With all these Satanic books out there, it can take some time to determine which ones are for you and which are best for others. And only a few books can be found in your local library or indie bookstore. So how do we know if we’ll like a book before we acquire it? Wouldn’t it be lovely if someone read it and reviewed it for us? Good news, devilish readers: The Satanic Library is now open.
Hello, readers, and welcome to the Satanic Library. I am Jamison Rowan, your librarian of these infernal stacks. This first episode will be an introduction as I tell you about myself, the show, and why I’m starting it. Then I will jump right into our first book, the quintessential Satanic text, Anton LaVey’s The Satanic Bible.
To start with some information about myself: I am a Satanist who works in the cataloging department of my local public library. I read Anton LaVey’s The Satanic Bible about ten years ago in college and liked much of what LaVey said. Since college, I looked here and there into other religions but found myself coming back to Satanism. I wanted to learn more. I built a reading list of books I could find on the topic and listened to Satanic podcasts. I am fascinated by the many different perspectives on what makes a Satanist.
The episodes of the podcasts that I enjoyed most were the ones reviewing books. The Satanic Bible was covered in almost all of them, and then one or two podcasts would review something else. I wanted more episodes like those with analyses of books like Children of Lucifer by Ruben van Luijk or Romantic Satanism by Peter A. Schock. That’s when the idea of this podcast took shape. I wanted something that didn’t quite exist and decided, why don’t I bring it to life?
So this show will be precisely that: a series of analyses and reviews of books about Satanism, going chapter by chapter with the goal that by the book’s conclusion, there will either be a clearer picture of the complexity of Satanism and its history or an examination of what the author gets wrong. Consider it your on-the-go Satanic literary criticism.
Who is it for? Anyone who is Satanic or Satan-curious who loves books. It’s for someone who loves a certain book but can’t find anyone else with whom to talk about it. It’s for someone who is interested in the infernal literature but has zero time to read and really wants to know what this or that book says.
If you want to get a copy of each book I review, I will list where to find it and which edition I used if applicable. As a librarian, my recommendation will always be to get the book through your public library first. If anything about a library is satanic, it’s the mission to fight censorship and maintain intellectual freedom. Knowledge is for everyone. If Eve had been holding an enormous tome instead of an apple, I think that all the snake had to say was, “Intellectual Freedom!” And Eve would’ve opened the book and replied, “Shut up, I’m reading.” If a book cannot be requested through your local library, my next recommendation is your local independent bookstore, but if that fails, then Barnes & Noble and Amazon, also Internet Archive in some cases, are almost sure to have the books I cover.
For the distribution schedule, the current plan is for episodes to be released every two or three weeks. That will give me enough time to read the text, take notes, complete any necessary research, write a rough script, then record and edit.
Now, an important note: in most cases (emphasis on most), if a group identifies as Satanic, that is what I am going to call them. I understand that the Church of Satan, the original Satanic group, does not recognize any other group as such. They had it first and made it a legal, religious term. There is no argument to be made against that fact. Yet the word Satanism has been taken and used beyond their control, most notably by the Satanic Temple. I’m not sure they can successfully reclaim the exclusive use of the word unless the Satanic Temple either disbanded or other groups use a different word for their practices. My personal opinion is that if you believe in Lucifer and Satan as a metaphor, most commonly for rebellion and individuality, and that metaphor is the basis for your religious belief, you’re a Satanist. You’re also a Satanist if you literally worship Satan—what other word could you possibly use? Yes, there’s “devil-worshipper,” but there are also a lot of lesser deities called devils and one Satan. Devil-worshipper is not specific enough. People will say I’m wrong, but that is my opinion.
For the listeners who are new to Satanism and don’t know much about its divisions, I’ll give you a quick, oversimplified run-down of what I’ll call the alignments. First is the Church of Satan, founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. They are the original Satanists who are fiercely protective of that term because they had it first and made Satanism legally recognized. Anyone who does not subscribe to LaVey’s beliefs is not recognized by them as a Satanist.
Opposite of them is the second alignment, the Satanic Temple, founded in 2013 by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry. They are a political activist group who works for inclusivity and social justice. They think Church of Satan is outdated and elitist gatekeepers. Likewise, COS views TST as arrogant pretenders whose beliefs are so open-ended and vague, they mean nothing. This is the rivalry in Satanism you hear about the most.
After these two big groups, you have the third alignment, the independent Satanists. These are multiple smaller groups that don’t agree with all of COS and they’re not fans of TST, so they adapt the teachings of either to make their own thing. They tend to be the most open-minded Satanists, and will not challenge anyone else’s use of the term. This is where I myself align. What these groups have in common with COS and TST is that they are atheistic.
