The Book of Shadows of a Broom Closet Dweller *EDITING*

LaVeyan Satanism

PLEASE NOTE: There are two types of Satanism, theistic and non-theistic. Theistic Satanism is where followers believe in and worship Satan as a god. LaVeyan Satanism is non-theistic. They do not worship Satan. I would research into theistic Satanism but quite frankly, I'm not brave enough, lol. I believe most of its practises are highly confidential and most likely to be majority black magick anyway. (If anyone would like to enlighten me more on theistic Satanism, feel free to do so).

I am including LaVeyan Satanism in this BoS because I honestly have a genuine interest in it. I think it's actually quite a good religion because of its uniqueness. Its second purpose for being included is to break down misunderstanding and stereotypes. Satanism has a bad label; I want to show that non-theistic Satanism is nothing to be scared of.

Overview

LaVeyan Satanism is materialist, rejecting the existence of supernatural beings, body-soul dualism, and life after death. Practitioners do not believe that Satan literally exists and do not worship him. Instead, Satan is viewed as a positive archetype representing pride, carnality, and enlightenment. He is also embraced as a symbol of defiance against Abrahamic religions which LaVeyans criticise for suppressing humanity's natural instincts and encouraging irrationality. The religion propagates a naturalistic worldview, seeing mankind as animals existing in an amoral universe. It promotes a philosophy based on individualism and egoism, coupled with Social Darwinism and anti-egalitarianism.

The religion's doctrines are codified in Anton LaVey's book, The Satanic Bible.

History

LaVeyan Satanism is a religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism.

LaVey established LaVeyan Satanism in the state of California through the founding of his Church of Satan on Walpurgisnacht (Spring Equinox) of 1966, which he proclaimed to be "the Year One", Anno Satanas - the first year of the "Age of Satan".

Deities

As mentioned already, LaVeyan Satanists do not believe Satan is a theistic being and do not worship him. Instead, they like to think of themselves each as their own "God". Satanists treat themselves with the respect that they would a God, as if they are the most important being. In turn they treat others as "Gods", as their equal. The front page of The Church of Satan website reads:

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 centre 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 harm.

Ethics & Morals

LaVeyan Satanists follow The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth:

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
3. When in another's lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
6. 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.
7. Acknowledge the power of magick if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magick after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9. Do not harm little children.
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

They also believe in The Nine Satanic Statements laid out in The Satanic Bible:

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 kindness 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 for psychic vampires!
7. 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!
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 business all these years!

Holidays

There is actually no requirement that a Satanist celebrate any holidays, and there are no strict rules or rituals associated with them.

However, since Satanism embraces Nature, the holidays a Satanist might choose to celebrate would be the seasonal turning points marked by the equinoxes and solstices, as well as the climaxes of each season. In particular, April 30th, Walpurgisnacht, is the Spring climax and the anniversary of the founding of the Church of Satan. Halloween, October 31, is the Fall (Autumn) climax and may be celebrated as a time when one's inner-self might be explored through the use of a costume, or one might recall those of importance in one's life who have died.

Satanism is a self-centred religion, meaning that the most important holiday of the year would be the Satanist's own birthday, which needs no ritual but should be spent doing things they enjoy.

Magick

LaVeyan Satanism involves the practice of magick, which comprises of two types; greater and lesser magic. Greater magic is a form of ritual practice and is meant to focus one's emotional energy for a specific purpose. These rites are based on three major psycho-emotive themes, compassion (love), destruction (hate), and sex (lust). Lesser magic is the practice of manipulation by means of applied psychology and glamour (or "wile and guile") to bend an individual or situation to one's will.

Sources: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaVeyan_Satanism 

www.churchofsatan.com