The Satanic Witch [Paperback]

Anton Szandor Lavey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1989

Undiluted Gypsy lore regarding the forbidden knowledge of seduction and manipulation.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Feral House; Sixth printing edition (August 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0922915008
• ISBN-13: 978-0922915002
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You can't always judge a book by its cover. People, however..., July 8, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Satanic Witch (Paperback)

When it comes to the works of Anton LaVey, many book "reviews" seem to be done by people who didn't bother to read the book beyond the front cover, and/or just want to regurgitate some rant that has nothing to do with the book contents (e.g. bashing the author himself, defending Wicca and claiming ownership of the word "witch", babbling a Jack Chick-style Jesus rant, etc.). So instead, here's a review about the book, from somebody who's actually read the book.

For the moment, let's forget the book's title, the inverted pentagram on the front cover, and the Halloween coloring used in earlier editions, and get right to the question: what's the CONTENT of this book all about? If you're searching for literature on spell-casting, devil worship, cults, the supernatural, soul selling, or even descriptions of Satanism itself, then this isn't the book you're looking for.

What you will find however is researched (the bibliography is HUGE), refined, applicable techniques on the manipulation of people. In "The Satanic Bible", LaVey calls this art of manipulation "lesser magic"; this book is an expansion on that topic. There's nothing inherently "magick" or "supernatural" about it. One could say that a lot of it just comes down to psychology. But in my experience, it works! I found the contents invaluable in not only things like job interviews, but my own lucrative moonlighting career doing readings as a self-proclaimed psychic.

The book ultimately teaches how to read people, and how to use that information to your own advantage. LaVey mentions that self-proclaimed psychics don't actually have supernatural powers but rather do great people-reading whether they're consciously aware of it or not. This comes through picking up cues on body posture, clothing, speech, etc., and using that to make rather accurate guesses as to what their life is like. And this was published years before James Randi was debunking people like Uri Geller on TV. But while LaVey doesn't take the mystical approach, he doesn't dismiss it all as useless either.

As the title suggests, this is book was mostly written for women. The main focus is on how a woman can use the fact she's a woman to her advantage. And no, that doesn't always mean being sexually seductive. Though I've seen to many would-be warlocks who mistakenly dismiss this book as being strictly only for women. Being a man myself, I still find a lot of ways to apply the book techniques, especially the Synthesizer Clock.

In fact, being a man, this book practically scared me when I realized just how much power a woman CAN secretly wield. In a way, I'm glad the book has a title blasphemous enough to turn-off the average person, because if every woman used this book, they'd completely rule the world overnight (assuming they truly don't rule it already). But again, despite being for female-applicable, men too can get something out of the book.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Empowerment and Hussydom, June 25, 2004

By 

Ms. Keri "the_bad_blood" (York UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Satanic Witch (Paperback)

LaVey's 'The Satanic Witch' was published at a time in the twentieth century when femininity seemed about to be frogmarched off the map and relegated, as something archaic and downright repressed, to the annals of history. Before such a shift occurred, LaVey penned this witty, charming and informative defence in praise of beauty, glamour and 'loose women' the world over. Power, he declares, comes from a recognition and enjoyment of traditional gender roles. Not a message particlarly palatable to bra-burners or to LaVey's contemporary 'good' witches. However, and despite initial misgivings expressed by some of my my fellow reviewers here and elsewhere, this book is remarkably and refreshingly pro-woman. It debunks popular Wiccan texts that suggest certain propensities for magical ability. Hell, in LaVey's world, all women - regardless of star sign, parentage or innate mystique - have the ability to influence the world around them. It is elitist not in the sense that only rare and gifted individuals stand a chance, but in that self-awareness and good old-fashioned guile can get you where you want to be.

So how does it work? LaVey suggests a self-reflexive assessment of one's physical appearance and mental qualities, which he classifies and situates on a so-called Synthesiser Clock. This is key to an understanding of one's self and others. In order to bewitch a man, one must operate as the opposite of his Apparent self, that is, his obvious physical and mental characteristics. A rugged, masculine twelve o'clock will respond most favourably, then, to a feminine, curvaceous six o'clock, with a whole multitude of nuances between. If nothing else, this establishes a deeper understanding of the attributes of self and others. This seems to have been LaVey's intention: if true manipulation depends upon an in-depth knowledge of people, then the Synthesiser Clock establishes a precedent for this. A minor quibble with this ingenious although perhaps outlandish system would be that LaVey depends heavily upon personal experience, and wants his readers to trust his inferences about the different skills, likes, dislikes etc. of people at different positions on the clock. Sticklers for referencing will be furious. I must admit to a few irate moments myself during this section of the book: the advice is to just go with it, and enjoy the ride. If you are prepared to give credit to the author, a valuable dose of self-aggrandisement will be duly delivered.

Once you have established your place on the clock, LaVey teaches the now arcane arts of seduction. He is as meticulous on the perfection of these arts as you might expect an articulate carny with a penchant for the ladies to be! Be prepared for LaVey's characteristically bawdy and punchy rhetoric. An enjoyable experience, and not an homage to the Moon Goddess in sight. LaVey discusses the subtleties of hair colour, posture, dress, voice and attitude. All of these need to be considered in the art of witchery. But here we come to minor quibble number two: LaVey establishes the 1940s woman as the archetype, with her three-inch heels, seamed stockings and figure-hugging dresses. Whilst this is undoubtedly a bewitching and timeless image, it is nonetheless a product of LaVey's own E.C.I. (Erotic Crystallisation Inertia, where erotic tastes become 'fixed' as one's ideal at a relatively young age). As a young man of this era, it is understandable that LaVey saw, desired and preferred this type of woman. However, other generations may just as well have preferred other styles as ideals of their own, regardless of whether or not they conformed to the particular penchants of another person. Fetishes are multifarious!

However, the minor issues I've raised with this text do not detract from this book's overall positivity and influence. Read this, enjoy the tongue-in-cheek sections as just that, and feel instantly empowered! A book that embraces all women for being women, and doesn't beat us up for our inability to act male.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some damn good advice....witchery wise., February 23, 2000

By 

H. Powell "hlp2" (Reynoldsburg, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Satanic Witch (Paperback)

So THAT'S how you wenches do it.... Doctor LaVey definitely did his research for this one. This book contains perhaps THE best methods you can use to enthrall that perfect someone (forget about Cosmopolitan)....IF you're a woman. I gave this book four stars instead of five because I think ol' Anton should have given us poor dudes a little more coverage...WHAT WILL WORK FOR US? Sure, with a bit of work you can employ the principles herein from a male perspective, but some explicit advice for the Satyrs' sake would have been appreciated (after all, LaVey WAS a man who was quite successful with the gals...why did he keep his personal methods a secret?) LaVey's most captivating (but entirely believable) concept is that of the "whole person" and the Law Of Opposites; two people who are totally different from one another are attracted to each other because together they form the perfect human being (for example: a scrawny but highly intelligent man is attracted to a muscular and aggresive woman with little taste for the ol' "book learnin'" or a beautiful girl from a poor family falls madly in love with the toady multi-millionaire). LaVey's "clock" of personality/physical types (and their corresponding opposites) is very helpful. I regret that LaVey never wrote a "Satanic Warlock" to be published as part 2 of the Satanic Witch under the collective title of "The Complete Satanist"....it would have been a grand supplement to the "Satanic Bible".