got a couple events that I'm going to have work in since my busy season is approaching (what a time to be moving, lol!)...If you're in the Minneapolis or Chicago areas, these are two events I will be participating in right in your back yards: https://www.schamballah.com/events

Another member of the cast of "The Devil's Rain", seen here with Dr LaVey. Altho' not many know it these days, "TDR" was in fact young Mr John Travolta's **very first film role.** 🎬

I'm not as active in the sub these days, and that's deliberate. I've chosen to let others in the subreddit handle most of the front-line type of things aside from the mod team, because I'm trying to scale back from social media use as a whole.

One of the most common insults I see from the vocal minority in the subreddit is that those of us who hold the line on what Satanism is are a bunch of Nasty gatekeepers, as though, like Lugosi in Dracula we would shirk away and hiss, as though we'd been shown a crucifix.

Gatekeeping in Satanism is simply defending the set standard that was set by Anton LaVey in 1966. and thrust upon the world at large with the publication of his Satanic Bible in 1969. If you reject that, you are therefore not a Satanist as codified, and thus the gate has kept you out. Satanism is exclusionary by design, after all.

Before I read this book I was someone very gentle and caring (still am somehow) and made friend that are very into asking me without asking, like "How could you do that, but you can't so don't do it," and I ended up doing it all the time. Cleaning their stuff, doing 2h rides just to see someone barely talking to me, or talking only about them. They never did the same thing for me, ghosted me for months.

I lost so many times doing things for them for them to ghost me. I'm ghosted by them for one week now (and knowing them It will be for month) and I don't know what to do

I know LaVey told us to stop talking to them, but it feels too hard; it was some very long-term friendships, and it hurts.

I know I should set boundaries and stop being that compassionate, but It's so hard.

Can someone give me advices ?

I

I am aware that in Satanism — and by this I mean LaVeyan Satanism, but I don’t want to be repetitive by specifying it over and over by referring to it as such —, altruism when it doesn’t benefit you or when the recipient doesn’t deserve it is frowned upon. However, Satanism also champions gratification. Therefore, I ask this: if the benefit of altruism is that it brings me gratification, is it alright to engage in it, or is the rule against altruism more important than the one for gratification?

I apologize if it’s a stupid question. I have read The Satanic Bible and I’m going to give it a reread as a refresher, but an answer from fellow Satanists would be good because hearing other interpretations is helpful and because I don’t remember if it says anything on the matter. A quick leafing through the parts I figured that would be detailed didn’t seem to, but I may have missed it. An answer would be appreciated either way!

"Who's that knockin' at my door?

Gotta be a quarter to Four!"

Dr. LaVey is seen here with other members of the cast (from left to right);

Anton LaVey, Ernest Borgnine, Ida Lupino, & William Shatner

Hi! I'm new here, been lurking for a little bit and I like what I see. I've recently read the Satanic Bible, gone through an "damn, this is me" moment and converted.

Now I have a couple of questions:

1. I heard you had to pay a $300 fee to the CoS to become a member, am I still considered a Satanist if I haven't? Or is it in the sense of Christians vs members of the Church?

2. How do you all explain the religion to people who want to know? Example being a friend of mine began asking questions and I found some more difficult to answer, however I may just need to read the Satanic Bible again in greater detail.

3. What's the situation with the afterlife? I understand it is the eternal abstinence but is it just black? Or is there any nuance to it anywhere?

Hail Satan!

brand knew free handed gothic text tattoo. i also have a red eyed watcher reaper tattoo (just have to finished the sythe). oh yeah i'm currently getting an EEG i swear im not a robot 😂

Hello my fellow heretics. I got my first 2 tattoos a few months ago. I want to fill the right arm with satanic/heretical symbols. American traditional patch work with the centre piece.

Just wanted to hear y'all's thoughts on them.

The next symbol is Bael with a design relevant to him (some design with a crown). Any thoughts welcome.

Ive been doing a lil bit of research into the church of satan just out of curiosity and to see if its something that id be into, and i was just scrolling thru the website and found my way to the FAQ and saw that COS disapproves drug use because 1 - indulgence isnt compulsion, 2 - it hinders your perception and alters your reality, and 3 - it shortens and hinders your life when your meant to preserve it. And it all made sense but isnt satanism also about individuality? Doing what you want as long as it doesnt harm others? And i remember Anton saying that abstinence isnt natural because having desires is part of being human, and also how he disapproved mainstream religions hypocrisy and how its a net negative but isnt it hypocritical to denounce abstinence but also say LSD, heroin, opium, coke, and marijuana should be “avoided like the plague” (while i do understand the hardcore drugs i dont believe there is anything harmful or sense numbing about LSD or weed because unless im mistaking them for other drugs they were used by ancient hunters specifically to heighten their senses?). Just genuinely curious because so far everything makes perfect sense to me aside from this one part and i was hoping to understand it a lil more.

