"Satanic Rituals" -- Same Package, Different Labels
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
India
December 15, 2008 12:04am CST
I spent my Sunday afternoon reading "The Satanic Rituals" by Anton Szandor LaVey. Now, I don't know much about this topic, but isn't that the same guy who founded the Church of Satan and wrote the "Satanic Bible"? I did try my hardest to get my hands on a copy of the Satanic Bible, but couldn't. It is not available free, and I am a bit of a miser!!
Ok, now for my experiences with the "Satanic Rituals"! The book was quite interesting! I read about a number of Satanic rituals, including the Black Mass. Significant portions of the black mass liturgy was reproduced in the book. Now, I understand the logic behind the Black Mass...it is an angry reaction to the lies and crimes of Christianity and, therefore, perfectly understandable.
What I failed to understand was the point of it all. LaVey's Satan has the same attributes as the God of most religions. It is just a substitution! In other words, the existence of LaVey's Satan can't be proved just as the existence of the Christian God or any other God for that matter can't be proved. So why the substitution? Just another angry reaction against established religion and its pseudo morality?
Now for the other rites, most of them invoked a variety of deities drawn from various cultures. Who are these demons or demi gods or gods if you wish to call them that? It sure seems odd to invoke unknown deities for help.
Ironically, Satanism believes that the Self is God. Now, if Self is God, why call upon Lucifer and others? Why not draw your power from within yourself?
These, in "short", were my reactions to "Satanic Rituals"
Have anything to say?
Cheers and happy mylotting
1 person likes this
10 responses
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
16 Dec 08
I've come to the conclusion that I don't care what religion anybody practices, they can worship as many gods or devils or whatever, as they want, as long as it's working for them and they don't try to shove it down my throat. And they don't think they're doing that half the time, like I've got this friend who is a christian and she keeps sending me all these stupid emails with pictures of Jesus & lambs & stuff, espousing all kinds of christian 'wisdom' like she thinks she's going to 'win me over' to christianity. And that look they get on their faces when they are judging you to be a 'poor lost soul'... god they get on my nerves.
I think I will start sending her emails about yoga, meditation, and the Law of Attraction, hehehe. And persist in doing so even after she has told me she is not interested, which of course she would not be because the christian god is very strict about what's ok and what is the devil's work. Personally I think they are all confused.
1 person likes this
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
16 Dec 08
Hi Zig!! LOL!! I know quite a bit about your simple philosophy of life...as for these pestering emails, they are just pathetic Christian attempts to peddle their outdated faith. I keep getting those too, and I delete them without even opening them. I feel like telling the guy who sends me all that stuff to spare me, but we are a close-knit community here, and if I send him such an email, he will send it to all the priests in Mangalore, and before I know it, half of them will be at my doorstep, dying to save my soul.
Cheers and thanks for the lovely response.
1 person likes this
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
16 Dec 08
Yeah, this is the lady who gives me water from her spring, and I do like her, in fact she is really my best friend in this small community, but man, I have had to just start deleting her email without opening it too! She knows how I feel about christianity, yet she still sends me this crap. Hahahha, funny... "peddling their outdated faith". 
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
16 Dec 08
Hi positiveminded, I have heard of the satanism, if this is the same thing, it's been around for a long time. I agree with practically everything you say here, it just seems to be a backlash to other religions and of course they can't prove their beliefs either. I was rather shocked to hear that they believe that the self is God. If more people were spiritual instead of religious, we'd have a much better world. Blessings.
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@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
16 Dec 08
Quite a lot of philosophies in this world are of the opinion that the self is God, Pose. :)
Thanks for the response.
@zigzagbuddha (4601)
• United States
16 Dec 08
We are part of 'God', and as such have access to the energy that creates worlds. 'God' is not a separate entity outside of ourselves. There is no 'devil', there is only 'God'. I don't understand why religions would want to imagine a split in the energy flow and call one good and the other bad and project it outside of themselves to boot. It's insanity if you ask me.
