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21290055? ago

Part Z (i) >

Article 5 >

The Black Mass

SATANISM: An Examination of Satanic Black Magic

Globusz® Publishing New York • Berlin, retrieved 6 Nov 09

http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Satanism/00000010.htm

The most infamous Satanic ritual is the rite known as the Black Mass. The development of the Black Mass is not, as some authors have understood it, a recent development, but one that has occurred over a period of 1200 years and its origin, far from lying in an established Satanic tradition, lies within the rituals and ceremonies of the early Christian church. The Mass of the Dead is considered by some to be the originator of the Black Mass and, although considerably different from the modern versions of the Black Mass, its sole function was to procure the death of a person. This variation of the early Christian Mass was performed by a Christian priest accompanied by a female server, with whom he had copulated prior to the ritual. The Mass took place in disused church, water from a well in which an unbaptized child had drowned replaced wine and a black triangular host was duly consecrated. [Hence the need for certain of the Catholic Cults to murder children, such as Native Americans].

The progression from the Mass of the Dead into the modern Black Mass took a new turn when it was linked to the medieval Witches Sabbath. Accordingly the inclusion of a horned figure who presided over the ceremony and who came to be associated with the Hebraic scape-goat came to be one of the central aspects of the Black Mass. The orgy was also then included something that was most likely derived from the rites of the Bacchanalia or Dionysiac cults of ancient Rome and Greece, of which shall be spoken presently.

In his book The Black Arts (Pan Books Ltd. 1967.), Richard Cavendish outlines the proceedings of the witches sabbath. Commencing with the witches paying homage to the Devil, the witches would light a fire whilst the Devil was seated upon a throne in the form of either a goat, representing Satan himself, or a dog, which may have been connected with the dark Goddess – the dog being one of the sacred animals of Hekate – rather than with Satan himself. The witches would then approach and adore the Devil, though their approach would be in a manner foreign to normal men, such as walking crab-like or with their backs turned to him. After this ‘came the offering of the candles to the Devil and the obscene kiss.’ where the witch kisses the Devils behind. Following the obscene kiss, initiation, baptism or marriage would occur followed by the feast and the orgy which concluded the witches Sabbath.

The inclusion of a feast and an orgy at the end of the witches sabbath is very much reminiscent of the Bacchanalia that existed during the times of the Roman empire. The Bacchanalia was originally a secret sorority that eventually initiated men into its cult. Its members, who were said to indulge licentiously in their passions, were also alleged to have been responsible for a number of deaths, performed in secret caves, and defilements of its male members who refused to take the oath of the cult or to commit specific vices. When the cult was finally repressed by the authorities there was estimated to be some 7000 men and women who were members, many of whom were arrested and imprisoned whilst their meeting places were destroyed and the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout Rome. The similarity between the Bacchanalia, the witches sabbath and the Black Mass are therefore fairly evident.

In modern times there are numerous versions of this ritual used by different Satanic groups. The Black Mass contained within the Church of Satan’s The Satanic Rituals (Avon Books. 1972) is based upon a combination of the rite used by the Societe de Luciferiens, a French Satanic society that operated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the fictional work of J.K. Huysmans entitled La Bas. Explained as a psychodrama that elevates the ‘concepts of Satanism to a noble and rational degree,’ the Black Mass is considered to free the individual from the constraints that have been acquired – both consciously and unconsciously – from past indoctrination and stigma. The actual ritual as laid out in the Satanic Rituals consists of a priest, who acts as the main celebrant, accompanied by two assistants, being referred to as the deacon and the subdeacon respectively, a nun adorned in habit and wimple and a naked female who serves as the altar and a congregation. The ritual begins with an invocation to the Prince of Darkness and his host of demons, followed by a renunciation of past allegiances and a dedication to Satan-Lucifer. The ritual progresses through the Satanic Offertory, Canon and consecration of the host. The Mass is completed with the recital of the fifth Enochian Key and the Repudiation and Denunciation, whereby the power and divinity of Christ is denied and the power of Satan is invoked to cause vengeance to Christ and his host of angels. After this has been said the rite is concluded with the wafer which, having been consecrated by insertion into the vagina of the female altar, is then cast to the floor and trodden upon. The participants drink from the chalice and the ritual is then officially declared completed.

See Part Z (ii) >