The Temple of Set II
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Jehovah, Christ, Satan, and Lucifer - in a complementary relationship. Predictably it was the ‘Satanic’ component of
the Process that attracted the most attention - from aspirants and external critics alike - and the Process proved
unable to come to grips with this symbolism and its implications. Bainbridge shows how the organization was
erroneously linked to the Manson Family in Sanders’ The Family (#6U), and how its failure to successfully dispute
and reject this linkage resulted in the breakdown and eventual dissolution of the group. Theologically/
philosophically the Process was ignorant of Satanism, so the primary value of this account is as an account of the
dangers faced by an unskilled group perceived by society as ‘Satanic’ in the conventional/evil sense. [Principal name
disguises: Process = ‘Power’. Processean = ‘Powerite’. DeGrimston = ‘de Forest Jones’.] Bainbridge is Assistant
Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington.”
6AE. Satanismus by Josef Dvorak. 1989. (LVT-2) JL: “Written in German, Satanismus deals with Satanskult
analyses ranging from Aleister Crowley to Anton LaVey to the homocidal Manson. The Grand Master’s German is
less polished than could be desired; hopefully an English translation will become available.”
6AF. Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend by Jeffrey S. Victor. Chicago: Open Court, 1993.
(TOS-3) MA: “Simply the most comprehensive and objective analysis to date of the ‘Satanic crime’ urban myth of
the late-1980s. Available in both hardcover (ISBN 0-8126-9191-1) and paperback (ISBN 0-8126-9192-X). This book
is not essential for Setians who are not personally interested in the myth and the scams resulting from it. But if you
are interested, this book is indispensable. An exhaustive bibliography is appended, as are names and addresses of
important specialized contacts, both individuals and organizations. Victor is Professor of Sociology at the State
University of New York and has an extensive academic background in the study of rumor-panics.”
6AG. In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult by Robert D. Hicks. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1991
(ISBN 0-87975-604-7). (TOS-3) MA: “The best book on the subject of #6AF from a professional law-enforcement
perspective. When the ‘Satanic scare’ was instigated, law-enforcement agencies were caught off-guard, having
virtually no background or experience in ‘cult-hunting’. To make matters worse, some officers had personal religious
biases and agendae that colored their approach to the scare. This book provides a historical overview of what
resulted, together with a methodical presentation of facts to prevent a similar over-reaction from recurring. Hicks, a
former police officer, is a criminal justice analyst who advises Virginia law-enforcement agencies.”
6AH. Lords of the Left-Hand Path by Stephen E. Flowers. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1997 (ISBN
976-159477467-6). (TS-3). Order directly from Runa-Raven for US$40 postpaid domestic. Overseas orders include
approximate surface or airmail book postage. MA: “The definitive survey of the ‘Satanic tradition’ throughout
recorded history and the world’s major cultures. Flowers is a Magus V° of the Temple of Set, Grand Master of its
Order of the Trapezoid, Yrmin-Drighten RX of the Rune-Gild, and a Ph.D. in Germanic Studies - as well as author of
many definitive books in ancient north European history and esoterica. Chapter titles (& just some of the
subtopics): The Left-Hand Path (defined); The Eastern Traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism); The
Roots of the Western Tradition (paganism, Greece, north Europe, Semitic, Hamitic, cult of Set); The First
Millennium (Gnosticism, Christianity, Islam, Assassins, Yezidi); The Path of Satan (Middle Ages, dualists,
pantheists, witchcraft, Faust); Lucifer Unbound (Hellfire Club, de Sade, Goethe, modern Devil-concepts); An
Interlude in the Absolute Elsewhere (Nazi occultism); The Occult Revival (Theosophy, Crowley, Fraternitas Saturni,
Spare, Gurdjieff, modern witchcraft); Anton Szandor LaVey (& Church of Satan); Michael A. Aquino: The Temple of
Set; Offshoots & Parallels. Appendices include a discussion of ‘Satanism’ as a fundamentalist urban legend.”
6AI. The Yezidis: A Study in Survival by John S. Guest. London: KPI, 1987. (TOS-3) DW: “Contains the
sacred texts and information on the Yezidi as a living culture from an anthropologist who has lived among them.
