Category Archives: Modern Satanism

Satanism brings to mind gory images of bloody sacrifices, candlelit rituals, and damnation of the eternal soul. Its a religion with a bad reputation. Edgy teenagers and Biblical religious organizations havent improved that reputation. But is Satanism really as terrible as they say?

Turns out that Satanists are actually saintlike. The first words printed on The Satanic Temples public website are these:

The Satanic Temple is fighting child abuse in Americas public schools.

Who would have thought that wed see the day where Satanists are fighting child abuse? Satanists are protecting school children who are facing physical abuse in Springtown, Texas. Corporal punishment is still legal in Texas and 18 other states, and Superintendent Mike Kelley recently passed legislation in Springtown to make it easier for teachers to spank and otherwise physically discipline students. The Satanic Temple is fighting against these laws by providing students with religious exemptions from corporal punishment. In spite of their reputation, Satanists are actively working to build a better future.

Most of Satanisms bad reputation is a result of widespread rumors and misinformation during the late 1900s. Evidence of Satanism that islinked to crime and evildoing is scarce. Heck, the Holy Bible itself barely even mentions Satan. A Hebrew scholar, Dr. Michael Heiser, wrote an interesting analysis where he notes that Satan doesnt even exist in the Old Testament. Dr. Heiser suggests that the idea of Satan as a divine, evil being is the result of a spectacular mistranslation of the Hebrew language. From the conclusion of his article:

This would mean there are ZERO verses in the OT (Old Testament) that have a personal name Satan, and ZERO references to Satan as a cosmic evil entity as in the NT (New Testament). Dr. Michael Heiser, The Absence of Satan in the Old Testament

READ: Is Beyonce a Saint or a Sinner? Find out what we think!

Oh well, somebody had to take the fall for all those sins that good Catholics were committing. Who better than a nameless force of evil to take the blame? Guzzled the sacramental wine? Satan made me do it! An edgy teenager burned a bible in middle school? The Devil made her do it! Gilded the Vatican palaces with gold and jewels while kids are starving across the world and being abused in schools? Its for the Glory of God! Oh, wait Maybe they should have cut their losses and blamed that one on Satan, too. In any case, suspicion and superstition created a bad reputation for Satanism far more than any actions of Satanists. This heavy-handed blaming on the devil peaked in the late 1990sand came to be known as the Satanic Panic.

The Satanic Panic was a period of moral panic from the 1980s to the late 1990s. A wide variety of gruesome crimes were blamed on Satanic ritualism during this time. The mysterious and evil force of Satanism terrified people across the U.S. and even throughout the world. Accusations without substantial evidence spread like wildfire. The Satanic panic has been compared to the McCarthyism of the 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy accused everyone left and right of being treasonous communist spies.

The Satanic Panic began in the early 1980s, after the publication of the bookMichelle Remembers. Psychologist Lawrence Pazner and his patient-turned-wife Michelle Smith co-wrote the book. It details Michelles remembering of abuse by a Satanic cult. According to the book, Dr. Pazner helped draw out Michelles repressed memories through 600+ hours of hypnosis. The two continued on to perform a large publicity campaign where they participated in interviews and eventually began teaching people to recognize the warning signs of Satanic ritualism in their hometowns.

READ: The Death of SUPERMAN as an American Icon!

After investigators looked into claims of Satanic ritualism nationwide, they found no proof of any harmful activities. Unfortunately for the modern Satanists, the moral panic left a lasting stain on their already tenuous reputation. Theyre starting to make a comeback, though. Satanism is getting a surprising amount of good press these days.

One of the biggest misconceptions of Satanists is that they worship the devil. They dont. In fact, modern Satanists consider themselves to be atheists. A man named Anton LaVey is the founder of contemporary Satanism and the author of the Satanic Bible. Some divisions of Satanism even treat him as a prophet. All of the major branches of Satanism today come from LaVeyan Satanism. However, the newer offshoots of LaVeyan Satanism are more agreeable than the original Church of Satan.

Also known as the Church of Satan, this is the largest contemporary division of Satanism. These traditional Satanists follow the tenets and practices of the Satanic Bible resolutely. The Church of Satan is characterized by its pursuit of intellectualism and its rigid hierarchical structure.

LaVeyan Satanists have a grand idea of their own intellectualism. Portions of their website read like they were written by a particularly poetic teenager whod just finished reading Machiavelli:

We are the first above-ground organization in history openly dedicated to the acceptance of Mans true nature that of a carnal beast, living in a cosmos that is indifferent to our existence.

The rest of the website is similar. Once youve sifted through all the wordy intellectualism, there are interesting and even identifiable values to be found. For example, the fourth tenet Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! is exactly how I feel about my freeloading friend who always needs a ride and forgets his wallet.

READ: Video games are more detailed than ever maybe too detailed?

Unfortunately, LaVeyan Satanism gets weird from there on out. A significant portion of the Satanic Bible is dedicated to the practice of Black Magic. Practitioners of LeVeyan Satanism employ Black Magic to attain goals by influencing the world and the self. The practices are harmless, and the church rebukes many common myths about Black Magic on their FAQ page. Whatever their reasoning, the practice of Black Magic stands at odds with the Satanists otherwise intelligent and scientific approach to the world. There has been much internal controversy within the church, which has led to some groups breaking away to form their own Satanist religious organizations. The Satanic Temple is one of the most prominent of these groups.

The most progressive division of modern Satanism is, by far, The Satanic Temple. They differentiate themselves from LaVeyan Satanism in threelarge ways:

Their website is easy to read. Their beliefs and tenets are easy to identify with. They arent trying to come off as a mysterious, dark, and dangerous force of authority in the world. Their focus is on positive change in the world through activism. Theyre not trying to be the biggest, baddest Satanist gang in town theyre just trying to make a difference through their projects.

The Satanic Temple has a section of their website dedicated to the campaigns that they are running. Foremost of these campaigns is their After School Satan project. After School Satan aims to provide kids with an alternative to evangelical after-school programs that have a reputation for indoctrinating kids with religion. After School Satan programs will focus on educating kids through free inquiry and scientific rationalism, rather than faith-based programs.

In addition to their After School programs, the Satanic Temple also promotes reproductive rights by providing religious exemptions to controversial laws such as the Texas Fetal Remains rule. The Texas Fetal Remains law requires that fetal remains, no matter the trimester, be given a full burial instead of simply being disposed of humanely. This puts financial burden and emotional trauma onto the women who went through the procedure. The Satanic Temple invokes the first amendment to allow women to adhere to Satanist burial rites. This gives women freedom to carry out medical procedures safely and without interference.

TST also sponsors movements like the Grey Faction, which seeks to expose malpractice and pseudoscience in the treatment of mental health. You can find a full list of their campaigns here. In essence, they use their rights and protections as a religious organization to fight unfair laws and practices across the country. Fighting injustice and campaigning through activism has become the core foundation of The Satanic Temples beliefs, stepping away from practices like Black Magic altogether. Some Satanic Sects, on the other hand, have chosen to make Black Magic their core foundation.

READ: DEADPOOLhas kicked open the door for more R-rated action! Check out whats coming up in 2017!

There are still a few fringe groups of Satanists who actually believe in and worship the devil as a deity in some form or another. The Temple of Set is the most prominent of these. As their name suggests, they worship Set, who they believe is the same deity going by different names throughout history and religion. The Temple of Set practices Black Magic as a core component of their beliefs.

Its important to clarify that Theistic Satanists generally do not view Satan as the embodiment of all evil. Most Satanists see Satan as a symbol of important modern values such as individualism and intellectualism. Satanists arent evil people. They dont make blood sacrifices. Hell, you probably believe in most the same values that they do. To Satanists, Satan represents core human values that have been shunned by Biblical religions. Where Catholicism decries material pleasures, Satanism encourages them in healthy moderation. After all, who doesnt enjoy twoslices of cake every now and then?

