#anton levay

Posted by Damien Harker | Date: January 13, 2024

In the tapestry of atheistic Satanism, where skepticism intertwines with the enigmatic, Damien Harker delves into the essence of Satanic ritual—an exploration inspired by the visionary Anton Szandor LaVey. Today, we embark on a journey into the shadows, where the suspension of disbelief becomes a key that unlocks the door to the profound in the realm of ritualistic practice.

[DISCLAIMER: These are my opinions and by no means representative of CoS as a whole.]

Embracing Rituals in Satanism:

Satanism, in its incarnation, places emphasis on symbolism and ritual as tools for personal transformation rather than acts of worship. Damien Harker, inspired by the principles laid out by Anton LaVey, seeks to understand the role of Satanic rituals in fostering self-discovery and empowerment.

The Art of Suspension of Disbelief:

At the heart of Damien's exploration lies the concept of suspension of disbelief—an intentional embrace of the ritual's symbolic power without a literal belief in supernatural entities. Much like a theatergoer immersing themselves in a play, the adept suspends disbelief to tap into the psychological and emotional impact of the ritual.

Anton LaVey's Influence:

Anton Szandor LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, emphasized the psychological aspects of ritual, recognizing the power of symbols and archetypes in shaping human consciousness. Damien Harker draws inspiration from LaVey's pragmatic approach, where rituals serve as psychodramas, potent tools for self-exploration and personal growth.

The Theater of the Mind:

For Damien, Satanic ritual becomes a theater of the mind—a space where symbolism intertwines with personal narratives, allowing for a deep exploration of the self. The suspension of disbelief transforms the ritual into a visceral experience, unlocking the potential for profound introspection and psychological metamorphosis, Psychodrama.

The Rituals; Akin to Personal Alchemy:

In the vein of Satanic philosophy, Damien views Satanic rituals as a form of personal alchemy—a transformative process that transmutes the symbolic elements of the ritual into psychological gold. Through intentional suspension of disbelief, participants immerse themselves in the rich symbolism, allowing the psyche to absorb and integrate the ritual's archetypal power.

Conclusion: Beyond the Veil of Symbolism:

As Damien Harker navigates the intricate dance of Satanic ritual, he invites us to peer beyond the veil of symbolism. In the suspension of disbelief, he discovers a gateway to psychological profundity—an avenue through which atheistic Satanism becomes a dynamic and empowering force. Inspired by Anton Szandor LaVey's legacy, Damien embraces the art of Satanic ritual, where the suspension of disbelief transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, and the shadows become a canvas for self-discovery.

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 dangerous animal of all!

Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification.

1. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

2. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬.

3. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐭.

4. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬.

5. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤 .

6. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬.

7. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 "𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭", 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

8. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨-𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

9. 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝, 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

When I made my post about the types of spirits witches are likely to encounter, I got some comments saying that it was wrong of me to discourage baby witches from reaching out to demons. On the other hand, I’ve recently been getting a lot of hate comments on my YouTube channel accusing me of “leading vulnerable young people to the Devil.” Clearly, the subject of demons and their role in witchcraft needs some clarification.

As I’ve said before, witchcraft in and of itself has nothing to do with demons, and most witches don’t work with demons at all. If you don’t believe in demons, or if you do believe in them and don’t care to bring them into your practice, feel free to skip this post.

But, to be fair, some witches do include demonic forces in their practice, and find it to be deeply beneficial. If that sounds intriguing to you, read on.

First, let’s get some definitions out of the way. When I say “demon,” I am referring to dark spirits that are malevolent towards mankind and/or directly oppose the will of the gods. This concept is older than the Abrahamic religions, dating back to some of the oldest known religions. Working with demons does not mean working within an Abrahamic system.

With that said, it follows that not all demonic witchcraft is Satanic in nature. But in reality, contrary to popular belief, Satanists don’t work with demons at all.

