Before I move over to talking about Satanism today, I want to point out a couple of things about the Satanic Bible, written by Anton LaVey in 1969. It's divided into a couple of separate books (I'm going to skip over the details, but here's the
Wikipedia article to get you started. Reading the actual book is obviously always better), some of which are mostly just aesthetic ritual stuff, but the part in the beginning is what matters.
The Satanic Bible, as I see it, was a counter-reaction to Christianity at the time. Especially stricter Christians advocate several beliefs that are straight out unhealthy for a human being, starting from sexual repression to telling you what you're allowed to do with your life. The Satanic Bible has a lot of dramatic anti-Christianity to it, but it also talks very clearly about how blind belief is harmful for humanity.
For I stand forth to challenge the wisdom of the world; to interrogate the laws of man and of God!
I request reason for your golden rule and ask the why and wherefore of your ten commandments.
Before none of your printed idols do I bend in acquiescence, and he who saith thou shalt to me is my mortal foe!
I dip my forefinger in the watery blood of your impotent mad redeemer, and write over his thorn‐torn brow: The TRUE prince of evilthe king of slaves!
No hoary falsehood shall be a truth to me; no stifling dogma shall encramp my pen!
I break away from all conventions that do not lead to my earthly success and happiness.
No creed must be accepted upon authority of a divine nature. Religions must be put to the question. No moral dogma must be taken for grantedno standard of measurement deified. There is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes. Like the wooden idols of long ago, they are the work of human hands, and what man has made, man can destroy!
As you can see, LaVey attacked Christianity very directly and with very harsh words. The purpose of Satanism was never to worship Satan as such, but to fight against the mind control of religion. However, Satan is a strong symbol for rebellion as well as of what Christianity sees as sinful or evil, and was thus a good lead character for a movement like LaVey's. As the Ninth Satanic Statement says, "Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years". LaVey's Satanism was atheistic, even antitheistic, incorporating elements from older occult paths as an symbolic outlet for the values Satanists deemed important. Satanists are known for their blasphemous rituals that have often insulted Christians, like the Black Mass. If you look at the message of the Satanic Bible, that is at least partly what they're supposed to do. Traditional Satanism is a mix of celebrating freedom while at the same time pointing out the true evil in the world, the way religions mistreat the power they have over believers. In the West, this evil has for a long time been Christianity and still is in many countries (e.g. Uganda and homosexuals).
Fast forward to today. Satanism has grown and evolved since LaVey's days, although the angry ex-Christian teenage Satanist stereotype still applies to some people. I think it's an understandable place for many people to land. The beliefs their parents or environment have pushed on them can have caused extreme emotional pain to them, giving them the need to fight back and set themselves apart from their past. After the angry stage some go on to become plain atheists, others find other religions, and some develop their own spirituality where Satan or a similar archetype is a part of their personal symbolism. Satan as a symbol has many meanings and varies from person to person, but it's one many of us know and feel kinship with. Personally I still think that people who move on from the Judeo-Christian faith do themselves a disservice by clinging to symbolism with such a negative connotation. If you borrow someone else's bad guy, you shouldn't complain when they come and believe you to be evil as well.
If we forget about the Christian connections for a while, the core values of Satanism are very similar to those of Paganism and Atheism. Satanists put emphasis on knowledge and personal freedom, which may well sound like selfishness to a person who believes that morality comes from outside the individual. In fact a Satanist takes on the responsibility for their moral actions. Because of the lack of divinely assigned good and evil, they embrace the need to create their own ethics and follow them, not because someone tells them to, but because they want to do the right thing.
This naturally means that every Satanist has their own individual ethical code, and the hedonistic emphasis has always been attractive for those who only think of themselves (or who are straight out psychopaths), in the same way as followers of other religions misuse dogmas to take away the freedom from people around them. It's still rare for a Satanist to truly harm someone, since the Left-Hand Path overall views people in a very positive light. For example Setians, an offshoot of Satanism, have a concept of the Black Flame, a kind of divine spark within every person that represents the potential to grow into better human being. The same theme is visible in Luciferianism (where Lucifer is NOT the same figure as Satan), where the emphasis is on knowledge as a path to "enlightenment".
All in all I don't think it's possible to form an opinion on Satanism and apply it to all who call themselves Satanists. Every Satanist comes from their own background and have their own values, both spiritually and ethically, making it impossible to judge them simply based on their label. Personally while I agree with the core values of Satanism, I dislike the connection it has to Christianity, making Christians easily misjudge what the Left-Hand Path is about: the quest for happiness and personal growth.
