By Renarba
Redbeard
Satanism as
a philosophy and magickal system that, in theory at least, embodies a maxim of
as many variations as there are initiates, acts simply as a wide definition
open for personal direction. The term Satanism is a starting point, a rallying
cry; it allows a ground base on which like-minded individuals can affiliate themselves.
Thus as a common ground there cannot be the orthodoxy of some
"Satanists", regarding anything but the unholy writ of Anton LaVey as
un-satanic. The orthodoxy, proscription and the very fact that such rules and
guidelines exist within the COS and its related lackeys is the antithesis of
what Satanism, as a common-ground rather than religion, represents.
Upon this
common ground one finds Satanists whose only appeal is with the philosophy,
Satanists who are more esoterically inclined, or, more pertinent to this
article, Satanists who for all intents and purposes do not fit the cliched
perception - held by both Satanists and those opposed - of what a Satanist is.
These are the Pagan Satanists.
STATE OF
THE NATION
In effect
all Satanists are Pagans - Satanism being the culmination of all that Paganism
embodied, the fulfillment of the potential expressed. This is not as it is
expressed in the superficial methodology of some historically bereft Satanists,
who see the torture induced tales of the inquisition as our heritage; or
similarly those Pagans that would build a religion on the fantasies of Sabbats.
Instead it is that Satanism, rather than being simply a matter of siding with
"the bad guys", is the latter day extension of how our pagan
ancestors understood the balance and interaction of polarities.
Much of
modern Satanism, despite protestations to the contrary, is still inverse
Christianity. The "morality" expressed by many proponents, far from
being a master morality, is simply a pseudo-rebellious effort to advocate
things that long outgrew their heretical status. Thus we encounter the
continual (American) obsession with neuroses-induced smut, rather than any
appreciation of real sexuality or real sensuality and erotica. Similarly the
glorification of societies "bad guys", the serial killers, the
psychopaths, and the subsequent vain attempts at justifying these people as
ridding society of dross, of keeping the human population down.
The
American Satanist is one whose support or sympathy is dictated by their
societies whims; the society tells them who they, as the "rebels",
should side with; the indulgences that they, as the rebels, should glorify in
(although everyone else is doing it and has been doing so for decades).
Thus this
brand of "Satanism" drifts between promoting inverse Christianity
(the pseudo-rebellion) and Christianity (the orthodoxy of being a cog in the
wheel of the status quo). In both instances, or as a whole, this Satanism
represents imbalance; it is no more fit to replace Christianity than any other
religion. Satanism, as seen in the above light, is a continuation of an
imbalance within the human spirit which began with Judeo-Christianity; the
difference is that whereas Christians veer to the proverbial Right, Satanists
keep to their perceived Left, and never the twain shall meet - except in
Paganism.
If Satanism
is to be a replacement for Christianity/the status quo - the vision held by
American satanists and not necessarily by this author - it needs to be more
than just a reflection of what already exists, simply taken to a different
extreme.
It must be,
as it has always meant to be, a merging of polarity; and one finds that where
Satanism does exist in this manner it is closely tied to Pagan roots.
PAGAN
SATANISM
The basic
premise of Satanism and "Satanic entities" is that they exist as
archetypes, symbols, inherent in the minds of humankind that can be invoked via
rituals etc. While this somewhat basic hypothesis falls short of a full understanding
of the nature of deity forms and archetypes, it suffices in an appreciation of
the basic tenets of Pagan Satanism.
Despite the
doctrines of multiculturalism, or rather, the negation of culture, that has
been promoted to the status of holy writ - even amongst those who would call
themselves Satanic - there is overwhelming proof that each culture, each race,
is unique through nothing but their genetic descent. Just as genes engender a
set of distinctive physical attributes, indicative of one's ancestors, so they
also provide spiritual, mystical charecteristics, unique to that race. This
forms a racial memory which acts as a source of tradition and strength for each
member of that race; however it is a continually evolving pool and never
stagnant. In esoteric terms this pool is symbolised by Blood, that which is
thicker than water, that which is the banner under which nations unreservedly
fight.
From this
pool emerge the characters from mythology and legend. These entities are
inherent in everyone who belongs to that particular Blood-pool and thus can be
evoked as indicative of their attributes. They are closer, because they are
part of the initiate, than any "alien" or "foreign"
entities, and will accord more strength, more progress, than a daemon or god
that does not reside in their blood.
This author
can attest to the total lack of affiliation or success when the entities used
were those Hebraic-Christian demons found throughout Medieval Grimoires; this
being despite their apparent appropriateness to the then task in hand. This
exercise was not a "faithless" endeavour to prove the lack of
validity that those demons possessed but rather a sincere exercise in the vein
of the "Satanic magic" promoted by LaVey et al. However this author
can similarly attest to the success incurred with the use of those Dark
entities from Norse mythology, those beings inherent in Blood.
