Customer Reviews

The Satanic Scriptures

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First I want to say that I didn't particularly like this book, but I gave it three stars anyway for a couple reasons:

1. It is an incredible piece of publishing. The book is beautiful, and of truly superior quality. In this regard alone it lives up to its satanic idealism.

2. The Satanic Wedding is included in the book. This is a piece of work that I've long been interested in reading. It stood out in its absence in the "Satanic Rituals," so I'm glad to have finally had an opportunity to read it.

3. It isn't terrible. In fact, if I hadn't read Lavey, I'd probably think more highly of this work.

But now for the negatives:

1. Editing. I was very disappointed to find typos and spelling errors in this book. It really detracted from the value of the book as a piece of art. This may sound nit-picky, but Satanists pride themselves on the superior quality of their work, and in this respect the High Priest failed to live up to the ideals of his Church.

2. Content. I understand that satanists don't like the rest of the world in general, but come on, the High Priest is the highest ranking official in the Church, and it seems to me, for an individualist, a self-proclaimed egoist, he spends far too long complaining about the stupidity of other people. All of the pieces did not re-hash this tired subject, but unfortunately, most of them did.

3. Content. In the second respect, I found it surprising that so much of the book was spent defining what a satanist "is," or believes. Satanists are individuals, why do they need another book telling them what they are? I understand the necessity of Lavey's codification of satanism because he was the first to do it, the original black-pope, and so he had to bring satanism to the awareness of the world at large in order to reach those select few he desired to welcome into his life and his Church. But those books have been written, and I don't see that the new High Priest really added much of value to Lavey's work. This in itself would not be a bad thing, except I continually felt like I was reading someone who was trying to fill Lavey's shoes rather than making his own mark on the Church and it's literature.

Having said that, however, there were some pieces that stood out, pieces that really did make an impression. These were the instances where Mr. Gilmore was being Mr. Gilmore. When he wrote about things he loved, and about issues that did need and up-to-date comment from the High Priest of the Church of Satan. In these instances, Gilmore shined. But sadly they were few and far between.

But I believe that the work deserves it's three stars, even if there were typos (shame on you Mr. Gilmore). And I don't have a more beautiful book on my shelves, I can assure you of that.

This tome is first of all, well bound and written on quality stock. It is well written and shows that the author is at ease with the style of writing that is conducive to cover to cover reading.

This volume hits it's intended mark; it expands and clarifies the philosophies set forth by LaVey over forty years ago. It shows that the Church of Satan is vigilant and faithful in their duties to prevent the same stagnation that has occurred with the christian bible. As society changes, so too do the principle everyone lives by. It is assuring that Magus Gilmore is living by the Satanic credo "Ever Forward".

Hail Satan!

I stumbled upon this book by accident and it contains some of the most interesting essays that correctly portray the philosophy of Left-Hand Path Satanism, unlike the countless reactionary pseudo-Christian devil worship books out there.

The Satanic Scriptures is a wonderful addition to the fundamental writings of Satanism. Clear, intelligent, and fun, it provides a wealth of insight. The publishing quality is excellent, and it is quite professionally edited.

This book would make a fine contribution to any library of the philosophically-minded, regardless of one's level of agreement with Satanism. Topics discussed within vary across a broad spectrum of daily life, presenting ideas which, if they don't have you nodding your head in agreement, will at the very least make you think and examine your own perspectives.

While remaining consistent in its tenants, Satanism has subtlety refocused itself through time, and many of the essays herein prove an excellent guide through recent years. The book clarifies Satanic perspective and gives an official update on "the world's most notorious religion".

A solid, thorough, and masterfully crafted book which I am certain will stand for many years as a flame of philosophical literature. Great care was obviously taken in its production. It was done right.

A great companion and expansion to the Satanic Bible. It actually goes more indepts and is evolutionary to the Satanic Bible in that it takes the same philosophy of LaVey and expands on it. Peter H. Gilmore articulates the philosophy very well. If your not a satanist and or are a realist/atheist you will like this book very much. If you are a believer in the Abrahamic religions, well then its a great read to really see how the carnal man can really act with that in mind, the natural and carnality and the relience of the self. Excellent read.

A long overdue release from the CoS! Many of the essays can be found in The Black FLame or on the CoS website. When compiled together in this relevant and readable sequence of relevance they become an indelible mark in the CoS's evolution. The words of The Satanic Bible resonated deeply for me in the beginnings of my adolecsence and to this day retains the basis for my Lesser Black Magic(k)al workings. The outright refutation of the more esoteric and still LHP aspects of the western Left Hand Path tradition by Gilmore is disappointing but not surprising... leaving no abundance of fertile ground for real personal development aside from epicurean materialism and psychodrama. The rest is capitalist atheism. The world's indigenous LHP traditions are worth more attention than the CoS is willing to acknoweledge. So don't expect anything arcane or of an insight in to what's REALLY possible for the aspiring Black Magician. At least THIS functioning High Priest actually WROTE both halves of his bible (or scriptures, as it were)!

I recently purchased a copy of this book along with a couple of items by Anton LaVey in an effort to find out more about LaVeyan Satanism, Satanic philosophy, and the Church of Satan than I could find on the internet. This book had been recommended to me by an acquaintance of mine, so I thought I'd buy it. I've seen a few video interviews with Gilmore and read a couple of his essays, and they seemed reasonable enough to me. I was expecting this book to rate a solid 3-4 stars, but honestly, it greatly exceeded my expectations.

