Between Darwin and the Devil
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Jesper Aagaard Petersen Jesper Aagaard Petersen BetweenBetween Darwin Darwin and and the the Devil: Devil Modern Satanism as Discourse, Milieu, and Self Modern Satanism as Discourse, Milieu, and Self Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Thesis Trondheim,for the degree September of Philosophiae 2011 Doctor Trondheim, June 2011 Norwegian University of Science and Technology DepartmentFaculty of ofArchaeology Humanities and Religious Studies Faculty of Humanities NorwegianDepartment University of ofArchaeology Science and and Technology Religious Studies NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Faculty of Humanities Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies © Jesper Aagaard Petersen ISBN 978-82-471-3051-3 (printed ver.) ISBN 978-82-471-3052-0 (electronic ver.) ISSN 1503-8181 Doctoral theses at NTNU, 2011:245 Printed by NTNU-trykk Contents Contents 3 Analytical Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgements 9 INTRODUCTION 13 Heart of Darkness: A Topography of Modern Satanism ARTICLE I: TRADITION AND LEGITIMACY 116 Satanists and Nuts: The Role of Schisms in Modern Satanism ARTICLE II: SCIENCE AND AUTHORITY 148 ‘We Demand Bedrock Knowledge’: Modern Satanism between Secularized Esotericism and ’Esotericized’ Secularism ARTICLE III: MAGIC AND ARTIFICE 198 The Seeds of Satan: Conceptions of Magic in Contemporary Satanism ARTICLE IV: ART AND TRANSGRESSION 238 ‘Smite Him Hip and Thigh’: Satanism, Violence and Transgression ARTICLE V: INTERNET AND COMMUNITY 266 From Book to Bit: Enacting Satanism Online 3 4 Analytical Table of Contents Contents 3 Analytical Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgements 9 INTRODUCTION 13 Heart of Darkness: A Topography of Modern Satanism Part I. A Doorway to the Satanic: Introducing the Study 14 I. 1. Setting the Stage: Context and Purpose 15 I. 2. The Shape of Things to Come: Aims and Scope of the Study 19 Part II. Getting There: Means and Methods 22 II. 1. Previous Research 22 A. Modern religious Satanism and the satanic milieu 23 B. Neighbors: Popular, aesthetic, and esoteric discourse on the satanic 32 C. Demonology and moral panics: History, theology, and sociology on the ‘other’ 35 II. 2. Methods, Terms, and Sources 37 A. Collecting satanic ‘texts’: Issues of method and data 37 B. Analyzing satanic ‘discourse’: Issues of locality and strategic practice 43 Part III. Tying the Knot: Redescribing the Field of Religious Satanism 55 III. 1. Revisiting the Five Articles 56 III. 2. Satanic Discourse 62 A. Discourse on the satanic and satanic discourse: Elaborating on a stipulative definition 62 B. Historical developments and ideal types: Rationalist, esoteric, and reactive Satanism 67 III. 2. Satanic Milieu and Satanic Self 74 A. ‘Imagining’ the satanic milieu 75 B. Constructing satanic ‘worlds’: Strategies and positions in the satanic milieu 78 C. Constructing a sense of identity: Technologies and the satanic self 85 Part IV. Other Doors: Concluding Remarks 95 References 100 5 ARTICLE I: TRADITION AND LEGITIMACY 116 Satanists and Nuts: The Role of Schisms in Modern Satanism I. Modern Satanism: A Short Introduction 121 II. A Schismatic Pasodoble: The Church of Satan and the Temple of Set 125 II. 1. Cultic innovation: Anton Szandor LaVey and the Church of Satan 125 II. 2. The major schism: Michael A. Aquino and the Temple of Set 133 III. Concluding Discussion 138 IV. References 143 ARTICLE II: SCIENCE AND AUTHORITY 148 ‘We demand bedrock knowledge’: Modern Satanism between Secularized Esotericism and ’Esotericized’ Secularism I. Introduction 149 II. Secularized Esotericism and ‘Esotericized’ Secularism 151 III. The Bedrock Knowledge of the Church of Satan 158 III. 1. Secular elements and the undercurrent of ‘esoterization’ 159 III. 2. Esoteric elements and the undercurrent of secularization 167 IV. The Fate of the Bedrock: Science and Scientism in the Satanic Milieu 174 IV. 1. Routinizing the Doctor: Peter Gilmore and the myth of Dr. LaVey 175 IV. 2. Ignoring the Doctor: Tani Jantsang, Phil Marsh, and the Satanic Reds 178 IV. 3. Defrocking the Doctor: Ole Wolf, Amina Lap, and the Satanic Forum 181 V. Concluding Discussion 184 VI. References 191 ARTICLE III: MAGIC AND ARTIFICE 198 The Seeds of Satan: Conceptions of Magic in Contemporary Satanism I. Introduction 199 II. Ars Magica: From Esotericism to Psychology – and Back 201 III. Magic as Conscious Life Design: The Riddle of Authentic Artificiality 208 IV. Malefic(k) Magic(k)s: A Catalogue of Ritual Practice 215 IV. 1. Enacted demonologies 215 6 IV. 2. Devotion to the Dark Lord 217 IV. 3. Intellectual decompressions 219 IV. 4. Self-deification with a ‘k’ 223 V. Final Remarks 228 VI. Bibliography 230 ARTICLE IV: ART AND TRANSGRESSION 238 ‘Smite him hip and thigh’: Satanism, Violence, and Transgression I. Introduction 239 II. Historical Violence and Mythical Realities 241 II. 1. Mythical violence and “Satanists”: The Christian or demonological model 242 II. 2. Ostensive violence and reactive Satanists: