Friday, 5 April 2019

Defense of the Pagan Satanist

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

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