Imatge de l'autor

Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–1997)

Autor/a de The Satanic Bible

13+ obres 3,208 Membres 51 Ressenyes 15 preferits

Sobre l'autor

Nota de desambiguació:

(eng) born Howard Stanton Levey

Obres de Anton Szandor LaVey

The Satanic Bible (1969) 1,801 exemplars
The Satanic Rituals (1972) 443 exemplars
The Satanic Witch (1971) 386 exemplars
The Devil's Notebook (2000) 315 exemplars
Satan Speaks! (1998) 213 exemplars
The Satanic Bible 2 exemplars
The Satanic mass (2019) 2 exemplars
The Cloven Hoof 1 exemplars

Obres associades

Death Scenes [1989 Documentary Film] (1989) — Narrador, algunes edicions1 exemplars

Etiquetat

Coneixement comú

Nom normalitzat
LaVey, Anton Szandor
Altres noms
Levey, Howard Stanton (birth)
Data de naixement
1930-04-11
Data de defunció
1997-10-29
Lloc d'enterrament
Cremated
Gènere
male
Nacionalitat
USA
Lloc de naixement
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Lloc de defunció
San Francisco, California, USA
Llocs de residència
Globe, Arizona, USA
Professions
lecturer
musician
photographer
Relacions
Barton, Blanche (common-law wife and biographer)
Schreck, Nikolas (son-in-law)
Organitzacions
Church of Satan
Nota de desambiguació
born Howard Stanton Levey

Membres

Ressenyes

Gospel for the maladjusted youth, narcissists, and the emotionally immature.

Before diving into the book - the historical context of the book is worth noting - not only that it was released in 1969, but also that Anton LaVey was born in 1930. Throughout the 20th century, conservative Christians shot themselves in the foot. Every time a new kind of music surfaced, it was labelled as the doings of the devil. Being born in 1930, LaVey undoubtedly experienced that as it started with blues, jazz, rock and roll and even later again in the '80s with the PMRC.
I find it hard to exclude that those events did not influence the author. It is the 1960s, and rebellion is brewing. Although not sympathetic with the hippie movement in this book, it certainly carries out its own rebellion - for better or worse.

To its credit, it is not a theistic religion, and it does wave some stereotypes aside. It does not worship Satan as a deity, as he is "viewed as a metaphor or a symbol, not as a being to be worshipped". This non-theistic approach does, however, leave a void which it fills with the ego of the Satanist. It is written that the most important holiday to the Satanist is his own birthday, as the book puts it, "why not really be honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself. Every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one". This is, but one of many, absolutely preposterous statements printed on these pages. Whether delusion of grandeur on the part of the author or not, it may very well manifest in the follower. You are to put yourself above all else adhering to being your own redeemer, and in following what the devil represents you should proclaim that, "I am a Satanist! Bow down, for I am the highest embodiment of human life".

The author claims that humans need ritual and dogma, which is not far-fetched to me. However, he also claims that spiritual religions created gods because people cannot accept their ego and have to externalize it. That's until it is also claimed that people who choose a faith that preaches abstinence are masochists. In 2020, according to Pew Research Center, there were an estimated 2.4 billion Christians on Earth. That's a lot of masochists. Another reason put forth is that without "wholesale fear" the religionists would have no power over their followers. LaVey can't quite seem to make up his mind as to why people adhere to something like Christianity, and comes off as angrily yelling at the sky with a clenched fist.
As much as LaVey tries to put down Christianity for "lies", "hypocrisy" and all that jazz, you can find a lot of the ideas from stoicism in Christianity. This is why I think the historical contexts were important. A book such as "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius absolutely puts "The Satanic Bible" to shame. What Christianity prevailed with was imagery, archetypes, and the symbolism that supported you in your daily life. Satanism also draws from that as well with Satan, Lucifer and an abundance of demons that represents all kinds of things.

LaVey puts a lot of emphasis on not turning the other cheek, but that "if a man smite thee on the cheek, smash him on the other", and flipping The Golden Rule to "do unto others as they do to you". You are allegedly a cowardly dog if you turn the other cheek, instead you should make yourself a terror to your enemy, which in turn should make you "respected" in all walks of life...
So, you should only treat somebody with kindness, if they are kind to you. With this approach you are seldom the giver, oft-times the one who reciprocates. It is mentioned that, "when a Satanist commits a wrong, he realizes that it is natural to make a mistake". I guess that only goes for the egocentric Satanist, and it is not natural for others to make mistakes, essentially sinning, and they certainly should not attain potential forgiveness. Life is hard and full of suffering, and at times it gets the better of all of us. In such moments we can risk snapping at strangers, people who do not deserve it. That does not make you a bad person who should be punished with wrath.
It is in such moments we have to show compassion, and understand it could happen to all of us - and no, it's not always easy. Turning the other cheek requires true inner strength, it is not a weakness. If the perpetrating person continues being unkind, you simply keep your head and resort to not casting pearls before swine. Silence often hurts more than words, or at least it won't add to a negative feedback loop.
There is an ongoing issue in that the author emphasizes outer strength, it is never about inner strength - there's no discipline. The outer strength in this book is misconstrued as to being the be-all and end-all. If you have no inner strength, you give in, you give up, your frame of Being is made of jelly. Then it won't matter how much you lift or how much "wrath" you can unleash because at the core, you are most likely weak and insecure.

