To: alt.pagan,alt.religion.all-worlds
From: tyagi mordred nagasiva <tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com>
Subject: Re: Views on Satanism: Neopagan (LONG Review of CAW doc)
Summary: This is one of a series of docs examining the Neopagan perspective 
	 on Satanism.  This particular review is of a publication by the 
	 Church of All Worlds.
Keywords: Satanism, Neopaganism, criticism, review
Date: Kali Yuga 49940927

*** 5 of 5 ***

Do what thou wilt.

What follows is a critical review of a document I found in a publication 
distributed by the Church of All Worlds (CAW).  It is somewhat 
representative of the common Neopagan attitude toward Satanists and Satanism.  
This will be a multiple-part series which also examines the meaning of 
'Satan' and 'Satanism' to Christians of various types and to those who 
apply the term to themselves (or until recently did so).

tyagi nagasiva
tyagi@houseofKaos.Abyss.com

The Order of K@s Under Satan (TOKUS)
___________________________________________________________________

Section 1.5 : Neopagans => Church of All Worlds


From:
 
|_Witchcraft, Satanism and Occult Crime: Who's Who and What's What_
| A Manual of Reference Materials for the Professional Investigator.
| (Fourth Edition - October 1991)
|
|Edited by Otter G'Zell, Church of All Worlds


Article:

|'The Earth Religion Anti-Abuse Resolution'
|[much omitted]

|Two disturbing trends that have been growing in the United States -
|1) that there has been a rise in violent criminal activity with Satanic
|ritualistic overtones.....This final version now continues to be reprinted
|and circulated to help clarify the fact that Witches and Pagans are not
|Satanists and do not engage in abusive or criminal activities....

|We neither acknowledge nor worship the Christian devil, "Satan," who
|is not in our Pagan pantheons....

The Neopagans run from the label 'Satanist'.

----------------

|[Letter]
|Central Office
|Multiple Personality Dignity
|Loved Ones of Multiples (LOOM)
|...
|It has come to my attention that some fundamentalists and therapists are
|exploiting Multiple Personality Disorder (M.P.D.) for unethical purposes.
|Such exploitation includes:
|* labeling almost every anxiety as M.P.D.
|* labeling almost every abuse as "Satanic abuse"

Here we have one of the first lukewarm refutations of the 'Satanic abuse'
scare.  This from an official in the psychological community.  Why haven't
these items (combined with Frew's article) carried through toward eliminating
the more ridiculous 'Survivor' literature?


|* instructing law enforcement officers to label almost every unusual crime
|	"Satanic crime"
|* confusing all minority religions (especially Wicca) with Satanism
|* declaring that M.P.D. is proof of a worldwide Satanic conspiracy (sometimes
|	fundamentalists declare that there is a worldwide conspiracy of
|	Jews, Catholics or others who have religious beliefs different
|	from the fundamentalists)

Finally someone also notices the frequent 'conspiracy' mindset.  The 
fundamentalist Christian gives away their ignorance through grouping 
the Catholics, Jews and Satanists together and the fundamentalist 
Neopagan gives away theirs by grouping Satanists, ritual abusers and 
anti-Christians.


|...
|* having therapy conferences only about abusers who are Satanists and
|	ignoring the vast majority of North American abusers who are
|	Christians
|...
|The people who _accept_ this propaganda might react in ways that may harm
|survivors.  These reactions include:
|* less belief of the majority of survivors whose abusers were not Satanists
|...
|_Even_ people who _reject_ this propaganda might react in ways that may
|harm survivors.  These reactions include:
|* less belief of the minority of survivors whose abusers actually were
|	Satanists
|...
|As MPDignity/LOOM participants, personal recovery and recovery of others
|are helped when we:
|* respect the self-descriptions of survivors whose abusers actually
|	were Satanists
|* respect the self-descriptions of survivors whose abusers were not
|	Satanists
|...
|Dr. Cindee Grace, founder

All in all a fairly balanced overview, though even Dr. Grace appears to
maintain that there *are* 'Satanic ritual abuse victims', perhaps with 
the caveat that there are 'Christian ritual abuse victims' and 'Neopagan 
ritual abuse victims', though she doesn't really emphasize this point 
very carefully.

-----------------

|[Letter]
|Sandi Daly Gallant

Who?  No references!  Why should we listen to this person?


|...
|Position on Ritualistic Crimes
|...
|As a clearer understanding of the differences between Paganism, Witchcraft
|and Satanism came forth, however, not only were the differences in ritual
|practice observed, but the symbolism attached to the various beliefs were
|more clearly defined.  Over the past several years, when conducting training
|sessions, I have gone to great efforts to describe the differences so that
|similar mistakes will not be made.  At the same time, I have come to look at
|this field as an area of study that needs to be approached from a case-by-case
|basis, as individuals who incorporate various belief systems into criminal
|activity tend, very often, to combine aspects of various faiths, misinterpret
|symbolism, create their own symbolism, and pervert the religions to fit their
|needs.

