Morbid - Your Magic presents Satanism

Episode Date: April 5, 2022

In this episode, we present to your earholes some beautiful, whimsical and wonderful friends of the pod Your Magic.  Today, Your Magic pulls back the curtain on the many misconceptions about Satanism. Exploring demon conjurings (spoiler...they can be kinda cute!) and the beef between the Temple of Satan and the Church of Satan. Meeting three different types of Satanists- atheistic, theistic and satanic witches- we mostly learn that the devil is our friend. Plus, we dive into the meaning of The Devil card with Hannah Graves, creator of Cult Mother Tarot, learning how to work with its dark and disciplinary energy.   Your Magic is a podcast hosted by author Michelle Tea. Every episode explores contemporary spirituality and magic with lots of humor and heart. Usually, they read their guests tarot – including people like Kathryn Hahn, Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers, and so many other amazing people and then offer a DIY spell or ritual that anyone can do. But, in this episode – the host Michelle Tea dives deep into Satanism, the Satanic Church and the Satanic Temple and explores what it actually looks like to worship Satan. If you like the episode, you can find the podcast only on Spotify or support them at patreon.com/thisisyourmagic. You can also find them on Instagram and twitter @thisisyourmagic See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Hey, weirdos, I'm Alena. I'm Ash. And this is not morbid. This is us talking about your magic with Michelle T. Oh my God, I actually remember the day that your magic dropped. I got like a alert on Spotify and I started listening because I will listen to anything Michelle T does. And I was like, oh, I have found my home. Your magic is a podcast hosted by author Michelle T.

And every episode explores contemporary spirituality and magic with like lots of humor and heart Michelle's hilarious. Usually they read their guest tarot. I actually got the pleasure of having Michelle read me at my tarot cards, and it was one of the coolest experiences that I've ever had. But there's also been guests like Japanese breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers, who I love, and so many other people. And then there's also a DIY Speller ritual at the end of the episode that anyone can do.

But in this episode that we're gonna give you a little preview of, the host Michelle T dives deep into Satanism and the Satanic Church and they Satanic Temple and explores what it actually looks like to worship Satan because you guys know we have talked about Satanism. Satanism. Satanism. Iism talked about Satanism before on this show And I feel like I know you feel this way too People have the totally wrong idea about Satan absolutely they do we're always trying to make sure people understand what it's really about and Kind of remove it from the caricature that has been drawn of it forever Including like the satanic panic kind of crap and all that stuff.

It's not that, and that's exactly what this episode is gonna let you in on. It's gonna give you the cold hard facts about it. Yeah, Michelle does a really great job breaking it down and explaining it. This is actually one of my favorite episodes of your magic so far, and that's saying a lot because they're pretty much all my favorite.

And Michelle is a Massachusetts native So obviously we are Obsessed we love a fellow Massachusetts and so without further ado here you go You're gonna enjoy the shit out of this and you know what if you like the episode You can find the podcast only on Spotify or if you want to support them Which I think you should they they're awesome. We do. Support them at patreon.com slash this is your magic. And we do.

We support them on Patreon. Lots of cool perks. You can also find them on Instagram and Twitter at this is your magic. Do it. This podcast rules. Yay! Welcome to Your Magic. I'm Michelle T and today we're doing something a little different on the pod. While we have and to band in our original format because I love chatting with and reading cards for artists I'm a fan of, we are going to be bringing you some

episodes that instead take a deeper dive into some of the magical concepts and practices that I'm intrigued with. Like Alistair Crowley's The Lama Tradition, The Veneration of Saints, Psychic mediums, some moon magic. I'm also interested in looking at how magic practitioners navigate the very non-magical aspects of life on Earth, whether it's battling internet scammers or fighting to keep abortion legal. And we're debuting our new theme episodes today with a focus on the dark Lord himself, Satan, and those who love him.