You should apparently indulge in your sins, such as gluttony with the reasoning being, "when you have overeaten to the point of obesity, another sin - pride - will motivate you to regain an appearance that will renew your self-respect". A quick glance at Western society today, with rising obesity in just about every country, quickly puts a hail of nails into that coffin.
The term "sin", which LaVey continuously scolds, comes from the Greek word Hamartia or the Hebrew word Hata, which both mean "to miss the mark" or "flawed". We aim to better ourselves, realizing our flaws which, hopefully, humbles a person. But if you are effectively your own redeemer, a god, with no one to answer to, then how are you to avoid getting a tunnel vision of grandeur egotism?
The book tends to portray everything in black or white - either or. The problem with that is that our world, and human beings, are very complex. You should forego abstinence and indulge but stay clear of compulsion. Whilst I'd agree, to some extent, that no release for desire can breed compulsion, not all desires are good, and they can easily get a hold of you and snowball, as the book even demonstrates itself with gluttony. It's this consistent lack of setting aside instant gratification and not having a perspective of what is best for your future self that is completely baffling to me.

One saving grace of these absurd pieces of paper bundled together is the chapter on sex. It condones all kinds of intercourse, whether it is heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, fetishes, etc. We are all different, and to some it can be a problem to be bound to one partner which the book addresses, but also mentions that you should not deceit yourself into having many partners to feel free from sexual guilt. Satanism encourages any form of sexual expression so long as it hurts no one else, not violating other's sexual rights, and you should not impose your desires on someone who does not welcome your advances.
I do not agree with the point of love being divided into spiritual and sexual, as in if you do not get a release, you should try and get that with a sexual partner who meets that desire. I get the point, that some people are not compatible sexually, and for some it can work, but I think it is very rare occasions. There definitely still is a bit of taboo when it comes to fetishes, which the books advocate a release of, so it does not reach a compulsive state - similarly to sins. You can't always get what you want, as The Rolling Stones put it, and you shouldn't. There's always a new thing to arouse you. You'll always want more. At what cost will it be? Most likely somebody else, somebody close to you, because you have to indulge and satisfy whatever needs arises within you. It will destabilize your family life, or certainly hinder your chances of establishing one. You should be open and honest with your partner in taking care of your intimate relationship and the potential boundaries and desires you each may have.
Masturbation is also brought up, a bit too much that is, but I think that is just a sign of the times from when the book was released.

Nevertheless, this was a refreshing chapter, as it actually advocates for some thoughtful and mature responsibility - a little nugget of gold in a sea of faeces.
Albeit, it is sort of soiled later on by having rituals of lust where you "hex" someone into fornication, in which case you are a man you should. "plunge your erect member into her with lascivious delight", or if you are a woman, "open your loins in lewd anticipation". Psychiatry is recognized for all the good it has done, but also how it has robbed us of wonder and fantasy in religion. Whilst I would not entirely point my finger on psychiatry, I would definitely agree that our loss of spirituality has been detrimental, and we are continuing to suffer from that to this day.
Oh, and lastly, thanks for inspiring a lot of great metal bands.

"The Satanic Bible" also dabbles in magic and rituals, and like most of the book it's quite daffy. There are three types of rituals: lust, compassion, and destruction. Satanism distances itself from offering of animals, which is good, of course. Instead, it requires releasing a force from his own body such as sexual orgasm, blind anger, mortal terror, consuming grief, etc. Symbolically, a victim is destroyed with a hex or curse, in a destruction ritual, to dispose of a "totally obnoxious and deserving individual", as the book puts it. And it also comes with the warning that you should "be certain you do not care if the intended victim lives or dies". That can be achieved by, for example, putting needles into a doll representing your victim. Some stereotypes prevail.
A Satanist should use his energy on performing rituals to insure the outcome of his desires, and not waste energy on things such as genuinely levitating a tea cup - I kid you not, it says so.
Furthermore, it puts down religions that uses altars of "stone and metal", as Man's earliest altars were of flesh and blood. So what is the altar in a Satanic ritual? A nude woman. Why? Because she is "the natural passive receptor, and represents the earth mother".
It gets better. Black is (of course) the colour of clothes worn, and... The women must be wearing sexually appealing clothes. Why, you might ask? Well, for "the purpose of stimulating the emotions of the male participants, and thereby intensifying the outpouring of adrenal or bio-electrical energy which will ensure a more powerful working".
If you're a woman, I guess you're out of luck, no "stimulation" for you. The men wear robes, and there's no mention of men ever being used as an altar. That must be a coincidence, surely, and not a teenage boy's wet dream.
Satanists apparently shuns hope and prayer as those concepts does not make things happen, but claims positive thinking and action add up to results. Then it must be somewhat of another coincidence that the compassion ritual, in accordance to the book, has you close by an altar where you conjure as vivid a mental image possible of the person you wish to help, and stating your desire. That sure does sound an awful lot like prayer - a very concentrated and genuine thought and action to help others. Since this is Satanism, you can, of course, also use this ritual to your own benefit.

