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alt.satanism FAQ

Newsgroups: alt.satanism,alt.magick.tyagi,talk.religion.misc,alt.answers,talk.answers,news.answers
Subject: alt.satanism FAQ 
Followup-To: alt.satanism,alt.magick.tyagi
Keywords: FAQ Satanism official controversy diversity
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
Summary: This is the FAQ for the alt.satanism newsgroup (not to be confused
	 with any others, of which there is no 'official' version, only 
	 those which have more or less support because of their age and 
         how they speak to the group-mind, often in simplistic and very
         dogmatic ways). The Herd will listen and nod knowingly.
References: http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/religion/satanism/
Replaces: 49990107
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (alt.satanism ADMIN)
Reply-to: nagasiva@luckymojo.com 

Archive-name: religions/satanism/faqtks
Posting-Frequency: monthly or when desired

Revised: 49990720

LOCATION

    http://www.luckymojo.com/faqs/faq.astntks.9907

______________________________________________________________________

			CONTENTS

	00: Terminology and Introduction

	01: What is Satanism?
	        Caveat (emptor? :>)
	        Satanism
	        Martyrdom and Morality
	       	The Tool of Language -- a Weapon of the Literati
	02: Isn't martyrdom an insult to Satanists?
	03: Do we have to die to be a martyr?  
		How does one join the GMC?
	04: Are you saying that all Satanists have to 
		sacrifice themselves?
	05: Do Satanists actually worship an evil god?
	06: Then do you *really* serve Satan?
	07: Why do you identify with such a negative force?
	08: Didn't God create Satan?
	09: C'mon, what *is* Satanism?  
		What are its religious rules?
	10: Why do so many Satanists seem to be merely 
		'anti-Christians'?
	11: So is Satanism a part of Christianity or not?
	12: Why are Satanists so egotistical?  
		Aren't they all reactionaries following 
		leaders who want them to be their slaves?
	13: What do Satanists believe, then?  
		Why do they have to be anti-social?
	14: Do certain beliefs keep one from being a member of the GMC?
	        What about Science?
	15: What is to be gained from Satanism and nonbelief?
	16: Is the GMC solely a Western cult?
	17: Why can't you tell us more?  
		How can we recognize members of the GMC?

	18: Credits and Copyrights

______________________________________________________________________
						            FAQ begins 

00: Terminology and Introduction

	FAQ => Frequently Asked Questions
	GMC => Great Martyrdom Cult

	Definition is the first stage of the corruption of the GMC.  
	As we offer to define it, so does it pass into another form.  
	We know that this may sound quite evasive, but the GMC *IS* 
	evasive.  It is the manifestation of the unconscious mind of 
	our society.  The more we attempt to understand it, the more 
	it becomes impossible for us to understand.  It is the 
	equivalent of the Buddhist sunyata, which we can never 
	quantify, yet it has an everlasting quality of presence.

	The following is a document we concocted from a number of 
	exchanges we had with fellow Satanists in alt.satanism.  
	Please excuse its very rough form.  We've just compiled a 
	dozen or two posts and tried to make a coherent whole out of 
	it.  It is presented as a dialectic, with the preliminary 
	theory following the first question.


01: What is Satanism?

	Caveat (emptor? :>)

	I cannot speak for everyone, just as a Buddhist and Christian 
	can only describe what their religion is TO THEM, so I am 
	here only speaking of mine.  Satanism is in its formative 
	social stages at this time, given shape by many small groups 
	and individuals.  The term varies within many social 
	organizations (compare 'Witch') and so is impossible to 
	categorize in any absolute fashion.

	There are many attempts right now to DEFINE Satanism so that 
	it ceases to be an unknown.  Given this, one might say that 
	the Order-based social organism is attempting to infiltrate 
	and destroy this rebellious little faction by requiring 
	self-identification.  Self-definition is the first step to 
	co-opting a new social trend.  As I define Satanism for 
	everyone I do it a disservice, so take this in the spirit in 
	which it is meant - as a reflection of my experience and 
	dreams.   It in no way describes an orderly ORGANIZATION, but 
	a social trend, recurrently surfacing and disappearing.