At the end of the day, Satanists just like their cake. They are normal people who like having fun! They worship intelligence and individualism. Some of them are even fighting for good causes. In todays day and age, being a Satanist isnt evil. Its a religion that supports independence and science. Satanism is for people who enjoy healthy and safe pleasures in life, and dont like being told theyre sinners. The modern era is outgrowing old religions and Satanism comes from that growth. Check it out, because you never know you just might be a Satanist.

Original post:

Satanism is Becoming More Saintlike Than Catholicism - ComicsVerse

Otter and Morning Glory Zell

It seems to be necessary to preface every discussion of Witchcraft with an explanation that, no, Neo-Pagan Witches aren't Satanists. The Christian anti-God, Satan, has no place in Pagan pantheons, either mythologically or theologically. Plainly and simply, Satanism is the dark side of Christianity, and Satan is nothing other than the collective Id of Christendom.

Even today, Witchcraft is frequently misrepresented by being confused with Satanism. Often the word Witchcraft is used to represent two wholly opposite phenomena: the survival of ancient Paganism in one instance, and the inversion of Christianity in another. Let us make it clear: a Satanist is a renegade Christian, who, in his rebellion against the authority of the church, worships Satan rather than Christ. Such people are at times called witches and warlocks in popular books and movies but they have little to do with Pagan Witches. Satanists, for one thing, accept the Christian duality between good and evil; Pagans do not. Satanists may choose to worship evil rather than good: but they have utterly bought the Christian world view".

The word Pagan derives from the Latin paganus, meaning "peasant" or "country dweller". It is correctly applied to indigenous (native) pantheistic folk religions and peoples. The term "Neo-Paganism" is applied to the current revival of ancient Pagan religious values, including the sacredness of all Life and the worship of Nature. Modern Witchcraft has been a major component of the Neo-Pagan resurgence since England repealed its anti-Witchcraft laws in 1951.The Goddess and the God of Witchcraft The many traditions of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft have few universal theological precepts, but one of them is certainly the veneration of the Moon Goddess, known most commonly by her Roman name, Diana. She is perceived as manifesting in triple form: as Maiden, Mother and Crone. These triple aspects are identified respectively with the waxing, full, and waning moons. Witches gather at esbats every full moon, to sing and dance in Her moonlight, share cakes and wine, and work magic to heal each other, their friends, and the Earth. Many modern Witches expand the concept of the Goddess considerably, and see Her also as Mother Earth and Mother Nature.

Most traditions of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft also honor the Consort of the Goddess in the form of the Horned God, who is seen as Lord of Animals as well as seasonal ruler of the Underworld. The most familiar version of the Horned God is the Greek Pan, goat-horned and goat-hooved, playing His panpipes, guzzling wine from His freely-flowing wineskin, and seducing nymphs in the woods. He is regarded as lusty and jovial, epitomizing masculine attributes of ideal father, brother or lover. As the Goddess of Witchcraft is closely identified with the Moon, so the God is identified with the Sun. In this way He may be seen mythologically as the lover both of the Moon and of the Earth. Another of His many epithets is "Lord of Light". Every light casts its shadows, and the Lord of Shadows is the other face of the Lord of Light. Lord of the Underworld is the title of the God in Winter when He goes underground with the animals to hibernate. Some traditions had Him alternate with His brother as husband to the eternal Goddess. Others, as in the Greek Hades, had a year-round God of the Underworld, "The Devil."

It is essential to clarify the historic relationship of Pan and the Devil, as Christianity has tended to confuse the two, giving rise to the accusation that Pagans are Devil-worshipers because some Pagan gods have horns. Once and for all, the Christian Devil is not the God of the Witches! The genesis of the Devil comes from a merging of two concepts: Satan and Lucifer. The original meaning of the word satan is "adversary", and his inclusion in the Bible represents an attempt by later apologists of the Old Testament to justify the more negative actions of a benevolent God (such as the persecution of Job) by attributing the actual dirty work to a testing spirit; the original "devil's advocate". This entity was not considered evil until after the Persian conquest introduced the Hebrews to the Zoroastrian dualism of Ahura-Mazda (the good God) vs. Ahriman (the evil God). This later manifested in Christianity as Manichean dualism. The Manichean equation was brutally simple: God=Good; Devil=Evil. But it was not until the year 447 CE that the Council of Toledo declared the legal existence of the Devil as an actual entity, though he was still not thought of as necessarily manifesting in human form.

The Lucifer story is a mish-mashed retelling of the Canaanite myth about the overthrow of Baal by Mot and the usurpation of Baal's throne by Athar, the god of the morning star. The original Hebrew name for Lucifer was helel ben shahar meaning "son of the day star" (the planet Venus). The name Lucifer ("light bearer"), a Romano-Etruscan title of the Sun God, was erroneously used when the Bible was first translated into Latin.

Various shadow gods or divine adversaries contributed to the creation of the Devil, including the Canaanite Moloch or Mot, the Egyptian Set or Suteck and the Roman Saturn.

Judeo-Christian theologians placed all Pagan gods and goddesses in an adversary position to Yahweh, the god of Israel, who, as a monotheistic deity, cannot share a pantheon. This is a profound cultural difference from Pagan pantheons and polytheistic peoples who co-existed together, whether or not in harmony. Also since unbridled sexuality, especially for females, was defined by Judeo-Christianity as evil, Pagan gods and goddesses who were especially sexual or sensual garnered the new sect's particular hatred. Pan (who instills panic) and Dionysus were neither evil nor adversary deities, but because of their riotous celebrations the Devil acquired Pan's horns and hooves and Dionysus' ambiguously mad and bibulous nature. This final equation of the Pagan Horned God with Satan was not established, however, until the year 1486, when the Dominicans Kramer and Sprenger published the Malleus Malificarum, or "Hammer of the Witches", wherein they gave the first physical description of the Devil as he is commonly depicted today, declaring that this was the god worshipped by those they wanted to call "witches", thereby justifying the centuries of terrible persecution inflicted upon those who clung faithfully to their worship of the elder gods.

Witchcraft and Shamanism Witches were the shamans, or medicine men and women, of the tribal Celtic peoples of Europe, and they functioned in the same fashion as shamans of any other tribal culture, be it American Indians, Africans, or Australian Aborigines. In fact, and in time-honored tradition, shamans are still commonly referred to as "Witch Doctors".

Shamans are specialists in herbal lore, and the Witches of Pagan Europe were no exception. Usually, but not exclusively, women, they practiced herbal medicine, midwifery, augury, spell casting, and counseling. Often dwelling alone out in the woods, Witches lived close to Nature, and attuned to Her cycles. Their gardens grew not only food, but also many kinds of herbs, including those valued for their medicinal, anesthetic and hallucinogenic properties. In a period of time when good Christian folk maintained only those domestic animals that could be considered "livestock" (i.e., useful to humans), Witches frequently kept wild animal pets: foxes, ferrets, owls, ravens and of course, the ubiquitous cats. Such became known, appropriately enough, as familiars. When Witches came to be persecuted, so did these familiar animals, and the brutal capture, torture and burning of millions of cats that accompanied the Witch burnings begat the horrible Black Plague that devastated Europe in the 14th century, for the cats had kept the rat populations under control, and it was rat fleas that were the carrier of the bubonic plague bacillus. "The Burning Times"

It is sadly ironic that, though the practitioners of Witchcraft have historically suffered real abuse and persecution, the Witch has somehow continued to be misrepresented as the villain. Christianity did not become the world's dominant religion by peaceful conversion, but by the sword and stake. As the legions of Caesar had forged the Roman Empire over the dead bodies of countless tribal peoples of Europe, so did its heir, the Holy Roman Empire, continue the tradition. Declaring them "heresies", agents of the Holy Inquisition hunted out and ruthlessly exterminated every religion, sect or tradition that would not convert to "The One True Right And Only Way". Witches, however, lived outside of any organized religious structure and were largely ignored until the 13th century, when the Church had finally gained enough power to deal with grass-roots Paganism. "In the 13th century the Church opened its long-drawn-out conflict with Paganism in Europe by declaring "Witchcraft' to be a "sect' and heretical. It was not till the 14th century that the two religions came to grips...In 1324 the bishop of Ossory tried Dame Alice Kyteler in his ecclesiastical court for the crime of worshipping a deity other than the Christian God...

