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Archive-name: religions/satanism/faqeol
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LOCATION

        http://www.luckymojo.com/faqs/faq.astneol.0418

______________________________________________________________________

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.

        ====================================================================

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?

        ====================================================================

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 <[e-mail]>

EOF 418