This book was read from an agnostic point of view. I first came cross excerpts from this book in the heavy metal community when I was around 11-years-old, angry, and I gravitated a lot towards the parts of not turning the other cheek. Being frustrated, insecure and angry makes you quite receptive to a book like this. Later, when I read it for the first time in my very early twenties, a lot of it still appealed to me (except the rituals) as I still met the three mentioned criteria. I thought it would be amusing to read it again, many years and experiences later, and that sure was... something!
I cannot recommend this collection of absurdities, not even for a cheap laugh. It truly is an intellectual travesty put onto paper. I had to drastically reduce the amount of nonsensical proclamations I featured in this review.

The preface tries to build up the author's credibility and vast knowledge, but boy does it fall flat on its face in record time.
"The Satanic Bible" is an egregious attempt to write a book of guidance, and is bereft of deep thinking. It paints the world black and white, casting the numerous shades of grey it consists of wholeheartedly aside.
It focuses on short-term gratification and "indulging" in all your temptations, without regard of your future situation or self, effectively devolving the human into only utilizing the primal part of your brain. You're lured in with a promise of complete satisfaction of the ego - you are your own god, a distorted and megalomaniacal version of individualism - and your desires fulfilled.
The dogma presented might seem like a good idea, but as you progress in your twenties you should, hopefully, attain a sustainable amount of oxygen in your brain, commonly referred to as growing up.
Should you take the creed of Satanism to heart and live it out, you will eventually run into a brick wall, and you'll only have yourself to blame. In that very moment, there's a theme song made for the occasion by Ice-T, very fittingly entitled You Played Yourself.
… (més)
 
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Readerino | Hi ha 34 ressenyes més | Jun 3, 2023 |
Yeah.... who’s really surprised that this one isn’t too great? The slapdash bastardisations of Freud and Nietzsche are all well and good, entertaining in a kinda ‘I’m reading edgy teenage crap that someone who holds Rand in high esteem would scrawl on their desk’, but after that you get into this real cringeworthy (and even inconsistent, if I’d be charitable enough to give Satanism the status of a ‘system’) when it comes to making sexual wishes during the black mass. LaVey makes a big point on not infringing on other people’s sexual liberties, stressing the point that you can hurt masochists that want to be hurt but can’t impose your sexual needs on others, then in the next breath he’s demonstrating how to implant sexual desire in the dreams of women you wanna bang. I’m gettin’ rapey vibes.... it made me laugh when he says that the altar must be a naked woman so the rest of the fellas who are punching little amateurishly crafted dolls can get their energies to the highest possible level - that alone saves this incel shit from getting a one star.… (més)
 
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theoaustin | Hi ha 34 ressenyes més | May 19, 2023 |
Anton Szandor LaVey, más conocido como el Papa Negro y fundador de la Iglesia de Satán, fue el primero en promulgar una filosofía religiosa absolutamente revolucionaria y polémica. Lejos de la tradicional imagen ofrecida por la Iglesia cristiana del Príncipe de las Tinieblas como portador del mal, la desgracia y el vicio, LaVey reivindicó la figura de Satán como auténtico símbolo de LIBERTAD, SABIDURÍA y AMABILIDAD . Para LaVey, Satán era la más pura personificación de la ILUMINACIÓN y el CONOCIMIENTO, y así lo demuestra en esta emblemática obra.… (més)
 
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Natt90 | Hi ha 34 ressenyes més | Apr 13, 2023 |
Excellent book like all those that Mr. Anton has written. I wonder what Lord Anton would think about the censorship movement that is strongly promoted by young people.
 
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Morcys | Hi ha 2 ressenyes més | Dec 29, 2021 |

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Estadístiques

Obres
13
També de
1
Membres
3,208
Popularitat
#7,979
Valoració
3.2
Ressenyes
51
ISBN
46
Llengües
13
Preferit
15

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