Wisdom, humor, and dark observations by the founder of the Church of Satan. LaVey ponders such topics as nonconformity, occult faddism, erotic politics, the "Goodguy badge," demoralization and the construction of artificial human companions.

In this book, published after two decades of inactivity (to the world of print), LaVey sheds light on many interesting topics, bringing his usual dose of sardonic humor to the printed page.

A particular essay comes to mind when I think of this book- it's called "Hatha Toilet Seat Meditaion," and if it doesn't solicit laughter from you, nothing will. For those of you who are familiar with it, I'm certain you're grinning right now. For those who aren't, read the book and find out why.

Other essays focus on some pretty forbiding topics, and the level of candor expressed by LaVey never lets us forget that while the media may have portrayed him as several things- none of which were especially flattering- we will continue to respect him for the insight he shared with us, remembering the first time we read the "Satanic Bible," a book that for many of us described the thoughts we'd always thought, but never knew anyone else did.

So, when you read this book, say to yourself with a sigh of gratification, "Hail Satan!"

If you'd like to contact me, you can do so at Justin@radiofreesatan.com

If you're a recently self-discovered Satanist, you have my best wishes for your continued learning and exploration.

HS!


Importance of Literacy in a Book Review   August 27, 1998
 59 out of 79 found this review helpful

This isn't so much a review as it is a critical look at one of the "Doc's" detractors:

On June 2, 1998 midnightmagick@hotmail.com stated: "LAVEY IS NOTHING BUT A LIER! " First of all, it's spelled "liar". Second, the glorification of the "self" is an oft overlooked philosophy, which is something most religions are--it's called "theosophy". I wish I could give you a break, kind sir, but the only Satanists who "wine" are connoisseurs of said beverage and "whining" is something that you, Mr. Magick, are extremely adept at! And if that's not bad enough, you said "wine" twice--once is a typo, the second time reveals an intellect below a 5th grade reading level. For someone who boldly states "I am a Wiccan" and "disagree with Christianity" you sure seem quick to defend a religion that considers YOU a "heretic." Next, I would like to answer these following questions:

Q. What religion came first (a) satanism or (b) christianity?

A. That would be "Which religion" and as to the one that "came first", well, most of us stopped playing that game when we graduated from grade school.

Q. What is the name of the opposing force, the evil force in christianity?

A. LaVey clearly states in his manifesto that Satan is a "concept" and is as far removed from the "Satan" of Christianity as the "Easter Bunny" is in the Resurrection of Christ.

And please don't refer to me as "peopel"; here in the land of "coherent statements" we refer to ourselves as "people", some of us even consider ourselves "individuals." If it is indeed true that LaVey created Satanism as a controversey, then why are YOU causing such an uproar? If you are going to use a literary forum such as amazon.com for your pulpit, at least you could have the common courtesy to master your syntax and grammar first.

Hail Satan!

--Bear23


A Unique Collection of Satanic Essays   November 15, 1999
 40 out of 47 found this review helpful

This book is a well-written collection of Mr. LaVey's essays. For the most part this book is not required to understand The Church of Satan. The book does highlight Mr. LaVey's unique philosophy and various related topics. The range of topics is too broad to summarize, so I'll list several highlights:

"Ravings From Tartarus": Why ritual spells do not work, and how to accomplish your goals.

"The Importance of Keeping a Secret": Types of secrets, and methods to ensure secrecy.

"Nonconformity -- Satanism's Secret Weapon": The Satanist as Master in a throng of weak-willed slaves.

"Let Me Entertain You": Techniques for maintaining your Satanist identity of dominance. "Responsibility for the responsible..."

"The Construction of Artificial Human Companions": Building android companions. "Read between the 'lie-ons'" concerning android joint construction, then re-read "Nonconformity -- Satanism's Secret Weapon".

"Misanthropia": The psychology of Satanists and their android companions. "Read between the 'lie-ons'", then re-read "Nonconformity -- Satanism's Secret Weapon".

Keep your ice open.


The Best of Anton Lavey's Work   April 24, 2002
 22 out of 31 found this review helpful

Greetings Everyone. Out of all of Anton Lavey's works (satanic bible, satan speaks, and the satanic witch), this book rght here, "The Devil's Notebook" (in my opinion anyway) is the best of Lavey's works. At the same time that some of the stuff in this is humorous (read chapters "Duck-Billed Platitudes", "Hatha Toilet Seat Meditaion", and "The Whoopi Cushion Shall Rise Again" for instance) most of stuff that Lavey says in this book is so true I'm surprised Lavey himself is not a perfect human being. Chapters like "on the Importance of Being Evil", "The Goodguy badge" and "Two Wrongs Make A Right" I agree with completely. You'll have to buy the book yourself and see why. Of course, I'm not actually a satanist, I'm really an atheist, so the only thing that I do not agree with in this book is all that magic and occult [stuff] that plague all of Lavey's work (I know that satanism doesn't equal to devil worship and Lavey's work doesn't mention anything about virgin sacrifices, animal mutilation or any other sick stuff that christians like to credit satanist with, for those of you that are satanist and are reading this review, so relax). Anyway, I have read other of Lavey's works. The satanic bible was okay, but it was filled with stuff that people should already know by instinct, satanist or not. The Satanic witch is just about the only piece of Lavey's work that I find repugnant and stupid. Again, in my opinion, those of you that are starting into satanism and/or never read one of Lavey's works, satanist or not, I suggest you start with this book first before you read any other material by him.


An interesting read, no doubt. However...   May 2, 2003
 11 out of 15 found this review helpful

I feel kind of put off, if only because I have trouble giving this work more credit, simply because I find myself wondering how much was actually LaVey's own work. Run a google search on "LaVey", and you'll come across many websites, and many articles noting the fact that ASL was apparently quite a habitual falsifier. According to testimonies, research, and official documents, much of the life LaVey played up to the public, was built around tall tales. Everything from his name, to his personal holdings, to many of his "infamous" life experiences, were all made up or heavily exaggerated (apparently much of "The Satanic Bible" was just lifted from previous works, with no credit being given to said volumes.) Not to say that he isn't still an interesting individual from a psychological standpoint- it must have taken quite a sense of character for him to build up such a lifestyle, and, maybe he did indeed have a reason for all that carrying-on? Anyways, read this book for a collection of interesting, and sometimes thought provoking essays, whether they were all written by him or not.