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Voice of the Imagination, whole no. 24, August 1942

Page 12

Page 2     Supplement -- VoM #24

One aspect of Satanism has been neglected, and that is the matter referred to above, of the varying manifestations of the Negative Force. One manifestation is Satan--the ruler of the covens of the Middle Ages, the "Master of Slanders, Dispenser of the benefits of crime, Administrator of sumptious sins and great vices," as he is described by Huysmans. Another is the suave, cosmopolitan Mephistopheles, and still another is Lucifer, the fiery demon of war and hate. Would the worship which is directed to Satan be pleasing to Mephisto or Lucifer? It is doubtful. Perhaps it is this that accounts for the varying types of Satanism to be found.
That Devil-Worship is a power in the English-speaking world today cannot be denied. Again and again strange reports crop up, to be quickly suppressed and forgotten. Some years ago a friend told me of his attempts to revive the ancient form of the Black Mass, which was celebrated with the body of a woman for the altar. Kenyon relates how Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV, was a principal in such a ceremony in 1679. The author Seabury Quinn has written of these things, but as usual, fact is much stranger than fiction.
It is to be regretted that even those who practice Satanism know so little about that which they participate in. But the lack of understanding characterizes the age. Perhaps at some time in the future a partial knowledge of the significance of the great principles concealed behind the figure of the Devil will become better known and more widely used.

WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY
It has been denied by one alleged author that there is any connection between Satanism and Black Magic. While this is quite possibly true at the present time, due to the lack of knowledge which is general among most Satanists, and even among Black Magicians, while in our present state of ignorance about so many of these matters it is doubtful if any person could be a Black Magician and still participate in the Black Mass, still there is evidence that this has not always been the case.
In the Black Mass, the Demon is genuflected to and propitiated as a Deity. Man appears as a suppliant, beseeching the Dark Master to look with favor upon him. In Black Magic, the celebrant invokes the Spirit of his choice, and comands him to obey his will. Here Man is the master, the demon is the servant, at least for the period agreed upon. It seems difficult to reconcile the two.
If the two functions could be reconciled, however, it would be by the witch or the sorcerer. The records of magic would seem to indicate that in the past many combined the two successfully. Michelet, while not making such statements directly, seems to imply this, as do other authors.
Kenyon makes a point that seems to have been overlooked by many other writers, namely, that there are "white" as well as "black" witches. The "white" witch is the honored village wise-woman, while the "black" witch is the haggard, furtive evildoer. So it is also with the sorcerer. It is apparent that there is a hitherto overlooked connection with the Black and White Schools—a slender connection, to be sure, but nevertheless one which bears investigation.
It was the sorcerer or sorceress—most often the latter—who attended or presided at the coven, where the rites of Satan were performed. But they were not loath to invoke the proper demons to aid them in their work. Thus the functions of Black Magic and the Black Mass were combined in one person.
Along with witchcraft and sorcery—which includes under one heading the casting of spells, bewitchment, healing, prophesying, the making of charms and philtres, and other things too numerous to mention—should probably be placed Voodoo, which is simply a particular kind of witchcraft, highly confused and confusing to the Caucasian, but a vital, living force in Africa, the Carribean Islands, and in our own Southland. Seebrook has many times shown the connection between African Voodoo and Occidental Witchcraft, which is not surprising, since the student knows that both trace back to a single beginning almost beyond the memory of men.

The author Williamson in his story "Darker Than You Think" forwarded an unusual hypothesis—that the witches and sorcerers are the remnants and throwbacks of a separate race, that they are the devils and demons, and that at one time they ruled the earth, until man rebelled and overthrew them. And through the ages the witchfolk, as he called them, have been working to regain their lost position. With the powers attributed to them, such as astral projection, they could easily have tricked man all through the ages, by impersonating the Devil at the Black Mass, during invocations by would-be magicians, and at other times. While this theory was set forward as pure fiction, there are sufficient elements of fact behind it to make it a theory worthy of consideration in any discussion of occultism and magic.

