Church of Satan

[noumoe]

https://www.churchofsatan.com/

Welcome to the official website of the Church of Satan.
Founded on April 30, 1966 c.e. by Anton Szandor LaVey, we are the first above-ground organization in history openly dedicated to the acceptance of Man’s true nature—that of a carnal beast, living in a cosmos that is indifferent to our existence. To us, Satan is the symbol that best suits the nature of we who are carnal by birth—people who feel no battles raging between our thoughts and feelings, we who do not embrace the concept of a soul imprisoned in a body. He represents pride, liberty, and individualism—qualities often defined as Evil by those who worship external deities, who feel there is a war between their minds and emotions.

As Anton LaVey explained in his classic work The Satanic Bible, Man—using his brain—invented all the Gods, doing so because many of our species cannot accept or control their personal egos, feeling compelled to conjure up one or a multiplicity of characters who can act without hindrance or guilt upon whims and desires. All Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators, personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshipping any God is thus worshipping by proxy those who invented that God. Since the Satanist understands that all Gods are fiction, instead of bending a knee in worship to—or seeking friendship or unity with—such mythical entities, he places himself at the center of his own subjective universe as his own highest value.

We Satanists are thus our own “Gods,” and as beneficent “deities” we can offer love to those who deserve it and deliver our wrath (within reasonable limits) upon those who seek to cause us—or that which we cherish—harm. Magus Gilmore’s essay “What, The Devil?” from The Satanic Scriptures discusses this in greater detail.

The Nine Satanic Sins
by Anton Szandor LaVey
© 1987

Stupidity
The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.
Pretentiousness
Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. On equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not.
Solipsism
Can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point.
Self-deceit
It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements” but deserves to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!
Herd Conformity
That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many.
Lack of Perspective
Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints—know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world.
Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies
Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.
Counterproductive Pride
That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow, then do it.
Lack of Aesthetics
This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time so they are discouraged in a consumer society, but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing—it’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied.


The Nine Satanic Statements
by Anton Szandor LaVey

The Nine Satanic Statements originally appeared in The Satanic Bible, © 1969

Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!
Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
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!
Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
by Anton Szandor LaVey
© 1967

Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
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.
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.
Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
Do not harm little children.
Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.


Pentagonal Revisionism: A Five-Point Program
by Anton Szandor LaVey
© 1988

In recent years, we’ve wasted far too much time explaining that Satanism has nothing to do with kidnapping, drug abuse, child molestation, animal or child sacrifice, or any number of other acts that idiots, hysterics or opportunists would like to credit us with. Satanism is a life-loving, rational philosophy that millions of people adhere to. Now we’re ready for something that goes quite a few steps beyond just explaining our principles. Every revisionist movement needs a set of goals/guidelines that are clear, concrete, and that will effect significant changes.

The following Five-Point Program reflects attitudes which allow others to decide whether they wish to align themselves with Satanism or not. Each is necessary for Satanic change to take place. When asked what we’re “doing,” here’s the answer:

Stratification
The point on which all the others ultimately rest. There can be no more myth of “equality” for all—it only translates to “mediocrity” and supports the weak at the expense of the strong. Water must be allowed to seek its own level without interference from apologists for incompetence. No one should be protected from the effects of his own stupidity.
Strict taxation of all churches
If churches were taxed for all their income and property, they’d crumble overnight of their own obsolescence, and the National Debt would be wiped out as quickly. The productive, the creative, the resourceful should be subsidized. So long as the useless and incompetent are getting paid, they should be heavily taxed.
No tolerance for religious beliefs secularized and incorporated into law and order issues
To re-establish “Lex Talionis” would require a complete overturning of the present in-justice system based on Judeo-Christian ideals, where the victim/defender has been made the criminal. Amnesty should be considered for anyone in prison because of his alleged “influence” upon the actual perpetrator of the crime. Everyone is influenced in what he or she does. Scapegoating has become a way of life, a means of survival for the unfit. As an extension of the Judeo-Christian cop-out of blaming the Devil for everything, criminals can gain leniency, even praise, by placing the blame on a convenient villain. Following the Satanic creed of “Responsibility to the responsible,” in a Satanic society, everyone must experience the consequences of his own actions—for good or ill.
Development and production of artificial human companions
The forbidden industry. An economic “godsend” which will allow everyone “power” over someone else. Polite, sophisticated, technologically feasible slavery. And the most profitable industry since T.V. and the computer.
The opportunity for anyone to live within a total environment of his or her choice, with mandatory adherence to the aesthetic and behavioral standards of same
Privately owned, operated and controlled environments as an alternative to homogenized and polyglot ones. The freedom to insularize oneself within a social milieu of personal well-being. An opportunity to feel, see, and hear that which is most aesthetically pleasing, without interference from those who would pollute or detract from that option.
This is the encapsulated version of the current thrust of Satanic advocacy. So when someone asks you, “Well, what do Satanists do?”, you will be qualified to tell him.