"The 15th century marks the first great victories of the Church. Beginning with the trials in Lorraine in 1408, the Church moved triumphantly against Joan of Arc and her followers in 1431, against Gilles de Rais and his coven in 1440, and against the Witches of Brescia in 1457. Towards the end of the century the Christian power was so well-established that the Church felt the time had come for an organized attack, and in 1484 Pope Innocent VIII published his Bull against "Witches.' All through the 16th and 17th centuries the battle raged. The Pagans fought a gallant, though losing, fight against a remorseless and unscrupulous enemy; every inch of the field was disputed, but the Christian policy of obtaining influence over the rulers and law-givers was irresistible. Vae victis ["woe to the conquered"] was also the policy of the Christians, and we see the priests of the Papacy gloating over the thousands they had consigned to the flames while the ministers of the Reformed Churches hounded on the administrators of the law to condemn the "devil worshipers.' What could have been the feelings with which those unhappy victims regarded the vaunted God of Love, the Prince of Peace, whose votaries condemned them to torture and death? What wonder that they clung to their old faith, and died in agony unspeakable rather than deny their God". It should also be pointed out that the court recorders at the Witch trials were specifically instructed that, whatever gods or goddesses the accused actually claimed to worship, what went into the record was "Satan" or "The Devil". And what wonder if some of those who had come to believe the Biblical history taught them by the missionaries, monks and priests of the conquering faith, concluded that the story must have gotten it wrong somehow? That if there had indeed been a rebellion in heaven, it was clearly evident that the winner had not been the God of love and peace, as his propagandists claimed, but rather a God of cruelty and evil; of war and violence, wrath and jealousy. (This had, in fact, been an old Gnostic tradition.)

The clear implication was that the defeated Lucifer must have been the good guy, and surely many must have swarmed to his allegiance in this belief. While true adherents of the Old Religions certainly knew better, and continued their faith entirely distinct from Christianity, there were surely, then as now, many ignorant people who were simply too unsophisticated or too illiterate to question the Christian paradigm once it became established. And thus did Satanism as a belief and a practice come into being, spawned by the Church, and forever to be locked together with it in a fatal embrace of mutual antagonism.

Whether or not the persecuted peasantry who came to side with Satan against their oppressors thought of themselves as "Witches", the Church and the authorities of the Holy Inquisition certainly identified them as such: "The heart and center of the persecution of Witches was that they were Satanists, that they had rejected the rightful God and given their allegiance to his arch-opponent, and that in their "sabbaths' or meetings they worshipped the ruler of evil, carnality and filth. Some of those accused as Witches do seem to have taken the Devil for their god, worshiping him as an equal opponent of the Christian God, over whom he would eventually triumph. They looked to Satan for power and pleasure in this world and for a happy future in the next, and they vilified Christ as a traitor and a cheat, who had made promises which he did not keep, and who had gone away to live in heaven while Satan remained with his faithful on earth". "The Witches and sorcerers of early times were a widely spread class who had retained the beliefs and traditions of heathenism with all its license and romance and charm of the forbidden...in their ranks every one who was oppressed or injured either by the nobility or the church. They were treated with indescribable cruelty, in most cases worse than beasts of burden, for they were outraged in all their feelings, not at intervals for punishment, but habitually by custom, and they revenged themselves by secret orgies and fancied devil-worship, and occult ties, and stupendous sins, or what they fancied were such. I can seriously conceive: what no writer seems to have considered: that there must have been an immense satisfaction in selling or giving one's self to the devil, or to any power which was at war with their oppressors. So they went by night, at the full moon, and sacrificed to Diana, or "later on' to Satan, and they danced and rebelled. It is very well worth noting that we have all our accounts of sorcerers and heretics from Catholic priests, who had every earthly reason for misrepresenting them, and did so. In the vast amount of ancient Witchcraft still surviving in Italy, there is not much anti- Christianity, but a great deal of early heathenism. Diana, not Satan, is still the real head of the Witches".

Since Witchcraft is still little understood by the general public, whose images are shaped mostly by the popular media, Witches continue to be easy targets for persecution. It must be remembered that, in the previous episodes of Witchcraft persecution hysteria, it was the Witches who were the victims, not the Christians. Witches, and those conveniently accused of being Witches, died by the millions during the terrible centuries of the holocaust they remember as "The Burning Times". They do not wish to repeat that experience today.

Read the original:

Neo-Pagan Witchcraft vs Satanism

After two weeks in the dark and often depressing world of The Godfather, this column could use a palette cleanser. So this week Im picking a film that a lot of people love, but for which I was late to the party. Fortunately, the party was so fun that I still had a ton of fun.

Welcome to Taken For Granted; a column where I analyze films that are almost universally considered classics. Why? Because great movies dont just happen by accident. They connect with initial audiences and they endure for a reason. This column is designed to keep meaningful conversation about these films alive.

Ghostbusters

Wide Release Date: June 8, 1984 Directed By: Ivan Reitman Written By: Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis Produced By: Ivan Reitman Cinematography By: Lszl Kovcs Edited By: David E. Blewitt and Sheldon Kahn Music By: Elmer Bernstein Production Company: Black Rhino and Delphi Productions Distributed By: Columbia Pictures Starring: Bill Murray as Peter Venkman Dan Aykroyd as Raymond Ray Stantz Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett

What Do We All Know?

The second highest grossing film of 1984, Ghostbusters dominated the summer for five weeks in a row, and managed to climb back to #1 again on two separate occasions. In the process, it spawned one of the most successful commercial empires of any 1980s movie; cartoon series, toys, lunchboxes, one delicious sugar drink, a sequel, and a reboot that wont be mentioned again in this column. Its been absorbed into the pop culture, and is a favorite for more than one generation of kids who grew up with it.

Me? I didnt see the movie in its entirety until last year, as I asked Michael Ornelas to pick it for our column From Under A Rock. I was obviously aware of it, but I dont have the nostalgia that many fans of the film have. Fortunately, I dont really need to; not only is Ghostbusters an exceptionally good movie, but it also hits a lot of my personal sweet spots. Itll be a movie I watch frequently going forward, and I wanted to talk about it again now that almost a year has passed since that column.

What Went Right?

There is no mystery why Ghostbusters is a good movie. Its a comedy and its funny. It has a cool, easily understood concept that was perfect for its time and had endured. Recasting exorcists as scientists and exterminators is a stroke of brilliance (though, admittedly, done before in a pretty good Disney short). Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd wrote a great script and got great talent to work with it. It isnt Bill Murrays best role, but its close. Ernie Hudson may not be Eddie Murphy like they originally planned, but he might be even better. And beyond the Ghostbusters themselves, we also get see the comedic stylings of Rick Moranis, William Atherton and Annie Potts. Not to mention Sigourney Weaver in a role thats pretty far from Ellen Ripley. When you have a good idea and good talent to bring it to life, you get a good product. Pretty simple.

