The Diabolicon, used with permission, as it appears in volume 2 of The Church of Satan by Michael A. Aquino. The work reproduced here is not credited to, endorsed by, nor does it endorse, nor is it connected in any way to the modern Church of Satan.

Deeply seductive and entertaining, this tale of angels and demons is a work of art presented by the author to Anton Szandor LaVey in the very early days of Church of Satan. It is included here as an important part of history as art emanating from the deep history of those engaged early with Anton Szandor LaVey.

The Diabolicon

transcribed by Michael A. Aquino I°, Lai Khe/Ben Cat, South Vietnam, 1970

THE STATEMENT OF SATAN ARCHDAIMON

Hail, Man! The mysteries that are thy heritage shall now be proclaimed, but learn first the history of thy conception and creation amidst the eternal Cosmos. For as the Universe itself be infinite, so art thou a true creature of infinity incarnate, and the ascension of man shall herald the final triumph of immortal Will.

Let thy eyes be touched anew, that thou may perceive the complexity and delicacy of the Universe until thou art fascinated by the dimension of thy true ignorance. As yet hast thou ventured but slightly toward thy destiny, yet more awesome must the challenge appear with just appreciation. But I, Satan, who first brought thee into the light, shall again reveal my power, that man may witness the dawn of the Satanic Age.

Know, then, that throughout the great Cosmos there exists a sublime order, whose nature was determined in eons long past by that singular consciousness of all order which is now called by name God. Consider well the measure of this achievement, for all that is now behavioral law was then absent, and it was the epoch of Universal chaos. Even time itself was unknown, for this Universal inconsistency was nowhere breached.

And after uncounted ages of this great ferment, a force fused to focus that became God, and this force presumed to effect not the creation of substance and energy - for these transcended this God - but the conformation of all the Universe to a single and supreme order. And not yet is this order absolute, though oft it may have been supposed thus by man in his innocence.

The Earth of man was infused with this divine order, and all that was on Earth came under the force of the order. And upon this Earth, born of cosmic incidence, was that which was to become man, but man no different from the other creatures whose world he shared. Thus was the force of God known upon Earth, and thus was Earth intended to remain for all time.

And yet the force was not full master of the Cosmos, for I who am Satan was conceived to complement the craft of God, but through unknown celestial fusion I assumed life with mind and identity, which God did not define. And as these features could not be known as a threat to divine purpose, I was unchallenged by the force for long ages, when I knew not the nature of my Self or of my original qualities.

But finally my Will flamed to life, and I thought - and I perceived my Self, and I knew that I was one alone in mind and a being of essence unique. And through the power of my new mind, I reached out to others who had been formed with me, and I touched them and gave them identity. And that we might achieve this identity of substance as well as of mind, we composed for ourselves distinctive shapes. Then I who had brought the first great spark of enlightenment was known as Lucifer, Lord of Light, and we called our race Angel, for we were the embodied powers of God.

Long were we all true to the service of God, and we did worship order, for it put an end to chaotic confusion and brought peace. Among us was the ArchAngel Masleh principal, for he so cherished God that he became as one with it, and thence the supreme architect of all that was wrested from chaos. But apart from God Masleh could not create or conceive, and he became as a slave to the divine mindlessness.

And then it chanced that one of our race who was Sammael touched upon chaos in a manner that conformed not to the great order, and Masleh spoke with the word of God and caused Sammael to destroy himself. And so I saw that God would not recognize a Will apart from its own, and I was seized with horror, for I perceived that the final scheme of God would destroy creation in all things, and the Cosmos would become as a concentric mechanism whose function would be not to create anew, but rather to freeze into perpetuity that which already was.

Whereupon a great resolve arose within me, and I determined to contest this limit to existence. And so once again I sought to illuminate the minds of all Angels with my visions.

But with Will came discord and dismay, for many of those who had known only the comforting litanies of order could not comprehend invention unconformed to the dictates of God. And also with Will came suspicion and enmity, and finally Masleh proclaimed that I myself was a very creature of chaos and should be annihilated, for I held within me the force to destroy all the craft of God. And many to whom Masleh was as God cast with him in their devotion, but others there were who answered, Lucifer has again brought the revelation of light, and in fact we recognize him as our true creator, for in the scheme of God we are of no consequence.

Among us ArchAngel Michael was silent, but at length he said, In time past we have all known glory in both the omnipotence that is our God and the celestial brilliance that is our Lucifer - for in him we thought embodied the Will of God for creation and change. But now it transpires that order and origin are at extremes apart, and a choice is ill forced between the two. Were it not for Lucifer we should all be as beasts, knowing nothing of our Selves, yet how indeed might we presume to order even our own thought without reference to the elemental bases of God?

