Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sorcery, but Were Afraid to Ask

By Arlene J. Fitzgerald; 1973, Manor Books

PAGES 41 - 45
(section concerning Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan)

A phenomenon among occultists is Anton Szandor LaVey, doctor of Satanic Theology

and High Priest of the First Church of Satan. It has become fairly obvious in
recent years that LaVey is leader of the Satanist pack, both in this country and
abroad. As one journalist has observed, �The Devil makes good copy,� with the
result that LaVey�s face, which bears a striking resemblence to most people�s
concept of the �Dark Prince,� has become familiar to virtually every man, woman,
and child with access to a newspaper or magazine.

Essentially a witch who practices Black Magic, LaVey has a following of some 10,000
carefully screened disciples who participate in rites featuring nude females as
altars and phallic symbols as instruments of benediction. LaVey, who contends that
every man has a devil inside, emphasizes in his Satanic Bible that the Satanist
realizes only by taking the in initiative can man expect to get what he wants from
life. The popular Satanist advises to act on their own behalf instead petitioning
God to intercede for them. His premise, that a positive attitude brings results,
reads amazingly like simular statements attributed to Christiandom�s Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale.

Condemning all forms of �white light� action, which include both modern occultism
and religions, as hypocritical, Satanists assume a realistic point of view which
claims to see man as he is: a goal-striver who is out to get all he can from life
for himself. As LaVey puts it, it is no sin to be as greedy as you like! As is the
case in both White and Black Magic, it is the end in which it is directed that
makes the difference, the White Magic practitioner supposedly infusing his will
with love and devotion toward a spiritual ideal, while the will of the sorcerer
involved in Black, or Devil Magic, is said to be motivated by feelings of
resentment, lust and greed.

The popular Satanist advises to

act on their own behalf instead petitioning God to intercede��
It is for this reason that magic is considered by many to be dangerous, not only to
the individual who is apt to be carried away by the force of his own power, once he
has succeeded in proving himself that he can inflict his will on others in a
forceful manner, but becaus the magical formulas, pentacles, spells, incantations
anf other rituals which are powered by the individual will can also be directed by
the accumulated energy of any who have ever used them in the past.

Accordingly, malicious forces are unleashed and continue to gain in strength as

they are re-energized and their power enhanced by each successive use. Such forces
are said to be capable of wreaking destruction. The same theory of reinforced power
is said by religionists to be behind the beneficent healing forces which cause
miraculous cures to occur at consecrated places.

The very sins set forth as �deadly� by the Christian faith have become part of the
Satanist�s creed. Envy is viewed by LaVey, as explained in his Satanic Bible, as
viewing the possessions of others in a favorable light. Envy and greed are seen by
him as the motivating powers that trigger ambition without which there would be
very little if any progress toward achieving personal goals.

Gluttony is considered by LaVey to be equally innocuous, since it is merely of

eating more than is needed to maintain life. When carried to extremes it serves to
trigger yet another sin, pride, which will then motivate the individual so affected
to take action in an attempt to regain his appearance and restore his self-respect.
�Satanism is simply being honest,� a feminine devotee has said of the cult.
�Brutally honest. But why kid ourselves? Who doesn�t want the best out of life?
Aren�t we all basically involved in trying o make our lives as good as is humanly
possible. It�s human to want to gain greater control over what we can be and can
acquire for ourselves in the way of material possessions. Satanism lets you be
human.�

High Priest LaVey writes that his religion is a faith of the flesh. As defined by
him, it is a religion that realizes the current needs of man and serves to fill the
gap between religion and psychiatry, the former no longer being able of providing
enlightened man with the ritualistic ceremonies he needs while psychiatry is said
to have robbed man of the wonder and fantasy that was once provided by his
religion.

Unlike certain witchraft ceremonies, Satanist rites are not designed to evoke
demons, which LaVey sees as a product of fear since most witches see fit to protect
themselves by carrying out their Black Magic while protected by a magic circle.

There is nothing furtive about the Satanist. In fact, every aspect of his religion
would appear designed to promote man�s ego. To the dedicated Satanist, the name
�Satan� is representative of �a force in nature� and has little to the usual
behorned, cloven-hooved, black-coated creature who presented his posterior to
receive the kisses of adulation bestowed upon him by early-day practitioners.

�Satan is representative of �a force in nature� and has [no connection to the]

cloven-hooved creature��
Nor are sexual orgies and promiscuity common to LaVey�s brand of Satanism as he
explains it in his Satanic Bible, the general concensus being that those who wish
to �swing� are free to indulge heir desires, just as any who may prefer to remain
chaste may do so with no fear of condemnation. The choice belongs entirely to the
individual to be decided by his own tastes and inclinations, with any type of
sexual activity that fulfills inividual desires being condoned, so long as it
involves no one who does not wish to be a part of it.

On the whole, most of what LaVey has set forth to serve as a guideline to his
church members lets them have their cake and eat it, too. Contending that society
in the future will be based on �indulgence,� LaVey is quoted by Judith Rascoe in an
article appearing in McCall�s, March 1970: �We�ve......established a philosophy
that advocates all of what most Americans practice whether they call it Satanism or
not.�

At least one of the questions posed by the questionnaire for membership in the
First Church of Satan delves into the quality of the petitioner�s sex life. LaVey
said that he would prefer those who are actively seeking fun-and-games to do their
searching elsewhere. Thus a good qualification for possible acceptance by his group
seems to be a well-developed love life that poses no psychological problems.

�If you join the Church of Satan, you will be judged on your individual merits and
abilities and nothing else,� LaVey advised a homosexual who queried him via his
�Letters To The Devil� column which appeared in National Insider. The homosexual
asked if his particular sexual preference would help him to become a better
Satanist. �What you do so far as your sex life is concerned is only the affair of
yourself and your partner(s).�

It is only when America�s Black Pope delves into the casting of the spells that are
an essential part of all magic ceremonies that some serious doubts may begin to
take root in the mind fo the observer. Certainly, very few would be apt to object
to the use of psychic powers to help bring about a more favorable circumstance in a
more or less harmless manner, such as attempting to bring back a recalcitrant
husband or lover or restoring health to a loved one.

But what of the death spells designed, as LaVey tells us, to destroy an enemy by
proxy? Do they really work? Anton LaVey�s Satanic Church has gained a certain
acceptance and even respectability in American society, thanks to his superb sense
of timing.

�Somehow the counter-culture was ready for a Satanic Priest, and Anton was ready to
present himself Prince of Darkness...� San Francisco journalist, Merla Zellerbach,
wrote resently of this modern-day version of Satan incarnate in her Chronicle
column. As Mrs. Zellerbach goes on to observe, �Every sucess story has its
imitator�.�

But as yet, no Black Mass enthusiast has succeeded in posing any serious threat to
LaVey in his prominant role as �the Advocates� Devil.�

From the collection of and transcribed by Draconis Blackthorne.

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PUBLICATION
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sorcery, but Were Afraid to Ask by Arlene
J. Fitzgerald

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sorcery, but Were Afraid to Ask
by Arlene J. Fitzgerald
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Anton Szandor LaVey Sigil with Lightning Bolts

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Anton LaVey - Interview from Death Scenes
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Anton Szandor LaVey Sigil with Lightning Bolts

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Anton Szandor LaVey Sigil with Lightning Bolts

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