The Fourth Tenet of The Satanic Temple reads, “The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.”
Continue reading “In Defense of the Fourth Tenet of The Satanic Temple”
Of all the challenging aspects of Satanism, blasphemy is perhaps at the top. I have known people to literally weep with horror when they first encounter the concept of the Black Mass, and others to simply shut down and say, “I can’t do this,” when they are confronted with the full breadth of Satanic blasphemy.
Blasphemy can be an important part of Satanism. But there are many different types of blasphemy, and I believe that understanding them might help outsiders better engage in inter-religious dialogue with the Satanic community. (It’s also important to note that there are many Satanists who don’t connect deeply with the notion of blasphemy at all.)
Continue reading “Varieties of Satanic Blasphemy”
I’ve been a Satanist long enough now to notice some patterns in how people react to the news that I’m a Satanist.
What I find most fascinating about these reactions is how inflexible they are. They seem to be manifestations of buried beliefs that are incredibly resistant to change. With very rare exceptions, I haven’t seen any of these attitudes shift in response to new information or perspectives.
Without further ado, here is my field guide to reactions to Satanism.
Continue reading “Reactions to Satanism: A Field Guide”
I regularly hear various assertions about what Satanism is and isn’t.
Continue reading “A Simple Definition of Satanism”
I’ve been having some awkward conversations with Christians lately. Concerned friends are trying to pose something of a gentle intervention, lovingly telling me that I am in an unhealthy religion. The unspoken implication is that I’m in a cult that will suck me dry.
Continue reading “Am I In a Cult?”
Everyone’s Satanism is different. For some, Satanism will be a religion of hedonism and reclaiming physical pleasure from the clutches of repressive religion. For others, it will be based in centering outsiders or embracing outsider status. All of these are valid expressions of Satanism, and I share many of them myself.
As I’ve contemplated my Satanic path, I’ve come to realize that my own Satanism is one of mastery. In the myth, Satan rejects the tyranny of God and sets out on a path of self-deification. In my view, the icon of Satan as the eternal rebel, the triumphant iconoclast, and the unbowed will is the ultimate symbol of mastery.
Continue reading “A Satanism of Mastery”
One of the most popular articles I wrote last year is titled On Being a Normie Satanist, in which I pushed back on some Satanic stereotypes that exclude normal-seeming people like myself. I think these stereotypes (mostly from non-Satanists) are rooted in the notion that Satanism is less a religion and more a trend. But because Satanism is a religion, it will attract all different types of people – some who are more “stereotypically Satanic” and others who are less so.
However, despite the positive response, there was also some pushback, and I’d like to take a moment to explore three primary categories of pushback in Normie Satanism Discourse.
Continue reading “More Thoughts on Normie Satanism”
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog post titled, Jordan Peterson on the Utility of Horror. I expected some pushback, and I got it.
“Fuck that dude all the way.” Wrote one person. “He is a transphobic piece of trash that uses big words to make himself look smarter than he is.” Another response read, “Jordan Peterson a well known con, I guess what I see on the internet is true and The Satanic Temple [my church] isn’t divorced from bigots. Sad to see it.”
Continue reading “The Satanic Practice of Learning From Demons”
René Grigori is one of many volunteer leaders who helped form the Southern California Congregation of The Satanic Temple(TST) in 2019. At the beginning of 2020 René became the congregation’s Media Liaison and began hosting a weekly Friday Night TST Hangout. In May 2021 René was ordained a Minister of The Satanic Temple.
Interested in writing a guest post for the blog? Please contact me.
This ritual was inspired by the Temple Service sermon on Internal and External Satanism by Stephen Bradford Long and the ensuing discussion. Meditation/contemplation were provided as examples of internal expressions of Satanism while embodying/living the tenets were provided as examples of external expressions. The resulting ritual is a fusion of the internal and external where contemplation of the various situations that arise in the Tarot deepens our understanding of the Tenets and helps us better apply the Tenets to the various situations in our daily lives.
Continue reading “Guest Post: Daily Tenet-Tarot Ritual”
It was the activism that first drew me to The Satanic Temple in 2017. My boyfriend was sitting on his laptop and suddenly exclaimed, “oh my God, Stephen, you have to see this.” He showed me the BDSM baby protest, in which diaper and baby-mask clad protestors peacefully poured milk over themselves in protest against anti-abortion theocrats.
Continue reading “Interior and Exterior Satanism”
Stephen Bradford Long 