Anton LaVey Quotations

I don't go to strip bars anymore. I used to go incognito, trouble was they always thought I was an undercover cop.

Be as a lion in the path. Be dangerous even in defeat.

Behold the crucifix; what does it symbolize? Pallid incompetence hanging on a tree.

To be loved, feelings must be rationed. To love, the doors of hysteria, fantasy, and madness may be flung open.

Heaven must be populated with some rather strange creatures if all they lived for was to go to a place where they can strum harps for eternity.

Love is one of the most intense feelings felt by man; another is hate. Forcing yourself to feel indiscriminate love is very unnatural. If you try to love everyone you only lessen your feelings for those who deserve your love. Repressed hatred can lead to many physical and emotional aliments. By learning to release your hatred towards those who deserve it, you cleanse yourself of these malignant emotions and need not take your pent-up hatred out on your loved ones.

Stupidity—The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.

Don't waste your time with people who will ultimately destroy you, but concentrate instead on those who will appreciate your responsibility to them, and, likewise, feel responsible to you.

Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!

There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!

I'm glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year.

Hate your enemy with a whole heart, and if a man smite you on one cheek, SMASH him on the other!

Many of you already read my writings indicating that TV is the new god. There is a little thing I neglected to mention up until now, television is the major mainstream infiltration for the new satanic religion.

Satanism advocates practicing a modified form of the Golden Rule. Our interpretation of this rule is: "Do unto others as they do unto you"; because if you "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and they, in turn, treat you badly, it goes against human nature to continue to treat them with consideration. You should do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but if your courtesy is not returned, they should be treated with the wrath they deserve.

The Atheist complains about the wind. The Christian prays for it to change. The Satanist adjusts his sails.

I dont crave companionship. It stands in my way. I live for pleasure. There are few persons who can give me as much pleasure as those acts I perform myself. I would rather create pleasure according to my own whim than be subjected to the whims of others.

Satanists are encouraged to indulge in the seven deadly sins, as they need hurt no one; they were only invented by the Christian Church to insure guilt on the part of its followers.

Up is down, pleasure is pain, darkness is light, slavery is freedom, madness is sanity...

Do what you want as long as its paying off for you. But once its become a liability, then something is wrong and you better find out what it is.

When a Satanist commits a wrong, he realizes that is it natural to make a mistake―and if he is truly sorry about what he has done, he will learn from it and take care not to do the same thing again. If he is not honestly sorry about what he has done, and knows he will do the same thing over and over, he has no business confessing and asking forgiveness in the first place.

It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful.

The real satanist is not quite so easily recognized as such

There is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes. Like the wooden idols of long ago, they are the work of human hands, and what man has made, man can destroy!

The person who takes every opportunity to "pick on" others is often mistakenly called "sadistic". In reality, this person is a misdirected masochist who is working towards his own destruction. The reason a person viciously strikes out against you is because they are afraid of you or what you represent, or are resentful of your happiness. They are weak, insecure, and on extremely shaky ground when you throw your curse, and they make ideal human sacrifices.

You cannot love everyone; it is ridiculous to think you can. If you love everyone and everything you lose your natural powers of selection and wind up being a pretty poor judge of character and quality. If anything is used too freely it loses its true meaning. Therefore, the Satanist believes you should love strongly and completely those who deserve your love, but never turn the other cheek to your enemy!

I break away from all conventions that do not lead to my earthly success and happiness.

Life is the great indulgence - death the great abstinence. Therefore, make the most of life here and now!

Satanism represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!

Good news is only really good to those directly involved. Most people lead such futile and useless lives that only bad news makes them feel better. If not better, certainly gooder. If one cannot gain recognition for anything else, he can rest well with the assurance that he is "good", which in most case equates with "right".

There are many who would like my time. I shun them. There are some who share my time. I am entertained by them. There are precious few who contribute to my time. I cherish them.

Blessed are the destroyers of false hope, for they are the true Messiahs - Cursed are the god-adorers, for they shall be shorn sheep!

Hair on a man's chest is thought to denote strength. The gorilla is the most powerful of bipeds and has hair on every place on his body except for his chest.