The Pagan
Satanist is one that realizes the importance of their heritage, their culture,
their blood, and utilizes those deity forms that are inherent in their genes.
Thus doing so they evoke a tradition and become proponents and subsequently
part of that tradition.
Why then
the word "Satanist"? Because the Pagan Satanist uses the entities
from their culture whose personalities and characteristics are Satanic. It is a
return to the original point made, that of Satanism being a common ground. The
entities used by Pagan Satanists are those proponents of the common ground of
Satanic ethos. For all intents and purposes they need not be termed
"Satanic" but then again they may as well be. A Satanist of any
persuasion, any culture, need not Hail Satan at every turn, in fact one finds
that the more prolific, more powerful Satanists, are those that never bring up
that horned character except as a basic means of identity.
A Pagan
Satanist rejects the eclecticism perpetuated by LaVey in the Satanic Bible.
There is no benefit in invoking LOKI and Abaddon in the same breath, such
blasphemy does nought but cancel out any power that a holy name like LOKI
invokes. The gods of our ancestors are not there to be misappropriated by any
clueless, rootless, plastic-consumer whose blood has been clogged by the
incessent programming of materialism. While eclecticism has its place in an
understanding of the mind of humanity, it is akin to, if not a direct
manifestation of, multiculturalism. A melting pot has no benefit unless one
considers the negation of all identity, both human and aetherial, as something
desirable.
POLARITY
Unlike the
typical Satanist whose spiritual allegiances seem to be based on the "cool
aesthetics" of the demons of various mythologies and their supposedly
rebellious or heretical status in the eyes of the mundane. The Pagan Satanist
recognizes the importance of both sides of the coins. For a specific example, a
Pagan Satanist whose Blood befits them with a Norse inclination, can utilize
both the Allfather ODIN and the Trickster LOKI. Similarly the Helish empathise
with the Dark Goddess HELA but Her Light aspect of FREYJA is also understood as
being essential.
There is no
moralistic distinction made between the Light and Dark forces, unlike
mainstream Satanism in which any such instance would be a "betrayal of the
dark Lord".
All strands
of Pagan thought, as expressed via mythology, promote the belief that, rather than
the dualism so prevalent in Western thought, there is a need for and indeed an
existence of Polarities. Two parts of the whole without which the kozmos would
cease to function.
Another
manifestation of this need for Polarity is the Feminine aspect so lacking in
todays American Satanism. When one considers the state of American Satanism it
is small wonder that there is little Feminine Power inherent in it;
particularly when it would appear that the only women suitable never wear any
clothes and have all had dramatic breast enlargements, or that their only role
is to lie naked on an altar and be ogled by the undersexed congregation.
However in Pagan thought the Divine Feminine is of the utmost importance, if
indeed not moreso than the Divine Masculine. It is the Goddess who animates the
kozmos with acts of subtlety, it is She who is the Holder of Wisdom. Rather
than being a continual pawn of the patriarchy, perpetuated in the name of
carnality, She is violent, vengeful and Mistress of All that She desires.
It is the
understanding of this nature of Polarity that befits Pagan Satanism with the
credentials to bring change and revolution. A replacement for todays
equilibrium-bankrupt religious and political systems must have at its core an
understanding of Balance and Harmony. It must be a product of what Prima Mater,
Mother Nature, has taught humankind, through mythology, with regard to the
nature of the kozmos.
PAGANISM
VS. ORTHODOXY
The
equation of Paganism with Satanism, and vice versa, has recently evoked self
righteous indignation from those born and bred on the dogma of LaVey. This
being despite the fact that many Satanists, certainly in this part of the world
- or rather the real world - have defined themselves as Pagan for decades. One
particular rosaceous sycophant went so far as to perfectly illustrate the
LaVeyan pitfall of speaking for all Satanism by stating that such an equation
was a categorical "error" (FROM THE PIT Vol 4 #1).
Michael
Rose presuming to speak for all of Satanism and presuming to know what Paganism
is, went on to embarass himself with a dissertation intended to repute those
Pagan minded, those he sees as being heavenly in outlook. However defining
oneself as Pagan signifies no more a belief in higher deities that control ones
every action, than a LaVeyan Satanist who opens up the melodramatic "gates
of hell" and begs for a place to poke his member.
