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164 Mastema
time of this writing, the ritual could be found on
the First Church of Satan website. The rite begins
by “marking” the participants, accompanied by a
liturgy that imaginatively equates the devil’s mark
with the biblical Mark of the Beast:
The Celebrants (Apostates) either perform
this ritual in robes, or nude. After gathering
outside of temple space, the Deacon addresses
the group.
DEACON: “None may partake of the
bounty of the Dreaming Lord until they have
taken His Mark. Those who would gain His
blessings come forward to receive the Mark of
the Beast.”
Each apostate goes in turn to receive the
Mark, which is stamped onto their left hand.
Last of all, the Deacon stamps the Priest, who
in turn stamps the Deacon. The Apostates
then follow the Priest and Deacon into the
temple space.
Later in the same rite, the notion of the Devil’s
Mark is further extended to encompass the Mark
of Cain:
PRIEST: “If any wish to abstain from these
festivities, let them leave now, although the
Mark of the Beast is permanent upon their
souls and was inscribed there even before they
took it at the Gate of the Temple.”
ALL: “For we are the descendants of Cain.”
As indicated by the title of the ritual, the core
of this Black Mass is a symbolic recrucifixion of
Jesus, who is portrayed in the liturgy as a false
messiah.
See also Satanic Ritual Abuse
For Further Reading:
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches
and Witchcraft. New York: Facts on File, 1989.
“The Recrucifixion: A ChaoSatanic Black Mass.”
Available at
http://www.churchofsatan.org/recruc.html.
Smith, Michelle, and Lawrence Pazder. Michelle
Remembers. New York: Congdon and Lattes,
1980. Reissued New York: Pocket Books, 1981.
Valiente, Doreen. An ABC of Witchcraft. Custer, WA:
Phoenix, 1973.
Mastema
Mastema (or Mansemat) is the “father of all evil,
yet subservient to God.” This is per the Book of
Jubilees, wherein Mastema is described as the
Angel of Adversity. Elsewhere, Mastema is referred
to as the Accusing Angel, and in Hebrew Mastema
means “animosity.”
Mastema works for God to tempt mankind
and as an executioner. A large number of demons
are under his charge. These evil spirits were born
from the dead bodies of giants killed by God that
were the offspring of fallen angels and mortal
earth women. One legend tells how after the
Flood God intended to comply with a request of
Noah’s to lock away all of the evil spirits underground.
But Mastema was able to convince God
that it would be wise to allow some of the demons
to continue their work, as sinful mortals still
needed to be kept in line and have their faith
tested at times. God agreed to allow one-tenth of
the demons carry on their work under Mastema’s
supervision.
There are other references to Mastema, such as
in Exodus (4:24ff.). Here Mastema tries to kill
Moses. Also, it is said that Mastema is supposed to
have assisted the Egyptian wizards against Moses
and Aaron when these Israelites had to present
themselves before the Pharaoh to display their
talent at feats of magic.
See also Book of Jubilees
For Further Reading:
Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels Including the
Fallen Angels. 1967. New York: Free Press, 1971.
Godwin, Malcolm. Angels: An Endangered Species.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.
Matamoros Murders
Constanzo, 26, and Ms. Aldrete, 24, had been
charged with aggravated kidnaping by Cameron
County authorities and are believed to have directed
human sacrifices, mutilations and the boiling of
brains and other organs in rituals to bring occult
protection for their drug-smuggling ring.
—Associated Press
In 1989, police discovered that a series of
murders had been carried out by a Mexican
drug-smuggling gang headquartered in Mata-