	Satanism

	Satanism is the latest in a line of manifestations of the 
	Great Cult of Martyrdom.  I'm not quite sure of its origins, 
	but examples of it include Christianity and Witchcraft/Wicca.  
	Long ago these latter religions were manifestations of the 
	Great Martyrdom Cult, but over time they have been co-opted 
	by the establishment into social indoctrination schemes.  
	Today Christianity and Wicca (this last is part of a 
	conglomerate known to many as Neopaganism) are mixtures of 
	honest mystical rebellion and conformist religious cliques.

	The GMC is an occult network of those whose minds are 
	triggered by society into a direct confrontation with the 
	orthodox for the purposes of internal coherence.  It surfaces 
	with different names, at different times, and with different 
	'philosophies', but always toward the same eventual endpoint:
	
 	     the resolution of internally inconsistent energies 
	   (internal to both the social group and the individual).

	An example:  Catholicism used to be a 'universal', inclusive 
	movement, yet now it excludes by virtue of its extremity and 
	its hierarchy.  It pins the badge of 'Satanist' upon those 
	whose lives it finds compete with its social, oppressive 
	power, and it encourages persecution through its fanaticism.

	The GMC surfaces here in the guise of 'Satanist'.  It holds 
	up the Shadow of Yahweh to the conscious mind of Catholicism 
	and espouses only the most extreme forms of individualism.  
	Catholicism must face its Shadow to some extent, and those 
	who are most vigilant in confronting the hypocrisy are quite 
	often killed (I think that the 'Inquisition' was largely a 
	reaction to a particular GMC success).

	Note that there is more than one way to 'kill' a member of 
	the GMC.  Here a few possibilities:

	     1) Out and out crucifiction (pun intended)

	     2) Co-opting the images/language/memory of the martyr

	     3) Adopting the names and appearances of having 
	        'converted', yet simply continuing the same 
	        oppression under a new name.

	Essentially what the GMC comes down to is practicing my 
	spirituality in such a way as to bring up the repressed 
	unconscious energies of the culture in which I live.  This 
	often involves focussing upon certain 'unpopular' deity-
	images, doing 'taboo' things and sometimes bringing the 
	'hidden' practices out into the public eye.

	'Satan' derives from the word 'Shaitan', which means, 
	roughly, 'opponent' or 'adversary'.  When someone engages 
	energies which are in some way contradictory to our path, 
	they become our 'Satan'.  Such a person is seen in 
	different ways by different people.

	Some wish to rid themselves of this entity, vacating the 
	office until another entity comes along.   For some, Satan 
	is also an ally/guardian, in that She safeguards very 
	important energies of consciousness and, if appropriately 
	challenged, will yield this resource.

	In this way some adherents of the GMC become 'martyrs', or 
	those who are killed while practicing what they know to be 
	their religious path.  If these unconscious energies are 
	released too quickly or in too explosive a fashion, they 
	can backlash and kill the mage, as with Jesus the Christ.
	
	In the case of Christ, however, this martyrdom was part of 
	his formula, and his cult therefore carried on beyond his 
	life, irrepressably.

	The germinal form of the Great Martyrdom Cult (GMC) is what 
	I call The Heretics.  Satanists can be converted by a 
	'Church of Satan', but it'll take a while to co-opt 
	'Heretics', since 'heretics' oppose all doctrines and 
	organizations, PERIOD.  I tend to see the GMC as composed
	of 'agnostics' and 'anarchists'.  

	These are the Scientific and Political cultists, respectively.  
	The difference between these and nihilists is that the former 
	are not so much proposing an alternative as opposing the 
	oppression of the establishment for the health of all (and 
	sometimes for our own greater glory!).

