Page 30 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Febrary/March 2020 Edition

30 Witchcraft, Magic and Satanism

Witchcraft, Magic and linked to criminal activities or ritual murders
that witnesses spoke of.
Satanism FBI Agent Kenneth Lanning issued his
report in January 1992. The document was
devastating to fundamentalists. The Satanic
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threat was described as “blown out of
proportion.”
Lanning stated that he had not found any
This came out because a woman went to see a
proof of organized Satanic groups or so-called
prominent west coast psychiatrist named
“child murders.”
Lawrence Pazder, and Dr, Padzer regressed her FBI Agent Kenneth Lanning stated, “
hypnotically to discover what her problems
The important thing about many of these cases is
might be, maybe if she had some memory of
not simply the lack of collaborative evidence,
them, and she recalled no end of torture in the
it’s the lack of collaborative evidence when
hands of Satanists and devil worshippers, circles
there should have been collaborative evidence,
drawn in the sand, laminated curses, of suffering because in many of these cases, what these
as a result of this, images of upside down
people are alleging are multiple murders, blood,
crucifixes, and so on.”
body fluids, children being molested and
Professor Stephen Kent from the University of
photographed… the kind of stuff that Is not so
Alberta said, “In many ways, those stories
easy to get rid of.”
became the basis for much of the modern so- “Most people do not understand how
called ‘Satanic Panic.’ Subsequently, Dr Pazder
hard it is to get rid of dead bodies,” Lanning
married his client and people raised some
continues, “Adolph Hitler had no problem
eyebrows about that and some independent killing six million people. His problem was how
individuals investigated aspects of the story that to work on yourself using sexuality.” do you get rid of all the bodies? And so, this idea
Michelle had claimed that appeared in the book LaVey also integrated some elements of how you dispose of these bodies, people don’t
and concluded that those events could not have that we might refer to as more philosophical in understand that you just can’t set a little fire and
happened. It was impossible that the events were nature and LaVey was greatly inspired by the throw the body on it. That doesn’t eliminate the
just incorrect.” work of Aleister Crowley, a famous author At body.. you just have a burned body… the body
The publication of “Michelle the end of the 19th century. He was looked upon is still there.”
Remembers” resulted in a “Satanic Panic.” as a spiritual teacher who had participated in In all the cases investigated by Lanning,
The cults gruesome rituals were various esoteric and magic groups of the years there was no evidence to substantiate the
considered a hidden danger and rumors spread with whom he had performed rituals aimed at allegations after an inspection by a trained
as if they were the truth. promoting personal growth. forensic team.
According to some religious So, Anton LaVey took Aleister In his report FBI Agent Lanning
fundamentalists, devil worshippers were Crowley’s ideas and incorporated them into his explained that Satanic cults were nothing more
everywhere infiltrating our schools, daycare own religion that he was creating. And in this than small gatherings of a few followers, small
centres, multi-national corporations, and even church if you want to call it that, Satan did not groups that were independent of each other, with
government agencies. play a very big role, on the contrary, Satan did no ramifications and they were in no way an
According to Professor Kent, in the not exist in their belief system since their church organized structure.
1980s and into the 1990s, there were multiple was not based on the premise of supernatural The experts have concluded that:
allegations around the western world about forces but rather natural forces that exist within “Therefore, we are not talking about Satanism
ritual crimes being committed in the name of each of us and that we must develop. that is practiced on an ongoing basis but rather
Satan and these crimes involved allegations In 1969, driven by his passion for all that sporadic incidents of Satanism marked by small
including cannibalism, child molestation, sexual was indecent, Anton LaVey wrote the Satanic rituals performed by young delinquents under
assaults, the eating of feces, urine drinking and Bible, a philosophical guide for anyone wishing the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, in
animal mutilation and killing of animals. to practise Satanism. particular LSD.”
These crimes in various locations were The Satanic Bible that LaVey wrote was One investigator said. “We were looking
seriously investigated. a thin paperback for teens that was widely for the Prince of Darkness, and all we found
In 1989, wanting to know more about the available in stores and it was circulated by were Little Devils.”
truth and extent of the so called Satanic Ritual teenagers who were feeling alienated from In the opinion of FBI Agent Kenneth
Abuse, the Federal Bureau of Investigation society and they did not feel like they did or Lanning, crimes that look like the devil’s work
tasked one of its agents, a specialist in child could fit in. are generally committed by lonely disturbed
abuse cases, to investigate the rumors. The Satanic Bible emphasized extreme individuals who are more often than not
FBI Special Agent Kenneth Lanning individualism and looking out for oneself with motivated by hate and vengeance rather than a
spent months following every lead, going over the worship of Satan being minimal but many genuine desire to please Satan.
the accusations and allegations. accounts relate that many people would take the While FBI Agent Kenneth Lanning’s
No one before him had ever taken such a Satanic Bible and use it as the basis for report may present a more realistic perspective
deep interest into the activities of the so-called constructing their own rituals. on the phenomenon of Satanic cults, the impact
Satanic Cults. LaVey did rituals. In one photograph, it of these groups on their followers have been
In the united States, there are two main shows LaVey in front of an altar with a naked devastating.
churches that define themselves as Satanic. woman on it. Dr Stephen Kent of the University of
The largest, The Church of Satan, was The other Satanic church, The Temple of Alberta is quite familiar with the matter.
founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. Set was founded in 1975 by Michael Aquino, a For the past few years he has been
Religious sociologist Alain Bouchard former member of the Church of Satan. collaborating with authorities who investigate
when asked about LaVey said, “He (LaVey) was The Temple of Set dogma contained the many aspects of Satanic cults.
a somewhat puzzling individual, someone who basically the same values and philosophies as “In the cases in which I was part of the
drew attention to himself. A really colourful the Church of Satan, the main difference being investigation with the police, there was never
character. He set up this so-called church back in that Aquino considered the devil to be a real enough evidence in any case to bring
the 1960s where he proposed a method of entity. convictions, but in some of the cases there were
personal growth based on working with an When the FBI began its investigation different levels of evidence, much of which
individual’s sex drive. It was the time of the into the activities of Satanic cults, naturally, the confirmed basic allegations that people made.”
counter culture of the 1960s, a time right for Church of Satan and the Temple of Set were the
sexuality, true heathenism, and here was a way first groups targeted by federal agents but (Continued on Page 31)
neither of these organizations seemed to be