Exploring Satanism: A Deeper Look at Occult Practices

1. Session 6 – Wrapping up the Occult In this final session we will be looking at two more groups that are popular inside the realm of the occult (around the world and here in America). Don’t think that these are the last two groups associated with the occult, though, many groups exist that we will not have time to mention. Our goal is to address the most popular and influential ones.

2. Satanism C. S. Lewis, in his book Screwtape Letters, says this about Satan: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

3. Before we get into the philosophies of Satanism and its beliefs, understand that not everyone who calls themselves Satanist even believes in (or worships) Satan. They are in it to gratify themselves (which is one of the main points anyway) and are doing it because they think it’s cool and fun, not because they believe in Satan. That being said, let’s move on...

4. Anton LaVey of the First Church of Satan in San Francisco, California, says that “Satanism is a blatantly selfish, brutal religion. It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature... that the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win.” Many Satanists think that if they are strong, they will rule with Satan one day.

5. Often times these people will make a pact or deal with the devil, and one common thing is to agree to commit suicide. They believe that if they submit themselves to Satan in death, they will come back in another life as a stronger being and rule with him forever. The idea of special knowledge or power is one thing that attracts many people.

6. Even more luring in our society is the drugs and sex aspect of Satanism. Because of the increased involvement with Satanism, a profile for those involved has emerged (granted, it isn’t always the case). They are generally white middle to upper middle class families. They tend to do well in school, but are not challenged to do more, they tend to have low self worth and have a relativistic moral code…

7. They are almost always involved with drugs and are sexually active. Anton LaVey, in his book The Satanic Bible says the following: “We hold Satan as a symbolic personal savior, who takes care of mundane, fleshly, carnal things.” LaVey goes on to say that "God exists as a universal force, a balancing factor in nature, too impersonal to care one whit whether we live or die.

8. Therefore, the Judeo-Christian God is inaccessible and has no compassion. Thus, Satan becomes the solution to man's deepest needs. Music really helped the Satanic movement grow here in America. Different music groups (a lot of which are metal in genre) are openly Satanic and demonic, and their music has influenced millions of people.

9. Don’t underplay the role of music in forming and changing a culture, it can be very powerful and very effective (and because of that it can be very dangerous). We need to be careful not only what we let ourselves see on the TV (or magazines), not only what we let ourselves say with our mouth, but also what we let ourselves hear with our ears. There is evil music, and the best thing for Satan is to convince you otherwise.

10. According to a People magazine article as long ago as September 1985: “Rock 'n roll is turning too often to sex, Satanism, drugs and violence for its major themes and corrupting the values and views of unwary young people.” Black metal is represented by groups like Venom, Slayer, and King Diamond (which is perhaps the most satanic of all "black metal" groups. He openly professes Satan).

11. Ouija boards are used in Satanism Edmond Gruss tells us in his book, Cults and the Occult in the Age of Aquarius, that there have been "many cases of 'possession' after a period of Ouija Board use." Supernatural contact is commonly made through use of the board and has become a primary tool of Satan in reaching young people. Because we have already looked at Ouija boards, we won’t recap here.

12. Satan's Goal According to Scripture (Matt. 4:9, 2 Cor. 4:4, Rev. 12:9), Satan's goal is to deceive man by blinding him to the truth of the gospel and to receive worship for himself (Isa. 14:12-14). Groups within Satanism While others do exist, these are three Satanic groups that are popular: the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set, and the Church of Satanic Liberation.

13. The Church of Satan Anton Szandor LaVey formed the Church of Satan in 1966. LaVey, the author of The Satanic Bible, is perhaps the most common source of satanic ritual and understanding available to young people today. The Satanic Bible has sold more than 600,000 copies since it was first published by Avon Books in 1969.

14. Many of the Satanic groups are materialistic, and deny the existence of God, while others are spiritualist and believe in a literal God and Satan. The Church of Satan as an organization (publicly) does not recognize the God and Devil of the Bible, but instead says that Satan means certain things to them.

