The Law of the Trapezoid

Any "Satanist" worth the name should be familiar with the Law of the Trapezoid essay featured in LaVey's The Devil's Notebook.  The purpose of this article is to recap some of the particular details and to provide further examples to the ones given in said essay; a modest effort towards providing supporting evidence for the basic concepts of Satanic, or "demonic" geometry.

To surmise, I will quote: "In 1962 I isolated my suppositions and distilled them into what I termed 'the Law of the Trapezoid.'  I had ample evidence that spatial concepts were not only able to effect those who were involved in visual confrontations, but far more insidiously, other parties with whom a viewer came into contact.  As in any form of contagion, family, friends and co-workers are effected by signals of anxiety projected by another.  The most tranquil and stoical person can be drawn into a chaotic situation if his surroundings are sufficiently disturbing.  Often I discovered that subtle aberrations had a more profound effect than readily-recognizable and overt spatial distortions." (Anton Szandor LaVey, The Devil's Notebook)

Some of the examples mentioned in the essay are the Yezidi "Towers of Satan," the Maya and Aztec temples (which are overtly isosceles trapezoids), the "Witch's House" of Beverly Hills, the John Hancock Center of Chicago, the Wyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco, Frank Lloyd Wright's ill-fated Midway Gardens project, and of course, the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Yezidi "Towers of Satan."

 

"The Witch's House" of Beverly Hills.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's "Midway Gardens," opened 1914 and demolished 1929.

 

"Taliesin," Frank Lloyd Wright's studio and home, where his houseboy went insane, killed seven persons and set fire to the house exactly when the Midway Gardens project was completed.

 

Chicago's John Hancock Center

 

A little over three years after the Hancock's completion, a 29-year-old Chicago woman named Lorraine Kowalski fell to her death from her boyfriend's 90th-floor Hancock Center apartment. To this day, detectives are dumbfounded by the event; the building's windows are capable of withstanding more than 200 pounds of pressure per square foot and winds of more than 150 miles per hour, yet Kowalski actually broke through the glass. Four years later, a transmitter technician for a local radio station plunged to his death from the 97th floor offices of his television station. Just three months later, a 27-year old tenant "fell" from his 91st-floor apartment while studying for an exam at breakfast. In 1978, a 31-year old woman shot a man to death in his home on the Hancock's 65th floor, and in 1998, beloved comedian Chris Farley was found dead in the entrance hall of his 60th-floor apartment. Most recently, in March of 2002, a 25-foot aluminum scaffold fell from the building's 43rd floor, crushing three cars, killing three women and injuring 8 others. All of these incidents were called "baffling," "inexplicable."

 

 

The Golden Gate Bridge is the second most used suicide site in the world.  A documentary was made, and can be seen in full on YouTube:





 

"I examined files of cases dealing with structures supposedly haunted or cursed with continuing failure, death, financial loss, insanity, fire, tragedy.  Many were visually aberrant in the most flagrant manner.  Others were not.  A mansard roof is de rigeur in every artist's conception of the haunted house.  Why did the artists automatically render them in that fashion?  Good fairies' castles all were depicted as having peaked towers and gently rounded arches. Jolly elves lived in cottages with rounded corners and cake icing roofs.  The good folk dwelt in Graustarkian tranquility in snug and womblike home with curlicues cut into the shutters.  Bluebeards and Frankensteins all lived in stark, monolithic and grotesquely bastioned abodes.  Frankenstein created change and reaction by duplicating God's handiwork." (Anton Szandor LaVey, The Devil's Notebook)

The "mansard roof" style, named for French architect Francois Mansart.

 

Chateau de Maisons, by Mansart

 

 

     The architecturally aberrant cityscape featured in the German expressionist film Metropolis (1927)

 

Expressionist-surrealist set design of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

 

Another example not given by LaVey may be found in the widely-famous Pennhurst State School and Hospital, which was shut down in 1987 after decades of controversy.  It has been featured on a wide variety of "ghost-hunting" television programs such as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, and in 2010 was officially renovated and reopened as an official "haunted attraction."  In 2012, a fictionalized movie starring Haylie Duff called Asylum of the Dead was made about it.  As early as 1968, the extensive abusive treatment of patients gained them negative attention and was brought to public attention in a five-part 1968 documentary for CBS called "Suffer the Little Children."