Note the focus in the paragraph above on *belief*.  I've come to associate
this with the JCI (Judeo-Christian-Islamic) complex rather directly, since
many Neopagans (aside from those who've sullied the resurgent movement) also
find a need to escape doctrine and dogma.

It is important that, here and below, this author places the focus on the 
criminal activities of ECLECTIC individuals, who are already liable to endure 
scrutiny and bigotry from the groups among which they walk.  She does them 
a disservice as she implicates them as 'Satanic' and 'criminal' here.


|Neo-Pagans, in the traditional sense, worship nature.  Their symbolism
|represents man in harmony with nature.  Satanism, in the traditional sense,
|is a worship of ones-self, and the Prince of Darkness, in various forms.

A wonderful distinction which may indeed describe the entire difference
between the Neopagan and Satanic mind.  Neopagans worship nature, Satanists
worship themselves.  Why cannot oneself be identified with 'nature'?  Is
the Neopagan necessarily exempt from narcissistic focus?  American culture
doesn't seem to reflect this claim.  Or is it that the puritanical 'self is
not in nature' paradigm flowing over into the Neopagan mindset?


|Much of its symbolism is created to cause distress and a gap between man
|and nature, with man being the ruling force.  

This is a fascinating claim.  I wonder how accurate it is, however.  Is
the intent a separation of nature and man or a resoluton through conflict
(or through placing the existing conflict in the *foreground*)?


|Although there are certainly
|exceptions to every rule, traditionalists will not usually cross the line
|and mix these belief systems together.  Dabblers, on the other hand,
|constantly blend the faiths.  The majority of criminal acts of a ritual
|nature appear, at this time, to be conducted by dabblers or adolescents
|who don't understand the basic differences in the belief systems or the
|symbols, and only use them to further their own desires or needs.  

Here again we are told that the criminals blend, existing between the
orthodoxies, within the 'evil heterodox zone'.  My impression is that it
isn't so much a true blend of traditions to which she is pointing but to
a shallow grasping at alternatives to the oppressive establishment within
which these delinquents find themselves.


|To my
|knowledge, no evidence currently exits establishing that organized
|Pagan or Satanic _groups_ have been involved in criminal activity.  This
|is not to say that certain _individuals_ associated with such groups have
|not committed crimes.  Certainly, within my own Christian faith, there have
                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|been many _individuals_ who have perversely interpreted their belief in
|God and used it to justify criminal behavior; however, no theory of criminal
|conspiracy in this area has been proven.
|...

Unfortunately self-explanatory.


|Sandi Daly Gallant [signed]

WHO??

---------------

|[Letter]
|School of Religion
|University of Southern California [USC]
|....

Now we're getting closer to some substance (aren't we?).


|STATEMENT ON SATANISM AND NEO-PAGANISM
|
|I am Director of the School of Religion of the University of Southern
|California, Professor of the History of Religion, and author (now co-author)
|with Harry Partin) of _Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America_, a
|now-updated textbook in this area for more than fifteen years.  In these
|capacities I have had numerous occasions to investigate both Satanism
|and the Neo-Pagan movement, including modern Wicca or Witchcraft.  

Yes, but what *did* his investigations include?  What 'Satanism' did
Robert S. Ellwood look at?  Does anyone recognize the name?  Has anyone
read his book?  References?


|I can assure all concerned that they are quite different, and that 
|Neo-Paganism is entirely benign in concept and generally in practice.  

This is an echo of what the Zells hope to portray.  To a certain
extent I can't help but feel that they sell out their religion by
so doing, in that it takes the bite out of any ecological challenge
which they may support against the State, and any self-respecting
'nature-worshipper' would not wish to cut off this 'nonbenign' avenue.


|To be sure, all
|religions, like any human activity, will sometimes attract sociopathic
|persons and occasionally they will even find their way into positions of
|leadership.  But this is far more likely to happen in Satanism than Paganism
|because that path, with its overtones of rebellion against God and all that
|most people find decent and good, will draw those who share that rage.  It
|also makes a strong appeal to ego and the lust for power on all levels,
|offering power in exchange for submission and sometimes the committing
|of unspeakable acts.  Even though some Satanic groups are not criminal,
|they still quite openly center their practice on ego-enhancement,
|interpreted as gaining power and gratification.

