Hundreds of books and thousands of articles have been written about Satanism. Almost all of them condemn the worldview and actions of devil worshipers. If we add to them an uncountable number of volumes of criminal cases, it seems that no sane person can choose such a faith for himself.
However, the number of supporters of Satanism is not only not decreasing, but, on the contrary, is growing - including in Russia. What drives such people? Why did the exaltation of the dark forces become the meaning of life for them?
26 names
The origins of Satanism can be traced in the most ancient religions, where harsh and cruel gods were especially revered.
To this day, the cult of the evil principle has been preserved among Buddhists and Shintoists, as well as in some local beliefs in India and Southeast Asia.
The specific image of Satan was formed in Judaism - and from it passed to Christianity. In the Bible, Satan (translated from Hebrew "enemy") is mentioned about 200 times and has 26 names, each of which reflects one side or another, his essence: Beelzebub (the lord of darkness), Belial (spirit of treachery), Lucifer (fallen angel) other.
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But the recognition of Satan as one of the two (besides God) world principles in Europe occurred only in the Middle Ages - initially by the Knights of the Templar Order, who, participating in the crusades, learned this idea from the inhabitants of the East.
At the beginning of the XIV century, members of the order were arrested and brought to trial by the Inquisition. But the idea of a bipolar world, where the devil is, if not more powerful, then at least equal to God, was adopted by many small secret sects.
Over time, Satanism penetrated the environment of the nobility, its followers began to alter Christian sources - in particular, they interpreted the Bible in their own way: if a bloodless sacrifice is brought to God, then the sacrifice for the devil must be bloody.
It was this conclusion that led to the establishment of such a satanic ritual as the black mass. According to the newfound tradition, Mass should be held at night in a ruined temple and during it the Bible should be read in reverse. At the end of the mass, the high priest had to make a human sacrifice to Satan or perform sexual acts with a woman on the altar.
Movies and Music
By the 19th century, Satanic sects had practically ceased to exist. The themes of witchcraft, evil spirits and the black mass remained only in literary creation - and were perceived as artistic fiction.
This movement was revived again only in 1966, when on Walpurgis Night, from April 30 to May 1, American Anton Sandor LaVey (real name - Howard Stanton Levy, 1930-1997) announced the founding of the "Church of Satan" in San Francisco and proclaimed himself her high priest.
He also became the author of The Satanic Bible, the philosophy of which is the search for pleasures that come into the world, from the point of view of the official Church, only through the medium of the devil.
Researchers note that the feature film "The Awakening of My Demonic Brother" (1969), where LaVey played the role of Satan, played a huge role in the development of modern Satanism.
The "Satanic Bible" promotes the denial of all authority and morality. And since such rebellion is usually characteristic of adolescents, satanic ideology became attractive primarily to young people.
In the 1980s, the development of the satanic subculture was promoted by the then popular style of black metal (after the name of the album Black Metal by the group Venom, released in 1982).
It is characterized by uncoordinated sound of instruments, deliberately poor recording quality, monotonous monotonous melodies.
But the main thing in it is not music, but the lyrics of songs, the theme of which is filled with the denial of Christianity and the praise of Satan. The stage images of musicians performing such compositions are long hair, leather clothes with chains and rivets, but the main thing is the obligatory presence of satanic symbols. It is this appearance that has become characteristic of ordinary Satanists.
Goat head t-shirt
In our country, the first organizations of devil worshipers appeared in the 1970s. Researchers say that at least 100 satanic sects are now active in Russia. Their heads are often women, since, according to the beliefs of the followers of evil spirits, a woman is closer to the devil than a man.
According to law enforcement agencies, the activities of modern satanic organizations in Russia are becoming more and more aggressive and dangerous.
In addition to adolescents and young Satanists of people, there (usually as secret leaders) there are individual representatives of the political and business elite who take part in rituals, being in secret rooms or hiding behind curtains.
Satanism attracts lovers of vice by elevating it to the level of religion - and therefore virtue. On the other hand, the leaders of totalitarian sects themselves are persistently making their way into the spheres of higher Russian society, especially at the local political level, to further strengthen their personal power.
Researchers of informal culture note that recently the activity of satanic movements is manifested in higher educational institutions and youth clubs. Brochures and newspapers with the tenets of the Church of Satan are published in mass circulation and distributed completely openly, as well as products with the symbols of Satanism: T-shirts, baseball caps, rings, pendants, etc.
The most common symbols used by Satanists are an inverted pentagram (a regular five-pointed star, two rays of which are directed upwards) and a cross, a six-pointed star, the devil's number 666, a two-headed snake, the head of a goat and a swastika (recently, there has been a fusion of Satanism with neo-Nazism).
Black Mass in Russian
Often, a sect of Satanists succeeds in building or equipping their religious building, which they call a temple. Here they perform ritual acts - including the sacrifice of living beings and mockery of them.
Satanists of Russia can hold the Black Mass several times a year: on the night of February 15 (Meeting), the night of May 1 (Walpurgis Night), the night of July 7 (Ivan Kupala's Eve), as well as on the night of each full moon.
Usually, such a mass takes place from zero hours to four in the morning. There are no strict rules for its conduct, but many rituals correspond to the canons developed by LaVey, and are performed inside the so-called guard circle (two circles inscribed in each other, between which there are symbols of Satanism).
In this circle lies a naked woman holding black candles in her hands. A bowl of urine or blood is placed on her stomach. The ritual accessories of the rituals are black robes with caps for covering faces, a bell, a sword, and an inverted Christian cross.
The basis of the cult of devil worshipers is sacrifice, best of all - the one who fights with Satanists or hinders them.
Instead of a real victim, her image can be used: a doll, photograph, drawing, over which ritual actions are performed. Also, animals are often sacrificed, the torment of which gives members of the sect a perverse joy.
The victim's blood is poured into a bowl and drunk as a "sacrament." To achieve a closer unity of the members of the sect, each of them adds a few drops of their blood to the bowl, they also drink it, and the pentagrams painted on the floor are covered with the remains.
Ritual killings
Interior Ministry officials note that for committing grave crimes (up to murder - both for ritual purposes, and as intimidation, revenge), Satanists use mentally ill people in order to stay in the shadows and avoid punishment.
One of the Moscow sects of the servants of Satan was disguised as the "Suicide Club", its members visited hospitals, talked with victims of unsuccessful suicide and promised them an easy and pleasant death for inheriting property.
Among the actions of Satanists, there are cases of ritual murders. Here are just a few facts.
In 1990-1993, near Khabarovsk, adherents of the "Order of the Devil" committed a number of ritual murders, the Satanist Prokhorov claimed responsibility for them.
On Easter 1993, Satanist Averin murdered three Orthodox monks in Optina Hermitage (Kaluga Region). In 1995, in Kansk (Krasnoyarsk Territory), Satanists committed a ritual murder of a 16-year-old girl. In 2000-2002, Satanists committed a series of ritual murders in Kopeisk, Chelyabinsk Region.
In 2006, a murder committed by two young devil worshipers and adherents of satanic views was solved in Pavlovsky Posad. In 2008, in Yaroslavl, there was a ritual murder of four teenagers by eight of their peers.
This is only a small part of the solved crimes. In criminal cases about the actions of Satanists, there are not only murders, but also kidnapping, child molestation, rape, desecration of graves and temples, abuse of animals, distribution of drugs, as well as forced homosexuality.
It is difficult for ordinary people to believe that numerous satanic sects are realities of our day. But this is a fact that has long been taken into account by law enforcement officials when solving unmotivated murders or missing people, including babies.
Nikolay MIKHAILOV