2 people like this
@Ravenladyj (22902)
• United States
15 Dec 08
I have and have read the Satanic Bible but not the book you mention..Satan in Satanism is simply another aspect of the Self..Of course there are some Satanists who believe that "Satan" is an actual being but many dont..just like they dont believe in God or that God is an actual being...
Whats the point of Satanism? IMO Its a pride for self thing, a philosophy of living in a way that puts you above others rather than you always getting the short end of the stick....I could probably word it better than that but my coffee hasnt kicked in yet LOL
1 person likes this
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
16 Dec 08
I really wish your coffee had kicked in, Raven! LOL! Thanks for the response, anyway. Did you find that Satanic Bible online?
Cheers and happy Mylotting
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
15 Dec 08
Hi positiveminded,
For me I don't believe in satan as that is dreamt up by christains, I am a pagan and I only believe what is round me, what God has created, some people are pure evil and they say its the devil, crap.
Tamara
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@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
15 Dec 08
You're correct. He did found the church of Satan and wrote the Satanic bible. I haven't read any of his stuff but I'm interested and check out Aleister Crowleys stuff seeing as he was such a big influence on LaVey
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
16 Dec 08
Thanks a lot! I will surely look up Aleister Crowley...thanks for the tip.
Cheers!
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
16 Dec 08
My understanding is that much of the Gardnerian tradition's ritual and practice was written by Crowley and/or Gardner's High Priestess Doreen Valiente. Certainly the third order initiation is straight from Crowley.
Lash
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
16 Dec 08
hi positiveminded...just my thoughts on this. All religions start with God being within ourselves.Because we have to believe in it for it to be. As for God and Satan..there really can't be one without the other...it represents good and evil.Demons represent evils armies and angels good's.Religion of all kinds really do boil down to the fight between good and evil within ourself. No matter what ritual you practice,it really just boils down to what is acceptable within yourself.As far as the Satanic Bible,it's the exact reverse of the Holy Bible and why wouldn't it be? It represents the things we fight everyday.
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
16 Dec 08
I haven't read it, I don't think I want too, but you raise from very good points, thanks for the discussion, and an enlightenment on what these people believe in
@Galena (9110)
•
15 Dec 08
I've not read any of Laveys books. I should do really, I'm sure they're very interesting.
I have however, had several good friends who are Satanists, and many discussions with them.
both they and I had much the same conclusion. Lavey was a bit of an attention seeker, and for that reason, chose to equate his philosophy with the bad guy in the Christians book.
on the one hand, you can see how much of Christianity tries to suppress human nature, and human self reliance spiritually, so Satan can easily be understood as a symbol of the parts of human nature considered bad by some Christians.
on the other, it just comes over as attention seeking.
but.
the moral code is a good one, the people following it seem self assured, certainly quite moral, and intelligent human beings.
the only criticism I would have of the path is that the moral code seems a little selfish.
BUT my experience of it's followers is that despite this they are no more selfish as individuals than anyone else.
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
16 Dec 08
Hi Galena...I sort of grasped that much...but you made it much clearer! Yup, the moral code seems selfish, but I guess it also boosts self-confidence. You are lucky to have friends who can actually tell you about it. :)
Cheers and happy mylotting
@Tushavi (2077)
• Karachi, Pakistan
15 Dec 08
Hey Dear as a Honest Friends our suggestion is Please Don't read those books its very bad & worse Because Thinking Satan & Satanism is very worse for your life. I chat a guys omg! he tells me something very horrible but i don't share here because its not nice to you know about stupidity & credulity of Satan. What about ya??
have a nice day.
@heyurock (85)
• United States
15 Dec 08
I understand your curiosity, but if you truly have faith in God, then your questions will all be answered by him - you don't need to study Satan, study and learn the word of God - he is the only true judge in this world - you don't answer to satan - God bless
