LETTERS FROM THE DEVIL

by Anton LaVey
from The National Insider Vol. 14, No. 17
April 27, 1969
Last week I devoted my column to describing some of the most
commonly accepted fallacies concerning the requirements of the
successful witch or warlock. Now allow me to set out some of the
requisites for the person who wishes to practice the true art of the
magical manipulation of human beings, the practical nature of
sorcery.
First of all, one should not enter into the study of pratial !ithraft out of
desperation. Far too many people e"pet to !a#e a pro#er$ial ma%i !and,
and there$y sol#e all of their pro$lems. &#eryone is loo'in% for a shortut, an
easy !ay, a system. No one 'no!s this $etter than (atan. &#ery$ody !ants to
%et somethin% for nothin%. The millions of ontests, raffles, lotteries, $onus
%ifts, speial offers, and free premiums, are proof of this. (o are the myriad
$oo's, pamphlets, ourses, study %roups, et. that purport to teah the ))%reat
serets* or )re#ealed !isdom* of one master or another.
The true ma%iian 'no!s one thin% for ertain, and that is an ada%e so orny it
hardly seems !orth statin%, $ut #ery $rutally true+
),ou %et out of life e"atly !hat you put into it-*
The man that omes to me after losin% out In e#erythin% he has e#er
underta'en and e"pets the .e#il to ha#e pity on him /ust $eause, In
desperation, he deided to si%n his name on the dotted line, is sadly deluded.
0ne of the unans!ered 1uestions a$out the $oo' and film )2osemary3s 4a$y*
is !hy the %irl !ho !as ori%inally li#in% !ith the elderly ouple met her
untimely death on the pa#ement outside the $uildin%5!hether she fell,
/umped, or !as pushed.
To the (atanist, the reason is 1uite o$#ious. The %irl in 1uestion had $een
esta$lished in the story as a )loser.* (atan, in seletin% a suita$le hoie of
!oman to impre%nate, !ould !ant no suh !oman to arry his o!n hild, $ut
!ould loo' for one !ith some enthusiasm for life. No one had to push the %irl
out of the !indo!. (he !as destined to lose, $y her o!n ations. 6er o!n
aident7proneness aused her destrution, prompted $y the #ery fear of the
un'no!n !hih she e#idened.
POWER IN MAGIC
There is indeed, %reat po!er In ma%i, $ut one must $e prepared to ta'e
ad#anta%e of this po!er. If a person is a perennial loser, they annot $e
e"peted to 'no! ho! to safe%uard their suess, if and !hen it should arri#e.
&#en if you ould learn to $e a !i8ard o#erni%ht, you !ould need the proper
personality to %o alon% !ith it. 2ule num$er one in the pratie of real ma%i
is+ ,ou must $e a$le to ondut a smooth runnin% life for yourself-
Throu%hout the history of the !orld It has $een esta$lished that the rih %et
riher and the poor %et poorer, or more $luntly5them that has5%ets- If you
ha#en3t a damn thin% and !ant to %et somethin%, you must start out $y at least
pretendin% that you ha#e somethin%-
The old maid !ho loo's under her $ed e#ery ni%ht for a man is ne#er %oin% to
find him there, until she starts $ein% seen !ith a man outside of her room. It
!ill $e said $y some at this point that !hat I am sayin% is nothin% more than
applied psyholo%y.
It3s ama8in% to me the amount of people that apparently 'no! all a$out
applied psyholo%y, that ne#er seem to $e a$le to apply it. In order to $e a
ompetent !ith one must $e a$le to first learn and utili8e the priniples of
applied psyholo%y. All you dirty old men out there that thin' you3re %oin% to
%et a se"y youn% %irl /ust $y sayin% a ma%ial inantation or $uyin% a do7it7
your7self #oodoo 'it ha#e another thin' omin%-
All of you plain, dumpy, !omen that feel a handsome youn% man should lo#e
you for your )inner $eauty* are deluded fools- If you are a loser and e"pet
(atan to $less you after 9od has %i#en you the $oot, there I( a possi$ility that
you ha#e simply $een playin% on the !ron% team, and a han%e in philosophy
is in order. If, ho!e#er, your han%e in theolo%y produes no more suess
than you had $efore, don3t $lame (atan and his earthly onept of life. .on3t
$lame the ineffetual past onept of )9od* either for your failure. 4lame
yourself for !antin% to lose-
CONVENIENT EXCUSE
Another person, situation, or %od, is al!ays a on#enient e"use for our o!n
shortomin%s and defeats in life. The !inner ma'es mista'es and learns from
them not to ma'e the same mista'e a%ain. The loser ma'es mista'es and
ne#er learns a thin% from them. Ne"t !e ome to step num$er t!o in the
preparation for !ith7hood5%lamour. 9lamour is the term $y !hih the
enhantments and manipulations of !ithes and sorerers !as 'no!n for
many years. No! the meanin% of the !ord has han%ed to denote a da88lin%
display of $eauty. :e !ill simply define %lamour as that !hih !ill ompel
#isual attention, there$y distratin% the #ie!er from other thin%s. ;losely a'in
to this is another !ord lon% used in onnetion !ith sorery5fasination. It
has $een said that you an3t tell a $oo' $y its o#er, $ut ne#ertheless people
do- In fat, If most people didn3t tell $oo's $y their o#ers, there !ould $e no
need for suh a sayin%. A suessful !ith must ha#e %lamour in her presene,
!hether it $e in her se" appeal, her $i8arre u%liness, the de#ies and
on#eyanes !ith !hih she surrounds herself, or the plae in !hih she li#es.