 

 

Pennhurst asylum explored on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures

 

More examples will be given and this post will be updated in the future as my studies and explorations of the Law of the Trapezoid yield more results.



Diabolus Rex

The Four Crowned Princes of Hell

Satan
Meanings & associations: Adversary, opposite, accuser, Lord of Fire, the Inferno
Element: Fire
Cardinal direction: South

"Invocation to Satan" from The Satanic Bible:

"In nomine dei nostri Satanas Luciferi excelsil.  In the name of Satan, the Ruler of the earth, the King of the world, I demand the forces of Darkness to bestow their Infernal power upon me!  Open wide the Gates of Hell and come forth from the abyss to greet me as your brother (sister) and friend!  Grant me the indulgences of which I speak!  I have taken thy name as a part of myself!  I live as the beasts of the field, rejoicing in the fleshly life!  I favor the just and curse the rotten!  By all the Gods of the Pit, I command these things of which I speak shall come to pass!  Come forth as answer to your names by manifesting my desires!"

Satan represents, to the Satanist, rebellion and opposition.  Satan represents justice and doubt.  The Satanist exists on the other side of the tracks.  Conformity for conformity's sake is seen as mindless and vapid, and the Satanist seeks to establish his own unique identity---the rebellious character of Satan is an ideal symbol for a person of this disposition.  Satan is the dark force in nature and represents brutal reality in all its blood-and-guts glory, rather than looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses and telling yourself the popular comforting lies about life and other people.

"Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of spiritual pipe dreams."  "Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better but more often worse, than those that walk on all fours, who, because of his divine intellectual and spiritual development, has become the most vicious animal of all." ---Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Bible

Satan was not originally perceived as one supernatural entity; rather, the word "Satan" was used to describe any adversary or opposer of the Hebrew God.



Lucifer
Meanings & associations: bringer of light, enlightenment, the air, the morning star
Element: Air
Cardinal direction: East

The Satanist seeks "undefiled wisdom."  He seeks to know the truth and embrace reality as fully as possible, because, as The Satanic Bible says, "Popular lies have ever been the most potent enemies of personal liberty.  There is only one way to deal with them: Cut them out, to the very core, just as cancers.  Exterminate them root and branch.  Annihilate them, or they will us." 
LaVey also said, "Satanism demands study, not worship."  The Satanist seeks knowledge and self-betterment in all the ways that he can.  Lucifer is an ideal symbol for this, representing enlightenment and the gaining of knowledge.  Biblically speaking, Lucifer was Satan's name prior to his "Fall."  He was said to be the angel of light and music; Luciferians have retained this symbolism and stressed these associations.  While Christ praises ignorance in the Bible, Lucifer advocates self-improvement and personal growth.
Lucifer is mentioned only once in the Hebrew Bible, and is most likely a reference to Babylon, and was not originally associated with Satan.  Later developments and fictional works such as Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's The Inferno further established the association/equation of Satan and Lucifer.



Belial
Meanings & associations: without a master, baseness of the earth, independence
Element: Earth
Cardinal direction: North

"Belial is the carnal side of man, the lust, sex, pleasure and therefore the principal drives that make living worthwhile. People derive all the principal emotions of the higher ego from Belial: Pride comes from self control and suppression of the Belial, strength, pleasure and independence come from embracing it. Belial is the Master of the Earth, the force that holds Humankind by its balls, any security or stability are results of lessons learnt from dealing with this Crown Prince.
Belial is the champion of simply being human, for the flesh, the material and the carnal. In essence, a reverence for Belial affirms how "good" the flesh/humanity is. Unrestrained by law or morality; lawless; immoral; dissolute; lewd; lascivious, Unrestrained; uncurbed; uncontrolled; unruly; riotous; ungovernable; wanton; profligate; dissolute; lax; loose; sensual; impure; unchaste; lascivious; immoral, dissolute indulgence in sensual pleasure." ---Vexen Crabtree

"Belial means "without a master", and symbolizes true independence, self-sufficiency, and personal accomplishment. Belial represents the earth element." ---Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Bible

"But for corruption thou hast made Belial, an angel of hostility. All his dominions are in darkness, and his purpose is to bring about wickedness and guilt. All the spirits that are associated with him are but angels of destruction." ---Dead Sea Scrolls, "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness"



Leviathan
Meanings & associations: the serpent of the deep, the sea
Element: Water
Cardinal direction: West

Leviathan was a sea serpent, mentioned in the Biblical Book of Genesis.  In Satanism, he represents terror, power, desire, secrecy, sexual desire, the unknown, and inner emotion.  The Hebrew Bible has the following to say about him:

¹⁰ No-one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?

¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹² I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.

¹³ Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle?

¹⁴ Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?

¹⁵ His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;

¹⁶ Each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

¹⁸ His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn.

¹⁹ Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

²⁰ Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.

²¹ His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.

²² Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him.

²³ The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

²⁴ His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.

²⁵ When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.

²⁶ The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

²⁷ Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.

²⁸ Arrows do not make him flee, sling stones are like chaff to him.

²⁹ A club seems to him but a piece of straw, he laughs at the rattling of the lance.

³⁰ His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing-sledge.

³¹ He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

³² Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.

³³ Nothing on earth is his equal—a creature without fear.

³⁴ He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.

----Job 41: 10-34

 



Vampires, Witches and Werewolves... Oh My! (Dealing with Emotional Vampires)

As promised, the time has come for an article on the phenomena of psychic vampirism, and what one can do in order to protect oneself against their energy-draining tactics.  Much has been said about the psychic vampire, and a community of people who identify as such has been created and even has a popular New Age book devoted to its practices called The Psychic Vampire Codex by Michelle Belanger.  Others, such as The Sanguinomicon and Vampyre Magick by "Father Sebastiaan" have popped up as well, giving credence to a society of people who positively identify themselves with a term originally coined by Anton LaVey to refer to something he considered very negative.

Vampires have always been a popular obsession for the public, with the advent of Gothic literature and the enduring popularity of novels such as Dracula and the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.  At first very ugly, as in Nosferatu, they soon developed into beautiful, tragic creatures and the films depicting them became less Gothic horror and more soap opera.

Within the so-called "vampire community," there are three distinct types or classifications of vampires: sanguine (blood-drinkers), psychic (energy-feeders), and hybrid (both).  Most of them do not believe they are actually supernatural or immortal.  They commonly profess to believe they have a kind of natural energy deficiency or energy-leak which requires them to consume energy produced by others because they cannot produce enough of their own.  Whether or not there is any truth to this, I will not debate, because it is veritably impossible to prove or disprove.  What this article concerns is not those people within that community---who have a code of conduct called "The Black Veil" which forbids them from draining energy from anyone other than a willing victim, or "donor"---but rather addresses the issue of what you could call "emotional vampires," most of whom do not consciously realize what they are or what they do.

This type of vampire feeds on naïvety and takes advantage of your good nature.  If you are typically a kind-natured person who is willing to give anyone a chance, the psychic vampire will pick up that almost immediately and will ride you into the ground.  Often people do not even realize what is happening to them---they get a vague feeling of exhaustion or of being fed-up; they may perceive this person as needy and deserving of sympathy---because the psychic vampire will show kindness on the surface, a façade which is generally fairly hollow, as a psychic vampire has very little generosity or sympathy of their own to return when the tables are turned and you are the one in need.  On the surface, they're all smiles and ass-kissing, but with time they will show their true colors---especially as soon as you tell them "no" or they perceive that you have betrayed them.  "Betraying" them is easy to do---all you have to do is act like they aren't the center of your universe for even one second.

These people present themselves in a way as to seem as pitiful and helpless as they can, which is intended as a trap to draw you in.

 

To drive the proverbial stake through the heart, figuratively speaking of course, you simply need to recognize them for what they are and get used to saying "no."  They will beg and they will plead, they might even cry or throw a temper tantrum, but once they realize that they can't get to you anymore, once you show them that you are above that, they will move onto the next unsuspecting victim.  If allowed to, psychic vampires can ruin your life.  I would know, as I firmly believe I've dated a few.  By the time their done with you, your self-confidence will be demolished, your self-respect and self-esteem will be lower than low.  You will be exhausted, bitter, angry, and hurt.  You will probably even feel worthless and suicidal.  They will use you for everything you are worth, and then they will spit you out when someone they perceive as more useful comes along.

