REMEMBERING ANTON SZANDOR LAVEY

 

Twenty five years ago today, on October 29th, 1997, the most influential occult figure since Aleister Crowley passed when Anton Szandor LaVey died at the age of 67. Born Howard Stanton Levey on April 11, 1930, he would be responsible for defining the religious and philosophical system now known as modern Satanism. Though his writings were extensively derivative of ideas espoused in the pages of Ragnar Redbeard’s 1896 book, Might Is Right, from which major tracts were lifted verbatim, LaVey’s Satanic Bible nevertheless became the cornerstone of a distinctive culture and lifestyle which has blossomed over the years to become a notable force in political discourse as has been seen with the activism of groups like The Satanic Temple.

LaVey’s history and background is largely in question as much of it has been mythologized and little evidence to support his claims is available to corroborate the colorful background described by himself and his biographers. His claims of being a lion tamer and police crime photographer may be spurious, but what is certain is that he was a notable scholar of the occult, an accomplished musician, an adept public speaker and entertainer and one of the most idiosyncratic philosophers to emerge from the 20th century. Alternately reviled and respected, depending on who you’re talking to, even his children can’t agree on his virtues or vices, with some denouncing him while others preserve his legacy.

After spending much of the 1960s conducting research and educational lectures on occult practices, complete with ritual demonstrations, in 1966 he founded the Church of Satan and, in 1969, published the infamous Satanic Bible in order to codify his system of beliefs and set them apart from popular preconceptions of so-called “Devil worship”, a practice which was never part of his methodology. Within his views, Satan was not a deity to be bowed down to, but rather a symbol of natural human traits feared by the Christian church which LaVey reasoned were humanity’s true virtues and which should be pursued and emulated. Satan was the symbol of individuality and self-determination, not a “ruler” to be followed blindly. His philosophy encouraged rationality, independence and personal creativity without recourse to gods, demons or faith based spirituality. His system of “magic” was essentially a theatrical expression of applied psychology where the drama of the event was used to focus one’s thoughts and desires in a manner which would help one achieve self-actualization through visualization.

The effect of his efforts has been widespread and profound in the years since the founding of the Church. Initially, it was something of a trendy celebrity indulgence as people like Sammy Davis Jr. and Jane Mansfield were seen in his company and he did the rounds on talk shows like Donahue and The Tonight Show. With the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s, his students began to take up the task of defending their religion from the baseless accusations of Christian fanatics. It’s a tactic which continues to be used by right wing conspiracy-mongers to this day as we have seen with entities like QAnon laying accusations against leftists of eating babies to gain magical powers.

LaVey largely withdrew from public appearances in later years, but would still occasionally do interviews and continued to publish books and even released recordings of his music. After his death from respiratory failure, a small invitation only secret Satanic funeral was held in Colma and he was cremated afterwards. His infamous “Black House” in San Francisco was sold and subsequently demolished. Leadership of the Church of Satan went through some struggles until it was stabilized by Peter H. Gilmour, but the aftermath of that saw adherents splinter into factions, a process which had been happening beforehand with sects like the Temple of Set lead by former CoS high priest, Michael Aquino. Whereas the CoS was not known for political activism, The Satanic Temple has become a notable force when it comes to advocating for the separation of church and state and has gained major headlines for their activities, even prompting a documentary feature film which garnered significant viewership on Netflix.

Because of LaVey, the conception of Satanism as a legitimate recognized religious system, even acknowledged and accommodated by the US military, has gained a stable foothold within western societies throughout north America and Europe. Its mainstreaming can even be seen by the presence of a self proclaimed LaVeyian Satanist in the main cast of Mike Judge’s extremely popular HBO comedy series, Silicon Valley. It has become an antidote to the fascistic disposition of many Christian sects, especially the Evangelicals, who have subsumed the Republican party in the US. Satanism stands as a rare, reason based counterpoint to fundamentalist faith based attempts to subvert the freedoms of democracy.

I first encountered LaVey’s brand of Satanism when I heard the 1985 12” single, Je T'Aime, my Genesis P-Orridge & The Angels Of Light. The B-side, Supermale, featured a long electronic dance drone which contained two different voice samples mixed into it. On one side was Karol Wojtyla, the Pope Johannes Paules II, and on the other was Anton LaVey. The content of what LaVey was saying intrigued me and, eventually, enticed me to go out and pick up a copy of the Satanic Bible. I subsequently read pretty much every book he published and it was a key influence on my exploration of other occult systems and authors, including Crowley. I didn’t agree with everything he had to say and I never felt compelled to become a card carrying CoS member, but I could be seen sporting a tasteful Baphomet or inverted pentagram pendant when out and about for many years, throughout the 1990s and beyond. The basic principals of rational self-interest have remained a core part of my ethics throughout my life. I have embellished upon those theories and found different aspects to comprehend, but the core belief in the primacy of individual freedom sustained by intellectual integrity remains an unshakeable bedrock for me and LaVey has a lot to do with that. Those ideas were directly responsible for me finally coming out as gay at the ripe old age of 27. They gave me the courage to demand that I be able to live my life as the person I was and insist on taking the freedom to live as I saw fit.