Anton Sandor LaVey
Satanic bible
Foreword by publishers
We are delighted to finally present the second, revised and expanded edition of the immortal creation of Anton Sandor LaVey. We admit that it comes out not only because the first one has become a bestseller without any promotion, but also because we consider ourselves obliged to correct mistakes made both through our and not through our fault. Unfortunately, the first edition was made in a terrible hurry, so the translation of individual chapters was entrusted to a person far from black magic and the concepts that LaVey uses in his worldview. This resulted in egregious mistakes, which, unfortunately, were noticed by us only after the book was published. We apologize for the annoying shortcomings of the first edition and assure that in the second we did everything in our power to convey to you in an undistorted form the philosophy of the Black Pope. We hope that this will serve to attract even more true followers of the Left Path Movement into our ranks. Simultaneously with the foundational work of modern Satanism, we are releasing Satanic Rituals, the book our magicians have been waiting for. Together with The Devil's Notebook, they constitute a kind of trilogy - the legacy of thirty years of experience in applying Satanic principles. Now this legacy is available to the Russian reader. It remains for him to implement it. Good luck in your work. A world without end. Ave Satanas!
July XXXII Anno Satanas
One winter evening in 1967, I was driving across San Francisco to hear Anton Sandor LaVey lecture at an open meeting of the League of Sexual Freedoms. I was intrigued by newspaper articles that called him nothing less than the "Black Pope" of the Satanic Church, in which baptism, wedding and funeral are dedicated to the Devil. I was a freelance journalist and felt that LaVey and his pagans could be the subject of a good article; in the words of the editors, the Devil "gave circulation."
I decided that the main topic of the article should not be at all the practice of the black arts, since there is nothing new in this world for a long time. Devil worship and voodoo cults have existed long before Christianity. In England in the 18th-ro century, the Hellfire Club, through Benjamin Franklin, had connections even in the American colonies, gained fleeting fame. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the press covered the deeds of Elistair Crowley, "the most unclean man in the world," and in the 1920s and 1930s, hints of a "black order" were traced in Germany.
To this relatively old story, LaVey and his modern Faustian organization have added two entirely new chapters. First, unlike the traditional Satanic gathering of witchcraft folklore, they blasphemously presented themselves as the Church, a term previously applicable only to branches of Christianity. Secondly, they came out of the underground, engaging in the practice of black magic in the open.
Instead of arranging in advance with LaVey to discuss his heretical innovations, which was usually the first step in my research, I decided to watch and listen to him as an unrepresented person from the public. In some newspapers, he was portrayed as a former circus and carnival lion tamer and magician, in which the Devil himself was embodied on earth, and therefore, first I wanted to determine whether he was a real Satanist, a mummer or a charlatan. I have already met people in the light of the occult business ramp; By the way, at one time I rented an apartment from Jean Dixon and used the opportunity to write about her before Ruth Montgomery did. But, bearing in mind all the occult swindlers, hypocrites and charlatans, I would not spend even five minutes describing the various forms of their tricks.
All the occultists I have met so far, or whom I have heard of, have been white-light: imaginary clairvoyants, soothsayers and witches, with their supposedly mystical abilities originating in God-oriented spiritualism. LaVey, who seemed to mock them, if not spit with contempt, stood out between the lines of newspaper stories as a real black magician who based his art on the dark side of nature and the carnal side of human life. There seemed to be nothing spiritual about his "church".
As soon as I heard LaVey's speech, I realized that there was nothing in common between him and the occult business. He could not even be called a metaphysician. The harsh revelations in his mouth were pragmatic, relativistic, and moreover, rational. We can confidently add - they were unorthodox; they were a blow to the generally recognized spiritual functions, to the suppression of the carnal nature of man, to the feigned piety of being, based on material principles like "man to man is a wolf." His speech was full of sardonic sneers at human thoughtlessness, but, most importantly, it was logical. LaVey was not offering quack magic to his audience. It was a common sense philosophy based on the realities of life. After I was convinced of LaVey's sincerity, I had to convince him of my intentions to do serious research, and not add my own contribution to the pile of articles describing the Church of Satan as a new freak show. I studied Satanism, discussed its history and rationale with LaVey, and attended the midnight rituals at the famous Victorian mansion, then the headquarters of the Church of Satan. Then I wrote a serious article, but found that it was not at all what the "respectable" magazines wanted to see on their pages. Finally, there was one publication from the category of "strawberries" or "male" - Knight, which in September 1968 published the first complete article about the Church of Satan, LaVey and his synthesis of ancient legends about the Devil and the folklore of black magic into modern philosophy and the practice of Satanism, which all followers and imitators now use as a model, a guide, and even a Bible. My article was only the beginning, not the end (as has often happened with other subjects of my attention), a long and close relationship with LaVey. Their fruit is my 1974 biography of LaVey, The Devil's Avenger, published by Pyramida Publishing House. After the publication of this book, I became first an official member and then a priest of the Church of Satan; I proudly carry this title along with many famous personalities. The after-midnight philosophical discussions that I began with LaVey in 1967 continue today, a decade later, in a strange cabaret inhabited by LaVey's surreal humanoids; Our meetings are accompanied either by a witty witch or by music performed by ourselves: LaVey on the organ, me on the drums.
LaVey's entire prior life seemed to prepare him for his current role. His ancestors included Georgians, Romanians, and Alsatians, including a gypsy grandmother who told him the legends of vampires and sorcerers from her native Transylvania. From the age of five, young LaVey read magazines such as Weird Tales and books such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Despite the fact that Anton was different from other children, they always chose him
In 1969, the American occultist and ideologist of Satanism Anton Sandor LaVey published a book under a rather pretentious and even scandalous title The Satanic Bible or "Black Bible", Satanic Bible.
It is a kind of "handbook" of the modern Satanist. Apparently, the author tried to put together and present to the readers a "squeeze" or quintessence of the satanic worldview.
The treatise consists of 4 parts, in a complex form a kind of philosophical, theoretical, moral and practical platform for all those interested in Satanism and who want this doctrine, so to speak, “to confess”. Although the concept of worship of the ideology of Satanism and contradicts.
The first part sets out the basic concept or creed of Satanism - the denial of traditional or official Christianity.
It should be clarified that the very word "Satan" is translated as "adversary or accuser." It is known from the history of religion that initially Satan was one of the angels close to God, whose duty was to identify and inform the Lord of Heaven about earthly violators of the Laws of God.
However, then “something went wrong” and Satan fell out of favor.
After that, the main occupation of Satan was the denial of all the postulates of religion, from the very existence of God to the consistent debunking of each of the Commandments, in the form of parables presented in the Gospels.
