Resources
Below is a collection of resources on magic(k), the occult, the Left Hand Path and Satanism.
Remember as you begin your research that your greatest resource is your own capacity for critical thinking. No source is perfect. Church of the Morningstar does not consider any text to be unquestionable, canonical, or perfect.
Some texts are more problematic than others. Figures like Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey, and Michael Aquino have legacies filled with white supremacy, antisemitism, imperialism, misogyny, etc. Certain works have been included for their historical importance, because for better and worse, they have been formative to Satanism. These have notes on them below.
The racist terms “black magic” and “black mass” have been used uncritically for a long time. While Church of the Morningstar does not use or condone this language, it’s nearly impossible to do research on Satanism without engaging materials that contain these terms. Many of the texts below do use them.
Church of the Morningstar Links
These are resources created by members of our church.
Speak of the Devil Podcast— Official podcast of our congregation
Brightest & Best— Pastor Johnny’s blog
Lucifer Zine— Presently inactive during the pandemic, a DIY publication of Church of the Morningstar.
Online Resources
Zohar.com— The Kabbalah Centre is sketchy, but this is the only version of the Zohar freely available online, and print versions cost hundreds of dollars. The index page is very interesting to explore.
BibleGateway.com— Yeah, we know, we have complex feelings about the Bible too. But it is foundational to Satanism and demonology. Here you can instantly switch between dozens of translations, search by keyword, and more.
Hermetic.com— A huge online repository of occult texts.
Recommended Reading
BIBLE
Genesis 3
Genesis 11:1-9
Isaiah 14:12-14:21
Luke 4:1-4:12 and/or Matthew 4:1-4:11
Revelations
APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Enoch 1 (The Book of the Watchers)
Thunder, Perfect Mind
The Testament of Solomon
KABBALAH
Treatise on the Left Emanation by Rabbi Jacob ben Ha-Kohen
The Nightside of Eden by Kenneth Grant
The Zohar by Moses de Leon
PROTO-SATANISM
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake
The Synagogue of Satan by Stanislaw Przybyszewski[1]
La Sorcière by Jules Michelet
The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley[2]
THEISTIC SATANISM
Lucifer: Princeps by Peter Grey
The Luminous Stone ed. Michael Howard
The Diabolicon by Michael Aquino[3]
MAGICK
Compendium Maleficarum by Francesco Maria Guazzo
Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlsson[4]
The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey[5]
The Satanic Rituals by Anton LaVey
Black Magic by Michael Aquino
The Pseudonomicon by Phil Hine
The Psychonaut’s Field Manual by Arch-Traitor Bluefluke
A Pictorial Guide to the Tarot by A.E. Waite
Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge
Principia Discordia by Malaclypse the Younger
Grimoirium Verum
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Tahir Shah
DEMONOLOGY
The Lesser Key of Solomon Crowley/Mathers edition
The Compleat Book of Demonolatry by S. Conolly
Eros and Evil by R.E.L. Masters
Demoniality by Ludovico Sinistrari
A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson
HISTORY
Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism by Ruben van Luijk
Satanism: A Social History by Massimo Introvigne
Satanic Feminism by Per Faxneld
The Devil: A New Biography by Phillip C. Almond
The Birth of Satan by Gregory Mobley and T.J. Wray
Devil Worship in France by A.E. Waite
Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan and Michael Snedeker
FICTION AND POETRY
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France
Là-Bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Aut Diabolus, Aut Nihil by Julian Osgood Field
Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire
Cain by George Gordon Byron
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
Eloa by Alfred de Vigny
The Demon by Mikhail Lermontov
Hymn to Lucifer by Aleister Crowley
Demian by Herman Hesse
Malice in Saffron by Tanith Lee
PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY
God and the State by Mikhail Bakunin
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Wage Labor and Capital by Karl Marx
The Soul of Man Under Socialism by Oscar Wilde
Liber Oz by Aleister Crowley
Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword by Jack Parsons
My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix by Susan Stryker
Powers of Horror by Julia Kristeva
The Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed
The Black Sun by Stanton Marlan
The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche[6]
Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky
[1] Not nearly as antisemitic as it sounds, but it does include a moment of antisemitism. It’s included because it’s quite early for a Satanic text.
[2] Aleister Crowley was a profoundly racist and misogynistic British colonialist and a prolific misappropriator of other people’s religions and cultures. He also made Western magic much more queer. His views are a baffling mixture of astoundingly progressive and horrifyingly reactionary, and many of his actions in life were inexcusable.
[3] Michael Aquino was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. army specializing in psychological warfare who fought in Vietnam and seemingly saw nothing wrong with that. He also had a fetish for Nazi paraphernalia. Bizarrely, his actual politics were much less fascist than LaVey’s.
[4] By far the best-researched and most comprehensive text on the Qliphoth we have found, however we can’t say with one hundred percent certainty that the author is not a fascist. Karlsson disavows fascism in the text, but also name-checks “superfascist” Julius Evola an uncomfortable amount alongside some other potential dogwhistles. Some of Karlsson’s real world associates seem suspect.
[5] Anton LaVey was astonishingly sexist. Footage exists of him using racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs in ritual. He had a fascination with the Third Reich and by the end of his life was essentially a fascist, although his supremacy nominally centered around Satanists rather than around race.
[6] Nietzsche had some nasty opinions, especially about women, but was not actually a fascist. He actually vocally opposed nationalism and antisemitism.