The Thoughtworld Of Modern Paganism
There were four different languages employed when talking about paganism in nineteenth-century Europe. One assumed it to be a religion of savages, characterized by animal and human sacrifice and a superstitious dread of idols it was used mainly to describe tribal beliefs and some Hindu traditions in the contemporary world, but these were commonly projected back onto prehistoric Europeans. In addition, it was often applied to the temple-based religions of the ancient Near East and North Africa....
The Church Of Satan
The Church of Satan was founded m California in 1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey, a colourful figure of considerable personal magnetism, with a varied and unusual life already behind him. He had earned his living from music as a teenager, then worked in a circus as a lion tamer, calliope player, fortuneteller and hypnotist, was once employed as photographer m a police crime-laboratory and in an insurance company, and had been an organist and a clinical hypnotist. He was widely read in magic and the...
Forerunners
The work of setting out the context from which modern pagan witchcraft arose must now be completed, by considering a set of groups and individuals who illustrate different ways in which notions of paganism and magic were put mto practice in the early twentieth century. One of these ways, which has until recendy been hardly studied in this context, was through the medium of woodcraft organizations. All of these, ultimately, took their inspiration from North America, and the work of the Canadian...
Satanist and pseudosatanist groups
There are only two long-standing, well-established groups of satamsts and each is largely the creation of one man. The Church of Satan and the Temple of Set were founded 30 and 20 years ago respectively. The founder of the Church of Satan died only m October 1997 and the founder of the Temple of Set is still its leader. Both men have been public figures in California, although they should probably be described as notorious rather than famous for their activities, since their publicity has been,...
Heathenism Odinism
Within the neo-pagan movement are groups that are particularly susceptible to being seen as satamsts and have some attitudes in common with them. These are the Odimsts or Heathens. Although they have been visibly increasing m recent years, they represent a well-established interest m recreating the pre-Christian religion of'north-eastern Europe' or of the 'Norse and Anglo-Saxon peoples'. They may be referred to as Odimsts, after the Norse High God, Odin. The various different groups of this...
Satanism And The Occult
The figure of Satan m romantic literature, particularly in the nineteenth century, has been used to represent the rebellion of the individual against the powerful, whether these are secular monarchs. Church leaders or the impersonal bureaucrats of the state. His fall from Heaven was portrayed as the result of his daring to opppose the all-powerful, rather than m the more orthodox manner as the triumph of good over evil, and he became, by this strange twist, a symbol of human liberty Russell,...
Modern Ideas Of Satanism
Two strands can be idendfied in twentieth-century Chnsnan concepts of Satan and satamsm, neither of which is of recent ongin. The first, which denves from the earlier ideas that have just been outlined, is a belief in a secret organisation dedicated to the worship of its head and master, Satan and to working for the overthrow of the Christian Church and Christian civilization. Its rituals of worship are believed to be characterized by all that is most evil and depraved they include human...
Numbers Of Satanists
It is impossible to know with any accuracy how many satamsts there are altogether, whether within one country or internationally, and any figures given, including those given here, are guesses more or less informed, but still guesses. There are many reasons for estimates to be biassed. Those who perceive satamsm as a danger to society, particularly the more evangelistic Christians among them, exaggerate numbers to emphasize the threat. Extremists claim that every class and subdvision of society...
Popular Witchcraft And Magic
Popular magic and witchcraft have been a major theme of this senes, and their history in modern Europe is treated in another part of this volume it is necessary here only to look at those few aspects of the subject in England which have a direct bearing upon the ongms of modern pagan witchcraft. The first is the very large amount of data, most collected by folklorists between 1870 and 1930. Although none was gained from an actual practitioner, there is plenty to reflect the experience of...