  However, the one person He attaches to quite strongly is an apparent wild man living in the wilderness, a clear and soft voice crying His arrival: John the Baptist [and note He does not save him from his fate at the hands of the political powers of the day, but He does comfort him and use him as a model for others].

4.     He denies all the political powers and leaders of the day, and denies their power over Him and His people [He who is free from the world and beyond it, and His people who, following in Faith, Love, Humility, and Reason, who are free of earthly bonds and concerns by believing and following Him – death does not concern them.  Persecution does not concern them. They are not concerned with this world but the everlasting].

5.     He only takes one direct action against any religious, political, or economic powers, and that with the moneychangers in the temple.  Since they transgress and blaspheme the temple, He demonstrates displeasure and nigh unto anger at their worship of mammon and their denying and cheating the Lord and his temple.  Other than this, he takes no direct action against any worldly powers.

6.     He flips our worldly understanding about pretty much everything, and deals aggressively with our judgments of others.  He places the poor and meek ahead of the rich and powerful, the weak before the strong, and places a primary position for Love and Faith in our lives. We are to turn the other cheek, treat our enemies as friends and ourselves, and forgive all. This directly contradicts the eye-for-an-eye and then other ideas and judgments taken from the Word and bent to the will of the world and its powers and thrones.  

7.     He does build His own community, therefore a form of ancient politics, with the Apostles and the few who gather and travel with them at various points. Their model of community and treatment of each other with Christ as their mentor and friend should serve for us all throughout time.

8.     He does not ascribe to, absorb, or follow the worldly judgments of the day regarding class and wealth, strength and position, rank, sex, race, religious affiliation, age, occupation, health, and pretty much anything and everything. The world’s ways are not His ways, and from Old Testament to New Testament, that message is clear at every turn, at every Word.  He accepts all who accept Him in Faith, Humility, and Love. 

 These represent the main aspects I will explore and work through. These conclusions took time, several readings of the Bible, with focus on the sections of the New Testament listed above.  However, several Epistles also reflect these simple truths, but the Pauline documents do add more potential rules and controls, and therefore judgments, than we see in the original Word of the Gospels.

 One thing stands out when you look clearly and closely at the Word of Christ: He would not in any way attach Himself to a political entity, regardless of claims of piety and faith.  He is not of and in the world, and He wants us to reject the world’s ways for His ways so that we can move forward through eternity and not wallow in the world.  He would not align Himself with a political party, a political leader, or even a nation or country. He worked and works with people, individual and small communities that sometimes turn quite large. If we pose the simple yet powerful and accurate question, What Would Jesus Do, well then, we would follow His model when it comes to politics, economics, and social ethics. In my estimation, He is aghast and deeply saddened at the way people who profess to follow Him, to be Christians, wallow in the world of politics aligning themselves for this or that seemingly just reason.  Even extremely conservative pastors and Christians of the early 20th Century in the US would be aghast that modern Christians so easily and simply attach themselves to political entities and gravitate to political leaders.  They viewed these as dirty and unworthy of the practicing Christian, and they were, in all likelihood, closer to the original followers of Christ and the Christians of the 1st and 2nd Centuries than pretty much anyone in today’s USA.  

 This said, there is a necessity to live and work in the world – part of our penance and existence if you will, and as spiritual beings having a human experience, we must look for guidelines in how to follow Christ and work and live in the political, economic, and social world whose manifestations since the first city or town, machinations of the murderer Cain, and find common ground and ways to manage the unbelieving world and help it limp its way along to a more Christ-centered view and life.  This means we participate in the political arena, not as zealots, power-brokers, or simple-minded followers, but as Christians focused on modeling His life in our daily walk and talk. This holds us hard to the rock, for we must look at leaders who would be king, alderman, council leaders, and even pastors and church leaders, and we must see them through the lens of Christ and His Word. We must look to those who walk the walk, not talk the talk.  Do they, in every possible step, walk in the footsteps of Christ or do they walk in the footsteps of the world and its ways?  Do they demonstrate a giving and almost sacrificial Love for others? Do they demonstrate a Humility and realization that whatever gifts and blessings they have are not their own but God’s? Do they live and walk enough of Faith to show them as people we would want to walk with in times of trouble, who we would count on to stand before oppression and evil to protect others? Do they use their God-given Reason to find ways to make our lives more bearable, all lives more bearable, regardless of believer or not, sans judgment?  We must therefore reject anyone who demonstrates the seven deadly sins, but most of all anyone devoid of love or perverting love to his or her own means.  We must reject anyone who thinks and walks in ways that tell people that the ends justify the means.  We must reject anyone who is self-serving, lacks humility, and acts in any way with cruelty and potentially harmful intent. To do otherwise is to abandon all that Christ says and does, to reject His Walk and Word with us.