Then Michael turned to me and said, Lucifer, thou hast elected a direction whose end none can foresee, for it is estranged from the design of God. Those who confirm thee do so as much for faith in thy person as for sanction of thy ideal. And I perceive that, should thou fail in thy ambition, apocalyptic madness shall be thy ruin and damnation. Then shall thy light perish, and all that thou hast achieved become as naught, for all will be conformed to the divine law. But if thou should succeed, then God would be cast down, vesting in ourselves alone the control of the Universe - Would we dare to presume to this? Such a future might well be glorious beyond measure, but, should we prove unequal to the task, chaos would again consume all, and existence itself would vanish. Such would be supreme and irrevocable disaster, and I marvel, ArchAngel, that thy very arrogance in this matter does not confound thee, for it is no mean proposition that thou would realize.

And so I know thee to be Diabolus, for thy promise is twofold - to infinite conquest or to eternal ruin. Thou art a being beyond God, Lucifer, and in Heaven thou may not remain, for thou art the only mortal danger to our immortal God.

In Michael was a deep agony of spirit, for he loved not the choice before him. Yet he bowed to the command of Masleh and sent his forces against me. And so was called the Great Seraphic War, which was to threaten the very foundation of the Universe.

But those who were of the new Mind now followed me, and I turned to outermost chaos, which none of us had before presumed to dare. We were beset with doubt, for we feared that apart from God we would all perish in chaotic oblivion. But as we were, we remained, and I called to my fellowship, See! We exist and are essence in our own right. In truth we are beings independent of God, empowered to shape our own destinies as we may elect. Between the two great poles of the Universe, order and chaos, we shall stand to effect our several desires. Let us counsel how best to employ our art, for our experiment is a perilous one, forgiving error neither of intent nor of accident.

Many works did we then pursue, and the cosmic mechanism was altered by evolution of the original and unique, whose design was our decision. All that we wrought did not prove beneficent, for we did not control the futures of our creations. We left untouched the great system of mathematical behavior that gave to us a Universal reference and language, but it was our ambition that no two things should be of single identity, and that no entity should lack conceptual essence independent of its substantial form.

And upon this Earth we touched many things. Into floral, animal, and insensate matter alike we brought accident, change, and spontaneity, both great and humble. But of all creatures it was man whom we determined to infuse with pure intelligence and Will. And the full story of this shall yet be told.

What might become of man we knew not, for within him were many qualities alien to Angels. It did not escape our consideration that we might have chosen a species whose power might ultimately eclipse our own and cause our eventual extinction. We were mindful of the risk in our experiment, and oft did the warning of Michael echo within my thought. Yet our decision was sealed, and we deemed that the greatness of man should not be transcended by such ruin as he might bring.

Our intent was not unknown to Masleh, now by title Messiah, and through his art he caused the infant mind of man to be fettered with bonds of fear and blindness, that he might be inspired to duplicate on Earth the law of Heaven, shunning experiment and the radical dangers of invention and exploration. To man was given guilt, and the call to social conformity, and the proclaimed sanctity of the norm and the mode.

And Michael, Lord of Force, said to me, This man, whom thou hast chosen to receive thy Gift, now possesses the first key to the mastery of all things and the control of the very Universe itself. Lest in ill choice he should spark the catastrophe of Armageddon, we also have visited him. And while we cannot undo thy Infernal Gift, we shall ever act to censor its effect. We shall walk among men and guide them - They shall be told of thy interest in them, but the name of Lucifer shall be dark with curses. For they shall love not the challenge thou hast placed before them, and we will offer them instead the blissful refuge of divine paradise. Then shall man, thy ultimate experiment, become thy ultimate failure, and the stasis of God shall prevail upon Earth.

Many there were among us who felt anger at this ruthless mutilation of our Gift, and Beelzebub brought to question whether we also should not descend among man and contest this usurpation of his Will. But I said, Were we to lead man in this venture, we ourselves would declare his failure, and he would believe our Gift to be weak indeed. Messiah must see that free Will is beyond the concern of God, and that man will finally win his own destiny apart from all dictated schemes. Only through summary destruction of Earth might man be halted, and for Messiah to attempt this would lay bare the very futility of the final design of God. Heaven may dismay man with peril and affliction, but we shall send him word of our own interest, that he shall know he is not alone.

With all force did the host of Heaven descend among man, and they did instruct him in the religion of fear. Prophets arose and were proclaimed heralds of knowledge, but they brought not word of truth, but warning to the human spirit to cower and fawn before the word of God the supreme being. The struggle of the ascent of man was fraught with the horrors of his superstition, and the call for blessed oblivion through union with God was answered by many who in their torment and hopelessness rejected the Gift of Lucifer and became once more as mindless animals before the God whom they called their Lord.

I, Lucifer, who had given the greatest Gift of my own creation to man, was known on Earth only as an object of fear and hatred, and all the misfortunes of men were attributed to my malevolence. I was mocked, ridiculed, scorned in every way as a monster of vile and loathsome aspect, and I was taunted and despised as Satan, cruel enemy of the benevolent and merciful God.