The term “Satanism” was popularized by Anton Levay, the author of The Satanic Bible, who was an atheist. To this day, the Church of Satan is an atheist organization that denies the existence of both the Christian God and the Devil. For Levay and the Satanists who followed in his footsteps, Satan is an archetype or symbol that represents the parts of human nature demonized by Christianity, such as pride, individualism, and ambition. Satanists use this symbol in ritual, but do not actually believe in or worship Satan or any other higher power.

Anyone who calls on demons or devils in ritual, rather than simply using them as symbols, is not practicing Satanic magic. Devil worship is a Christian heresy, and has nothing to do with Satanism, paganism, or any other religion.

There have been historical cases of devil worship — allegedly. Most accusations of witchcraft during the European and American witch hunts included accusations of consorting with Satan, performing black masses, and other nefarious deeds. Most, if not all, of these accusations were fabricated, and the people accused were never involved in such practices.

Ironically, it’s not in witchcraft and folk magic (the magic of poor people), but in ceremonial magic (the magic of the wealthy elite) that demons have historically been called upon.

Ceremonial magic, which gets its name from its elaborate rituals, is the magic practiced by Aleister Crowley, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and other prominent figures in Western occultism. Ceremonial magic is very heavily based on (appropriated) Jewish theology and practice, and most of the people who popularized it were culturally Christian. A major feature of ceremonial magic is the invocation and evocation of spiritual entities, including both angels and demons from Jewish and Christian lore.

For example, Goetic magic is a form of ceremonial magic that revolves around the conjuration of demons. Modern Goetic magic is mostly based on The Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th-century grimoire that contains information on demonology. Like all forms of ceremonial magic, Goetic magic uses highly structured rituals with multiple sources of protection for the magician, including sacred geometry and the use of sigils. The idea here is that the magician is calling forth these demons into a controlled environment, where they have the upper hand. This allows them to deal with demons without putting themselves at risk. Even so, Goetic magicians would do well to remember the first rule of conjuration: never summon what you cannot banish!

Goetic magic is complex, dense, and not at all beginner-friendly. If you have an interest in this type of magic, I encourage you to begin by researching ceremonial magic in general. (Keep in mind that, if you are not Jewish, you will need to take care to avoid using appropriated Jewish theology in your practice.) Familiarize yourself with these concepts and perform a few evocations for more benevolent figures before you delve into the world of Goetia.

But surely deals with demons don’t only happen in ceremonial magic, right? After all, what about all those legends about people meeting the Devil at the crossroads and making a deal?

The story of the crossroad spirit who makes deals with humans is much older than Christianity, and this spirit is not always identified at the Devil, or even a demon. Several Greek deities hold this role in various myths, including Hecate, Hermes, and Pan. In several African Diaspora Religions, the Orisha Elegua is associated with crossroads. In Haitian Vodou, this role goes to the lwa Papa Legba. None of these spirits are evil, and in fact some of them are seen as protective figures.

American folk tales about meeting the Devil at the crossroads reflect a much older myth that has been adapted to fit a Christian worldview. The “Devil” in these myths behaves very differently from the Christian Satan, and witches who wish to work with this figure may find it useful to think of him as a separate entity. Author Aaron Oberon simply calls this entity “The Witch Father,” which seems like an appropriate title for someone who haunts crossroads and other liminal spaces and gives witches the gift of magic.

And that’s the thing. When it comes to working with demons and other “dark” entities, it all comes down to your intention. If you are setting out to summon the embodiment of evil, you’re setting yourself up for some serious spiritual mischief at best, and genuine harm at worst. But if you seek hidden knowledge, defiance of social order, and the healing power of darkness, you may well have a very positive experience — even if you call that entity by a name like “Satan.”

Resources:

The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor Lavey

Southern Cunning by Aaron Oberon

New World Witchery Podcast, “Episode 102 — Evil” and “Episode 118 — The Satanic Panic”