All information from “The Devil’s Party: Satanism in Modernity” by Faxneld and Petersen, an objective academic work on Satanism.
- “There were, however, people who nourished an intense sympathy for the Devil much earlier [than LaVey… literary Satanists… polish decadent Stanislaw Pryzbyszewski… Satan was also popular among 19th century socialists as a symbol of revolt against capitalism and the bourgeoisie, with some Reds using the figure in a fairly sustained and consistent manner.” P. 5-6
- “The first person to construct an entire esoteric system, rather than a miniscule one, around Satan was the obscure Danish occultist Ben Kadosh.” P.6
- “The German 1920’s order Fraturnis Saturni was considerably more populated. It viewed Satan as an initiator and celebrated Luciferian masses…” p.6
- “Hall examines the conceptualization of the term ‘Satanist” in the writings of the Swedish theologian L. P. Gothus and finds… the concept did denote actual worshipers of the devil.” P.11
- “…conclude that actual “Satanists” probably did exist, but in a solitary and unsystematic sense.” P.11
- “… compelling argument for viewing the Romantic Satanists (or literary Satanists)… as a turning point in the history of modern religious Satanism... figures such as Godwin, Shelley, Vigny, and Carducci provided the necessary reevaluation of Satan as a positive trope of identification.” P.11
- “…Pryzbyszewski combined positive and negative understanding of Satan: the devil was both the paragon of progress, carnality, and liberty as well as a figure of pain, suffering, and destruction.” P.12
- “Pryzbyszewski can be seen as a pioneer of modern Satanism, expounding a stematic satanic worldview over a period of time…” p.12
- “Even before Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966 there were Satanists.” P.19
- “In the early 20th century a handful of small groups of esoteric Satanists existed, and in the case of Maria de Naglowska such a cult in Paris gained some massmedia notoriety.” P.19
- “Satan came to be interpreted among the common folk as an occasionaly helpful figure, a spirit governing the untamed realm of sweden’s deep forests.” P.19
- “… several of the felons actually confessed to their judges, in a boasting and defiant matter, that they had indeed given themselves over to the Devil.” P.19
- “Satan as a god of nature, who can offer help with fishing and hunting, for example, is a recurring theme in the testimonies. The devil as a nature god is also present…” p.20
- “The romantics and the Satanist outlaws are similar in that Satan symbolized ideas or practices they embraced but which were condemned by the Christianity and conservative forces. Satan, thus, is employed as a tool for cultural critique…” p.20
- “Satanism seems to have been partly a way of mocking the established order but also a way to frighten their fellow men.
- “Pryzbyszewski actually called himself a Satanist and was fairly consistent and persistent in his lauding of the Devil.” P.20
- “Pryzbyszewski is the first sufficiently documented “real” Satanists.” P.20
- “…’folk Satanism’ opens up the possibility that the Romantics’ creative and disrespectful handling of Christian mythology may not have been as groundbreaking as it would seem.” P.21
- “… older material not available [in English] has largely been neglected by the producers of satanic ideology.” P.21
- “People occasionally thought of the Devil as an ambiguous trickster, a jester, or even a helper; that is, an entity more similar to the traditional nature spirits…” p.29
- “People did indeed believe the Devil was more powerful and helpful than God…” p29
- “Matt Larsson… proclaimed “God is no morel He is caught in Hell”…” p.29
- “He boasted of being able to talk to Satan, and that Satan had given him unnatural physical strength…” p29
- “… such blasphemous statements not only articulate a form of popular appropriation of the Devil as a potentially benevolent being… By having God and the Devil change places… Matt’s words suggest a conception of Satan as the ruler of the universe.” P.29
- “Svan Brun put his trust in Satan, who he referred to as “brother.”” P.30
- “The Devil was conceived of as more powerfulore reachable, and more tangible… than God.” P30
- “… the infamous sorcerer Jon of Hallebo… confessed to having made a pact with the Devil written in his own blood…” p.32
- “Ingeorg Bogesdotter had ritually renounced God the creator and his son Jesus Christ… Instead she swore herself to Satan, whom she thereafter met in the wood.” P33
- “the Romantic Satanists represent an essential stage in the emergence of contemporary religious Satanism [for three reasons]: they mark the first historical moment that a major intellectual current appeared in western culture positively reevaluating satanism… they mark the emergence of a new creative way of dealing with spirituality… the elements they emphasize in their reevaluation of Satan deeply influence the form and content of modern Satanism.” P.42
- “Satan’s rebellion against absolute, ‘divinely ordained’ authority made him, in their eyes a hero…” p42
- “Blake’s ‘Marriage of Heaven and Hell’… Lucifer in Byron’s Cain… Victor Hugo, in his unfinished epic poem on Satan…” p45
- “Satan as a noble champion of political and individual freedom remained the most important theme of Romantic Satanism throughout the 19th century.” P45
- “French anarchist Proudhon… his Russian collegue Bakunin…” p45
- “Satani in Romantic Satanism was associated with science, scientific progress, and modern critical thought.” P46
- “…for the Romantics, more than literature or mere allegory was at stake here. Poetry and literature were the ways in which they expressed and practiced their spirituality.” P49
- “Pryzbyszewski was probably the first person ever to attempt formulating an actual system of Satanic thought.” P.54
- “… he emphasizes God’s function as oppressor… Pryzbyszewski postulates two eternal gods of equal strength. One is the god of Christianity, who wishes to keep mankind in a childlike state and extinguish free will. The other God, Satan, embodies lawlessness, curiosity, and titanic defiance.”
