Occult: Neo-Paganism and Satanism

1. Occult: Neo-Paganism and Satanism • RELS 225: Cults and New Religious Movements

2. Occult • Important: distinguish among types • Not the Middle Ages perception that all witches • Worship Satan • ritual killing • sexual orgies • diabolical acts • Traditional Christians have spread this stereotype • 4 different types of beliefs and practices

3. 1. Religion of Simple Societies • sorcery by witch doctors in pre-industrial, nontechnological societies. • Africa • South America • voodoo in Haiti • actions including: • potions as medicine, but also less palatable actions: • grave robbing • ritual killing of babies

4. 2. Neo-Paganism • pagan path familiar from The Da Vinci Code. • “white witches” • do not believe in Satan • deny intent to harm anyone • follow various traditions • Practices: • worship gods and goddesses • honor Mother Earth • participate in covens • celebrate sexuality in rituals • follow the cycles of nature for holy days

5. 3. Church of Satan • follow “the dark side” • true living involves • being self-centered • engaging in all the lusts of the flesh • Anton LaVey • founder of the Church of Satan • author of The Satanic Bible. • deny traditional Satan • Satan a metaphor for a life opposed to Christian virtues: • Peace • gentleness • Love • denies involvement in criminal acts such as satanic ritual abuse

6. 4. Satan Worshippers • Two kinds: • Non-criminal • criminal • operate as loners or in concert with a handful of others. • Some serial killers represent themselves as Satanists. • In the 1980’s common claim: 50,000 victims per year in United States. • satanic panic unsupported by FBI court invesstigations

7. Aboriginal religion • Trend in neo-paganism • Healing, shamanism • What can the sweat lodge, vision quest, way of the warrior, healing arts contribute to religion today?

8. Neo-Paganism • Variety of groups and practices • “The ancient gods are not dead; but they think we are” • Not virulently anti-Christian • Most trace back to ancient Egyptian religion • Polytheistic, yet monistic. • Not absolute unity, but not pluralistic chaos either. • Appropriate diversity (god of wisdom; god of love, etc.) • balancing of interactions (male/female; four seasons, directions, etc.) create a totality.

9. Contrast with Conventional Western Religions • Christianity & Judaism are thought to privilege will, imposing it on human nature and earth’s nature. • Neo-paganism favours imagination rather than will. • Seeks cooperation with the forces of nature, on a basis of reverence and exchange. • Christianity and Judaism are religions of history • God has a purpose, from beginning (creation) to end (paradise). • Neo-paganism celebrates what is • A religion of atmosphere instead of faith. • A cosmos constructed by the imagination • Calling up the gods from within oneself is thought to be true magic.

10. Ritual • Emphasis on the practical side of religious expression: the rite, gesture, ceremonial act. • Teaching is pale in comparison to rites. • The magical cosmos is evoked, made by acts done as if it were present. • A secondary world is created in a special time and place, far different from the outside world. • Magic circle, wand, sword, flowers, dance.

11. Relationship to other movements • In the Western tradition • Eastern yoga and meditation are thought to be too foreign for westerners • Relationship with occult • Kabbalah, Tarot cards, astrology, etc. • But use rite instead of intellectual/psychological exercise. • More concerned with human relationship with nature

12. Background • Roots in romanticism • Eliphas Levi (1810-1875) France, applied romantic feeling to magic. • Papas (1865-1916) France, founded an Order. • Some Masons (1888) founded Order of the Golden Dawn • led by S. L. MacGregorMathers. (1854-1917), who claimed occult contact with 3 “Secret Chiefs” in Paris. • Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) • expelled from the Golden Dawn • founded his own Order (ArgentinumAstrum), then joined OrdoTemplarumOrientalis (1912). • Wrote on “magick”, poet, heroin addict, exaggerator, dramatic. • “Do what you will shall be the whole of the Law” • Practiced sex magic.

13. Categories of neo-paganism • Magical groups • Influenced by Golden Dawn, Crowley • Antiquarian • Concerned with evocation • Nature groups • Romantic • Influence d by Robert Graves, White Goddess. • Concerned with celebration of existing goddesses. • Wicca • Between these two: combines ritual magic and nature-oriented neo-paganism.

14. Wicca • Aligned to nature’s cycles. • Moon, seasons. • Typically worship Horned God and Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother, and Crone). • May attempt to evoke the God and Goddess through dance, chant, gestures. • Styles of ritual in American Wicca: • Gardnerian: energetic, nude dancing • Traditional: clothed, slower-paced; homey implements • Alexandrian: adds Kabbalist-occult astrology, magic, etc.

15. Feminism • Why call themselves “witches”? • They insist the stereotypes are wrong (4:10. • They identify with women who found power outside of male-dominated religion and society. • Some could not accept a God referred to exclusively with male pronouns (“He”). • Mary Daly, Beyond God the Father • Judith Plaskow, Womanspirit Rising. • Some Wiccan groups shifted the emphasis to the Goddess, away from the Horned God. • Some groups were mainly lesbian.

16. Neo-Paganism: Summary • Variety; many trace roots to ancient Egypt; • Polytheistic, yet monistic. • favours imagination rather than will, what is rather than what should be. • Emphasis on ritual rather than teaching • Roots in romanticism, influence from Masons,Crowley, • Categories: Magical; Nature; Wicca (combination) • Wicca: nature + evoking God&Goddess; 3 main styles of ritual: Gardnerian, Traditional, Alexandrian • Feminism: “witches” were liberated women; some wiccans emphasize the Goddess rather than the Horned God. • Aboriginal religion appreciated in neo-paganism • Seek to recover a sense of wonder and respect as religious feelings toward nature.

