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!