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But we were born of risen apes, not fallen angels, and the apes were armed killers besides. And so what shall we wonder at? Our murders and massacres and missiles, and our irreconcilable regiments? Or our treaties whatever they may be worth; our symphonies however seldom they may be played; our peaceful acres, however frequently they may be converted into battlefields; our dreams however rarely they may be accomplished. The miracle of man is not how far he has sunk but how magnificently he has risen. We are known among the stars by our poems, not our corpses.

Robert Ardrey, African Genesis

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Want to know how Satanists live and think? This is a great listen!

Magus Peter H. Gilmore & Magistra Ruth Waytz on NPR: Satanism: Religion, Philosophy, Lifestyle

Colin McEnroe talks to the Church of Satan about the core principles of Satanism, spending time with Anton LaVey, how it differs from secular humanism, and more. John Crow joins them to discuss the academic study of Satanism.

Link: http://wnpr.org/post/satanism-religion-philosophy-lifestyle#stream/0

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Magic over Time

A conversation came up recently about how our personal relationship to magic evolves over the years. Here’s my experience.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, my emotions were more volatile (though I've always been relatively grounded). At that time, I really appreciated and utilized ritual as a release. As I've gotten older, my needs have changed. First, I've come to take more of a laissez faire approach; when someone does something to provoke me, they're usually not worth the time and energy of even a figurative destruction. Second, I have accomplished more of what I want out of life, and more is within my control. I’ve mentioned in a past post why ritual is most effectively used in situations outside our control. For those reasons, my need for greater magic has declined, or at least my need for destruction, lust, and compassion rituals. At the same time, I feel bare without an element of fantasy in my life. Sometimes I can fulfill that need by losing myself in a great work of art, such as a bombastic symphony or dark movie. Sometimes I can fulfill it by flexing my own creative muscles. But still, I feel drawn to ritual. Because of the shift in my needs, I'm more likely to partake in ritual outside of the destruction / lust / compassion tradition, and it is often informal and spontaneous. For example, something I do more regularly is a sort of fortifying ritual - focusing and magnifying my will to increase my confidence and power, sometimes generally and sometimes around a specific situation. I also appreciate ceremonial magic to commemorate a milestone or change. I think there is a utility in regular greater magic practice, as long as ritual does not become rote or a compulsion. I know people in other magical practices who practice magic compulsively, or as mechanically as memorizing vocabulary or visiting the gym. Compulsiveness turns magic into superstition, and regular magic for magic's sake removes the emotional impact that makes it successful.

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My People

Last weekend, I attended the Church of Satan 50th anniversary conclave and ritual.

So many times, I looked around and thought "these are my people." I heard it in your laughter, saw it in the sparkle of your eyes, felt it in the most earnest moments as well as the lightest.

It might sound trivial, but I never expected to experience this. From a young age, I thought I would never have that feeling, that "my people" did not exist, that I was an island. I didn't mind, for the most part. But there were times I felt it so deeply, like New Year's Eve 2002, when I wrote this in my journal:

“Dredging the sea of faces that surrounded me, I felt completely alien. Not alienated, just alien. I've had that feeling a lot - that only a handful of people are of the same species as me, have the type of face that is to me either familiar or intriguing. Sometimes I think we are really like fireflies, constantly searching for others with the same flashes, only with us the flashes are not of light, but of some less visible quality like energy or a subtle electricity.”

I am still an island. We all are - that's the point. But our side of the ocean is the most beautiful, and I feel at home. Thank you, my favorite fireflies. 

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The Devil. Or, the New-Jersey Dance, 1797.

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Hope

The word "hope" has always left me uneasy. It reeks of too much prayer and too little action, of misguided energy and unrealistic expectations.

Recently, however, reading Sam Harris' Free Will made me reconsider its meaning. Many of us are not blind to scientific evidence that our actions and decisions are beyond our conscious control. Still, we act like we have full agency over our lives. We turn intentions into reality. We take responsibility for our successes and failures. We organize chaos. We make magic.

Living my life as if I had full control, even when I know I do not: this is what "hope" means to me.

