Satanism

[FallenStar]

I'm seriously considering doing the ritual to become a satanist, in the Astral Temple I'll create because I'm cash strapped and live in a christian home.
I'm not exactly sure what I want out of posting this topic. Maybe some current practicers to give me tips or something. I'm still going over the websites information on it, so it will be a while before I can fully make my decision.
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/ is the website I'm obtaining information from.
Like I said, I don't know my goal from posting this.

[QuantumModulus]

Originally Posted by FallenStar

I'm seriously considering doing the ritual to become a satanist, in the Astral Temple I'll create because I'm cash strapped and live in a christian home.
I'm not exactly sure what I want out of posting this topic. Maybe some current practicers to give me tips or something. I'm still going over the websites information on it, so it will be a while before I can fully make my decision.
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/ is the website I'm obtaining information from.
Like I said, I don't know my goal from posting this.

I'm not going to lecture you about why converting to Satanism may not be the best choice to make in this society and with Christian parents, because I honestly don't know where to begin. I'd just like to say that they still have enormous influence over your life. Be careful in deciding if you want to jeopardize your relationship with your parents and possibly lose all of the things that you now take for granted, by outwardly performing some sort of ceremony.

From what I know, a lot of ceremonies in Satanism involve self harm, and other things to that effect. If you are going to, then please make sure you're minimizing the risk of being infected or seriously injured. I doubt there's much we can say to persuade you out of the choice, but I'd like to know: why are you even considering Satanism?

[Sythan]

Originally Posted by QuantumModulus

From what I know, a lot of ceremonies in Satanism involve self harm, and other things to that effect.

This is false, Satanism does not force you to act out anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Be careful around the Joy of Satan website, Becca, they are a modern day Neo-Nazi supporter party who believes the Jews are responsible for everything bad in the world. Be careful of that hateful nonsense, and I hope you find what you are looking for.

[The Morrigan]

Becca, I really suggest that you don't do this. You're quite young yet and there are a lot of other religions out there that you can look into that may be better suited to you.

I am glad to hear you're not rushing into anything though but perhaps take a look at some other websites and maybe look into books about the subject before you make a decision. Some websites can have false or bias information on these types of things so I'd recommend looking around so you know everything you need to know and are getting the right information.

What Satanism exactly is it you're interested in? Theistic or LeVayen? I've personally looked into LeVayen Satanism myself so if that's the one you're looking into then you can PM me with any questions you might have.

Take care and I hope you make the best decision for yourself

[FallenStar]

Originally Posted by QuantumModulus

but I'd like to know: why are you even considering Satanism?

I've been doing a lot of personal research on religion lately, because my current stance of not having one is becoming confusing to me. I'm considering a lot of different religions, but Satanism is the one I'm going strongest for.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Although I'm not religious, theistic Satanism is a religion I've been looking into for quite some time. Before you jump to anything, I would pause and ask yourself what type of theistic Satanism you're interested in because there's not just one, it's not simply LaVeyan Satanism versus theistic Satanism. For example, Joy of Satan is a well-known polytheistic group, that is there is no worship over simply Satan alone. There's worship over various demons and their invocations. Joy of Satan is different from other polytheistic groups in that it states new-comers should perform invocation rites right away, before knowing much of anything else and run head-long into the religion. You'll find some other theistic Satanist groups dislike Joy of Satan because their idea of running head-long into the religion has produced accounts of being attacked by what they've invoked (look around their page, you'll find many reports) and it goes as far as twisting these experiences to support neo-Nazism. They also like to use ouija boards, which have a history of being garbage and useless, as they were actually toys when first produced but a small group of Christians (not Satanists) became paranoid and turned it into what it is today.

One of the great things about Joy of Satan is they are one of the very few groups to have a complete set of invocations for demons, whereas other groups and sites have partial or half-assed versions. That said, because they promote diving in head-first, new people often don't know what they're really getting into and are deceived both by the demons and themselves.

Below is a link showing Joy of Satan's support of neo-Nazism:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JoSNewsletter/ (man on the right in Heinrich Himmler, a high-ranking official within the Nazi party and one of the leading men in the Holocaust).

If you want to jump in with Joy of Satan, it's your choice in the end but I would look at other groups for better information about theistic Satanism and seeing some of what Joy of Satan says is nonsense. I like their website not because I agree with them, rather they have excellent links to Satanic texts, which are harder to find in such a cohesive manner on other sites.

Originally Posted by QuantumModulus

From what I know, a lot of ceremonies in Satanism involve self harm, and other things to that effect.