The cast of characters is really quite impressive. Egon, Ray, Winston and Peter Venkman each have different kinds of humor; Egon makes deadpan scientific observations, Ray has a childlike innocence, Winston is a normal guy who doesnt always get everything, and Venkman is the snarkiest, most unlikable yet also the funniest. Its four comedians playing to their strengths, yes, but it also gives each character a distinct personality which allows them to bounce off of each other. Whats even more impressive is that the film doesnt have a lot of exposition; it gets right into the action, tells us background when we need it, and lets the actors and their chemistry tell the story of their friendship.

Ghostbusters is also very good at branding. The team has a unique uniform, not to mention a custom symbol and a cool theme song. The ghosts are decidedly unlike any others; Slimer and Mr. Staypuft are instantly recognizable, but so is Gozer. The movie has such a strong personal identity, and such a specific tone that any attempts to replicate it would just feel like a pale imitation of Ghostbusters. Its one of the first big summer blockbusters to also be primarily a comedy, and if you dont care for story, the film is likely to entertain you with its humor. And vice-versa.

And lets talk about that main concept a bit; cool name aside, the Ghostbusters job is essentially that of an exorcist. And Ghostbusters owes a lot of its immediate success to the environment in which it was created. In a world where Hollywood fed audiences Rosemarys Baby and The Exorcist and newspapers were claiming that everything from rock n roll to Dungeons and Dragons was devil worship, this movie took the idea of an evil Sumerian god invading earth and bringing about the end of the world and had a bunch of snarky comedians making fun of it. What could have easily been a serious threat under other circumstances is made to be a joke. But Ghostbusters isnt a parody (usually), and this subversion of how to treat satanism and the supernatural has a profound effect on kids, and some adults.

What Went Wrong?

Unlike some of the movies Ive covered, Ghostbusters is not an unassailable masterpiece of cinema. Its smarter than people give it credit for, but it does fall short in some areas. Rick Moranis is talented, but his character is pretty one note and shows up more than he really needs to. Conversely, Winston and Dana both feel like they could have used more screen time to really breathe. And it may be an odd thing to nitpick, but the ghost blowjob joke really feels like its from a different movie, even if it is funny. I could also nitpick the effects, few of which have aged well, but thats not really what this section has been about.

What Went Really Right?

I dont think I have to work too hard to argue that Ghostbusters is a good movie, but what makes it more than just good? What made this film thats mostly aimed at adults so popular with kids that it could endure as a pop culture phenomenon for over thirty years? Well, its actually pretty simple; young children dont have to imagine that there are ghosts haunting their house and monsters in their closet. For them, its reality. But the Ghostbusters can defeat the supernatural, and they dont need magic talismans or ancient books. They dont need to call their priest. Through science and their own ingenuity, they can trap the monsters. And even if you arent scientifically inclined, that tech is simple enough that anybody can pick it up and use it effectively. Its a power fantasy that kids latch onto.

And frankly, the power fantasy works for adults too. The film alludes to the idea that the Ghostbusters could be stopping the Biblical Armageddon, and Gozer is at one point nothing more than a booming voice in the clouds. In the battle of ancient supernatural forces against modern technology and science, the supernatural gets its ass kicked. Now, Im not saying Ghostbusters is an inherently atheist film. Winston refutes that by sharing his fondness for Jesus. But what Ghostbusters is saying is that, whether you believe in the supernatural or not, it does not have control over you or your destiny. You have the tools, you have the talent, you have the power. And that is pretty cool no matter what age you are.

Like This Column? Check out previous editions! Jurassic Park Back to the Future Chinatown Taxi Driver The Matrix Batman (1989) Casablanca Goldfinger X2 King Kong (1933) Beauty and the Beast (1991) The Dark Crystal The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Raiders of the Lost Ark The Godfather The Godfather, Part II

Or check out my column with Michael Ornelas; From Under A Rock. Last week, we turned our brains off to enjoy Bio-Dome. This week, we turn them back on so we can follow Christopher Nolans Memento.

Follow Me On Letterboxd! I log reviews for every film I see, when I see them. You can see my main page here. Recent reviews include Creed, the better than it has any right to be Power Rangers, and Iron Man 3.

Read the original post:

Taken For Granted Ghostbusters - 411mania.com

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Aaron Hernandez left behind numerous messages in his prison cell, reports say, and the most bizarre were scrawlings in blood that referred to the Illuminati, according to WCVB-TV Boston.

Hernandez also drew a Bible verse on his forehead.

Hernandez wrote John 3:16 on his forehead and left notes to his 4-year-old daughter and his fiancee beside an open Bible in the prison cell where he hanged himself, reports the Boston Herald.

The verse reads, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

However, its the reports of Illuminati images that are adding a bizarre layer to an already tragic story.

According to WCVBs Kathy Curran, Hernandez drew images in blood on his cell. One of the drawings was whats known as the unfinished pyramid and the all-seeing eye of God. The image is similar to what is found on the back of U.S. currency, reports WCVB, adding that Hernandez wrote ILLUMINATI in capital letters below the image.

The illuminati is a person or group claiming to have religious enlightenment or knowledge. The illuminati has also been the subject of several theories, including one that claims they control of the world, reports WCVB, which adds, Above the pyramid, Hernandez drew an oval with rays coming from the edges.

CrystalLinks reports that the all-seeing eye symbol or The Eye of Providence (or the all-seeing eye of God) is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle. It is sometimes interpreted as representing the eye of God watching over humankind (or divine providence). In the modern era, the most notable depiction of the eye is the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the United States one-dollar bill.

The symbol is prevalent in freemasonry and, reports CrystalLinks, Popular among conspiracy theorists is the claim that the Eye of Providence shown atop an unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States indicates the influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States. This was dramatized in the 2004 film National Treasure.

A site on the Illuminati describes it as an elite organization of world leaders, business authorities, innovators, artists, and other influential members of this planet.

Hernandez sketched the references to the Illuminati on his prison wall in blood, the television station reports.

Weirdly, you can find references to Aaron Hernandez and the Illuminati on Twitter that date back years, such as these posts in 2015:

And from 2013:

You can find other bizarre Illuminati conspiracy theories online about Hernandez former team, the New England Patriots. Slideshows online purport that people believe this celebrity or that is part of the Illuminati, with the goal of controlling the masses.

According to the article Angels & Demons from the Book to the Movie FAQ Do the Illuminati Really Exist?, the Illuminati was established on May 1, 1776 at the University of Ingolstadt, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, in Germany, by a professor of law called Adam Weishaupt (1748-1830). The Illuminati were an interesting organization, with both esoteric rituals and a political aim, based on the Enlightenment philosophy and ultimately aimed at overthrowing the Roman Catholic and politically conservative Kingdom of Bavaria and replacing it with a liberal republic.

Its a secret society thats been tied to the Knights Templar and blamed for the French Revolution and other conspiracy theories.

The Associated Press reported previously that the government and other experts have debunked conspiracy theories that the symbols on American money the unfinished pyramid and all-seeing eye, for example derive from free mason allegiances among the countrys founders. The AP described those conspiracy theories as arguing that the Seal proves the domination of the United States by a powerful, quasi-religious cult. The Ancient Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a perennial favorite of conspiracy theorists as some Founding Fathers were Masons and the Seal uses several Masonic symbols and that the Seal draws on Satanism or polytheistic ritual to promote a universal new world order under which Earth would be ruled by a single omnipotent government. The government created an exhibit on the symbols in an attempt to repudiate the myths, AP reports.

(Getty)

Hernandez death was officially ruled a suicide on April 20.

His family now says they want his brain studied by medical experts. The family had arranged for Boston University researchers looking at brain trauma in athletes to take possession of Hernandezs brain following the autopsy, reports ESPN, quoting the Hernandez family attorney, Jose Baez.

According to NBC News, the family wants Hernandez brain studied for CTE, which is a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to athletes, including football players, who might suffer concussions and head trauma. It can only be diagnosed after death and can be linked to suicide, reports NBC.