There are television sets in every home, every restaurant, every hotel room, every shopping mall-now they’re even small enough to carry in your pocket like electronic rosaries. It is an unquestioned part of everyday life. Kneeling before the cathode ray God, with our TV Guide concordance in hand, we maintain the illusion of choice by flipping channels (chapters and verses). It doesn’t matter what is flashing on the screen-all that’s important is that the TV stays on.

I consider that a most ignoble endeavor. The only way I would like to 'help' the great majority of people is the same way Carl Panzram 'reformed' people who tried to reform him. It would be most merciful to help them by relieving them of the life they seem to hate so much. People should be happy I'm not a humanitarian-or I'd probably be the most diabolical mass murderer the world has ever known.

The only thing Christianity ever contributed to Satanism was the name

There is no heaven, there is no hell, except here on Earth.

Satanism demands study, not worship!

The TV set, or Satanic family altar, has grown more elaborate since the early 50s, from the tiny, fuzzy screen to huge ‘entertainment centers’ covering entire walls with several TV monitors. What started as an innocent respite from everyday life has become in itself a replacement for real life for millions, a major religion of the masses.

Say unto thine own heart, 'I am mine own redeemer.

The ideal woman to me would be the gun-toting moll. Someone who is true blue and ready to face the world. Open to ideas and suggestion, not stubborn and closed minded.

All we want, those few of us who have the strength to realize what's going on, is the freedom to create and entertain and share with each other, to preserve and cherish what we can while we can, and to build our own little citadels away from the insensitivity of the rest of the world.

But the average person doesnt have that much imagination. They just want to be entertained. They want to have the tableau presented for them. They dont want to participate beyond a certain point. They want the safety of the herd, to be catered to, sit back and enjoy.

There is a beast in man that should be exercised, not exorcised.

Most of the interesting people I've ever met have been deviant in one form or another.

Don't let that little pyramid with the bright eye fool you. That's to draw your attention away from the real thing: the big trapezoid beneath it.

How could you set yourself up as the most powerful institution on earth? You first find out what every man feels at least once a day, establish that as a sin, and set yourself up as the only institution capable of pardoning that sin.

Hitler's greatest mistake was in, not his bringing together some of the things he tried to bring together, but by of course employing the racist concepts that he did, he lost everything. I mean, who knows but he would have won the war if he kept the people around that he considered inferior or his adjutants considered inferior.

The true test of anyone's worth as a living creature is how much he can utilize what he has.

When one sleeps on the floor one need not worry about falling out of bed.

ALL religions of a spiritual nature are inventions of man. He has created an entire system of gods with nothing more than his carnal brain. Just because he has an ego, and cannot accept it, he has to externalize it into some great spiritual device which he calls God.

Satanism encourages its followers to indulge in their natural desires. Only by doing so can you be a completely satisfied person with no frustrations which can be harmful to yourself and others around you. Therefore, the most simplified description of the Satanic belief is: INDULGENCE INSTEAD OF ABSTINENCE

Those who spell Magic with a K aren't.

You cannot love everyone; it is ridiculous to think you can.

Man prides himself on being the only animal who can modify his nature, yet when he chooses to do so he is called a phony.

Every religion in the world that has destroyed people is based on love

Satanism represents a form of controlled selfishness.

Anyone without a sense of humor is too pretentious to be a good magician.

Unfortunately for a multitude of occultists, humor is a rare ingredient in their lives. In fact it is their very lack of humor that has impelled them into the arcane and esoteric.

I've always been timid. I wait for the mating signal, yet I want to show my interest, but I'm too goddamn bashful to go for it! I have no sympathy for wolves. Why can't a man wait and see if there is any interest in them? Every woman wants to be pursued, it's a courting dance, a mating game and it should be that way, played out. The world is full of creeps.

The first time I read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, my instinctive reaction was, so what’s wrong with THAT? Isn’t that the way any master plan should work? Doesn’t the public deserve - nay, demand - such despotism?

I don't drink much anymore, because it's supposedly not good for me. I still have gallons of it around though. I smell the cork and do a lot of wishing.

If you're going to be a sinner, be the best sinner on the block.

When other people ask me, 'What gives you the right to suggest standards for others?', my answer is, 'If I don't, someone else, perhaps less qualified, will.

