Making Satanism Cool
Anton Szandor LaVey:
A Concise Biography
Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–1997), born Howard Stanton LeVey, was the founder of the Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible (1969). He turned Satanism into a modern, atheistic philosophy of individualism, hedonism, and self-deification.
His Early Life
Born in Chicago and raised in California, LaVey left high school to work in circuses and burlesque houses. He later claimed (without evidence) to have been a San Francisco police photographer and to have had affairs with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. By the late 1950s he was giving popular lectures on the occult from his black-painted Victorian home.
The Founding the Church of Satan
On April 30, 1966 (Walpurgisnacht), LaVey ritually shaved his head and declared the founding of the Church of Satan and the start of the “Age of Satan.” High-profile Satanic baptisms, weddings, and funerals followed, attracting massive media attention.
The Philosophy: LaVeyan Satanism
LaVey’s Satanism is non-theistic. Satan is a symbol of pride, liberty, and individualism, not a literal entity. Core ideas include:
• Indulgence over abstinence
• Vital existence over spiritual pipe dreams
• Responsibility to the responsible
• Rejection of herd morality and guilt
Magic is purely psychodramatic catharsis or applied psychology.
The Satanic Bible (1969), The Satanic Rituals (1972), and The Satanic Witch (1971) remain his most influential works, blending Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, and carnival showmanship.
Anton’s Public Image and Influence
In the late 1960s and 1970s, celebrities (Jayne Mansfield, Sammy Davis Jr., Kenneth Anger) visited his “Black House.” LaVey appeared in films, recorded occult music, and became a late-night TV staple in full Satanic regalia.
His Later Years and Death
By the 1980s the Church had shrunk; LaVey became reclusive and fell out with former allies, including his daughter Zeena. He died of pulmonary edema on October 29, 1997 (the Church initially claimed Halloween for dramatic effect).
The Satanic Bible (1969) – Structure and Core Content
The Satanic Bible is a short (272-page) paperback that serves as the foundational text of LaVeyan Satanism. It is not a “holy book” in the traditional sense but a manifesto of atheistic, hedonistic philosophy dressed in theatrical occult language.
The book is divided into four sections, each named after one of the “Four Crown Princes of Hell.”
1. The Book of Satan (The Infernal Diatribe)
• Mostly plagiarized and adapted from Ragnar Redbeard’s Social-Darwinist rant Might Is Right (1896).
• Fiery, poetic denunciations of weakness, herd morality, Christianity, and turn-the-other-cheek ethics.
• Tone: angry, over-the-top, Nietzsche-on-steroids.
Key quote: “Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth – Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke!”
2. The Book of Lucifer (The Enlightenment)
• The philosophical heart of the book – 12 essays.
• Core ideas:
• Satan represents indulgence, not abstinence.
• Man is just another animal, but the most vicious of all.
• Rejection of guilt, self-denial, and spiritual pipe dreams.
• Stratified society is natural; equality is a lie.
• “Responsibility to the responsible” – help those who deserve it, not the undeserving.
• Sex, money, and power are good if you earn them honestly.
• Heavy influence from Ayn Rand’s Objectivism and Nietzsche, stripped of metaphysics.
The Book of Belial (The Balance of Nature)
• Theory of LaVeyan magic.
• Magic is divided into:
• Lesser Magic: applied psychology, seduction, manipulation, “looks, tricks, and confidence” (glorified pickup-artist tactics and salesmanship).
• Greater Magic: ritual psychodrama to vent emotions or focus the will. No belief in supernatural forces required – it’s catharsis and auto-suggestion.
• Emphasis on the “balance factor”: know exactly what you want and whether you can afford the emotional/energy price.
4. The Book of Leviathan (The Raging Sea)
• Actual rituals and invocations.
• Contains:
• The Enochian Keys (19 calls adapted from John Dee, translated into “the language of Satan” by LaVey).
• Three basic rituals: Lust, Compassion, and Destruction.
• Instructions for setting up a ritual chamber, using a naked woman as altar, the Sigil of Baphomet, black candles, gong, sword, etc.
• Written in pseudo-Shakespearean language for dramatic effect.
