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Archive-name: religions/satanism/faqeol
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http://www.arcane-archive.org/faqs/faq.astneol.0418.php
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PREFACE
This is the Embassy of Lucifer's version of the alt.satanism FAQ. For
information specific to other organizations, we recommend reading the
various FAQ's posted on alt.satanism. The intent of this initial FAQ
is to provide some basic information about Satanism. The FAQ will be
expanded each month to provide more detailed and complete information
about the Embassy of Lucifer and other organizations.
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CONTENTS
1. What is Satanism?
2. What is the Church of Satan?
3. What is the Temple of Set?
4. Who is Lord Egan and What is the First Church of Satan?
5. How do I know which of these organizations to join?
6. Does the Embassy of Lucifer agree with the philosophy of the C.S.?
7. Then, like the Temple of Set, does the Embassy of Lucifer accept
the literal existence of Satan?
8. How, then, does the Embassy of Lucifer differ from the Temple of
Set?
9. What is the O.T.O./A.A.?
10. What is the deal with Aeons & Ages?
11. What is a Word in relation to an Aeon?
12. I find the whole idea of "Aeons" and "Words" a little too
esoteric. What does this really have to do with Satanism and why
should I be interested in it?
13. What is the Infernal Mandate?
14. How can I learn more about Satanism?
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1. What is Satanism?
While there has been a moderate level of conflict between groups with
doctrinal differences each claiming to practice the true or correct
form of Satanism, Satanism may be generally described as any
philosophical or religious system inspired by the symbolic image of
Satan and possibly other mythological gods and demons.
2. What is the Church of Satan?
The Church of Satan (C.S.) is a church which was established by Anton
LaVey on April 30, 1966 in his home in San Francisco, California. The
C.S. received a great deal of publicity at that time and during the
early 1970's grew to include local chapters, called Grottos, in
several major cities across the United States and Canada. Since Anton
LaVey's death, on Oct 29, 1997, the C.S. has been run by Blanche
Barton, his former lover and High Priestess. The current High Priest
is Peter Gilmore, a long time supporter of and Magister in the C.S.
The C.S. enjoys a legacy of being the first legally established church
dedicated to Satanism and the organization spear-headed by Satanism's
one-time "Black Pope", Anton LaVey.
3. What is the Temple of Set?
The Temple of Set (T.S.) is a magical and philsophical organization
which was established by Michael Aquino, a Magister in the C.S., when
he left the C.S. in 1975. He, and several others, claimed that Anton
LaVey had dishonored the name of Satan by "selling priesthoods". There
was also a growing division between those members of the C.S. who
considered Satan as nothing more than a symbol to be used in rituals
and others in the C.S. who considered Satan to be a literal being. In
opposition to the Church of Satan's position of professed atheism, the
Temple of Set recognized the actual existence of Satan as the Prince
of Darkness, a being who pre-existed Christianity and even Judaism.
They claimed his original name was not Satan but Set, one of the gods
of ancient Egypt.
4. Who is Lord Egan and What is the First Church of Satan?
The First Church of Satan (FCoS), located in Salem, Massachusettes,
calls itself a "heretical offshoot of the Church of Satan." Lord Egan
was a member of the C.S. in the early 1970's, prior to the split
between the C.S. and T.S. The FCoS claims that the contemporary C.S.
has abandoned the liberal philosophy of the original organization
which Anton LaVey founded and has become a more fanatical and bigotted
organization. The FCoS has attempted to preserve the traditions of
the original Church of Satan.
5. How do I know which of these organizations to join?
You don't have to be a member of any organization to be a Satanist.
People join organization for many different reasons and sometimes that
reason is simply to belong to something. Those who join the C.S.,
T.S., FCoS, or any other organization simply to fill a need to
identify themselves with something aren't really practicing Satanism.
If you are really a Satanist then you don't need any organization to
recognize you as such. But, as a practicing Satanist, you may enjoy
associating with others who share similar beliefs to your own and
derive great pleasure taking part in group activities. So, regardless
of what anyone says about any of these organization, just remember
that the differences are political. Join whatever group feels right
to you but let your reason be the sincere desire to associate with
others of similar belief and not the need for acceptence.
6. Does the Embassy of Lucifer agree with the philosophy of the C.S.?
Yes. We agree with everything that Anton LaVey wrote concerning
Satanism in his books, the Satanic Bible, the Satanic Rituals, and the
Satanic Witch. It is our position, however, that this information was
provided in a way which would be acceptable to society. The position
of the C.S. today that "Satan does not exist" is based on Anton
LaVey's hesitation to declare the literal existence of Satan in his
books. We would say that this hesitation was not due to a disbelief
in Satan but rather to a realization that the Church of Satan's
survival in those early days depended on society seeing it as nothing
more than a carnival act.
