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Called “The Black Pope” by many of his followers, Anton LaVey began the road to High Priesthood of the Church of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival: “On Saturday night I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. “I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man’s carnal nature will out!” From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966– Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft–LaVey shaved his head in the tradition of ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man’s body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration. “Since worship of fleshly things produces pleasure,” he said, “there would then be a temple of glorious indulgence. .” The Satanic Bible Anton Szandor LaVey For Diane To: Bernadino Logara, who knew the value of money Karl Haushofer, a teacher without a classroom Rasputin, who knew the magic of a child Sir Basil Zaharoff, a gentleman Cagliostro, a rogue Barnabas Saul, the link with Mount Lalesh Ragnar Redbeard, whose might is right William Mortensen, who looked . and saw Hans Brick, who knows the law Max Reinhardt, a builder of dreams Orrin Klapp, the walking man Fritz Lang, who made moving blueprints Friedrich Nietzsche, a realist William Claude Dukinfield, who saved me a journey to Tibet Phineas Taylor Barnum, another great guru Hans Pöelzig, who knew all the angles Reginald Marsh, a great artist Wilhelm Reich, who knew more than cabinet-making Mark Twain, a very brave man And to: Howard Hughes, James Moody, Marcello Truzzi, Adrian-Claude Frazier, Marilyn Monroe, Wesley Mather, William Lindsay Gresham, Hugo Zacchini, Jayne Mansfield, Frederick Goerner, C.Huntley, Nathaniel West, Horatio Alger, Robert Ervin Howard, George Orwell, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Tuesday Weld, H.G. Wells, Sister Marie Koven, Harry Houdini, Togare, and the Nine Unknown Men. INTRODUCTION I (1969-1972) by Burton H. Wolfe INTRODUCTION II (1972-1976) by Michael A. Aquino INTRODUCTION III (1976-2005) by Burton H. Wolfe INTRODUCTION IV (2005-) by Peter H. Gilmore PREFACE PROLOGUE THE NINE SATANIC STATEMENTS (FIRE) –BOOK OF SATAN– The Infernal Diatribe (AIR) –BOOK OF LUCIFER– The Enlightenment I Wanted!: God - Dead or Alive II The God You SAVE May Be Yourself III Some Evidence of a New Satanic Age IV Hell, the Devil, and How to Sell Your Soul V Love and Hate VI Satanic Sex VII Not all Vampires Suck Blood VIII Indulgence... NOT Compulsion IX On the Choice of a Human Sacrifice X Life After Death Through Fulfillment of the Ego XI Religious Holidays XII The Black Mass (EARTH) –BOOK OF BELIAL– The Mastery of the Earth I Theory and Practice of Satanic Magic: (Definition and Purpose of Lesser and Greater Magic) II The Three Types of Satanic Ritual III The Ritual, or “Intellectual Decompression,” Chamber IV The Ingredients Used in the Performance of Satanic Magic: A. Desire B. Timing C. Imagery D. Direction E. The Balance Factor V The Satanic Ritual: A. Some Notes Which are to be Observed Before Beginning Ritual B. The Thirteen Steps C. Devices Used in Satanic Ritual (WATER) –BOOK OF LEVIATHAN– The Raging Sea I Invocation to Satan II The Infernal Names III Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Lust IV Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Destruction V Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Compassion VI The Enochian Keys and The Enochian Language (The nineteen Keys will be listed here in chronological order) Underground Edition Extras The Satanic Bible INTRODUCTION by Burton H. Wolfe This is the original introduction, used in the 1969 first edition through 1972 INTRODUCTION by Burton H. Wolfe* In the summer of 1966, a few newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area began to take notice of a body of Devil-worshippers headed by a former circus and carnival lion handler and organist, Anton Szandor LaVey. Their practice of the black arts was nothing new in the world. It had traces in voodoo cults, a Hell-Fire Club that existed in 18th-Century England, a Satanic circle led by Aleister Crowley in England a century later, and the Black Order of Germany in the 1920’s and 1930’s. But two aspects of the San Francisco group made them different from their predecessors: they were blasphemously organized into a church, the First Church of Satan, instead of the usual coven Satanism and witchcraft lore; and they carried on their black magic openly instead of underground. Wedding, baptism, and funeral ceremonies dedicated to the Devil were held in the Church of Satan, with the press invited. Rituals in the tradition of the black arts were staged at midnight in the old dark Victorian house of LaVey, an incongruous building among all the white and yellow stucco houses in the San Francisco neighborhood a short way from the cliffs along the Golden Gate. Occasionally the roar of a full-grown lion that lived in the black house with the LaVey family (Anton, 39; wife Diane, 26; and daughters Karla, 17, and Zeena, 6) reverberated through the night, spooking the neighbors, who were already upset about living so close to Hell. Somehow it was all terribly provocative. Besides, the Devil has always made “good copy,” as they say on the city desk. By 1967, the newspapers that were sending reporters to write about the Church of Satan extended from San Francisco across the Pacific to Tokyo and across the Atlantic to Paris. When a wedding or funeral was held, with a naked woman serving as altar to Satan, the Associated Press and other wire Services were on hand to transmit the story and the scandalous photographs to thousands of periodicals. Groups affiliated with the Church of Satan were organized in other parts of America and in England, France, Germany, Africa, and Australia. In existence less than a year, the Church of Satan had already proved one of its cardinal messages: the Devil is alive highly popular with a great many people. Anton LaVey, called “The Black Pope” by some of his followers, realized that two decades ago when he was playing organ for carnival sideshows. “On Saturday night,” he recalls, “I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man’s carnal nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scourged by any white light religion.” Although LaVey did not realize it then—he was only eighteen—he was on his way toward formulating a religion that would serve as the antithesis to Christianity and its Judaic heritage. It was an old religion, older than Christianity or Judaism. But it had never been formalized, arranged into a body of thought and ritual. That was to be LaVey’s role in 20th-Century civilization. All of LaVey’s background seemed to prepare him for that role. He is the descendant of Georgian, Roumanian, and Alsatian grandparents, including a gypsy grandma who passed on to him the legends of vampires and witches in her native Transylvania. As early as the age of five, LaVey was delving into Weird-Tales magazines, and books such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He felt different from other children, and yet he became a ringleader, glorying in the organization of mock military orders. _______________________ * Author of The Hippies and the forthcoming book, The Satanists. An article by Wolfe called “The Church That Worships Satan,” the first complete study of the modern Satanic Church, appeared in the September 1968 issue of Knight magazine (Vol. 6, No. 8). Publishers Service, Inc., the producer of Knight, has graciously permitted portions of the article to appear in this introduction. In 1942, when he was twelve years old, LaVey’s fascination with toy soldiers branched off to concern about the world war. He delved into military manuals and discovered that arsenals for the equipment of armies and navies could be bought like groceries in a supermarket and used to conquer masses of people. The idea took shape in his head that contrary to what the Bible said, the earth would not be inherited by the meek, but by the strong and mighty. After entering High School, LaVey became something of an offbeat child prodigy. He did most of his studying outside the school, delving into music, metaphysics, and secrets of the occult. At sixteen he became second oboist in the San Francisco Ballet Symphony Orchestra. Bored with high school classes, he dropped out in his junior year, left home, and joined the Clyde Beatty Circus as a cage boy, watering and feeding the lions and tigers.

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