I’ve been a member of The Satanic Temple (TST) since December 2017, and in that time there’ve been occasional accusations of crypto-fascism, alt-rightism, and Nazism against TST by both outsiders and former members. This article is about why I choose to remain in the Satanic Temple despite these accusations, and why I find these accusations lacking in credibility.
Continue reading “Why I Haven’t Left the Satanic Temple”
I recently had the pleasure of talking to Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves, and while the whole conversation was great, one thing in particular he said stood out to me.
Due to the phenomenon of ignorant familiarity, many non-Satanists who have never thought deeply about Satanism are all too eager to lecture me on what Satanism is all about. One of the claims of the ignorant non-Satanist is that we are nothing more than militant atheists appropriating religious symbolism as a troll — that we are fundamentally anti-religion.
Continue reading “Lucien Greaves on How Satanism Can Build Empathy Between Religions”
In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for the Satanic Temple. We discuss the challenge of maintaining a religious community during the COVID-19 pandemic, common misunderstandings about the Satanic Temple, and why nontheistic religion is essential.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Why Nontheistic Religion is Essential, feat. Lucien Greaves”
I’ve been quiet on my blog and podcast for the past few weeks, and that’s because I’ve been coping with being an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. I co-manage a small family-owned grocery store in Appalachia, and the past few weeks have simply been harrowing.
When the panic first hit, it felt like the worst hurricane in history was coming for North Carolina. Our sales more than doubled, and I felt destroyed just trying to keep up, while also keeping staff and customers safe from invisible death dots that could strike anyone without notice. Eventually, as the craziness at the store settled down into a manageable level, my fatigue turned to crippling anxiety. I was crying myself to sleep, and having horrible panic as I drove to work.
It felt like all my structures and support systems were just swept away by the flood. I’ve spent the past few weeks picking up the pieces, and now here I am, well enough to get back to creating.
Continue reading “Self Care During COVID-19”
I’m currently working my way through Joseph Laycock’s new book Speak of the Devil. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read on Satanism, and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the Satanic religious movement and The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock is a scholar of new religious movements, and (full disclosure) he is the most-interviewed guest on my podcast Sacred Tension.
Continue reading “Satanism and Ignorant Familiarity”
I’ve been absolutely delighted by the reception of my recent article On Creating a Personal Satanic Root Document. I initially worried that people wouldn’t get it, but instead I’ve received numerous emails and messages from enthusiastic Satanists and non-Satanists alike who are trying their hand at developing a Root Document.
Continue reading “Daily Godless Invocations”
“Your Satanism isn’t really about Satan, is it?” A Christian friend recently asked me this after reading my article On Creating a Personal Satanic Root Document. I’ve been thinking about his comment ever since.
Continue reading “Satan and the Void”
I’m frequently asked how I, as a Satanist, practice my Satanism. Whenever I get this question I struggle to answer it, because my Satanism is so all-encompassing for me I don’t know how not to practice it. It isn’t as if I’m just a Satanist when I’m writing about Satanism, doing Satanic ritual, or talking to other Satanists. I’m also a Satanist when I’m doing my finances or watching Netflix. Religion is not just something I do, but something I am, and as in most religion the boundary between doing and being is blurred.
But a central aspect of my Satanic practice comes down to something very private: what Cal Newport calls a Root Document. For years now I’ve kept what I can only call my own personal Sacred Text. It is a holistic document, containing the very mundane (checklists for work) and the very sacred (my guiding principles, meditations, and rituals.) It is also a living document, shifting according to what I learn and need.
Continue reading “On Creating a Personal Satanic Root Document”
This week in curiosities: The Satanic Temple releases an official list of holidays, Priest Penemue explains the Null Hypothesis, and The Process Church of the Final Judgement gets a documentary.
Continue reading “Satanic Holidays, the Null Hypothesis, and the Process Church”
I recently had the pleasure of appearing on one of my favorite podcasts: Black Mass Appeal, which is one of the largest (if not the largest) Satanic podcasts on the internet. Rarely do I get the jitters before an interview, but I did with them, because I’m a fan.
Continue reading “My Conversation with Black Mass Appeal”
