Commies and vampires and Satanists, oh my!  I’ll be answering some questions from listeners about Satanism and communism, as well as questions about Temple of the Vampire. And in answering these, first explaining the difference between Church of Satan policy, and personal opinions of Church of Satan members. Also, a reminder that explaining what Satanism is and isn’t, is NOT the same thing as telling you how to live your life.

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Magister Bill M. here with Satansplain. When it comes to the sub-topics that I talk about on this show, or answering the questions I get from listeners, I find that sometimes there’s both a short answer and a long answer. And, time permitting, I think it’s good to present both. It’s good to have a short answer that answers the question directly. But sometimes that short answer can be easily misinterpreted, or perhaps it does answer the question, but the answer is so short that it brings up MORE questions than it answers. So…trying to find that balance between being direct and being thorough is a challenge I find myself having when I create new episodes of Satansplain. It can be a lot to take in, so I also try to make it all easier to take in by splitting parts into chapters at certain timestamps, and putting a break in between, and all that. So, as with every Satansplain episode, feel free to skip around, but I do think you’ll get more out of this episode if you give it at least one full listen from beginning to end.

Erotic Crystallization Inertia and The Combination Lock Principle. Two of the many Satanic concepts which Anton LaVey wrote about in his essay collection, The Devil’s Notebook. 

We’ll learn about these two concepts and their importance to Satanism on this episode of Satansplain.

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Magister Bill M. here with Satansplain.

I got a message from Randy. He asked about the Combination Lock Principle. This is a concept on which there is an essay in The Devil’s Notebook, a collection of essays from Anton LaVey. And Randy says he’s still not entirely sure what this principle is. He asks, is it preparation for best results of any given situation? And my answer to him was no, that’s not really what it is. I gave him a short explanation of the concept in my own words, but I figured this was a topic worth delving into on Satansplain. 

There is however an ADDITIONAL Satanic concept I’d like to cover today, called Erotic Crystallization Inertia, or “ECI” for short. And like the Combination Lock Principle, there is an entire essay on this found in the same book. While these two Satanic concepts are not exactly the same thing, I do think there is a bit of overlap.

First, for any of you who are relatively new to Satanism, let’s talk a little more about this book. Anton Szandor LaVey founded the Church of Satan in 1966. He had done plenty of lectures and interviews on Satanism, and published essays and newsletters, but it was in 1969 that he formalized those concepts further and published The Satanic Bible. And this book is still the ultimate go-to source for Satanism. It’s not that we view The Satanic Bible in the same exact way that the Christians view the Holy Bible or Muslims view the Koran, where we think our book was dictated to Anton LaVey by a literal deity or such nonsense like that. We don’t believe in deities. In Satanism, Satan is a concept and a mascot, not a real supernatural deity. So no, the reason why The Satanic Bible is the go-to source for Satanism is because it’s the definitive work written by the man who organized and formulated the actual religion of Satanism in the first place. It’s the book directly explaining what Satanism is and isn’t, and has resources for Satanists on for example how to ritualize. Because Satanism is indeed a religion, and like any religion, it has not only a philosophy but also rituals to express that philosophy in a theatrical and emotional way. 

Contrary to what Christian propaganda claims, animal sacrifice is NOT part of Satanism. We’ll explore rule number 10 of the 11 Satanic Rules of the Earth and what it means for Satanists in this episode of Satansplain.

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Magister Bill M. here with Satansplain. At the time of this recording, it is the week of Thanksgiving, 2024. As with any cultural holiday, it’s up to the individual Satanist to decide what holidays they want to celebrate, and how. Personally, I love Thanksgiving. I’m a life-long New Englander, so it’s always been part of my family celebrations. In the previous episode of Satansplain I talked a little bit about the so-called seven deadly sins, and talked in particular about two of them, anger and envy. But when it comes to Thanksgiving, two OTHER sins of the seven come to mind: gluttony and sloth. So I shamelessly celebrate both of those in my celebration of Thanksgiving. As for the remaining 3 sins, there is lust of course, which I think I covered well in Satansplain episode number sixty-nine. Yes, I took advantage of that episode number for that topic. So maybe we’ll do episodes on pride and greed in the future. We’ll see.