There are
very few Pagans, no matter how they define themselves, who practice the
self-defeating suspension of belief that Michael Rose would have us believe is
a tenet of Paganism. However those that take the use of Pagan entities into a
more actualized sphere, like this author, do so with an understanding of how
this occurs, with the interaction of the causal and acausal. But Rose, with his
perceived realism that is a mainstay of LaVeyan Satanism, has no grasp of the
more esoteric nature of all things. One wonders why such proponents of boorish
pseudo intellectualism persist in associating with the common ground of
Satanism whereon they have nothing in common. The very nature of Satanism
implies an understanding of underlying, occult, forces that animate the kozmos
and yet those that have an appreciation of this are more likely to be found in
Pagan circles rather than the pews of the COS. But Rose would no doubt see any
talk of greater forces as akin to Christianity, as he states erroneously:
"Ultimately
Paganism has far more in common with Christianity than with Satanism, just
listen to a Pagan talking about his "spirituality" and you'll
understand this. Like Christians the Pagans believe grovelling in the dust
before a god to be a virtue."
This author
can succinctly state that despite the apparent overwhelming Pagan urge to
grovel, there has been no record of such an incident occurring. One even finds
in KULT OF HEL practices, to give a pertinent example, that no such humiliation
occurs, not even for an initiate where perhaps it would be deemed appropriate.
Rose
decries the Pagan respect of heritage and culture and yet his only alternative
is the glorious plastic culture he lives in. Dictated by the almighty dollar,
enslaved to the whim of the markets. Yes, America, a fine example of what you
can achieve when you remove tradition, culture and Blood. A country that only
the most optimistic or seriously deluded can believe is not in a state of decay
and has been for decades. Rose derides the volk mindset of Hitler's Germany and
yet that glorification of Blood, not money, produced more advances, more sense
of destiny, in its comparatively short period than America has ever amounted to
in its bumbling history.
Rose
implies that Paganism is, to use his definition, heaven looking, that it is in
essence stagnant because of its emphasis on what has gone before. The
implication is that Paganism amounts to nought while Satanism, or rather
American Satanism, goes off and achieves something - although that doesn't
include Space travel because it's far too uncomfortable. However if one
compares the two forms of Paganism/Pagan Satanism and American Satanism, it is
the Pagan one that has more to show for itself.
AMERICAN
SATANISM
Are we to
assume that American Satanism is some expression of greater evolution when its
doctrines are still encased in the mindset of the Sixties. That its literary
contributions for the world are two books well past their used by date; whereas
any additional literature is a regurgitation of what is already written or
nauseous self-congratulatory history lessons; Blanche Bartons THE CHURCH OF
SATAN being a case in point.
Are the
"magazines" of Ron Mershon, Vincent Crowley and the other here
today-gone tomorrow ilk, examples of the vibrant spirit of Yank Satanism. Is
the plagiarism of Giger by Diabolus Rex or ACHERON's death metal albums the
outstanding achievements of the CHURCH OF SATAN for the Nineties. Are we to
presume that the orthodoxy and LaVey worship of Michael Rose, Vincent Crowley,
et al. is not somehow stagnant?
PAGANISM
In
juxtaposition are the many varients of Paganism:
On a
mainstream level there is a writer like the prolific Stephen Flowers with in
excess of ten books to his credit. Similarly writer/practitioners like Freya
Aswyn, Donald Tyson, Jan Fries, Michael Howard, etc, all produce books as well
as a multitude of other products, each from a different perspective, each
enhancing what has gone before.
Pagan/Norse/Celtic
magick is a continually evolving system, there is nothing stagnant about it.
Every year new directions are taken, new methods developed. This is not
mirrored in American Satanism where the same masquerade, fancy dress, rituals
are trotted out year after year and magick means nought but pretending to be a
cat or a mouse.
In a not so
mainstream manifestation of Paganism, the Pagan vigour is seen in THE BLACK
ORDER which, no doubt because of its emphasis on Blood, has seen a meteoric
rise in the number of members, despite its relatively short existence.
Similarly
THE ORDER OF THE JARLS OF BALDER is a definitively Pagan organisation that is
unrivalled in its achievements, goals, plans and far reaching implications.
With a foot in almost every door, BALDER is able to achieve things that
American Satanists can only dream of - if they have that much imagination -
from their armchairs.
Organisations,
and those people affiliated with them, that express an ethos of Paganism are
the productive ones and the ones, if any, that will lead such a revolution as
envisaged by many. A revolution must be based in culture, it must have roots,
it must be bound to something that people can believe in....BLOOD.
Before
consumerists like Mr Rose and his ilk condemn Paganism they should perhaps take
a look at themselves and see if they have anything that can achieve like what
the "grovelling pagans" are capable of. One suspects that much like
our friendly Lib, Mr Deboo, they would argue that "Satanism does not
mandate any special involvement with the topic of history" and this
includes making it. Much safer to imagine, wistfully, a coming Satanic age,
than to get out of your armchair and do something about it.
Appeared in
Key of Alocer #6