The History of the Origin of the Sigil of Baphomet and its Use in the Church of Satan
There have been many rumors and claims regarding this symbol, and here we recount the Church of Satan’s discovery and use of this powerful image.

Prior to the worldwide press given the Church of Satan—and later the publication of The Satanic Bible — the now familiar goat / pentagram / “Leviathan” graphic had not been used as the prime symbol for Satanism. Our younger readers may find this hard to believe, but it is a fact.

Examine the literature and imagery predating the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966: Satanism is usually denoted by inverted crosses or crucifixes and blasphemous parodies of Christian art. There are also images of goats and devils, and demons—along with their sigils from grimoires—all used to represent the “satanic.” However, the complete graphic which we now call the “Sigil of Baphomet” only became associated as the foremost symbol of Satanism in the public and media consciousness after the founding of the Church of Satan and Dr. LaVey’s use of it. From its inception, the Church of Satan has been constantly spotlighted in print, film, and television media all over the globe, so this was to be expected. The word “Baphomet” dates back to records of Templar trials, and there are ongoing discussions concerning its derivation and meaning. However, there is no clear evidence that the symbol which we in the Church of Satan call “Baphomet” is similarly derived; the evidence, if any, has not yet been released in any public forum.

…the “Sigil of Baphomet” became associated as the foremost symbol of Satanism [after] the Church of Satan and Dr. LaVey’s use of it.”
THE UNHOLY GENESIS OF THE SIGIL OF BAPHOMET
A discussion concerning the symbolism of pentagrams is contained in Eliphas Lévi’s Dogme et Rituel de la haute magie (1855-56 & 61, translated into English by A. E. Waite under the title Transcendental Magic). There are no accompanying illustrations. Here is the English translation of the quote:

CHAPTER 5—THE BLAZING PENTAGRAM
The Pentagram, which in Gnostic schools is called the Blazing Star, is the sign of intellectual omnipotence and autocracy. It is the Star of the Magi; it is the sign of the Word made flesh; and, according to the direction of its points, this absolute magical symbol represents order or confusion, the Divine Lamb of Ormuz and St. John, or the accursed goat of Mendes. It is initiation or profanation; it is Lucifer or Vesper, the star of morning or evening. It is Mary or Lilith, victory or death, day or night. The Pentagram with two points in the ascendant represents Satan as the goat of the Sabbath; when one point is in the ascendant, it is the sign of the Saviour. By placing it in such a manner that two of its points are in the ascendant and one is below, we may see the horns, ears and beard of the hierarchic Goat of Mendes, when it becomes the sign of infernal evocations.

The pentagram or pentalpha is a symbol which has long been affiliated with demonic activity. From at least the early Middle Ages an entire genre of ritual magic handbooks and manuals has claimed to originate from King Solomon based, no doubt, on his legendary reputation for conjuring and employing demons in the construction of his temple. Among the oldest of these grimoires is the Testament of Solomon dating from perhaps as early as the First Century BC. This text includes a diagram of the pentalpha and relates that Solomon had a ring inscribed with that symbol which gave to him the ability to call forth demons and to have them work his will. The image in the manuscript shows the star point up. Inscribed on a ring however, the direction of the point might be immaterial as it could be perceived either way.

What was the source for this symbolism presented by Lévi in this work? Scholars researching the sources for his writings might be able to trace this.

As far as we now know, the first printed artwork for an image of a goat face in a five-pointed star appeared in an engraving on page 387 of the 1897 book La Clef de la Magie Noire, by French nobleman and occultist Stanislas de Guaita. The book was part of his multi-volume Essais de Sciences Maudites which not only put forth some of his own occult ideas underlying his establishment of a group of Rosicrucians but also served as a platform for his share of the accusations of Satanism that he and his enemies—such as Là-Bas author J.K. Huysmans and friends—were publicly throwing at each other at the time. De Guaita wrote that he considered Eliphas Lévi to be one of the greatest geniuses of the 19th century so it is not surprising that he would take one of Lévi’s concepts and embellish it further.

Lévi mentions the demon Lilith in the above passage and the de Guaita image incorporates her name into the graphic along with that of Samael. In different places Lévi calls Samael both a white-light genie of Mars as well as the Hebrew name for a demonic force. Lévi makes no mention of Leviathan but the de Guaita image is encirlced by this name in Hebrew script.

In describing the graphic, de Guaita only slightly expands on Lévi and says nothing about Samael, Lilith, or Leviathan. After describing the point-up pentagram as a white-light symbol of man “voluntarily rejoined in the providential plan,” de Guaita notes:

“But oriented in the opposite direction, the pentagrammatic Star is nothing more than a symbol of iniquity, perdition, blasphemy: its two points in the air become the horns of the foul Goat threatening Heaven, and whose head is framed with the stellar pentacle, with its low ears in the side branches, and its beard in disorder in the single lower point. [Page 386]”

This engraving may have been taken from elsewhere or it may have been created by de Guaita’s secretary and assistant Oswald Wirth as noted below.