 Now, some might argue that times are different now from when Christ walked the earth and talked with us. This argument obviously negates much or all of the Word and puts it into a level of relativism that nullifies and neuters it for the modern world and life. If you ascribe to this belief, then you might want to walk yourself back through the New Testament, and perhaps look closely at I Corinthians 10:12-13, but it stands throughout the Old and New Testaments that God’s ways are not our ways, and time to God is not our time, and anyone who thinks they know God’s plans, His time, and His knowledge is vain and standing unto Satan.  God did not come as flesh to just give us knowledge and wisdom for only 100-500 years.  It was meant, as is the Bible and Word itself, for all time and place.  All aspects, in one way or another have relevance and a place in our walk from Genesis [birth, life, and obstacles] to Revelation [death and afterlife], and all points in between of growth, failure, backsliding, error, salvation, and the lessons of Love, Faith, Humility, Devotion, and Reason all wrapped up through each chapter and verse.  

 Inasmuch as I traverse the Word to explore these political and economic aspects and delve into social ethics, and in so doing state or suggest I know Christ’s meaning or plan, I do not know His plan.  His Word speaks for itself, and His walk among us speaks volumes for us through our mortal existence into eternity, so we must look closely and try, as best as possible, to remove the stains of the world from our study, to nullify any worldly biases garnered from political parties, leaders, media outlets and organizations, history itself, traditions, and doctrines, and place ourselves on the Cross and before the Cross, with Christ.  It’s easier to see the model and find a clearer path, a truer path, once this is done, but where the path leads, beyond this life and into eternity, we cannot know.  What country X, Y, or Z will do, what party A, B, or C will do, we simply cannot care or place our faith in that.  Once we follow Christ in fullness, we are freed from these concerns and our only concern is for the safety and well-being of others, believers and non-believers, and to make this mortal world better for all along our short journey, and if we model Love, Humility, Faith, Devotion, and Reason in all things, we become a light for all who do not believe, and in seeing that light, shining clearly and wonderfully through our every step and word, the spirit within them awakens and turns to the light, and we have served our purpose – not screeching at people, not legislating obedience, faith, or Christian ethics, and not coercing anyone or anything.  Simply and humbly walking the walk and from our mouths only Love and Humility to talk the talk.  

[theunofficialchurchofsatan]

The History Of The Sigil Of Baphomet

There have been many rumors and claims regarding this symbol, and here we recount the Church of Satan’s discovery and use of this powerful image.

Prior to the worldwide press given the Church of Satan—and later the publication of The Satanic Bible — the now familiar goat / pentagram / “Leviathan” graphic had not been used as the prime symbol for Satanism. Our younger readers may find this hard to believe, but it is a fact.

Examine the literature and imagery predating the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966: Satanism is usually denoted by inverted crosses or crucifixes and blasphemous parodies of Christian art. There are also images of goats and devils, and demons—along with their sigils from grimoires—all used to represent the “satanic.” However, the complete graphic which we now call the “Sigil of Baphomet” only became associated as the foremost symbol of Satanism in the public and media consciousness after the founding of the Church of Satan and Dr. LaVey’s use of it. From its inception, the Church of Satan has been constantly spotlighted in print, film, and television media all over the globe, so this was to be expected. The word “Baphomet” dates back to records of Templar trials, and there are ongoing discussions concerning its derivation and meaning. However, there is no clear evidence that the symbol which we in the Church of Satan call “Baphomet” is similarly derived; the evidence, if any, has not yet been released in any public forum.

…the “Sigil of Baphomet” became associated as the foremost symbol of Satanism [after] the Church of Satan and Dr. LaVey’s use of it.”

