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[from http://www.satanism.net/iss/ona/influence.html ]

Subject: Satanism and Satanic Influence
   Christos Beest, ONA
   
   So what then of Satanism and Satanic influence? It is a fact -
   seldomly understood and appreciated - that most individuals
   follow the creative lead of a few. It is also true that some of
   this majority absorb the creativity of others and bring it forth
   again - sometimes slightly altered, to claim it as their own, and
   that this whole majority needs the stimulus of new forms, ideas,
   and ways, born via a creative genius or two - to vitalize them
   and begin the process of internal and external change.
   
   The recent history of Satanism gives evidence for this. Various
   types of Satanism have emerged over the centuries, as have
   various exponents of it. Historically, Satanism is often taken to
   be - by those unacquainted with the Left-Hand Path - as
   Diabolism; that is, the invokation of the Devil and the making of
   a pact with Him. This is evidenced in the medieval Grimoires and
   in those who were accused of such things. Later, various
   individuals were regarded as 'Satanic' and as teaching a form of
   satanism, the most familiar being Crowley. Still later, various
   organizations emerged, each claiming to be Satanic and each
   teaching what they regarded as authentic Satanism. The most
   significant of these are the Church of Satan (Anton LaVey), the
   Temple of Set (Michael Aquino) and the Order of Nine Angles
   (ONA).
   
   DIABOLISM
   
   Central to all forms is fear - of the powers, entities invoked.
   Hence the use of various forms of protection such as 'circles'.
   The 'pact', so familiar from the grimoires and accounts of
   Diabolism, was one between a master (the Devil) and a servant
   (the sorcerer). Implicit in all forms of Grimoire-type Satanism,
   is the belief (deriving from the Nazarene religion) of Satan as a
   fallen angel ultimately ruled over by 'God' - there is always the
   possibility of being 'saved'. The archetypal Diabolist was a
   lapsed or practicing Nazarene, whose conjurations brought
   excitement and a sense of the 'forbidden'.
   
   CROWLEYISM
   
   While 'Thelema', as a doctrine and belief, is regarded as many
   non-Occultists as 'Satanic', there is very little real Satanism
   in it, or indeed in Crowley's own life and works. The work of
   Crowley is, in many ways, a continuation of the
   Eastern-influenced esoteric groups and societies active before
   and during his own time - a type of Westernized Tantra, heavily
   imbued with qabalism. The archetypal follower of Crowley is
   someone versed in Occult doctrines and mysticism, who seeks
   through sex and other rites certain states of consciousness, and
   who is oriented toward a belief in Thelema as a new faith/creed.
   
   CHURCH OF SATAN
   
   The church achieved a high media profile due to the showmanship
   of LaVey. He expounded a philosophy of unenlightened egotism and
   self-interest, together with a belief in carnality. The rituals
   were in the tradition of the grimoires and imbued with qabalistic
   symbolism/notions (including some deriving from Crowley).
   Further, the Devil was dispensed with as an external power -
   making the LaVey type of Satanism more of a practical belief
   system than a dangerous (in Occult terms) undertaking.
   
   TEMPLE OF SET
   
   The Temple of Set was and is, essentially, an intellectual
   development of the Church of Satan. To the original was added an
   intellectual infrastructure (deriving in part from various
   mythologies and traditions) and an organizational structure with
   the aim of making Satanism a 'new' religion, acceptable to a
   significant number of individuals. Both the Church of Satan and
   the Temple of Set (The latter more so than the former) insist
   upon belief in their own version of Satanism - and expect the
   adherent/member to accept/conform. There is thus a fostering of
   dependence by the individual upon the group (and in particular,
   the leader[s] and Master).
   
   ORDER OF NINE ANGLES
   
   The Order first emerged into public view in the early 1980's
   (eh), and basically taught that Satanism was a means to attain
   self and Occult insight and abilities, and that this could only
   be done on an individual basis via direct, personal experience.
   
   The archetypal CoS member was a black-robed figure who played a
   'role', and who placed ego-fulfillment and pleasure before
   everything. LaVey was accepted as a 'Master' and an authority to
   be revered - and a personality cult developed. The archetypal ToS
   member is someone who has read a lot of Occult literature, who
   engages in discussions with others about their beliefs and
   practices, and who likes the charisma and appeal of being a
   'Satanist'. Often they dress for the part - and need a group
   identity, a sense of 'belonging'. They also accept Temple
   authority and are content to let an organization confer
   advancement upon them (in the form of titles and positions).
   
   The archetypal ONA member is the lone sorceror/sorceress
   struggling - via practical (and sometimes dark) experiences
   toward self-attainment, guided by the teachings of the Order, and
   by occasional meeting with someone who has gone that way before.
   
   Each of the above manifestations will be considered in turn. But
   what, then, is Satanism? By what criteria can such a
   manifestation be judged? First, let us consider what Satanism is
   not. It is not an acceptance of conventional morality or ways of
   living; it is not a belief, or a faith, which causes a rejection

   of the reality (and harshness) of life; it is not a refuge for
   the failures, the cowards and the weak. Satanism is about pride,
   an acceptance of individual worth. It is about defiance -
   challenging the accepted, seeking to know the unknown and seeking
   to discover, to explore and conquer: a refusal to bow down or
   give in. It is about excellence - of going beyond what is, in
   personal terms; of achieving a greater awareness and
   understanding than the majority. It is a desire to experience the
   limits of living, to strive for the gods...
   
