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anton lavey by Alex Burns (alex@disinfo.com) - July 22, 2001 |
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| Anton Szandor LaVey (1930-1997) was a notorious figure of the 1960s Counter-culture, who influenced the societal Symbolic Balance of that turbulent period as flamboyant High Priest of the Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible (1969). Drawing upon the earlier work of Wilhelm Reich, Ayn Rand, Ragnar Redbeard, and Aleister Crowley, LaVey codified Satanism (also referred to as the Left Hand Path or LHP) into a contemporary artificial mythology of grandeur, subtlety, and precision. Applying Occam's Razor to the occult field, LaVey developed startling, effective rituals and Ordeals of Change for individual conscious evolution. His research into the 'extremes of cultural information' yielded early applications of William Mortenson's Command To Look, the Law of the Trapezoid, Erotic Crystallization Intertia, genetic memory, and memetic engineering, as well as fundamental insights into the nature of the human psyche and sexuality (recently verified by cutting edge evolutionary psychology research). In June 1975 a bitter schism occurred within the Church of Satan when high-ranking members of the Priesthood of Mendes resigned (subsequently founding the Temple of Set), claiming that LaVey had redesigned the organization as a vehicle for personal exploitation. LaVey subsequently retreated into decadent nostalgia worthy of Ambrose Bierce and H.L. Mencken. He was conspicuously absent from public debates regarding the Satanic Ritual Abuse rumour panic cycle. By then, the Satanic scene had become a haven for "misanthropes, neo-nazis, homophobes, and the fashion-challenged" (Paul Valentine). LaVey achieved further notoriety through a series of bankruptcy and divorce court cases; the public regeneration of his work by new disciples; the publishing of new material spearheaded by Adam Parfrey; and the multimedia career of Marilyn Manson. LaVey's celebrity was largely due to a meticulously created personal mythology that was disseminated through four subsequent books, carefully orchestrated media interviews, and two biographies. As social historians begin to objectively study LaVey's enduring legacy, the Black Pope's human all-too-human nature is gradually being publicly revealed. "I don't want the legend to disappear,' LaVey anxiously told Rolling Stone journalist Lawrence Wright in 1991. "There is a danger you will disenchant a lot of young people who use me as a role model." Many of LaVey's concepts and insights have spread through the New Age and Human Potential movements in watered down forms. His aesthetics and apocalyptic worldview have both overtly and covertly influenced music, politics, fashion, film, entertainment, and other manifestations of late Twentieth Century popular culture. The growing proliferation of web-sites promoting LaVeyan Satanism is a testament to the enduring magical and cultural legacy of Anton Szandor LaVey. Peter Gilmore (High Priest) and Blanche Barton (High Priestess) are now at the helm of the Church of Satan. Disclosure: The dossier's author was affiliated with the Temple of Set (June 1996 – April 1998). The views expressed above represent the writer and not necessarily those of The Disinformation Company Ltd. |
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The Church of Satan Where The Wild Things Are Feral House Publications Darkside of the Web Anton LaVey's FBI File Coopstuff.com Purging Talon Publications Has The Church of Satan Gone to Hell? Occult Institute of Technology Order of the Trapezoid First Church of Satan Hr. Vad's Homepage on Satanism The 600 Club The Satanic Network Necronomi.com The First Satanic Church Anton LaVey Diaboli.com Maledicta Books and Supplies Herbert's Dark Corner of the Web Reverend Steven Johnson Leyba Satanism 101 Chat With Satan Satanism: Not Just For Breakfast Anymore The Alien Elite The Church of Satan, Pez, And Jolt Unholy Hunger |
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