Stay with us. Most of us know enough about Satanist to know what they're not. Like the accused witches of 17th century Salem, they too are not boiling babies and cauldrons or selling their souls at the crossroads. Some of us remember the satanic panic of the 1980s. We know that the cavalcade of talk show guests, insisting that teenage heshers with pentagrams inked on their stonewashed denim were making human sacrifice in your backyard, we're not only not true, it had consequences. Like the West Memphis 3, right?

That trio of goth heshers teens from Arkansas who spent most of their lives in prison for murders they didn't commit. So we know actual practicing Satanists are not like murderers, but what are they? Who are they? What do they practice and what do they believe? In my explorations, I've found that there are three styles of contemporary Satanism being practiced today. First, atheistic Satanists. Then there are your theistic Satanists. And finally, my personal fave, Satanic witches. Let's start with the atheistic Satanists.

They don't really believe in Satan, they're atheists. However, these folks have found that the devil and all he represents, wild sexuality, skepticism, hedonism, science, questioning authority, personal liberation, it all syncs up nicely with their own values, and comes with a ready-made, eternally goth-mental aesthetic, plus the added bonus of messing with the church, which can be fun, especially for those like myself who've survived a childhood of non-consensual Jesus. Entities like the satanic temple use Satan as a rallying cry to fight against Christian forces that are working to erode the separation of church and state in America. These dexatonists, despite their name, don't really believe in Satan either, but they do

believe in the power of ritual, both psychologically and to connect to the mysterious energies of our universe. These folks do engage in ceremonial magic, in black masses, and other private practices, and they're more likely to be found hailing Satan in the privacy of their own homes, rather than before a statue of baffinette they're fighting to erect in the town square. That's a total satanic temple thing. And then there are the satanic witches, far less organized than the atheists who can gather under the auspices of the temple, or the theistics who find like-minded ritualists at the Church

of Satan. Satanic witches are on their own, finding one another on the internet, if at all. Unlike the other Satanists, satanic witches do believe in Satan, and they seek a relationship with the dark Lord, as well as with his many demons, and sometimes they get it. I found three practicing Satanists, one of each ilk, all of whom generously agreed to talk to me about what the devil means to them. So my name is Seth Kath, my pronouns are he, they, or she and the gay way, she and the way that men refer to boats, and I identify as an atheistic Satanist. Atheistic Satanist does sound like a contradiction in terms.

What is it? I don't worship Satan or any God, nor do I believe this Satan exists as some called like entity. I believe a Satanist is representation of concepts like knowledge, power, freedom, autonomy, versus, you know, this Judeo-Christian God that represents a lot of patriarchal stifling ideals and is spoken and written about as being this kind of judgmental, almost quarter and keeper of love and respect and knowledge that one must earn. Yeah, the Judeo-Christian God definitely has a lot of classic toxic masculinity. Not really an appropriate role model for our day and age, but Satan, very interesting.

I mean, I can always speak for myself, but I think a lot of young queers, a lot of young punks, sort of come to Satanism in this sort of like reclamation kind of way. I mean, folks were referring to me and thinking of me as a tannic in this like kind of negative sense for a long time because I am undrogynous and alternative. I remember once here in San Francisco

it was getting on the bus, going to the hate and I like on a good day, look like somebody's 13-year-old brother, and I was wearing like fish net set of black dress, and this guy pulls on a milk cross, and he's like waving it at me. Okay, this is wild, because back in my youth, 1980s Boston, Massachusetts, I too was a bit of a spectacle

on public transportation. With my gigantic hairdo, black and snarled, and my black lipstick, my black lace dresses, and my blasphemous jewelry, you know you're not actually supposed to wear rosary beads, okay? I attracted a lot of attention. The famously mouthy, famously Catholic citizens of Boston took one look at me and decided that I was obviously worshipping Satan, and they wasted no time in like warding me off via basic harassment, the flinging of trash, and the occasional

water spit. When I came upon the Satanic Bible at Newberry Comics, I just had to poke my nose in it. By that time, I was savvy enough to know that much of what the world insisted was bad was actually good, and much of what was trumped as good was plainly corrupt. A quick peek into the pages of the Satanic Bible confirmed this newish bad is good philosophy. It seemed that Satan and I were in agreement about many things. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence, begins the nine Satanic statements. Well, teenage alcoholic me could not agree more.

Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on in grades continued. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek. It's worth noting that all nine Satanic statements and in exclamation points, making them more like the nine Satanic vociferations as if they were written to be recited while pumping ones fist into the air. Regardless, I was into it, and after purchasing the book, took to reading it publicly in the primary site of my teenage harassment, the Boston MBTA. And guess what? It worked.

Like a rope of garlic were pelling vampires, the site of me flagrantly clutching a Satanic text, a black clad book with a hot pink pentacle on the cover, it was too much for the regional Catholics. Their Balsey confrontations turned to passive-aggressive whispers. Instead of throwing trash, they threw condemnation and shade with their eyes and scowls. Yes, they made faces at me and staged whispers so that I could hear what they thought of me, but I didn't care. They could hate me all they wanted. I just didn't want to get my ass kicked.

I may have looked scary, but like most Goths, I was a crybaby weakling." The suggestion that I maybe just might have an actual relationship with the Lord of Darkness, someone I didn't believe in, but the Christians did, made me untouchable to the more violent among them. In my new cozy zone of relative public safety, I grew quite fond of the devil and did become in my way a bit of a satanist like Seth Katz. Here's Seth again. So it kind of started as like vassian satanism where I was like reclaiming satanism at the

beginning as this sort of thing where it was like people are thinking I'm a witch in a satanist anyway. as this sort of thing where it was like people are thinking about which in a state in this anyway and then it kind of naturally evolved into getting more interested in it. So I was reading from folks like Kristen Solay, Fax Neil, Jax Blacksmore, folks were talking about stateism as this sociopolitical concept, you know, as a performative concept. The Go To Organization for Atheistic Satanists is the Satanic Temple. They're hilarious, but heartfelt and always a spectacle activism can be enjoyed

in the documentary Hail Satan, which I really recommend. I love the work they do. You know who may not love them so much? Members of the Church of Satan. Though neither the Church nor the Temple really believe in the demonic entity known as Satan, I was told by a key member of the Church of Satan that Satanic Temple members aren't real Satanists.

This isn't just the petty one-upmanship that plagues so many subcultures. Well, okay, maybe it is. To Church of Satan members being a Satanist means you are engaging in specific rituals, meant if not to raise Lucifer, the church and the temple are in agreement that no such entity actually exists,

then to use ritual for deep psychological growth and catharsis, and even to make contact with certain universal energies. The Church of Satan is engaging in magic. The Satanic temple, however, conducts their ritual in public, and it does seem that the intention is more theater, punking the church and scandalizing the squares. You call yourself a satanic priest. Yes. Is that the opposite of God? No, because Satan is a God too.

But what are you then, the dirty Pope or what? Oh, I guess you could call me that. If you want to say the black Pope or the dirty Pope or the advocate of, for example, the kingdom of night or darkness. The Church of Satan is where the theistic Satanist gather, and it has a rather glamorous history, in my opinion. Its charismatic founder was Anton Levet, author of the Satanic Bible, lover of exclamation

points. He seems to have been born with a bald head, an iconic goatee, eyebrows that only grow more arched and sinister as he aged. He founded the Church of Satan in 1966 at 6114 California Street in San Francisco, a single family home painted black that was the headquarters of American Satanism until the patriarch died in the late 90s, and then the house was shortly thereafter demolished. A real showman, Levei had a pet lion, and was often photographed mid-ritual, candles of flame, and a hooded cape that provided him with both a widow's peak and a pair of

devil horns. Sometimes he wore a classic Catholic priest's outfit. Sometimes he had a snake. Often, there is a blonde woman in the picture with him. One such brufan topped them was the actress Jane Mansfield. She'd met Levee at some point after being kicked out of the San Francisco film festival for going command-opening her picturesque. The two embarked upon a mad-cap romantic satanic affair.