p/56
- “Pryzbyszewski proposes “proud sinning in the name of Satan…” p57
CONCLUSION
This is probably not even half my highlighted notes from this section. It goes a TON more into individual Satanists, Romantic Satanists, etc. Specifically of value is a whole chapter on Pryzbyszewski, which I skipped most of here as it was not the point. What we see here is LaVeyan Satanism is not even close to the first form of Satanism, not even one organized and defined. Satanism is much older and experienced great diversity even before LaVey. This is **objective history.** The LaVeyan myth of being the first Satanism, or the only codified form, or the only authentic form, is a historical, objective **fiction**. The only reason to create such a fiction is if a group relies on authenticity rather than its own worth. There is nothing about fideistically preaching a fake history the make your religion more authentic, it is entirely a trait of RHP ideology. In reality, if we follow the CoS logic that the first to define something own it, Satanism is actually be definition more of an esoteric path in the first place, walked by true spiritual people who connected to him as a god or their main deity. This completely invalidates CoS as a valid form of the LHP and anything they have to say on Satanism. QED.
- “There were, however, people who nourished an intense sympathy for the Devil much earlier [than LaVey… literary Satanists… polish decadent Stanislaw Pryzbyszewski… Satan was also popular among 19th century socialists as a symbol of revolt against capitalism and the bourgeoisie, with some Reds using the figure in a fairly sustained and consistent manner.” P. 5-6
- “The first person to construct an entire esoteric system, rather than a miniscule one, around Satan was the obscure Danish occultist Ben Kadosh.” P.6
- “The German 1920’s order Fraturnis Saturni was considerably more populated. It viewed Satan as an initiator and celebrated Luciferian masses…” p.6
- “Hall examines the conceptualization of the term ‘Satanist” in the writings of the Swedish theologian L. P. Gothus and finds… the concept did denote actual worshipers of the devil.” P.11
- “…conclude that actual “Satanists” probably did exist, but in a solitary and unsystematic sense.” P.11
- “… compelling argument for viewing the Romantic Satanists (or literary Satanists)… as a turning point in the history of modern religious Satanism... figures such as Godwin, Shelley, Vigny, and Carducci provided the necessary reevaluation of Satan as a positive trope of identification.” P.11
- “…Pryzbyszewski combined positive and negative understanding of Satan: the devil was both the paragon of progress, carnality, and liberty as well as a figure of pain, suffering, and destruction.” P.12
- “Pryzbyszewski can be seen as a pioneer of modern Satanism, expounding a stematic satanic worldview over a period of time…” p.12
- “Even before Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966 there were Satanists.” P.19
- “In the early 20th century a handful of small groups of esoteric Satanists existed, and in the case of Maria de Naglowska such a cult in Paris gained some massmedia notoriety.” P.19
- “Satan came to be interpreted among the common folk as an occasionaly helpful figure, a spirit governing the untamed realm of sweden’s deep forests.” P.19
- “… several of the felons actually confessed to their judges, in a boasting and defiant matter, that they had indeed given themselves over to the Devil.” P.19
- “Satan as a god of nature, who can offer help with fishing and hunting, for example, is a recurring theme in the testimonies. The devil as a nature god is also present…” p.20
- “The romantics and the Satanist outlaws are similar in that Satan symbolized ideas or practices they embraced but which were condemned by the Christianity and conservative forces. Satan, thus, is employed as a tool for cultural critique…” p.20
- “Satanism seems to have been partly a way of mocking the established order but also a way to frighten their fellow men.
