The Father of Modern Satanism,
Howard Stanton Levey,
infamously known by the self chosen name of
Anton Zandor LaVey
was born in the town of Cook County Illinois.
Although his life was filled with phenomenal fallacies
he himself had fabricated,
his real accomplishments in the advancement of the
Satanism can never be understated.
Bringing notoriety to the religion with his
formation of the Church of Satan,
on the last night of April known as Walpurgisnacht,
the most relevant festival of Magick and witchcraft,
in the year 1966,
LaVey proclaimed "GOD IS DEAD!"
LaVey recognized the need for a church that would
celebrate the the mind of man and all his inlaiden carnal desires.
By 1967 the press coverage was phenomenal,
extending from one corner of the world to the other.
LaVey introduced a new generation to an
ancient mindset.
As he was a grand master of fabrication
his tales only served to add much intrigue and attention
to his newly found status as
'The Black Pope.'
Among his colorful stories were his association
with
the late Marilyn Monroe.
LaVey claimed their relationship had been of an
intimate nature,
though such is not the case.
There are countless claims made by ASL that can
be researched and found to be inaccurate but entertaining to say the least.
Much akin to Aleister Crowley,
such elaborate tales added to ASL's reputation
and notariety.
It is not however the fallacies that render ASL
one of the most viable figures in Satanic history but the truths he unveiled to the contemporary generation of the Left
Hand Path philosophy
he penned as Satanism.
With the Founding of the Church of Satan in
San Francisco,
LaVey brought Satanism into the frontline as a
viable and concrete religion based on the innate
primordial instincts of Man.
It is not the fact that ASL weaved his own interpretations
of Satanism as he saw it,
nor the tales he spoke of regarding his own exploits
that make him a most prominent figurehead
of this century,
but the untouchable truth of man's
nature
he left behind as our legacy.
As told of in his first writting,
the infamous "Satanic Bible",
Man is god.
It is to ASL that we owe much gratitude.
His genius and undeniable magickal attainment can
never be understated.
For many LaVey remains the Crowley of the
modern age.
His works ever stand as the cornerstone of
Modern Satanism as we know it.