Levee anointed Mansfield, the high priestess of the San Francisco Church of Satan and put a curse upon her ex-husband, Sam Brody. The Church of Satan has been around for almost 60 years, still thriving, even without that charismatic figurehead. I wanted to know exactly what they were up to, ritually speaking, and found a member who would speak to me. My name is Bill M., I am a Magister with the Church of Satan. I've been a member of the Church of Satan and a Satanist for over 20 years.

Magisters are folks who have passed through four of the five stages of initiation in the Church of Satan, so Bill is almost at the top. He also has a podcast, The Devil's Mischief, on Radio Free Satan, and is a great person to explain to me what the Church of Satan, the first group to call themselves Satanists and have a great person to explain to me what the Church of Satan, the first group to call themselves Satanists and have an actual religion called Satanism, is all about. It's not Satan worship, it is Satanism, so it's embracing the life-enriching things which have traditionally been given the devil's name, pride, lust, earthly success, rational self-interest,

earthly success, rational self-interest, atheism, humor, non-conformity, science, personal passions, being selective about whom we love. We feel that most religions have traditionally condemned these things as being shameful sins, but we take them as empowering ideals. Listening to this, it's hard not to be just like, yep, I'm a Satanist, those are definitely my values. And I appreciate as a witch who regularly performs devotions to deities, even though I don't know that I actually

believe in them, that the church honors ritual for ritual's sake, for the psychological power in performing them, and even it seems the aesthetic power of Satanism, that power I felt while reading the Satanic Bible in public all those years ago. Well, a lot of these hardcore atheists aren't really big into Star Wars or Star Trek following a sports team and wearing the logo and chance and all that stuff. I think all of this comes down to a very basic human with this need to indulge in rituals, and listening to Bill describe what goes down in a satanic ceremony, I was struck by how similar it is to the probably amateur magic I'm doing on my own at home.

Like me, Satanus adopted ringing a bell to begin your ritual from any number of occult traditions. Like most western witches, the Satanus inv invoke the four elements, or four directions, though they call it the four quarters, attributing a demonic entity to each direction. Satan from the south, Lucifer from the east, Belial from the north, and Leviathan from the west. To bring the element of taste into the ritual, important for such a hedonistic tradition is Satanism. They drink from a chalice.

The bells and the invocations and the chalice swinging all serve to bring participants into that fantasy realm where emotions rise up in logic steps back. Primed for drama, they begin the ritual conjugations. In satanism and in satanic ritual, we have three, one of three different conjurations. Conjuration of lust or compassion or destruction. We incorporate the inocyan keys that have been used by Golden Dawn. We have our own different translations of that that work for us. Okay, the Inocyan keys deserve its own episode, and they might actually get one. But basically, it's an occult language that was dictated to a couple of 16th century occultists

from angelic beings, okay? And as Lucifer himself is said to be a fallen angel, it does seem appropriate that the keys have been adopted for ritual by the Church of Satan. But it gives me pause that a religion that professors to not literally believe in the supernatural does work with a supernatural alphabet that was shared with an Elizabethan psychic by an other worldly entity. It is likely that the Satanists use the Inogi and keys just to add another layer of esoteric drama to their rituals, but I found myself wanting to meet someone who like hangs out with actual satanic entities.

meet someone who like hangs out with actual satanic entities. Maybe I'm damaged from coming of age during the satanic panic 1980s, but I do kind of like the idea of Satanist's conjuring actual demons. After looking around a bit, I found as a Satanic witch. Salem was ignorant of the whole Jesus Devil paradigm until they hit 10 or 11 and then their non-religious parents got into religion with surprising fervor speaking in tongues and praising the Christian God with little Salem along for the ride. Salem's parents weren't just super enthusiastic holy rollers, they were an exorcism duo, with mom casting out the demons while dad read from the apocalyptic book of revelations.

