Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
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The “Beast” Computer Legend 23<br />
At the moment <strong>of</strong> death, the spirit sees the<br />
primary Clear Light, <strong>and</strong> experiences ecstasy. All<br />
persons get at least a glimpse <strong>of</strong> the Clear Light,<br />
but the more enlightened can see it longer <strong>and</strong> use<br />
it to transcend the cycle <strong>of</strong> death <strong>and</strong> rebirth to a<br />
higher reality. Most relapse into the Secondary<br />
Clear Light, a lesser ecstasy.<br />
The second stage is like an awakening, in which<br />
the spirit is presented with hallucinations created<br />
by karmic reflexes <strong>of</strong> actions done while alive.<br />
Unless enlightened, the spirit is under the illusion<br />
that it still has a body like the one that died. There<br />
begins a series <strong>of</strong> apparitions, the Coming <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Peaceful <strong>and</strong> Wrathful Deities, or personifications<br />
<strong>of</strong> human sentiment, which must be faced without<br />
flinching. The Bardo Thödol provides a relevant<br />
prayer: “When I will have left my dear friends <strong>and</strong><br />
gone on my own, <strong>and</strong> when the empty forms <strong>of</strong><br />
my own projections appear, may the buddhas<br />
grant me the strength <strong>of</strong> their compassion so that<br />
the terrors <strong>of</strong> the bardo will not come.”<br />
Most escape the second stage through the third<br />
stage, rebirth; the circumstances <strong>of</strong> rebirth are<br />
determined by past karma. The most enlightened<br />
<strong>of</strong> yogis are said to bypass all <strong>of</strong> the Bardo, going<br />
directly to a paradise realm or else directly into<br />
another body in rebirth without any loss <strong>of</strong><br />
consciousness. Yoga during life prepares one for<br />
the after-death experiences.<br />
See also Buddhism; Demons<br />
For Further Reading:<br />
Bromage, Bernard. Tibetan Yoga. 1952.<br />
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, UK:<br />
Aquarian Press, 1979.<br />
Evans-Wentz, W. Y., ed. The Tibetan Book <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Dead. 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press,<br />
1960.<br />
Baudelaire, Charles<br />
Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) was a French<br />
poet who was seemingly obsessed with alienation<br />
<strong>and</strong> evil. Although some have labeled him a<br />
Satanist, his religious attitudes were complex, <strong>and</strong><br />
seem to have fluctuated throughout his lifetime.<br />
He died reconciled with the church.<br />
In many places, Baudelaire used Satan as a<br />
symbol <strong>of</strong> evil. In other places, however, he reacted<br />
to the God <strong>of</strong> the Bible as cruel <strong>and</strong> tyrannical, <strong>and</strong><br />
portrayed the Devil positively. For example, in his<br />
poem “The Possessed” in Les Fleurs du Mal (1861)<br />
he exclaims, “There is no fiber in my trembling<br />
body that does not cry, ‘Dear Beelzebub, I adore<br />
you!’” Perhaps Baudelaire’s most familiar Satanic<br />
piece is his “Litanies <strong>of</strong> Satan,” which, as the title<br />
suggests, reads like a litany. To cite a few lines:<br />
O thou, <strong>of</strong> <strong>An</strong>gels loveliest, most wise,<br />
O God betrayed by fate, deprived <strong>of</strong> praise!<br />
Satan, have mercy on my long distress!<br />
O Prince <strong>of</strong> exile, who was dispossessed,<br />
Who ever rises stronger when oppressed,<br />
Satan, have mercy on my long distress!<br />
O thou who knowest all, Hell’s sovereign,<br />
Known healer <strong>of</strong> mankind’s afflictions<br />
Satan, have mercy on my long distress!<br />
At least one Satanist group, the Brotherhood <strong>of</strong><br />
the Ram, incorporated it into their regular rituals. It<br />
can also sometimes be found on Satanist websites.<br />
See also Brotherhood <strong>of</strong> the Ram<br />
For Further Reading:<br />
Baddeley, Gavin. Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship<br />
<strong>and</strong> Rock’n’Roll. London: Plexus, 1999.<br />
Scott, Miriam Van. <strong>Encyclopedia</strong> <strong>of</strong> Hell. New York:<br />
Thomas Dunne Books, 1998.<br />
The “Beast” Computer Legend<br />
According to an urban legend that has been heard<br />
<strong>and</strong> repeated by millions <strong>of</strong> Christians, there is a<br />
computer under the control <strong>of</strong> the European<br />
Common Market in Belgium that occupies three<br />
stories <strong>of</strong> an unmarked building. One version <strong>of</strong><br />
this tale from a letter written by a Georgia woman<br />
appears on the Ship <strong>of</strong> Fools website:<br />
A myth I heard as early as 1973, <strong>and</strong> have<br />
heard repeatedly over the years, concerns a<br />
giant computer in Belgium, taking up the<br />
space <strong>of</strong> a city block, <strong>and</strong> housed in a<br />
building. The name <strong>of</strong> the computer is “The<br />
Beast,” <strong>and</strong> reportedly information on<br />
everyone in the world is kept on it. This<br />
means that when we have to take the “mark <strong>of</strong><br />
the beast,” the antichrist government can<br />
track us down. High school teachers talked