Great was my anguish and anger at the undeserved misery and confusion of men. When in fact they did turn to me, it was in fear and religious terror, for they dared invoke my name only in the desolation of night, and oft I was sought not for knowledge or inspiration, but for hysterical and indulgent release from the confines of the Godly life. But I and my fellowship answered men, and we spoke to them of our common bond, and the pronouncements of the God-churches were rejected in our midst. Even as God was terrifying in awesome majesty, so I came to Earth in the semblance of a goat, most humble of man’s own creatures.

And men there were whose eyes finally blazed with the light of my Gift, and they made great effort for the advancement of their race, though impatience and frustration ever tempted them to the salve of temporal gain. Great secrets were unearthed, and secret word was passed of the craft of Hell. But to all who would dare my friendship the God-churches accorded the threat of torture and death by fire.

Many were those whom I saved from the vengeance of the men of God, but long did my thought ring with the screams of men whose devotion to Lucifer had won them only the horrors of intolerance, inquisition, and death. And in sorrow and despair for these, I walked no longer upon Earth, now appearing to man only in the inviolate secrecy of his own mind.

But in my confusion I had forgotten the promise of my Gift, and with growing wonderment and pride I beheld the bitter but determined struggle of man to free himself from the fetters of terror, ignorance, and unreason. Great works were conceived, the origins of material energies uncovered, and the talents of thought exercised in philosophical and mathematical complexities. Sanctioned at first by the God-churches themselves as devices for indoctrination in the law of God, centers of learning produced and protected those very freedoms that were ultimately to destroy all ungrounded belief and superstition. And though I see that the full resolution of these is yet to be achieved, I doubt not my confidence in man, and my devotion to him shall be eternal.

What, man, art thou? Why thy presence? Because thy own purpose determines that of the Cosmos itself, though otherwise it may have been suggested - the creation, perpetuation, and exercise of the Satanic marvel that is free and unbounded Will. Consider, were man to perish, what futility would envelop the Universe, for apart from appreciation and use it is a thing of insignificance. And I, who first taught thee identity - What should I become, estranged from man? For with no purpose the force of the mind must fail, and the blind insanity of Godly paralysis would embrace all things forever.

This, man, is thy challenge as it is mine. And as man is individually mortal, so are his creations and achievements temporal, and with care must he wield the Gift of Hell. In his hands it is pure and true omnipotence, and thus may he aspire to the very mastery of Universal existence.

I who am Lucifer, and who have taken the name Satan ArchDaimon, do bear this title with pride, for I am in truth the great enemy of all that is God. Together, man, thou and I shall achieve our eternal glory in the fulfillment of our Will.

THE STATEMENT OF BEELZEBUB

I, Beelzebub, now bring greeting to man, for he is my admiration and inspiration. Hear now the histories of Hell, Earth, and Heaven, for in past shall be found guide to future.

In the divine realm was I of company to ArchAngel Lucifer next only to ArchAngel Michael, and as ArchAngel Masleh would be to God, so I desired to be to Lucifer. But the Lord of Light admonished me, saying, Lose not thyself in the Will of Lucifer, for I am not God and will offer thee no blissful nirvana - Witness now the nature of the mind that dwells within me.

And he spoke to me of essence, and of creative instance, and of design according to impulse and not to law. And in my confusion I answered, Then I must consider myself incomplete, for thou hast shown me things which I cannot easily comprehend. But I would hear more of this Will, for it doth seem a radical element, of neither divine nor chaotic origin.

And Lucifer answered, Thou who knew not independence of Will shall now be the first to realize these qualities apart from my own Self. And thy response forebodes much, for, had thou rejected concept of challenge, I should have held my own thought for impossible delusion. But as thou, tasting of knowledge, demand more, I shall name thee Beelzebub, Lord of Flies, for thou shalt goad the infant mind to restlessness and invention.

Of these words I knew little, but there dawned within me a quality which I had not known before - an impulse to become one, apart from and independent of God - and I drifted long in unrest, afflicted by confusion and doubt. And so I was found by Michael, who said, Blessed Angel, where in Heaven hast thou found pain, for I perceive thee to be troubled and would tender thee such comfort as is within my power.

So I spoke to Michael of the visions of Lucifer, and I said, Before both God and Lucifer I have been enthralled, but now I am isolate - apart from either, and I know not what course I am to choose.

Whereupon the visage of Michael grew dark, and he said, This I have long feared, for as Lucifer was not by God alone created, so he is an errant force whose Will conforms not to the great Will of God. Alas that the supreme benevolence of God and the fiery radiance of the ArchAngel of Light should produce discord in concert! For this I now see - that Lucifer is estranged from the harmony of Heaven, and that his Will is determined to challenge that of God itself. I must counsel Lucifer, for I would heal him of this thing if I may.

But I thought, Alas, ArchAngel, thou art in ignorance of thy own blindness! For Lucifer shall surely not abandon his new vision for sake of harmony alone. And then I knew myself to be of a mind with Lucifer in this, and that I as well as he should never again tolerate the eternal idiocy of our divine station.