Fascinating stuff.”
6AJ. The Fortunes of Faust by E.M. Butler. London: Cambridge University Press, 1952. (TOS-4) DW: “This
volume, third in a recommended trilogy of The Myth of the Magus and Ritual Magic, deals with the Faust legend, a
Christianized Remanifestation of the Odhinn’s ‘sacrifice of himself to himself’ - in other words, making a deal with
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your own psyche, which under the anti- psyche mode of monotheism became ‘Satanic’. Dealing with figures of Don
Juan and Faust, Butler shows how the pagan concept of the magus endured and appealed to artists - an archetype
which could not and cannot be banished.”
6AK. The Satanic Screen by Nikolas Schreck. London: Creation Books, 2001. (TOS-3) MA: “An exhaustive,
incisive, and provocative survey of all films made with Satanic themes. This is no mere recitation or catalogue, as
Schreck (a Magister Templi IV° of the Temple of Set at the time of publishing) possesses both the initiatory
perspective and the film-world experience to bring out not just the entertaining and horrific aspects of each movie,
but its [intentional or accidental] philosophical and magical power as well. Mention must also be made of Schreck’s
writing style, which is elegant-yet-slashing in the tradition of the Æsthetes and Decadents.”
6AL. Flowers From Hell: A Satanic Reader by Nikolas Schreck (Ed.). London: Creation Books, 2001. (TOS-3)
MA: “An exhaustive collection of the most elegant and inspiring writings concerning Satan or Satanic themes by
authors Dante Alighieri, Christopher Marlowe, John Milton, Johann Goethe, William Beckford, Matthew Lewis,
Charles Maturin, Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, J-K. Huysmans, Mark Twain, Anatole
France, Max Beerbohm, and Aleister Crowley. The Diabolicon is also publicly published for the first time. At least as
fascinating as the classic contents of this volume is Schreck’s extensive Introduction “The Luciferian Vision”, in
which he examines not only each individual text, but the personality and psychology of each author.”
* * *
F6A. The Devil’s Rain. 1975. MA: “In 1974 CE Robert Fuest, who directed the Dr. Phibes films, decided to film
a horror movie with Satanism as its theme. He took an anemic novel about Wiccan-witchcraft in New England and
hired Anton LaVey as technical advisor to spice it up, which he did - adding touches of LaVey artwork, Mexican
extras chanting Enochian Keys, and ‘Satanic Priest’ Ernest Borgnine intoning extracts from the invocation in my
‘Ceremony of the Nine Angles’ in #6L. The setting was moved to Durango, Mexico (‘Redstone’), and the colorful cast
included Ida Lupino, William Shater [just before the Star Trek movie revival], John Travolta [his screen debut - a
fight & fall downstairs], and cameos for Anton (a gold-helmeted Priest) and Diane (Borgnine’s colonial-era wife)
LaVey. While the film was [and is] lots of fun for those in the know about all this, it bombed at the box office and is
today only rarely shown on television. See discussion in #6N.”
F6B. Asylum of Satan. 1975. Charl
es Kissinger, Carla Borelli. MA: DVD: “Something Weird Video”
#ID1598SWDVD. “Around 1971CE, when I was Priest III° of the C/S Nineveh Grotto in Louisville, Kentucky, a local
commercial film company decided to try for the big time by making a Satanic horror movie - using local theatrical
talent. Since they had a Church of Satan in town, they asked us if we would handle the ritual scene. I wrote the
script, Nineveh designed the chamber, and we imported the Rosemary’s Baby devil-suit [with a new head] from
Hollywood. The result of all this was a turkey of a movie with, if I say so, a rather zesty ritual sequence. The
company is no longer in existence, but somehow this thing survived as a videocassette - and later, in 2002, as a
digitally-remastered, widescreen DVD, complete with a commentary by the original filmmakers which is at least as
charming as the film itself Dry-ice, rubber snakes & bugs, and plaid trousers on the hero will all scare you frightfully.
See discussion in #6N.”
F6C. The Devil Rides Out. Hammer Films, 1968. Screenplay by Richard Matheson. Director: Terence Fisher.