	There are different stages that the Cult's forms undergo from 
	the time which they resurface until they are completely 
	co-opted.  One of the first steps is the infiltration of their 
	number with what are today called 'white-light bambis', who no 
	more have an understanding of what magick and social 
	transformation are than does today's average college student 
	understand political activism.

	A Satanist tends to oppose all authority that conflicts with 
	hir will.  The only variable is whether this opposition is 
	active or passive.  Heretics intentionally adopt labels which 
	the orthodoxy DEFINES as heretical (before or after the fact) 
	and they then associate with counter-cultural images.

	Satanism presupposes resisting or opposing that orthodoxy.  
	Satanism also seems to include self-promotion, sometimes at 
	the expense of others.  This is precisely what the Satanist 
	is doing with respect to society.

	The Satanist BECOMES the Demon which the oppressive Orthodoxy 
	begins to summon in its ignorance.  The Satanist simply 
	attempts to manifest the repressed energies.  Sometimes this 
	can result in nasty powder-burns, however.  ;>

	The Satanist BECOMES an image which the orthodoxy abhors.  
	She behaves AND speaks in ways which derive from the 
	unconscious mind of the society in which she lives - i.e. 
	those energies which the society has repressed are given 
	expression in hir).  It ain't about shoving the Orthodoxy's
	face in any 'facts', though it may include counter-
	propaganda.  It is a visceral, archetypal IMAGE which is 
	portrayed in behavior and words.

	Strict opposition and persecution includes many many people.  
	The GMC is not that big.  Very few individuals are probably 
	members.


	Martyrdom and Morality

	There are different ways to 'break from dogma'.  'Martyrdom' 
	has a rather particular meaning which does not always apply 
	to those who are killed BECAUSE of what they say/do (e.g. 
	sociopathic killers).

	Nobody can get 'kicked out of the Cult' because the only 
	way to escape the Cult is to DIE.  Rebels have MANY ways 
	to resist oppression.  Martyrs have a particular path.  
	It is easier to resist the orthodox dogma and avoid becoming 
	a martyr.  It is difficult to resist until death regardless 
	of who is watching.  However, being persecuted unto death 
	is not necessarily martyrdom.  It may give RISE to 
	martyrdom, but it is not the same thing.


	My Bible (American Heritage Dictionary) says:

		Martyr:  1. One who chooses to suffer death rather 
		            than renounce religious principles.  
	
			 2. A person who makes great sacrifices or 
			    suffers much in order to further a 
		            belief, cause or principle.  

			 3. A person who endures great suffering....  
	
			 4. A person who makes a great show of 
			    suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

		From the Greek, 'martus', witness.  <------- NOTE!!

	When people object to my meaning, they are usually thinking 
	of definition #4 - a person who makes a *show* of suffering.  
	I mean that Satanists, Witches, Christians, etc. have 
	endured hardship BECAUSE of their identification with the 
	labels they use/d.  This is not about 'making a show'.  It 
	is about withstanding religious oppression in the pursuit 
	of personal freedom.

	The label 'Satanist' (i.e. adversarialist) comes closest to 
	the direct challenge of this oppressive characteristic of 
	the Orthodoxy.  I'm sure that it will also (as perhaps the 
	Temple of Set has shown) be co-opted and a new version of 
	the GMC will keep the 'faith'.

	We are talking about those people who use a sort of social 
	judo upon the masses, those who hold a mirror (or more 
	accurately, a picture of their deep selves) and march it 
	down the throats of those in power.  This usually results 
	in those in power stripping them of this picture, displaying 
	their fangs and BECOMING the picture to the detriment of the
	martyr.  All the martyr did was to live their life.  This 
	happened not to fit in well with the popular psyche.  We're 
	not talking 'sociopaths' here, we're talking social 
	psychiatrists, or maybe 'social exorcists'.  :>

	What MAKES a Christian/Witch/Satanist is hir individual 
	power.  Resistance to oppressive authority is what all of 
	these at one time or another have shared.  Just because 
	modern Satanism has not been as corrupted as has what is 
	now called 'Christianity' doesn't make it of a different 
	tradition in regards the GMC.  There are yet elements of 
	the Christian complex which retain vestiges of the GMC's 
	influence.

