The Satanic Bible Anton Szandor LaVey Anton Szandor LaVey Author - new book

If you want a man to marry you, give him a copy of The Satanic Bible. I am not joking. This really happened. Forget about saying, “My Love is Like a Red Red Rose”. Just give him the Satanic Bible. I met Anton LaVey in 1967. I was President of the Sexual Freedom League in Berkeley, California. Anton LaVey was head of The Church of Satan in San Francisco. This was one of the all-time longest running shows. However, by 1967 ratings were dropping so Art Linkletter wanted to introduce an adult oriented show. Therefore, he made seperate appointments with both me and Anton LaVey and flew up from Hollywood California to San Francisco with his large camera crew to interview both of us. That was where I met Anton LaVey. The title of the series was “The Lids Off”. The theme was to reveal and expose underground activities such as my Sexual Freedom League and his Church of Satan. I believe the TV Show did not last long. Is not even mentioned in the biography of Art Linkletter. However, I know the show was broadcast because I saw it on air. He wanted to video tape a show of one of my Sexual Freedom League parties. I told him that was impossible as cameras were not allowed in my parties for obvious reasons. They invited me to do a video-taping in Pasadena. They wanted me to bring along one of my Sexual Freedom girls. On my way back to Berkeley on the F Bus, I told a girl who happened to be sitting next to me about this and she immediately said she would like to be on the show. She was not a member of my Sexual Freedom group but she was a nice, attractive and pretty girl, so I invited her. I called the Art Linkletter Show and confirmed this. They provided us with airplane ticket to fly down to Los Angeles and a Five-Star Hotel room for the night. When we went to the taping, she was by far the most beautiful girl there. I was proud of having produced the most beautiful girl. All the other girls there seemed to be UCLA College Students. They were all arguing back and forth on camera but the girl I had brought said nothing. Nevertheless, the camera was on her most of the time because she was so beautiful. Later, she did actually come to one of my Sexual Freedom League parties. She took off all of her clothing and was hugging and kissing with one of the guys she had met there. I was not looking when they disappeared into the back room. Perhaps she will read this and tell me. Several other of my Sexual Freedom League girls were also members of Anton LaVey's group. One was named Linda Luhman who was a regular in both groups. I asked her what they did over there. She said all the girls got naked and they all stood around in a circle with a torch over their heads while they chanted. She said it was allowed but optional. Another girl who went to both my parties and Anton LaVey's parties all the time was and is named Arden Van Upp. She went to ALL of my parties. Knowing her, I am sure she went to all of his events too. She was a, One might expect The Satanic Bible at least to offer a few prancing demons or a virgin sacrifice, but if you hopped this train expecting a tour of the house of horrors, you're on the wrong ride. Far from a manual for conquering the realms of earth, air, fire, and water, The Satanic Bible is Anton LaVey's manifesto of a new religion separate from the "traditional" Judeo-Christian definitions of Satanism. While LaVey rails against the deceit of the Christian church and white magicians, he busily weaves his own deceptions.

The Satanic Bible claims the heritage of a horde of evil deities--Bile', Dagon, Moloch, and Yao Tzin to name a few--but these ancient gods have no coherent connection between each other or to Satanism, except that all have been categorized by Christianity as "evil." Calling on these ancient names like a magician shouting, "Abracadabra," LaVey attempts to shatter the classical depiction of Satanism as a cult of black mass and child sacrifice. As the smoke clears, he leads us through a surprisingly logical argument in favor of a life focused on self-indulgence. The Satanic Bible is less bible and more philosophy (with a few rituals thrown in to keep us entertained), but this philosophy is the backbone of a religion that, until LaVey entered the scene, was merely a myth of the Christian church. It took LaVey, and The Satanic Bible, to turn this myth into a legitimate public religion. --Brian Patterson