Actually, the denial of religion is the central line of the first part of the Book of Satan.
What is the theoretical basis for this denial? The concept of the absence of "life after death" is proposed as the main argument. That is, since a person's life is limited only by a transitory physical existence, the moral principles of religious faith lose all meaning.
The second part of the Satanic tract is a rather contradictory attempt to reconcile the principles of universal human morality and the basic concept of good and peaceful coexistence of people with the principles of extreme individualism, hedonism (as the little imp said in a children's cartoon: "Love yourself, sneeze at everyone and success awaits you in life" ).
As you can see, the author of the treatise does not offer any lawlessness, as it is represented in the everyday consciousness about Satanism. On the contrary, there is a rather persistent line about the need to respect living space and respect the personal interests of other people.
The third book is a practical guide to Satanic magic. Descriptions of various rituals, during which a person, with the help of mysterious mystical forces and otherworldly beings (demons), could achieve personal goals.
Love spells, influencing other people, achieving wealth and success, receiving carnal satisfaction and so on. That is, everything that traditional religion calls "sin."
In this section, extreme pride is palpably present as one of the basic qualities of a Satanist. It is proposed to seek help not from any demons, but only to. A long list of such demons is attached.
At the same time, a serious emphasis is placed on the fact that the prevailing image of Satanism in society as a wild orgy and covens with the use of violence, murder of innocent babies, rape of virgins, disgusting sexual perversions does not correspond to the behavior of a "true Satanist", but is a consequence of the deliberate demonization of competing teachings from the side of the official church.
However, it can be assumed that since the Satanic Bible is a public work, intended for public judgment, for the “crowd,” it is likely that there is a cooler teaching for the “select” Satanists.
In any case, the practice of dividing teaching into public and intended only for initiates is very common in secret, forbidden or semi-forbidden religious movements.
Although Satanism cannot be called a religious movement, since it is based on the denial of religion and religious postulates.
The fourth part focuses on "the power of the word". A number of magical spells are described here that have the power of influencing events and inhabitants of both this and the other worlds.
Roughly the same as in the third part, but here the magical powers are set in motion by the pronunciation of special words and the reading of spells. No complicated practice rituals necessary.
Conclusion
The general direction and "subscript thoughts" of the Book of Satan clearly indicate the author's aspirations to some kind of "legalize" Satanism, to make this teaching at least a little more organic part of the modern "civilized" society, to distance from the established sharply negative attitude towards Satanism.
The second line of the treatise is an attempt to systematize satanic teachings, disparate satanic ideas and practices into something unified. So to speak, the standardization of the haphazard denial of religion, with a tinge of hope for reconciliation with the official religion and further peaceful coexistence. In non-contiguous social niches, of course.
The 624-page manuscript of the Devil's Bible weighs 75 kilograms, the size of its wooden covers is 92 by 50 centimeters, and 160 donkey skins were used to make the book.
The Bible was created at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by a certain monk, who was allegedly helped in writing by the devil (hence the name of the manuscript). According to legend, the monk, in order to atone for his sins, promised to write a book in one night. When the monk realized that it was impossible to do this, he asked the devil for help.
“The manuscript was most likely written by a monk from a Benedictine monastery in the city of Podlažice, located 100 km from Prague, sometime in the early 13th century,” says Zdenek Uhlir, an expert on medieval manuscripts at the Czech National Library, quoted by RBK. According to the expert, the monk wrote the manuscript for 10-12 years. Initially the text consisted of 640 pages, 624 pages have survived in good condition.
The book contains the Old and New Testaments, the texts of "Etymology" by Isidore of Seville, "The Jewish War" by Josephus Flavius, the so-called "Mirror of the Sinner" (a collection of edifying and entertaining stories-examples for preachers), a list of the Cosmic Chronicle, various forms of conspiracies and a calendar with a synodic (indicating the days of the saints).
On page 290 of a book containing texts sacred to all Christians, none other than the devil is depicted. It is also noteworthy that several pages before and after this "portrait" have a darker shade, and the writing style differs from that of the rest of the texts.
According to legend, this work appeared in a Benedictine monastery in the Czech city of Podlažice as a result of a conspiracy of one of the novices with a fallen angel. The monk, guilty before the abbots in order to avoid punishment, volunteered for the glory of the monastery not only to write the best Bible in just one night, but also to decorate it with drawings. Towards midnight, realizing that he could not cope with his obligations, the novice turned to the evil one with a request for help. In return, he promised to give his soul and depict the devil on one of the pages. What happened in the future with the zealous novice, the legend is silent. The Inquisition, already operating in the first half of the 13th century, was aware of what had happened, but did not take any active action. This work was not only not destroyed, like many much less defiant manuscripts from the point of view of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but it was carefully preserved for several centuries in various monastic libraries. In 1594 he "settled" in the collection of the Hungarian king Rudolf II. During the Thirty Years War, which raged in Europe in the first half of the 17th century, the "Devil's Bible" was captured by the Swedes and taken to Stockholm as a war trophy. Since then, she has left the territory of Sweden only a few times for exhibitions in Berlin and New York.
If this story is a legend, then the demonic drawing is a fact. The one and a half meter Satan is painted on page 290 of the notorious Codex. Several pages in front of this drawing have been filled with ink, and after the graffiti depicting Satan, the next 8 pages of text have been removed. Who did this is still shrouded in mystery with seven seals. The Devil's Bible, contrary to vague legends, has never been banned. Moreover, several generations of young monks studied the Holy Scriptures from it.
In those days, monasteries were the only treasures of knowledge. Old writings were studied there, and what should be passed on to future generations was written down. Codex Gigas, which in Latin means only "giant book", is located in one of the monasteries of Czech Bohemia. Its dimensions are truly amazing: 89.5 cm high, 49 cm wide and 22 cm thick. Mysterious letters are hidden in a wooden binding. Each letter is written in pen and ink made of soot, applied in twilight light onto dried animal hide. This, first of all, explains the value of the rare book.
Now the "Bible of the Devil", hidden under bulletproof glass, is on display in the Klementinum gallery in Prague. The treasure of national culture only temporarily stays in its historical homeland. During the Thirty Years War, in 1649, the Swedes took her as a trophy with them to Stockholm. She must return there. Only specialists from the Swedish Royal Library have the opportunity to flip through the pages of a sensational book - after putting on gloves on their hands.