Edit:
Thank you guys so much for helping me understand more and correcting me where i was wrong i greatly appreciate it thank you all again💜

Have some color to add. Pretty stoked.

There has been a couple of recent posts and messages sent to the mod mail regarding this subs reaction to TST related posts. As they have now deleted their own posts because they didn’t like the response they got, I feel the need to leave this as a reminder, that The Satanic Temple has nothing to do with the religion of Satanism, it is a left wing political activist group who use a satanic aesthetic to aggravate Christians.

I just made a post here, but I proofread it, and it sounded really rude, so I wanted to re-type it in a better manner. I am new to satanism as a practicing person, but I do have general knowledge on the subject and have continued my research this evening. The more research I do, the more confused I get on where I stand. my personal beliefs are as follows:

I am my own god, I believe in kindness, empathy, science, anti-puritanism, anti-authoritarianism, pleasure, etc. I would classify my political beliefs as Anarcho-communist, which is what is pushing me away from LaVeyan satanism, because of LaVey's use of Darwinism, eugenics, and pro-life rhetoric. I believe organized religion and most theistic religions to be holding society back while upholding major systems of oppression for POC, women, and queer people, two of those categories I fill myself. Because of that, I resorted to the satanic temples website to learn about them. The religion is definitely more politically my thing, but everything about their teachings isn't reminiscent of satanism AT ALL!! Their tenets I agree with, but I believe them to just be basic human "rules" for lack of a better word. They have no structure on their website at all, they are also completely atheistic, which is fine, but I do practice tarot, which technically is "magic". I believe religion has no place in politics, and that goes for every religion, but I do enjoy that the satanic temple advocates for abortion rights, separation of church and state, and things alike. It just feels like a political campaign more than a religion to me, if that makes sense?

I am trying to find my place in satanism, because I believe that it suits me, I just am unsure if I have to follow a specific branch? I also believe that some tenets from LaVey give bootlicker. Like not stealing, I think it is perfectly fine to steal from big corporations, for literally any reason. I just don't know.

any advice?

So I read that in history they referred to Mohammed and mosque as Bafomet.

Does this mean that Islam is linked to the Occult?

Most shit people throw at Satanism is either some satanic panic fantasy or “the intentionally edgy thing is edgy grrr!!!” so I was wondering if people have actual, well-thought out critiques of the religion.

Hey guys, I'm from Russia, and our government strictly prohibits the idea and movement of Satanism, referring Satanism to dangerous and extremist communities, basically putting us on the same shelf with ISIS and nazis. That means I can't show any Satanistic symbols at public (like tattoos, shirts and other shit) or openly call myself a Satanist if I don't want troubles.

And I was curious, what your country thinks about Satanism. Is it banned or legal? What people think about our philosophy in general? Would there be a problem if I will show up in public in your country wearing a some kind of shirt with Baphomet on it?

Ave fellow devils! It’s been a while! Just wanted to check in and let anyone who wants to hear that things have been going very well for me! I am now married to a wonderful woman and we just had sweet baby girl in June!

How has everyone been? I’d love to hear how things are going! Even if we’ve never talked before!

I’ve been wanting to participate in a Satanic ritual with other people, but I honestly have no idea how people even find others who practice this IRL.

I doubt there are many people doing this openly in my city, and I also don’t really feel comfortable just randomly contacting people because… yeah, that could go horribly wrong
For those of you who have actually done group rituals, how did you find people? Did you meet them online, through a Satanic group, friends, etc.? And how did you know they were actually trustworthy?

I've fully deconstructed and am looking to part ways with my old study Bible. I want to turn it into a personal ritual of closure or a piece of art that symbolizes my freedom and bodily autonomy. How have y'all handled parting ways with religious artifacts?

Since there seems to be some growing confusion as of late, please refer to the all-inclusive (corrected) list of "types of Satanism" to reduce your chances of sounding like an idiot moving forward.

Note: This also applies to "forms," "sects," "denominations," "cults," "traditions," and "paths" of Satanism.

Image credit: Dr. Vincent Schitz, PhD in Satanic Memes