Is it really any wonder, then, that the Church of Satan withdrew “literal Satanism” from the public arena?
In our pronouncements, publications, and press-releases the Devil became an allegory for materialism and the unchained human ego. Speaking in such terms we could continue to gain the ear of the people who really mattered – the de facto Satanists of the world. Had we continued to champion a literal Devil, media distortion would have lumped us together with nut elements, and our access to serious channels of communication would have been seriously paired. Now we have reached the end of the boom. “The Exorcist” was the Last Gasp. A few of the occult flower-children still remain, but they have become relics, throwbacks within their own subculture. No one listens to them; they have nothing new to say. One by one, rats deserting a~ sinking ship, they quietly lay aside their capes, swords, and amulets. it’s is all over. Time to find a new toy. And so it is that Satan awakes. To his disciples who, after long years of frustration, are minded to leave Rome, he appears echoing God’s admonishment