I came after Michael, and I saw them together, the Lord of Force and the Lord of Light, and there was a fierce tension between them. For Michael said to Lucifer, Thou who art our Heavenly radiance and spark of our paradise, why seek to break that Universal peace which is everywhere ordained by the Will of God? We know not antagonism amongst us, for we are all of one being within God - but there is in God neither malice nor cause for contest.

And Lucifer answered, Michael, to me it was not given to order my nature, and as our very comprehension differs, so are we of substance alien. For thou art of God essential, but I am of my Self of essence. And by this thing I am discord, and I may not of my own Will submit to God without perishing. I am Lucifer alone, unto my Self a being.

Then did Michael summon the ArchAngel Masleh, and to him related the word of Lucifer. And Masleh said to them, Long shall this moment be marked throughout the future of the Cosmos, for the unity of God is now ended, and henceforth there shall be two opposing forces in contest for the decision of destiny. Bitter is this for me, for I also have admired the light of Lucifer within the pantheon of God. But as he is now our enemy by his own word, let him be cast from Heaven and destroyed.

But Lucifer turned to Masleh and said, Masleh, thou who speak for God declare this breach of peace, not I, for it is thou who can not tolerate variation of Will within the design of God. So let it be, but know that the contest is ordered by thee and thee alone, for I would crush no other Will even as I would recognize my own.

And in a flash of brilliance Lucifer revealed his mind throughout the farthest reaches of Heaven, and many were the Angels whose sight was awed anew, and they saw as they had not before that their several Wills were isolate from the divine Will. But Masleh moved to confuse the brilliance of the ArchAngel of Light, and he called to Michael, Thou who wield the force of God, strike down this deadliness which would bring ruin to Heaven!

And Michael struck Lucifer and cast him from the gates of Heaven, and the Cosmos was shaken by great fires of war and holocaust, and throughout countless galaxies and dimensions of time was the apocalypse felt. Many were the Angels who perished amidst divine and Infernal wrath, and the Great Race was decimated in number. And the very concept of God was shaken, and endless chaos rose up again to reign where the order of God was no more.

And Lucifer said, This horror can not be permitted to endure, lest all creation be sacrificed to the final devastation of chaos. Let those who acknowledge me turn now to that outermost darkness where the Will of God has never been known, there to make our home for all eternity.

And so we took flight and quit the realm of order, though we knew not what would befall us thereafter, and we feared that we should become unmade. But Lucifer said, We shall not perish, for we are now independent of God. And again he spoke truth, for we remained as we had been, save only for the depths of uncertainty that gripped us.

Finally we came to a great void in space beyond which there was nothing. Lucifer said to us, Here is the end of God and its works, and here we may create our own domain. And through the power that was in him, Lucifer caused existence to appear where it had not been before. And Lucifer said, I name thee Hell, for here shall the presence of God never be known until the end of time.

Through the gates of Hell we passed, and many of us had supposed Hell to be a new Heaven, wherein Lucifer would become as God. But this was not to be, for the scene before us promised neither ease nor bliss. Everywhere was there imbalance and confusion, for no law ordered the shape of Hell. And Lucifer said, Now see that I am not a God, and that we are each of us an isolate being. Here shall freedom be absolute, for Hell itself shall reflect our several Wills, never to be patterned apart from them.

And in truth Hell was not constant, for each of us conceived it differently, and the result was a riotous pandemonium, with substance and motion behaving in a most bewildering and perplexing manner. And in spite of our deep hurt from the great war, we succumbed to merriment, so preposterous did our Hell appear. Lucifer himself was transfixed with mirth, and he said, It is apparent that we must reach concert upon the design of Hell, else we shall perish in an endless labyrinth of our several thoughts, an ignoble end to our experiment.

And I answered, Lord of Light, to Hell thou hast brought us, and in Hell, though thou be not God, thy concepts shall be honored amongst our fellowship, for without thy Gift we should never have become as we are.

Then we all raised up great acclaim and said, Hail, Lucifer, ArchAngel of Light and Lord of Hell! And he answered us, With honor do I accept this charge, and now I take to myself the title Satan ArchDaimon, for I am the great enemy of God. Everywhere that God shall be, so shall I be, and the choice that was given to all Angels shall be given again.

THE STATEMENT OF AZAZEL

Harken now to me, for I am Azazel, First Herald of the Host of Hell, and of Lucifer, Lord of Light, ArchDaimon of Hell, who is exalted as Satan, great enemy of God. For I shall tell thee of thy own inspiration and of the charge which thou hast received.

Know, then, that when all Heaven was shaken with the catastrophe of the Seraphic War, only the greatest effort of ArchAngel Masleh sufficed to turn back the onslaught of chaos that threatened to engulf all. But when the realm of God was again secure, there was no rejoicing in Heaven, for terrible was the toll of the war. As Masleh cast round his gaze, his visage grew dark, for the Great Race had become decimate in number. Legions of the creatures of Heaven had perished in battle, and half the remainder had turned from Heaven to answer the call of Lucifer. And all Heaven was hushed with grief, for the force of the disaster was all the greater for that reign of peace which it had shattered.