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The Dark Side

Like most children of the early 80s, I watched the original Star Wars trilogy with wide-eyed excitement. But unlike my Luke-loving classmates, I was drawn to the masked Darth Vader.

He appeared in my dreams and my daydreams. When I gazed out the window of my elementary school classroom at the sledding hill past the baseball fields, I imagined his silhouette floating in my direction, coming for me. It was an encompassing pre-sexual obsession. I had no interest in the politics of the movie, but I was fascinated with the aesthetic and power of darkness. It was a natural attraction for me; I felt neither fear nor guilt.

This  was one of the first times I realized how my preferences and outlook differed from those around me. It also might have been the first time I met my Jungian shadow, so to speak.

This is a great short reading on the Jungian Shadow in Star Wars. An excerpt:

"Actively acknowledging one’s darker side and taking control of it is a much more positive approach. [...]  Confronting your dark side leads to a stronger, more balanced individual."

Around this age (5-8), when I encountered imagery that frightened my friends, I deliberately chose to flip my experience and enjoy it. I very clearly remember a multi-day attack of insomnia after watching a scary movie. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see an endless march of skeletons and demons. I remember making my peace with this darkness, deciding that they were my friends, and finally sleeping soundly.

This apparent paradox has always been obvious to me! It seems natural that I should be blonde, bright, happy - yet deeply attracted to darkness. It's only because of that balance that I have the ability to shine. This seed may have been planted at my first exposure to Star Wars, and for that I am grateful. 

(Bonus: if you want to hear Satanists discuss Star Wars, I recommend the 11/29/15 episode of 9Sense podcast)

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How to Look Alive

Clothing color is a powerful lesser magic tool. The Satanic Witch addresses color starting on page 178. This insightful quote is (sadly) still true more than forty years later: "Most witches make the mistake of assuming black to be the standard of all clothing." 

Most of the time, we want to wear colors that flatter us, that make us look alive. Occasionally, we might do the opposite if we are trying to solicit sympathy for a sickly appearance. Aside from either, we might choose a color based on the target of our affections. Whatever our aim, we need to know what colors work for us.

How can we find "our" colors? Don't just rely on comments from friends; these reflect their preferences and only address the colors you already own. Instead, look to color analysis for an objective recommendation.

Color Analysis

Seasonal color analysis is a popular model. Try to "type" yourself based on a quiz like this, or take a look at all types and consider where you’d fit (search for seasonal color analysis quiz to find more). Because these quizzes vary, and you may have trouble self-identifying characteristics like "cool eyes," you could end up with several possibilities. That's fine. Take some photos in natural light with recommended colors draped below your face for an honest comparison. If you're truly stumped, you can hire a professional analyst.

Tips

Don't let your dislike of a certain color get in the way - if it makes you look alive, embrace it. 

If you must keep a favorite item in an unflattering color, accessorize with a flattering scarf close to your face.

Men - don't think this just applies to the ladies!

If you’re not white, some of the quizzes and resources may be misleading. Search until you find one that applies to you.

If you must wear an unflattering color (for witchery or otherwise) and want it to be flattering, use color analysis principles to alter your features accordingly. For example, a fair-haired girl needing to wear a typical winter palette might use makeup to increase contrast.

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Satan in Poughkeepsie 

Alex Mar’s personal essay about the Church of Satan appears in The Believer.

It covers much ground regarding “The Satanic Panic” and includes her reactions and observations regarding interviews with several members during an afternoon tea held at The Black House.

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Exorcising Your Circle of Concern

The late Stephen Covey might have been a Mormon, but his work contains many ideas that can augment Satanic success.   One of these ideas is found within the first of his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - circles of Influence and Concern. 

Here's a brief explanation of the idea. We each have direct control over some areas in our lives; this is our Circle of Influence. Beyond it is everything outside our direct control, our Circle of Concern.