	The Roman Catholic Church is not Christian, not in the 
	sense of the Great Martyrdom Cult.  The ORIGINAL 
	Christians, the ones who were opposed by the Roman Pagans 
	(yes, Pagans weren't nonviolent or nonoppressive) were
	martyrs.  When the Romans co-opted the language and 
	behaviors of these martyrs (in effect, CALLING themselves 
	Christian without adopting the values/theories), then the 
	Cult submerged.  They resurfaced in Europe in response 
	to the Roman Catholic Church and called themselves 
	'Witches' (and perhaps 'Satanists').  When this holocaust 
	subsided, the Cult submerged once more and has been 
	recently resurfacing in the form of 'Witches', and more 
	often, 'Satanists' in response to the repressive Euro-
	American Puritanism still rampant in our culture.

	Let me put it another way.  

	The Great Martyrdom Cult is DYNAMIC.  It doesn't maintain 
	the same image/label/location.  

	It is INSIDIOUS.  It can never be destroyed because it 
	transcends conscious identification.  

	It is REBELLIOUS.  It takes on the face of the Great Enemy 
	and plays out the energies that have been repressed by the 
	Orthodoxy.


	The Tool of Language -- a Weapon of the Literati

	I agree that not all those who engage modern 
	Satanism/Witchcraft are martyrs.  That is not my point.  
	This Cult is very clever.  When its expression begins to 
	be corrupted by the Orthodoxy it assumes different forms.  
	Language is the weapon of the literati and the literati 
	are often the tools of the oppressive establishment.

	I tend to use atypical definitions because I look to the 
	word roots and try to achieve the most comprehensive, 
	effective meaning possible.  There are very good reasons 
	for rejecting common associations of meaning.

	One of them is to attempt to broaden a discussion or 
	create one.  Another good reason is to help new meanings 
	grow.  We are speaking a LIVING language.  Humpty 
	Dumpty has a *lot* to teach us (look up Lewis Carroll).

	The entirety depends on the GOALS of the expression.  
	If our goals are to curb discussion, speculation, and 
	arrive at a consensual truth, then the 'commonly accepted' 
	meanings are very good for this.  If our goals are to
	experiment, explore, challenge and inspire, then 
	variations are necessary.  

	If they are to confound, confuse and obfuscate, then 
	radical and complex variations are in order.  I don't 
	think any goal is better, overall, than another.

	For example, I use the term 'Christian' in many senses.  
	Sometimes I use it in the sense that Christians are a 
	part of the GMC, and I associate Witches and Satanists 
	in order to draw attention to the essential unity of 
	these sects of the GMC through time and space.

	I sometimes use the term 'Christian' to mean 'one who 
	participates in the oppressive machine operated by the 
	Orthodoxy.'  I would do this if I wished to point out 
	how the GMC in its Christian guise has been co-opted 
	(even if there are some within its ranks who continue to 
	be martyrs - the focus has now shifted to resisting the 
	CHRISTIAN tradition as the orthodox).

	I most often use this term in reference to MYSELF to 
	mean 'Anointed One', which roughly translates as 
	'Holy One' or 'Sacred One'.  Those who know ourselves to 
	be the Child of the Divine, the Sacred Regent who are, 
	at some point, sacrificed upon the altar of Nature.  I 
	use this definition when discussing the tradition with 
	those who call people 'sinners' and tell the 'sinners' 
	that we're all 'going to Hell'.

	I sometimes use the term 'Christian' to mean 'one who 
	places hirself upon the Cross (an esoteric concept) as 
	a martyr unto God'.  This is often how I associate 
	Christians, Satanists and Witches within or without the
	GMC.  I am referring to this when I say that Satanists 
	and Witches are Christians.