Anton Szandor LaVey is the man whom the press called "Black Pope". LaVey brought Satanism out of the underground and was the first to officially use the term "church" to refer to the organization he created. He is the author of a number of books, of which three are the most popular: The Satanic Rituals, The Complete Witch and his most famous work, The Satanic Bible. For many Christians, LaVey and his famous book The Satanic Bible are symbols of Satanism. Many people in different countries of the world consider him their idol, many curse him. For a long time, the spiritual heritage of this man, thanks to the "Iron Curtain", did not reach Russia, now the situation is different, for many of our compatriots the issue of spiritual self-determination is acute, and Lavey, as an alternative to Christianity, is considered quite seriously. This article is intended primarily for them, as well as for all those who are interested in this topic. Who was LaVey? Why does he have a lot of followers? Can you trust his works and build your spiritual life on them? We will try to answer these and other questions in this work. The main subject of analysis will be the "Satanic Bible", about which we will say a few words before moving on to LaVey's biography.
The Satanic Bible was written in 1969 in the United States, published by Avon Books in the same year, and has since been reprinted many times. The main text remained the same, changes were made to the thank you section, the introduction was changed several times. The introduction for the early edition of The Satanic Bible was written by Barton Wolfe, in subsequent editions this introduction was removed and replaced by an introduction by Peter Gilmore. When writing the article, a version with a foreword by Barton Wolfe was used. Unfortunately, the author was unable to find a printed copy of The Satanic Bible, so I had to turn to the Internet. Comparing a number of versions of the "Satanic Bible" posted on different sites, the author came to the conclusion that the main differences are in the presence or absence of Wolfe's preface, as well as in the quality of the translation. Apparently, several translations were made, differing in details, while the semantic meaning of the book does not actually change. Chapter titles, depending on the translation, may sound slightly different, but still recognizable. The Satanic Bible is divided into four sections: The Book of Satan, The Book of Lucifer, The Book of Belial, and The Book of Leviathan. In the footnotes, the author decided not to mention these names, since, in his opinion, the title of the chapter is sufficient to find a quotation in the book. Considering that finding the "Satanic Bible" in Russian on the Internet does not pose any problems (in the author's opinion, there are even too many of them!), The author did not indicate any specific resources on which it is posted. Anyone can find this book without difficulty, of course, if he still has a desire to read it, after reading this article.
First, let's get acquainted with LaVey's biography, in the version as presented by his followers. This biography is set out in the book of his student and priest of the "Church of Satan" Barton Wolfe "The Devil's Avenger" (Burton H. Wolfe, The Devil's Avenger, 1974), and in the book of LaVey's personal secretary and mistress, Blanche Barton, "The Secret Life of a Satanist" (Blanche Barton . Secret Life of a Satanist, 1990). So, Anton Sandor Lavey was born on April 11, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, in the family of a liquor merchant. Among his ancestors were Georgians, Romanians, Alsatians. LaVey's grandmother was of gypsy blood and from childhood told LaVey stories about vampires and sorcerers. From a young age, Lavey became interested in mystical literature. In 1942, when LaVey was 12 years old, he became interested in military affairs, and he became interested in literature with a military theme. During his studies at school, LaVey spent a lot of time studying the occult. At the age of 10 he learned to play the piano on his own, at 15 he became the second oboist in the Grand Symphony Orchestra of San Francisco. In his senior year, Lavey leaves school, allegedly because of the school curriculum that bored him. He leaves the house and joins Clyde Beatty's circus as a cage worker. At the circus, LaVey feeds tigers and lions. The trainer Beatty, noticing that LaVey has no fear of predators, makes him his assistant. One day the in-house circus musician gets drunk before a performance and LaVey replaces him. After this incident, the leadership of the circus leaves his place as a musician and fires his predecessor. At 18, LaVey leaves the circus and joins the carnival, where he becomes an assistant to a magician and masters hypnosis. In 1951, at the age of twenty-one, LaVey married. After marriage, LaVey leaves the carnival and enters the Department of Criminology at the City College of San Francisco. It is interesting to note: LaVey's followers claim that at this time he becomes Marilyn Monroe's lover for a short period of time. He then takes a position as a photographer at the San Francisco Police Department. According to his biographers, there he is faced with manifestations of violence and asks the question: how can God allow the existence of evil? In search of an answer to this question, LaVey plunges headlong into the occult, and on the last April night of 1966 (Walpurgis Night), in accordance with the magical tradition, he shaves his head and announces the creation of the "Church of Satan." In order to identify himself as a minister of this "church", he begins to wear a pastor's collar and black suit. In the early years of the "church" Lavey divided his time between performing satanic rituals (which he himself created) and the study of occultism. After his "church" got stronger, he wrote his famous books. His biographers claim that LaVey has consulted on a number of horror films, and even acted as an actor. All his life LaVey was accompanied by scandals, he was invariably one of the favorite characters of the secular press. In 1997, on October 31st during Halloween, LaVey dies. Now let's get acquainted with the teaching that LaVey bequeathed to his disciples.
Let's begin our acquaintance with a listing of the nine satanic commandments with which LaVey begins his book. The author will quote these commandments without any comments.
1. Satan represents indulgence, not abstinence!
2. Satan personifies the essence of life instead of unrealizable spiritual dreams.
3. Satan personifies undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deception!
4. Satan represents mercy for those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on flatterers!
5. Satan represents revenge, and does not turn the other cheek after a blow!
6. Satan represents responsibility to those in charge instead of being involved with spiritual vampires.
7. Satan represents man as just one more animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those who walk on four legs; an animal that due to its “divine, spiritual and intellectual development” has become the most dangerous of all animals!
8. Satan personifies all so-called sins because they lead to physical, mental and emotional satisfaction!
9. Satan has been the Church's best friend at all times, supporting her business all these years!
LaVey was a Satanist. Who or what was Satan to him? As LaVey wrote: “Most Satanists do not accept Satan as an anthropomorphic creature with cloven hooves, a tasselled tail, and horns. He simply personifies the forces of nature - the Forces of Darkness, so named only because no religion has bothered to take these forces from darkness. Science has also failed to apply technical terminology to these forces. They are like a vessel without a crane, which very few people have used, since not everyone has the ability to use a tool without first disassembling it, and without giving names to all the parts that make it work. " As you can see, for LaVey, Satan is a natural force, impersonal in its essence. Lavey believed that Satan was given the role of an evil character only because he personified the carnal, bodily aspects of human life. Satan, on the other hand, as a personal power, the angel of darkness, was invented by the leaders of Christians in order to rule over them, intimidating them with his existence. It is interesting to note that LaVey denied the idea of \u200b\u200b"selling souls" to Satan by his followers, in his opinion, this statement is also a myth that Christian leaders came up with to control their flock by telling "tales" about Satanism.
