Satanolatry

The thought just occurred to me that there is way to much baggage associated with the term 'Satanism'.

On one side there are those people who view Satanism as a bad thing. Their religion (whatever it may be) has a big bad nemesis that they call Satan, or the Devil, who seems to have all these magical powers that he can use to make them do bad things. Anything that has to do with this bad guy is, well... bad. Somehow they have associated the Satan of Satanism to the Satan who hates their god. Shame of them.

On the other hand as they people who follow Satanism - the Satanists. This lot (myself included) comes in such a wide variety that is seems like there are more types of Satanism than they are Satanists. The term has gotten confused with too many adjectives around to better define it - Theistic Satanism, Modern Satanism, LaVeyan Satanism, Spiritual Satanism, Traditional Satanism, etc.

I've grown tired of all this baggage, all these preconceived notions of what Satanism is supposed to mean. So I'm going to make a stand once and for all, and distance myself from all the baggage of Satanism. As of right now I am no longer a Satanist. I now longer follow Satanism (whatever that may be).

From now on I shall be a follower of Satanolatry, a Satanolator if you will.

Google results as of 4/4/09 at 2257 MST - Results 1 - 9 of about 7 for satanolatry

Bingo! I got myself a term that I can make my own. Those 7 other results can just fuck off or conform since I'm about to redefine Satanolatry forever!

Satanolatry
-noun
The religious worship of the deity know as Satan, as defined by Satanolators, who is not the same spirit as mentioned in the Christian and Jewish religious texts.

Satanolator
-noun
A follower of Satanolatry

Ok, when I said forever what I really meant was until myself or the Satanolator community at large defines it properly. Maybe the above definition will work, maybe it won't. This is my in-case-it-doesn't clause!

Come on, lets start a revolution! Post a comment, let me know you are out there...

Jason King on youtube

It has just be recently that I discovered actual 'channels' on youtube, and not long after that I found Jason King. This guy really knows his stuff and has uploaded a lot of videos talking about Satanism in some form or another. Ninety six as I'm writing this. He calls himself a 'postmodern satanist', and right on his channels front page is; 'Yes, I accept the existence of Satan' so, to me, he is a theistic Satanist. I think he accepts that label on one of his videos.

I've not got through and seen all of his videos but I have seen about ten of them. They have all struck me as well thought out and intelligent. You can tell, and I don't think it is much of a secret, that he is reading off a screen as he is making the video. With the black light in the background, sometimes in the foreground, and the fact that he is just a floating talking head, the videos aren't the best videos on youtube. However, they are so packed with information that really is thought provoking that if the production of his videos bother you, then you really need to overcome it.

Enough preamble, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/jason666king

Theistic Satanism 101

Theistic Satanism is not an easy thing to define since it means different things to different people and different groups, but lets give it a try:

Theistic Satanism, also called Traditional or Spiritual Satanism, is the belief that Satan is a god, deity, or higher power, and is worthy of worship and respect. It differs from atheistic Satanism, also known as symbolic or modern Satanism, such as that followed by Anton LaVey’s Church of Satan, which believes that Satan is a symbol of a mans true nature to satisfy his desires and urges, and not an actual entity.

There are many different viewpoints and many different groups that can claim the title of Theistic Satanism but none of them have exclusive use of that title. Regardless of this, many use their own definition and their own meaning and so can cause confusion amongst people who only know of that one kind of theistic satanism. Since it is possible to have views and beliefs so divergent and still remain within the definition, given about, of theistic satanism, this confusion is understandable. Hopefully this article can bring some enlightenment.

Reverse Christianity

One of the first to come to mind and most ‘infamous’ type of theistic satanism is "Reverse Christianity", sometimes known as devil worship. It is the belief in the Christian concept of Satan that is described in their bible. While the title is used pejoratively by some Satanists, those who label themselves as such usually assume it with pride. It is the belief that Satan is warring against the Abrahamic god and His victory is desirable. They see Satan as a champion for the freedom of humanity, but not necessarily a god but rather a fallen angel who is rebelling against the Creator. This form of theistic satanism is probably the form that most people who do not know much about Satanism think about when they think about Satanism, as well as what some Satanists think about when they think about theistic satanism.

