Perndog:

[Helm]

Rant follows. I'm just bored.

I've read the satanic bible on two different occasions in the last three years, and it should tell you something that I was openminded enough that I chose to read it again the second time after my knowledge in the generic occult was more significant. I did so with as little bias as I could, but my impression of it was -whereas more founded - much the same to the one I had as a 17 year old.

This book is firstly, badly written. Very derivative of O.T.O occultism & tradition (said O.T.O and general Gardrerianism in turn is mostly a sum of middle age european mysticism. So an immitation of an immitation). It's theopractical underbelly is borrowed from Qaballism (numerology-by-numbers) which is a very ironic oxymoron, given the purpose of Satanism. The referings to the practise of Enochian magic are childish. The tone itself adresses the reader with insulting presuppositions as to his intelligence, general knowledge of the topic in question, and ultimately, to his propensity for gullible-ness.

I cannot see how a person of anything but absolute ineptness in the field of the occult could be even somewhat convinced of the validity of anything contained therein. The actual philosophy presented in the satanic bible is a crass take on material individualism, capitalising on the then recent discovery of atavistic leanings of dominance and desire. The actual ontological reasoning behind the theories partaining to instictual desire themselves being neither clear nor (seemingly) of any actual importance to the author. The book reads, - and seems to fervently desire to be read - as an end-all, be-all answer to any thinking man's philosophical wondering (we're looking for a few select individuals...) but instead is a simple book, written by a simple man, who had simple desires, and chose to go about them in what now seems in retrospect, in a pretty simple way: A profit sceme. Just send us dollars and we'll send you assurance that you're special, put right there for everyone to see in clear plastic on your satanic ID. You'll get to jerk off while a naked lady sits on an altar and some other person sounds a gong. You'll get to wear the pretty capes and you'll get to scream to the four points of the wind. You'll get to play "who's more self-important" with your other coven friends. What? You have questions? Here's some numerology. Spell out G-O-D and then multiply by seven. Eighteen is nine! Eighteen is nine!

Simply stated: Anyone who declares himself to be a satanist needs to honestly reinspect his aspirations and ambitions. God knows (haha) there's nothing stronger in a man than his ability to lie to himself. You can make yourself feel the stronger things. If the point was indeeed in what one feels, there would be merit in any philosophical path there is, because for a self-deluded man, any answer will do.