7. Then, like the Temple of Set, does the Embassy of Lucifer accept
the literal existence of Satan?
Yes. Our position is that Satan does exist, or rather that the being
man calls Satan has a literal existence. Whether we call him Satan,
Lucifer, Belial, Leviathan, Asmodeus, Yahweh, Allah, Krishna, Jesus,
or any other name, the Force we call upon in our rituals is active and
dynamic and can respond to our invocations.
8. How, then, does the Embassy of Lucifer differ from the Temple of Set?
We agree with what Michael Aquino and other members of the T.S. have
written. We see no actual conflict between the writings of the T.S.
and the C.S. The material that has come out of both of these
organizations has been benefitial to practicing Satanists. The
Egyptian magical tradition was a major focus in the T.S. due to the
fact that the Dark Lord had manifested to Michael Aquino in the form
of the Egyptian god Set. The Embassy of Lucifer is less limited in
its approach to the Dark Lord, who is seen as having many forms and
many names (some of which man has created to honour him or denegrate
him, and others of which he has revealed to us for his own purposes.)
9. What is the O.T.O./A.A.?
The O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis or Order of Oriental Templars) was a
German magical order of the early 20th century which practiced various
rituals primarily sexual in nature. The A.A. (Astrum Argentinum) was
an organization established (at least theoretically) in the mind of
the magician Aleister Crowley, the former member of another magical
order called the Golden Dawn. In theory, any organization which
followed the principles of the A.A. was part of the A.A. weather it
recognized itself as such or not. When Crowley joined the O.T.O., the
O.T.O. became the vehicle for his Order of the Silver Star. Enlivened
by Crowley's genius, the O.T.O./A.A. became one of the most incredible
magical orders of all time, and succeeded at formulating a system of
magick which combined Western Magical tradition (the Caballa, Enochian
Magic, etc.) with Eastern Mysticism (Tao-Tching, Yoga) Aleister
Crowley's aim was the synthesis of Science and Religion into a system
of magick which he believed would ultimately transform the world.
10. What is the deal with Aeons & Ages?
Anton LaVey claimed that 1966 was Year 1 in the Age of Satan, a new
age of Fire which had displaced the Age of Ice which preceded it. He
remarked in the Satanic Bible that nature cycled between ages of Fire
and Ice. Beneath the nordic symbology which he used, Anton LaVey was
obviously aware that a new Aeon had begun since he was familiar with
the writings of Crowley and would have had no other reason to make
reference to a new Age. Most likely, he did not want to confuse
readers with esoteric "jargon", but wished to present Satanism in the
most simple and direct terms. In 1904, Aleister Crowley had had a
vision in the desert and written his most famous book, the Book of the
Law. At that time, Crowley declared the end of the Aeon of Osirus
and the start of a new Aeon - the Aeon of Horus, the Age of the bright
unconquered child. Crowley's Aeon of Osirus is LaVey's Age of Ice and
Crowley's Aeon of Horus is LaVey's Age of Fire.
An Aeon represents a period in the non-natural evolution of mankind.
Aleister Crowley described the Aeon of Isis as a period where man
lived in harmony with nature and worshipped nature deities. He named
this period of humanity for Isis since Isis was the goddess of nature
in Egyptian mythology. The Aeon of Osirus, according to Crowley, was
characterized by religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,
which taught man to restrict his natural impulses, deny life, and seek
death as the greatest reward for a life of abstinence. He named this
period for Osirus since Osirus was a sacrifical god who brought life
to the earth through his death. Crowley's Law of Thelema represented
an end to this period of sacrifice and the start of a new Age - the
Aeon of Horus.
In 1975, when Michael Aquino left the Church of Satan, he called upon
the Prince of Darkness for guidance and the Dark Lord appeared to him
in the form of the Egyptian god Set. Aquino was inspired by this
manifestation to write his own book, The Book of Coming Forth By
Night, which, like Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law, heralded a new
Aeon. The Aeon of Horus had ended and the Aeon of Set had begun. He
was given the Infernal Mandate and charged to establish a temple
dedicated to the Prince of Darkness in the semblence of Set.
The newest utterence of an Aeonic "Word" occured May 5, 2000, when
Magus Tsirk Susej, now Senior Ambassador of the Embassy of Lucifer,
declared that a new Aeon - the Aeon of Lucifer - had begun and that
2001 would be the year 1 in the Aeon of Lucifer. He was told not to
take the Infernal Mandate from the Temple of Set for it would soon be
given over freely and would be in the hands of every Satanist. He
wrote to the T.S. to inform them that a new Aeon had begun but
received no answer to his inquiry. And on April 30, 2001, nearly a
year after speaking the "Word" which brought about the Aeon of
Lucifer, he established the Embassy of Lucifer as a vehicle for the
advancement of the Word DEITUS.