15. The Nine Satanic Statements articulate what "Satan" means to the church: 1- Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence. 2 - Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams. 3 - Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit. 4 - Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.

16. 5 - Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek. 6 - Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires. 7 - Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all fours, who, because of his "divine spiritual and intellectual development", has become the most vicious animal of all.

17. 8 - Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification. 9 - Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years. While the church itself doesn’t recognize the Satan of the Bible, they definitely worship him by what they do and teach.

18. Commonly used markings in Satanism include the following  Goathead Inverted cross Skull Pentagram Baphomet MENA (amen) Black rose Swastika

19. To many people, Satanism is the peak of occultism, by the very name people assume they all worship Satan. Understand that while those people and groups are certainly out there, not every Satanist you come in contact with is going to knowingly worship Satan. The next group is just as occultic (as are many groups) as Satanist groups.

20. Voodoo While it is not as practiced in America as other places (although it is here), Voodoo is one of the largest occultic groups around. Although there is not a solid statistic on the size and influence of Voodoo worldwide, one source says there are probably around 80 million people involved. But there is not just one form of Voodoo, many forms exist.

21. Voodoo is named after different religious practices that were derived from West African Voodoo (where it originated). Voodoo has been around for a very long time (thousands of years) although it did not spread and influence other parts of the world at first. The original West African Voodoo is a polytheistic religion called Vodon.

22. It is also spelled Vodun, Voudoun, Vodou, Vaudoux, Vodoun or Voudou, and these are all referring to the same thing. Vodon is a religion that honors a duel nature god who contains both masculine and feminine aspects. They also believe in and honor the spirits that rule nature, spirits in rocks, rivers, trees etc.

23. These spirits are the vodon or vudu This form of Voodoo also includes animal sacrifices, and the worship of ancestors. Voodoo in other places like Haiti and Louisiana (and other cities like Miami and New York City) is derived from West African Voodoo, but was mixed with aspects of the Roman Catholic faith.

24. Voodoo got mixed with Roman Catholicism when slaves were brought to the New World and were pressured to convert. They end up keeping and mixing many of their practices in to Catholicism. This mix of Voodoo and Roman Catholicism is called different things, in Cuba it’s called Senteria, in Brazil it’s called Candomble.

25. In Haitian Voodoo, worship is directed to the loa, these are deities who serve the one god (and the loa are often associated with Catholic saints). In Louisiana Voodoo, they have a strong emphasis on spirits supervising everything. The names of these spirits would be changed to Catholic saint names as part of the blending of the two beliefs.

26. Women who oversee rituals and ceremonies in Louisiana (and use charms and magical potions) were/are known as voodoo queens. The most famous of these voodoo queens was Marie Laveau of New Orleans, who also claimed to be a devout Catholic.

27. Because the religion and beliefs were passed down orally, it has some variation person to person. They do believe in one god, though, named Bondye (but he doesn’t interact much with humans). They focus more on the spirits.

28. They try to connect with these spirits in many ways. They use singing, ecstatic dancing, and use of snakes is common, too. Additionally, there are special diets, ceremonies, rituals, spell casting, potions, and talismans and amulets (charms) for healing and aiding followers. Divination and sorcery is also common inside Voodoo.

29. Voodoo followers believe that there is a visible and an invisible world, and that these worlds are intertwined. Death is a transition to the invisible world, so our predecessors are still with us in spirit. They watch over and inspire us. These are different from the Loa spirits originally in Voodoo (now associated with Catholic saints).

30. Want to hear how they describe it? This is in reference to American Voodoo: This is from The Voodoo Society “Today, American or New Orleans Voodoo is a religion that incorporates many aspects of Christianity, particularly Catholicism…  Voodoo includes prayers to the Saints and Angels, and the use of holy water, candles, incense, novenas, etc…

31. …Voodoo practices which can be traced back to Moses and the other great Magi. No Voodoo altar would be complete without a Bible, to which many Voodoo and hoodoo practices can be traced, and Voodoo practitioners regularly make use of scripture, especially reciting the Psalms, in their secret rites.” Needless to say Voodoo was not practiced by Moses.