Lévi’s description can also be seen as a clear influence in Paul Jagot’s Science Occulte et Magie Pratique (Paris: Editions Drouin, 1924, page #172). As can be seen below, it is figure number 24 and is labeled “the pentagram espressive of subversion.” How the author came by this image is unknown to us. Note as well that the star itself is “open,” rather than composed of five “alphas.”



Next we find on page 47 of the Handbook of Magic & Witchcraft by Charles W. Olliver (Rider & Co., London, 1928) an appropriation from La Clef de la Magie Noire, shown below left. Olliver’s book is highly derivative of prior works and it is clear that he simply lifted the images from de Guaita, subtracting the surrounding circles and Hebrew characters.



It is referred to in the text as the “Inverted Pentagram of Black Magic,” and is coupled with the “Pentagram of Appolonius,” shown above right.

The continued evolution of this goat-graphic can be found in a 1931 book concerning Freemasonry by Oswald Wirth (Oswald Wirth, La Franc-Maçonnerie Rendue Intelligible à ces Adeptes, Deuxième Partie: “Le Compagnon,” Paris: Derry-Livres, 1931, page #60).



In addition to creating illustrations for de Guaita, Wirth also wrote and illustrated a number of his own books on occult topics including the tarot and Freemasonry. His tarot deck is still sold commercially today. In La Franc-Maçonnerie Rendue Intelligible à ces Adeptes, Deuxième Partie: “Le Compagnon,” Wirth presented his own original rendering of the goat head and pentagram image and identified it as his own by discretely including his “OW” initials just above the goat’s head.

The unadulterated de Guaita images re-appeared in a book by Maurice Bessy: A Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural (English first edition 1964, French first edition: Histoire en 1000 Images de la Magie, Editions du Pont Royal, 1961).



The graphic image in the Bessy book (English edition, page 198 under the heading “Satanic Sciences”) has a caption which reads:

“624-625. Pentagrams are the result of obscure numerological speculations. The five-pointed star, for example, seems to be characteristic of the Christian era, while the cross is the symbol (amongst others) of the figure five: four arms and the centre. By a strange coincidence, the Holy Spirit, the United States, and the U.S.S.R. and Islam use the fivepointed star as their emblem. (The opposition of good and evil is indicated through the inverted triangles).”

The above illustration is to the right of this caption. As in all prior appearances of this and similar renderings, nowhere in this book is #625 referred to as “The Sigil of Baphomet.”

For the actual cover of this hard-bound book, an artist rendered symbol #625, minus the words “Lilith” and “Samael,” and it was printed in white on the black cloth cover. It is very striking.



During his years of research into the “Black Arts,” Anton LaVey had come across this book and added it to his collection. So when he chose to metamorphose his magic circle, “The Order of the Trapezoid,” into the Church of Satan, he decided that this particular symbol was the one which most fully embodied the principles which were the bedrock of the first aboveground Satanic church.

The pentagram (pentalpha) comes from the Pythagorean tradition. The goat’s or ram’s head within it refers to the Goat of Mendes, a symbol of the Egyptian Neter Amon, who was called “the hidden one, he who abides in all things, the soul of all phenomena” and is thus the closest Neter to the Dark Force which is seen to permeate and motivate all nature. The two concentric circles which contain the word “Leviathan” written in Hebrew (starting at the lowermost point and moving counterclockwise) stem from the traditions of the Ophite (serpent) Jews, and this is the essence of the Dragon of the Abyss, descended from Tiamat, sometimes symbolized as an ouroboros (serpent biting its own tail forming a circle). Thus, in one sigil, we find a confluence of several cultures’ approach to embodying what we call Satan.

It is this cover art which was enlarged and placed above the altar in the main ritual chamber (as well as above a lower-level altar) in the infamous Black House.

That the original source for this symbol was the Maurice Bessy book was well-known among the members who attended rituals at the Black House during our formative years. The book was constantly being perused by them, and was often used as a prop in photo shoots (minus the dust jacket which did not include this symbol). Anton LaVey never claimed to have designed the Bessy version of this symbol (as falsely stated by some of our detractors).

In its early days, the Church of Satan used the version seen on the cover of the Bessy book on its membership cards and stationery as well as on the medallions which were created both by hand and by professional manufacturers. Indeed, there were many variations, based on the skill of the renderers as well as on the resolution for detail of the means used to create the final product.