Which brings us to the fourth alignment, which is Theistic Satanists, also called devil-worshippers. These are the groups that believe in Satan as a real being and commune with demons. Many atheistic Satanists look down on these groups as deluded fools who take Satanism too far, while the Theistic Satanists consider atheistic Satanists to be self-satisfied fools depriving themselves of true Satanic experiences with their skepticism.
So those are the four main alignments of Satanism: Church of Satan, Satanic Temple, independent atheistic Satanists, and Theistic Satanists. Each group has issues with the others, so anything one group says about Satanism will get challenged as wrong by two out of the other three.
Is there anything they have in common? Yes. They all believe in the power of the individual self, to reject teachings that force you to tamper down your natural human tendencies. All Satanists will say, “Be yourself. Be human. Put yourself first and take no shit. And don’t be a dick.”
And that is it for the introduction and overview of Satanism. Let us take a quick break and then dive right into The Satanic Bible.
[Break]
Satanists, novice and veteran, know The Satanic Bible. Love it or hate it, it’s started a lot of personal journeys down the Left-Hand Path. If you haven’t heard of this book…I can only wonder how that is possible. This is LaVey’s first book, published in 1969 by Avon Books after a friend suggested he put his teachings in one text. It is still available in print; I have seen it many times in Barnes & Noble, along with the book’s companion piece, The Satanic Rituals. It’s on Amazon, and if you want your copy to have a fancy leather cover, check out Etsy. It’s a standard mass-market paperback, making it an excellent portable size. I got my personal copy about ten years ago from Barnes & Noble, and it’s held up nicely through all the times I’ve carried it in my satchel.
The full contents of the book are an introduction, LaVey’s preface, prologue, and his 9 Satanic Statements. Then there are the four main parts, represented by an element: (Fire) Book of Satan, (Air) Book of Lucifer, (Earth) Book of Belial, and (Water) Book of Leviathan. The total page count is 270 pages. Today, we will focus on the foreword through the statements.
Starting the book with the dedication page, present editions just have the page that says “For Diane,” LaVey’s second partner. There was originally a longer dedication to many more people, such as Rasputin, “who knew the magic of a child,” Mark Twain, “a very brave man,” the “Nine Unknown Men,” whom I assume are the Council of Nine (the ruling body of Church of Satan), and Ragnar Redbeard, “whose might is right.” Satanists know that LaVey copied from Redbeard’s Might is Right for The Satanic Bible. I’ll cover that in my next episode.
Since 1969, the book has had four introductions by three authors: from 1969 to 1972, the introduction was by Burton H. Wolfe, the author of The Devil’s Avenger: A Biography of Anton Szandor LaVey, published in 1974; 1972-1976, the intro was by Michael A. Aquino, a former Church of Satan member who left in 1975 to form The Temple of Set; Burton H. Wolfe wrote a revised introduction from 1976-2005; and then from 2005 onward, the intro is by CoS’s current High Priest Peter H. Gilmore.
Each introduction gives a brief bio of LaVey. (Side note: There has been skepticism regarding LaVey’s history, but I will cover that in a later episode when I review his biographies. For now, I’ll provide a combined bio from the four introductions.) He was born in 1930 and grew up listening to his Eastern European grandmother’s folklore. His favorite books included Frankenstein and Dracula and he enjoyed film noir. He grew up during World War 2, so he had a lot of exposure to military science literature, which encouraged within him the idea that humans persevere more with strength than with peace.
LaVey was a musical prodigy, particularly with keyboards, and played oboe in high school. At sixteen, he dropped out of high school to join the circus as an animal tamer. Moving on from there, he played calliope for the carnival and the organ for the church. Here comes the most referenced point in LaVey’s early life: during LaVey’s time as a calliope player in the carnival and organist for the church, he would often see the same men in attendance of both. The men would swing with the ladies Saturday nights at the carnival, then pray for forgiveness Sunday morning. And guess what? Next weekend, they would do it all over again. So the contradiction of those men, combined with already witnessing the darker, earthy side of humanity through the circus and carnival, sets LaVey’s path to forming Satanism. He believes that man will always succumb to his carnal desire, so why feel shame?
His early adult years involve him being a crime scene photographer and paranormal investigator for the San Francisco police department and studying criminology. Not at all surprising, especially since those experiences build on his cynical philosophies about humanity. In 1950, he would meet Carole Lansing and marry her in 1951. They would have one child, Karla Maritza, in 1952, then divorce in 1960. LaVey then became romantically involved with Diane Hegarty, to whom the book is dedicated. They would have LaVey’s second daughter, Zeena Galatea, in 1964 and separate in the late 70s.
The late 1950s and early 60s are when things start rolling for LaVey. He bought what would become “The Black House” in San Francisco and started gaining his own fandom through his paranormal investigations and musical performances. He would conduct teachings at his house with a close group of friends he called “The Magic Circle,” already getting a following for his upcoming religion. Then in 1966, a friend says, “Hey, why not turn these ideas into a religion?” Hence, the Church of Satan is created on April 30th, known as Walpurgisnacht, and 1966 is declared Year One Anno Satanas.