	As far as 'the GMC' is concerned, there is no built-in 
	morality in these terms.  To be sure, the very strong 
	use of the term 'martyr' by Christian theologians in a 
	moral light has sullied its use, but not beyond repair 
	or redress.

	I use it in its secular meaning - one who chooses death 
	rather than abandon hir spirituality.  Neither is the 
	word 'cult' moral in in any way.  Again, the term is 
	stigmatized by accusatory abuse.  However, technically, 
	used by scholars, it has a rather important meaning -
	a system or community of religious worship.

	I am bypassing the moral meanings of these terms.  I 
	don't recognize the Catholic Church (or any other 
	moralistic entity) as an authority on religion and I 
	wish to co-opt their abuse of the language.

	My use of the phrase 'Great Martyrdom Cult' has 
	absolutely NOTHING to do with morality.  It is a 
	functional descriptor:

		Great - large;

		Martyrdom - treading one's religious path unto death;

		Cult - religious community.

	I'll admit that the meanings I apply are not always the 
	popular ones, but they are 'commonly accepted' (especially 
	among those who study such things, even if they've never 
	combined them) and, more importantly, my INTENT is not 
	derogatory.  I often IDENTIFY as one of them!

______________________________________________________________________

02: Isn't martyrdom an insult to Satanists?

	To some, but not to the GMC members.  REACTIONARIES are 
	not likely to be members of the GMC.  GMC people are tied 
	into a deep unconscious energy which strives for release 
	(note how well the mythos of Cthulhu fits into this 
	theoretic).  Satanists have less to do with reacting to
	the conscious energies and more with tapping into what is 
	repressed.  Martyrdom is only an insult to those who are 
	reactionaries against the terminology of popular 
	Christianity.

______________________________________________________________________

03: Do we have to die to be a martyr?  How does one join the GMC?

	The idea that the GMC might have a means of martyrdom 
	which does not necessarily lead to death has always 
	intrigued me (and I'm enough of a Satanist to want to 
	find a way to avoid crucifixion).

	In the US the best means to assure that the GMC gets 
	a strong foothold is to support our Bill of Rights as 
	it stands, push for freedom of religion, and then wig 
	out on this freedom without physically hurting others
	(i.e. practice Satanism and blow the minds of our 
	culture with our life-ways without breaking the laws 
	which protect us).

______________________________________________________________________

04: Are you saying that all Satanists have to sacrifice themselves?

	Sorry, no rules.  If you want to sacrifice yourself, cool.  
	If you want to attempt the downfall of modern civilization 
	as we know it so that you can rape, pillage and plunder 
	WITHOUT being in the military, then you are hereby 
	encouraged to do so.

	Of course, I personally oppose such activities myself, but 
	I support anyone's right to attempt them.  This is similar 
	to the way that Voltaire spoke about holding opinions.  I 
	support people's ability and freedom of choice.  I ALSO
	support society's choice to attempt to restrict certain
	activities in order to protect itself, even while I may 
	oppose individual restrictions as unwise or detrimental to 
	the freedom of the citizen.

	The issue is ego.  In too many religions the focus is upon 
	the group ego.  A Church has 'more authority' than an 
	individual.  A Coven is 'more important' than a Wiccan, etc.  
	Same goes for politics.  I supposedly live in a 'democratic 
	republic' or some such yuck.  While I think it a wonderful
	country (US) I think that we are continuing to support the 
	tyranny of the majority and the disempowerment of the 
	individual.  More and more people are coming to see the 
	truth of this.

	An individual can do as he or she sees fit.   That is the 
	Law of Thelema as I know it.  A Law of Nature, a description 
	of how things ARE, not how they 'ought to be'.   A group 
	can do as IT sees fit too!  So governments are formed and 
	regulations are established to see that we can be protected
	by parental entities called 'police' and, from the 'evil 
	outsiders', the 'military'.