What is LaVey's view of God? LaVey wrote: “A very popular misconception is that the Satanist does not believe in God. The concepts of "God" in the interpretation of man have changed so much over the centuries that the Satanist simply accepts the one that suits him best. " According to LaVey, gods are invented by people. Therefore for “Satanist…,“ God ”, whatever name he is named, or even not named at all, is seen as a kind of balancing factor for nature, and has nothing to do with suffering. It is a powerful force that permeates and maintains the balance of the entire Universe, too impersonal to care about the happiness or misfortune of creatures of flesh and blood, living on a ball of mud that is our home. "The doctrine of God in the "Satanic Bible" is very vague, but apparently, it is close to the views of theosophists on this question: God is like a kind of impersonal energy poured into the Cosmos. For everything that happens in the world, only people and forces of "action and reaction of the Universe" are responsible.
In LaVey's teachings, there is neither hell nor heaven; everything that a person has, he has "here and now." LaVey denied the law of reincarnation. In particular, he wrote: “If in this life there is nothing in which a person could express his dignity, he amuses himself with the thought of“ forthcoming lives ”. It never occurs to a believer in reincarnation that if his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. created "good karma" by adhering to the same beliefs and ethics as his own - why, then, is he living in deprivation and not like a maharaja? Belief in reincarnation provides a wonderful fantasy world in which a person can find a suitable way to express his ego, while claiming that he dissolves it. " Belief in reincarnation, according to LaVey, is simply self-deception. However, it cannot be argued that LaVey's teaching completely denies life after death. Lavey believes that one can live after death, although he does not develop this part of his teaching, only slightly touching on this issue. In particular, he wrote: “Satanism ... encourages its fans to develop a good, strong ego that gives them the self-esteem they need to live in this life. If a person was satisfied with life during his life and fought to the end for his earthly existence, nothing other than his ego will refuse to die, even after the extinction of the flesh that contained him ... "... LaVey denied death as a spiritual awakening into a new life. Revealing his teaching on this matter, he wrote: “Death in many religions is presented as a great spiritual awakening (of course, for those who are preparing for the afterlife). This concept is very attractive to those whose life does not satisfy them, but to those who have known all the joys that life has to offer, death is seen as a kind of great and terrible cataclysm, a fear of the highest authority. It should be so. And it is the thirst for life that allows the carnal man to continue life after the inevitable death of his corporeal shell ”.
What is Satanism in LaVey's view? As he wrote: “Satanism is a blatantly selfish, ruthless philosophy. It is based on the belief that human beings are naturally selfish and cruel, that life is Darwin's natural selection, a struggle for survival in which the fittest win, that Earth will go to those who fight to win in the relentless competition that exists in any jungle. including an urbanized society ”. Satanism is a kind of "controlled egoism" and is based on "natural human instincts." Its main goal is to satisfy these "natural instincts" of the Satanist. Satanism is essentially a form of nihilism freak hedonism. LaVey wrote: “Satanism approves of the actions of its followers when they give free rein to their natural desires. This is the only way to become a completely satisfied person without disappointments that can harm you and those around you. This phrase contains the most simplistic description of the meaning of Satanic faith. "One of the main goals of Satanism is material success. There are even special ceremonies in LaVey's "church" that promote material well-being.
Should a Satanist do only evil? It should be noted that LaVey rejects the Christian concept of good and evil. In his doctrine there are only "natural instincts", and good and evil are the fantasies of "weak" people whom he calls "masochists." Therefore, a Satanist should not do evil or good without fail, he just does what he wants, not worrying too much about the degree of morality or immorality of his actions. As LaVey wrote: “Satanism is not a white light religion; it is a religion that is carnal, worldly, bodily - everything that Satan rules over is the personification of the Left Path. ... Satanism is the only religion known to the world that accepts a person as he really is, and offers a rationale for turning bad into good, instead of contriving to destroy the bad. " The logical consequence of this philosophy is the acceptance of the norm of what is considered a sin in Christianity. LaVey wrote: “The Christian faith defines seven deadly sins: greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust and laziness. Satanism advocates indulging each of them if it leads to physical, spiritual and emotional satisfaction. "Sin is natural for LaVey, he wrote: "Satan never needed a set of rules, since the natural life forces supported a person" in sin ", with the goal of self-preservation of a person and his feelings."
How should you treat your neighbors according to The Satanic Bible? LaVey wrote of retribution to others: “Satanism adheres to a modified form of the Golden Rule. Our interpretation of it is as follows: "Render to others what they have rewarded you," because if "You repay everyone as they would have repaid you," and they, in return, treat you badly, human nature itself is disgusted to continue treating them with yours. You could repay others as if they had repaid you, but if your courtesy has not been returned, they should be treated with the fury they deserve. "
LaVey rejected the Christian concept of repentance. In particular, he wrote: “When a Satanist does something wrong, he realizes that it is only natural to make mistakes - and if he really does repent of what he did, he will learn from it and not do the same again. If he sincerely does not repent of what he has done, and knows that he will continue to do the same over and over again, there is no need for him to confess and beg forgiveness. " According to Lavey, there is no point in repentance if a person knows that he will continue to sin. The maximum that a Satanist can repent of is committing a mistake, and then, on condition that he wants it.
Love for LaVey is just an emotion. In his book, he paid much attention to sexual freedom. In particular, he wrote: “Satanism promotes sexual freedom, but only in the true sense of these words. Free love, in the Satanic sense, can mean the freedom of just that - whether to be faithful to one person or to give free rein to your sexual passions with as many people as you think is necessary to satisfy your individual needs. "In his teaching, there is no rigid installation for everyone to indulge in orgies, rather, he encourages his students in the sexual field to do what they like. LaVey continues: “Satanism does not condone orgiastic activities or extramarital affairs for those for whom this is not a natural inclination. Too many would be unnatural and flawed to be unfaithful to their chosen ones. For others, sexual attachment to one person would be frustrating. It is up to everyone to decide for themselves which form of sexual activity is best suited to their individual needs. ... Satanism condones any form of sexual activity that properly satisfies your needs, whether heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or even asexual, of your choice. Satanism also approves of any fetish or deviation that enhances or enriches your sexual performance ... ”. The only limitation on sex, according to Lavey, is that sex should not harm others. You can engage in any kind of sexual perversion, if your partner agrees to it. At the same time, according to LaVey, a real Satanist is no more concerned with sex than with any other desire.