From there, CoS gets in the media and LaVey releases a music album, “The Satanic Mass,” which includes excerpts from The Satanic Bible, which had not been published yet. He releases two more music albums and four books: The Satanic Rituals, The Compleat Witch (re-published later as The Satanic Witch), The Devil’s Notebook, and Satan Speaks! I have only read some of Devil’s Notebook so far, and wow, I can’t wait to cover that. LaVey and Hegarty split in the late 70s, and Blanche Barton became his partner. Together, they would have one son, Satan Xerxes Carnacki, in 1993, four years before LaVey passed away from heart complications. After his death, Barton is High Priestess and makes Peter H. Gilmore High Priest in 2001.
The four introductions each set up the reader to understand LaVey’s thinking as they begin to read his writing. This is someone who will hold no punches and base his ideas on Man being a selfish creature. Along with their retellings of LaVey’s history, each author gives his definition of Satanism.
Wolfe writes: “Satanism is a blatantly selfish, brutal religion. It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature, that life is a Darwinian struggle for survival of the fittest, that the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win the ceaseless competition that exists in all jungles—including that of urban societies. On that score, the Church of Satan may be justly criticized, although even its critics will have to admit that its philosophy is based on logic and real conditions that exist in the world. On the other hand, the great contribution to civilized thought made by the Church of Satan is its celebration of the complete human being instead of the spirit alone.”
Aquino writes: “Satanism has been frequently misrepresented as “devil worship”, when in fact it constitutes a clear rejection of all forms of worship as a desirable component of the personality. It is not so much an anti-religion - a simple rebuttal of any one belief - as it is an un-religion, an uncompromising dismissal of all insubstantial mysticism.”
And finally, by High Priest Gilmore: “Satanism moves into the realm of religion by having an aesthetic component, a system of symbolism, metaphor, and ritual in which Satan is embraced not as some Devil to be worshipped, but as a symbolic external projection of the highest potential of each individual Satanist. The identification Satanists have with Satan is an intentional barrier against those who cannot resonate with this sinister archetype.”
Now with Anton LaVey and Satanism introduced, we come to the preface and prologue of the book. Each is just over one full page, and the preface, in summary, states that white magic users of the right-hand path have controlled the writings of magic for too long. All they do is just confuse the minds rather than properly explain anything, so this book responds to that to present clear, unclouded magic as it should be with a little fantasy.
Following this is the prologue, which again, to summarize, says that white magic users of the right-hand path have been steeped in hypocrisy for so long that they have become the very thing they denounced. Lucifer, however, will outshine and destroy them with his light.
Why are these separate pieces? The overall message of each is clear white magic users don’t know what they’re talking about anymore, and this book presents the way. By having them as two parts, LaVey is just repeating himself, saying the same thing in a different way, that the magicians of white magic are wrong and LaVey knows better. What may have worked better is combining the two pieces as one text for the prologue and letting the preface describe more of the book’s creation from LaVey himself. For instance, the preface would have been a great place for LaVey to mention why he chose to copy from Might is Right and use the Enochian keys. Gilmore mentions it in one sentence of this book’s foreword. This is it, I quote: “He prefaced these essays and rites with reworked excerpts from Ragnar Redbeard’s Might is Right and concluded it with “Satanized” versions of John Dee’s Enochian Keys to create The Satanic Bible.”
However, Gilmore elaborates on this in his foreword to the authoritative edition of Might is Right. LaVey wrote the foreword to the 1996 edition of Might is Right, explaining his inclusion of the material. But, rather than reading the forewords to a different text about the choices made for the book, write about them in this book! He had the opportunity right there but instead chose to write two pieces of the same damn message and only referenced Redbeard in his dedication. That is not sufficient credit to the original author of the text he copied.
Quick note: the answer to why he included a part of Might is Right is that the Satanic Bible was too slim before the inclusion, and needed a strong, dramatic opening. LaVey thought of Might is Right as a rant and wanted The Satanic Bible to be a rant, too, so he chose to honor the person who inspired him. Again, I will cover this more in-depth in the next episode.
Next are the Nine Satanic Statements. They’re short, to the point, and almost all of them follow the structure, “Satan represents blank, instead of blank.” Though they’re clear, everyone interprets them differently. My interpretations are my own, and you may or may not agree. That’s okay. Let me first read the statements, and then I will go through them one by one.
“1) Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence!
2) Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
3) Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
4) Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!
5) Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek!
6) Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires!
7) Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his ‘divine spiritual and intellectual development,’ has become the most vicious animal of all!
8) Satan represents all of the so-called sins as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
9) Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!”