THE UNHOLY GENESIS OF THE SIGIL OF BAPHOMET

A discussion concerning the symbolism of pentagrams is contained in Eliphas Lévi’s Dogme et Rituel de la haute magie (1855-56 & 61, translated into English by A. E. Waite under the title Transcendental Magic). There are no accompanying illustrations. Here is the English translation of the quote:

The Pentagram, which in Gnostic schools is called the Blazing Star, is the sign of intellectual omnipotence and autocracy. It is the Star of the Magi; it is the sign of the Word made flesh; and, according to the direction of its points, this absolute magical symbol represents order or confusion, the Divine Lamb of Ormuz and St. John, or the accursed goat of Mendes. It is initiation or profanation; it is Lucifer or Vesper, the star of morning or evening. It is Mary or Lilith, victory or death, day or night. The Pentagram with two points in the ascendant represents Satan as the goat of the Sabbath; when one point is in the ascendant, it is the sign of the Saviour. By placing it in such a manner that two of its points are in the ascendant and one is below, we may see the horns, ears and beard of the hierarchic Goat of Mendes, when it becomes the sign of infernal evocations.

The pentagram or pentalpha is a symbol which has long been affiliated with demonic activity. From at least the early Middle Ages an entire genre of ritual magic handbooks and manuals has claimed to originate from King Solomon based, no doubt, on his legendary reputation for conjuring and employing demons in the construction of his temple. Among the oldest of these grimoires is the Testament of Solomon dating from perhaps as early as the First Century BC. This text includes a diagram of the pentalpha and relates that Solomon had a ring inscribed with that symbol which gave to him the ability to call forth demons and to have them work his will. The image in the manuscript shows the star point up. Inscribed on a ring however, the direction of the point might be immaterial as it could be perceived either way.

What was the source for this symbolism presented by Lévi in this work? Scholars researching the sources for his writings might be able to trace this.

As far as we now know, the first printed artwork for an image of a goat face in a five-pointed star appeared in an engraving on page 387 of the 1897 book La Clef de la Magie Noire, by French nobleman and occultist Stanislas de Guaita. The book was part of his multi-volume Essais de Sciences Maudites which not only put forth some of his own occult ideas underlying his establishment of a group of Rosicrucians but also served as a platform for his share of the accusations of Satanism that he and his enemies—such as Là-Bas author J.K. Huysmans and friends—were publicly throwing at each other at the time. De Guaita wrote that he considered Eliphas Lévi to be one of the greatest geniuses of the 19th century so it is not surprising that he would take one of Lévi’s concepts and embellish it further. Lévi mentions the demon Lilith in the above passage and the de Guaita image incorporates her name into the graphic along with that of Samael. In different places Lévi calls Samael both a white-light genie of Mars as well as the Hebrew name for a demonic force. Lévi makes no mention of Leviathan but the de Guaita image is encirlced by this name in Hebrew script.In describing the graphic, de Guaita only slightly expands on Lévi and says nothing about Samael, Lilith, or Leviathan. After describing the point-up pentagram as a white-light symbol of man “voluntarily rejoined in the providential plan,” de Guaita notes:“But oriented in the opposite direction, the pentagrammatic Star is nothing more than a symbol of iniquity, perdition, blasphemy: its two points in the air become the horns of the foul Goat threatening Heaven, and whose head is framed with the stellar pentacle, with its low ears in the side branches, and its beard in disorder in the single lower point. [Page 386]”This engraving may have been taken from elsewhere or it may have been created by de Guaita’s secretary and assistant Oswald Wirth as noted below.Lévi’s description can also be seen as a clear influence in Paul Jagot’s Science Occulte et Magie Pratique (Paris: Editions Drouin, 1924, page #172). As can be seen below, it is figure number 24 and is labeled “the pentagram espressive of subversion.” How the author came by this image is unknown to us. Note as well that the star itself is “open,” rather than composed of five “alphas.” Next we find on page 47 of the Handbook of Magic & Witchcraft by Charles W. Olliver (Rider & Co., London, 1928) an appropriation from La Clef de la Magie Noire, shown below left. Olliver’s book is highly derivative of prior works and it is clear that he simply lifted the images from de Guaita, subtracting the surrounding circles and Hebrew characters. It is referred to in the text as the “Inverted Pentagram of Black Magic,” and is coupled with the “Pentagram of Appolonius,” shown above right.The continued evolution of this goat-graphic can be found in a 1931 book concerning Freemasonry by Oswald Wirth (Oswald Wirth, La Franc-Maçonnerie Rendue Intelligible à ces Adeptes, Deuxième Partie: “Le Compagnon,” Paris: Derry-Livres, 1931, page #60). In addition to creating illustrations for de Guaita, Wirth also wrote and illustrated a number of his own books on occult topics including the tarot and Freemasonry. His tarot deck is still sold commercially today. In La Franc-Maçonnerie Rendue Intelligible à ces Adeptes, Deuxième Partie: “Le Compagnon,” Wirth presented his own original rendering of the goat head and pentagram image and identified it as his own by discretely including his “OW” initials just above the goat’s head.The unadulterated de Guaita images re-appeared in a book by Maurice Bessy: A Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural (English first edition 1964, French first edition: Histoire en 1000 Images de la Magie, Editions du Pont Royal, 1961).The graphic image in the Bessy book (English edition, page 198 under the heading “Satanic Sciences”) has a caption which reads:“624-625. Pentagrams are the result of obscure numerological speculations. The five-pointed star, for example, seems to be characteristic of the Christian era, while the cross is the symbol (amongst others) of the figure five: four arms and the centre. By a strange coincidence, the Holy Spirit, the United States, and the U.S.S.R. and Islam use the fivepointed star as their emblem. (The opposition of good and evil is indicated through the inverted triangles).”The above illustration is to the right of this caption. As in all prior appearances of this and similar renderings, nowhere in this book is #625 referred to as “The Sigil of Baphomet.”For the actual cover of this hard-bound book, an artist rendered symbol #625, minus the words “Lilith” and “Samael,” and it was printed in white on the black cloth cover. It is very striking.