	The point is that Satanism is NOT about what one SHOULD do 
	but about who one is and what one's relationship is to the 
	world.  We are free and mighty individuals and in order to 
	shrug off the chains of society we must sometimes undergo 
	great struggles and take great risks in the process.

	Sometimes this involves self-sacrifice.  

	Sometimes it does not.

______________________________________________________________________

05: Do Satanists actually worship an evil god?

	The term 'worship' is often abused.  When this means being 
	required to submit to an external entity, then this is NOT 
	Satanism, whether the classical ruler of the Christian 
	Underworld is the object of adoration or not.  This of 
	course doesn't mean that we are *prevented* from 
	submitting to an external (or internal or other) deity.  I 
	like to throw myself before the Queen of Demons, personally.

	When worshipping begins to mean a steadied focus, a 
	listening and a respect paid to an entity or being, whether 
	internal or external, then this is more like worship with 
	which I'm familiar and is indeed involved in some 
	Satanists' practices.

	Take me, for example.  I am married to the Goddess of 
	Destruction.  I don't feel I have to bend over for Big 
	Honcho Satan, but I have a healthy respect for Hir and 
	think SHe teaches valuable lessons.

	Not all Satanism has this religious overtone, however.  
	It is similar to the way in which some Witches simply 
	love 'Nature' and some focus upon a particular god, 
	goddess or pair for their journey.  Some of us even 
	(GASP!) change gods/idols as we ourselves change!

______________________________________________________________________

06: Then do you *really* serve Satan?

	Yes, I choose to serve Satan/Kali/Nature.  I have a 
	vow of humility.  I am under all things by my own free 
	will.  Thus the Temple of Kaos is *Under Satan*.

______________________________________________________________________

07: Why do you identify with such a negative force?

	I think of myself as a Witch, a Christian AND a 
	Satanist.  Am I being self-negating?  There are very 
	positive meanings (commonly held! :>) which one may 
	attribute to the terms 'martyr' and 'cult'.

	If anything the term 'GMC' is overly POSITIVE, not 
	negative.  I call the cult GREAT.  I mean it in terms 
	of size, history AND value.  Does this mean that I 
	judge it 'morally'?  Well, I don't think morals 
	(i.e. social evaluatives) are worthwhile except for 
	the establishment of legal structure (admitting the 
	sin - the ignorance - of the natives).  

	In terms of my own thoughts and values, I will admit 
	that I think the GMC is VERY valuable.

______________________________________________________________________

08: Didn't God create Satan?

	Well, yes, most intelligent Christians side with the 
	intelligent Jews and Muslims in attributing the 
	CREATION of Satan to God and in this way seeing that 
	SHe is quite perfect.  The term 'Satan' is taken from 
	Judaism, where 'Shaitan' is God's Attorney, a sort of 
	'Bad Cop' to Jehovah's 'Good Cop'.  Satan seems to be 
	the representative of the Id, to put it in 
	psychological terms, who challenges us to explore,
	expand, experience ecstasy, exultation.

	Satan isn't 'the Bad' to all Christians.  Some see 
	Hir as the essential SYMBOL of our world, as sensuality 
	and its beckoning pleasures.  Some see Satan as the 
	Deceiver who lures us, as does Maya, to do that over 
	which we'll suffer.  

	Does Maya have a personality, traditionally?  I think 
	that Sri Ramakrishna and company give Her one.  I know 
	that some Christians see Satan as one of the Faces of 
	God, and no more fear Hir than they would a horror-show.

	Some see Hir (Satan) as a spoiled brat who disobeys the 
	Good and Worthy God-Parent.  However, some see Hir as 
	a Guardian to tremendous Mystery and Wisdom.  Some see 
	Hir AS the world.  Note how often Satan and the work
	of this being are associated with 'evil' by 
	fundamentalists and identified with 'the flesh'.  Satan 
	has many faces for many people, and I think that this 
	exemplifies some of Hir titles ('the adversary'; 
	'Father of Lies', etc.).

