Dark Matter
Satanic Readings : Theistic or Traditional Satanism
Information on Satanic beliefs. Articles, comments, links, recommended books, and more.

You say Satanism, I say Satanism.

There are, people like to remind me, many forms of Satanism. Go to Google and do a "Satanism" search, and it'll come up with 219.000 hits. "Satanism" + "definition" gives mores than 40.000 hits, whereas "What is Satanism" gives only 716. Chances are, however, that those 716 will all be different - and not just slightly different (in the way that Calvinism can be said to be slightly different from strict Lutheranism). One major group of Satanists, The Church of Satan, does not believe that Satan is a real being. The Temple of Set believes that Satan is a real being, and that he is identical to the Egyptian god Set. Satanic Reds believe that Satanism is some kind of Socialism, and The Order of the Nine Angels considers Satanism to be nothing less than (quoting from wordiq.com) "an individual quest which goes far beyond the gratification of the pleasure-principle and involves the arduous achievement of self-mastery, self-overcoming in a Nietzschean sense, and ultimately cosmic wisdom." I've never been a member of any of these groups, and I don't know much about them. From what I have read on-line, I'd say that I can probably do without without them.

But who am I, then, to say what Satanism really is? When talking about Satanist theology, shouldn't I take all of these groups into consideration, and then say, Yes, well, this group says so-and-so, and this one says the exact opposite ... ? No, I shouldn't. I won't. If someone says something interesting, I will listen, and I'll be glad to make a comment, regardless - almost - of who he or she is, or what group he or she belongs to. However, I do not want to spend my time commenting on stuff that I either do not understand (because a) I'm too stupid, or b) it's utter nonsense), or do understand but cannot use (because a) it's utter nonsense, b) it's been explained much better by someone else, or c) I don't trust the person who wrote it. It would for instance be hard to disregard the fact that there is an ONA article on "involuntary" human sacrifice. Would I quote from an ONA website, or spend any time trying to explain to my visitors what ONA has to say about Satanism? Not a chance. I'd rather quote from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).

I shall say this only once: There are many definitions of what Satanism is all about. This is a plain fact, and I accept it. No problem. When I talk about Satanism, and when I go (as I do on the What Satanism is not page) "this has nothing to do with Satanism", I am however not only referring to what Satanism is to me; I am, I believe, referring to what Satanism can reasonably be said to be. Much of what Christian fundamentalists have to say about Satanism simply makes no sense. Sadly, the same thing goes for many Satanists. Let's not waste our time on it. Let's talk about stuff that's important; the stuff that does make sense, and which we need to explore.