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Page 2 Supplement -- VoM #24 One aspect of Satanism has been neglected, and that is the matter referred to above, of the varying manifestations of the Negative Force. One manifestation is Satan--the ruler of the covens of the Middle Ages, the "Master of Slanders, Dispenser of the benefits of crime, Administrator of sumptious sins and great vices," as he is described by Huysmans. Another is the suave, cosmopolitan Mephistopheles, and still another is Lucifer, the fiery demon of war and hate. Would the worship which is directed to Satan be pleasing to Mephisto or Lucifer? It is doubtful. Perhaps it is this that accounts for the varying types of Satanism to be found. That Devil-Worship is a power in the English-speaking world today cannot be denied. Again and again strange reports crop up, to be quickly suppressed and forgotten. Some years ago a friend told me of his attempts to revive the ancient form of the Black Mass, which was celebrated with the body of a woman for the altar. Kenyon relates how Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV, was a principal in such a ceremony in 1679. The author Seabury Quinn has written of these things, but as usual, fact is much stranger than fiction. It is to be regretted that even those who practice Satanism know so little about that which they participate in. But the lack of understanding characterizes the age. Perhaps at some time in the future a partial knowledge of the significance of the great principles concealed behind the figure of the Devil will become better known and more widely used. WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY It has been denied by one alleged author that there is any connection between Satanism and Black Magic. While this is quite possibly true at the present time, due to the lack of knowledge which is general among most Satanists, and even among Black Magicians, while in our present state of ignorance about so many of these matters it is doubtful if any person could be a Black Magician and still participate in the Black Mass, still there is evidence that this has not always been the case. In the Black Mass, the Demon is genuflected to and propitiated as a Deity. Man appears as a suppliant, beseeching the Dark Master to look with favor upon him. In Black Magic, the celebrant invokes the Spirit of his choice, and comands him to obey his will. Here Man is the master, the demon is the servant, at least for the period agreed upon. It seems difficult to reconcile the two. If the two functions could be reconciled, however, it would be by the witch or the sorcerer. The records of magic would seem to indicate that in the past many combined the two successfully. Michelet, while not making such statements directly, seems to imply this, as do other authors. Kenyon makes a point that seems to have been overlooked by many other writers, namely, that there are "white" as well as "black" witches. The "white" witch is the honored village wise-woman, while the "black" witch is the haggard, furtive evildoer. So it is also with the sorcerer. It is apparent that there is a hitherto overlooked connection with the Black and White Schools—a slender connection, to be sure, but nevertheless one which bears investigation. It was the sorcerer or sorceress—most often the latter—who attended or presided at the coven, where the rites of Satan were performed. But they were not loath to invoke the proper demons to aid them in their work. Thus the functions of Black Magic and the Black Mass were combined in one person. Along with witchcraft and sorcery—which includes under one heading the casting of spells, bewitchment, healing, prophesying, the making of charms and philtres, and other things too numerous to mention—should probably be placed Voodoo, which is simply a particular kind of witchcraft, highly confused and confusing to the Caucasian, but a vital, living force in Africa, the Carribean Islands, and in our own Southland. Seebrook has many times shown the connection between African Voodoo and Occidental Witchcraft, which is not surprising, since the student knows that both trace back to a single beginning almost beyond the memory of men. The author Williamson in his story "Darker Than You Think" forwarded an unusual hypothesis—that the witches and sorcerers are the remnants and throwbacks of a separate race, that they are the devils and demons, and that at one time they ruled the earth, until man rebelled and overthrew them. And through the ages the witchfolk, as he called them, have been working to regain their lost position. With the powers attributed to them, such as astral projection, they could easily have tricked man all through the ages, by impersonating the Devil at the Black Mass, during invocations by would-be magicians, and at other times. While this theory was set forward as pure fiction, there are sufficient elements of fact behind it to make it a theory worthy of consideration in any discussion of occultism and magic.