The family wants the brain to go to Boston Universitys Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center. The center studies a progressive degenerative brain disease found in some athletes who have experienced repetitive brain trauma, reports People Magazine.

The Hernandez family and the medical examiners office appeared at odds over the brain at least according to a family lawyers statement. Aaron Hernandezs family wants to donate his brain to science, but Massachusetts officials are refusing to release it despite turning over the rest of his body to a funeral home, the former NFL stars lawyer said Thursday, according to ESPN. The brain has now been released, and officials say they just needed to await for the official cause of death determination, which has now happened.

(Getty)

The Hernandez family has indicated it is not satisfied with the official account of Hernandez death.

The family has retained former New York medical examiner, Dr. Michael Baden, to perform another autopsy. He completed it, but wont discuss his findings until outside labs finish a toxicology report and a study of Hernandezs brain, reports The Washington Post.

Baden has performed autopsies in numerous high-profile cases, the Post reports.

According to People magazine, the official ruling is that the former Patriots tight end committed suicide just five days after he was acquitted of double murder charges in the deaths of two men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012.

He was still in prison because he was serving a life sentence for another murder, that of Odin Lloyd, his fiances sisters boyfriend, according to People.

The official account says Hernandez hanged himself with a bed sheet.

More here:

Report: Aaron Hernandez Drew 'Illuminati' Symbols in Blood - Heavy.com

4 hours ago Arts & Entertainment By Nathan Chazan | 4 hours ago

The most hunted/Body of the modern age/Flowers crown her head/Ancient goddess of the moon

So purrs lead vocalist Kristoffer Rygg on Nemoralia, the opening track of The Assassination of Julius Caesar. The track is named after the Roman festival celebrating the goddess Diana, syncretized here with Diana, Princess of Wales. The contrast of Princess Dis famously untimely demise with the ancient immortality of the gods creates a troubling contradiction if celebrities are our new deities, what does it mean that those we have imbued with godhood also die?

Ulver, a Norwegian experimental band whose genre-defying catalog has ranged from black metal to electronica and even opera, has declared their latest to be their pop album. Indeed the eight tracks which compose The Assassination of Julius Caesar have an immediate appeal akin to pop, a pulsating, polished immediacy given menacing depth, a more baroque version of the glamorous anguish found in the music of popular artists such as, say, Rihanna or Drake. The Assassination is as immersive and intense, each song a perfectly realized expression rich in aural detail.

Throughout The Assassination of Julius Caesar, the grandiose imagery we associate with Rome and its decline(s) mingles with the rot and wonder of pop culture. The shoegaze track 1969 melds pleasant retro imagery with evocations of the Manson murders, Rosemarys Baby and satanism, while Southern Gothic mourns the emotional tragedy of trying to speak to someone in a dead language. Decay and doom seem to constantly threaten, yet apocalyptic visions are never realised, muted by foggy memory and ethereal synth hooks. With this schizophrenic, elliptical evocation of history and the dark nostalgia of electronic music, Ulver creates a space where events recur and collapse into each other, an infinity of loss.

The real assassination of Julius Caesar was far from the end of Rome indeed, the citys dominion over the classical world would not even reach its peak for over a hundred years (depending on your metric), let alone fall. Following a long and grueling period of civil war, the triumphant Augustus declared Caesar a deity, just as Ulver now declare Princess Di to be Diana. Historical recursions are sinister, but as pop music they become transcendent, the suffering state of humanity given harmony. Many secrets remain tucked away in The Assassinations forty-odd minutes, but as we poke around the albums dark recesses we may just find catharsis.

Nathan Chazan is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at ndc39@cornell.edu

We are an independent, student newspaper. Help keep us reporting with a tax-deductible donation to the Cornell Sun Alumni Association, a non-profit dedicated to aiding The Sun.

More:

TEST SPIN: Ulver The Assassination of Julius Caesar - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

This piece was written by Michael Hall, with input from Jack Sheffield and photo taken by Greg Barr. Michael is a theology and religious studies major at the University of San Diego.

When I first heard the word occultism, my mind jumped to Dan Brown novels and bad Kool-Aid. In secular America, where we are taught to respect all religious viewpoints and ideas, perhaps occult practitioners are not the recipients of the same level of tolerance. Worse yet for occult practitioners, to many of us, occultism is no more than a synonym for devil worship a dark, outdated ideology with no place in our modern world. However, after visiting the Theosophical Society in Pune, India this January, I had a complete change of heart.

Within modern-day popular culture, including movies, television shows, and novels, occultism is often portrayed as a sinister secret set of practices conjured by a more supernatural variety of villains, each of whom utilized the occult to manipulate unseen, yet extraordinary, malevolent forces and spirits.

In contradistinction to links to Satanism, most occult religious groups originally self-identified as being Christian-based in origin, with teachings rooted in ancient wisdom traditions allegedly suppressed by the Orthodox Church for centuries. To their practitioners, occult sects provided alternative readings of the life of Jesus, differing explanations regarding the nature of the divine, and doctrines purporting to profess the true teachings of Christianity. Some occult groups, such as the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), traced their roots to a Gnostic form of Catholicism, while the most popular occult movement, the Theosophical Society, combined Western and Eastern tantric traditions.

The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 to advance Theosophy, an esoteric religion based on the teachings of a group of secretive, spiritual adepts who Helena Blavatsky claimed were channeled through her.

Though the Theosophical Society began to lose steam in the United States, it found a home in India, where the foundation of many of Blavatskys ideas originated.

I entered the Theosophical Societys center in Pune, a hill station in India, with Dr. Gruber and two fellow students. I was prepared to take their ideas with a grain of salt. But, as a life-long Catholic and a theology and religious studies major, I was fascinated in the organization, particularly because of its unique history.

The first thing that struck me was the inscription of the Societys objectives on the centers door: To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color, to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science, [and] to investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man. Once inside, the president of Punes chapter, Mr. Bhaskar Tendulkar, lectured on a number of topics related to the Societys three unifying objectives.

Our host was extremely excited to meet us and talk about his beliefs, to the point that he drove several miles just to speak with four Americans about his religion. We all felt his passion as he spoke about religion being inseparable from every other aspect of his life. To him, religion pervaded all thoughts and actions at all times. While I expected to find this visit fascinating, I did not expect to hear what came next: one of the most clearly orated spiritual lectures of my life.

According to Mr. Tendulkar, all religions seek to understand the universe in a rational and spiritual way, while also attempting to explain the purpose of our existence. He argued that human beings naturally attempt to seek answers to explain our place in the world, and that desire to find answers is, in a way, the essence of religion. However, through self-interest, politics, and corruption, most religions eventually develop agendas that differ from their initial intent.

Mr. Tendulkar insisted that the greatest religious figures across history have preached unity and understanding, from Jesus love your neighbor as your self to the Buddhas be kind to all creatures. This, our representative from the Theosophical Society explained, was the true purpose of religion, arguing that it was a means for people to come together to express their shared roots and spirituality, despite political, social, or economic differences.

The lecture became particularly compelling when Aidan, my friend and classmate, asked what practical advice Mr. Tendulkar had for incorporating this kind of thinking into our daily lives. The point that particularly resonated with us was our hosts claim that most people are "selectively conscious, picking and choosing the objects of their attention, while remaining unconscious of the majority of things going on around them. While our host encouraged meditation as a helpful solution, he emphasized that being actively aware of ones surroundings is key to a successful life. Perhaps it was the context, the clarity of the lecture, or the passion of our host, but regardless of the exact reasons, this advice really stuck with us.

As Jack Sheffield, the third student present, noted: After he pointed this out, I have tried to expand the scope of things I focus on, trying to take more information into consideration before reacting and responding to certain situations. Rather than getting entrenched in my initial dump of emotion and reacting with a limited level of awareness, I try to take a step back and understand a larger number of variables than I typically consider. This acknowledgement helps me manage my emotions and my mental state. I can make more informed and rational decisions and maintain a levelheadedness that prevents me from panicking.

