The Cloven Hoof, Issue 113

The Cloven Hoof

Vol. XVII, 2 113th Issue

HOW TO BE GOD (OR THE DEVIL)

by Anton Szandor La Vey

Those with illusions of omnipotence should consider certain ingredients which are prerequisites for any sort of deification. If you really have the makings of a Higher Being, here are some handy rules: 1. Don't advertise. Just let your presence be known. Never, under any conditions, go around proclaiming yourself the Devil. Others must recognize you as such. The reason the God of the Christians (or the fiction known as Christ) doesn't make regular appearances at concerts, book-signing parties, or backyard barbecues is because he doesn't have to. In fact, he doesn't have to really show up any where or at any time. There are plenty of followers who will advertise his existence for him, not to mention attesting to personal aquaintanceship. So, if you are a first rate devil, others will do your advertising for you (whether you ask for it or not). 2. Never be fashionable; always be mysterious and enigmatic. Remember; man follows his gods--his gods are never trendy. You never met a god who wanted to be one of the crowd. That's why it has been said that "The Lord works in mysterious ways." Or why an unexpected catastrophe is called "an act of God." 3. You must be creative; take inspiration from the most sordid sources if necessary, but never rip off. Rip-off artists cannot proclaim themselves divinities, because they lack the originality or creativity to come up with fresh ideas, let alone new worlds. 4. You must have style. Class. Be reserved. Show some restraint. If you can't be decorous around other people, how can you maintain order and control? 5. A sense of humor is a must; a god who can't laugh at himself or find comic relief is a dull Jehovah and most definitely un- Satanic. 6. Always harbor some doubt, even about yourself. The booby hatches and funny farms are filled with megalomaniacs who are cocky sure of their own omnipotence. A modicum of self-doubt in the god business adds up to the sort of self-awareness most mortals lack, which leads to 7. Be aware of your own mortality, knowing that gods have been proclaimed dead many times thoughought history. That's why they have Valhallas and Avalons and lands like Nod, east of Eden. 8. You must be perceptive enough to see things as they really are, not how you might have been taught by others who stand to gain from your ignorance. Yet to better understand the ways of man and deal with him, you must be able to suspend your awareness of what's really happening and see things through his eyes. In other words; learn to be stupid, if it will serve you best. 9. Be merciful, especially when you're happy, but be cruel if you're pissed off. If you really wield any power, people will realize the benefits gained by contributing to your happiness, or the tough luck that can befall them by getting you sore.

"I can't do things half-way!" is more than a copout for lack of eclecticism or limited powers of concentration. Anyone who must throw himself into any new pursuit, at the cost of past experience risks neglecting or negating important personal attributes. There's nothing wrong with doing things half way, or a small fraction of the way, if you're predisposed to learn or gain from the experience without further involvement. Doing anything "all the way" is a form of addiction and is best recognized as such. An addictive personality becomes a slave to whatever he embarks upon. There's nothing essentially wrong with that. It's only that society frowns on slavery, and sugar coats it with all sorts of innocuous terms designed to get the slave off the hook; terms like "illness", "disease", etc. It's a sort of back-handed respectability to say one "has a problem" and an outright form of self-praise to say "I can't do things half-way." How does this figure into Satanism? The purest form of Satanism cannot be practiced half-way because Satanism incorporates in and of itself, a discipline of eclecticism -- 8 varietal way of life--even though there must always exist "home bases." Any pursuit however, within a Satanic lifestyle, can be limited to however small but productive involvement is required or desired.

It's amazing how much fear is invoked in others, by the presence of a known Satanist. People who never advertise their Christian backgrounds, when confronted by a "Devil worshipper" suddenly become religious. How often I see crosses around the necks of those who've been informed of my arrival--as if, like Lugosi's Dracula, I will be rendered powerless. And when I'm not fazed by such precautions, the aroma of nervous sweat really fills the room. It's then that I feel sadistic, if that term ever applied. I love to see those old dusty crucifixes that have been salvaged from the bottoms of bureau drawers, unworn since catechism days. The little gold crosses. And the bumper stickers that might just as well say "Kick me". The pathetic victims of Christian propaganda who have been taught to fear so irrationally. Wearing the symbol of their role-model's death around their necks, like tiny electric chairs or gas chambers or hangman's nooses, and actually believing it will protect them. And protect them from what? My possible cordiality and friendship? But it makes them feel "safe" (like their

deodorant) to wear a show of their dormant faith. They are safe to ask me about Satanism, because it's plain to see that they're good, terrified little Christians who only want to know because they are curious. What must it be like to be so frightened of intangibles? I've never known, because I've always had my share of very real threats to my serenity, and never as a child, been taught to fear a devil who was created to make money for a religion my parents subscribed to. That's why it's difficult for me to relate to theologians' views of their devil. I took up Satanism out of logic, not desperation. If any desperation was involved, it evolved from dismay-- dismay that there were so many short-sighted people around me. And I wanted very little of that. So I thought, acted, and thereupon found myself removed. And lo and behold, I was a Satanist. A prideful outcast. If the "just", the "good", the righteous, were exemplified by those I had experienced, I wanted no part of them.

