Satanism

I am admittedly ignorant about much of what it is the various people who call themselves satanists believe, but I've learned that there are two distinct types of satanists. Those who worship devils and demons, particularly Satan, and those who follow the teachings of Anton LeVey. Over the last year, I've learned more than enough to know that neither major form of satanism is for me, as well as the fact that the two are worlds apart in what they do believe.

For one thing, the satanism of devil worshippers is not paganism, as many would have you believe.
In fact, devil worshipping is an offshoot of Christianity.
Devil worshippers believe in the eternal struggle between good and evil, personified in the form of the Judeo-Christian God, and the "Fallen Angel" Satan. Believing Evil will eventually prevail, they give honor to the being they think will be able to give them power, wealth, and whatever it is they most desire when He "wins".
These are the people who perform animal, and even human sacrifice on a religious basis, honoring their chosen gods with the blood and pain of other living creatures. These are the people who you see wearing pentagrams tatooed on thier foreheads, and spouting hate propoganda. These are the people who give "alternate religion" a bad name.

On the other hand, there are the LeVeyan Satanists.
While I still don't agree with many of the beliefs I've had the chance to find out about, I am more than willing to admit that their beliefs can very easily be classed under the generic word "Paganism".
From what I understand (I have yet to have the chance to read 'the Satanic Bible' by Anton LeVey) LeVey's premise was that all people are their own gods. It is a self-centered belief system, based on the idea that only the self, and self gratification matters, and in which magick often plays a major role.
LeVeyan Satanists do not, as a rule, perform ritual sacrifice of living things, as there is little or nothing to be gained. If a ritual sacrifice is performed, it is not to appease the gods, but rather in order to use the energy of life released in death to enhance a magical spell.
Granted, sacrifice is sacrifice, and I certainly don't agree with this practice, no matter the purpose, but I for one, am much more easily able to "accept" it as "legitimate". And again, it is a very rare practice, as it is easier to raise the required energies in ways other than killing.
Human sacrifice is even more rare than even animal sacrifice, amongst the LeVeyans, due mostly to the fact that ending up in jail if you are caught after committing such a crime is not a beneficial end. Afterall, personal benefit is the major concideration of any LeVeyan Satanist.

Unfortunately, I have little knowledge of these belief systems beyond this, but I will be adding more to this page as I learn more. I hope I have been able to make some sense of these very different systems, even with my admitted lack of information.
As with every page on my site, I wish only to help educate.

Blessings

~Moon's Daughter~