Even though we had been meditating as a group since arriving in India, the practical benefits of controlling our attention had, until that point, remained in the abstract.

As we said our goodbyes to our pro tempore guru, it struck me how apprehensive I had initially been, wondering what kind of devil worship I might find waiting for me inside. For this reason, Mr. Tendulkars emphasis on awareness and seeking understanding really hit home. Despite all of my cultural hang-ups about the occult, I left the center with the feeling that I had just met one of the most spiritually aware people I ever will meet.

At least for a moment, it seemed we were all a small part of a West meets East, East meets West religious feedback loop, participants in a centuries-old, but still living, amalgamation of spiritual doctrine and practice that maybe, just maybe, ought to be considered a religious lineage of its own.

Three months later, I still reflect on the lecture quite often, and the visit to the Theosophical Society ended up being a highlight of our travels, helping the trip live up to the clich of searching for spirituality in India.

Go here to read the rest:

Forgotten American Religion Finds Home in India: Selective Consciousness and Increased Awareness at the ... - Huffington Post

Written by Radhika Iyengar | Updated: April 5, 2017 8:52 am

The first known cow protection movement began in the 1800s when Hindus were rallied in hordes to stop the slaughter of cattle. Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati emerged as an early proponent of cow protection, who first published Gokarunanidhi (http://bit.ly/2nzf6fA), a pamphlet in 1881, which circulated his concerns against cattle slaughter. In it, Saraswati stated the economic favourability of cow protection, arguing that a cow was more beneficial to people alive, as opposed to it being dead, since it gave milk and eased agricultural labour. Saraswati later on went to establish a committee for the protection of cows called Gaurakshini Sabha in 1882.

While Saraswati had given economic reasons to support his demand for cow protection, over the years, the cow gained political-religious popularity and prominence. In context to religion, the cow was looked upon as a mother gau-mata for she performed the role of a foster mother, feeding milk to each Hindu. Thus, the Hindu nationalists used the maternal metaphor to sculpt a strong Hindu identity, similar to the one evoked through the image of the country as a maternal figure, that is, Bharat Mata or Motherland. It was the job of a Hindu man therefore, to defend his mother in this case, the cow. The strength of a Hindu man therefore, became inextricably linked to his ability to protect the body of his nurturing mother goddess from non-Hindus.

Of course, the image of a cow as mother then was not useful independently. The image would only be considered functional when it worked towards rallying Hindu men to converge into an army of strong men vigilantes who could defend their gau-mata and their country. In fact, bhajans back in the day fiercely associated a Hindus manhood to his strength in defending the cow. Historian Charu Gupta observed in her paper titled, The Icon of Mother in Late Colonial North India: Bharat Mata, Matri Bhasha and Gau Mata, that bhajans like those by Swami Alaram Sanyasi, fiercely associated a Hindus manhood to his strength in defending the cow. The lyrics stated, Mard unhi ko janen hum jo rakshak hain gau mata ke (We consider as men only those who are the protectors of mother cow).

Even today, there are several bhajans that associate absolute male strength, bravery and vigour with protecting cows. A bhajan sung by Bajrangi Sonji goes like this: Veer-Pandavo kisantano phir maidano mein aao, gau-mata ke praan bacaho inn paapi gadhaaro se. (Children of Veer and Pandavas, return to the arena and protect our mother cow from these treacherous traitors!)

Dutch historian Peter van der Veer explored this relationship drawn between the image of cow and Hindu manliness and authority, in his book Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. He wrote, the image of the cow as a mother, is a crucial image, since as a mother the cow signifies the family and the community at large. She depends on the authority and protection of the male of the family. While mother cow refers to family and nation alike, her protection refers to patriarchal authority and to the Hindu state, the rightful kingdom of Rama. It is within the logic of religious discourse that the protection of the cow become the foremost symbol of the Hindu nation-state.

In the late 1800s, the accessibility of the press, too, assisted in the proliferation of the pro-cow-anti-Muslim ideology. The cow-protection propaganda gained momentum, primarily distancing the Muslims from the Hindus. At that time, handbills and pamphlets began being distributed advocating cow protection, which also pushed Hindus to boycott products sold by Muslims. A 1933 handbill, Charu Gupta noted, which was circulated at the time stated: Gaumata ka Sandesh: Gauraksharth Harek Vastu Hinduon se hi Kharid, which translates to, Message from Mother-Cow: For the Protection of the Cow, Buy Every Item from Hindus Alone.

In addition to the handbills and pamphlets that were widely circulated, newspapers such as Gausewak (in Varanasi) that were sold at railway stations and on the streets, fiercely advocated cow protection, along with bhajans like the Bhajan Gauraksha Gopal Darpan and Bhajan Gauraksha Updesh Manjari (1892), which were written to mobilise Hindu solidarity through the symbolic cow.

While the rift between Hindus and Muslims grew wider, violent riots broke out between the communities regarding cow slaughter. In response, Mahatma Gandhi pointed out the hypocrisy Hindus carried in his piece titled, Let Hindus Beware (dated 1921) where he wrote, To attempt cow protection by violence is to reduce Hinduism to Satanism, and to prostitute to a base end the grand significance of cow protection. In the same piece he said that Hindus were responsible for causing more harm to cows than Muslims, since it were the Hindus who first sheltered their cows and then sold them for export.

Along with the texts, visual images were used to ingrain Hindu fanaticism with relation to the cow. In her paper, Charu Gupta writes that during the period between 1893-1894, apart from handbills and pamphlets, pictures of the cow were also circulated and exhibited at many meetings. One depicted a cow in the act of being slaughtered by three Muslim butchers, and was headed The present state. Another exhibited a cow, in every part of whose body groups of Hindu deities and holy persons were shown. A calf was at her udder, and there was a woman sitting before the calf holding a bowl waiting for her turn. The woman was labelled The Hindu. Behind the cow was a representation of Krishna labelled Dharmraj. In front, a monster was assailing the cow with a drawn sword entitled Kaliyug, but which was largely understood as typifying the Muslim community.

Around the late 1800s, calendar art gained prominence as well. Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was one of the first to put the image of a cow on a calendar, painted to work in tandem with the cow protection movement.According to historian Christopher Pinney (who wrote in his book, Photos of the Gods: the Printed images and Political struggles in India) the riots of 1893 between Hindus and Muslims, which stemmed from anti-cow slaughter movement, assumed an overtly communal flavour. That reflected in the way the Hindu cow was depicted in calendars.

In a calendar that carried a painting titled Chaurasi Devata Auvali Gay (The Cow with Eighty Four Deities, 1912), for example, Hindu gods were shown to be residing within a hapless mother cow, which was being attacked by a toothed, demonic cow-slayer this monstrous matricidal figure, captioned Kaliyug (the demon Kali, personifying evil) in the Varma print, is readily identifiable with the Muslim community (Pinney 1997); or more broadly, with Muslim, Christian and Hindu low-caste beef eaters, observed historian Dilip M. Menon in Cultural History of Modern India. With reference to the same image, Pinney wrote: In the use of these images, a more discriminatory message was stressed in which the cow came to represent a Hindu identity and nationality that required the protection from non-Hindus.

Its important to note how images and text played a significant role in building the narrative of the cow as a mother whose protection by Hindu male was imperative. He was the assigned protector. In the same context, the narrative of the other with regard to the Muslims and Christians, was woven in. This, of course, is not an extensive collection of examples, but it is sufficient to offer a crucial insight.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now

IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd

See the rest here:

In literature and art from over 100 years ago, images of the cow as mother - The Indian Express

We're onthe home stretch to the endof 2016, and there are still people out there who have countless misconceptions about witchcraft and what it does, or doesn't, include.