11. What is a Word in relation to an Aeon?
There is a magical tradition that says a magician must cross the abyss
and overcome death itself. He must face his true self, and having
done this, he receives the "knowledge and conversation of his holy
guardian angel." The Magister Templi is one who has become Master of
the Temple and is aware of all things within the magical universe as
it presently is. When the Master of the Temple speaks his "Word" and
declares his "Law", he becomes a Magus. There is a great deal of
symbolism in this that some will enjoy reflecting upon. It describes
the process of gaining magical experience.
A Magus is one who has spoken a Word eithor bringing about a new Aeon
or strengthening an existing Aeon. A magical "Word" is a word which
captures the significance of an aeonic period. The Word which Aleister
Crowley spoke was THELEMA - the greek word for "Will". In this
context he meant the true Will of the magician. He said, "Do what
thou will shall be the whole of the Law." The magician was called to
discover his true nature and act upon his Will without fear, without
guilt, without shame, and without hesitation. The warning to this is
that what one wants or thinks that he wants is not always the thing
that his true self has Willed to be.
The Word which Michael Aquino spoke was XEPER - the Egyptian Word
meaning to "Become" or "to come into being". With the Aeon of Set,
the magician was told to XEPER or "become" continually and never to
remain simply as he is now. The Word of the Aeon of Lucifer is DEITUS
and the Law of this Aeon is "THELEMA, XEPER, DEITUS" or "Will to come
into being as a God." While space does not permit a comprehensive
discussion of these terms, the meaning of this is that through the
exaltation of the Will, man came remake himself in the form of a God.
12. I find the whole idea of "Aeons" and "Words" a little too
esoteric. What does this really have to do with Satanism and why
should I be interested in it?
The language of a scientist speaking of quasars may seem esoteric to
those unfamiliar with astro-physics, but he speaks in a language man
has invented to describe certain phenomena. Some events cannot be
described in everyday language and require the use of a special
language. Magicians schooled in a certain tradition or school of
magic will speak in a language they share based on their studies.
Those magicians schooled in Babylonian traditions may not speak the
same esoteric language as those who have studied Egyptian tradition.
Anton LaVey avoided the use of an esoteric language in the Satanic
Bible because he wanted his book to be easy to understand. Aleister
Crowley was a magician well versed in Caballistic, Enochian, and
Egyptian magic as well as Yoga and other eastern traditions. His
books were filled with language so full of esoteric words that large
amounts of the material can hardly be understand by the apprentice to
magic.
The crux of it is that not all Satanists are interested in magic.
Some Satanists are very interested in magic and study many magical
systems. Other Satanists enjoy simple rituals they can use to improve
their lives but are not interested in anything that may seem esoteric.
And some Satanists have no interest in ritual at all but agree with
Satanism on a purely philosophical level.
13. What is the Infernal Mandate?
The Temple of Set claims that the Infernal Mandate is the authority
which was given to Anton LaVey by the Dark Lord to establish the
Church of Satan in 1966. Without this Mandate, they say, the very act
of creating such a church would be meaningless. Because of this
Mandate, the priesthood of the Church of Satan was initially a
priesthood ordained to the Dark Lord. The Church of Satan today
denies that any such mandate ever existed. Because the C.S. denies
the literal existence of Satan, they have no need for a Mandate from him.
The Temple of Set claims that in 1975 Michael Aquino was given the
Infernal Mandate and that it was by this Mandate that the Temple of
Set was established and its priests and priestesses ordained. Since
the Temple of Set recognizes the literal existence of Set, this
Mandate is essential to them.
Many will argue that there never was a specific Mandate or that no
Mandate ever existed. It is the position of the Embassy of Lucifer
that, should such a Mandate have existed, it is no longer in the
possession of any organization but, rather, has been delivered into
the hand of the individual Satanist.
14. How can I learn more about Satanism?
You can learn more about the Embassy of Lucifer by visiting the
Embassy of Lucifer's Home Page
http://deitus.tripod.com
You can learn more about the various satanic churches by visiting
their respective Home Pages. The Church of Satan's Home Page is
http://www.churchofsatan.com
The Temple of Set's Home Page is
http://www.xeper.org
The First Church of Satan's Home Page is
http://www.churchofsatan.org
These pages contain links to many other sites containing books and
articles about Satanism.
______________________________________________________________________
from an original post to alt.satanism by Dagon <somebody@somewhere.com>
EOF 666
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