Happiest of New Years!
Tomorrow begins year LI, Anno Satanas.
Our 50th year inaugurated the celebration of the half-century mark for the Church of Satan. As this 51st year arises, the 50th anniversary of our founding by Magus Anton Szandor LaVey in 1966 is but a few months away. Our 50th Anniversary Gala will be held on Walpurgisnacht (April 30) and is open only to our members. If you wish to have the opportunity to attend this historic gathering, we urge you to contact us with a request for event information. Send us email ([email protected]) using the subject “50th Anniversary Event” with your name, along with a scan of your red card identifying yourself as a member and your current state or government-issued photo ID confirming your identity and current address. State that you’d like information about the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Attendance is limited, so taking prompt action will guarantee your chance of having a place amongst your comrades.
As we close this year, it passes as one in which extremist theism has continued to inspire its toxic adherents to murder those with opposing belief systems in many nations. This is a crisis for humanity. In particular, the attacks on the citizens of Paris—from the January 7th assassination of the Charlie Hebdo satirists to the November 13th assaults on concert attendees, restaurant patrons and sports enthusiasts—demonstrate a fierce malice towards our Western lifestyle which champions personal liberty and the carnal values of taking joy in life’s pleasures. This ideological conflict was made explicit when Gérard Araud, France’s ambassador to the U.S., responded to Daesh’s reasoning for targeting Paris as a contemporary Sodom and Gomorrah: “We are proud to be that.” He continued that a message needs to be sent that the French sense of “joie de vivre” will not be thwarted stating, “We are a center of abomination for these guys and our intention is to remain such.” We Satanists certainly stand with Monsieur Araud, those stalwart Parisians and the rest of our worldwide kin who share an exhilaration for all that life can offer in opposition to those who would extinguish our freedom to be fully ourselves in the name of their fictional deity. We affirm our resistance to theist oppression worldwide in whatever form it might take, from discriminatory legislation to physical assault. Our Satanic and secularist allies around the globe must stand strong, linked by our mutual joy in living, in this crucial struggle to attain a civilization that upholds the sovereignty of the individual. As those intent on destroying our multifarious society are vanquished, let our hymn to victory resound: “Vive la Liberté!”
Many fascinating individuals have been welcomed to The Black House this year. The happiness and energy you have all brought to our home manifests the potency of our philosophy as a means to shape our destinies. I know that Magus LaVey would be immensely proud that your diverse lives embody the legacy he gave us. We salute his bold thinking as we share our personal triumphs with those we cherish. We’ll all continue to move the world to our ends in our journeys towards fulfillment. So, from our lair in the Haunted Hudson Valley to all of yours, High Priestess Nadramia and I offer our blessings to you extraordinary individuals who continue to inspire our admiration!
As is our tradition, we raise our glasses to our kind, Satanists as well as fellow secularists and proponents of the best qualities of our species, in celebration of the advent of a New Year of continued growth and prosperity:
“Here’s to champagne for our real friends, and real pain for our sham friends!”
Joy to the flesh—forever!
Shemhamforash! Hail Satan!
—Magus Peter H. Gilmore