How did LaVey feel about sacrifice? It should be noted here that the author of the article, before writing it, spent a lot of time getting acquainted with various satanic forums and sites, from which he learned that Satanism is not a single, integral movement, rather it is a set of different groups, often having different views on the same and the same questions. Undoubtedly, there are Satanists who resort to bloody sacrifices (at least on the forums they discuss this practice), most often animals, although, apparently, there are murders of people, at least, special prohibitions on this in their ideology author Have not found. But as for LaVey, he was ambivalent about the practice of sacrifice. On the one hand, he denied it: "Under no circumstances does a Satanist sacrifice an animal or a child!" On the other hand, he argued that “Symbolically, the victim is destroyed through a slander or curse, which in turn results in the physical, spiritual, or emotional destruction of the“ victim ”in ways that cannot then be attributed to the wizard. A Satanist makes human sacrifice only when it can serve two purposes at once: to free the wizard from evil in the form of a curse and, more importantly, to get rid of a very disgusting and deserving individual ... you have every right to (symbolically ) destroy them, and if your curse leads to real destruction, take comfort in the thought that you have served as a tool in ridding the world of the pest (who is the pest, the Satanist decides at will. - V.P.)! If someone interferes with your success or happiness, you do not owe him anything! He deserves to be crushed under the thumb! " ...The purpose of the sacrifice ritual (for those who perform it), according to Lavey, is to release the energy stored in the blood of the murdered victim. Moreover, the main thing in this rite is not so much in the shedding of blood as in the torment of the victim before death. Perhaps Lavey did not practice sacrifice of animals, and even more so people, but he did not deny the possibility of killing by magical methods any person whom the Satanist considers his enemy.
How did LaVey feel about Black Mass? He believed that she was a literary fiction. Since in the black mass it was necessary to use candles made from the fat of unbaptized children, the priests, in his opinion, used this "myth" in order to scare the "poor" mothers and push them to baptize their children, and thus most enriched the Church. LaVey wrote: “It is believed that a Satanic ceremony or service is always called the Black Mass. The Black Mass is NOT a ceremony practiced by Satanists, a Satanist would find only one use for it - as a psychodrama. Going further, it should be noted that the Black Mass does not necessarily imply that all of its participants are Satanists. At its core, the Black Mass is a parody of the religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, but it can also be freely transposed into satire in relation to any other religious ceremony. "
The main Satanic holidays are Walpurgis Night (the night of May 1) and Halloween (All Saints' Eve, October 31), as well as the birthday of the Satanist. LaVey wrote: "The Satanist thinks:" Why not be honest with yourself, and if God is created in my image and likeness, why not consider himself to be this god? " Every person is a god if he considers himself so. So the Satanist celebrates his birthday as the most important holiday of the year. "
Magic occupies a special place in LaVey's teaching. He defines magic as: "Changing situations and events in accordance with the will of a person, impossible with the use of conventional methods." Lavey does not divide magic into white and black, believing that the purpose of magic is to achieve power and satisfy personal desires. In particular, he writes: “Anyone who pretends to be interested in magic or the occult for reasons other than attaining personal power is the worst example of bigotry and hypocrisy…. It is generally believed that white magic is used only for good and unselfish purposes, and black magic is taught to us - only for self-centered, or "evil" deeds. Satanism does not draw a dividing line. Magic is magic, be it used to help or hinder. The Satanist, being a magician, must be able to decide for himself what is fair, and then use the powers of magic to achieve his goal. " At the same time, LaVey gave a very low rating to most works on magic common in modern society. He wrote: “… With a few exceptions, all treatises and books, all“ secret ”grimoires, all“ great works ”on the subject of magic are nothing more than sanctimonious fraud, sinful muttering and esoteric gibberish of chroniclers of magical knowledge who are unable or unwilling to provide an objective point view on this issue. Writer after writer, trying to signify the principles of "white and black magic", succeeded only in such a clouding of the object of consideration that a person who independently studies magic conducts his studies foolishly standing in a pentagram awaiting the appearance of a demon, shuffling a deck of cards to predict a future that is losing the cards have their own meaning, and the presence at seminars that guarantee only flattening of his ego (and at the same time his wallet); and, as a result, makes himself look like a round idiot in the eyes of those who know the truth! " ...
To whom of the leaders of Satanism that preceded him did Lavey treat with sympathy? He believed that the rituals created by the famous Satanist Aleister Crowley were closest to him in spirit. But Lavey found a number of shortcomings with him: “Aside from charming poetry, mountaineering, and a cursory knowledge of some magical trinkets, Crowley's life was an example of posturing and trying to appear worse than he really was. Like his contemporary, the Reverend (?) Montague Summers, Crowley no doubt spent his life with his tongue pressed to his cheek, but today's followers of Crowley manage to read the esoteric meaning in every word. "In fact, LaVey considered himself the pinnacle of Satanism, which, however, is not surprising given the egocentrism that underlies all of his teachings.
As noted above, Satanism is made up of many groups that can have significant differences in their teachings and practices. LaVey is by no means a universally recognized authority among Satanists; many of them are critical of him. Therefore, it would be advisable to say a few words about the criticism that they subjected LaVey, although this criticism does not bear the character of a "theological" polemic.
At the very beginning of the article, setting out LaVey's biography, we mentioned that it does not quite correspond to historical facts. Let's turn to her critics. Studies of his biography were carried out, which resulted in the writing of the following works: Alfred Knopf "Saints and Sinners" (Knopf, A. " Saints and Sinners», New York, 1993) and Michael Aquino "Church of Satan" (Aquino, M. « The Church of Satan», San Francisco: Temple of Set, 1983). The author wants to acquaint readers with some of the conclusions of these studies.
First of all, according to the testimony of LaVey's relatives, his grandmother was not a gypsy, but a Ukrainian. At the age of fifteen, LaVey did not play in the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, as in 1945 such an orchestra simply did not exist. In 1947, LaVey did not run away from home and did not join the circus, as evidenced by his relatives and the books of the Clyde Beatty circus. Marilyn Monroe has never been LaVey's mistress either. Moreover, she never worked as a stripper in the club where LaVey allegedly met her. The owner of the Mayan Burlesque Theater, Paul Valentine, testified to this. LaVey never worked as a photographer for the San Francisco Police Department. At least the archives of this institution have no information about him. It is a myth, and the story is that on Walpurgis Night in 1966, LaVey announced the creation of the "Church of Satan." In reality, at this time Lavey was moonlighting, giving lectures on the occult, which brought in very little income, and the future publisher of his books Edward Weber recommended that he create his own "church" in order to attract the attention of journalists. Thus, in the summer of 1966, in the announcements of his lectures, LaVey first began to call himself "the priest of the Church of Satan." It is a myth, and the assertion that LaVey was technical consultants in the film "Rosemary's Baby", directed by Roman Polanski, and also played the role of the devil in it. In reality, according to the film's producers William Castle and Gene Gutovsky, there were no "technical consultants" in the film. Moreover, Polanski and Lavey never met. And the role of the devil in the film was played by an unknown young dancer. What did LaVey even have to do with Rosemary's Baby? In 1968, at the premiere of this film in San Francisco, the administration of the cinema in which it was supposed to be shown asked LaVey to advertise it, which LaVey did. Now about LaVey's famous book The Satanic Bible. In the late sixties of the twentieth century, there was a great interest in Satanism in America, and Avon Books asked LaVey to write a book on the subject. An agreement was signed, but Lavey did not have time to write the book by the deadlines stipulated in the agreement, and then he resorted to plagiarism. His The Satanic Bible borrows from the following books: Ragnar Redbeard, “Might is Right,” Port Townsend: Loompanics (reprint), 1896), Aleister Crowley “Equinox”, Ein Rand "Atlas Shrugged." Lavey died not on October 31, 1997 on Halloween, as his followers claim, but on October 29, as stated in death certificate No. 380278667, signed by Dr. Giles Miller.
