Memoriam I
Anton Szandor LaVey, High Priest & Black Pope I of The Church of Satan, underwent the excarnation into the unknown. He has two daughters, Karla & the estranged Zeena.
His companion & confidant, Ms. Blanche Barton, is now High Priestess of CoS, at the Devil's helm. Dr. LaVey sired a son with Ms. Barton, in Year XXVIII A.S., aptly named Satan Xerxes Karnacki LaVey, heir to the infernal earthly throne. He also has a grandson, Stanton, who admires his grandfather a whole hell of a lot.
His passage into the Great Darkness was heralded by the black flames of His creation. A life fully experienced to the hilt, & a legend was born.
His essence was shot like lightning into the fourth dimension, galvanizing the Satanic Movement & all the daemonic hordes. We ever shall continue the Legacy you have begun. With His essence in The Ether, He has become at one with Satan, Nature, The Shadow Forces. LaVey is now of The Macrocosm. His powers increased. His influence magnified. He has been, & shall continue to be, one of the most influential & infamous figures history has ever known. And to Me, was the greatest man who ever lived.
{Current High Priest: Peter H. Gilmore. As of May Third, XXXVI A.S.}
VIII/V\XXXV - Memoriam II
It was a couple of days after Halloween when I heard about Dr. LaVey's return to The Abyss. I had just arrived at a companion's home when we both virtually gasped when we first heard the report being given by the local news channel. Something just told Me I had to listen at that particular time. A cold sensation shot though My veins --- at that moment, I felt as if I was in a dream --- a "lightmare", as it were. My first reaction was unbelief. Even through the terrible news, it strangely felt as if it were not true, like when you dream a loved one has died, you awaken heart pounding, with an intense desire to contact them to make sure they are well. Unfortunately, this was no dream.
Still, the feeling of loss did not sink in until about a week later, as I took a moment to vent the "loss" I felt in "losing" a Daemon-Brother & Devil-Father.
After the initial ventation, there seemed to be no real reason to "grieve", as he does live on through his words , ideas, philosophies, deeds, his legend, music, books, movies, & in My heart of hearts. This is true immortality. I know that part of the reason for My unbelief was that his passage was not final, like most people's, whose life & death usually amounts to nothing impressive, or inspirational. The Dr. left enough in his wake that will survive the centuries, as The Satanic Bible was an analysis of ourselves, his works were created by a Satanist FOR Satanists, which, like Dr. LaVey, are timeless. His muses have inspired My own, & shall ever continue to do so.
It has been commented that the Dr. & I "share a brain" --- I have found that many of My own thoughts & creative endeavors have eerily mirrored The Black Pope's, as I would continually discover when I read an interview he had conducted, or essay printed, or book released. Even when I ponder it today, to Myself, it feels like the Doctor never left, as his presence seems as vibrant now in Year XXXV, as it ever was, & shall ever be.
Memoriam III
I just received the newest issue of The Cloven Hoof #130: The LaVey Memorial Issue. It is truly a beautiful piece of work. Sheer artistry. Literarily & Artistically. I believe the one word, dare I say it?....that best describes it is "Sacred". Contained therein, are never-before seen, & impressive photographs of the Doctor, as well as essay inclusions from notable figures in The Infernal Empire, giving the Devil His due, & explaining the influence The Black Pope has had in their diverse lives. Satanic Warlocks & Witches alike.
The more I read, the more the Black Flame roared within Me, providing inspiration to continue the diabolic work LaVey has pioneered. I Am proud to be a member of The Church of Satan, as I have acknowledged My allegiance to the Dark Forces that forged Me, & granting credit to the man that attained the bravery to form a religion in Our collective name ----- Satanists. We who walk the Left-Hand Path with Power, Wisdom, & Grace.
LaVey has been as a "Devil-Father" to Me, ever since I heard about there being a "Satanic Bible" in existence, ironically brought to My attention by a xian sheep who was trying to pass his propaganda over onto Me at a Christian School I was attending. I absorbed the philosophy whole-heartedly, reading it in about two night's time.
I acquired this text at a B. Dalton Bookseller. I perused it wild-eyed, & quickly thereafter purchased it. I'll never forget the look on the teller's face as she scanned it through. It was a temporary thrill that would be only a preface to all the gawkings I would receive as time went on. It reminds Me of that scene in "Speak of the Devil" when Togare's "voice" aptly described the fawning sheeple as, "what a tray of fish!" Indeed. A rotten bunch for sure.
Soon thereafter, I would purchase The Satanic Rituals, "Companion to The Satanic Bible", & eventually the other works followed as they were made available. And each & every time, was that ubiquitous glare of horror from tellers that such a thing existed. Very much the same way the Doctor became enthralled by Might Is Right, so I was with TSB.
I sat down at My desk, alone in My room, extinguishing all outside noise, turned on My study lamp, & began a journey that would take Me into the deepest recesses of Myself, bringing forth that daemon within, conjured in fierce plumes of blackest flame. Leviathan was awakened. Cthulhu met the stars.
The Immortal Legend lives on... Shemhamforash! Hail Satan! Lucifer! Belial! Leviathan! Szandor! Draconis! SO IT IS DONE!
Memoriam IV - X/XXIX\XXXV
A time of ponderance for this day & night, in rememberance of The Black Pope returning to the Great Abyss.
His eternal Legacy continues to strenghten My resolve, as I peer back, & look ahead to even more diabolical
creations. It seems strangley appropriate that Dr. Anton Szandor LaVey was born in the Walpurgisnacht season,
& stepped back through the blazing Trapezohedron this Halloween season. The Church of Satan continues to
thrive & evolve, The Infernal Empire continues to gain strength & momentum each passing day, each passing
night, until the sinister spell of Satan, the torch of Lucifer, is fully manifest in this Satanic Age. Hail the Daemon,
the Iconoclast, Devil-Father, Mentor, & Daemon-Brother. The Black Flame burns on...
Hail Szandor! Hail The Church of Satan! Shemhamforash! Hail Satan!
X/XXIX\XXXVI: In Rememberance of The Black Pope, the Immortal Legend, who continues to haunt Our minds & inspire our muses. In the
Power & Wisdom He has inspired as a Daemon-Brother & Devil-Father, His presence remains palpable, & the lightning bolt, the burning black flames of Hell burn in
Lucifer's Torch as a continual Tribute to A Great Man. HAIL SZANDOR. HAIL SATAN.
Memoriam VI - X/XXIX\XXXVII
"...your spirit - your immortal spirit - shall live, not in an intangible paradise, but in the brains and sinews of those whose respect you have gained." - Satan III:IX
"Come forth! SATAN! LUCIFER! BELIAL! LEVIATHAN! SZANDOR! [The Satanist's name]!" The Crown Princes of Hell are six in number now - the points of The Pentagram and the center to infuse into one by the circle. Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Ether, and Flesh. On this night, we remember and honor The Black Pope, black-clad devil-father appearing in the Trapezohedron, Lucifer's Mirror, and recognize His immortality as a model for our own. He inspires and motivates, and by the lighting bolt flashing brilliantly across the velvety skies, the black flame within is that much more kindled unto a raging inferno of Hellfire. The eyes of Baphomet glows before us, the sword gleams by the candlelight, and dread words are spoken in the darkness. The books of Satan have been manifested in tangible form upon The Black Earth, resting upon the five points of The Pentagram 'neath the flicker of black candles, the light of Lucifer illuminates the undefiled wisdom therein, grimoires of timeless knowledge, a Magic resonant to that of The Dark Force in Nature. The Daemon Szandor lives vibrantly on in Our hearts and minds. Hail Szandor! Hail Satan!