… and yet another attempt to answer them.

Prepared by Magus Thom Potter; AA, AS. [1998, 2003].

What is a Pagan? What is Witchcraft? What, or Who Is God to You? What Is Magic? Are You Satanists? What Are Your Ethics? Home Education? Other Authorities A Pagan Glossary Reading List The Dragons’ Nest Back to Where You Where.

Riverside, California National Discussion Other Recomended Groups

If you have read some of my essays on this and my other web sites, you may find yourself wondering, “Is this author a Pagan, or a Satanist?” My answer to that is an unequivocal, “Yes, I am.” Not all Pagans are Satanic, and some Satanists would say they are not Pagans. Let us remember that the Church has deemed anything they disagree with, or is in competition for hearts and gold, as Satanic. Like the Cynics and other Gnostics of classical and Roman Greece, the Church has ridiculed and demoralized us because of the social reforms we advocate, and the spiritual paradigm we employ. Like those Cynics and other Gnostics of old, they fear us because we question “sacred” tenets, and challenge oppressive comforts that society holds so dear. Another thing, Jesus of Nazareth may have been a Jewish Cynic, a sect found in Galilee Province. Then again, we may relate the word “Cynic” (dog like) in meaning to the word “Hebrew.”

I employ Satanic Paganism as a life embracing, gnostic, existential, transpersonal Culture of Faith. I focus my studies, ceremonies, and rites on seeking to express my search for meaning within my struggle to exist within the context of my environment. My philosophy is a system of thought based on rational self-interest, sensual indulgence, and the constructive uses of alienation or existential isolation.

Please see the Following Essays to understand my take on the Hebrew god, ha-Satan: Satan for Attorney General, Ha-Satan, Yet Another History of Satan, Thoughts on the Left-hand Path, The Cosmic Boogie Man.

Aren’t Pagans Really Satanists?

Only those of us who readily confess to such, even if it is in the privacy of our own heart. Few Pagans are likely to call themselves a “Satanist.” Satanism is as difficult to define as Paganism, and any attempt to do so for either should be from honest, personal reflection. Many Pagans will incorrectly and prejudicially apply the same Hammer to Satanism that we don’t want applied to us. That Hammer was developed by and for the Catholic Church to provide an enemy so the members would feel holy, or be frightened into submission. Some would accuse Satanism of being focused on evil, but this is as silly as calling a Witch, Muslim, or Christian evil, and is based on all the same prejudices.

Some can successfully argue that Satanism is a form of Neo-Paganism. Though the forms of philosophical expression found in Satanism have grown up around civilizations, it remains a reformation of those values treasured by Pagans, and unjustly suppressed by the late Catholic Church. The only reason Paganism and Satanism are at odds is because some in each community like it that way. Some of us believe that Satanism is a form of Paganism, which has accepted a formulation that has developed because of and after the advent of the early Catholic Church. In other words, Satanism may be a left-hand, post-civilized version of Paganism. Early Americans, called “Yankees” as a crude insult, took that insult as a badge of pride. Pagans were called “Satanists” by the early Catholic Church. Satanists have taken that as a badge of honor. Some can successfully argue that Satanism is not a form of Neo-Paganism. Given that many Satanists treasure those values without the belief in any god, this makes equal sense. Yet, they too, hold a dynamic perspective of the world, believing Satan, like the Green Man, is a metaphor for the life force in nature. There really is a reason we both have a Horned God. Then again, the Gnostic core of most Pagan Paradigms do not easily support the belief in a god outside the believer.

Satanism is a tradition of personal discipline, an example of the Left-hand Path, and an existential religion. It is a system of thought based on rational self-interest, sensual indulgence, and the constructive uses of alienation or existential isolation. The focus of Left-hand Path is on natural law and the evolution of the individual. The heart of modern and classical Satanism is in the existential Left-hand path. We are each on the path of death, with little time for self-deceit and broken promises. So, when you are your only real judge … and you no longer have to worry about whether something you are doing is going to be popular … and you would rather be hated for something you are than loved for something you are not … the world is a lot easier to get along with. We are animals, and denying that can cause so many mental problems. We are Gods, and denying that can also cause so many problems. We are Human, and that is what a Left-handed philosophy is focused on.

In the end, a good test of a true “Satanist” is how well adjusted they are. It is not perfect, as they may have just become a “Satanist”, and are still washing out a lifetime of habits and behaviors, but … You will know a Satanist by what they call themselves. Few Pagans are likely to call themselves a “Satanist.”

On a side-note: Satanism defines a Witch as a female who is quite adept in the use of Magic. A male, they call a warlock.

Please visit the following web sites for a better authority on Satanism:
Church of Satan | First Church of Satan | Onyx Star | The Principia Discordia | The Temple of Set

What about That Satanic Symbol You Wear about Your Neck?