Christopher Lee. (LVT-2) MA: “Probably one of the best Hammer films ever made - now available in a Hammer
Collection videocassette. It is a very accurate screenplay of Dennis Wheatley’s first and most famous Satanism novel.
Look for Charles Gray’s silky-evil portrayal of Mocata, the character whom Wheatley specifically modeled after
Aleister Crowley, an acquaintance of his. [One other Wheatley Satanism novel, To the Devil a Daughter, was also
made into a film, but it is a ghastly mess which bears no comparison to the book. Wheatley’s novels are generally
available in British editions, with occasional American publication. Other novels in his ‘Satanism’ series include The
Satanist, They Used Dark Forces, and The Ka of Gifford Hillary.” JL: “The novel is far better than the movie, but
few can resist taking a look at the cinematographer’s art turned to the subject of Black Magic. Christopher Lee stars
as de Richleau, the rich man’s Indiana Jones, although his IJ exploits are mentioned only in passing. Of far more
interest is Charles Gray’s portrayal of Ipsissimus Mocata, particularly in his discussion of the moral aspects of
Magic. The film also has in its cast Paul Eddington, a British actor who has turned for the most part to comedy. It
might have been that DB was a bit too much for him.”
F6D. Fade to Black. 1983. Dennis Christopher and Linda Kerridge, Mickey Rourke. Director: Vernon
Zimmerman. MA: “In the flavor of Anger’s Hollywood Babylon books, this is a horror movie about a young, aliented
film buff, Eric Binford, who, in a different application of lycanthropy, assumes various characters from classic films
to give himself ‘their powers’. Readers of #6N will recognize the parallels to the 1974+ interests of Anton LaVey, to
include the presence of Marilyn Monroe as Eric’s ideal woman and ‘death angel’.”
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F6E. Rosemary’s Baby. 1968. Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans,
Ralph Bellamy. Produced by William Castle. Directed by Roman Polanski. MA: “This film is so well known to
contemporary Satanists that little need be said. After the smash success of the novel, Polanski filmed it with virtually
no modifications whatever. Contrary to rumor, Anton LaVey did not play the part of the Devil in it, but consulted
briefly with Polanski in Los Angeles before the film was shot at the Dakota building in New York City. Unusual
music by Christopher Komeda, who died shortly afterwards. Chocolate mousse was added to Levin’s story because
of the excellent CM at the ‘Ile de France’ restaurant across West 72nd from the Dakota - where the Priesthood had a
dinner meeting at the 3rd Eastern Conclave of the C/S at Halloween 1972. See further discussion in #6N.”
F6F. The Abominable Dr. Phibes. 1971. Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Hugh Griffith, Terry-Thomas. Director:
Robert Fuest. MA: “A campy horror movie with Price as a disfigured ex-vaudevillain (nice pun) seeking vengeance
against a team of physicians he believes responsible for the death of his wife. What makes the movie is the lush
atmosphere of Art Nouveau/Art Deco with which Phibes surrounds himself in the magical ‘universe’ he has created
for himself. See further discussion in #6N.”
F6G. Dr. Phibes Rises Again. 1972. Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Terry-Thomas. Director: Robert Fuest. MA:
“The success of #F6F prompted this sequel, even more lavish than the original. Phibes travels to Egypt in search of
the river of immortality, dispatching assorted inconvenient archæologists and policemen on the way. See further
discussion in #6N.”
F6H. The Brotherhood of Satan. 1971. Strother Martin, L.Q. Jones. MA: “After the success of Rosemary’s
Baby, Hollywood floundered around trying to capitalize on the Satanism theme with a couple of failures like The
Mephisto Waltz. #F6H was the first film to start ‘getting it right’, and it was the brainchild of a little-known
producer/director, L.Q. Jones, who also starred as the sheriff in the film. Strother Martin plays a surprisingly
effective Satanic Priest.”
F6I. The Black Cat. Universal, 1934. Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi. MA: “A remarkable essay in Art Deco/
Satanism starring Karloff as the Satanist and Lugosi as his only-slightly-less-sinister opponent. The story line,
centering on a house modeled after the Ennis-Brown house in Hollywood [see Runes #III-6], has nothing to do with
the Poe version. Included is a stylized Black Mass - about as close as Hollywood would come to UFA-
expressionism.”