Cannibalism... Food For Thought

Willi Munchalot

World hunger. The words are tossed around by various groups from the Christian Children's Appeal to the United Nations Security Council. Applied to nations such as India and Ethiopia, they conjure a vision of starvation: women, children, emaciated bodies awaiting the release of death to end their earthly agonies. Can anything be done to alleviate the suffering of so many when food is desperately scarce? Can educational processes geared towards enhanced crop production allow these nations beseiged by starvation and disease to regenerate themselves? Probably not.

The sad fact is that those nations currently suffering have brought about a destruction of their crop producing lands due to unwise and uninformed agricultural traditions. Over use of the soil without proper rotation of crops, inefficient irrigation and fertilization have damaged the land beyond quick redemption.

Should the world be expected to sustain the existence of these countries and their teaming populations through massive importation of foodstuffs and the infusion of billions of dollars into their collapsed economies? Such efforts have been attempted in the past, with little success. Such efforts not only are ineffective from an economic standpoint, but are counterproductive to the natural development of a people.

Christian religious movements should be the first to recognize an obvious solution, in view of the direct relationship between Christianity in its many forms and cannibalism. The sacrament of the Mass is cannibalism, symbolic to be sure, but based on the dictum by their spiritual teacher that they should drink of his blood and eat of his flesh in rememberance of him. Paradoxically, Christianity's first "Bible" was a literary effort of Greeks, whose ancestry practiced the cannibalistic honoring of fallen adversaries by devouring their assets.

Despite recent hysteria, cannibalism as a ritualistic option has never been a part of true Satanism. It is ironic that Satanism should be given the distinction of practicing ceremonial cannibalism, as the eating of the godhead in ritualistic sacrifice has always played a central part in the Christian religion. This idea, being within the province of Christianity, would therefore be expected to surface as inspiration for its propaganda.

There is food in Ethiopia. While crops and cattle may be less than plentiful in some of the blighted areas of the world, there is seldom a shortage of human beings. Most are the emaciated, starving masses doomed to imminent disaster. Thousands die daily, to be buried beneath the parched ground in mass graves, wasted to the use of the nation as a whole. "Food for worms," at best.

Anthropophagy, the ingestion of human flesh, might be the immediate answer to the present problem of world hunger. The more remote islands of the South Pacific, interiors of Africa and South America all support tribal units still practicing cannibalistic activities either as a religious phenomenon or as a means of survival.

Within the history of the human race, many instances of cannibalistic activity have been documented. Contrary to popular belief, the ethic of the society, as well as the societal ethos supported the act as a way of honoring the dead. In ancient Greece, the warrior victorious over an adversary of considerable prowess might well cook and eat a part of the vanquished that was seen as his greatest strength, thereby incorporating the strength of that body part with that of his own physique. For exemple, Odysseus wes known to have a powerful bow orm. Should he have been vanquished in the battle for Troy, this item would be chosen for ingestion by the victor of the battle. In

this manner, the ancients honored the fallen warrior and provided a form of memorial to his greatness in the earthly plane.

Likewise, this practice was seen among the warring tribes of the Pacific. In the battles for the island paradises, it was not uncommon for the tribal chieftains to order that the vanquished be eaten, thereby sustaining the power of his own forces. A direct correlation to this can be drawn to Africa, Mongolia, India, China and Japan, as well as various tribal groupings of South and Central America. The practice of cannibalism was by no means restricted to the honoring of dead warriors. Throughout the Pacific, there were tribes that honored the remains of family members by partaking of their flesh. Accepted as a valid and beneficial ritualistic rememberance of the loved one, this practice also provided food for the members of the clan remaining alive.

The point of this essay is not to encourage worldwide adoption of cannibalism, for such actions are not needed to sustain the vitality of the world population. In those areas in which the very essence of the societal structure is in imminent danger through starvation, and in those in which the "thinning of the herd" would increase the quality of life for the remaining members of that society, it is a valid option. In the interim, enforced population control measures and revolutionary reeducation in agrarian planning must be undertaken to preclude relapse into the cataclysmic condition as it exists today. There is little that the world community can do, short of genocide or the depletion of national stores to alleviate the problem of over population and resulting starvation.

Can the feeding of the world's starving be accomplished through the processing and distribution of human meat products? With care and planning, governmental agencies could incorporate this new food source into the supply chain with little disruption of daily routine. Existing food plants are suited for the processing of humen mest es well as those currently processed. Once purged of impurities and made aesthetically pleasing to the eye through the use of dyes and standard food preparation techniques, one would be hard put to distinguish its texture, consistency or taste from any number of commercially available meat products.

While far from the best of meats available, human meat can sustain life. If survival is the goal, the highest aspiration of the human species, then any means of granting that survival must be considered.

Through the media, much of the world has been made aware of the plight of the starving millions. Religiously sponsored "charitable" organizations have used this media coverage to systematically milk the monetary cow. Some of the resultant income has of course provided bread to the regions in question, but much of that income has lined the pockets of the "get out and give" boys.