Now let's see how LaVey felt about religions. First of all, he believed that “Religions must be questioned. No moral dogma should be taken on faith, no rule of judgment should be deified. There is no primordial holiness in moral codes. " And this position is not surprising given that he believed that “Man has always created the gods, and they did not create him”; “All religions of a spiritual nature are invented by man. With nothing other than his carnal brain, he created a whole system of gods. A person has an ego, his hidden “I” and, only because he is unable to come to terms with it, he is forced to isolate it outside himself in some great spiritual creature called “God”.In fact, LaVey denied all world religions, considering only his own true. In particular, he wrote: “Eastern mystical beliefs have taught people to touch their navel with their heads, stand on their heads, stare at empty walls, avoid labels in everyday life, and limit themselves in every desire for material pleasure. However, I'm sure you have seen so many so-called yogis with the same inability to quit smoking as all people, or "ascended" Buddhists, who become as agitated as the "less distracted" person when they meet with a person of the opposite, and in some situations, the same sex. However, when asked to explain the reason for their hypocrisy, these people retreat into the ambiguity that characterizes their faith - no one can condemn them without receiving direct answers. A simple fact in its essence is that this type of people, turning to faith, professing abstinence, comes to indulgence. Their forced masochism is the reason for choosing a religion that not only advocates self-denial, but also encourages it and, moreover, gives them a sanctified way to express their masochistic needs. The more abuse they can take, the holier they become. " All religious people, with the exception of Satanists, are masochists for LaVey. Moreover, martyrdom for faith, when people accept death in the name of loyalty to God and unwillingness to betray Him, is also declared by LaVey a form of masochism. He wrote: "... to give your own life for something not personal, such as a political or religious conviction, is nothing but the highest manifestation of masochism." Whether LaVey categorized his belief as “personal” or not is questionable. Could he have died for his faith, or would he have thrown it aside if necessary? However, if religion is perceived as a business project, then it is really stupid to die for such a religion.
Considering that in Russia, the main opponent of Satanism is Christianity, it would be appropriate to pay special attention to the question of LaVey's attitude to Christianity. Reading The Satanic Bible, the author of the article was amazed at how it could be distorted and slandered. However, it is quite possible that this is due not only to LaVey's desire to belittle Christianity, but also to the elementary ignorance of the author of The Satanic Bible in this matter. In any case, the author will not only try to describe the main accusations made by LaVey against Christians, but also dare to give them his own assessment, and also to figure out how well these accusations are valid. So how did LaVey feel about Christianity?
It is not difficult to guess that LaVey did not like Christianity. In his book The Satanic Bible, describing Christianity, he uses a technique that was actively used by the militant atheists in the former Soviet Union, the essence of which is to profanate Christianity, in its presentation in a grotesque form that has little to do with reality. Considering that the majority of LaVey's followers in our country have a vague idea of \u200b\u200bChristianity (mostly young people), this technique works well. However, the war with the "windmills" has always been a popular occupation of those who criticized Christianity. At least the author of the article, while studying sectarian literature, constantly encounters a situation of active struggle of various sectarian ideologists with their own invented “Christianity”. As for LaVey, first of all, he considered Christians to be hypocrites. In particular, when he “worked” (did he work?) As a musician, then, according to his testimony: “… I saw men devouring half-naked dancers with their looks at the carnival, and on Sunday morning, when I played the organ at the tent evangelists at the other end of the carnival, I saw the same men with their wives and children on the benches, and these men asked God to forgive them and cleanse from carnal desires. And the next Saturday evening, they were again at the carnival or elsewhere (I wonder if Lavey were present at the same time at the carnival and elsewhere? - VP), indulging their desires. Even then I knew that the Christian church flourished on hypocrisy, and human nature found a way out, despite all the tricks with which the white-light religions burned it out and cleaned it out. " It should be noted that hypocrisy is condemned, first of all, by Christians themselves. Many examples of his condemnation can be found in the Holy Scriptures (see: Matthew 6: 2; 6:16; 15: 7-9; Mark 12:15, etc.) . The apostle Paul also wrote about human weakness: “For I do not understand what I am doing: because I do not do what I want, but what I hate, I do” (Rom. 7:15). So LaVey did not discover anything new, and Christians are well aware that man is weak. If a person is weak, wouldn't it be wise to offer him a way to become stronger? The path of struggle with passions is very difficult, and not everyone reaches its heights. But there are people who at least try to do this, and these are Christians. And there are people who "go with the flow" of their passions, considering themselves at the same time some kind of chosen one. In fact, LaVey's philosophy is the philosophy of weak people. Any more or less significant achievement in this life requires work. Knowledge is given through work, achievements in sports also require work. Working on yourself is also work. Lavey essentially invites his followers to "go with the flow" of their passions. LaVey's path is the path of the slave of passions. The path that turns a person into an animal, into a biological machine. However, this is not surprising, because for LaVey man is just an "animal". But where is freedom here? What is the strength and pride of Satanists here? Is it that they satisfy animal instincts? Well, so cows live by "natural needs", instincts, that's why they are cows. Therefore, the path of Satanism is the path of weak people who lack the strength to curb their own instincts, and who try to justify their weakness through the ideology set forth in books like LaVey's "Satanic Bible".
