PETER H. GILMORE - b05-24-58, Peter Howard Gilmore, appointed High Priest of CoS in 2001
"David Shankbone: What is your relationship to Theistic Satanists?
"Peter H. Gilmore: We don't think they are Satanists. They are devil worshipers, as far as I'm concerned. ...
"PG: My real feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. Whether they believe in The Devil or God, they are abdicating reason. If they really believe they are in communication with some sort of interventionist deity...you know, somebody can be a deist and think that maybe there was some sort of force that launched everything and now has nothing to do with it. That's not anything you can prove. It's also not a matter of faith. It's a matter of making a choice between whether there was something or there wasn't. I think maybe that is the most rational decision. I think science makes it look otherwise, but I don't think somebody like that is mad. But anybody who believes in some kind of existence in deity or spirits or anything that intervenes in their life is not somebody I hold in any kind of esteem.
"DS: Have you had much interaction with the theistic Satanists?
"PG: No, I just have complete contempt for them and have no contact with them at all. If anybody does contact me and say they are a theistic Satanist we tell them to take a hike. {Laughs}."
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Satanism:_An_interview_with_Church_of_Satan_High_Priest_Peter_Gilmore
(accessed 7-12-09)
"I am by training a composer; I went to NYU. I have a Bachelor's and Master's in music composition, mostly focusing on orchestral work."
"I have nothing but contempt for someone like Richard
Ramirez, and wish that he'd actually climbed into the
bedroom of a Satanic woman who would have shot his sorry ass
and stopped his reign of terror."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqiVPPHf1xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWu5Bs2wf04
(video interview uploaded 12/28/08)
(accessed 7/14/09)
"David Shankbone: How would you define the word Satan?
"Peter Gilmore: Satan is a model or a mode of behavior. Satan in Hebrew means "adversary" or "opposer"; one who questions. Since we generally are skeptical atheists, we question all spirituality. We believe that carnality is all that exists and the spiritual dimensions are fictional. So we stand against eastern and western religions that promote fictions, according to our perspectives. So we are adversaries. Satan to us is an exemplar. When we look at how he is portrayed by Mark Twain in Letters from the Earth, or Byron, or Milton's Paradise Lost, he ends up being an inspirational symbol to us. We say we would like to be more like that. We will not bow our heads; we will be independent. We will constantly question.
"You can't be praying to a God or blaming a devil, or anyone else, for that matter, for what happens to you. It's on your own head. That's a challenge for most people.
"DS: What is the Church of Satan?
"PG: Satanism begins with atheism. We begin with the universe and say, "It's indifferent. There's no God, there's no Devil. No one cares!" So you then have to make a decision that places yourself at the center of your own subjective universe, because of course we can't have any kind of objective contact with everything that exists. That's rather arrogant and delusional, people who try to put things that way. So by making yourself the primary value in your life, you're your own God. By being your own God, you are comfortable about making your own decisions about what to value. What's positive to you, is good. What harms you, is evil. You extend it to things that you cherish and the people that you cherish. So it's actually very easy to see that it's a self-centered philosophy."
Ibid., wikinews Shankbone.
"DS: If someone wanted to explore your beliefs, what should they read?
"PG: The Satanic Bible is the place to start, because that is the foundational literature for the organization. "...my book, The Satanic Scriptures, is worth reading, because it ties up where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going. So if you only picked two, I would say read The Satanic Bible and The Satanic Scriptures, because then you'll have the book ends of the over forty year span of the Church of Satan. ...
"... each Satanist who is a member of the church must make [sociopolitical] decisions based upon their own personal values, so there can be a wide range of answers depending upon the people you talk to, whether it be abortion, governmental decisions of going to war ...."
Ibid., wikinews Shankbone
"PG: Yes, any fundamentalist fanaticism is a vast threat. I'm looking for humanity to have a secular, pluralistic culture. People should be able to follow whatever fantasies or religions they want, as long as they don't impose them on other people and force other people into doing things based upon whatever kind of holy writ they have."
Ibid., wikinews Shankbone
"We generally don't let people under 18 join. We used to let people whose parents allowed them to join, but because people are so litigious we changed that. ... if our members have children who are interested, they can participate and become members, but that's the only way you can if you're not legally an adult."
Ibid., wikinews Shankbone
SATANITY, SATANISM, DEVILRY, AND INFERNALITY
The Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Satanism Bibliography: composite booklist of relevant sources on Satanity and devildom, by category
Satanic Blood Pact: explanation of how, why, and when to make a blood pact with the Devil
Adversarial AEon Begins: the particular and specific incident of a Satanic Blood Pact described
Manifesto Satanika: a generalized Satanic sociopolitical manifesto, with a helpful elaboration
nocTifer: a tender-hearted Satanian (nagasiva yronwode) in all avenues of expression
Bookmarks in compilation from the Magus of the AEon of the AdversaryMAGIC, SPELLS, AND DIVINATION
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century hoodoo accounts, with ex-slave narratives & interviews
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: readings and hoodoo services
Hoodoo Library facilitating an education on conjure, and help procuring modern sources
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, and a way to obtain them
Free Spells from eclectic witches, Coven Kyklos, in their Book of Shadows, called "Spiritual Spells"
Lucky Mojo Spell Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, and more
Mystic Tea Room: tea leaf reading, teacup divination, and a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Tarosymbolismatrix Tetraktypisciseferoticus: the symbolic foundation of a novel Tarot deck
Change Oracle: rudiments of Yijing (I Ching) and several means of using it for readings
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Usenet FAQ Archive: arcane and spiritual FAQs and REFs, brought to you by Lucky Mojo
YIPPIE: the Yronwode Institution, bearing the standard of indigenous ethnomagicologyOCCULTISM, MYSTICISM, AND RELIGION
Arcane Archive: thousands of archived usenet posts on religion, magic, mysticism, and spirituality
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: inter-faith; candle services; Smallest Church in the World
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century occultist