This Pentacle represents many things to many people. Many Pagans wear a five-pointed star with a point to the heavens to represent, among other things, a covenant with those heavens. Some may wear it with one point to the Earth to represent those same covenants with the Earth. Some have different sorts of Talismans about their bodies, reminding them of something special, just as the Cross reminds the Christian of that special covenant you contract with the Christ. Satanists wear a similar talisman, a pentacle with one point to the Earth to represent that Humanity is just another animal, no better, often worse than our kindred. No talisman belongs to any one Culture of Faith. A Group may adopt a symbol, and supply that symbol with meaning, and feel liberated by such. Yet, to claim some privileged use is to distort that covenant — that meaning. The Cross is older than Christianity, seen in Paleolithic art, and even in neolithic Celtic places of worship. Any who wish can claim the Star, it is at least as old as human religion. It represented the five wounds of Christ to the Knights Templar. It represents the force of Mercy added to the justice of ha-Shem in the Qabala. It was the badge of blessing to both Druidic and Kemetic Priest.

The Pentacles around my neck, what covenants do they inspire.

A pentacle is around my neck with one angle to the Heavens. Let all the peoples walk each in the name of their gods. I am human, I have devoured the favored Tiger, who has now become human through me. I will aspire to be all that I am capable of, to greatness by heroic virtue and deeds. I will do so with full knowledge that the next act, the next word, may well be my last. This is how I will become a child, worthy of my divine parents. I will walk in the names of Rhiannon, Grandmother of the Gateways; Magh Roith, Father of Enlightenment; Carridwen, Mother of Inspiration; Tiger-annon, Lord of the Hunt, Lord of the Dance; Ân Mhór Rioghain, Maiden of Passions. May the Eternal One bless their footsteps. I sit at the feet of Magic, the mind of the Eternal One, to learn when to keep silent, when to be quiescent, when just to be.

A pentacle is around my neck with one angle to the Earth. Let all the peoples walk each in the name of their Families. I am human, I have devoured the favored Dragon, who has now become human through me. I will inspire my fellow human to do the same, to be all that they are capable of, by heroic virtue and deeds. I will do so with full knowledge that the next act, the next word, may well be my last. This is how I will become a child, worthy of my Earthly parents. May the Eternal One bless their footsteps. I sit at the feet of Magic, the mind of the Nature, to learn when to speak, when to act, when to evolve.

Don’t you worship the Devil?

In the first wave of the Christian involution pagans readily converted and brought with them the traditions with which they grew up. We were like two friends, Pagans and Christians conditioned each other in the ways of their gods. The eternal present of the Pagans became dressed in Christian garments, and the Magi of the Pagans became the monks and priests of the Church. The Druids recognized the message of Saint Columbia as having value, and through them the Celts greedily drank up the Gospel. This conversion included the gods who, because of their association with the hunt, we saw them with antlers and horns of the animals we hunted.

There was a second wave, destructive and savage. The Roman Empire was crumbling and the Bishop of Rome was ordering the Celestial authority under his belt. There grew a very sharp distinction between what the Church approved of and what the Christianized Pagans brought with them. Politicians know that to have a stable society, you must either have a single faction, or at least 20. The Bishops of Rome did not like competition, so they demonized the gods of the Pagans and made them into the source of all evil. The Devils that Christians have feared for over seventeen-hundred years are not the gods of the Pagans, nor even the Satan of the Jews. Today, Pagans are struggling to reclaim, or at least clean off, the gods of antiquity and make them meaningful to us. The Church has taught us that human sacrifices are unnecessary, and that the best response to our relationship with the gods is to be honest and fair. We also want to thank the Church for preserving our gods. You see, many of our gods refused to die when they were demonized. So, the Church canonized them as Saints. Among these Christian gods are Saint Brigit (Brio-sioned), Santa Lucia (Lucifer), Saint Ann (Summerian goddess of the sun), and the list may continue.

So, no, that is not the Devil we worship. That is a Reclaimed god, Green or Dark, at whose feet we sit and learn the wisdom of ages long forgotten. For many of us, that god is our own true self, whom we have lost in the literalist hussle and dogmatic bussle. With that, Nature restores us to our humanity, and we find faith, hope, and meaning in our lives, such as they are. Then, there is the very real possibility that those gods are our divine ancestors, people who lived so long ago, we have forgotten who they really are. Yet, because of the benefits they bestowed on humanity, and for their heroic virtue, we have elevated them to the status of gods by subsequent generations. Before you say, “That is Necromancy,” did not the Christ say that the Eternal One was the God of the Living, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the divine ancestors of the Jew, and of Jesus himself? We have heard the voice of the Eternal One throughout the Earth. Pagans have heard it in our own language, dressed it in our clothes, and habits. You may say that the voice heard in the Testaments of the Christian and Jew is the clearest of the revelations. I say, I have heard that voice for myself, and am clear on what it says. It says, “Be self controlled, Be charitable, Be compassionate.”