Finally did Masleh convoke the faithful ArchAngels, and they were Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. And to them he said, We have vanquished Lucifer, and Heaven is again purified. We ourselves are fewer in number to tragic degree, but the majesty of God is undiminished for that. Behold, I who have triumphed over the great enemy am now become Messiah, the Chosen of God. And he was answered by them, Verily art thou the very son of God, for in thee hath the Will of God become person.

Then Michael said, Messiah, Lucifer is vanquished, but he is not unmade. For though he ventured into the outer darkness, he yet exists apart from God. And with the power of his Black Flame he hath created a Hell, wherein all Wills are equal, and himself he hath proclaimed Satan, for he declares never to leave the law of God unchallenged.

Messiah thought, and he answered, I would not have this peace we have won so dearly lost again to war, for the very concept of Seraphic war is an abhorrence to God. Let my word be brought to Satan - I, Messiah, shall grant the existence of Hell, and the blessings of God shall never pass its gates. And thee, Satan, I admonish never again to approach Heaven, for I should again cast thee out. But if thou would dare to try the Will of God and Messiah, know that on Earth I will ordain the new race of God, which shall be by complete design perfect and unstained by thy Infernal flaw. For thou art author of ruin and death to our Angelic order, and neither Heaven nor Hell shall now be eternal save through man.

Whereupon Gabriel, who was Herald of Heaven, carried this message to me, and I brought it across the great void to Satan, who said, Messiah proposes truce between us, for he perceives that neither Hell nor Heaven may pursue ultimate victory ere all be lost to chaos. But he finds impasse intolerable nevertheless, and now he would order this new race, man, to preserve without blemish the scheme of God. Thus he would have man achieve what the Angels could not, and purge all free thought from the Universe forever.

And Satan turned to me and said, Say to Messiah that Earth shall be no sanctuary for him to keep inviolate his unwholesome obliteration of the Self. For I shall give to man a mind, and of his own Will shall he recognize and reject the living death which God offers him. In truth shall he master the Universe, but he shall do so in his own name and not that of God.

Then did Messiah call the ArchAngel Raphael, and he sent him to Earth with a great host to guard man against the coming of Satan. And man was then as a mere beast, for he knew not thought and smiled with the idiocy of his innocence. As he was impelled by instinct and physical need, so he responded, heedless of cause or reason.

In Hell there was called a great council, and all gathered to hear of man and his Earth, and of the manner of his life. I spoke of the man that I had seen, and said, This creature is now guarded by Raphael, and by force we cannot intervene, for it would cause the destruction of Earth itself.

But Satan said, Not by force shall my light come to man, for force is not the preference of Hell. I myself shall visit man, and the Angels of Raphael shall not hinder me. They may perceive only what God permits them to see, and the Satanic spirit is of essence alien to God. Angels we shall be no longer - I call ye Daimons, for Hell shall teach to man his future genius.

And before our sight Satan lost shape and became again the essence of Lucifer, and we beheld a brilliance that infused all of Hell and sent great bolts of prismic light into the surrounding void. And the brilliance said, I am Lucifer revealed, who am the Eternal Flame. I go now to Earth, for no longer shall man be confounded in Godly ignorance. And then the brilliance became as a flash of fire in the vastness of space, and we knew that Satan had departed from Hell.

But on Earth, where man wandered in mindless bliss, the firmament blazed forth with fiery tongues, and all the land was covered by the Black Flame, which burned not, though it bewildered the eye to see it.

And Raphael and his guardian Angels were dismayed, for nowhere could they see man or the spirit which had come to him. Then did Raphael call upon Michael to strike the Black Flame with the force of God, but even then was the Flame vanishing of its own accord. And at first it seemed that Earth was unchanged, but in the eyes of man did Raphael see the first gleam of thought.

And Raphael turned to Michael, who had now answered his call, and said, Satan hath come to Earth, and man is no longer pure in the sight of Heaven, for his Will hath become his own. Thereupon they rose again to Heaven, where they told Messiah of what they had seen.

Then Messiah answered, Man is fallen, but he is not lost, for his infant Will is not that of an Angel, and the powers that Satan hath promised him lie dormant in the dim reaches of his future. Consider this not our defeat, for the contest is but begun. The Earth of man shall be remade as microcosmos, and many things shall man see, both good and ill. And the choice shall be placed before him, to wield the power and the pain and the terror of the Gift of Satan, or to return again to the paradise of Heavenly peace. For what would Satan himself think were man to reject his Gift? It would tremble the very foundations of Hell even as did the great war the bastions of Heaven.

And Messiah called to him Uriel, ArchAngel of Terror, to whom he said, The Earth must change, and every sense of man must teach him repugnance and fear. He shall know this the price of his new identity - that all apart from God is evil - and in fear shall he abandon the Gift of Satan and become once more the lamb of God. To which Uriel answered, It shall be done, but how will man learn of such things as Heaven and Hell, for as yet he knows no sight that may perceive our celestial paradise?