The Satanic Bible states that: “... the churches based their teaching on the worship of the spirit and the denial of the flesh and intellect. He (Lavey - VP) realized the need for a church that would again elevate the human mind and his carnal desires to the rank of objects of worship. " I would like to note that this statement is a lie. If LaVey had studied the Bible more closely, he would have learned that it teaches differently, in particular, it says: “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasing to your soul, then prudence will protect you, reason will protect you in order to save you from the evil way, from a person who speaks a lie” (Prov. 2: 10-12).Moreover, Christianity denies blind faith, the Apostle Paul urged to test everything and hold on to the good (1 Thess. 5:21). And the denial of the flesh is characteristic not of Christians, but of the Manichaeans, with whom Christianity fought. The Manicheans considered matter an evil principle, which they fought, in particular, through the mortification of the flesh. Christians, on the other hand, rejected ideas such as the assertion that matter can be evil. What kind of matter is evil if God has clothed himself in it? Matter was created by God, and God did not do anything evil (Gen. 1:31). The goal of ascetic practice in Christianity is not to fight the flesh for the sake of its destruction, it would be suicide, an unforgivable sin, but to curb the passions, to control the flesh, which is far from the same thing.
LaVey claimed that “... Catholics believe that Protestants are doomed to perish in hell just because they do not belong to the Catholic Church. Likewise, many schismatic groups in the Christian faith, such as the evangelical ... churches believe that Catholics are pagans who worship idols. " Do Roman Catholics believe that Protestants will "perish in hell"? We'll have to disappoint the Satanists. The Roman Catholic Church considers Martin Luther (the founder of Protestantism) a heretic who was excommunicated from the Church, but does not believe that the fault of the fathers lies with the children. A person brought up in Protestantism is not responsible for Luther's personal guilt, and therefore will not burn in hell just because he was not born among the Roman Catholics! So that the author's assertion does not sound unfounded, let us let the Roman Catholics themselves express their attitude towards Protestants: “... those who believe in Christ and have received actual baptism are in some, albeit incomplete, communion with the Catholic Church ... justified by faith in baptism, they are fused with Christ and, therefore, rightfully bear the name of Christians, and the sons of the Catholic Church rightly recognize their brothers in the Lord. ... Not a few of our brothers, who are separated from us, perform the sacred rites of the Christian religion, which, in various ways, according to the various provisions of each Church or Community, without any doubt, can really generate a grace-filled life and we must admit that they are able to open access to communion in salvation ". Now, regarding Protestants, do they consider Roman Catholics to be pagans? Considering that Protestantism is a very vague current, we will talk about classical Protestants, Lutherans. Martin Luther was a very emotional person and allowed himself to speak very harshly about the Pope. Surely this does not do him credit. In his letters, he even called him "Antichrist." Although, to justify him, you can see that at that time any polemic rarely did without abuse (manners were like that). In addition, as mentioned above, Martin Luther was a very impulsive person, which could not but be reflected in the books and letters he wrote. As for the attitude of Lutherans to the Roman Catholic Church, I would like to grieve the Satanists again, they do not consider Her pagan. However, let us give the floor to the Lutherans themselves: “Luther, who threw thunder and lightning into the Catholic Church of his day, the“ Roman harlot, ”never thought that the baptism performed on him in this very church was not real and required a repetition. And subsequently, the Lutherans never and under no circumstances allowed a second baptism ”, which would be impossible in principle if they considered Roman Catholics to be pagans.
Lavey did not like the Christian Sacrament of Penance either. In particular, he wrote: “… Even if a person has lived his life without following the laws of his faith, he can, at his last hour, send for a priest and on his deathbed perform his last repentance. A priest or a preacher will immediately come running and “settle” with God the issue of admission to the Kingdom of Heaven ... ”. Indeed, Christianity bears witness to a God of Love, a God who is merciful. God is not a judge who obeys formal legislation and does not have power over it, He is the Lawgiver! At the same time, He places mercy above the law of formal justice. This is evident from the parable of the winegrowers (Matthew 20: 1-15). God looks not at what kind of reward a person should be given for the deed he has done, but at what a person is. He judges not by form, but by the essence of humanity. As for the Sacrament of Penance, it is again presented in LaVey's work in a perverted form. Repentance is not a magical rite, as a result of which sins are automatically removed from a person, and he goes to heaven. This is how the teachers distort the Christian doctrine. At least, the Orthodox Church does not perceive this Sacrament in this way. The Sacrament of Repentance is much deeper than just the magical act to which Lavey is accustomed. A Christian does not repent before a priest, but first of all before God, a priest is only a witness. It should also be noted that it is not the priest who forgives sins, but God. The priest only asks God for their forgiveness, but if God sees that there is no sincere repentance (and repentance is, first of all, a change of mind, an inner readiness to completely eliminate sin from his life), that a person has not changed internally, then there is no automatic removal of sins. happens, and a person will not go to any paradise, no matter how many rites of confession he formally passes.
Lavey understood in a very peculiar way the "original sin". In particular, he wrote: “To insure the process of human reproduction, nature made lust the second strongest instinct after self-preservation. Realizing this, the Christian church nevertheless made fornication "the original sin." Thus, it turns out that no one can avoid sin. After all, the very fact of our existence is the result of sin - Original sin. "It should be noted that LaVey's statement is sheer stupidity. Unfortunately, there are no footnotes in his work and it is not clear whether he himself invented what he wrote about Christians, or picked up some sectarian literature, which is abundant in America. In any case, as far as the author knows, neither Orthodox, Roman Catholics, nor Protestants (at least Lutherans) equate "original sin" with sex. Sex itself is not a sin; moreover, God blesses it in marriage (Gen. 1:28). Fornication is the betrayal of a loved one. The fornicator deprives himself of the fullness of spiritual unity (Matthew 19: 6) with a loved one, and thereby cuts off the possibility of his spiritual growth, takes the path of degradation. In Christianity, the family is considered a small church, just as Jesus Christ is one with His Church, so husband and wife must be one with each other. This unity spiritually replenishes the spouses, translates them into a new spiritual quality, which is lost through fornication. But again, fornication and "original sin" are not the same thing; rather, fornication is a consequence of "original sin", but not the same concept. As for the "original sin" itself, it consists in renouncing God, in the desire to become "gods" without God by illegal magical means, in the desire to achieve this without spending any effort, and, above all, moral work. The “original sin” manifests itself in people as a tendency to commit sinful acts. A striking manifestation of "original sin" is LaVey's ideology, in which, as he himself admitted, the main thing is not sex, but serving his ego. So the problem of “original sin is not in sex, but in the relationship of man with God.
