6/6/06

Today is June 6th, 2006. Better known as 6/6/06. Today's date shares the date with the so-called "mark of the beast." The book of Revelations claims that "666" is the mark of the beast, or the mark that represents Satan. The book of Revelations also claims that when the end of the world comes, Angels will come about and play trumpets at the four corners of the Earth. Yes, the Bible references four corners of the Earth. There isn't four corners on Earth and there isn't a mark of any beast.

It's sort of a special day though. A lot of people were nervous. I'd bet a testicle that anyone who is a believer in the Christian God was shitting their pants all day, or at the least, a bit nervous. I think it's pretty comical. But what I'd like to talk about today is Anton LaVey and the Satanic Religion. It's not really a religion at all. It's more like a really good philosophy with a dumb name. Satan represents aspects of a fictional character that they choose to embrace. It's about your rights as a human. It's about individualism.

I first became very interested in Anton LaVey and Satanism in 2002. I was intrigued. Then I bought the Satanic Bible, and realized a lot of things. LaVey was a liar and a fraud. LaVey used a name (Satanism) as a marketing ploy for a pretty good philosophy. But then he had to throw in weird concepts like magic, which I believe is code for manipulation. Either way, Anton LaVey was sort of a douche bag, but he was a brilliant douche bag. And I'd like to share with you the finer points and ideas of Satanism. You will be surprised that you will actually agree with much of this. So in celebration of the Devil's Day, I give you a brief introduction to the basic concepts of Satanism. LaVey-Satanism is stupid and a money-making ploy. But the basic concept is something to think about, that's for sure.

The eleven Satanic rules of the Earth
1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
3. When in another’s lair, show him/her respect or else do not go there.
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him/her cruelly and without mercy.
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he/she cries out to be relieved.
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9. Do not harm little children.
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him/her to stop. If he/she does not stop, destroy him/her.

Now I full-heartedly agree with every one of these except for #7. When I came across this bullshit in LaVey's first book, The Satanic Bible, I just skipped past it. It didn't interest me. I wasn't interested in the stupid and self-glamorizing aspects of Satanism. I was interested in the ideas. There's nothing cool to me about saying "Heyyyy I'm a Satanist!" But you'd be surprised how big the appeal is for this very reason. Many dark people love to claim to be Satanists just for the attention. It's self glamorizing and pathetic.

But like I said, those are 10 really good rules to live life by and I fully agree with all of them. LaVey gets into weird shit, like fucking whenever and whatever you want to fuck and giving into primal desires and what not. Like I said, I respect the foundation of this "religion", which of course is more like a philosophy. But the packaging is all wrong. If it has nothing to do with Satan, then why call it that? Because it's a neat name that calls for attention.

The other main thing I agree with in this philosophy are the Nine Satanic Sins. Now remember, replace "Satanic" with "Humanistic." Again, I believe the average person would agree with those basic sins. If you combine the two lists, I think you get some pretty good advice. And in the end, that's all any religious idea should be. Some guiding advice. It shouldn't be the end-all-be-all. It shouldn't dictate an entire country's policies.

To read more, check out the Wikipedia Page You might be interested. I was very interested at one time, but the more I learned about Anton LaVey, and the more I learned about the "religion" itself, the more it turned me off. I'm not a religious person. I'm a person who takes a bit from every religion and puts them into my own melting pot. I agree with a small part of every religion, to be honest. Karma is a great idea. And the idea of all suffering stemming from desire is another great concept.

This is the way I think things should be. Everyone should be educated on all religions, and choose their own ideas and beliefs. People need to be exposed to different types of dogma and philosophy. I'm a free man with a free mind. I'm a lone soldier living on an unchartered island here. I belong to no group and I adhere to no specific religion. I'm just Matt. I'm an individual, and every individual is unique and special in their own way. That's why I hate most religions. Because my strongest belief is that very one.

You're special, you are unique. No one in the whole world has your brain and your thoughts. You're the only one like you. So why are you following the leader? Why are you just walking the same path that everyone else is? You don't need to. It might be a little harder, but it's a lot better over here. It's better being free. It's a lot of pressure being a free person with a free mind, but you learn to accept it and see it as normal. You forget what it's like to believe someone is controlling your destiny.

It's all bullshit, and soon enough we'll all accept it. You're an individual with a unique mind. Use it, and make up your own beliefs. There is no Devil. There is no Satan to believe in. There is no date to fear other than the day you die. The only thing you should believe in blindly and unquestionably is yourself. You are your own God. You are the supreme deity and leader of your life and your destiny. You can have whatever you want and do whatever you want with your life. The ability is within you. You are your God. Its not as easy as blindly believing in a magical man in the sky, but the amount of potential you obtain when you let go and start believing in yourself is amazing. Trust me on this. It's why I'm me. Because I put all of my faith in me. I put all of my hope in me and I use a great deal of time not praying for what I want; but figuring out the most efficient way to get what I want myself. We are all our own Gods.

Keep this in mind next time you're worried that the world is going to end because of a religious symbol being mixed in with the date. Keep this in mind when you're worried about homos getting married. God's not judging you for your beliefs. You should be judging yourself for your beliefs. Just knock it off, stop it, and grab the wheel. You have control of your life. The world isn't ending on 6/6/06 because there is no beast. If there were, today would be the day he'd be coming around to remind everyone he exists. Haw Haw, suckers. It's all a big fucking joke. Enjoy the waste of time.