Many Satanists celebrate today’s seasonal pivot point, feeling simpatico with our homeworld’s continuing seasonal cycles. In the Northern Hemisphere, Spring arrives, succeeding Winter’s stasis with verdant surging. In the Southern Hemisphere, Autumn soothes after the scorching Summer months. Here in the haunted Hudson Valley, Winter was mostly free of snow, though frigid temperatures held sway. At last, warmth is returning, though not without some final chilly nights. The bulbs have begun awakening, pushing their way into the sunlight, delighting us with early flowers—always such a joy for us when our garden revivifies! Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) was a tremendously […]
the black house
18 posts
The Winter Solstice is again upon we denizens of the Northern Hemisphere. Nature’s cycling is inspiring, always to be respected, and as our days at last begin to lengthen, the gelid outdoors contrast with our cozy indoor spaces here at The Black House in the Haunted Hudson Valley. We enjoy having a Yule Tree, as evergreens, long before being usurped by Christians, were used by pagans to symbolize eternal life—survival through the season of stasis until the earth agains warms and becomes active with life energy. Our tree is decorated with fun talismans—dinosaurs, figures from Greek mythology, star ships, cartoon characters, […]
Happy Halloween!!! As the veil of darkness thins ever so greatly tonight, the Devil’s Night, we respectfully celebrate life and death with new vigor and remembrance! On this day of Tricks and Treats, we do have a Treat for you! A Treat, 18 years in the making! I can finally officially announce the Release of the new Phantasy Series of Fine Art Prints and to start I am releasing two works I commissioned 18 years ago, the first is “The Great Szandor,” a dedication piece that allowed my imagination to run wild! The second is “The Black House,” another dedication […]
The Winter Solstice is again upon we denizens of the Northern Hemisphere. Nature’s might is awesome, always to be respected, and as our days at last begin to lengthen, the gelid outdoors contrast with our cozy indoor spaces here at The Black House in the Haunted Hudson Valley. In April of 1974, Isao Tomita released his album SNOWFLAKES ARE DANCING, which consisted of his arrangements of music by Claude Debussy for a Moog synthesizer and a Mellotron. Tomita’s sweeping, fanciful soundscapes captured a lush beauty that few expected could come from electronically generated sounds. The title work is a splendid means […]
We Satanists find Halloween to be a holiday that celebrates the outsider, the other, those who are not like most. It is on this night that the “normals” tend to explore their own quirks and inner-darknesses by wearing costumes that often reveal aspects of themselves typically hidden during the rest of the year. We’ve seen that there has recently been a plethora of party-poopers publishing lists of costumes that are considered to be in poor taste, or in some way offensive to these namby-pamby nincompoops. Fie on such spoilsports! I suggest it is far wiser to find a mode of […]
Today, Christians celebrate their well-worn myth of a savior risen from the dead. Some neo-pagans esteem the relatively obscure female deity, Ēostre. Satanists note that traditions for this day stem from ancient seasonal celebrations which tend to include symbolism of the rising of dormant vegetation, and thus “rebirth” and “resurrection.” There is certainly much beauty in the early flowers now abounding here in the Haunted Hudson Valley, one of which is pictured above from our garden here at The Black House. Since we are free of any holiday obligations, we might choose to ignore this date altogether. Yet, we diabolists may […]
From Reverend Count MoriVond’s “Draconian Radio Broadcast Pulpit” – more readings of Magus Gilmore’s The Satanic Scriptures. We continue with the High Priest’s essay “Diabolus in Musica” in five parts, where various classical composers of Satanic interest are discussed. Followed by the essays “Idol Pleasures,” “Hell Of A Town,” a tribute to Satanism’s founder: Anton Szandor LaVey and finally a succinct tribute to the birthplace of the Church of Satan: The Black House on California Street in San Francisco. Diabolus in Musica I Diabolus in Musica II Diabolus in Musica III Diabolus in Musica IV Diabolus in Musica V Idol […]
The Winter Solstice is again upon we denizens of the Northern Hemisphere here on our beautiful home world. I posit that some satisfaction can be had in feeling at one with the cycling of the seasons. Tonight we can enjoy the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. Nasa explains: “It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020.” This is a rare spectacle to glimpse, reminding us of the immensity of time and the […]
“It’s said that the Devil is in the details. Enki has proven that he knows the Devil, and he certainly is a man of details. He has taken great pains to make sure his past efforts have accurately reflected The Black House, and the results were startling. Now he’s moving us into the Front Ritual Chamber, so that we can all feel what it was like to stand in that unhallowed space, the roots of which, Dr. LaVey declared, stretched all the way to Hell. “Our originating High Priest felt strongly that accurate details, stimulating aesthetics, and potent emotions resulted […]