Of course, we also live in a country where people need directions printed on the back of a shampoo bottle on how to wash their hair, with HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED written in big letters across the back. Do people have a shampoo drinking fetish that I don't know about?

Anyway, to enlighten the masses, I've decided to put together this list -- in the spirit of Halloween -- to tell you the five things you got wrong about witchcraft. Perhaps you might see fit to change your mind?

Five Things You Got Wrong About Witchcraft

5. We Worship Satan

Whether you're a practitioner of witchcraft because you practice Celtic neopaganism, Egyptian polytheism, Italian stregheria, or Latino/Hispanic brujeria, there is one common misconception that people have of you: you worship Satan or the Devil. But, on its face, these people could not be more wrong: while some neopagan religions honor Jesus Christ as an avatar of a deity -- but not a deity himself -- Satanism and all its tenets have nothing to do with modern witchcraft. This is not to say Satanists cannot practice witchcraft, but it is to say that, amongst the neopagan community, Satan holds no truck with any of us.

4. We're All Wiccan

Wiccan has become the catch-all phrase to encompass everyone who practices the so-called "good" witchcraft, but the reality of it is many of us practitioners of the Old Religion adhere to tenets that have nothing to do with Wicca. For example, in the Egyptian polytheistic world, they adhere to the 42 Laws of Ma'at, the basis for the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments.

3. We Practice Black Magic

Again, while there are some practitioners of witchcraft who practice "black magic" (that is, magic that is meant to be harmful to others), many practitioners of witchcraft are followers of the Three-Fold Law (sometimes called the law of Karma). Many are too afraid of the repercussions that the so-called "black magic" will visit upon them, and therefore avoid doing magic that would cause harm to another.

2. We Have Absolute Dominion Over All Things

Though that would be nice (no, really, it would), the reality is, when witches perform witchcraft, they do so to have cooperation with all things both on the physical and astral planes. There is nowhere in the witchcraft tenets that allow for dominion over all things.

1. We're Possessed by Demons

A common misconception that's a hold-over from the Burning Times. While witches are capable of many things, having a Demon embody their physical being is not one of them. Sorry to disappoint you!

Follow this link:

5 Things You Got Wrong About Modern Witchcraft And Those Who ... - PopWrapped Entertainment Group (blog)

LaVeyan Satanism is one of several distinct religions identifying itself as Satanic. Followers are atheists who stress dependence on the self rather than reliance on any outside power. It encourages individualism, hedonism, materialism, ego, personal initiative, self-worth, and self-determinism.

To the LaVeyan Satanist, Satan is a myth, just like God and other deities. Satan is also, however, incredibly symbolic.

It represents all of those things within our natures that outsiders might tell us is dirty and unacceptable.

The chant of Hail Satan! is really saying Hail me! It exalts the self and rejects the self-denying lessons of society.

Finally, Satan represents rebellion, just as Satan rebelled against God in Christianity. Identifying oneself as a Satanist is to go against expectations, cultural norms, and religious creeds.

Anton LaVey officially formed the church of Satan on the night of April 30-May 1, 1966. He published the Satanic Bible in 1969.

The Church of Satan admits that early rituals were mostly mockeries of Christian ritual and reenactments of Christian folklore concerning the supposed behavior of Satanists. For example, upside down crosses, reading the Lords Prayer backward, using a nude woman as an altar, etc.

However, as the Church of Satan evolved it solidified its own specific messages and tailored its rituals around those messages.

The Church of Satan promotes individuality and following your desires. At the core of the religion are three sets of principles which outline these beliefs.

Satanism celebrates the self, so ones own birthday is held as the most important holiday.

Satanists also sometimes celebrate the nights of Walpurgisnacht (April 30-May 1) and Halloween (October 31-November 1). These days have been traditionally associated with Satanists through witchcraft lore.

Satanism has been routinely accused of numerous onerous practices, generally without evidence. There is a common mistaken belief that because Satanists believe in serving themselves first, they become antisocial or even psychopathic. In truth, responsibility is a major tenet of Satanism.

Humans have the right to do as they choose and should feel free to pursue their own happiness. However, this does not render them immune from consequences. Taking control of ones life includes being responsible regarding one's actions.

Among the things LaVey explicitly condemned:

In the 1980s, rumors and accusations abounded about supposedly Satanic individuals ritually abusing children. Many of those suspected worked as teachers or day care workers.

After lengthy investigations, it was concluded that not only were the accused innocentbut that the abuses never even happened. In addition, the suspects were not even associated with aSatanic practice.

The Satanic Panic is a modern-day example of the power of mass hysteria.

Excerpt from:

An Intro to LaVeyan Satanism and the Church of Satan

Neo-vlkisch movements, as defined by the historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, cover a wide variety of mutually influencing groups of a radically ethnocentric character which have emerged, especially in the English-speaking world, since World War II. These loose networks revive or imitate the vlkisch movement of 19th and early 20th century Germany in their defensive affirmation of white identity against modernity, liberalism, immigration, multiracialism, and multiculturalism.[1] Some identify as neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, or Third Positionist; others are politicised around some form of white ethnic nationalism or identity politics,[1] and may show right-wing anarchist tendencies.[2] Especially notable is the prevalence of devotional forms and esoteric themes, so that neo-vlkisch currents often have the character of new religious movements.

Included under the neo-vlkisch umbrella are movements ranging from conservative revolutionary schools of thought (Nouvelle Droite, European New Right, Evolian Traditionalism) to white supremacist and white separatist interpretations of Christianity and paganism (Christian Identity, Creativity Movement, Nordic racial paganism) to Neo-Nazi subcultures (Esoteric Hitlerism, Nazi Satanism, National Socialist black metal).

Among the terms used are Nazi Satanism and Fascist Satanism. Sometimes these groups self-identify as "Traditional Satanism" and consist of small groups in Norway, Britain, New Zealand and France, under names such as Black Order or Infernal Alliance, which draw their inspiration from the Esoteric Nazism of Miguel Serrano.[3]Uww, founder of black metal fanzine Deo Occidi, denounced Anton LaVey as a "moderate Jew", and embraced the "esoterrorism" of the Scandinavian Black Metal milieu. Small Satanist grouplets catering to the black metal Satanist fringe include the Black Order, the Order of Nine Angles (ONA), the Ordo Sinistra Vivendi (formerly the Order of the Left Hand Path) and the Order of the Jarls of Baelder.[4]

The chief initiator of Nazi Satanism in Britain has been alleged to be David Wulstan Myatt (b. 1950), active in neo-Nazi politics from the late 1960s.[5] The ONA was allegedly led by Myatt[6] who converted to Islam in 1998, but renounced Islam in 2010[7] in favor of his own Numinous Way philosophy.[8][9] Myatt however has always denied any involvement with the ONA and Satanism, and has repeatedly challenged anyone to provide any evidence of such allegations.[10][11]

The Order of Nine Angles "represent a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism" [12] and first attracted public attention during the 1980s and 1990s after being mentioned in books detailing Satanist and far right groups.[10][13][14][15] The ONA was formed in the United Kingdom, and rose to public note during the 1980s and 1990s. Presently, the ONA is organized around clandestine cells (which it calls traditional nexions)[citation needed] and around what it calls sinister tribes.[8][16][17]

The Order of the Jarls of Baelder (OJB - which was dissolved in early 2005) was a British neopagan non-political and non-aligned educational society founded in 1990 by Stephen Bernard Cox who was briefly associated, in the 1980s, with the Order of Nine Angles,[18][19] Cox having published the ONA's book Naos in 1990 under the imprint of his Coxland Press[20] and also, in 1993, Antares by the ONA's C. Beest.[21]

According to Anti-fascistische Actie Nederland, "The Order of the Jarls or Baelder belonged in the nineties of the last century to the international network of satanic Nazi organizations which the Order of the Nine Angles (ONA) played a pivotal role." [22]

The OJB - (Jarl is Scandinavian for earl) - which was renamed the Arktion Federation in 1998 - was also described by Partridge as a fascist Satanist group.[23] However, according to the OJB these allegations are incorrect. Instead, the OJB claimed to have advocated pan-European neo-tribalism, which involved celebration of the rich tapestry of cultural diversity of humanity, study of Aryan traditions and heritage, pursuing the "aeonic destiny of Europe" and the emergence of the elitist super race, as an element of the unfolding of variant global/continental cultural forms. The activities of the OJB, which functioned as a spiritual and heritage group for people of any race or religion, included such activities as rock climbing, hang gliding, hiking, and the study of runes.[24]Gay members were encouraged to join because it was felt they added to the male bonding of the organization. The OJB symbol formerly consisted of the valknut combined with the Gemini sign within a broken curved-armed swastika.[25] Its symbol was later changed to a representation of the world tree embracing the yin-yang and maze with sun and stars.