The Overall Philosophy in One Sentence
LaVeyan Satanism is atheistic epicurean egoism: there is no God or Devil, only you; life is short, so indulge responsibly, reject guilt, reward strength, and use ritual theater when your emotions need an outlet.
LaVey’s Influence and Reception
• Sold over one million copies and still in print.
• Became the single most influential occult book of the late 20th century.
• Shaped countless heavy-metal lyrics, goth fashion, and modern atheistic Satanist groups (Church of Satan, The Satanic Temple, etc.).
The Satanic Bible is less a religious scripture than a provocative, Randian self-help book wrapped in Halloween theatrics – and that combination is exactly why it endured.
The Nine Satanic Statements
(The opening creed of The Satanic Bible – LaVey’s concise summary of his entire philosophy)
1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
Pleasure and satisfaction of natural desires are good. Denying yourself food, sex, comfort, or success for the sake of “spirituality” or guilt is stupid and life-denying.
2. Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
This real, physical world is all there is. There is no heaven, hell, afterlife, or soul. Focus on the here-and-now instead of wasting your life on imaginary rewards or punishments.
3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
Face reality exactly as it is. Reject comforting lies, false humility, and pretending to be “good” when you’re not. Honest knowledge (even if unpleasant) beats self-delusion.
4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!
Love, help, and generosity should be given only to people who earn and reciprocate it—not squandered on everyone out of guilt or dogma.
5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
If someone harms you, hit back—harder if necessary. Forgiveness without justice is weakness and invites further attack.
6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
You owe nothing to leeches, manipulators, or chronic victims who drain you. Take care of yourself and those who pull their own weight.
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!
Humans are biological animals, not “children of God.” Strip away the veneer of civilization and we’re often more cruel and predatory than any beast.
8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth are natural drives. When indulged responsibly, they make life richer and more enjoyable.
9. Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!
A sardonic jab: the Christian churches owe their power and wealth to the fear of Satan and Hell. Without the Devil as a boogeyman, religion would collapse.
Taken together, the Nine Statements are a complete rejection of Christian morality and a celebration of egoism, realism, and responsible hedonism. They are the closest thing LaVeyan Satanism has to “Ten Commandments”—except they glorify what Christianity condemns.
The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
(Written by Anton LaVey in 1967 and printed in The Satanic Bible)
These are the practical, everyday social rules that members of the Church of Satan are expected to live by. They are not mystical commandments; they are hard-headed guidelines for dealing with other people in a world full of fools, predators, and psychic vampires.
1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
Unsolicited opinions make you look weak and needy.
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
Most people don’t care; dumping your problems on them is emotional parasitism.
3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
In someone else’s home, workplace, or space, follow their rules—or stay away.
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
Your home, your rules. No obligation to tolerate rude or abusive guests.
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
Consent is mandatory. No signal = no advance.
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
Theft is contemptible—except when someone is begging to be robbed of a problem (rare).
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
Give credit where it’s due: if ritual psychodrama worked for you, don’t pretend it was “just coincidence.”
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
Whining about things you can walk away from is pathetic.
9. Do not harm little children.
One of the very few absolute moral prohibitions in LaVeyan Satanism (the other being no cruelty to animals unless in self-defense or for food).
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
Same principle: animals are innocent and useful; only a weakling torments them.
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.
Live and let live—until someone refuses to leave you alone. Then end the threat decisively (legally, socially, or, as a last resort, physically).
In short: Be polite and self-contained until politeness fails. Then retaliate without hesitation or guilt. These eleven rules are the real-world application of the Nine Satanic Statements—egoistic, pragmatic, and fiercely protective of personal boundaries.
LaVey’s Legacy
Though membership was always small, LaVey’s aesthetic and philosophy profoundly shaped heavy metal, goth culture, and modern atheistic Satanism. The Church of Satan continues under Peter H. Gilmore. Rival groups (Temple of Set, The Satanic Temple) either emerged from or reacted against his model.
In short, LaVey replaced the medieval Devil with a stylish, rationalist anti-hero and became the most successful re-brander of Satan in history.
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