Anton LaVey from "The Occult Experience" LP

To us “Satan” is a symbol rather than an anthropomorphic being, although many members of the Church of Satan who are mystically inclined prefer to think of Satan in a very real, anthropomorphic way. Of course we do not discourage this, because we realize that it is very important to many individuals to ritualistically conceptualize a well-wrought picture of their mentor or tutelary divinity. Symbolically, however, Satan is the teacher: the informer of the whys and wherefores of the world. In answer to those who would label us “Devil worshippers” or be very quick to assume us to be Satan worshippers, I must say that Satan demands study, not worship.

We do not grovel; we do not get down on our knees, genuflect, and worship Satan. We do not plead, we do not implore that Satan give us what we wish. We feel that anyone who is going to be blessed by any god of his choice is going to have to show that god that he is capable of taking care of the blessings that are received.

The Church of Satan is an organization which is comprised of Satanists who, because of their abilities and lifestyles - and I must stress lifestyles - reflect a higher than average human potential. Through this avenue - the Church of Satan - the Satanist will become the prototype for a more rational, certainly a more finely tuned society.

The media have stressed our nude altars. The nude altar is an integral part of the Satanic service, and with good reason: The nude altar represents man’s fleshly heritage - the very Earth, the mother, the womb whence he came. And we feel that there’s nothing “bawdy”, there’s nothing “licentious”, there’s nothing “lewd” about the nude woman who’s employed for the altar. We also feel that there’s nothing wrong with bawdiness, with licentiousness, or with any type of sexual activity; but we feel that the ritual chamber is no place for it, either overtly or covertly. And there’s no need to be surreptitious in our ritual insofar as sexual predilections are concerned.

For centuries both churchmen and laymen have been defining the Devil according to their needs, all the while playing the game of muzzling the enemy. They’ve been inventing the rules of how devils should behave, how Satanists should behave, how Devil-worshippers should act. And they have been in an authoritative position to do this, because naturally they are the men of God, the men of the church. Supposedly they are the men who have been doing battle with this Devil and have been absolving their parishioners of this Devil’s promptings. In this manner they have maintained a convenient means by which to esape the blame for their inadequacies or indiscretions.

“The Devil made me do it” has always been a stock alibi. Once it held, and held very firm. Now, fortunately - fortunately for us - it has become ludicrous to say, “The Devil made me do it.” Yet many, while laughing, still play the old game of self-deceit and blame the Devil in one way or another. So the old game is still going on. This is made amply clear in, of all places, the very world of the occult. “Witches”, who held the Devil’s name for centuries, now refute Satanism with a passion, employing it as the other side of the fence. All manner of occultists, from ESP researchers to faith healers, denounce Satanists as worthless, meaningless, dangerous, ad nauseam. Never is there to be found a positive adjective about Satanists. We Satanists smile at such transparencies - for they are transparent opinions; their motivations are most clear. It shows that even those who now claim emancipation from inquisitors need devils themselves, in order to make their art more palatable to others.

Ironically the masters of the world have always been Satanists. The masters of magic have always practiced Satanic magic - that is to say, magic without the trappings of self-deceit, for self-deceit is always an inhibiting factor in the ultimate success of a magical rite.

The great Devil’s advocates of the past - Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Herbert Spencer, H.G. Wells, Shaw, Bierce - were all able to hold a looking-glass up to man. But man, momentarily viewing his self-deceit upon reading the works of these people, could quickly avert his gaze and find solace in his spurious rule-books. The time for an organization of devils had not yet come. Only a strong, organized movement could force the mirror of self-revealing before the world’s eyes and hold it there. And this is what we wish to do: hold that mirror up!

It has been said that the most powerful thing in the world is an idea whose time has come ’round. The idea that the “enemy” might conceivably have something worthwhile to say is now with us. In fact, is that demon within each of us really an enemy, as we have so long been taught? Or will it be recognized as the guiding spirit of enlightenment which it actually is? You must remember that the word Daimon does not imply “evil”, but simply a “guiding spirit”, a “motivating spirit”.

Man must quit kidding himself. Only when he emancipates himself from dubious interpretations of good and evil - when he can truly rise above good and evil, beyond good and evil, realizing that these terms are probably the most relative terms in his existence; when he can accept the long, obscene name of “Satan” [because that is a dirty word, “Satan” - the occult world seems to find it even more so]; when he can accept this word, this name into his vocabulary as a sound to be honored - then he will be free! Until then he will walk in fear of the very scapegoat he has created, and his potential guide will remain his nemesis.

[Interviewer question: “How would Satanism help one to rise to a higher mental level?”]

Satanism allows us to recognize and to realize our own potential, to realize that man is not created equal and that each must make the most of what he has, according to his own opportunity and natural ability. But he must also realize that he can’t force cards into his computer that will not be programmed - that will be rejected. As a Satanist who knows this and who realizes his own potential, he must eventually - and here is one of the essential points of Satanism - attain his own godhead in accordance with that potential. Therefore each man, each woman is a god or goddess in Satanism - but must never make the mistake of assuming that there may not be another god or goddess next door who may be a little stronger.

We feel that Satanism is a religion of life rather than death. I can’t understand why some of our detractors seem so impelled - or compelled - to establish Satanism as a religion of death, because nothing could be further from the truth. Satanism advocates that life should be lived to the fullest - that one should get every drop of enjoyment from this life. We believe that this is the best of all known possible worlds. If there’s a better one, then it will be Satanists - or Satanically inspired scientists - who find it. We feel that life is the great indulgence, death the great abstinence. I’ve made this very clear in the Satanic Bible, and yet there are still many who maintain that Satanism is death-worship.

So you might say that Satanism is a gateway to a new and more vigorous life for the individual who is struggling under the burden of depression.

The greatest misconception about Satanism concerns human sacrifice. People tend to overlook the fact that a curse can be thrown without any blood being shed by the magician or his chosen victim. The Satanist accepts human life as a very precious thing, albeit wasted on some individuals, and we feel that there is nothing inherently wrong with anyone who just lives and allows others to live according to their own dictates. Nevertheless curses have to be thrown. A curse is a symbolic act. This means that it gives vent to one’s anger, one’s emotions. And if it is directed properly towards the victim, that victim then suffers accordingly. Such is the power of ceremonial magic.