Pantheistic/Panentheistic Satanism

Pantheistic Satanists believe that Satan is the sum of the universe, the force permeating nature and is deserving of their reverence and worship. Satan is seen as the ‘dark force of nature’ and the personification of the cosmic principle. They also believe that since Satan is ‘The All’ and since we are part of the all, then we too are part divine. Closely related to Pantheistic Satanists are Panentheistic Satanists (notice the ‘en’ between ‘pan’ and ‘theistic’) who believe that the whole of the universe makes up part of Satan but Satan is not the whole of the universe but rather more than the universe.

Polytheistic Satanism

Polytheistic Satanists worship Satan as a god but not as their only god. He is one of many in a pantheon that can be as unique as the individual believing in it. Some polytheistic satanists may not even worship Satan as the primary god in their pantheon. The polytheists overlap greatly with pantheists/panentheists as seeing the universe as part/whole of the gods. Polytheistic Satanism can also be subdivided as soft polytheists or hard polytheists. Soft Polytheists see the gods as facets of the whole, each god a part, or personality, of the whole. Hard Polytheists see the gods as separate entities from each other, distinct beings in their own right.

Theistic Satanists as a whole tend to agree that Satan wants a more equal relationship with His followers. One of a mentor/student than like that of the Abrahamic gods relationship with its followers; which is seen as one of control and repression. As such, self-development is important to theistic satanists who see it as Satan’s will for us to exercise individuality and freedom of thought.

Theistic Satanism, united in a belief of Satan, do not all adhere to the same system of morality. It is believed that Satan does not dictate rules and behaviors for His followers other than that of person responsibility, everything else is for the individual to decide for themselves. Without personal responsibility, no one can lay claim to their victories or failures and can’t be rewarded or punished accordingly and so will not grow as Satan wills it.

Like any believe system, theistic satanism is complex and is diverse as its followers so this is by no means a complete definition of theistic satanism, but hopefully it can serve as a basis for understanding for those who need it. As an often-misunderstood path, it behooves all who call themselves Satanists to be educated on the subject and to educate others who are not enlightened on what exactly theistic satanism entails.

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism

My book wishlist

I thought I'd compile a list of the books that I want to buy, mainly on the subjects of Demonolatry and Satanism. I'd like to buy at least one book every payday so I can expand my library and learn more than I can online. If you have any comments on my list, please don't hesitate to post them. If you really think I should move a book up my list or drop it completely, then I want to hear from you.

I've recently been acquainted with http://www.lulu.com/ and have found a lot of books that I can't find on Amazon.com, however, the books that I can find on amazon tend to be cheaper and will ship immediately. I guess I should mention that lulu.com is a POD, or print of demand. If you don't know what that means, POD's don't keep stock of the books they have but rather print off a copy when it is needed. That is my understanding at least.

Anyway, here is the list:

The Complete Book of Demonolatry by S. Connolly

I've already purchased this off of lulu and it is being shipped at the moment. I'm excited to receive it since it is supposed to have all the information someone new, like me, needs to know about Demonolatry. I've actually searched for other books on Demonolatry and I can't find anything that is more complete that this title. I guess in this case the title says it all! The stats say it has over 402 pages and weighs in at 1.2 lbs. so it is hefty enough for me to believe that it is chock full of goodies. Its average rating is 5/5 on Amazon and 6/7 on lulu.

Hexagradior - The Bible of Magic by Nemo

This book says that it explains the essence of magic, how some magic works and other magic doesn't. That sounds like a lofty claim but after looking through some of the reviews on amazon (it's rated 4.5/5) my curiosity has been aroused.

Demonolatry Rites by S. Connolly

Another title from S. Connolly, this time giving more Demonolatry rites. I'm interested in reading this so I can have a broader collection of rites so when I'm ready I can work up my own. This book only has 106 pages but it says it has 20 rites and is nicely priced.

Goetic Demonolatry by Ellen Purswell

I own a copy of the Goetia and I've always been intrigued; this seems to be the next step in learning how to work with the Goetic demons. This is a small book but it has a nice and small price tag too.

Sanctus Quattuordecim by M. Delaney

The description says it is as much as book on sigil magic and it is on demon magic. The chaote in my is very excited about that. This book seems to delve a little into generational demonolatry since it says that the sigils in the book were received 150 years ago by the authors family. Another small book for a small price.

Luciferian Witchcraft by Michael Ford

The product description says that it is a 'complete grimoire of Left Hand Path initiation'. That grabbed my attention right there. It has gotten 4.5/5 from 15 reviews. I've heard a few things about the author and so I wanted to check out at least one of his titles. I went with the best reviewed and biggest: this book has 504 pages and comes it at 2.5 lbs. I hope size counts in this case.