	If you want 'historicity', then see some other 
	alt.satanism FAQ.  Try Lupo's or Mr. Aquino's or a new one.

______________________________________________________________________

09: C'mon, what *is* Satanism?  What are its religious rules?

	No rules, sorry.  We're talking about anarchy, the lack 
	of rulers.  If you don't understand this, then you better 
	start reading some Western philosophy and quick.

______________________________________________________________________

10: Why do so many Satanists seem to be merely 'anti-Christians'?

	There are many reasons that some Satanists (I don't) run 
	counter to Christianity.

		1) Historical oppression (in their lives, in 
		   Europe, elsewhere) associated with this 
		   religion

		2) Definition of themselves and their path (some 
		   find it important to accept the polar Satan/God 
		   model and act from it)

		3) Herd-mentality (some are just along for the 
		   ride, and the current trend in 'Satanic' 
		   groups is to be at least slightly anti-Christian 
		   -- especially anti-organized-Christian)

		4) Adversarialism (this is where I get into the 
		   picture slightly).  Some of us find it important 
		   to invoke the god of adversarialism in defense of
		   wisdom.  Ignorance just seems to dissapate when I 
		   start to ask questions, challenge assumptions, 
		   argue vehemently.

______________________________________________________________________

11: So is Satanism a part of Christianity or not?

	It seems that Christianity has had a major role in the 
	development of Satanism.  From its use of Shaitan in 
	_The Bible_ to its persecution of rival religions, 
	Christianity has been a major dynamo for opposition and 
	thus inspires Satanism naturally.  

	Many other religions (often Western or Middle-Eastern, 
	interestingly enough) inspire this reactive kind of movement.

______________________________________________________________________

12: Why are Satanists so egotistical?  Aren't they all reactionaries
        following leaders who want them to be their slaves?

	All action stems from self-interest.   I tend to think that 
	I am free, but when I feel trapped, Satanism sometimes moves 
	me to feeling free again.  I don't 'follow' anything.  
	Sometimes I am satanic.  Sometimes I'm erotic, sometimes 
	I'm both.

______________________________________________________________________

13: What do Satanists believe, then?  Why do they have to be anti-social?

	Beliefs and such aren't part of this.   As I see it this 
	is DEscriptive, not PREscriptive or PROscriptive.  'Do what 
	thou wilt' is a very useful statement to offer others 
	(through words and deeds) as it is accepting that which 
	others offer me.  I can and do just as easily dispense 
	with this acceptance, retain the DWTW, but oppose the 
	energies of their behavior.

	To me, Satanism is a part of a healthy society.  I don't 
	equate it with sociopathology.  Satanism is one mode of 
	operation, and the Law of Thelema is merely the principle 
	under which I understand things to operate.  It seems to 
	describe people quite well.

______________________________________________________________________

14: Does believing certain things keep one from being a member of the GMC?
        What about Science?

	These are just ideations.  GMC has to do with reflecting 
	the shadow side of society.  Ideations are threatening to 
	society if it is stuck in one world-view, but they aren't 
	like a nightmare.  We are talking imagery here.  Some 
	nice ideas in imagery, but not much with regard to Science.

	The worst that modern Science has to offer is conscious 
	extinction at the end of personal life.  Most 'sciences' 
	won't examine this subject, however, because it goes 
	beyond 'physically observed data'.  Phew!

	This is the reason that modern Science is stuck on 
	materialism.  It began as a faction of the GMC, but it was 
	co-opted by those Christian 'scientists' who didn't take 
	it to the interior world of the psyche.  Magick involves
	taking Science to the subjective world.  That is why it 
	is spurned by modern Science.  That is why it is spurned 
	by modern Christianity.