During his years of research into the “Black Arts,” Anton LaVey had come across this book and added it to his collection. So when he chose to metamorphose his magic circle, “The Order of the Trapezoid,” into the Church of Satan, he decided that this particular symbol was the one which most fully embodied the principles which were the bedrock of the first aboveground Satanic church.The pentagram (pentalpha) comes from the Pythagorean tradition. The goat’s or ram’s head within it refers to the Goat of Mendes, a symbol of the Egyptian Neter Amon, who was called “the hidden one, he who abides in all things, the soul of all phenomena” and is thus the closest Neter to the Dark Force which is seen to permeate and motivate all nature. The two concentric circles which contain the word “Leviathan” written in Hebrew (starting at the lowermost point and moving counterclockwise) stem from the traditions of the Ophite (serpent) Jews, and this is the essence of the Dragon of the Abyss, descended from Tiamat, sometimes symbolized as an ouroboros (serpent biting its own tail forming a circle). Thus, in one sigil, we find a confluence of several cultures’ approach to embodying what we call Satan.It is this cover art which was enlarged and placed above the altar in the main ritual chamber (as well as above a lower-level altar) in the infamous Black House.That the original source for this symbol was the Maurice Bessy book was well-known among the members who attended rituals at the Black House during our formative years. The book was constantly being perused by them, and was often used as a prop in photo shoots (minus the dust jacket which did not include this symbol). Anton LaVey never claimed to have designed the Bessy version of this symbol (as falsely stated by some of our detractors).In its early days, the Church of Satan used the version seen on the cover of the Bessy book on its membership cards and stationery as well as on the medallions which were created both by hand and by professional manufacturers. Indeed, there were many variations, based on the skill of the renderers as well as on the resolution for detail of the means used to create the final product.While The Satanic Bible was being written, it was decided that a unique version of this symbol must be rendered to be identified exclusively with the Church of Satan. The pentagram was made geometrically precise, the two circles perfect, the Hebrew characters were distorted to make them look more sharply serpentine and “corrupted with time,” while the goat face was redrawn with particular attention paid toward the eyes. The original highly-detailed artwork was first used to create altar plaques which were available only to local Church of Satan members (later, in February of 1970, they were made available to the general membership). This new version was then used on the cover of the groundbreaking LP, The Satanic Mass (©1968), produced by the Church of Satan. In addition to a recorded Satanic Mass, this LP included the “Prologue” and “Books of Satan: Verses I through V” from the then-unreleased book, The Satanic Bible. The album’s cover design was credited to “Hugo Zorilla,” a pseudonym used by Anton LaVey for some of his artwork. The liner notes, attributed to Franklin Kincaid, say that “the Satanic symbol, Baphomet,” was adopted from the Knights Templar. This symbol was finally widely-released to the general public in December of 1969 with the publication of The Satanic Bible, where it adorned the cover and appeared on the interior page introducing the section detailing the Satanic Ritual. And, significantly, here in this book was the very first time that this sigil was referred to as the “symbol of Baphomet” in any publication available to a mass audience. It was this version which the Church of Satan then had made into cloisonné medallions (which were only available to members) and it became the standard logo for all Church of Satan materials. We began calling it more precisely the “Sigil of Baphomet” and so it was named in print in The Satanic Rituals (released in December of 1972). It