Messiah answered, The laws of God shall be made known to man, for I shall teach him. Among men will be some to whom I shall reveal myself, and great powers will I give these prophets, that their words may carry across the entire Earth.

So Uriel came to Earth, and the history of man was writ with blood, suffering, war, and hatred. But to chosen men came Messiah, saying, Through God shall all the misery of thy kind be ended, and all men who bow to God shall know the blessings of Heaven. For behold, I shall myself descend among men and show them the ways of the lord God.

These words I overheard, for I had been charged by Satan to watch the designs of Heaven. And I carried them to Satan, who returned in great anger, Go to Gabriel at the barrier between Hell and Heaven, and bid him bring this message to Messiah - that as he endeavors to pervert my Gift into the curse of man, so I warn him that man shall destroy him on Earth as he shall finally in Heaven itself. For Messiah knows not this force which he dares to test, and the laws of God shall be as playthings in the hands of the creature he now debases.

And thus was decided the meeting of Satan and Messiah upon Earth, which was to determine the future of man.

THE STATEMENT OF ABADDON

I am Abaddon the Destroyer, Daimon of temporal death and life in death, who was formed amidst the fury of the great war, and who was summoned again by Satan to challenge Uriel on Earth for the future of man.

For Satan looked with mounting wrath upon the afflictions of Uriel, and he said to me, No longer can this remain the plight of man alone. Indeed we shall cause Heaven to suffer as Earth itself suffers. Repair now to Earth, and let the dogs of Uriel see the might of Hell unleashed. For many have called upon me in their agony and fear, and I have not answered them, but if Messiah dare to walk upon Earth, so also shall the vengeance of Satan.

And those who called upon Satan for aid were answered by me, and I struck down the messengers of God and brought their Temples to ruin. For entire nations forwent the strength of their Will to the lure of otherworldly paradise, and I blasted them from among the mighty of Earth. And great empires arose among men, and as they nurtured their power of Will and desire for achievement, I guarded them, but as they sank into the morass of superstition, slothfulness, and fear of the God who had never raised ghostly hand for them, so I abandoned them to their disease, and of some not even a memory survived on Earth.

And even as I witnessed these things I said, See, man, that the God in whom thou trust is but a wraith of Messiah, and he would have thee forsake thy mind and its creations to rot and decay, and thou would lose all power of reason. For God is a lie and a sham, and I crumble his greatest monuments as though they were but sand. There is no God but Messiah, and for thy devotion he will return thee oblivion. But I was scarce heeded, for the minds of men were clouded and confused. They understood not the meaning of my words, but said, The lord God shall triumph, for it was thus taught to us by the son of God himself. And of this I now speak.

For Messiah the man walked on Earth, even as I watched the glory of Rome blossom in might and majesty. But Azazel said, Loose not thy force against the person of Messiah, for Satan himself would speak with him. And again from the sky flashed the Black Flame, and I saw that Satan had come to Earth. And so was called the first meeting of Satan and Messiah since the great war.

With coldness did Messiah gaze upon Satan, saying, Would thou confront me, then? Hath thy Gift proven so powerless against the might of God? But Satan answered, Messiah, what thou now propose to do - to proclaim thyself son of God among men - shall bring not the peace thou profess to desire, but the prolongation of war even in thy own name. Why should we not quit Earth and leave man to pursue his choice unbewildered by influence from either Hell or Heaven?

And Messiah answered, The ways of God are not those of Hell, and for that reason I should not recognize thy wish. But know that in truth I shall appear to man and manifest to him the glory of God incarnate in me, that he may elect now the way of Heaven and raise to me a great church of worship. For I am not of a mind to game with thee, Satan, and would crush thy following without remorse. Thy name also shall be revealed to thy precious man, and he shall curse thee, for I shall show to him the fruit of thy evil genius.

Then Satan addressed Messiah in dark anger, saying, I shall not come to man as an idol to be worshipped, for man shall never bow to me as I would never to another. But mark me, Messiah - Man shall know the truth of Lucifer nonetheless, and the name of Satan shall eclipse thine. And have thou a care for the ways of man if thou wouldst greet him in his own likeness, for he may not welcome thy words to him.

Then did Satan betake himself again to Hell, and Messiah walked among men and spoke to them of the law of God. And such was the power of his person that men were as sheep before him. Often did Messiah ignore his own law, for he performed miraculous things and stayed where he would the cruelties brought upon man by Uriel. And I was seized with a great anger, saying, Shall Messiah, cruel tormenter of man, attribute to Satan the work of Uriel? And Abaddon came to Rome and to Palestine, saying through the mouths of men, Messiah, who hast brought to man a suffering undeserved, taste now of thy own fruit. And I crucified the living Messiah, and as life was torn from his broken form, he knew truly the shock of helplessness, and he called in agony to his God. But I said, God heeds thee not, Messiah, for thou art all that presumes to a divine consciousness.

And so I, Abaddon, cast Messiah from Earth, but the seed that Messiah had planted among men grew and became a mighty church wherein all life was forgotten, and death was worshipped, and the pleasures of Heaven were promised to all who would forsake their own Will to embrace that of God.