F6J. The Magus. ca. 1968. Michael Caine, Anthony Quinn, Candice Bergen, Anna Karina. Director: Guy
Green. Screenplay by John Fowles. MA: “The Magus, like Lord of the Rings, is one of those novels which is so subtle
and complex that you have to read it about 2-3 times before you really begin to absorb it. The film was an excellent
translation of the book to the screen - but only for persons who had previously digested the book. To a first-time
viewer it was dreadfully confusing. Nevertheless, if you have read the book, the film is a fine set of illustrations to
accompany it. Perfectly cast, with Quinn as Conchis, Caine as Nicholas, and Bergen as Lily/Julie. Finally released
as an unabridged video/DVD in 2006.”
F6K. Satanis, the Devil’s Mass. 1970. DVD: “Something Weird Video” #ID1615SWDVD. MA: “Satanis was a
commercial documentary of the Church of Satan in San Francisco, filmed in 1968CE and shown almost exclusively
in a San Francisco art-theater. Available currently in DVD. Satanis includes ritual sequences, interviews with Anton,
Diane, and Karla LaVey, and footage of the premises of the original Central Grotto house on California Street in San
Francisco. An amusing sequence shows the blessing of Isaac Bonewits’ penis by Anton LaVey. IB was later tossed
out of the C/S and went on to become a self-proclaimed ‘druid’. Whether the spell is still effective is not known.”
DW: “Sometimes sold with Satanis is an episode of Brother Buzz, a San Francisco children’s TV show, in which BB,
a puppet bee, tells his friends about the lion Togare and his wonderful master Anton LaVey. A picture of Anton
during his pre-Church of Satan ghost-hunting days, with some shots of his house.”
F6L. The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. 1964. Tony Randall, Barbara Eden. Produced by George Pal. (LVT-3) MA:
“On the whole, a pretty effective film treatment of #6W - a bit more lighthearted than the somewhat savage nov
el,
however. Available in DVD.” JL: “This film appears infrequently on cable stations and is also worth watching,
particularly for those who have read the book.”
F6M. The Omen. 1976. MA: “See #6X.”
F6N. Damien: Omen II. 1978. MA: “See #6Y.”
F6O. The Final Conflict. 1981. MA: “See #6Z.”
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Category 7: H.P. Lovecraft
as of February 26, 2003
MA: The novels and short stories of Howard Phillips Lovecraft are famed for their horrific
imagery. To the Setian, however, their importance lies in their success in capturing emotion, motives,
and patterns of behavior long suppressed to near-extinction by conventional civilization. These qualities
may be effectively employed in Black Magical operations. Collectively the Lovecraft writings illustrate
the concept of “genetic memory”, also a key magical principle. [See also #6L and #6N.]
* * *
R. Winkhart IV°, Deutschland: “Die Werke von H.P. Lovecraft sind grossteils in Taschenbüchern
des Suhrkamp-Verlages, Frankfurt in diversen Sammelbänden veröffentlicht worden. Dies als Hinweis
zu 7B.”
7A. Lovecraft: A Biography by L. Sprague de Camp. NY: Doubleday & Co., 1975 (paperback edition available).
(TOS-3) MA: “This is the definitive biography and psychological profile of HPL, with detailed analyses of the
philosophical principles he incorporated into his writings. In contrast to the sanitized image portrayed by August
Derleth, de Camp covers all aspects of HPL’s personality, socially-acceptable and otherwise. Consequently this
biography has been criticized by some HPL fans who want to see their idol exemplify and reinforce their own social
ideologies. Its objectivity, candor, and thoroughness nevertheless make it indispensible for a correct understanding
of HPL the man, the writer, and the philosopher.”
7B. The Dunwich Horror & Others / Dagon & Other Macabre Tales / The Mountains of Madness & Others /
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (four volumes) by H.P. Lovecraft. Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House, 1963+.
(TOS-3) (TRP-1) (LVT-5) MA: “The first three volumes contain the bulk of HPL’s principal works, and the fourth