Satanism

Satanism is not, as is widely believed, the worshiping of Satan, but rather one of the cults mentioned above; its characteristic being that it is a movement where one excels even Satan by becoming a satan him or herself. It is a cult that has no restrictions. In the East, Satanism first took shape as Yezidism, one of the most ancient beliefs in Mesopotamia, where an angel-like Satan, called Malak Tawus (The Peacock Angel), was worshipped. Today, Yezidis live in Germany, Georgia, Armenia, northern Iraq and Syria, and eastern Turkey. They never mention the name of the Satan they worship. According to their belief, the sun, moon, and the stars are holy, which is an influence of Sabii and ancient Mesopotamian beliefs.

There are two books considered holy by the Yezidis: the Jelwa (the Book of Revelation) and the Meshaf Resh (the Black Book). In Yezidism it is a sin to read or write, or to domesticate animals, and there is no belief in the Hereafter. To take refuge behind God instead of Satan is punishable by death. A Yezidi who fails to follow these principles commits suicide and thus sacrifices himself for Malak Tawus.

It can be said that the foundations of modern Satanism were laid by Alaister Crowley. According to Crowley, who became infamous for his sorcery and bloody rituals in which animals were slaughtered and where there was extensive use of drugs, human beings should perform all actions without consideration of the consequences. This is the philosophy that lies behind Satanism. Crowley claimed that Satan made him write The Book of Law, a text which lays out the principles of Satanism. Crowley desired to besmirch everything holy, to elevate murder and rape, longing for absolute power without establishing any principles of right or wrong.

Later, in the 1960s, one Anton Szandor LaVey, who came on the scene in California, established the Church of Satan. First revolting against Christianity and then forming a group called the Magic Circle, LaVey went on to write the Satanic Bible, which includes nine satanic laws. For LaVey, the main principles of Satanism are to separate from all religions and to take pleasure from the physical and mental makeup of human beings. Satan represents the idea that human beings are no better than animals and that all religions are sinful. Thus, Satanism is based on the principle of opposing all that is religious and moral, and doing the opposite of these.

Satanists do not believe in God, they do not believe that anything is superior to human beings, nor do they believe in the existence of a dimension other than the one where their animality takes its pleasures. In other words, they do not believe in angels, Heaven or Hell, holy books, souls, or even Satan. Only the material and the actual matter to them. They view Satan as a symbol not only of hostility toward religion, but also of the idea of living freely, and the power that surfaces when people are stimulated. They do not accept that there is any authority to which they should be amenable and they never recognize any higher value. A belief in spirituality and higher authority, the need to train and discipline oneself accordingly, to desire and struggle to live by the moral principles of one’s belief are considered as being an estrangement from oneself, a pacification and deception of the self. Satanists believe that humans should discover themselves and be aware of the fact that they are no more than animals, without lying to themselves and being hypocritical.

In the publications of the Church of Satan, human beings are described as “wild animals that live according to their libido.” Satanists maintain that as humans are no more than animals, they should not be reluctant to enjoy their animality. Reluctance to do so is hypocritical.

It is possible to see clearly the reality of Satanism when we look at its fundamental principles, and examine what it considers sinful; i.e. what it thinks to be opposable. Here are some of the twenty-one orders:

• Respect not pity or weakness, for they are a disease which makes sick the strong.
• Test always your strength, for therein lies success
• Seek happiness in victory - but never in peace
• Come as a reaper, for thus you shall sow
• Never love anything so much you cannot see it die
• Strive ever for more, for conquest is never done
• And die rather than submit
• Forge not works of art but swords of death, for therein lies great art
• Learn to raise yourself above yourself so can triumph over all
• The blood of the living makes good fertilizer for the seeds of the new
• He who stands atop the highest pyramid of skulls can see the furthest
• Discard not love but treat it as an imposter, but ever be just
• All that is great is built upon sorrow
• Strive not only forward, but upwards for greatness lies in the highest
• Come as a fresh strong wind that breaks yet also creates
• Reject all illusion and lies, for they hinder the strong

When we look closely at these orders, we see that first and foremost comes power, being powerful, success, indulgence, death and murder, the rejection of all human virtues, and revolt against all laws. In another text that describes the principles of Satanism in a different, philosophical manner, the following statements are made:

• Satanism offers indulgence instead of abstinence!
• Satanism offers vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
• Satan offers undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
• Satan offers vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
• Satanism says: man is 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! (In other words, for man, who himself is an animal, to be better than animals he has to be wilder.)
• Satanism says all of the so-called sins lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
• Satanism approves of everything you do for yourself and get pleasure from.
• Whoever knows and practices this is a Satanist.

Other religions place on humans some restrictions that people find immoral or repugnant; these are sins. In Satanism, it is a sin to observe such restrictions.

The statement of a young person on how and why he became Satanist is sufficient to explain the essence of Satanism:

“A friend of ours who always listened to heavy metal music used to claim that he was in touch with secret powers. When we went to his place, he would behave as if he was out of his mind. I witnessed in person what kind of perverted things he did to the pages of the Qur’an. We were all enemies of religion. We did unthinkable things to the pages of the Holy Qur’an, to the walls of mosques, and to the musallas (areas where funeral services are performed) in mosque courtyards, gratifying our needs. We were brainwashed into thinking that we were serving Satan in this way. We taunted Satan, saying ‘I’m sure Satan gets jealous when he sees what we do.’ We chatted with Satan on the Internet. We enjoyed doing this the most.”