A friend of mine who was a founding father of the Church of Satan, who later I compared notes with, said when he was a kid, he too managed to get into Sallys Nude Ranch, and in the corral he saw his Sunday school teacher!!! That was a real epiphany for him. From that moment on he was a Satanist.

When ghettos become the mainstream of society, islands of individuality cannot help but harbor an elite.

In order to perform the supernatural, you must first be able to accomplish the supernormal.

Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence! Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams! Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of hypocritical self-deceit! Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!

Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: if it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you've painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, I'm sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow, then do it.

Self-deceit—It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements” but deserves to be repeated here. Another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!

I like raunchiness, not like in a biker-chick sort of a way, but like the girl can't help it. Little bruises, a few hairs out of place, a little stain here and there.

On Saturday night, I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday they'd be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scoured by any white-light religion.

It has been said, 'the truth will make men free.' The truth alone has never made anyone free. It is only doubt which will bring mental emancipation.

Definition of Good and Evil: Good is what you like. Evil is what you don't like.

The Satanist realizes that man, and the action and reaction of the universe, is responsible for everything, and doesn't mislead himself into thinking that someone cares.

In this arid wilderness of steel and stone I raise up my voice that you may hear. To the East and to the West I beckon. To the North and to the South I show a sign proclaiming: Death to the weakling, wealth to the strong!

When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

What good are friends if they cant do you any good?

I thought, acted, and thereupon found myself removed.

If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

Magic is never totally scientifically explainable, but science has always been, at one time or another, considered magic.

Yeah, well, I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid, hopefully. And I think we're all a bit crazy if we do anything that's deviant. I've studied a great deal on deviance and aberrant behavior. Most of the interesting people I've ever met have been deviant in one form or another.

The seven deadly sins of the Christian Church are: greed, pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth. Satanism advocates indulging in each of these 'sins' as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.

Satanism is not a white light religion; it is a religion of the flesh, the mundane, the carnal - all of which are ruled by Satan, the personification of the Left Hand Path.

The devils of past religions have always, at least in part, had animal characteristics, evidence of man's constant need to deny that he too is an animal, for to do so would serve a mighty blow to his impoverished ego.

If a person wants to be hurt and enjoys suffering, then there is no reason not to indulge him in his wont.

No hoary falsehood shall be a truth to me; no stifling dogma shall encramp my pen!

The ecclesiastical description of Hell is that of a horrible place of fire and torment; in Dante's Inferno, and in northern climes, it was thought to be an icy cold region, a giant refrigerator.

Those that would say Satanist would like to kill animal's, sacrifice animals I would say they would make ideal animal sacrifices, I love animals and animals have always been part of me.

I have a passion for big cats, I like big snakes. There is something about snakes that is so wise, they have this uncanny perfection. I'd like to get inside their reptilian heads.

Stupidity-The top of the list for Satanic Sins.

To the Maker the archetype, the self-sustainer, human interaction is usually a waste of the most precious thing in his vital existance: time.

There are many who would take my time. I shun them.

Whatever alleged 'truth' is proven by results to be but an empty fiction, let it be unceremoniously flung into the outer darkness, among the dead gods, dead empires, dead philosophies, and other useless lumber and wreckage!

After an inferior man has been taught a doctrine of superiority he will remain as inferior as he was before his lesson. He will merely assume himself to be superior, and attempt to employ his recently-learned tactics against his own kind, whom he will then consider his inferiors. With each inferior man enjoying what he considers his unique role, the entire bunch will be reduced to a pack of strutting, foppish, self-centered monkeys gamboling about on an island of ignorance. There they will play their games under the supervision of their keeper, who was and always will be a superior man.

One of the keys to success is an unflinching belief that there are no rules. Anyone who's ever succeeded has gone on that premise; not buying established procedures, business or otherwise. The naysayers are inevitably left behind amid shouts of 'it cannot be done' and "should not be done'."

It's a shame stupidity isn't painful.

I never met a person who loved everybody I didn't dislike.

I find greater companionship in inert figures, animals & speechless artifacts, for I can enjoy their presence & there is no psychic drain

There is not always 'two sides to every issue.' That statement is a ridiculous slogan invoked by vested interests and perpetuated by minds of limited scope.

I give people Ayn Rand with trappings,