But as soon as you manage to gain your self-respect back to some degree, you will look back on the whole ordeal and realize what they were---a soulless, sociopathic energy-feeder.  The problem with many of these types of people is that you may not begin to see them exhibiting these telltale behaviors until you have already started to develop a relationship with them for a while, at which point your feelings of love, nostalgia or emotional fondness may cloud your judgment and prevent you from perceiving them as what they really are.  This is unfortunately one of those times in life when you need to learn the benefit of being a little callous.  As they've often said, nice guys finish last.  This is because all the users and abusers are trampling them underfoot, and they are too kind-hearted and good-natured to put a stop to it.

If someone you love is one of these energy-draining people, you need to accept it and deal with for your own sake---or you will end up feeling very badly, supposing you survive your encounter.  I can't help but wonder how many people have been driven to suicide by the relentlessly abusive, manipulative treatment these psychic vampires can dish out.  I certainly know what it feels like.  Nip it in the bud!  Kick them to the curb!  Or you may find yourself in a very unpleasant situation with very little to hope for except death; and don't delude yourself to think that if you did kill yourself, that this person would care.  They would be onto the next victim before the funeral arrangements have been made.  You have been warned.

Buy Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry on Amazon!

The Church of Satan

LaVey once said, "the first 90 years are the hardest."  Well, his notorious Church of Satan will be celebrating fifty years in existence on Walpurgisnacht of 2016, and surely that has to be something.  While many people predicted and hoped that it would fail, it has managed to stand the test of time, which I think is something quite worth bragging about.  Public opinion about the Church of Satan has become much more open-minded in more recent years, and the philosophy has certainly become absorbed into the mainstream consciousness to a degree I personally never dreamed of---in fact, to the degree that a self-professed LaVeyan Satanist is a main character on Mike Judge's new show Silicon Valley and an episode of the show Morel Orel a few years ago on Adult Swim featured an episode satirical---although at least partially accurate---of LaVeyan Satanism.
Anyways, I thought I'd sort of celebrate the CoS's fifty years a little early, by featuring a sort of then-and-now in video form, by showing you the videos of the only two major public "Satanic events" that the Church of Satan has ever organized.  I'd venture to say they'll probably cook up something fun and devilish to celebrate the fifty year landmark, although its early yet and nothing has been mentioned at this time.

Then: The 8/8/88 rally at the Strand Theater.

 

 

Now: The 6/6/06 live ritual performance.

 

Personally, I can't wait to see what more they will do as the years go on.  I found the 8/8/88 rally to be well-meaning but perhaps its a bit heavy-handed looking back on it from the perspective of more self-aware Satanism of today.  I personally love Boyd Rice and I thought that Zeena LaVey was great until she went utterly batshit (as of very recently she has yet again undergone a mysterious transformation, this time abandoning the "Setianism" she so long defended in favor of Buddhism; go figure!)  I never really understood the Nazi obsession, at least not for those like Nikolas Schreck who took it very seriously whereas Boyd Rice was simply a "shock-monger" using it for imagery and mood---for the most part, at least.  The 6/6/06 ritual performance, I think, is a much better practical visual introduction to Satanism and Satanic ritual, and by 2006 the Church of Satan seems to have largely distanced itself from its "fascist chic" period.

I'm pretty sure I already posted the 8/8/88 rally before, but for this particular instance, I'll post it again.

Above: Then

Below: Now

 

Apparently, a documentation of a Satanic ritual performed by LaVeyan Satanists was filmed by one Joshua P. Warren, titled Inside the Church of Satan and is available only from the website devoted to the film, although an upload on Youtube is featured below.  If I can confirm its authenticity, I will mention it in an update, but I find it suspicious since I do not recall the Church of Satan itself ever mentioning or promoting this video.  However, of what I saw in the previews, the purported rituals does look very LaVeyan and true to the Church of Satan's aesthetic style.  The documentarian seems a bit more afraid of his subject matter than is needed and the presentation is a bit sensationalistic, but its always nice to see more of this kind of footage. I see nothing inherently inaccurate or particularly unfavorable being presented, other than the decidedly low point where the documentarian goes aside to try to conjure Satan, acting very much like a douche while doing so.  Though he refers to himself in the video as "basically an agnostic," he is decidedly superstitious and even paranoid at moments, expressing worries of ending up tied to an upside-down cross with his throat slit if he goes through with participating in the ritual, and also worrying that he may discover them sacrificing babies or something like that.  Not the brightest guy, but the best parts of the film are when he simply shuts up about his personal opinions or worries and presents the cold-hard facts.  Be prepared to make some popcorn and sit back and relax, because it is a whopping two-and-a-half hours long.  Anyway, here it is:

Inside the Church of Satan documentary, 2008.