For example, most of us can increase our physical fitness by exercising, or educate ourselves with library books: these are in our Circle of Influence. On the other hand, most of us cannot control the outcome of the next election, whether a love interest is mutual, or construction traffic: these are in our Circle of Concern. Covey posits that focusing on our Circle of Influence will make us more effective and energized, and ultimately cause that circle's footprint to grow. In contrast, spending too much time worrying about the out-of-reach issues in our Circle of Concern will leave us pessimistic and drained. 

What does this mean for Satanists?

Our Circle of Influence is where we should take action and proactively exercise responsibility.

Our Circle of Concern is a where we should ritualize, with the goal of exorcising our anxieties and obsessions so we can shift our focus back to what we can control.

The importance of ritualizing the Circle of Concern is described in this passage from The Satanic Bible:

"The purpose of the ritual is to FREE the magician from thoughts that would consume him, were he to dwell upon them constantly. Contemplation, daydreaming and constant scheming burns up emotional energy that could be gathered together in a dynamically usable force; not to mention the fact that normal productivity is severely depleted by such consuming anxiety." 

An Example

Many of us may feel that our far-future health is outside of our control; perhaps we feel helpless in the face of genetic predisposition to a disease. But if we focus on regular exercise, something within our influence, we begin to gain more control of our overall health. Our circle of influence grows.

On the other hand, if we solely focus on whether we'll get Alzheimer's, our anxiety may cause us insomnia, or we may desperately drown our hopelessness in a bottle of tequila, and our general health will suffer. By focusing on what is outside of our control, our circle of influence actually shrinks!

In this case, a compassion ritual could exorcise those nagging anxieties, allowing us to shift our focus away from what we can’t control and back to our Circle of Influence.

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Ritual as Irony-Buster

I recently attended a participatory, imaginary, ceremonial event. This was a great opportunity to people watch; most participants were uncomfortable with engaging earnestly in a fabricated situation. In what were supposed to be solemn individual moments, they shifted nervously, giggled, took selfies, and snapchatted videos of each other. There is an embarrassment in solemnity, an emotional risk in taking something seriously. In a culture for which everything is a joke, we seem especially old-fashioned when we invest ourselves in a moment. 

I'm not the first to notice this trend. Plenty of social commentators have noted that younger generations seem stricken with a perpetual irony and an inability to be sincere. They try to shake off every vestige of earnestness, exorcising the shame of enthusiastic 80s aerobics by facetiously wearing new neon leotards from American Apparel. 

Jokey funeral selfies: the ultimate attempt to avoid a solemn moment (Source: selfiesatfunerals)    

This article from Salon perfectly articulates my thoughts on this tendency and its cause.  

Cultural irony is an anxiety of investment, often a fleeting sense of superiority for such self-awareness, and a desire to latch onto edgy ideals of obscurity. In shielding ourselves from criticism, we are anything but earnest; ultimately, our apathy is a reflection of our insecurity.

I'm not suggesting we should avoid irony entirely. It can be effective, and humorous devices of any kind are an important tool to Satanists. But there's a difference between a deep belly laugh and the apathetic "humor" people use to shield themselves from the uncomfortable. Ritual is a tool that can fight this cultural tendency. It teaches us to be earnest, to invest ourselves in a moment. It is an act we participate in fully and without self-consciousness. We discover what it is like to have an emotional experience not punctuated by an eye-roll or a nervous laugh. We learn this in private, and although we leave a lot behind in the ritual chamber, we can carry a memory of this feeling into our daily lives.

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The Subliminal Satanism of Ghost

The band Ghost seems to be a divisive topic among Satanists. I have no interest in speculating if any members are Satanists, or whether they can be called a "satanic band" (I'd prefer to never again hear that inane phrase), or even if their music is good.

Instead, I'd like to propose that behind Ghost's antics are several deliberate applications of some of the more subtle and overlooked themes of Satanism. Perhaps it's these artful devices, not necessarily their music or heavy-handed aesthetic, that pique the interest of many Satanists - myself included.