Appropriating “dark occulture” 244 II. 3. Symbolic violence and modern religious Satanists: Self-religion and the third alternative 247 III. Satanism and Transgression: A Provisional Analytics 250 IV. Art from Marginality, Art as Marginality 253 V. Conclusion 258 VI. References 260 ARTICLE V: INTERNET AND COMMUNITY 266 From Book to Bit: Enacting Satanism Online I. Introduction 267 II. New Contexts, New Boundaries: Charting the Satanic Milieu 269 III. Virtual Milieus, Satanic Communities: Modelling the Satanic Milieu Online 275 IV. From Book to Bit: A Brief Aside on Textual Genetics 284 V. Authority and Hybrid Texts: Discussing ‘ritual’ on Satanic Forum’s Message Board 287 VI. Concluding Remarks 294 VII. Appendix: Model 1 296 VII. Bibliography 297 7 8 Acknowledgements The modest beginnings of this dissertation took place in a small graduate student writing room I shared with 3 other students at the University of Copenhagen. In late 2000, my supervisor sent me some light entertainment which turned out to be quite the distraction from work on my master’s thesis. It was a letter from a Danish Satanist describing her experiences with the counter-cult organization Dialogue Centre International, both alone and with a friend. Apparently a Christian employee expected Satanists to be everything the myths and stereotypes said they would be, hinting at bloodletting, handcuffs and other erotic pursuits in a meeting convened to dispel myths and mistakes in the Centre’s information material. Surely exasperating for the Satanists and disappointing for the staff. Ten years have passed since this event, and I now have contact with Satanists in Scandinavia and abroad, have participated in satanic summer parties and winter celebrations in Denmark, and have a much broader grasp of modern Satanism both online and offline. A dozen books, articles and papers (and two kids) stand between me now and me arriving in Trondheim in the darkest winter, sleeping on the floor of an empty house – next to the heater, mind you, but still cold. So it is time for conclusions. Throughout the years of thinking, reading, writing, and diaper changing, I have been assisted, encouraged and inspired by a great many people along the way. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Asbjørn Dyrendal, associate professor at NTNU, a shining example of the Protestant work ethic and the best colleague and supervisor I could have wanted. Thank you for treating me like and equal from day one, and for your support, criticism, and deep erudition. You have contributed immensely to the robustness of this project. I would also like to thank my unofficial ‘supervisor’ James R. Lewis, associate professor at the University of Tromsø, for believing in me in 2001, continuing to feed me with editorial projects and book chapters to write, and proof-reading the final product. Your entrepreneurial spirit is truly astounding. I hope I have learned the craft of academic publishing to your satisfaction. Finally, three cheers goes to cheerleader Mikael Rothstein, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, for teaching me how to study religion as an undergraduate and graduate student, and for always trusting the talents of the young cocky apprentice. That letter did some good. 9 My gratitude also goes to the Faculty of Humanities at NTNU for granting me a four-year scholarship without even interviewing me, and to all my colleagues at the Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies for assistance, friendliness, and curiosity, in particular the PhD-fellows Hanne Eggen Røislien, Eli-Anne Vongraven Eriksen, and Filip Ivanovic (who would have known you also liked zombies and Nazi villains?); Professor Istvan Keul for enthusiastic support; associate professors Dagfinn Rian and Erik Karlsaune for inviting me along; and department head of office Kari Berg and higher executive officer Birgitte Moe Rolandsen for being so incredibly helpful and nice. With matters of scholarship and paternal leaves, I thank faculty advisers Hanne Siri Sund and Karin Hansen. Next, I would like to thank all colleagues and peers I have discussed this and other projects with over the years. Whether a five minute conference chat, a flurry of emails or a beer- induced heart to heart, your help is greatly appreciated, and you have had a deep impact on my work, explicitly or implicitly. In particular the ‘Brat Pack’ of esotericism studies: Egil Asprem, Per Faxneld, Kennet Granholm, and Sara Thejls. You are good friends and first-rate scholars, and I thank you for your help with proof-reading, constructive comments, and the shaping of arguments. I also thank Henrik Bogdan and Titus Hjelm for collaboration and inspiration; the contributors to my anthology Contemporary Religious Satanism, especially Dave Evans, Graham Harvey, and Gry Mørk, as well as Anne Keirby, Sarah Charters and Sarah Lloyd of Ashgate publishing; all participants at the NTNU conference Satanism in the Modern World, many of whom I consider my friends; and the participants at the ESTET seminars, especially Henning Fjørtoft, Guri E.