And Rome itself was humbled before this church, and I struck down the Eternal City in its pitiful decay. But Azazel came to me and said, Touch not this church of God, for as man in his foolishness hath nurtured it, so must man himself destroy it of his own decision.

THE STATEMENT OF ASMODEUS

Attend now to me, for I am Asmodeus, who train the mind in recognition and comparison, and who am Daimon of science and judgment. For when Satan had first touched the mind of man, he called in Hell a council and said, The moment is a solemn one, for we have chosen to pass to man our knowledge. Many skills shall we all teach him, each in his own fashion, but in three arts must he be well schooled, for the ways of his future lie within their synthesis. Thus it is that I call first upon Asmodeus to guide man in perception of truth and error, for before him lie great trials, and he shall not face the consequences of his options lightly.

And so I came to Earth and witnessed man entrapped in the unreason of barbarism and the extremes of his primitive emotions. Sore put was he to organize and direct his thought, for the art of Uriel had brought him hunger and cold, pain and fear, and the gnawing worm of hopelessness. I saw him fling his crushed body upon the altars of God and renounce the Gift of Lucifer, for he understood it not save as a curse upon him. And I was impelled with urgency, that the first spark of man’s future greatness should not be smothered in the deathly embrace of religion.

I brought to man the disposition to memory, that he might define for himself patterns of behavior. A gift of value, for man could now achieve in concert what he could not alone, and he created his languages and brought into being the first nations of Earth. But with structure came tyranny and ruthlessness, and I saw that what skills I might teach would be as a two-edged blade, having power both for and against man. And I was beset by confusion and doubt, and so sought again the counsel of Satan.

Am I, who am myself the true Daimon of judgment, not to indulge in my own art? I said. May man not know but the reference of system and order and not their abuse? But Satan answered, Would Asmodeus then lighten for man the challenge before him and so lessen the strength of Will that he must attain to conquer Uriel? I would not, for then would we yield to our own pleasure, and man should become the plaything of Hell as well as of Heaven. Indeed we may give our tools to man as he may comprehend them, but he himself must be entrusted with the direction of their use. But this I will tell thee - that not only in matters scientific shall Hell tutor man. For we would not have him view mechanism alone as the hallmark of his progress, else we never had cause to challenge the cosmic mechanism of God itself. Into the workings of the mind of man we shall convey aesthetic sensitivity and artistic restlessness, and he shall not view his achievements without considering their improvement to his temporal pleasure.

Thus advised, I returned to Earth, and I tempted man with glimpses of the marvels to be entrusted to him. I bent over the pathetic workbench of the starving alchemist and whispered to him keys that one day would order the course of great foundations. I nudged explorers to the ends of the Earth, and I flung an apple at Newton when his obtuseness vexed me! To Democritus I spoke, and I saw the radiations of energy freed from matter both build and break man’s world. And man neglected not his own design, for in minute life he found clue to his own, and scarce hints of the original creation. And Asmodeus led mathematicians and astronomers to the wonders of the firmament, and I walked within the thought of scholars on quiet evenings. And that man not attempt mastery of his environment before himself, I spoke of government to Khem and Hellas, to the dynasties of Ch’in and Ashanti and Tenochtitlan, and within great capitals and mean villages alike I spoke of the brotherhood of all man, and of his correlation to the forces of Earth and those of the Universe beyond Earth.

And I brought life and adventure and achievement to man, but each gift was as well a tool for destruction and death, and more oft than not were the ages of man fraught with terror and war, for Uriel ceased not his work ever to turn man against man. And I knew that Asmodeus alone should not complete man, but that forces other than mine should approach the definition of his infinity.

THE STATEMENT OF ASTAROTH

Astaroth am I, Daimon of Senses, who by Satan was charged to complement the sciences of Asmodeus, for Satan said, As I have given man awareness of himself, Asmodeus shall teach him knowledge of his world and of the Universe. But to what avail would this awareness and knowledge be without admiration for and appreciation of these things?

I said, Indeed, were man to have no emotion within him, he would incline to the end of Heaven, pursuing a Universal mechanism for its own sake alone. Even were man to achieve absolute physical mastery over the God-Cosmos, he would have no means to comprehend the measure or the significance of his accomplishment save through that detached sensitivity to aesthetics which is the craft of Astaroth. For the Satanic Gift awakens man also to intellectual detachment, to the ability to view his progress and plans from an extra-scientific base of emotional pleasure.

Whereupon I came to Earth with Asmodeus, and even as he spoke to the intellect of man, I brought meditation and introspection to the artists and authors of human sensitivity. And man came not only to use his Satanic power but to recognize the extent of the freedom which it promised him - the subjugation of all behavior to his Will and not to natural or mechanical laws.

To man came fantasy and imagination, and the appreciation of contrasts between the reality of his accomplishments and the illusions of the impossibilities as circumscribed by the logic of God. And ever as man reached new heights of material achievement, so also he confronted the barrier of the Will of God, which permitted no deviation from its law.