Each statement is explained in greater detail later in the book, but let’s give them a quick review. “Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence.” Well, anyone who knows anything about Satan will find that pretty obvious. Nobody’s ever said, “The Devil made me do it,” for restrained behavior. But this statement can mean self-care. Take the mental health day from work, buy the chocolate, and take yourself out on an extravagant date. At its worst, it can mean gratification without self-control.
The second statement: “Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams.” In other words, live your life now to the fullest. There is no certainty that a grand afterlife will be waiting for you. When you’re on your deathbed, do you want to remember that you lived vivaciously or held out for something you hope exists to make your life worth it? Honestly, these first two Satanic statements sound like the edgy version of the Do the Positive Thing posters (you know, the Buy the Flowers, Take the Trip, etc.) that you see in home furnishing stores.
Third statement: undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit. My first thought with this is “Gnote seauton,” which is the Ancient Greek teaching, “Know thyself.” Be brutally honest with yourself, no matter how uncomfortable the truth is. Don’t live against your own grain just to flaunt a superiority complex over others. Nobody else will care because nobody will be fooled by what you’re doing. Also, don’t get so full of yourself; you think you’re hot shit when you’re just…regular shit. Again, you’re fooling no one because they don’t care about you.
Kindness to the deserving, not love wasted on ingrates. Why would you love someone who shows no kindness nor respect to you? There’s a lot of romanticization of the unrequited love from an asshole, which can make for a great story or song, but to live that kind of one-sided love every day is draining and demeaning to yourself. Broader than that, everyone knows the love thy neighbor line. Do you love your neighbor when their dog shits on your roses? Do you love your boss when they refuse to give you time off when you really need it? Do you show kindness when someone cuts you off in traffic and flips you off? No, you don’t. You probably glare at your neighbor, trash-talk your boss with others, and experience some road rage. If people do not treat you with common courtesy, what obligates you to treat them with it?
Vengeance, not turning the other cheek. Okay, this one is clear in its meaning that if someone gives you shit, throw it right back at them. Action, not pacifism. However, to nit-pick a little, this phrasing continues the misunderstanding of “turn the other cheek.” In its historical context, if someone was struck, it was from a backhand from the right hand onto the left cheek. This signified that the person being struck was a slave or second-class citizen, and the person striking was their superior. If the person struck then showed their right cheek, they could only be struck again from a backhand with the left hand. However, the left hand was considered unclean in the Classical Era, so to strike with that hand would have demeaned both parties. But if the aggressor used their right hand to slap the other with their palm, it would have meant the two were equals. So by turning the other cheek, the person being slapped would have forced the other to either resist a second hit or acknowledge the former as equal. Not so much pacifism as being a smart-ass.
Responsibility to the responsible, not the psychic vampires. LaVey writes a great essay explaining psychic vampires. Do not bend over backward for someone who only takes and never gives back. It drains you of physical energy and emotional stamina. If someone does you a good turn after you’ve done them a favor, work with them, not the lazy moocher who offers an excuse anytime you ask them for a favor.
Man as another animal. As much as some people resist the truth, humans are animals. We’re a mammalian species that eat and sleep like every other creature. We’re better because we have advanced brains and opposable thumbs, but how we use them can make us worse. Deforestation, world wars, nuclear disasters, mass shootings…history and today are full of the brutality of humans toward each other and to the land. Yes, we evolved to experience rational thought and be smart, but that hasn’t made us wise.
Satan represents all of the so-called sins as they lead to gratification. This sounds like a fancier version of statement one, indulgence instead of abstinence. Again, anyone who knows anything about Satanism will find this obvious. Why not just make this statement first and substitute the indulgence line with, “Satan represents the individual in all his differences, instead of slavery to repressive conformity!” Just my opinion.
The last statement, I 100% agree with. “Satan is the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years.” What is the best manipulator of the mind? Fear. We see that in the media every day. Christianity has used the imagery of Hell to keep its flocks in line since the beginning. If Christians don’t follow the rules and be good little lambs, they are warned that they will be thrown into a pit of lava by a giant, red man with horns and suffer forever. So where do they hide when they think the Devil is around? The church.
And we all know those holier-than-thou Christians who feel empowered by the thought of someone else going to Hell. They get off on going to church just to wave it in other people’s faces and sneer that those they feel are lesser than them are going to Hell. At its worst, church is a place of false security from fear and a power move by hypocrites.
With that rant done, we come to the end of this first episode. Join me next time as I review the next part of The Satanic Bible with the Book of Satan. There, I’ll dive into what LaVey used from Ragnar Redbeard’s Might is Right and why. Until then, this is Jamison Rowan, wishing you, devilish readers, good reading. Remember: Knowledge is for everyone. Thank you for listening to The Satanic Library. Hail Satan!
The Satanic Library was written and produced by me, Jamison Rowan. Theme music is “Danse Macabre,” composed by Camille Saint-Saens and performed by Kevin MacLeod.
