Satanism A Reader

Satanism is a current of thought that generates intense feelings. It remains understudied by academics. This selection of key source texts from the period 1841 to 2017 attempts to remedy that gap. Ranging from the esoteric to the anti-clerical, countercultural, and political, the texts span a wide variety of genres, from poetry and polemical religious tracts to ritual instructions and internet FAQ's. All are provided with comprehensive introductions, written by specialists in the field, that offer readers both critical historical context and expert scholarly interpretation. Chronologically structured, the book can be read as a succinct historical overview of the development of Satanism, with the immediacy that only primary sources can provide. It is ideal for both classroom and research use, as well as a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the occult, the transgressive, secularization, and the fringes of the religious landscape.

1 - Introduction
2 - Eliphas Lévi, La Bible de la liberté (1841)
3 - Jules Michelet, La Sorciére (1862)
4 - Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871)
5 - Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (The Theosophical Society), excerpts from The Secret Doctrine (1888)
6 - Léo Taxil, excerpt from Le Palladium régénéré et libre (1895)
7 - Stanislaw Przybyzewski, excerpt from Die Synagoge des Satan (1897)
8 - Ben Kadosh (aka Carl William Hansen), Den ny morgens gry (1906)
9 - Maria de Naglowska, excerpts from La Lumière du sexe (1932) & "Satanisme masculin, Satanisme féminin" (1933)
10 - Aleister Crowley, "Hymn to Lucifer" (undated) & excerpt from The Book of Thoth (1944)
11 - Kenneth Grant (Typhonian Order), excerpt from "Vinum Sabbati" (1961)
12 - The Process Church of the Final Judgement, excerpts from "The Gods on War" (1967) & "The Gods and Their People" (1970)
13 - Anton LaVey (Church of Satan), excerpt from interview in John Fritscher's Popular Witchcraft: Straight from the Witch's Mouth (1972)
14 - Michael Aquino (Temple of Set), The Book of Coming Forth By Night (1975)
15 - The Order of the Nine Angles, excerpts from The Black Book of Satan (1984)
16 - Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth (Den Sorte Sirkel / Black Metal Satanism), interview for Close-up Magazine (1992)
17 - The Satanic Reds, "FAQ for Satanic Reds — Social Realist Organization" (c. 2001)
18 - Thomas Karlsson (Dragon Rouge), excerpt from Kabbala, kliffot och den goetiska magin (2004)
19 - Michael W. Ford (The Order of Phosphorus, etc), excerpt from The Bible of the Adversary (2007)
20 - Lucien Greaves (The Satanic Temple), "Church of Satan vs. Satanic Temple" (2017)

Per Faxneld is an historian of religions at Södertörn University, Sweden, where he is conducting a project on spiritual dimensions of Japanese martial arts. He is the author of the award-winning Satanic Feminism: Lucifer as the Liberator of Woman in Nineteenth-Century Culture and several other books. Johan Nilsson is an historian of religions at Lund university, Sweden, where he is currently working on a research project about the reception of Buddhism in Swedish Theosophy. He is the author of As a Fire Beneath the Ashes: The Quest for Chinese Wisdom within Occultism, 1850-1949.