   Diabolists are insipid, rather pathetic - a historical curiosity
   only: a footnote in the psycho-pathology of the Nazarene
   religion. Crowley was a rather under-developed egotist lack the
   character to develop real self-insight. He could and did
   manipulate others, and did possess some Occult powers
   (intuitively) and some understanding of the Art of Magick. His
   followers are trapped by the flaws of his system. - chief among
   which, are the self-stupefaction and self-satisfaction (and the
   thus the illusion of development), rather than real self-insight
   and thus Occult abilities.
   
   CoS members (and to a lesser extent those of the ToS) accept a
   sanitized Satanism - a 'safe Satanism', where the Darkness is
   said to be only within, where it cannot threaten them. They also
   are stuck on the bottom rung of Occult understanding - seeing
   nothing beyond the confines of the ego and the carnal. The ToS
   claims to go further, but there is little or no practical
   experience of evil, of the Sinister, of those Dark Forces which
   are part of the Cosmos - there is instead an intellectualizing.
   There is also no going to extremes in living, no ordeals which
   challenge (and make) character - no quest for personal
   excellence. Instead, there is the security of an organization,
   the acceptance of Temple authority and mandates. In brief, the
   fostering of a type of mental servitude - in belief and in
   practise. All these are contrary to what Satanism is.
   
   Only the ONA understands and practices Satanism as it is,
   insisting that Satanism is about individual self-development in
   both the real and Occult worlds, and that this can only be
   achieved by long, hard dangerous and toilsome experience.
   Furthermore, the ONA has exhibited a creativity and an
   understanding which makes all other manifestations pale into
   insignificance. Thus, it is not surprising that it has been so
   influential over the past few years.
   
   This influence has, however, seldom been acknowledged - other
   groups and individuals often borrowing the teachings, methods and
   ideas and claiming them as their own, this 'borrowing' not being
   confined to 'Satanism' or LHP groups in general. This is both
   natural and necessary - given the sterility of creativity which
   exists and has existed in such groups, and given the nature of
   the human species in general, and the Satanic in particular.
   
   The chief contributions of the ONA, toward an understanding of
   Satanism in particular, and the Occult in general, may be briefly
   described:
   1) Satanism and the LHP (Left-Hand Path) as a means to individual
       development, leading to Adeptship and beyond - via practical
       experience and ordeals (qv. the grade rituals).
       2) The emphasis on developing both the mental and physical
       character of the individual.
       3) A greater understanding of Magickal (and Occult) forces -
       and thus their nature - via the development of the concepts
       of causal and acausal, and an abstract system to re-present
       this, enabling conscious apprehension (as opposed to belief
       and superstition).
       4) The re-structuring of magickal symbols and forms in
       archetypal terms - in particular the Septenary Tree of Wyrd
       and the deofel Quartet (the latter explicating the
       archetypal, particularly in the 'real world' from the
       viewpoint of the Sinister Novice).
       5) The creation of a Sinister Tarot whose images are
       Sinister, and thus imbued with Satanic energy.
       6) Revealing and significantly extending Aeonic Magick -
       enabling any individual to undertake such works.
       7) The emphasis on an individual Initiate working alone and
       achieving practical goals - without accepting in a religious
       way a higher authority - and making this achievable by all
       via the publication of practical guides to all aspects of
       Satanism (Naos, Codex Saerus, Sacramentum Sinistrum, Thernn,
       etc.).
       8) Bringing an awareness of the Dark Gods - of the Sinister
       energies/forces which exist and which have been symbolized by
       'Satan'/the Devil...
       9) An emphasis of the personal qualities - the character - of
       a Satanist, enshrined in the concepts of Excellence, Honour
       and the motto "die, rather than submit to anyone or
       anything".
       10) A re-affirmation of the positive, life enhancing nature
       of Satanism as opposed to the stereo-typical image of
       obsession with death and decay - a moving away from the
       image/role of the Satanist as a showman-type 'Devil'/Mephisto
       figure obsessed with carnality and pandering to his or her
       own weaknesses, and seeking media attention, toward the
       secretly-working lone sorceror/sorceress concerned with their
       own development and works of esoteric Sinister Magick...
       
   A perusal of literature, statements and other such causal forms
   by other groups and individuals, since the manifestation of the
   ONA, will show the extent of its influence - of how, in a subtle
   way, such individuals and groups have been changed by a Sinister
   organization. Such changes, and such influence, will grow,
   although it may well go unnoticed by all save the few genuine
   Adepts.
   
   So, as an overall conclusion, it should be obvious how internal
   influences/conditioning tend to survive via a delusion, that
   externally, by performing Magick and being seen to perform it,
   one has conquered conditioned values. Most Occultists become
   possessed by this need to externally project mostly through a
   sense of guilt and paranoia, because internally, they are no more
   Adept than Joe Soap.
   
   That is so, because they have not dealt with the very difficult
   and lengthy task of destroying internal illusions and 'returning
   to the source'; this requiring mainly the qualities of Courage,
   Discipline and Honesty. What happens is that weakness, confusion
   and self-deception fester into bitterness - a descent into
   alcoholism and other such indulgence is not uncommon. At the very
   least, the psyche is so re-inforced by the illusions created to
   mask inadequacy, that the appreciation of other seemingly
   contradictory ideas, would lead to its destruction (in ceremonial
   terms, this destruction - or liberation - occurs during during or
   after the Black Mass). This is perhaps the most vital of magickal
   experiences, creating Adeptship - yet how many are prepared to
   take that step? How many will read, and in reading, understand,
   and in understanding seek practice?
   
   As Gilles de Rais once said:
   
                "Much goes unseen to the unknowing eye
                   Things that lie behind the Earth"
                                   
                                            http://www.satanism.net/
EOF