As defined by Goodrick-Clarke, Nordic racial paganism is synonymous with the Odinist movement (including some who identify as Wotanist). He describes it as a "spiritual rediscovery of the Aryan ancestral gods...intended to embed the white races in a sacred worldview that supports their tribal feeling", and expressed in "imaginative forms of ritual magic and ceremonial forms of fraternal fellowship".[26] The mainline Odinist, Asatruar and Germanic Neo-Pagan community does not hold any racist, Nazi, extreme right-wing or racial supremacist beliefs, and most Neo-Pagan groups reject racism and Nazism.[27][28][29]

On the basis of research by Mattias Gardell,[30] Goodrick-Clarke traces the original conception of the Odinist religion by Alexander Rud Mills in the 1920s, and its modern revival by Else Christensen and her Odinist Fellowship from 1969 onwards. Christensen's politics were left-wing, deriving from anarcho-syndicalism, but she believed that leftist ideas had a formative influence on both Italian Fascism and German National-Socialism, whose totalitarian perversions were a betrayal of these movements' socialist roots. Elements of a leftist and libertarian racial-socialism could therefore be reclaimed from the fascism in which they had become encrusted.[31] However, Christensen was also convinced that the diseases of Western culture demanded a spiritual remedy. Mills' almost-forgotten writings inspired her with a programme for re-connecting with the gods and goddesses of the old Norse and Germanic pantheons, which she identified with the archetypes in Carl Jung's concept of the racial collective unconscious. According to Christensen, therefore, Odinism is organically related to race in that "its principles are encoded in our genes".[32]

The satr movement as practiced by Stephen McNallen differed from Christensen's Odinist Fellowship in placing a greater emphasis on ritual and a lesser focus on racial ideology. In 1987, McNallen's Asatru Free Assembly collapsed from prolonged internal tensions arising from his repudiation of Nazi sympathizers within the organization. A group of these, including Wyatt Kaldenberg, then joined the Odinist Fellowship (as its Los Angeles chapter) and formed an association with Tom Metzger, which led to a further rebuff since "Else Christensen thought Metzger too racist, and members of the Arizona Kindred also wanted the Fellowship to be pro-white but not hostile to colored races and Jews".[33] A series of defections from both of the main US-based organizations created secessionist groups with more radical agendas, among them Kaldenberg's Pagan Revival network and Jost Turner's National Socialist Kindred.[33]

Kaplan and Weinberg note that "the religious component of the Euro-American radical right subculture includes both pagan and Christian or pseudo-Christian elements," locating Satanist or Odinist Nazi Skinhead sects in the United States (Ben Klassen), Britain (David Myatt), Germany, Scandinavia and South Africa.[34]

In the United States, some white supremacist groupsincluding several with neo-fascist or neo-Nazi leaningshave built their ideologies around pagan religious imagery, including Odinism. One such group is the White Order of Thule.[35]Wotanism is another religion that has appeared in the US white supremacist movement, and also utilizes imagery derived from paganism. Odalism is a European ideology advocated by the defunct Heathen Front.

The question of the relationship between Germanic neopaganism and the neo-Nazi movement is controversial among German neopagans, with opinions ranging across a wide spectrum. Active conflation of neo-fascist or far right ideology with paganism is present in the Artgemeinschaft and Deutsche Heidnische Front. In Flanders, Werkgroep Traditie combines Germanic neopaganism with the ideology of the Nouvelle Droite.

In the United States, Michael J. Murray of satr Alliance (in the late 1960s an American Nazi Party member)[36] and musician/journalist Michael Moynihan (who turned to "metagenetic"[37] Asatru in the mid-1990s),[38] though Moynihan states that he has no political affiliations.[39]Kevin Coogan claims that a form of "eccentric and avant-garde form of cultural fascism" or "counter-cultural fascism" can be traced to the industrial music genre of the late 1970s, particularly to the seminal British Industrial band Throbbing Gristle, with whom Boyd Rice performed at a London concert in 1978.[40] Schobert alleges a neo-Nazi "cultural offensive" targeting the Dark Wave subculture.[41]

Mattias Gardell claims that while older US racist groups are Christian and patriotic (Christian Identity), there is a younger generation of white supremacists who have rejected both Christianity and mainstream right-wing movements.[42] Many neo-Nazis have also left Christianity for neopaganism because of Christianity's Jewish roots, and patriotism in favour of Odinism because they view both Christianity and the United States government as responsible for what they see as the evils of a liberal society and the decline of the white race.[43] Kaplan claims that there is a growing interest in one form of Odinism among members of the radical racist right-wing movements.[42] Berger judges that there has been an aggregation of both racist and non-racist groups under the heading of "Odinism", which has confused the discussion about neo-Nazi Neopagans, and which has led most non-racist Germanic neopagans to favour terms like "satr" or "Heathenry" over "Odinism".[44] Thus, the 1999 Project Megiddo report issued by the FBI used "Odinism" as referring to white supremacist groups exclusively, sparking protests by the International Asatru-Odinic Alliance, Stephen McNallen expressing concern about a "pattern of anti-European-American actions".[45]

The older Tempelhofgesellschaft (THG) was built in the 1980s by a few members of the nazi "Erbengemeinschaft der Tempelritter". The leader of this group was the former police officer Hans-Gnter Frhlich who resided in Germany/Homburg. The group had close links to the German-speaking far-right network. Its first publication was Einblick in die magische Weltsicht und die magischen Prozesse (1987).[46]

The younger Tempelhofgesellschaft was founded in Vienna in the early 1990s by Norbert Jurgen-Ratthofer and Ralft Ettl to teach a dualist form of Christian religion called Marcionism and a form of gnosticism.[47] This one was a part of the main THG/Homburg. The group identifies an "evil creator of this world," the Demiurge with Jehovah, the God of Judaism, and holds that Jesus Christ was an Aryan, not Jewish. They distribute pamphlets claiming that the Aryan race originally came to Atlantis from the star Aldebaran (this information is supposedly based on "ancient Sumerian manuscripts"). They maintain that the Aryans from Aldebaran derive their power from the vril energy of the Black Sun. They teach that since the Aryan race is of extraterrestrial origin it has a divine mission to dominate all the other races. It is believed by adherents of this religion that an enormous space fleet is on its way to Earth from Aldebaran which, when it arrives, will join forces with the Nazi Flying Saucers from Antarctica to establish the Western Imperium.[24][46] Its major publication is called Das Vril-Projekt (1992).

After the THG had been dissolved, Ralf Ettl founded the Freundeskreis (circle of friends) Causa Nostra. It remains active and maintains relations to far-right publishers like the Swiss Unitall-Verlag.[46]

Excerpt from:

Neo-vlkisch movements - Wikipedia