Here Ellwood makes a *very* important point, one which could have been made
previously if any had taken the time to analyze the characteristics of
Neopaganism and Satanism in their particulars.  It does indeed seem that
if either are to be associated with rebellion and criminality, Satanism, by
virtue of its focus upon adolescence, anarchy and lust, would be more prone
to attract the sociopaths of a community.  But is this really true?  OR is
it more likely that the 'humble' extremes of a Jones or Koresh would be more
likely to result in travesty?


|...
|Any refusal to distinguish between Satanists and Neo-Pagans is irresponsible
|and essentially dishonest thinking based on prejudice against certain types
|of religious activity rather than sincere investigation and commitment to
|truth.  It could give rise to the horrors of the witch-hunts of old once again.
|It must be shunned -- like the devil.
|
|Respectfully,
|[signed]
|Robert S. Ellwood

Here, sadly, are words of ignorance uttered by an academe.  Even if there is
an absolute difference between Satanists and Neopagans, hasn't he learned
the lesson taught by the Devil, that the energy shunned rebounds in ferocity?

-----------------------

|[Letter]
|Joan Christianson
|SURVIVOR
|...
|STATEMENT ON PAGANS, SATANISTS, AND RITUAL ABUSE
|
|My name is Joan Christianson, and I am a Ritual Abuse Survivor.  I was raised
|in a family that for generations had been practicing Satanism... the worship
|of Satan.  I was raised in a family where abuse was the norm: physical abuse,
|emotional abuse and psychological abuse.
|
|[Much therapy-abuse Survivor rant omitted.]
|
|Sincerely,
|[signed]
|Joan Christianson

This is an unfortunate case.  I am not convinced that her words speak
of Satanism in any manner.  She certainly does not care to elaborate
upon why she calls it 'Satanism'.

------------------

|[Letter]
|RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT RESOURCES CENTER
|... Hal Mansfield, Director
|
|SPECIAL REPORT ON WICCA (WITCHCRAFT) AND PAGANISM
|... 
|The few links [to cult-related crime] are in the adolescent "Do-it-yourself"
|covens in which kids beg, borrow and steal from all sorts of belief systems,
|books, movies, etc.  For more information on this, we would refer you to our
|discussion paper: "Pseudo-Satanism in School Systems Today."  The other
|area is involving an individual's own pathological behavior.  Almost all
|these persons call themselves Satanists.  Satanism, whether it's a made-up
|system by individuals, an organized group, or a destructive cult, is not
|Wicca or Paganism!  There is little similarity between them.
|...
|A Service of United Campus Ministry at Colorado State University

Here we continue to see eclecticism equated with malignance.  Is it so soon
that we shall turn away the 'solitary witches' whose practices shall lean
heavily upon 'all sorts of belief systems', flowing like water through the
world and possessing the compassion of the tree, the grief of the stream,
the anger of the volcano?

----------------

|[Letter]
|THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN RELIGION
|...
|Dr. J. Gordon Melton, Director
|
|STATEMENT ON NEO-PAGANISM AND CONTEMPORARY SATANISM
|
|...
|Faced with a lack of evidence, in all too many cases, fingers have been
|pointed to the relatively visible Neo-Pagan Wicca community as the
|source of Satanic activity from the child abuse to the sacrifice of babies.
|These accusations have, to say the least been a matter of pain and
|confusion among Pagans and Wiccans who do not even acknowledge the
|existence of Satan, the Christian anti-deity.

An interesting commentary and support for the Zell assertion: 'anti-deity'.


|While mistaking the peaceful, nature-loving and life-affirming Pagan
|community as Satanists may be understandable and forgiven when made
|by someone fresh to the issues, it is inexcusable when made by seasoned
|professionals, be they journalists, police offices, church leaders, or
|psychologists.  It quickly becomes purely and simply a vicious example
|of religious bigotry, not to mention an invasion of individuals' civil
|liberties.
|
|Whatever the truth or fantasy behind the current claims of Satanic
|activity, I call upon all who would venture into that area of concern
|to refrain from turning it into an excuse for attacking innocent
|people wh have found their religious home in the Neo-Pagan vision of
|Nature and the worship of the Earth Mother.
|
|[signed]
|J. Gordon Melton...
|
|THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN RELIGIONS

When it comes closer to the authorities in the Ivory Towers of law and
religion, so the teeth are taken out of the 'claims of Satanic activity'.
It is perhaps strange that the 'Encyclopedia of American Religions'
would associate 'attacking innocent people' with any particular religious
sect.  Is Satanism simply the brutish and repressed shadow of the dominant
religion in Western culture?  Surely many Satanists (some quite eloquent)
would not agree.  To whom shall we listen?