1. Devilish Melodies Unlike most bands that present an overtly Satanic image, Ghost pairs the aesthetic with poppy, catchy tunes. This approach is an obvious departure from the arcane and often unpleasant sounds of most pentagram-clad rockers, an rare step in the direction of "songs that you can understand, lyrics you can hear." (For the context of that quote, reread “Time to Start Kicking Ass” in The Devil’s Notebook.) 

2. Recreating the Past Erotic Crystallization Inertia is a concept that doesn't get enough airplay in conversations about Satanism. This band is very thoughtful in their (re)creation of the past. 

“We’ve chosen to go backward as opposed to being more contemporary. [...] The idea of Ghost was to pretend it was 1976 and metal didn’t really exist. We wanted to travel back to the magic and imagery of that era and present it in a theatrical and mysterious way.” [Guitar World, July 2013]

Their time travel takes place musically and also in other media. Among other examples: the video for Secular Haze was recorded in an old TV studio on video, and the result is a delightfully awkward 70s-era live TV performance. The announcement for their latest album debuted at 2am on VH1 Classic after a screening of Caddyshack. 

This use of ECI means Ghost appeals to grandparents as much as their grandchildren. I’ve heard more than one fan giddily whisper, “Ghost makes me feel like I’m a teenager again.”

3. Secular Ritual This band hails from Sweden, a famously secular country. They agree that traditional religion is a negative influence on society, but also point out that the ritualistic trappings of religion are powerful and can be used to our advantage. This, to me, is the essence of Satanism as religion. 

“What we wish to simulate at our shows, to the point where it's real, is a mass," Nameless Ghoul says. "It's this idea of religion, where people meet in a room or a building or a place that we have agreed upon as being solemn, and we then conduct predetermined rituals [...] in order for us to reach a sense of divine presence. And a lot of the sensations that we are evoking at our shows are very close to the sort of warm religious feelings you would get from an actual church mass. We're using the same sort of symbolism as the church, in a way, but with the idea of achieving bliss. Joyful bliss." [Rolling Stone, August 2015]

4. Artificiality Music fans often have a fetish for the real; they want a musician's songs to be from the heart, his convictions honest. In the words of Ghost: “Most bands nowadays [...] insist about singing about ‘real stuff.’ Divorce, alcoholism, ‘You’re like me, I’m like you.’" [Pitchfork, 2013]

Ghost is the opposite: layer upon layer of artifice. Perhaps the truest demonstration of this artifice is when they "unmask" their frontman - except, he is obviously still wearing a mask.

This unabashed pursuit of the artificial reminds me of the essay "The Merits of Artificiality" in The Devil's Notebook: 

"Only when one can fully accept artificiality as a natural and often superior development of intelligent life can one have and hold a powerful magical ability. Artificiality is more than completely honest; it forestalls disappointment at thing not being what they appear to be. If you know something is phony from the outset, your imagination can make it as real as needs be."

5. Suspension of Disbelief And, relatedly: they ask their fans to pretend with them. 

"We’re summoning people into a room and we’re orchestrating a ritual in which X amount of people agree upon worshiping us and we in turn tell everyone what to do and how to feel." [Loudwire, August 2015] 

Many successful performers take their audiences on this same mental journey, but they usually are not so candid about it.

6. Humor Let’s not forget the value that Satanism places on humor. I feel like I’m wearing out my copy of The Devil’s Notebook in this post, but I’ll refer you to the essay “T’aint Funny, McGee,” which has quotable nuggets like “There is no sorcerer without a sense of humor.” If you haven’t read it lately, do.

This quote from a January 2012 interview with the A.V. Club speaks to this, as do their tongue-in-cheek antics. 

“On a philosophical level, definitely the whole concept of Satanism and the traditional Christian Satan is a huge influence. It’s the main core of what we’re doing. Even though the subjects that we’re dealing with are from a very, very humanist place, in terms of actually talking more about the relationship of deity and man. Or woman. We’re using the old—what’s the word?—the imagery of classic devil worshiping and damnation. It’s a very strong vision, and a very strong message. It deals with everything that’s human—every thought, and laughter, and everything you do is highly, highly blasphemous. That’s why we incorporate laughter into what we’re doing: because it is a tool of the devil.”