should be noted that this version is a copyrighted graphic which belongs to the Church of Satan alone. We have the legal right to place the © symbol next to this rendering, should we care to do so.The Church of Satan did file for (1981) and then received (1983) a trademark which protects the use of the Sigil of Baphomet with the words “Church of Satan.” The Church of Satan therefore has the legal right to place the ® symbol meaning “registered trademark” next to this combination of symbol and words. This trademark also prohibits anyone from using something similar in combination of name and symbol, which could constitute an illegal dilution or blurring of the trademark.Current trademark laws are now in flux regarding this issue of trademark blurring—the use of marks similar to existing trademarks—but they are moving in the direction of favoring the forbidding of marks that could be considered misleading in any way, shape, or form.Anton LaVey authorized Hell’s Kitchen Productions, Inc. to produce a Sigil of Baphomet medallion, and so a minor variation of the Church’s official Sigil of Baphomet was created in which the Hebrew characters between the circles were no longer outlines, but filled-in (a minor change). This rendering is also protected by copyright laws.The copyright for the artwork that appears on the cover of the Bessy book belonged to the publisher of that book. Since that book is out of print, the copyright has lapsed, and thus the rights for the text reverted to the author, and the rights for the graphics contained therein would need to be determined—usually they revert to the artist or other source of origin. After passage of enough time, if the estates of the authors/creators do not renew the copyrights, the items in question then enter public domain. Thus, the Bessy cover rendition is most probably now in the public domain.If anyone wants to legally use our version of the “Sigil of Baphomet,” they may ask for permission, and we have generally been quite liberal in licensing people to use this for various projects and goods—though we usually only allow its use on websites when (and where) they are mentioning the Church of Satan. Otherwise, those wishing to use a public domain version of a goat / pentagram / “Leviathan” symbol must go back to the historically published sources, or they may take the challenge to draw a fresh one.It is interesting to note that, prior to its slight enhancement and adoption by the Church of Satan, this sinister symbol appears never to have been used by any who would actually honor and revere it. Rather it was conceived, nutured and even continually passed along by Levi, de Guaita, Wirth and others—men who professed to oppose that which they imagined it to represent. These were ceremonial magicians, condemned by the Christian church yet still largely captive to the common mass morality of their day. In their quest to counter their critics, they dreamed up an imaginary cabal of selfish, unconstrained, unconventional black magicians in comparison to whom they hoped to seem quite acceptable to polite society. Was this a simple fiction to deflect public persecution or a more fully formed thoughtform fueled and fed by the nightmares and perhaps even secret, supressed desires in the unconscious minds of these magicians? There is no way to know for certain. The history is clear, however, that the image of the inverse pentagram invoking the head of the sabbatic goat was conjured up from their imaginations, imbued with geat resonance by the forbidden things it was believed to represent, and then passed from one seeker to the next for more than a century until Anton LaVey embraced it, and made what it had always symbolized manifestly real.So marking the original appearance of this potent concept to Lévi’s description of 1855 C.E., we Satanists now celebrate the 150th anniversary of the coming forth of what we call the Sigil of Baphomet. We know that it shall continue its dark reign in minds and hearts for years to come as the preeminent visual distillation of the iconoclastic philosophy of Satanism.