17. Satanism • Satanism scare. Blend of: • What Satanism is • The Scare as a social phenomenon. • All cults produced social panics, but this one more than any, even though it is the most imaginary. • “A social problem” • Practices – 2 groups • Sociological studies show the problem is a constructed problem (not a self-existent one).

18. Emergence of Satanism as a Social Problem • In the 1980’s (mid to late 80’s, early 90’s peak) • Because the ACM were losing ground and attention in their battle against boring old cults. • ‘86, ’87 moved to Satanism. • Still 2 source points: • A long cultural tradition of Satanic mythology & conspiracies, going back 500 years and more. • Popular culture – • Hollywood produced self-styled Satanists (crazies, adolescent dabblers) • Legal Satanic organizations • Plus an new source in the ‘80’s – more serious: • Reports of women undergoing satanic ritual abuse (14:49) as children • “False memory syndrome”

19. Claims of Satanic Activity • ACM put adolescent reports, ritual abuse, crazies all together and generated an international Satanic conspiracy. • They claimed the victims were brainwashed so they don’t remember it. • Thousands (50000 children kidnapped every year in US & ritually sacrificed every year) or women baby factories for sacrifice. • 30 years ago, Hamilton kids reported cannibalism, eating feces, desecrating cemeteries.

20. Official Responses • At height of the scare, police forces got drawn into investigations. • FBI formed special task force – 3 years on all reports of Satanic crime in US • Found no evidence of any satanic crime ever in US. • Not even circumstantial evidence to warrant a trial. • British 16 years ago went to the leading proponent of Satanic Ritual Abuse and asked them to write a scientifically credible report and document it. • The deadline passed 4 times with no report.

21. History of Satan • Old Testament: One reference to a personified Satan. • The story of Job originally did not have the Satan prologue , which was added centuries later. • A handful of Jewish writings from the time between OT & NT. A few references to personified evil rarely called “Satan”. • New Testament: Jesus casts demons out; Devil as tempter of Christ; “Belial”, “Beelzebub”, “the evil one”

22. History of Satan • 19th Century French images by Eliphas Levi show Satan as an opponent to Christ since the dawn of time. Not true. • Where does Satan crop up? • 15th Century Catholic inquisition: wishing to persecute remnants of non-Christian pagans.

23. How bad is Satanism? • All Satanic practice is an inversion of Christianity – an act of mockery. • Most Satanists don’t want to be malevolent; they want to justify the pleasures Christianity prohibits. • This can be damaging.

24. Church of Satan • Hundreds of sites with serious info. • Many fewer by well-organized Satanists. • They’ll refer to The Church of Satan • Founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey (8:22) • Black cape, goatee, red. • Black panther on a chain. Called a press conference to open it. A publicity grab. • Founded it as a profession. • Had been: musician, lover of Marilyn Munroe, circus worker, college course, crime photographer, saw hypocrisy of Christian culture.

25. Church of Satan, continued. • 1969: published the Satanic Bible. – paperback, Ballantyne books. Sells several 100,000 copies per year. • A series of statements and doctrines: • Indulgence, vital existence, undefiled wisdom, kindness to those who deserve it, vengeance, responsibility to the responsible, man is another animal, sins of physical or mental gratification kept church in business. • LaVey disbanded it, but it’s been reconstituted. • He lost most of his money, got fat, & tried to eke out an existence. Died in 1998.

26. Temple of Set • Came out of Church of Satan. 1975. Exclusive. 500 members. • The model for Satan as an entity is the Egyptian god Set. • By a protégé: Michael Aquino – completely different character. • Disgusted by LaVey’s clown antics. • Born 1946. Aquino is still a member, but high priest is now Patricia Hardy. • Aquino has PhD in psychology from U. California. Lieut. Colonel in US army. Teaching psychological ops, intelligence, foreign relations, many honours as a soldier.

27. Temple of Set, cont’d • The Book of Coming Forth By Night • Founding Charter of Temple of Set. • The god Set has been involved in history for centuries and seeking a new enhanced human species. • Practices greater black magic (to create the awakening of powers within). • Repudiates lesser black magic (curses) as beneath people in his group. • They all abide by laws.

28. Satanism as a Social Phenomenon • Randy Lippert, Canadian sociologist • “Construction of Satanism as a Social Problem in Canada” CJS 1990. • Jeff Victor, Dynamics in Satanism Scare, 1992.

29. Rumour panics • data collected on 31 rumour panics in US 1984-1989. • Also, 1989 Lethbridge panic. • Reminiscent of War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells’ novel narrated by Orson Welles): Mars invades earth, done as a news cast. • All 31 had the following characteristics: • Trigger event: discovery of graffiti, vandalism, mutilated animals, teenage suicides (3 in Lethbridge) • People keep children home from school, others rush to sites of Satanism • Police inundated with calls (cat gone, graffiti, strange neighbour behaviour) • Newspaper reported: here are pictures of what to look for. • Public meetings – educational, calls to action. • Churches hold special classes, bring in outside “experts” • Attacks on unconventional members of society (old ladies in dilapidated house).

30. Media reports it all • Bandwagon effect. Report it because everyone else is doing so. • Lippert reports: New reports in 1980’s: all in Canada. • 100’s of discussions of Calgary RCMP report on the number of Satanists in Calgary • Back-pedalled it to one single RCMP constable taking a course, in his paper, he guessed at the number. • Lippert: Who benefits from making the claims? Local Police, Child Welfare, Media, also psychological professionals, ACM, church leaders. • Victor: Why are others receptive to them? Every panic happened in small towns in decline: • suicide, alcohol abuse, etc., higher in rural areas.