No Satanic ceremonies involve self-harm nor harm to others. Although it's often seen as an unconventional radical religion, theistic Satanism always states the demons invoked are not harmful. My analogy is that it's like a car on the high-way. When you know how to drive a car at that speed, your fine but if you have no clue, then you risk harm although it's not intentional self-harm.

[FallenStar]

Thanks! Can you link some other websites though? I'm having a hard time finding some.

[Cosmo]

I don't see any problem but I don't think it's a good idea at all. You're 13, your family is Christian, you live in America and you're considering practising Satanism? You really, really need to rethink that. Satanism isn't necessarily a bad religion, but it's definitely not a good idea for you to convert at your age and situation.

[Beetbox]

Originally Posted by Capt'n Cara

What Satanism exactly is it you're interested in? Theistic or LeVayen? I've personally looked into LeVayen Satanism myself so if that's the one you're looking into then you can PM me with any questions you might have.

Ditto. LaVeyan satanism is actually not a bad choice for some people. The name is quite misleading in certain ways though. However satanism is not really how it has been made out to be. It really depends on which aspect you look at and if you are looking at cults or not.

[QuantumModulus]

Originally Posted by Sythan

This is false, Satanism does not force you to act out anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Regardless of whether or not the person performing it is comfortable, self harm is self harm, and I was just warning the OP about it.

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

No Satanic ceremonies involve self-harm nor harm to others. Although it's often seen as an unconventional radical religion, theistic Satanism always states the demons invoked are not harmful.

http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/RoseRit.html

Straight from the website for the Church of Satan; just one of the examples. I never said anything about the demons that are 'invoked' or whether or not the SH was absolutely mandatory, but it's true that these rituals/ceremonies do exist.

[Crimsonkin]

Just be careful with some of the rituals and such. I had a friend that did some pretty dark stuff and really opened up a windows to the other side he could not close. He had scratches all over his body and some really crazy demonic activities going on. Just please be careful.

[FallenStar]

Originally Posted by MonsterCosmonaut

I don't see any problem but I don't think it's a good idea at all. You're 13, your family is Christian, you live in America and you're considering practising Satanism? You really, really need to rethink that. Satanism isn't necessarily a bad religion, but it's definitely not a good idea for you to convert at your age and situation.

I see where your coming from, but what does America have to do with this? Freedom of religion, bro =]

And also, I would keep my views to myself on Satanism [if I converted] until I'm 18 and can move out.

[QuantumModulus]

Originally Posted by FallenStar

And also, I would keep my views to myself on Satanism [if I converted] until I'm 18 and can move out.

That is what MonsterCosmonaut and I were referring to...I'd say that is a wise decision. The only reason we discouraged it is because in this country, it comes associated with a lot of negative social stigmas and, living in a Christian household, it might not do you well to make it public until you're under less direct influence from others -- namely, those who have more control over the technicalities of your daily life (i.e., internet capabilities, communication with friends, etc.). I've seen too many cases in which kids want to be independent and decide to convert faiths, but ultra-conservative parents (or even schools!) end up denying them their privileges because of it.

[FallenStar]

Originally Posted by QuantumModulus

That is what MonsterCosmonaut and I were referring to...I'd say that is a wise decision. The only reason we discouraged it is because in this country, it comes associated with a lot of negative social stigmas and, living in a Christian household, it might not do you well to make it public until you're under less direct influence from others -- namely, those who have more control over the technicalities of your daily life (i.e., internet capabilities, communication with friends, etc.). I've seen too many cases in which kids want to be independent and decide to convert faiths, but ultra-conservative parents (or even schools!) end up denying them their privileges because of it.

Woah jizz. Do you have any news links on hand of school denying kids rights becasue of this? I have to read that :O

[Marguerite]

Originally Posted by Crimsonkin

Just be careful with some of the rituals and such. I had a friend that did some pretty dark stuff and really opened up a windows to the other side he could not close. He had scratches all over his body and some really crazy demonic activities going on. Just please be careful.

I try to be accepting of other beliefs but sometimes I just have to lol.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by FallenStar

Thanks! Can you link some other websites though? I'm having a hard time finding some.

I'll give a variety of sites so you can look through and see what you like.

1) Church of Azazel run by Diane Vera (who by the way has an amazing comprehensive website on theistic Satanism): http://theisticsatanism.com/CoAz/. The church is both online and in-person, found only in New York City.