Grimorium Verum by Joseph H. Peterson

'Grimorium Verum is one of the most notorious handbooks of black magic', with an introduction like that how can I not want to buy it. I've not actually read a lot on this title as I have on others so I'm not that excited about it at the moment. Maybe once it moves up my list I might decide more on whether to buy it or to drop it. Any feedback would be appreciated!

That is my list so far. I'm sure I have missed a lot of titles that I should look into, but once some books start coming in I'm sure I'll be checking out their bibliographies for more books to read.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, if you have any comments on this list, positive or negative, please let me know. I'd like to save some money by not buying something not worth it.

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism Demonolatry

Oh my Satan!

Since when did the Abrahamic god change its name from Yahweh/Jehovah to 'god'? And why does it get to claim exclusive use of the word 'god' as its name? Wondering what I'm talking about? Here are some phrases you might have used yourself or heard others use:

- Thank god
- God willing
- Well holy god
- God damn it

In the society I'm living in, each and everyone of those phrases is taken to mean that the god in question is the Abrahamic god and not another deity. To make sure the English language hasn't evolved its meaning of the word god, I turned to the American Heritage Dictionary (or at least the dictionary.com version) and this is what I found:

god
n.
- A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped
by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or
reality.

Nope, the meaning hasn't changed, so why does society at large pretend it has? Ethnocentrism? I don't know, but I think maybe.

The crown jewel of this argument that the Abrahamic god (or maybe just its followers) changed its name: Oh my god.

To many Abrahamic people this amounts to nothing less than blasphemy in their religion. They use a book from their bible to prove this point of theirs:

Deuteronomy 5:11 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your
God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

Since the Abrahamic god's name is Yahweh/Jehovah, I don't see why 'oh my god' makes wrongful use of their gods name; unless it, or they, changed its name.

My point to all this: I'm taking back the word 'god', I'm not going to allow the followers of Yahweh/Jehovah to have exclusive use of it, I'm starting a revolution! Ok, scratch the last one.

Being a Theistic Satanist, I worship Satan as my god. He is not my only god but that doesn't matter in this case. When I say "oh my god" I'm referring to Satan. When I say "God watch over me", I'm beseeching Satan to protect me. My god is Satan - not the Abrahamic god, not a Hindu god, or any other god. I get to use the language as it is intended to be used, thank god for that!

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism

Reputation of Satanism

While browsing through Diane Vera's site, Theistic Satanism, I came across an article called 'Should Satanist care about the reputation of Satanism?'. She highlights some points made by people who disagree, who think that satanist should not care about the reputation of Satanism, or who think satanism is better served by having a bad reputation. She then, quite articulately, refutes those points. (You should really do read the actually article, I'm not even close to doing it justice).

I completely agree with Diane on this issue, an issue that has been on my mind of later since I read this article about satanic vandals striking a church. This defacement of property, which amounts to little more than teen angst, has thrown satanism into the public arena with its only ambassadors being two idiots.

I'm not too up to speed on the rights of Canadian citizens but I'd bet that they do have the right to religious freedom. Regardless of where such hate crimes occur, it makes it difficult for us Satanists who are trying to champion freedom of religion; especially when those who also call themselves satanists are the ones infringing on others freedom of religion.

For those satanist who want to start a religious war, know this: we will loose. War is not won by the amount of hate you have for your enemy but rather by the amount of bullets you have to shoot at you enemy. Very often the same people who leap-frogged the 1st Amendment landed firmly on the 2nd Amendment.

For those satanist who want to keep satanism underground: you can stay underground but I'm not. I'm proud to be a Satanist and I want to talk and practice openly. I'm realistic enough to know that I would suffer negatively if I were to do so and that saddens me and makes me want to change it.

For those satanist who want complete freedom to practice their religion: you are not alone. There is more than just satanists who want to enjoy the same freedoms that the major religions enjoy. It isn't going to be easy but it isn't going to be impossible either. We need to educate society not alienate it.

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism

What exactly is a Satanist/Demonolater supposed to like like anyway?

Over at Demonolatry Space, there is a group for people who don't look like what people would imagine a Demonolater or Satanist too look like. It has gotten me thinking, since I fit nice and snugly into that category, what exactly is a satanist or demonolater supposed to be like?