	It is much easier to leave the repressed energies in 
	the social psyche rather than dredge them up by focussing 
	on Sociology and Psychology.  Today these fields are 
	treated with disdain by most 'hard-scientists'.

______________________________________________________________________

15: What is to be gained from Satanism and nonbelief?

	The practice of Satanism can bring me a renewed 
	self-determination, self-worth, and generally enable me 
	to reclaim my self-respect.  It is antagonistic, 
	admittedly, yet it is also self-empowering.

	The practice of nonbelief can bring me a clarity of 
	mind and a less attached, mature approach to others and 
	the world.  Belief is for the mind what faith is for 
	the heart.  Both work well for those without experience,
	but as soon as we come to know the divine (Satan), 
	these are hardly worth bothering about.

	In essense, NOTHING is to be gained by practicing these 
	things, yet it feels good, so why not do it?  I like it 
	and it works for me.  Is there any better reason, 
	ultimately?

______________________________________________________________________

16: Is the GMC solely a Western cult?

	The Jewish/Christian/Wiccan(Neopagan)/Satanist line of 
	strict heresy in the face of oppressive establishments 
	is fairly isolated as far as I can see.  Hinduism and 
	Buddhism, for example, with which I'm familiar, are the 
	stay-at-home, chanting/starvation-types.  There is no 
	martyrdom fixation in their tradition.

	I doubt we'll find anything similar with any but a few 
	strays in Eastern cultures.  It is a largely WESTERN 
	phenomenon.  Then again, I'd like to hear everything you 
	can dig up, since I'm no historian. ;>

______________________________________________________________________

17: Why can't you tell us more?  How can we recognize members of the GMC?

	Until I'm asked more specific questions I don't know much, 
	and some questions I will not be able to answer in any 
	case (given the premise from which they are asked).  As 
	with occult 'mysteries', it is less a matter of the oaths 
	to which I've been sworn than the difficulty of expressing 
	in words what I've experienced over time.

	Most GMC members don't even know WE are part of it, let 
	alone who ELSE might be.  I can ONLY tell a member of the 
	martyrdom cult by how the words/ideas which they espouse, 
	how the appearance which they present to society at large, 
	interacts with that same society.  If someone perpetually
	foster power-over relationships, then I usually figure that 
	they aren't in the GMC or that they have a very particular 
	role within it that is subtle and deceptive.

	I tend to assume that power-over corrupts, no exceptions.  
	If you can make a case against this I'd like to hear it, 
	but I've found that GMC arises from those without much of 
	this power.  Sure their personal power allows them to 
	think and act beyond simple subsistence (and they are 
	sometimes called 'Middle Class'), but they don't really 
	have much coercive power beyond this, else they would not 
	wish to dig down into the social subconscious.  They'd be 
	too busy 'enjoying the limelight'.

______________________________________________________________________

18: CREDITS AND COPYRIGHTS


People who helped flesh out this theory:

Semhaza
Scott Locklin (Lupo the Butcher)
Neijm
Bill Ellis
Chris 'ICE' English
Nachiketa

Thanks one and all.   Also particular thank you to Pamela Greene, 
whose honesty inspired the trend of multiple "FAQs" for newsgroups.

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

"So we'll go to the top of the toppest blue space,
The Official Katroo Birthday Sounding-Off Place!
Come on!  Open your mouth and sound off at the sky!
Shout loud at the top of your voice, 'I AM I!
ME!
I am I!
And I may not know why
But I know that I like it.
_Three cheers_!  I AM I!'"


Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) _The Big Birthday Book_
===================================================
This file also sold under other nefarious labels as:

SATANISM AND THE GREAT MARTYRDOM CULT 
			(or 'GMC') (A Dialectic)
	BY:

	The Order of K@os Under Satan
	         or was that
	Temple Of Ka@s Under Satan?  hmm.

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

(c) 1999 nocTifer

Arkaotika
6632 Covey Rd.
Forestville, CA 95436

EOF

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