2) Setian/Setianism/Temple of Set (form of Symbolic Satanism although many don't consider it Satanism anymore so it's in its only group): http://www.xeper.org/

3) Demonolatry (some consider it theistic Satanism others don't but it's a very spiritual belief dedicated toward obtaining the goals or personalities of demons as outlined in various grimories. Also, they have online magazines called the Black Serpent
http://www.demonolatry.org/

A very thorough and informative read about demonolatry: http://www.demonolatry.org/moderndemonolatry.pdf (PDF file, 116 pages)

There are many grimories from varying eras but one common one is Grimorium Verum: http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoir...irum_Verum.pdf (PDF file, 27 pages)

4) First Church of Satan (not to be confused with the modern-day Church of Satan, FCOS is a blend of theistic Satanism and LaVeyan Satanism): http://satanismcentral.com/
NOTE: the URL may initially point you to Church of Satan but you'll eventually go to the URL I posted.

5) Church Lucifer (it's not a group that's active but all the content is still on there, which is quite comprehensive so it serves as a good source of information):
http://slickaz.tripod.com/cl/chluc1.html

6) Black Goat Cabal (very informative and refers to Diane Vera, who has a wonderful site of her own as well as Church of Azazel. BGC is against LaVeyan Satanism and has an interesting philosophy in that they don't consider Satanism to be of one particular belief):
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/dvera/bgoat/who.html

7) Sinagogue of Satan (they admit their philosophy is paradoxical because they're against religions and promote freedom from all including their own):
http://www.sosatan.org/
By the way, on the welcome page, they have an amazing picture.

8) In Praise of Satan (written in simple sentences not as complex as some of the others, you'll find they are strongly against Joy of Satan and all neo-Nazism promoted via Satanism): http://inpraiseofsatan.webs.com/

Originally Posted by QuantumModulus

http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/RoseRit.html

Straight from the website for the Church of Satan; just one of the examples. I never said anything about the demons that are 'invoked' or whether or not the SH was absolutely mandatory, but it's true that these rituals/ceremonies do exist.

Unfortunately, that link does not apply. The reason is the modern-day Church of Satan is aligned with LaVeyan Satanism, which is by no means theistic. Although rituals are mentioned, you'll find they're not complete rituals and is more of picking parts from here and there, slapping them together, then saying they're optional to do. Historically, the Church of Satan was more theistic but it is no longer. The Satanic Bible is not theistic either, it applies to LaVeyan Satanism only despite its name. The premise of LaVeyan Satanism is not to worship Satan or any demons, rather Satan is a symbol for what its believers look up to.

Also, in the link is reference to the Satanic Bible and despite its name, it's atheistic. Much of it contains various essays explaining and analyzing the philosophy and dogma of LaVeyan Satanism. One part of it delves into the rituals but again, it's a philosophical analysis of the rituals and says they are optional. A quick and crude way to tell whether something is part of LaVeyan Satanism is to look at the baphomet they use, which is known as the "Hell's Kitchen Baphomet". It's best seen on their main page:
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Welcome.html. If you compare it to baphomets or Sigils of Baphomets for theistic Satanism, you'll notice it's not the same at all and this is used only by LaVeyan Satanism. If you're curious about it, the Hebrew letters translate to "Leviathan".

At the end of the day, there are quite a few differences between LaVeyan Satanism and theistic Satanism, kindly summarized in this table:
http://www.satan.freeservers.com/defintions.html.

[FallenStar]

Thanks for the websites. I'm interested in the Theistic Satanism.

[VampirePrincess]

I'm not a Theistic satanist, but a LaVeyan satanist (or atheistic satanist). Although I know there's a world of difference between those religions, I would like to congratulate you on not being scared to think outside the box and consider a religion that many people shun.

People might say you're too young to choose your own religion, but that's where they're wrong. Different religions have fit me at different points in my life, and I haven't been afraid to explore and convert multiple times. I found one that I'm comfortable with. Now you must do the same. I encourage you to give this religion a try. If you don't like it, then try something else. Self-exploration is a very important part of gaining confidence and feeling better about yourself.

I will give you a word of advice though, just because I'm often mistaken for being a theistic satanist and know some of what you may go through if you decide to share your religion with people. You must be strong enough to deal with the hatred that can come your way, the hurtful comments that people will say. You can't let it bother you. The truth is, those people don't understand, and they never will because they won't open their minds. So no need to be loud and proud about it - just proud.

[LoneWolfintheWind]

If its satanism I strongly recommend LaVeyan Satanism. The Satanic Bible gave me a lot of religious philosophy and insight. I myself am not a Satanist, but friends with two, and it seems like a very beneficial religion if used correctly.