As an artist, I often compare our legitimate claim to Satanism as similar to the Impressionists’ embrace of a label that had previously been intended as an accusation. But our proactive stance in defining Satanism is also reflected in the foundational text of my favorite artistic movement:
“Those who might dispute our right to employ the term SURREALISM in the very special sense that we understand it are being extremely dishonest, for there can be no doubt that this word had no currency before we came along. Therefore, I am defining it once and for all…” —André Breton, The Surrealist Manifesto (1924)
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The Surrealists defined their movement from a truly Surrealistic point of view. That is what the Church of Satan has, for half a century and counting, done for Satanism.
(While I am on this topic: Surrealism is among the creative approaches mentioned by Magus Peter H. Gilmore in his essay “Satanic Aesthetics” from The Satanic Scriptures. This is a worthwhile read for any Satanist interested in the artistic expression of his or her unique worldview.)
—Warlock M. A. Mandrake
Third Side Intelligence is a series where members of the Church of Satan present their individual commentary on current events, media, politics, and culture.