 

Buy "Letters from the Devil: The Lost Writings of Anton LaVey" on Amazon

 

 

Visit Satan Central for all your Satanic merchandise needs.







Marilyn Manson vs. Boyd Rice

Boyd Rice has been a prominent figure in alternative/experimental music, and most of his work is pervaded by overtly occult themes---with an orientation distinctly towards the dark side.  Much banter has been going on over the wastelands of cyberspace about whether or not Boyd still considers himself a Satanist in accordance with the LaVeyan definition, as he has in more recent years been more vocal about his involvement in half-serious or pseudo-satirical organizations like The Partridge Family Temple, which seems to be closer in flavor to something like Discordianism or The Church of the Subgenius than to the more serious Church of Satan aesthetic.
While chaos magic and Satanism have had their overlaps---chaos magic admittedly draws from the work of Anton LaVey and shares certain core beliefs---however Satanism is something in its own right and LaVey did not have much praise for chaos magic (just hear what he has to say about it in the interview Church of Satan-member and radical traditionalist Michael Moynihan did which is featured in Disinformation's Book of Lies).  I mention this only because Boyd Rice seems to be more of a chaos magician than a Satanist these days, although I'm sure he would revile being labeled as such.  The thing about Boyd is he doesn't want to be labeled anything, regardless of whether the shoe fits.  He wants to be that happy blob of custard that you can't nail to the wall, as they say.  He would probably reject any label you would put on him, solely because he desires so strongly NOT to be pigeonholed.
Of course, Boyd Rice wrote a vituperative essay in his book "NO" which is clearly a tongue-in-cheek indictment of the Church of Satan in its current form, and of the people who make up its general membership.  But despite his apparent dislike for what he feels the Church of Satan has become, he has never backtracked about his adoration for LaVey and still refers to him as a friend.  I feel Boyd Rice will always be a Satanist in some sense, whether or not he feels at home amongst the kind of people who make up the Church of Satan's membership these days.  Boyd is a lone wolf by nature, however.  At least he didn't turn out like Zeena "un-LaVey" Schreck, and his loyalties to the man and the philosophy itself have not faltered.
Now, more to the point of this article, the influence that Boyd Rice has had on shock rocker Marilyn Manson is no secret.  There are several photographs from Marilyn Manson's early days as an up-and-coming rock celebrity depicting Marilyn Manson and band-mates hanging out with Boyd.  Boyd Rice himself has said in interviews that, whenever Manson is in his area, he calls him and pays him a visit.
Now Boyd and Manson have both always been masters of imagery and iconography, re-appropriating sometimes age-old symbols for their artistic purposes.
As of the last two years, with the release of Manson's wonderful "Born Villain" album, Manson has taken to prominently using the Cross of Lorraine in promotional artwork and in stage performances, going so far as to emblazon it on the back of his leather jacket, putting on the compact disc itself and incorporating it into the letters of his MM logo.  Although he has been using the Cross of Lorraine for years in certain instances since at least the Holy Wood era, this is the first time it has become his prominent logo.

Back cover of 2012's "Born Villain" album

Boyd has described its symbolic meaning as, "both an upright cross and an upturned cross, in one."  This represents the dualism that is so important to both Boyd and Manson's personal occult philosophy.

Manson during stage performance during the recent "Twins of Evil Tour" co-headed with Rob Zombie

A giant red light-up Cross of Lorraine hangs prominently over center-stage.

 



The purpose of this article is simply to point this out, and to enlighten those of you who think that virtually anything Manson does is not a subtle reference to something else.  As they say, "Nothing new under the sun."  Like all truly genius artists, almost everything Manson does makes reference to some other artist or piece of artwork---most frequently to obscure, underground films and to transgressive artists of the past.  See the website the Nacht Kabarett for further elucidation of the symbolism and hidden references which pervade his artistic output.

An image recently released by Manson via Facebook, with the caption "nailed it."

Side note: It strikes me as very unlikely that the release date for "Born Villain" was May 1st, also known to occultists as "Walpurgisnacht" or "Beltane," and incidentally the most important holiday in the religion of Satanism.