I typically wear 'casual wear', as in jeans and t-shirts. During the summer time I can be found in shorts and sandals. I mostly wear light colored shirts. I once owned a black t-shirt that had a baphomet on it, but that got all ink stained when I was working at a printing press many years ago. Now my most exciting black shirt has 'Guinness' written across the chest.

I'm in my mid-twenties, married with kids. I have a mortgage, two cars, two dogs and a trampoline in my backyard. I work diligently at watering my lawn to keep it nice and green. I spent my weekend cleaning out my garage and I work in Law Enforcement.

I do have one tattoo that is covered when I wear any clothing. My left ear is pierced twice; I have to take the rings out when I'm at work; and my nipples are pierced. My hair is classed as 'conservative' by my department and I have a neatly trimmed goatee (some of what you can see from my little picture on the right).

My kids have their friends over to play and have sleepovers. I eat dinner with my in-laws twice a month. I have a gym membership. I spend many hours a week outside jumping on my trampoline. I sew. I'm not artistic in any way or form. I love listening to ABBA and I play disk golf from time to time.

Am I any less a Satanist/Demonolater? No, I'm not. I pray to Satan many times a day, and wear a baphomet under my shirt. I preform some ritual ceremonies a few times a year (not as much as I would like). I believe in magic and practice it. I meditate, practice vampirism and I'm learning the tarot. I do this all while living and looking like an average American guy... fancy that.

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism Demonolatry

The Mysterious Stranger

I saw this clip and wanted to share. It is snippet from 'The Adventures of Mark Twain', a 1985 claymation film. It is supposed to be an animated adaptation of Mark Twain's unfinished work 'The Mysterious Stranger'



It have very little to do with my belief in Satan, but it fun to watch none the less.

Categorizing my beliefs

I've been doing some research so I can classify my belief system. I'm a theistic satanist, which you can see from my 'About Me', but since that category is quite broad I thought I would try to get specific. I also mentioned that I am reading and learning a lot more about demonolatry but I don't feel comfortable categorizing myself as a demonolater just yet. I've never worked with demons and I've never felt their presence enough to 'know' that they exist. I have worked with Satan and do 'know' that he exists.

I don't believe that Satan is the only higher consciousness, or deity, in existence. I can't be so egotistical to say that my god is the only god. Other people believe in other gods; if those gods didn't exist before people started to believe in them then they certainly do exist now from all that belief. Since monotheism is belief in only one deity and I believe in, or rather acknowledge, more than one deity then that makes me a Polytheist.

Researching it further it seems that there are more than one kind of polytheism. They're soft polytheism who believe that the gods are aspects of a higher god, then they're hard polytheism that believe the gods are separate beings. I prescribe to the second one which makes me a Hard Polytheist.

Digging deeper, I come to pantheism which is the belief that the physical universe is the equivalent to all the gods in existence; and panentheism which believe the physical universe is joined to the gods but the gods are greater than the universe. I believe in higher realms of existence, such as the astral plane and the mental plane. Since these aren't physical and since I gods exist on these planes then I guess that would make me a Panentheist.

So, in a nutshell, I am a panentheistic hard polytheistic satanist. Once I have made 'contact' with demons then I'll be a panentheistic hard polytheistic demonolater. Ain't that great!

Technorati Tags: Theistic Satanism | Demonolatry

I'm back

It has been a good few months since I've been on here, in fact I've all but forgotten about this little blog of mine. I'm kind of embarrassed by that. It feels like a validation of my tendency to quit.

Regardless, I'm back!

I've been studying Demonolatry a lot lately and it is speaking to me. I mean really speaking to me. I've found a site called OFS Demonolatry and it has been educational. After doing a few google searches, I can't find anything that matches it in terms of material.

Diane Vera's site about Theistic Satanism has also been a huge resource to me in the last few weeks. There has a lot of satanic philosophy which I've found enlightening and thought provoking.

Since my interest is back, I've bought a tarot deck last week. Namely the Thoth deck. This is my first time working with the tarot and I'm loving it. I can't believe I've not picked up a deck years ago. It is maddening that I've always know about it just choose to ignore it. I've been getting some good insights and I'm picking it easily. I also bought Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth to go with it but it is a bit to esoteric for me. I'm still glad I bought it though since it goes delve deep in the the symbology of the cards. I ended up buying 'The Tarot Handbook' to get the meanings I've been looking for and I'm happy with it. Other books were suggested to me but the local bookstore didn't carry them and I was impatient.