32. “Those who follow Voodoo believe in only one God but in many spirits (Catholic saints or Voodoo loa) who act as intercessors, spiritual helpers, and message carriers between them and God. These as well as the Voodoo practitioner's own ancestral spirits may be called upon and asked for help.  The spirits of Voodoo are able to help us with needs such as healing, protection, love, success and money.”

33. What does the Bible say? 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” I don’t think they’ve really read through the Bible, if they had they’d know what they’re doing is not Biblical. But that’s not all, the occultic nature of even American voodoo is readily admitted.

34. “American or New Orleans Voodoo and hoodoo bears little resemblance to traditional African religion.  Voodoo, as practiced in 19th and early 20th century New Orleans and the American South, owes much to the influence of the Creoles, native-born French and Spanish occultists who contributed knowledge drawn from the European magical tradition.” Voodoo looks at the Occult as a good thing

35. “Voodoo offers such powerful protection that its followers rarely have to resort to the traditional Voodoo curse.  Voodoo believers generally practice a “live and let live” philosophy of life.” Rarely means they still do sometimes. Generally (like most occultic groups) they do teach not to hurt others and to use magic for good and to help others (The Devil transforms into an angel of light?).

36. “Voodoo is one of the world’s oldest known religions and is generally acknowledged to be the world’s most powerful form of magic.   Today, the Voodoo Society is regarded by many as the last of the old orders of authentic New Orleans Voodoo, hoodoo and occult practices, in the face of new-age “watering down“ of traditional occultism and cultural re-invention.” No one is trying to hide the fact the Voodoo is occultic (and demonic if you’re a Christian).

37. As said before, Zombies come from Voodoo The origin of the concept of zombiism stems from Haitian Voodoo culture. The word zombie--in Haitian it is "zombi"--means "spirit of the dead." There is quite a bit of history in Voodoo about Zombies and how it works. Zombies would stay under the control of the Bokor (Voodoo priest) who made him a Zombie until the Bokor died.

38. Voodoo dolls Everyone has heard about Voodoo dolls, and while it’s not something everyone involved uses, they are a part of the religion and beliefs. The Voodoo doll is a form of gris-gris, a ritualized form of invoking the spirits, or fate, to act in a defined way towards a targeted person.

39. In Voodoo, the doll can be used in many ways, some for good, and some for evil. The idea is not to control someone using the doll, but to get the spirits to do something to those people. You are supposed to make the doll look like and represent the targeted person.

40. There are different things people can do to influence what the spirits do. Putting perfume on them, putting rose petals on them, or putting them by candles for healing increases the power. You can also seek the advice from a professional, who helps you achieve what you are wanting from your doll.

41. In Voodoo there is no such thing as black magic, but it’s instead called red magic. In Voodoo there are certain ways to entice a spirit to do something evil, and when this happens, the spirit’s eyes become red (which is why the color is considered evil). The person who would typically do this is called a witchdoctor (while women go by queen, men priests are doctors).

42. Wrapping it up There are certainly other groups inside the occult that we do not have time to mention in this class series. Groups like freemasons (among others) would also be considered as part of the occult, but we talk about them elsewhere. Other practices also exist that are associated with the occult we couldn’t cover.

43. Remember, don’t go looking for trouble in the occult. Don’t go to a gathering of Satanists to cast out the demons. But be aware that there is demonic (occultic) power behind the groups and practices that we talk about; remember that Satan is real and isn’t a nobody who is powerless. Also keep in mind that God’s in control and we’ve read the end of the book, and we win.

44. Remember this: Isaiah 14:16-17 “Those who see you (Satan) will gaze at you, And consider you, saying:Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’” You don’t need to be afraid of Satan if you’re following God.

45. Memory Verse James 4:7: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”