On Walpurgisnacht 1966, Anton LaVey shaved his head and declared the birth of the Church of Satan. The gathered crowd expected a black mass. They got something stranger: a ritual that inverted nothing, because LaVey had no god to blaspheme. LaVey’s philosophy, LaVeyan Satanism, differed from traditional beliefs by replacing supernatural faith with atheistic individualism. It defined Satan as a symbol of carnal autonomy, not a deity. Where traditional religions demanded submission, LaVey demanded self-deification.
Anton LaVey’s LaVeyan Satanism rejected the supernatural, redefining Satan as a symbol of carnal autonomy and rebellion against arbitrary authority. Learn how it broke from traditional religion and occultism.
What Exactly Was LaVey’s Philosophy?
LaVeyan Satanism, codified in The Satanic Bible (1969), is an atheistic religion that treats Satan as a literary archetype for pride, rebellion, and the pursuit of earthly pleasure. It has no belief in a literal devil, no afterlife, no sin, and no savior. The central tenet is that each individual is their own god, responsible for their own success and failure. This placed LaVey in direct opposition to every major religious tradition of his time, and to many occult traditions as well.
Where Did LaVey’s Ideas Come From?
Anton Szandor LaVey (1930–1997) spent his early career as a carnival performer, police photographer, and organist. Those experiences shaped his view of human nature as fundamentally carnal and self-interested. He saw religion as a tool of manipulation and guilt, not salvation.
In 1966, he founded the Church of Satan in his San Francisco home, a black Victorian house he painted entirely black. The founding date, April 30, was chosen deliberately: Walpurgisnacht, a traditional witch’s sabbath. But LaVey did not claim to revive witchcraft. He claimed to be creating something new.
His influences were eclectic. He drew from Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the Übermensch, Ayn Rand’s objectivism, the showmanship of P.T. Barnum, and the ritual techniques of Aleister Crowley, though he rejected Crowley’s occult metaphysics. He also borrowed from the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft, treating the Cthulhu Mythos as a source of powerful symbols rather than literal entities.
The result was a system that looked like a religion but functioned as a philosophy of radical self-interest. LaVey called it “the only religion that makes sense.”
How Did LaVeyan Satanism Differ from Traditional Religion?
The differences are not subtle. Traditional religions, whether Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or even many pagan traditions, posit a supernatural realm inhabited by gods, spirits, or forces that demand obedience. LaVey rejected all of that.
No God, No Devil, No Afterlife. LaVey stated flatly that there is no god and no devil. Satan is a symbol, not a being. The afterlife is a fiction. This alone placed him outside the bounds of nearly every religious tradition in the West.
Indulgence Instead of Asceticism. Traditional religions often demand restraint: fasting, celibacy, humility, turning the other cheek. LaVey’s Nine Satanic Statements begin with “Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence.” He argued that the seven deadly sins were actually virtues, because they are natural human impulses. Gluttony, greed, lust, pride: these are not flaws to suppress but drives to manage wisely.
Self-Deification Instead of Submission. Where Christianity teaches “not my will but thine,” LaVey taught that the individual’s will is the only authority. The Eleventh Satanic Rule of the Earth states: “When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.” This is not a call to violence but a rejection of the victim mentality that LaVey saw in traditional religious morality.
Ritual as Psychodrama, Not Worship. LaVey’s rituals were designed to release emotional energy, not to contact spirits. He called them “greater magic” and “lesser magic.” Greater magic is the formal ritual performed in a chamber, using candles, bells, and the Sigil of Baphomet, to focus the will on a specific goal. Lesser magic is the everyday manipulation of people through appearance, charm, and deception. Neither involves summoning a demon. The only force at work is the practitioner’s own psychology.
How Did LaVey Differ from Traditional Occultism?
This is where the comparison gets interesting. LaVey was not the first to reject supernaturalism in occult circles, but he was the most explicit.
Aleister Crowley, whom LaVey admired and borrowed from, still believed in spiritual entities. Crowley’s Thelema taught that each person has a True Will that aligns with cosmic forces, and that angels and demons could be contacted through ceremonial magic. LaVey stripped all of that away. He kept the ritual forms but drained them of any literal belief.
The difference is visible in how each handled the concept of Satan. Crowley used the figure of Satan in his Gnostic Mass, but he also wrote extensively about Horus, Babalon, and a pantheon of real spiritual beings. For LaVey, Satan was the only figure that mattered, and he was a symbol, not a being.
The Temple of Set, founded in 1975 by Michael Aquino, a former Church of Satan priest, split from LaVey precisely over this issue. Aquino insisted that Set (the Egyptian god) was a real, sentient entity. LaVey called that “devil worship” and dismissed it as superstition. The schism remains the most significant fracture in modern Satanism.
What Did LaVey’s Practices Actually Look Like?
A LaVeyan ritual is performed in a room called the “ritual chamber” or “cerebral grotto.” The practitioner wears a black robe or works nude. The altar is a naked woman (the “altar of the flesh”) or a symbolic representation. Candles are black. The Sigil of Baphomet hangs on the wall.
The ritual itself follows a structure: the opening (a bell rings three times), the invocation (the practitioner calls upon one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, but as a psychological force), the statement of intent (what the practitioner wants), the climax (a release of emotion, often through shouting or a gesture), and the closing.
LaVey described this as “psychodrama.” The purpose is to purge frustration, focus ambition, or achieve a state of mental clarity. It is not prayer. It is not worship. It is a tool.
The Black Mass, which outsiders assume is central, was performed only rarely. LaVey himself conducted it as a parody, using a naked woman as an altar and a defrocked priest. But he considered it a “ceremony of derision,” not a core practice.
Common Misconceptions About LaVeyan Satanism
That LaVeyans worship the devil. They do not. They do not believe the devil exists. The accusation comes from misunderstanding the symbolic use of Satan.
That they perform animal or human sacrifice. The Church of Satan explicitly forbids harming animals or humans in ritual. The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth state: “Do not harm little children” and “Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.”
That LaVeyan Satanism is nihilistic. It is not. It affirms life, pleasure, and personal achievement. The Satanic Bible opens with “I despise your God, not because I do not believe in him, but because he believes in you.” That is a rejection of guilt, not of meaning.
That all Satanists are LaVeyans. No. Theistic Satanists, Luciferians, and Setians all believe in literal entities. LaVey’s version is one branch, and it is the most widely known but not the only one.
FAQ
Do LaVeyan Satanists believe in Satan? No. They treat Satan as a symbol of pride, rebellion, and carnal nature, not as a real being.
What is the difference between LaVeyan Satanism and theistic Satanism? Theistic Satanists believe in a literal devil and may worship or work with him. LaVeyans are atheists who use Satan as an archetype.
Is LaVeyan Satanism legal? Yes. The Church of Satan is a recognized religious organization in the United States. Its practices involve no illegal activity.
Can a LaVeyan Satanist also be a Christian? No. The two are incompatible. LaVeyan Satanism rejects every core Christian doctrine, including the existence of God, sin, and salvation.
LaVey’s philosophy was not a rebellion against God. It was a rebellion against the very idea that any external authority, divine or human, has the right to dictate how a person lives. That is why it remains controversial: it offers no comfort, no redemption, and no excuse. For a deeper look at the schism that followed LaVey’s death, see our guide on the Temple of Set. To understand the symbol at the center of his philosophy, visit our glossary entry on the Sigil of Baphomet. And for the broader context of modern Satanism, explore our demonology hub.