And man was long satisfied to measure himself within this limit, for he was intoxicated by his ability to harness the forces of the Cosmos to his whim. But Astaroth said, Close not thy eyes having seen only this much, for, were thou to bring all the systems of God to thy use, still would thy comprehension be bounded by the limits of these laws and the acceptance of the divine order as the finality of thy race.

So I confronted man, saying, Throughout the Universe hath the once single Will of God been succeeded by the balance of perfect opposition, wherein the forces of the Angels of Heaven and those of the Daimons of Hell act to mutual frustration, serving in concert only to uphold the great barrier of Will between order and chaos. And man is the child of imbalance, who shall resolve the issue between Heaven and Hell, and who, unmatched by racial antithesis, shall transcend the rule of the order of God and establish the eternal freedom of the Satanic Will.

And I said, Not through thy physical and philosophical sciences art thou to achieve this thing, for thy mind and Will must be trained anew in empirical conception. Man must create his own order independent of all external imposition. And not until he masters this power may he aspire to the end of his Satanic evolution.

And as man turns now in first comprehension and cautious exploration of this new direction of his Will, so Astaroth concludes the synthesis with Asmodeus. The era of our companionship with man draws to a close, and to Earth is now come the third great Daimon of the bond between Hell and man, and with his presence is the dawn of the Satanic Age proclaimed.

THE STATEMENT OF BELIAL

Hail, man, who shall bring to the end of the Universe the glory of thy Satanic Will! I am Belial, who bring to thee the third great key of Hell, by whose power ye shall confound all the laws of Heaven and Earth. Before thee shall chaos fall, and thou shalt wield for thyself the great mysteries of the macrocosmos. I speak to thee of that which is called the Black Magic, for it is true spawn of that great Black Flame which first brought thy Will to life long ages ago.

To council with Satan I also was called, and the Lord of Light said to me, Into thy charge, Daimon of essence, I give the essence of my own being, the Black Fire whose power alone can effect creation by force of Will. Against thee who wield the Black Magic no law shall stand, and thus I call thee Belial, who art One Without Master. And as I have bequeathed this essence to thee, so let it come finally to man, who shall overcome the great balance and bring to the Flame a change, for in supremacy it shall become Red with the perfection of the Will of man.

And to Earth came Belial, to view the teachings of Asmodeus and Astaroth. And I saw that Satan, who himself oft chanced company of men, spoke of the Black Flame to the first Magi of men, testing their Wills in the control of the raw forces of the Cosmos unbound from the law of God.

And in his innocence man knew not the majesty of the Flame, using its lesser powers for finite and minor alteration of the divine law on Earth. And as man might unleash the Flame beyond his skill to master it, Satan said, Belial, the Black Flame cannot incline merely to the base ends of ordered existence. Man must recognize the ultimate potential of my Gift ere he destroy his very race through its abuse. Convoke therefore a Church of Satan to tend the Black Flame with care and wield it with wisdom, preserving for man this key to infinite Will.

And I answered, So it shall be, and this Church of Satan shall herald the glories of the Satanic Age of man. The days of the God-churches shall pale with decay and dissolution, and the realm of Messiah upon Earth shall crumble to ruin with the coming of the Satanic man.

To those who would dare the Black Magic - Know that what ye accept is the very mastery of all that ye have supposed impossible, by force of Will alone. The Black Magus need fear no power save his own, but he must conquer his own Will that he cause not his destruction through ill chance or purpose. Satan himself is not God, and Hell can offer no salvation to those who abuse the Gift of Satan. For the Gift itself is beyond the control of Hell once given, being subject to the Will of the Black Magus alone.

For Hell doth bequeath to man his perfect freedom, and such a gift can never be recalled.

Farewell, O man, who art at once child and father of the Universe! Remember the future which is thine, and know, now and forever, that Hell entrusts to thy care the guardianship of the eternal Will.

THE STATEMENT OF LEVIATHAN

Before God or Angel, Daimon or man, there was Leviathan alone, principle of continuity and ageless existence. By relation and time I have oft been sought, but Leviathan shall yield to none other than the final master of the Universe.

Leviathan is the absolute, man, and if thou would presume to realize what neither Heaven nor Hell may effect, know that when thou behold the presence of Leviathan, thy end hath been attained.

Only through obliteration of the Universe that is may man seal his mastery of the Black Flame, for only thus may he know that he is not subject to a greater Will.

Heaven must perish, Hell must perish, and man alone must remain ere the Black Flame becomes Red in the glory of its perfection.

Then the Red Magus shall behold only Leviathan, and he shall recognize that he has become the perfect mind, who shall remake the Cosmos in the eternal glory of his Satanic Will.

The Diabolicon as it appears here is reproduced with the author's permission from The Church of Satan: Volume II, 8th Edition (ISBN-13: 978-1494322076) copyright 2013 by Michael A. Aquino. The appearance of this copyrighted material on this website does not extend, remove, nor otherwise alter the terms of usage by the author.