While The Satanic Bible was being written, it was decided that a unique version of this symbol must be rendered to be identified exclusively with the Church of Satan. The pentagram was made geometrically precise, the two circles perfect, the Hebrew characters were distorted to make them look more sharply serpentine and “corrupted with time,” while the goat face was redrawn with particular attention paid toward the eyes. The original highly-detailed artwork was first used to create altar plaques which were available only to local Church of Satan members (later, in February of 1970, they were made available to the general membership). This new version was then used on the cover of the groundbreaking LP, The Satanic Mass (©1968), produced by the Church of Satan. In addition to a recorded Satanic Mass, this LP included the “Prologue” and “Books of Satan: Verses I through V” from the then-unreleased book, The Satanic Bible. The album’s cover design was credited to “Hugo Zorilla,” a pseudonym used by Anton LaVey for some of his artwork. The liner notes, attributed to Franklin Kincaid, say that “the Satanic symbol, Baphomet,” was adopted from the Knights Templar. This symbol was finally widely-released to the general public in December of 1969 with the publication of The Satanic Bible, where it adorned the cover and appeared on the interior page introducing the section detailing the Satanic Ritual. And, significantly, here in this book was the very first time that this sigil was referred to as the “symbol of Baphomet” in any publication available to a mass audience. It was this version which the Church of Satan then had made into cloisonné medallions (which were only available to members) and it became the standard logo for all Church of Satan materials. We began calling it more precisely the “Sigil of Baphomet” and so it was named in print in The Satanic Rituals (released in December of 1972). It should be noted that this version is a copyrighted graphic which belongs to the Church of Satan alone. We have the legal right to place the © symbol next to this rendering, should we care to do so.

The Church of Satan did file for (1981) and then received (1983) a trademark which protects the use of the Sigil of Baphomet with the words “Church of Satan.” The Church of Satan therefore has the legal right to place the ® symbol meaning “registered trademark” next to this combination of symbol and words. This trademark also prohibits anyone from using something similar in combination of name and symbol, which could constitute an illegal dilution or blurring of the trademark.

Current trademark laws are now in flux regarding this issue of trademark blurring—the use of marks similar to existing trademarks—but they are moving in the direction of favoring the forbidding of marks that could be considered misleading in any way, shape, or form.

Anton LaVey authorized Hell’s Kitchen Productions, Inc. to produce a Sigil of Baphomet medallion, and so a minor variation of the Church’s official Sigil of Baphomet was created in which the Hebrew characters between the circles were no longer outlines, but filled-in (a minor change). This rendering is also protected by copyright laws.

The copyright for the artwork that appears on the cover of the Bessy book belonged to the publisher of that book. Since that book is out of print, the copyright has lapsed, and thus the rights for the text reverted to the author, and the rights for the graphics contained therein would need to be determined—usually they revert to the artist or other source of origin. After passage of enough time, if the estates of the authors/creators do not renew the copyrights, the items in question then enter public domain. Thus, the Bessy cover rendition is most probably now in the public domain.

If anyone wants to legally use our version of the “Sigil of Baphomet,” they may ask for permission, and we have generally been quite liberal in licensing people to use this for various projects and goods—though we usually only allow its use on websites when (and where) they are mentioning the Church of Satan. Otherwise, those wishing to use a public domain version of a goat / pentagram / “Leviathan” symbol must go back to the historically published sources, or they may take the challenge to draw a fresh one.

It is interesting to note that, prior to its slight enhancement and adoption by the Church of Satan, this sinister symbol appears never to have been used by any who would actually honor and revere it. Rather it was conceived, nutured and even continually passed along by Levi, de Guaita, Wirth and others—men who professed to oppose that which they imagined it to represent. These were ceremonial magicians, condemned by the Christian church yet still largely captive to the common mass morality of their day. In their quest to counter their critics, they dreamed up an imaginary cabal of selfish, unconstrained, unconventional black magicians in comparison to whom they hoped to seem quite acceptable to polite society. Was this a simple fiction to deflect public persecution or a more fully formed thoughtform fueled and fed by the nightmares and perhaps even secret, supressed desires in the unconscious minds of these magicians? There is no way to know for certain. The history is clear, however, that the image of the inverse pentagram invoking the head of the sabbatic goat was conjured up from their imaginations, imbued with geat resonance by the forbidden things it was believed to represent, and then passed from one seeker to the next for more than a century until Anton LaVey embraced it, and made what it had always symbolized manifestly real.

So marking the original appearance of this potent concept to Lévi’s description of 1855 C.E., we Satanists now celebrate the 150th anniversary of the coming forth of what we call the Sigil of Baphomet. We know that it shall continue its dark reign in minds and hearts for years to come as the preeminent visual distillation of the iconoclastic philosophy of Satanism.



by Magus Peter H. Gilmore

© Walpurgisnacht, XL A.S.

Revised to include additional information on 30 April, XL A.S.
A special thanks to Reverend Robert The Merciless for his excellent scholarship and substantial contibutions to the revision.