-------------------

|Resources and References --
|
|...
|Recommended Reading:
|
|The following books and papers are recommended for further study and research:
|
|_Contemporary Satanism_
|Carlson, Shawn and Larue, Gerald, "Satanism in America;" The Committee for
|	Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER), Univ. of Cal, Los Angeles,
|	Oct. 31, 1988.

Interesting publication date. :>


|Clifton, Chas S., "The Three Faces of Satan: A Close Look at the Satanism
|	Scare;" 'Gnosis', No. 12, Summer 1989.  (Available from Box 14217
|	San Francisco, CA 94114.  $4.00)
|Melton, J. Gordon, "The Evidence of Satan in Contemporary America: A Survey;"
|	A paper presented at the meeting of the Pacific Division of the
|	American Philosophical Ass'n, Los Angeles, Mar. 27, 1986.  (From
|	ISAR, POB 90709, Santa Barbara, CA 93190)

These appear to be some very valuable resources, though as I have not yet
perused them I cannot be sure of their quality.


|...
|Satanic Organizations (US only)
|Church of Satan, Box 666, Whitehall, PA 18052; Box 210082, San Francisco,
|	CA, 94121.
|Temple of Set, Box 4507, St. Louis, MO 63108; Box 470307, San Francisco,
|	CA 94147.

With these we are familiar, though their PA and MO addresses are not
broadly advertized that I've seen.


|Temple on Dieties [sic], Box 4546, Miami, FL 33014.

What??


|Ravenschool, Box 321, Meredosia, IL 62665.

I've not heard of this either.


|'The Black Flame', Box 499, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101
|	(4 issues for $12)

This I've heard of previously, and it does appear to be Satanist in scope.

--------------------------

|A Few Magickal [sic] and Occult Signs and Symbols
|[much, including the symbols themselves, omitted.]
|
|[cross with cross-bar below mid-point of vertical]
|Inverted Cross - Generic symbol of Satanism.  Represents the antithesis
|of all that Christianity stands for.

What *does* Christianity stand for, precisely, and what would a tradition 
look like which represented its antithesis?


|[right hand, thumb under bent ring and middle fingers]
|Horned God - Represents the Horned God of Witchcraft; Pan or Cernunnos
|(Hunting sign)
|
|[left hand, thumb bent over bent ring and middle fingers]
|Satanic Salute - May represent the Devil.  Pointed at someone, it is
|used to convey a curse or to ward off harm.

Notice the significance of the right and left hand-associations.
Again the 'Satanic' element is *either* 'positive' or 'negative' in
scope.  Just like the 'inverted pentagram'.


|[point-down pentagram with goat-head inset]
|Baphomet - Goat's head inside an inverted pentagram, combining two
|basic Satanic symbols.  (Also used by some Witches to represent the
|Horned God.)
|
|[circle with point-down pentagram]
|Inverted Pentagram - Within a circle, a primary symbol of Satanism,
|representing the antithesis of all that Witchcraft stands for.
|(Some traditional Witches may also use the inverted pentagram to
|indicate the Horned God.)

How shall we determine when they are Witches and when they are Satanists
if they use the same symbols at certain times?  Why do Witches sometimes
use a symbol which is 'the antithesis of all that Witchcraft stands for'?
I suspect a shallow mind.


|[double horizontal bars atop a leminiscate]
|Church of Satan - Symbol displayed in _The Satanic Bible_ above
|"The 9 Satanic Statements."

Yes, but where did it come from prior to _The Satanic Bible_?
Certainly it is phallic, and perhaps kundalinisque. 


Summary:

All told, I found quite a jumble of different perspectives on Satanism
within this document, the larger number of them critical of Satan as
Christian and Satanism as dedicated to violence.  I was consistently
left with the feeling that this was as much propaganda as Christian
fundamentalists were dealing out; that this was a shield, a redirection,
set to cast the rabid dogma upon the heels of the new Satanic organiza-
tions and individuals who appear to have the strength to outlive their 
baying chase, yet I suspect that they will not soon forget the dastardly 
deed dealt them.

=================================================================

This review was originally transmitted to alt.satanism, 
alt.religion.all-worlds, alt.pagan, talk.religion.misc, and sent email 
to Green Egg.  :>  

I intend no hard feelings on any count, even while my criticism may be 
rather terse.  I intend to hit fairly and hard the expressions of all
who say something about Satanism, from Neopagans to Christians to the
those who use the term 'Satanist' to describe themselves, and do not
assume that I have the last word on the matter.

As usual, I encourage response to and debate with my review.

(C) 1994
tyagi nagasiva
tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
TOKUS
EOF
