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In
the beginning God created Satan, and they've been dueling ever since..
or so we've all been told. Unfortunately most people, even most
open-minded people, still believe that Satanists are responsible for
the most horrible atrocities, such as sacrificing babies to Satan on
Halloween, or even worse sacrificing cats to Satan on Halloween.
Pathetic social misfits looking for attention are paraded before us on
such quality shows as Jerry Springer, these are evil Satanists, we are
told. They wear all black and inverted pentagrams, and they look scary.
This same thing has been going on for centuries, when Malleus
Maleficarum was printed giving all the titillating details of those
witches (Satanists) living a life of Sin and Blasphemy. Much detail was
given to the specifics of the orgies enacted on Sabbats. The people of
the time were frightened and jealous at the same time, just as they are
today.
What then is the real face of satanism, beyond the colorful facade the
Christians would paint for us? How can one "define" satanism, when
there are hundreds of Satanic organizations each with differing
opinions of what Satanism is? The kernel of truth lies in the common
threads that come from the genesis of the movement itself.
Satanism is at the root, a rejection of the core values of the
prevailing society. There have been satanists in every culture, because
all societies strive for order, while all satanists strive for freedom.
Obviously the two are at odds with each other. The satanist wishes to
be free, free of restrictive religious dogma, free of social
constraints as to "acceptable" behavior, free of all laws that do not
originate from the Self. Satanists are the free-thinkers, who commit
the ultimate sin, to remove the socially conditioned restraints from
themselves, who no longer fear a vengeful God, or the rejection of
their "peers". The satanist accepts no authority higher than hir own
and worships any god or any number of gods it pleases hir to.
So Satanists don't worship Satan? Some may, but the point is that it is
their decision if they do. Most don't however; most satanists are
atheists who have become fed up with Judeo-Christian dualism and
repression. Why not call themselves humanists, or free-thinkers, or
something else? Why choose a name from Christian mythology if you don't
believe in the Christian myths?
Satan is an archetype the satanist follows. Who rejected God and fell
from grace? What was Satan's sin, the Original Sin? It was to place
himself on the throne of God, that which the satanist does also;
placing himself above God as the judge of all morality. Lucifer,
Bringer of Light, gave the Knowledge of Good and Evil to humanity, so
that they might decide on their own what is Good and what is Evil.
Satan in archaic Hebrew means "an enemy" but became "the accuser" as in
the accuser in a trial. The satanist puts God on trial and accuses
Christianity for most of the ills which afflict this society.
The satanist is the force of opposition in the Hegelian dialectic which
leads to truth. Thesis - Anti-thesis - Synthesis, or force,
counter-force, and balance. Following this formula, Truth is the
balance between God and Satan, or Baphomet who unites the polar
opposites of male and female, solar and lunar. It is the Sigil of
Baphomet, the goats head inside the "inverted" pentagram, that the
satanist wears. The satanist takes on the dark side of hirself that
Christianity in it's "goodness and white light only" rejects, thereby
completing the formula and achieving true balance.
This formula enacts itself on an aeonic level as well, as Satan (Set,
Horus' dark aspect) slays Christ (Osiris, dead and resurrected god) to
bring about the true age of enlightenment, the Aeon of Horus. And if
Satan can bring that about, then I think we will all say 'Ave Satanas!'
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