Lavey understands amusingly the Christian doctrine of the posthumous existence. He wrote: “Since man’s natural instincts lead him into sin, all people are sinners; and sinners go to hell. If we all go to hell, we will meet our friends there. Paradise must be inhabited by very strange creatures, if all for which they led a righteous life on earth is to get to a place where they could for eternity strum the harps (it is highlighted by us. - VP) ".It should be noted that the "natural instincts" of a person can not lead either to heaven or hell. The presence or absence of sinful aspirations leads there, i.e. “Unnatural instincts”. Sin is renunciation of God, this is just an unnatural striving, and now it will really strongly affect the posthumous fate of all people. And Christians do not plan to "strum on harps", and they do not even imagine devils with pans in hell. Paradise is a state of being with God, but it is not a dream or a state of complete inactivity, or even more so "strumming on harps", no, on the contrary, it is an endless growth in spirit through the knowledge of God, through personal communication with Him. As for hell, hell is a place devoid of light, a place where there is no God (although is such a place even possible!). In any case, hell is a place where God, by His grace, allows those who want to live without Him to be, to translate this dream into practice. Hell is a place where a person does not know peace, where he is tormented by unsatisfied passions, which Lavey so recommends indulging. Passion can be satisfied as long as there is a body, there is no body - there is no satisfaction, and passion does not disappear with the death of the physical body. The hell that LaVey's disciples will fall into is in themselves, although they do not realize it. In general, Christianity does not set itself the goal of drawing a map of heaven or hell, it pays more attention to issues of moral improvement. And how it will be there, we will find out when we get there.
There are a huge number of religions in the world, their confessions and sects, each of which preaches its own values. Most religions have their own god, gods, or creatures worshiped by adepts.
Everyone knows that there are only three world religions - Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Each of them has its own sacred book, which contains all the knowledge about religion and its canons. For Christians it is the Bible, for Muslims it is the Koran, for Buddhists it is Tripitaka.
In addition to God, who is worshiped by people, there is also an antipode - a creature with negative energy who makes people do things that contradict a particular faith. The most popular creature in this category is the Devil.
He has many names - Devil, Devil and others. There are many theories about its origin. The main theory is that the Devil is Lucifer, a fallen angel.
The story of Lucifer is familiar to many people who have something to do with Christianity. He was an angel and served God. Lucifer was handsome, smart and quick-witted, many angels revered him, turned to him for advice and listened.
At some point, the angel decided that he himself could rule over God's creatures, since he is strong and smart. Having started a rebellion, Lucifer believed that he would take the place of God and become the supreme ruler of all creatures.
However, he underestimated the strength of God, and therefore the revolution did not take place - the battle was lost. The angel had minions who believed in him and were on his side - together with them he was expelled from Paradise. So, the fallen angel Lucifer began to rule the world of sinners -. And those henchmen help him in this -
We got this information from the Bible, which is a holy book among Christians. Few know, but there is another scripture called This is a huge 624-page manuscript that took 160 donkey skins to create.
Creation legend Devil Bible says it was written by a monk. The writing of the book is dated back to the late 12th - early 13th centuries. The circumstances under which the manuscript was created are very vague.
The monk committed some kind of sin, in atonement for which he had to write a book in one night. It is not entirely clear to whom and why he had to do this, and what kind of sin was committed. However, the monk realized that he could not cope with it overnight, so he turned to the Devil for help, who helped create the manuscript.
Here, too, is a very controversial point - why did the monk turn to, and not to God, because he was a minister of the church? In addition, he already had a sin, so why did he decide to aggravate his already precarious situation? Unfortunately, there are no answers to these questions. But there is a legend of the creation of the book, and we start from it.
The manuscript specialist at the National Library of the Czech Republic believes that this scripture was compiled by one monk over a long period of at least 10 years. Initially, the book consisted of 640 pages, but only 624 have survived in readable form. It is also emphasized that the likely date of the book's creation is the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Has a completely understandable content. Of course, the title of the book is associated with instruction manual, scary images and other unpleasant things, but that is not so. More precisely, almost not so - there are still terrible and strange images in the book. In general, 624 pages contain:
- New Testament;
- Old Testament;
- "Etymology" by Isidore of Seville;
- "The Jewish War" by Josephus;
- stories for preachers;
- different forms of conspiracies;
- drawings
- and other.
Contrary to speculation, it was never forbidden, and some generations of monks even studied the Holy Scriptures from it. It is noteworthy that page 290 depicts a portrait of Satan.
It looks quite frightening: a toothy mouth, horns, a growth on the head, clawed four-fingered hands and feet. His look is quite insane, looking at him even shivers. This is where the familiar description of the Devil came from - from his Bible.
And if in the ordinary Christian Bible it is indicated that Lucifer takes the form of a bright person, then, apparently, his real essence is depicted here. As already mentioned, only 624 pages out of 640 have survived to this day - 16 pages are hopelessly damaged.
Eight pages in front of the Devil's portrait and eight afterwards are filled with ink, so that it is no longer possible to restore and read them.
In fact, the scripture contains no ominous data, secrets, or information that was previously unknown. Is a simple book, but incredibly valuable. And its value lies not in the fact that, supposedly, it was written with the participation of Satan.
The main value lies in the fact that the scriptures have survived to this day in good condition. In addition, the size of the book is impressive - about 90 cm long, about 50 cm wide, and weight - 75 kilograms.
It is not so easy to move such a tome even from its place, let alone carry it with you, like a collection of poems. Of course, the manuscript is of great value as an ancient book, the texts of which can be found today.
This tome was written by one monk, according to various sources, his name is either Herman or Sobislav. The writing lasted either one night alone with Satan, or for 10 years.
The writing was carried out in the monastery of Podlazice, which is located about 100 km from the capital of the Czech Republic. After that, the book was moved several times, and each time brought some kind of misfortune.
This was the opinion of the ministers of the churches that contained the scriptures, but it is not known for certain whether this is true or an accidental coincidence. So, for example, at the beginning of the 14th century, scripture was contained in the city of Kutna Hora. At the same time, a plague came to the city, and almost the entire population died as a result of the disease. Of course, all the bumps went to an innocent book, although who knows ...
It is currently stored in Sweden, Stockholm. Scripture is the property of the National Library of Sweden. The book came here after the end of the Thirteen Years War, when it was brought as a trophy.
It happened in the 17th century, and since then no mystical coincidences and misfortunes brought by the book have been noticed.
Why the "Bible of the Devil"
As we can see, the book does not carry any horror except for the portrait of Satan. This is partly why it was called the Bible of the Devil. Also, this name came from the legend of writing, in which, allegedly, the Devil himself participated.
Another version, according to which it follows that the book has earned its name, is the already described mass death of the inhabitants of the town of Kutna Hora.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to find out what is on the 8 pages in front of the portrait, which are filled with ink. It is also impossible to find out what was written on the 8 stolen pages. Who knows, maybe it was they who carried the curse that killed people because of the plague in the early 14th century.
Currently, only representatives of the National Library of Sweden, where the scripture is stored, have the right to turn the pages. In this case, their hands must be in gloves, and the pages should be turned over as carefully as possible.
Fortunately, there are several copies in the world Devil Bible, which are given in a modern format - they contain the same texts and pictures as the original.