 

Boyd Rice seen wearing Cross of Lorraine pendant on album cover.

 

Marilyn Manson with Boyd Rice and Shaun Partridge

 

Pictured above: "Inequality serpent" symbol, the intro image to Boyd Rice's official website.  While I realize this is the mathematical inequality symbol, I can't help but notice its stylistic similarity to the Cross of Lorraine of which he is so fond.  I'm sure Boyd Rice chose to use this because he appreciates the subtle correlation and the potential double-meaning (it both refers to the dualism aspect of his philosophy which the Cross of Lorraine expresses as well as the misanthropic, elitist aspect of his worldview which the inequality symbol sums up iconically.)

Manson's earliest use of the Cross of Lorraine symbol, to my knowledge, on the cover of the novel Holy Wood, which was sadly either never finished or simply never released.  It is very subtle here, being formed abstractly by the combinations of the gun-cross and the written text. Posted on the Internet by Manson in 2000.

 

Another side note is that this symbol was used by the band H.I.M. at least once, the instance of which I am aware being in the 2004 music video for the 1999 song "Join Me In Death."

 

 

The band H.I.M., which tellingly stands for "His Infernal Majesty" (hmmm!), have flirted with occult imagery during the entire duration of their career, and despite the constant use of the number 666 and a symbol combining a heart with an upturned pentagram, frontman Ville Valo has consistently tried to claim that they are not Satanic.  Yet a song on the Venus Doom album makes reference in its title to The Nightside of Eden, an obscure dark occult book by renegade Thelemite Kenneth Grant, and the band has recently taken to using the overtly Crowleyan "Seal of Babalon" in combination with their "heartagram" symbol.  Their most recent album uses Malachim script on the cover, a language developed by the occultist Agrippa, and features an ouroboros of sorts.  I have nothing against the band and find much of their music to be catchy, but I think its obvious that they (or at least Ville Valo) have a deep interest in the occult and "black magic," as they would not use so much of a variety of occult symbols nor would they be so knowledgeable about genuinely occult subject matter (such as Malachim script and books by Kenneth Grant) if they weren't deeply interested in the subject.  I think they backtrack when confronted on the issue because they don't want to have to defend it or be associated with what many deem "objectionable" or "demonic," which is unfortunate.  Another reference to Aleister Crowley can be seen in their album title "Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice," clearly a play on the title of a well-known Crowley book titled Magick in Theory and Practice.

 

The newest H.I.M. band logo, featured on much recent promotional material.  Do I detect a subtle reference to the Cross of Lorraine here, or is it just me?











Antichrist Superstar: Performance Art as Occult Ritual

When preparing to go into the studio to record the album Antichrist Superstar, Marilyn Manson described it as "a musical ritual designed to bring about the Apocalypse."

For the music video made for the song "Antichrist Superstar," Manson hired obscure experimental film-maker E. Elias Merhige---director of the 1991 film Begotten and the better-known 2000 film Shadow of the Vampire, starring Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich and Eddie Izzard---who, according to Wikipedia, "used military footage from different countries and different wars that depicted the fascist aspect of the song. However, Manson was not quite sure that it represented the criticism that the subject matter deserved. Ultimately, release of the video was vetoed by Interscope, who was appalled by the quality of the cinematography. The frontman, for his part, expressed interest in seeing its release someday, quipping: 'that's not to say it won't be seen but I'm not sure if [Merhige] ever had a fair chance of finishing it because of the record company.' "



Manson's close relationship with the occult---particularly the darker, stranger currents of occult thought, including but not limited to LaVeyan Satanism, Kabbalah, alchemy and Hermeticism---should be obvious. Anyone who doesn't know is directed to http://www.nachtkabarett.com/Grotesque, an extremely well-done website by a young man named Nick Kushner, dedicated entirely to exploring the hidden occult meanings and symbolism in Manson's artistic output.

Though many people have claimed that Manson's interest in such things is not genuine, and that he uses such symbolism for "shock value," a closer inspection of the facts will reveal that Manson is very much a real occultist, his interest in the subject is most certainly genuine, and runs much deeper than anyone might have expected.


Live performances of the song have retained the same symbolism to this day; that of a mock fascist rally, "the inauguration of the worm" as "Antichrist Superstar."