- “Pryzbyszewski actually called himself a Satanist and was fairly consistent and persistent in his lauding of the Devil.” P.20
- “Pryzbyszewski is the first sufficiently documented “real” Satanists.” P.20
- “…’folk Satanism’ opens up the possibility that the Romantics’ creative and disrespectful handling of Christian mythology may not have been as groundbreaking as it would seem.” P.21
- “… older material not available [in English] has largely been neglected by the producers of satanic ideology.” P.21
- “People occasionally thought of the Devil as an ambiguous trickster, a jester, or even a helper; that is, an entity more similar to the traditional nature spirits…” p.29
- “People did indeed believe the Devil was more powerful and helpful than God…” p29
- “Matt Larsson… proclaimed “God is no morel He is caught in Hell”…” p.29
- “He boasted of being able to talk to Satan, and that Satan had given him unnatural physical strength…” p29
- “… such blasphemous statements not only articulate a form of popular appropriation of the Devil as a potentially benevolent being… By having God and the Devil change places… Matt’s words suggest a conception of Satan as the ruler of the universe.” P.29
- “Svan Brun put his trust in Satan, who he referred to as “brother.”” P.30
- “The Devil was conceived of as more powerfulore reachable, and more tangible… than God.” P30
- “… the infamous sorcerer Jon of Hallebo… confessed to having made a pact with the Devil written in his own blood…” p.32
- “Ingeorg Bogesdotter had ritually renounced God the creator and his son Jesus Christ… Instead she swore herself to Satan, whom she thereafter met in the wood.” P33
- “the Romantic Satanists represent an essential stage in the emergence of contemporary religious Satanism [for three reasons]: they mark the first historical moment that a major intellectual current appeared in western culture positively reevaluating satanism… they mark the emergence of a new creative way of dealing with spirituality… the elements they emphasize in their reevaluation of Satan deeply influence the form and content of modern Satanism.” P.42
- “Satan’s rebellion against absolute, ‘divinely ordained’ authority made him, in their eyes a hero…” p42
- “Blake’s ‘Marriage of Heaven and Hell’… Lucifer in Byron’s Cain… Victor Hugo, in his unfinished epic poem on Satan…” p45
- “Satan as a noble champion of political and individual freedom remained the most important theme of Romantic Satanism throughout the 19th century.” P45
- “French anarchist Proudhon… his Russian collegue Bakunin…” p45
- “Satani in Romantic Satanism was associated with science, scientific progress, and modern critical thought.” P46
- “…for the Romantics, more than literature or mere allegory was at stake here. Poetry and literature were the ways in which they expressed and practiced their spirituality.” P49
- “Pryzbyszewski was probably the first person ever to attempt formulating an actual system of Satanic thought.” P.54
- “… he emphasizes God’s function as oppressor… Pryzbyszewski postulates two eternal gods of equal strength. One is the god of Christianity, who wishes to keep mankind in a childlike state and extinguish free will. The other God, Satan, embodies lawlessness, curiosity, and titanic defiance.”
p/56
- “Pryzbyszewski proposes “proud sinning in the name of Satan…” p57
CONCLUSION
This is probably not even half my highlighted notes from this section. It goes a TON more into individual Satanists, Romantic Satanists, etc. Specifically of value is a whole chapter on Pryzbyszewski, which I skipped most of here as it was not the point. What we see here is LaVeyan Satanism is not even close to the first form of Satanism, not even one organized and defined. Satanism is much older and experienced great diversity even before LaVey. This is **objective history.** The LaVeyan myth of being the first Satanism, or the only codified form, or the only authentic form, is a historical, objective **fiction**. The only reason to create such a fiction is if a group relies on authenticity rather than its own worth. There is nothing about fideistically preaching a fake history the make your religion more authentic, it is entirely a trait of RHP ideology. In reality, if we follow the CoS logic that the first to define something own it, Satanism is actually be definition more of an esoteric path in the first place, walked by true spiritual people who connected to him as a god or their main deity. This completely invalidates CoS as a valid form of the LHP and anything they have to say on Satanism. QED.