With the sort of hyper vigilance I imagine a pair of exorcists possess, Salem's parents began noticing something a bit ungodly about their child. Growing up, they've always kind of pinpoint this energy about me. They've always been like, yeah, you're going to live so good for God and all this stuff. But like in the same breath, they would always condemn me. I mean, you have the demon of homosexuality. You have the demon of, you know, this, that, in the third, that you have a Jezebel spirit. You know, what's actually kind of funny is that they're right.

Like, they're right. Like, I do have like a gesso of those spirit, but that's what's always made me feel confident myself. But Salem's parents weren't only metaphorically correct about Salem's spirit. The fact is, Salem did have demons, literally. As they got older and allowed themselves to actually respond to their natural attraction to witchcraft, meditations revealed to them that Satan's minions have been by their side since As they got older and allowed themselves to actually respond to their natural attraction to witchcraft, meditations revealed to them that Satan's minions have been by their side since childhood,

shielding them from some of the damaging effects of their parents' toxic beliefs. I actually feel like they were protecting me from Christianity. Instead of vice versa, I felt like they were protecting me from a lot of the dogmatic, things that was being taught because it affected my mental health so bad. I struggle with OCD. You know, that type of brainwashing really, really fucks with you. It really messes with you.

And I feel like the only demonic evil presence I had in my life were like my parents' teachings and the demons that were around me were like, this one's ours. You're specifically from hell. Like, you're evil like like, feel a little weird. Like, don't touch this person. Satanism kept calling to Salem with the devil using a famous tool for nabbing souls.

Pop culture. I got like, really into chilling adventures of Sabrina, right, which is about like, you know, Satanic Witch witches and stuff? I was shaking my life to the fall of the night. I think it's very time. I felt like my team into my spirit, guys, they really wanted me to get through it,

because I would pause the show sometimes and be like, I'm gonna take a break, and they would press playing, being like, actually, no, you're gonna keep watching this. I'm the mother of demons. The dawn of doom. I've always felt drawn to Lilith, right? I'm Lilith, dear boy. And a lot of people have different interpretations for Lilith and who she is, and if she's

whether a demon or not, but she's the mother of darkness. Talking to Lilith's clothes was like, I'm sending you like basically two guardian demons to watch over you. Talking a little about Sola's was like, I'm sending you, like, basically two guardian demons to watch over you. I was working at a Spencer's gift shop. And they had a demon tarot deck. And usually you know what tarot decks you feel being drawn to them, but this felt like a specific energy, like a specific person in that deck was like, no, you come here. And I looked at it and I immediately like knew who it was. I just felt it in psychotic deck. And from that point on, I could feel that demon sometimes like standing next to me and it wasn't menacing. It wasn't scary. It was just kind of being like, hey, I'm here.

Through continued magical work, Salem has made contact with many other demons including quite possibly the Lord of them all. I have gotten into contact with Lucifer very strongly and there's a lot of different feelings and theories within like what aspect of Satanism and altism you practice if Lucifer and Satan are the same, are they different, are they different channels of each other? He's been a really beautiful, very, I just wanna say cinematic because the way that he spoke between me and Dream

has been in ways that I feel like not a lot of other guides have spoken me to and really touches my soul. And then there's Asteroff, who was connected to Astarte in Nana. There's King Parmong, there's Leonardo. Salon's relationship with Satan and Lucifer and assorted demons feels very cute to me,

like a little world of San Rio characters, Kauaii-Chi-B demons, and it is sweet. From that point, Salem really opened themselves to the presence of entities, and the entities came and revealed themselves to Salem. This is very different from the practices of atheistic Satanists who seem more like libertarian performance artists, not that that's a bad thing, than witches seeking magic. And while the Church of Satan accolades our practicing magic,

the ceremonial rituals they engage seem less intimate and personal than what Salem has going on with their own army of darkness. There's a power in the darkness. There's a power. And I think it's okay to embrace the darkness, even if it is negative or mean in the moment, because it's just what's a part of you naturally. You can't get rid of that, you can't let that go. And it's inspirational because it's forbidden.

