The Satanic Bible [Mass Market Paperback]

Anton Szandor Lavey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 1, 1976

Called "The Black Pope" by many of his followers, Anton La Vey began the road to High Priesthood of the Church of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival:

"On Saturday night I would see men lusting after halfnaked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they'd be back at The carnival or some other place of indulgence.

"I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will out!"

From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966—Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft—LaVey shaved his head in the tradition of Ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man's body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration. "Since worship of fleshly things produces pleasure," he said, "there would then be a temple of glorious indulgence . . ."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One might expect The Satanic Bible at least to offer a few prancing demons or a virgin sacrifice, but if you hopped this train expecting a tour of the house of horrors, you're on the wrong ride. Far from a manual for conquering the realms of earth, air, fire, and water, The Satanic Bible is Anton LaVey's manifesto of a new religion separate from the "traditional" Judeo-Christian definitions of Satanism. While LaVey rails against the deceit of the Christian church and white magicians, he busily weaves his own deceptions.

The Satanic Bible claims the heritage of a horde of evil deities--Bile', Dagon, Moloch, and Yao Tzin to name a few--but these ancient gods have no coherent connection between each other or to Satanism, except that all have been categorized by Christianity as "evil." Calling on these ancient names like a magician shouting, "Abracadabra," LaVey attempts to shatter the classical depiction of Satanism as a cult of black mass and child sacrifice. As the smoke clears, he leads us through a surprisingly logical argument in favor of a life focused on self-indulgence. The Satanic Bible is less bible and more philosophy (with a few rituals thrown in to keep us entertained), but this philosophy is the backbone of a religion that, until LaVey entered the scene, was merely a myth of the Christian church. It took LaVey, and The Satanic Bible, to turn this myth into a legitimate public religion. --Brian Patterson

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Avon; New Edition edition (December 1, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380015390
• ISBN-13: 978-0380015399
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (501 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Reference
  • #15 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult
  • #89 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

193 of 215 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars it's not what you think... November 16, 2006

By J. C.

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have owned this book for quite some time and have read it several times through. When i first purchased it i wasn't looking for a religious experience, nor did i find one. I have always been an Atheist and i like reading about the world;'s many religions so i can offer a non-biased view of this book.

Most christians would have you believe that the Satanic Bible is a 'set of rules' one would follow on the pathway to Hell, yet it is not. On the contrarty, a 'true' Satanist' does not indulge in the many wicked practices church-goers would have you believe. Of course, that is because they are only repeating what they have been told by the preacher of their said church.

Satanists hold the ohysical body of man and woman on high as a temple, much like christianity, and do NOT perform rituals of bloody sacrafices at night in the nude. Just as christians are bound by the 7 virtues, Satanists hold the so called 'seven deadly sins' high up to keep their way of life a good one. Here is a part from this very book for reference about this:

"The seven deadly sins of the christian church are: greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth. Satanism advocates indulging in each of these 'sins' as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.

A Satanist knows there is nothing wrong with being greedy, as it only means that he wants more than he already has. Envy means to look with favor upon the possession of others, and to be desirous of obtaining similar things for oneself. Envy and greed are the motivating forces of ambition--and without ambition, very little of any importance would be accomplished.

Gluttony is simply eating more than you need to keep yourself alive. When you have overeaten to the point of obesity, another 'sin'--pride--will motivate you to regain an appearance that will renew your self-respect.

Anyone who buys an article of clothing for a purpose other than covering his body and protecting it from the elements is guilty of pride. Satanists often encounter scoffers who maintain that labels are not necessary. It must be pointed out to these destroyers of labels that one or many articles they themselves are wearing are not necessary to keep them warm. There is not a person on this earth who is completely devoid of ornamentation. The Satanist points out that any ornamentation of the scoffer's body shows that he, too, is guilty of pride. Regardless of how verbose the cynic may be in his intellectual description of how free he is, he is still wearing the elements of pride.

Being reluctant to get up in the morning is to be guilty of sloth, and if you lie in bed long enough you may find yourself commiting yet another sin--lust. To have the faintest stirring of sexual desire is to be guilty of lust. In order to insure the propagation of humanity, nature made lust the second most powerful instinct, the first being self-preservation. Realizing this, the Christian Church made fornication the 'Original Sin.' In this way they made sure no one would escape sin. Your very state of being is as a result of sin--the Original Sin!

The strongest instinct in every living thing is self-preservation, which brings uo to the last of the seven deadly sins--anger. Is it not our instinct for self-preservation that is aroused when someone harms us, when we become angry enough to protect ourselves from further attack? A Satanist practices the motto 'If a man smite thee on one cheek, smash him on the other!' Let no wrong go unredressed. Be as a lion in the path-be dangerous even in defeat!"

This is taken directly from the Satanic Bible, chapter 3 page 46. Anton Szandor LaVey is the original founder of the first Church of Satan and these are but some of his words. As i read the book thoroughly, i found quite a bit of it interesting as much of it contradicts what the Christian Church would have you believe a Satanist really is. But what ruined the book for me personally was the last few chapters on rituals of/and magic. Now, i am a man of science so i don't believe in such things but for those who do, you may very well be delighted with what you read. The funny thing is that the book tells you more than once that it does not condone, nor do Satanists practice habitually, rituals of human sacrafice.

