The Satanic Bible and the Birth of Modern Satanism Quiz

Answer: Anton LaVey

Anton Szandor LaVey wrote the Satanic Bible in 1969 after beginning his interest in Satanism the the young age of 16. His writings are the most commonly available books on the subject.
Aleister Crowley spent 50 years in the company of magic, from his initiation into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1898 until his death in 1947. Deeply inspired by ritual and the study of Qabalistic writings, he fused Western ritual magic with Eastern yoga and sexual magic to create a hybrid often referred to as "Thelemic Magick".
Much had been made of Heinrich Himmler and his liking for the Black Arts, whether this is in order to better explain his inhumane actions or actual fact, it remains a hard-to-shake label. Head of the SS in Nazi Germany, his intellectual mind may well have been drawn to groups such as the Thule Society. Many books have been written about Nazism and the Occult, strangely less have been penned regarding the Allies "Bureau of the Occult."
Gerald Gardner is seen by many as the father of modern Witchcraft and the Wiccan faith - which is totally separate from Satanism and Devil worship. Gardner first wrote 'fiction' about witches until after 1951 when the repeal of the witchcraft laws enabled him to publish (in 1954) "Witchcraft Today". Debate continues today about whether Gardner's "Book of Shadows" is his own work or a representation of the rites of the New Forest covens inspired by Dorothy Clutterbuck.

Answer: The Nine Satanic Statements

Contrary to popular belief, the Nine Satanic Statements are not the exact opposite of the Ten Commandments. They do not begin "Thou shalt worship other gods than Ywah, Thou shalt make graven images" etc. LaVey saw the Black Mass and the mocking of Christianity as outmoded, or as he put it "beating a dead horse".

He tried to make the Statements positive, turning from the view that Satanism should be anti-Christian/anti-Jewish and instead putting forward ideas for what Satanists should aspire to. The ninth Statement is not intended as a guideline as such but more a representation of LaVey's humour and his inability to totally avoid needling the Church.

Answer: Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence

While many of the Nine Statements advocate what is denied in the Ten Commandments, they do not encourage rape, theft and murder. LaVey saw the need for a church that would recapture the minds of men and celebrate carnal and other desires. He also believed that rational self-interest was something to be encouraged and a healthy ego championed. For interest, the Nine Satanic Statements are listed below.
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 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.

*By the phrase "psychic vampires" LaVey means those who suck emotions and feelings from people while never contributing themselves.

Answer: Selfish

While I am sure many people believe "wrong" is the correct answer, we do live in an age of religious tolerance. LaVey sculpted his views on Satanism from his own mind and from those of powerful occult groups which flourished pre-1937. He saw his religion as 'a blatantly selfish, brutal philosophy'.

He did not believe in the meekness of man, only that human beings were guided by evolution to seek out the best for themselves and those they loved and not to concern themselves with the plight of 'Man'.

He believed that the strong ruled with their own interests at heart; if they happened to help others along the way that was fine - but the driving desire was success for oneself. He did not see the world as a land of 'milk and honey' but as a brutal wasteland with everyone vying for power and status.

Answer: Belial, Lucifer, Leviathan

While all the names above are names for the Devil, LaVey choose the Book of Satan (the infernal diatribe) as Fire, the Book of Lucifer (the Enlightenment) as Air, the Book of Belial (the Mastery of Earth) as Earth and the Book of Leviathan (the Raging Sea) as water.
The others are all names that Christians have rightly or wrongly associated with the devil, including Shiva (the destroyer from Hinduism), O'Yama (a straight Japanese translation for Satan), Mephistopheles (from the Greek meaning 'he who shuns the light'), and Sekhmet (from Egypt where she was the goddess of vengeance).

Answer: Yes

Perhaps one of the more misunderstood areas of Satanism comes into play with the understanding of sex within the religion. Satanism proclaims 'sexual freedom' and 'free-love'. To the disappointment of many would-be Satanists this does not mean orgies all the time, day and night.

In keeping with its strong belief in the individual and individual gratification its members are supposed to choose for themselves whether they have sex with men, women or no one. It specifically forbids sexual union with anyone does not wish to be involved. Multiple partners were allowed, but by no means encouraged and a man and a woman together was seen as the norm.

Initially the spread of Satanism led to a large number of groups being inundated with 'sexually-liberated' people - mostly young men who believed this was their ticket to a very pleasurable life.

They were to be disappointed.

Answer: Birthday

Satanists see their birth as the most important event in their lives, after all - it was the day they came onto the Earth. In keeping with the view that the world can be made to revolve around oneself, what day could be more important? The days for universal (as far as Satanists are concerned) celebration are Halloween and Walpurgisnacht. Walpurgisnacht is the night of April 30 (the day before May Day) and represents the death of winter and the rise of summer.

In ages past, children used to dress up as witches or evil spirits and play pranks on neighbours. Bearing this in mind, it should come as no surprise that it is twinned with Halloween, which sees the end of summer and the rise of winter. Good Friday is not celebrated or maligned by Satanists. Beltane is celebrated by Pagans/Wiccans and combines the night of April 30 and the day of May 1st. For them, it represents the land becoming ripe and fertile as the Goddess returns to the land after winter.

The occasion often involves the picking of flowers to welcome this event. From this ancient ceremony, the modern May Day festivals have evolved, including the dancing around a maypole, although the meanings have changed.

Answer: Enochian

The Enochian language and keys are used within Satanic rituals. The Enochian language is very old, possibly older than even Sanskrit and the keys have been used by many mystics over the millennia. Many famous interpretations have been offered, with Aleister Crowley writing on them extensively. LaVey claims his are the true keys and that he has managed to remove any corruption that has crept in over the years. Sandskrit and Arabic have several traits in common with Enochian but are clearly different.

The decision not to use English is in keeping with the desire of LaVey to ritualize the Satanic Church, adding to the mystical nature of his religion. Even a recipe for making a cake sounds mystical if read with the right intonation in Latin, Ancient Greek or Enochian.

Answer: Thule Society

The Thule Society, vilified as being used by the Nazis, was a more modern society and is not seen by LaVey as an influence to be used. The Thule Society was more of an occult group and seems to have been highly intellectual (or its members wanted to be seen that way). Now famous enough to be mentioned in the film 'Hellboy,' it is still being investigated by writers.
The Knights Templar were not Satanic in a modern sense, but were sought by the Inquisition in the Middle Ages and their members executed. Strongest in France, they practised a highly ritualised form of magic, placing emphasis on the trappings involved.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was brought to prominence by Aleister Crowley and became caught up in his drive to change the way magic was practised in the last century.
The Hell-Fire Club was also situated in England and seems to have been very interested in damaging the Christian Church and less in forming its own opinion of the Devil. They made the devil the exact opposite of God, and as such became a negative group which was doomed to fade into obscurity.

Answer: No

Despite scare stories about the spread of Satanism, the number of converts to the church remains small. The Satanic Bible is not widely sold and most of the copies end up never read on the book shelves of people who think it is cool to own it. Satanism is seem by some as an excuse to attack people and desecrate churches and then claim some higher religious purpose. Real Satanists have little time for such people and, as with all religions, are interested in developing their own beliefs instead of destroying others. Sadly, the misconceptions about Satanism are many and huge. Stories of sacrifices, the Black Mass, goats and blood are popular everywhere, becoming more embellished with every telling. I hope you enjoyed learning a little about one of the World's lesser religions.