We are forbidden to be dark. I don't think people realize that. Embracing a love and light can easily sway into embracing pure and tentacle beliefs and faux-Christian beliefs. People don't realize that when you do embrace the darkness, you can embrace something that is different than what society is teaching you. Satan is so many things to so many people. A rallying cry, a powerful myth, and the father of a host of demons. I spoke with Berlin-based Hannah Graves, the tarot reader, teacher, no bullshit witch and creator of the cult mother community.

I wanted to know how she worked with an interpreted devil energy when it comes up in tarot readings. I love this card. I just love this card, and I think that for me it's one of those cards that when you work with it and you work with it over time, it has so many different layers. And so I think a lot of people are aware of the kind of more classic interpretation. When we're working with devil energy, it can be very oppressive, it can be very heavy, we can be easy, we can kind of like read hard hitting themes of addiction, depression, anxiety,

and I'm absolutely never hit, kind of loving the life my way through. You know, the impact that some of these issues can have, but I think the more that I've worked with this card and the more that I've chewed on it and the more I think about where it sits, in our major arcana sequence, the kind of more interesting it gets. In the major arcanus, the devil card is number 15. Its temptation falls right after the balance of temperance, upsetting it, and then it gives way to the cataclysm of the tower, the building destroyed by lightning from the sky. That then gives way to the clear skies of the star card and the new beginnings and fresh optimism that she promises. We're always going to have dark places that we're going to go and for me the devil becomes kind of

then the antithesis of spiritual perfection and it's only when we can confront that and the dark realities are kind of who we are and what we're attached to and why that then that lightning strikes the crown. Then we get the release that we need. Then we actually step into the magic of the star, it's kind of for me, but to call it about embracing all limitations. The Devil Card is associated with Capricorn, which as well as being a sign that embodies earthly power and success is also ruled by Saturn, the planet that shows us, sometimes harshly, our limitations. But Hannah has a Capricorn rising, so she is no stranger to this disciplinary devil daddy vibe. And how she chooses to work with it as someone with a playful Leo Stelium is inspiring. When I get really weighed down with this more kind of Capricorn vibe and this kind of devil energy or you know, it feels very heavy or oppressive.

This idea of asking you know when how can I get in my wand? What is it that really fires me up? And I mean last summer I bought roller skates and went sliding down the runway at the old airfield here at Needybroke, both my wrists. But it was like, it's that kidding you, it's that part of you that just wants to be kind of lit up and excited. And I think that can be a real antidote for kind of how adult the energy of the devil can get as well. Doing something silly for the sake of it, I think, can be a really good way of kind of confronting or kind of transforming devil energy. At the end of this day and the end of this episode,

we're left with the reality that we all have a shadow side. The folks I spoke to today aren't interested in love in lighting away the emotions of what a astrologer in which brand-taler calls the night rainbow. Anger and jealousy, petty gossip, vengeance, cruelty, mean streaks, selfish drives. These all exist within us. Whether we want to transmute the energy to radical political work, ritualize it for psychological growth,

invite demons in for support and understanding, or tie on a pair of roller skates and greet the heaviness with something wild and absurd, there are so many ways to work with this most human of fives. At the close of the episode, I've concluded that the devil isn't only our friend and ally, the devil is us. Thanks for tuning into Your Magic. Make sure you follow us on Twitter and Instagram at This Is Your Magic. You can subscribe to us right here on Spotify to what you must to never miss an episode. You can email us at helloatthisisyourmagic.com.

We would love to hear from you. And you can support us plus get access to a bunch of bonus content at patreon.com-thisisyourmagic. This episode was produced and edited by Molly Elizaldi, Tony Ganon, and Vera Blossom. We got production support from Angelica, Chris Estomo. Our executive producers are Ben Cooley, myself, and Molly Elizalde. Our original theme music is by John Kimbrough. Thanks for listening.

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