The rituals contained within are akin to 'voodoo' and the like in that you do certain things in front of an alter such as chime a bell and whatnot, and then you 'pray' for certain things such as better fortune or karma if you will on one that has wronged you or a loved one.

The whole premise of the book is that man is not much different than the animals we dominate. Our basic instincts and drives are what helped us to populate the earth and we should not try to now separate ourselves from those instincts.

Of course, you may be thinking that this is barbaric, but if you do infact read this book you will note, as per further reading of the 'sins', that if all of man kept himself to the seven sins, much of the wrong that plagues the woprld would be very much avoided.

Pride seems to be praised alot as it seems to be the sin that keeps the others in check. Your pride won't let you get fat, be lazy, sleep around, hurt others unnecessarily out of anger, or envy others too much because if you do then it will motivate you to work harder to achieve the things you do envy.

I gave this book 5 stars because it contains ALOT that has been hidden, twisted and made to be misinformed to those unaware. And though i would have given it four stars because of its parts on ritual magic, i realize that my personal beliefs do not matter when offering this review to others.

Pretty much, it is the same as Christianity, with Lucifer/Satan (he has many names in the book) taking the place of Jesus as the angel of knowledge. And where Christianity focuses more on submissive compassion, Satanism focuses more on confident and real expectations in our every day world.

It doesn't harp on the notion that if everyone becomes a Satanist then this world would be at last with peace for it says that world peace is quite impossible simply because of our primal instincts. And that, as it presents itself, is the way it should be; just as in all of nature.

Nor does it tell you to go around forcing your way to get what you want. The 'if a man smite you one one cheek, smash him on the other' mantra is only a metaphor not to be taken literally. It is meant to represent the confidence one is supposed to have in themselves to achieve what they desire and not let others impose upon them as they do the same.

I can sum up most of the teachings of this book with this:

"The harder you work for the things you wish to achieve, the more likely you will achieve them."

If you still think that Satanism is nothing but a religion where you are allowed to willingly hate others for your own expense then i urge you to buy and read this book. It will prove to you otherwise. It even says that a Satanist does not waste their precious time hating others as this is only a waste of your own time.

Weird how much Christianity and Satanism actually have in common. The thing i find most fascination is that one could not exist without the other, as you will see in reading this book.

133 of 158 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Frightening for it's convincing logic ! April 28, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I bought the Satanic Bible out of pure interest. I wanted to know why there could be people who are interested in these kind of ideas.
The book though takes a turn when you start reading it. This is not some idiot who writes about the devil and sacrificing virgins for fun, but an intellectual person who clearly explains that all other religions are wrong....and he seems to be right in practically all ways.
LaVey tells us that Satanism ( in this logical form ) has never said a bad word about other religions, but that all other religions have been putting Satanism down since the beginning of it all.
It's a scary tought that he's actually right. Luckily it has "sort of" a happy ending, where also LaVey slowly changes from the Mr.Spock of religion into the priest we'd expect him to be and Satanism turns into just another one of those religions ( created by human hand rather than some God ( or Devil that is ) ).

This is not a novel, but a bible that is 10 times easier to read than the Christian one. It also contains a reference part for everyone who wants to indulge into Satanic rituals or masses.
I wouldn't try it out at home but for everyone who still thinks that Anton Szander LaVey ( Still the most famous Satan-whorshipper ) is a lunatic, this book may just change your mind completely on the basis of Satanism.

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You know you like it! December 15, 2000

By Chiron

Format:Mass Market Paperback

If you're interested in Satanic philosophy, then this is the place to find it. Regardless of what you've heard on the media, you're not going to read about virgin sacrifices, black cats, bloody alters, et al, or any of the other silly crap the media loves to purport in its everlasting campaign of subjugation as to the true content of this highly controversial book.

So, here's what you will find: essays about social darwinism, indulging in the happiness of love, self-improvement, independance. Doesn't sound very Satanic to me, you say?

It is.

As far as I can see, this is one of the most misunderstood books ever written, maybe even more misunderstood than the "Holy Bible" itself (and that's saying a lot).

Today, LaVey's Satanic philosophy of hedanism and self-discipline (admittedly a curious combination) is more prevelant than ever before, which is good for Satanists, bad for Christians.

Contrary to popular (i.e. false) belief, the Satanic religion, or, philosophy, is not about worshipping some idiot with horns and cloven feet....

What is"Satan" to a Satanist? For most, he's simply a symbol ofpower, lust, and genteel romanticism. The reason their philosophy iscalled Satanism, when they don't even recognise any supernaturaldeities, such as god or the devil, is because Satan is a representation of the powerful concept of stratification and elitism- hence, the "productive outcast".

Just read this book if you have not. Whether you are Satanist or not, it is enlightening and always interesting.

PS: keep an eye out for LaVey's outrageously comical humor- this guy could have done standup!...