The suggestion that cannibalism might be a partial answer to the starvation of millions might seem repugnant to the American society on several levels. Those who viewed the movie "Soylent Green" or "The Time Machine" might have visions of the totalitarian society and the manipulation of humans for the sole purpose of nutritional sustenence of the masses (which it wasn't), but it must be remembered that these were, as the military would call them, "worst case scenarios." It is highly unlikely that the world as a whole would ever fall into the circumstances found in either "Soylent Green" or "The Time Machine".

The adoption of cannibalism for blighted areas of the world is a logical and viable option to the wasting of national resources on those whose own nations are unwilling or unable to support their own populations. If charity begins at home, then survival begins with the means at hand.

Where Have All The Witches Gone

Thomas Pickering

Back in the late sixties and early seventies, when it was popular to be a witch, it seemed as if every street corner was populated by wandering wiccans in full flower. Book stores had shelves packed with books on the subject from Gerald Gardner's thinly disguised tomes of masochistic esoterica to Sybil Leek's pop book on witchly wiles. Books of Shadows were hot items, as were talismanic seals guaranteed to rid one of penile warts, acne and the heartbreak of psoriasis. Sharing the shelves with these items were a black book and its red companion volume, the Satanic Bible and the Satanic Rituals. It's difficult to find a witch these days. Their usual haunts have been deserted, their books for the most part gone from the shelves. Economics will not support the printing and stockpiling of stale views. But the Satanic Bible and Satanic Rituals still can be found.

While the media is quick to pick up on "satanic", murders and "satanic" cults, the wiccan phenomenon seems to have disappeared from the American scene. Why? Quite simply, the theological basis of white light religions (the goddess, drawing down the moon, etc.) is insufficient to jolt the masses into action. Quite the contrary, the benign nature of wicca-craft lulls the populace like a hypnotic drug. Members of the media, while usually a dull lot themselves, understand this and steer clear of stories relating to wiccan matters. Satanism, on the other hand, is a guaranteed ratings grabber..

But is what we're seeing on the tube "Satanic"? Or is it a hype; a stab in the dark to gain the audience that once was guaranteed with the mere mention of Satan's name? Is there truth in media coverage of Satanic activity?

A recent television news magazine presented a special edition on "Satanism," which presented the Church of Satan in a favorable light, although it sandwiched us in between segments on drug-crazed murderers and children's coached delusions. While we sincerely appreciate the plug that was made (probably unwittingly) for the Satanic Bible and the Satanic Rituals, it is questioned whether we should view our placement in the middle segment as some sort of honor, as in the world of religion, the Church of Satan is respected by our friends and enemies alike. In viewing the program however, this segment is the only material I personally found even remotely related to Satanism.

The implements of "worship" displayed in the segments preceeding and following that of the Church of Satan were alien to Satanism. The items were crude, hand-fashioned implements and icons, such as the straw cross and other symbols found at the scene of "black masses." These items are normally associated with Witchcraft in various areas of New England. Robes worn by the children, who demonstrated with less than convincing actions that they had "stabbed other children," were not those that would be found in a Satanic ceremony, nor were the incantations they spoke. They were reminiscent of the books that have since disappeared from book stores.

Is it possible that we are witnessing a change in direction among some covens of witches? It's possible that in their awareness of the impotence of their magick in the face of daily life, there has been a move towards the darker magic of the Left-Hand Path they so passionately decry. If this is true, then it is a step in the wrong direction, as they've taken the meaning of Satanism and perverted it into some twisted Wiccan excuse to revive the human sacrifices of the Druidic orders. It is ritual without substance and death without meaning.

Where have all the witches gone? You tell me. While I sincerely hope that they're all dancing with fairies in circles in the glade, it's possible that some have "left the reservation" and are playing the Devil's game. If so, they'd be wise to learn the rules before they take to the field.

Metaphoria

Walter Newman

The most effective magicians live their lives metaphorically. Not that they aren't firmly rooted in the "here and now," but they have developed the ability to exist simultaneously in the "there and then." No action, or even thought, is isolated. They acquire information, bits of experience, and synthesize them towards their goals. Through a natural predisposition to perceive metaphors, to connect this to that, they maintain a perspective on a wider-than-personal scale. Hence, the most mundane circumstances can seem significant. These sorcerers will never wear digital watches. They don't just want to know the time. It is as important to see the face of the watch; where the hands are now in relation to where they were 20 minutes ago. When casually looking over a magazine, chances are it will be opened somewhere other than the first page. And no matter how far computer technology takes us, the feeling of holding a book in the hands to read it is preferable to calling it up page by page on a computer. The Whole is perceived instead of only a part. These magicians are able to build a "right"-ness into their lives. There is an order, with a significant beginning, development, fulfillment, and ending. As characters in a novel, more than actual people, they survive through time by creating these enduring patterns so that, when examined, their whole lives seem inevitable. In the same way, their magic becomes so compelling that while they are working within the bounds of the Is To Be, it becomes an irresistable force..

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