I'd like to preface my next statement with a bit of a disclaimer: I've read a lot of LaVey's work and I find his ideas to be well thought-out, intelligent, and frankly, pretty inspiring. However, despite all this, I found Gilmore's "The Satanic Scriptures" to be a more enjoyable read than most of what I've seen from LaVey. Gilmore writes in a style that is more to my personal taste, and he takes inspiration from LaVey's work and expresses his views and ideas very eloquently. I don't think it'd be far from the truth to say that Gilmore has a little more of a sophisticated style than LaVey, though whether that is better or not might just be a matter of taste.

All in all, I found this book informative and enlightening, and Gilmore's book has inspired me to further improve and refine my own ideas.

This Book is a great eye opener from the current high priest. This book brings out every once of what satanism is, true satanism. Its a must have, Hardcover.

The first half of this book is very good, but mostly due it being based on older writings that were previously published in various Church of Satan outlets. It slowly degenerates into things that most people have no concern about such as Gilmore's musical tastes and opinion and his doctrine of elitism. The ultimate mark of elitism is not having any need to identify yourself as such for your actions speak. I can't tell you of anything personally that Gilmore does other than run the CoS and write this book. Some of the text is outright militant towards you if you happen to favor a flavor of Satanism that doesn't meet his definition if your beliefs are deist, spiritual, or non-alien elitist. At best, one could view this as an attempt to copy "The Devils Notebook" or "Satan Speaks!" without the entertainment value.

You cannot be so naive as to believe that just because someone believes in some cosmic dark force that they aren't a Satanist as The Satanic Bible professes more of a life philosophy than a religion and the text therein is compatible with many Left Hand Path followers. It just doesn't address the issue other than to balk at herd conformity in other organizations which you don't need to participate in to have such beliefs. If a Satanist is just truly and atheist why waste your time with rituals and calling yourself Satanic? If you don't believe in the forces which you intend to utilize it really doesn't come off as being something worth your time and it seems more that you are running a Vampire: The Masquerade troop where people can wear fangs and look cool saying silly stuff like "Hail Satan!" I'm sure you guys could put on a fabulous rendition of The Rockey Horror picture show as well if that is what you really are into. I can shop at Hot Topic too!

Possibly the most retarded chapter in the book is "The Myth of "The Satanic Community"" where Gilmore spends an entire chapter railing people that don't agree personally with him and his definition of Satanism and that if anyone starts some "other" group then they couldn't possibly be genuine. History has told us that many new ways have been thinking have been built upon the ashes of preceding lines of thought, and old lines of thought have been summarily destroyed in the process. Anton's work in the late '60s and early '70s is simply the gold standard, but nothing else of note has risen from the Church of Satan since that time so I hardly feel you can do more than say that you are riding these coat tails very well. Other groups and individuals have sought to improve on Satanism and Left Hand Path lines of thought since that time so don't seem too shocked when they refuse to agree with you as they have been evolving their structure while your organization has been doing its best to remain stagnant.

I'm giving this book 3 stars mostly due to the fact of the first half, and the rituals are interesting. I'm not a member of any of these organizations, but I'm not afraid to disagree where required. Take my advice as coming from a true follower from the path who doesn't give a crap about the politics of these organizations who would like to steer his good friends in the right direction.

Anton LaVey was one of the most immediately recognizable figures in modern occultism (even though he despised "occultniks"). His *Satanic Bible* has sold over 600,000 copies and counting. The Church of Satan's current High Priest, Peter Gilmore, was faced with the unenviable task of following in those very large footsteps. If his *Satanic Scriptures* are any indication, he's well suited to the task. Like *TSB*, this collection of essays provides guidelines for those seeking true Satanism amidst the tidal wave of mediocrity or worse.

When you hear "Satanic Music," you may think of painfully loud death metal played by Malodorous Maximus and his Coven of Head-Bangers. Gilmore's "Diabolus in Musica" introduces you to the Satanic stylings various symphonic composers. If Satanism means genius struggling against the Herd, one should consider the life and works of Dmitri Shostakovich or Ludwig Von Beethoven, not some black-garbed basement-dweller. Much as LaVey found Satanic strains in the work of London, Rand, and Nietzsche, Gilmore finds Satanism in composers as diverse as Mahler, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Ol' Splitfoot couldn't ask for a better soundtrack.

Tired of websites with spinning skulls, blood-dripping text, and flashing pentagrams? You should read "Satanic Aestheticism." Realism, Surrealism, Romanticism - in the hands of the true artist, these can show you the true diabolism which is missed by those who are mired in the Usual Cliches. And if you don't get that, read "The Myth of the 'Satanic Community'" and learn how you can avoid becoming yet another misguided Marilyn Manson lookalike.

LaVey made his home in San Francisco: Gilmore resides in the gritty metropolis of New York. His "Hell of a Town" pays tribute to the Big Apple in all its dirty and dangerous glory, while offering an elegy to the homogenization that "cleaned up" Times Square. And his "I am the Light and the Way" honors the Global Village that is the Internet, giving a nod to the various online entertainments which can enlighten the epicure and keep the herd safely occupied. (LaVey envisioned Virtual Companions: while we don't yet have readily available androids, we've got no shortage of cybersex and online "communities" for every part of the Bell Curve).

*The Satanic Scriptures* doesn't just parrot the teachings of *TSB* - it develops on LaVey's philosophy and shows how to put it into practice. This, in the end, is what real Satanists do: LaVey sought collaborators, not followers and worshippers. (It's amusing to note how the man who taught that there are no gods and no gurus has been idolized as a god and guru by many, and pilloried as a failed god and guru by many others. The point, people - you're missing it entirely). If you want to understand what Satanism is, and see where the post-LaVey Church of Satan is going, this book is an ideal place to start.