[redsabbat]

Id argue that the Theistic Satanist is the genuine one. Michael Aquino puts it well:

The more I read here from persons whose only experience with the "Church of Satan" is post‐1975, the sorrier I feel for them. Up to 1975 the Church was a very open, friendly, happy, and ‐ how can I put it? ‐ kick‐ass organization. Sure, there was an occasional jerk, but such was utterly incidental to the overall pleasure and exuberance of the Satanist experience. Anton bounced around the country visiting Grottos, whose members heralded him at ceremonies, took him to dinner, and showed him the town; there was a lively succession of interGrotto activities, regional conclaves, newsletters everywhere. In those pre‐Internet times the personal, telephone, and postal activity was a constant cascade.

And of course it was an organization of "joiners"! Most people who encountered the Church didn't know squat about Satanism, witchcraft, Black Magic, and all the other topics of interest. They joined the Church precisely to learn about these things, test‐drive them individually and cooperatively, influence & prank society, and have some pizza & root beer betweentimes. The initiatory degrees were all methodically refined and formalized over the years; if a Warlock II° or a Priestess III° from anywhere walked through the door, everyone knew to what extent they had their Satanic shit together.

Did I forget to mention that we all believed in the literal existence of Satan and the Dæmons/Powers of Darkness? Hey, that's why it was called THE‐CHURCH‐OF‐SATAN. Was there a lot of metaphorical use of Satan's name too? Sure, as with any divinity and its cultural influences throughout history. Today I am still stunned by the number of atheists, both post‐75‐Anton‐affiliates and others, who have this bizarre, even frantic compulsion to style themselves "Satanists". Yes, it's a cooler name than "Atheist" or "materialist". Yes, it just makes you sound pretentious, silly, and glamour‐wistful if you really, finally, aren't one.

I sought to preserve something of the great Magical Mystery Tour of the real Church of Satan in my Church of Satan ebook, which if you haven't yet read I invite you to download. I wanted ‐ still want ‐ to take you back there, share the adventure, meet Satan face‐to‐face as we all did.

As for the crisis of 1975, it was sudden, shocking, and incomprehensible. Thereafter we tried to pay as little attention to what was happening under the Church's name as possible, frankly because everything we did hear was degrading, embarrassing, and depressing. I can't tell you how many times I had to apologize to people that it wasn't anything like that 1966‐75; that's one of the reasons I finally took the time to write the ebook.

What I see today under the area of "Satanism" is, in a word, chaos. Anton, Gilmore, Densley, et al. fucked the concept up so thoroughly in the last 34 years that it's a wonder anyone bothers with it anymore. People occasionally ask me to recommend a good purely‐Satanist religious institution; I can't think of one anywhere on the planet to which I would recommend a discerning adult. Can any of you?

Just look at this Forum, which is as sincere and serious a venue for Satanism as I've currently encountered. The undercurrent and outbursts of defensiveness, bitterness, and frustration here are palpable. These things don't just happen spontaneously; they are the result of idealism shattered, curiosity disillusioned, the creative impulse thwarted. At its core, Satanism is an atomic explosion in your soul; like Dr. Frankenstein you "want to see it at its full power". You absolutely don't have time for villagers with torches.

As some of you know, the Temple of Set includes a number of specialized Orders , for Setians with concentrated interests and experience. Some years ago we wondered about an Order of Satan, for Satanism ‐ the idea being to recapture the original vision that we had left behind us in 1975. We concluded that we couldn't do it ‐ not because we couldn't do a great pageant of it, but because we had all gone so far beyond that idiom that it would be pointless beyond Halloween‐party theatrics. Once having met Obi‐wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker cannot just go back to his farm again.

So what can I say to today's aspiring Satanists: the real ones who have the courage, honor, and dignity to, as per G.B. Shaw, "promise him your soul, to stand up for him in this world and stand by him in the next"?

I would first exhort you that, if sincere, this is the highest and most noble affirmation you will ever experience. All that it brings to you, all the doors it opens, all of its dangers and delights will follow from this sacred moment. And no, you will never be able to go back to the Tatooine farm again either.

I would not bother advising you to disregard the atheists trying to clothe themselves in the magic robes of Satanists. They do not fool the Prince of Darkness, nor you, nor even themselves. They are but dust in the wind.

--

TL;DR - shut the fuck up, atheist

I keep trying to tell this like 15 year old kid in my satanist study group that satanists don't actually worship satan and that her "traditional" satanism belief can't possibly be a thing because satan can't exist. Satanism is satanism and satanism is atheistic at is roots. So how do I get through to her that she isn't a satanist and she should stop calling herself that?

How do you know Satan doesn't exist? Have you proved it? Because that would be a major scientific breakthrough if you have.

Atheistic Satanism is just one branch of Satanism, not the definition of Satanism. It may certainly be the most mainstream but it isn't the only way to be a Satanist.

I suggest you apologise to the kid for attempting to gatekeep unnecessarily. They've done nothing wrong. They are indeed a Satanist and have a right to be in your group.