No %irl !ho presents a do!dy, uninterestin% appearane !ill e#er ma'e it as a
!ith. The reason people are intri%ued $y ma%i and !ithraft In the first
plae is $eause it represents one of the seret faets of life5the element of
!onder. If the fasination for the oult itself is !hat ma'es it so popular, then
it stands to reason that anythin% that intri%ues, fasinates, or auses one to
!onder, !ill meet !ith the same reation on the part of the onloo'er5
potential ompulsion. <ust loo' at any suessful prostitute= in#aria$ly she
!ill $e dressed in a manner that !ill attrat men and alienate !omen. Their
hoie of lothin% is that !hih !ill titillate, intri%ue, and ommand the
attention of potential ustomers5in short, a promise of more and $etter
thin%s to ome. :ho is the man most li'ely to ause an arousal in the !omen
at a soial %atherin%> (urely not the loud, $oisterous and totally open7$oo'
type, $ut the %uy !ho is o$#iously different from all the rest in appearane,
$ut !ith !hat appears to $e an underlyin% sensual stren%th, promisin% deep
emotions. :e are still animals, despite our attempts to hide from the fat, and
intellet is dandy $ut it3s the old %ut reation that !ill !in out e#ery time.
CONCEPT OF GOD
This is !hy the .e#il has al!ays had it so easy, rulin% the !orld. The spiritual,
the hi%her planes, the onert of 9od, is $asially an intelletual de#elopment,
an idealisti in#ention5and must $e thou%ht a$out in order to funtion. 0n
the other hand the neessities, desires, indul%enes, and ompulsions are
purely emotional and need no analysis to put them into operation- Therefore
the aspirin% !ith or !arlo' should learn !ell the importane of emotional
appeal, and first in order of importane is #isual stimulation. There is one
hard, fast rule that applies to suessful #isual stimulation of a se"ual nature5
one that !ill al!ays ser#e the !ith !ho is reasona$le attrati#e, in fasinatin%
others. That rule is+ That !hih is most intri%uin% is that !hih is not meant to
$e seen. This is so aptly pro#en $y the men in a topless lu$ !ho !ill shift
their %a8e from an almost totally nude %irl !ho is thro!in% her $ody a$out
erotially, to an attrati#e youn% !oman sittin% !ith her hus$and at the $ar,
!ho !hile !athin% the sho! is displayin% a %enerous amount of thi%h a$o#e
the tops of her nylons. The differene $et!een the !oman on sta%e and the
!oman in the audiene is, the %al up there danin% is #ie!ed $y other !omen
present !ith amusement, and e#en seret identifiation. The youn% house!ife,
!ith her apparent arelessness in 'eepin% her s'irt under ontrol, is o$ser#ed
$y other !omen present in a resentful and ritial manner. The reason for the
disappro#al from other !omen and the snea'y $ut appro#in% %lanes from the
men is o$#ious to those !ho 'no!. The !oman sittin% at the $ar, !ell dressed
from her neatly styled hair to her hi%h heels, is presentin% a far $etter sho!
!ith her re#ealed %arters and an oasional %limpse of her under!ear than the
near7nude on the sta%e $eause the married %al ?!ho pro$a$ly has three 'ids
at home@ is sho!in% somethin% that is N0T A&ANT T0 4& (&&N- .o you
'no! !hat the most disheartenin% thin% in the !orld to the .e#il is> (uh
thin%s as the )unise"ual loo',* !here you an3t tell the $oys from the %irls
$eause they dress the same. An honest homose"ual li'es %uys that loo' li'e
%uys-
A HEALTHY TRANSVESTITE
A healthy trans#estite !ants to loo' li'e a !oman !hen dressed up- A
onfirmed les$ian li'es %als that loo' li'e either %uys 02 %als, $ut not $oth-
&ither people ou%ht to !ear no lothes at all, or !ear %arments that si%nify
one se" or the other. If a !oman has feminine harms, she should sho! them.
If a man has sensual appeal, he should display it. The !earin% of )od piees*
in the middle a%es is no different than the paddin% of the )$as'et* in the %ay
!orld of today5it displays somethin% that is not meant to $e seen- 0f ourse
all of these uses of se"ual intri%ue are as the result of unfounded %uilt
esta$lished $y the men of )9od*, $ut ne#ertheless they3re here and !e3re stu'
!ith them, so !e mi%ht as !ell use them and en/oy them. There is an
opportunity to free oneself from these )han%7ups* $y the use of dru%s, $ut loo'
!hat it produes5la' of disrimination resultin% in the aforementioned
)unise"ual loo'.* I !ould rather $e )hun%7up.* It3s a lot more fun. This is !hy
the (atanist re#els In !hat are onsidered to $e sins. :e (atanists onsider
)han%7ups* to $e )han%70N(*5the #ery foundations of !hat ma'es our
personality, our li'es and disli'es !hat they are. :e li'e our fetishes and
resent any attempt to remo#e them. This is !hy !e are not a )lo#e* reli%ion
that laims to li'e e#erythin% and e#ery$ody. :e feel that !hen one loses their
sense of disrimination, they $eome li'e ants in an anthill. Fortunately, most
people are still possessed of )han%7ups and are )up ti%ht* a$out some thin%s.
Those that thin' they are )free* are usually !or'in% at it so hard that they
ha#e $eome ensla#ed $y their )freedom.* Ne"t !ee' I !ill ans!er some of the
letters that ha#e $een omin% in, as'in% the .e#il3s opinion on #arious matters
onernin% the $la' arts, manners and morals, and other su$/ets
approaha$le from a (atani point of #ie!. I !ill also add further in%redients
to our study of B2A;TI;AC !ithery. Dntil then, sin !ell-
From the olletion of ;hris E, and transri$ed $y Fe#in I. (lau%hter.