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258 Thee Satanic Church
Other LHP groups tend to have more than six
levels of initiation, and such levels are understood
differently than in the Temple of Set. In the words
of Graham Harvey, one of the few academics to
have studied the temple: “Elsewhere an initiate is
expected to progress from the lowest level toward
the highest. In the TS [Temple of Set] the majority
of members are expected to be second degree or
Adept II degree, rather than to attempt to achieve
higher degrees. The TS is more interested in individuals
developing themselves and finding their
own level than in creating a group identity
dependent on everyone following exactly the same
path” (Harvey 1995, 286). Alongside of the degree
system, there are different orders—which Harvey
describes as “special interest groups”—within the
Temple of Set:
The TS is compared to a university with the
Orders as its various academic departments.
All initiates are provided with a brief
summary of each Order’s special interests. I
have received information on eleven Orders,
which have interests in the five sense, the Arts,
technology, Nietzsche, origins, the Germanic
tradition, communication, Merlin, Selfpresentation,
balance and performance.
Adepts II degree are encouraged to specialize
in any single Order they care to devote
themselves to. The Priesthood, however, has
responsibility for first and second degree
initiates and must therefore give priority to
this service. All Orders are expected to
contribute to the evolution of the TS and not
to compete with it or with other Orders. (287)
The ToS asserts that it practices black
magic—meaning consciously self-beneficial,
rather than evil—in contrast to the white magic
practiced by other groups. To again cite from
Harvey: “‘White’ magic and ‘religion’ is the false
consciousness that the individual is doing something
for altruistic reasons: the benefit of others,
the praise of deity, reaching for harmony with the
cosmos or some other ‘Other.’ The TS recognizes
that a gift to charity is at least as much an act of
self-gratification as it is an attempt to be helpful.
For the TS this truism encourages self-gratification
as the best possible reason for action.”
Although there are no “official” Temple of Set
rituals, Aquino’s Black Magic in Theory and
Practice contains a sample ritual outline and
instructions that one might follow to construct a
ritual, including a sample invocation of Set. To
transform these guidelines into a full ritual, the
magician must, among other things, supply a
central focus—intent, goal, object, whatever. In
contrast, the sample rituals in The Satanic Bible
include their own objectives or goals within the
ritual as presented. Temple of Set rituals tend to
be similar to rituals of other Western LHP
groups, although, unlike both ritual magic and
Wicca, a circle is not cast.
See also Left-Hand Path; Aquino, Michael A ;
Church of Satan
For Further Reading:
Aquino, Michael A. The Church of Satan. 4th ed.
Self-published, 1999.
Balanone’s Temple of Set Information Site.
http://www.bigfoot.com/~balanone/
Flowers, Stephen E., Lords of the Left Hand Path.
Smithville, TX: Runa-Raven Press, 1997.
Goldston, Linda. “Army of the Night.” San Jose
Mercury News. July 24, 1988.
Harvey, Graham. “Satanism in Britain Today.”
Journal of Contemporary Religion 10, no. 3
(1995).
LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York:
Avon, 1969.
Mandelbaum, W. Adam, The Psychic Battlefield: A
History of the Military-Occult Complex. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
Melton,J.Gordon,The Encyclopedia of American
Religion. 5th ed. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1996.
Thee Satanic Church
When Thee Satanic Orthodox Church of
Nethilum Rite divided in 1974, Thee Satanic
Church formed under the leadership of Dr.
Evelyn Paglini. Paglini had been involved in the
founding of the original group, but her new
church conducted its activities in the suburbs of
Chicago. There was little or no difference in
beliefs and practices with the original organization.
They became known to the public in the late
1970s when they appeared and conducted a
number of rituals at the old Comiskey Park in an
effort to improve the fortunes of the Chicago