[a-woman-apart]

Our Adversary, the Devil

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: / Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” -1 Peter 5:8-9

We have an enemy- or at least, that’s what I’m always being told. It is the Devil, or Satan, that “serpent of old” who “deceives the whole world” (Revelations 12:9). He was present back in the garden of Eden, tempting Mankind with the forbidden fruit in an effort to get them to turn away from God. He was said to have accused God’s faithful servant, Job, and convinced God to give him permission to completely wreck Job’s life, ostensibly as an attempt to test Job’s faithfulness.

Paul also talks about him, calling him “the Prince of the Power of the Air” who “now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Jesus said that if someone doesn’t understand the Word of God, then “the devil comes and takes it away from him.” Just as he accused Job, the Devil is said to “accuse the brethren before God day and night.” He is said to be our enemy, our adversary, a threat to the very foundations of our faith and a bane of society.

Revelations tells us that in the end he, and all of his “angels” will be cast into the lake of fire, or, hell. In the mean time, according to many an Evangelical preacher, he is seeking to round up as many of God’s children as possible so that they will be forced to join him there. This is said to be a last ditch effort of his to grieve God’s heart. He cannot get to God directly, so he has to hurt him by going after his children.

Many of these preachers also teach what Bob Larson said in his interview with Nicholas and Zeena Schreck, that all pagan religions are “an attempt of Satan to deter people from the truth.” This is a statement that I have a lot of problems with, for two main reasons. Firstly, Christianity is not the world’s oldest religion. If Christianity is the only true way to get to God, why did God wait so long to have it revealed to the world? Why did he allow the world to sit in darkness for so long? Secondly, there are many principles in Christianity that are shared by other practices such as Confucianism, things like honoring and respecting one’s elders, being humble, and being charitable. Also, in ancient Egypt, there was a set of ten “rules” that was almost identical to the ten commandments that were said to have been given to Moses by God on the mountain. No matter how you look at it, Christianity did not originate what we now think of as “Christian morality.”

So where does the Devil enter into all of this? There are some religions that do not consider him to be an entity with a personality. The Moorish Science Temple of America, for example, considers the Devil to just be your “lower self” and representative of your basal, fleshly urges. Your “higher self” is said to be the part of yourself that wants to connect with Allah. Even the Church of Satan’s official stance on Satan also states that he isn’t a definable entity, but rather representative of Mankind’s carnal nature, which they teach is something that you should embrace instead of fight. I don’t know a lot about polytheistic religions, but from what I understand there is no one character analogous to Satan, but rather some “trickster” types of characters that are usually causing some sort of mischief.

To believe in Evangelical Christianity’s assertions on Satan is to believe something that goes along with it- that we are in a constant battle, fighting to keep God’s “truth” in our minds. This is the main verse used to support this argument.

 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. /  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) / Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

And here’s another one for free;

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. /  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” -Ephesians 6:12-13

“Principalities and powers” are said to refer to some of the “lesser demons” that are employed by Satan as part of his deceptive work. If Christians seem like they are on the defensive, maybe it’s because they believe that they are in a war. The implication is that other religions are looked at with fear and suspicion. The world is “the enemy’s territory” waiting to be conquered. Instead of looking for what they have in common with other faiths, they become hyperfocused on the things that seperate them. Emphasis is placed on being “in the world, but not of the world”, which “lies in wickedness.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks addresses these groupish mindsets in his book, “Not In God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence”. He emphasizes that whenever we see the world as Us. vs. Them, we are at risk of demonizing the Other. I can hate you, persecute you, and even kill you because you are not like me. He says this behavior can extend to all groups of people, whether they be religious or nonreligious.

So is Satan real? I cannot answer “yes” or “no” definitively, but if he is, I do not see him as being the main influence on secular society. I do not feel like I am in a constant battle with a supernatural being, or that human lives are caught in a tug of war between God and the Adversary. I see far more good, far more “God” in the world’s religions than I see evil. I know that Jesus was recorded as saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life- no one can come to the Father except through me” but how we can interpret that in the modern age is another subject entirely. When he said that did he really mean that all people who didn’t believe in Him were hell-bound, or are we adding something to His words?

Jesus said, “He who commits sin is a slave of sin” and that He came to set slaves free. But when he was asked what was the greatest commandment, he said “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind- for this is the greatest commandment.” Then he went on to say, “The second is like it- love your neighbor as yourself.” These are commands that can be followed by almost any person, regardless of their religious affiliation. I don’t believe that the Devil is behind peoples’ lack of faith, their sin, or their wicked actions. I believe that we all have a capacity for good and evil and we have to make a choice of which to follow.