The Satanic Witch (Paperback)

by Anton Szandor Lavey (Author) "WE ARE LIVING in the only period in history in which it is considered fashionable to be a witch..." (more)
Key Phrases: compleat witch, competent witch, synthesizer clock, Miss Desperate, Forbidden Fruit, Majority Self (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This is the classic guide to using and interpreting the black arts for seduction and manipulation. This new updated and expanded edition fills readers in on the final days of LaVey and the latest from the Church of Satan, and includes a new introduction by the church’s current leader. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Feral House (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: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #583,583 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You can't judge a book by its cover, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

(...)

Forget the title. Forget the inverted pentagram on the front. Forget the hoakey Halloween coloring of the outside. Now, what's the CONTENT of this book all about? You're buying the WRONG book IF you're searching for literature on spell casting, devil worship, cults, the supernatural, metaphysics, soul selling, or even descriptions of Satanism.

But what you WILL find in this book is researched (the bibliography is HUGE) and refined, applicable manipulation techniques. Nothing "magick" or "supernatural"- it's all psychological. But it works!

The book ultimately teaches how to "read" people, and how to use that information to your own advantage. LaVey mentions that "psychics" don't actually have supernatural powers but rather do great "people reading"- making very close observations of posture, clothing, speech, etc. and using that to make accurate guesses as to what their life is like.

This is book was mostly written for women (though despite being a man, I still found use for the "people reading" techniques). The main focus is on how a woman can use the fact she's a woman to her advantage. And that doesn't always mean being sexually seductive.

In fact, being a man, this book practically _scared_ me when I realized just how much power a woman CAN have. 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 (if they truly don't rule already). But again, despite being for female-applicable, men too can get something out of the book.

Oh yeah, and if you think I'm some brainwashed lying cult member and thus don't believe me- go ahead and read (or even skim through) the book yourself!

21 of 23 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)

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".

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Ms. Kl O'shea "the_bad_blood" (Bristol UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.