Thus, there cannot be any such thing as 'childhood Initiation' - nor participation by children under
a certain age in any genuine magickal rituals. What there can be: what there often is - in genuine
O9A
Satanism at least - is the simple dedication of infants by their parents to the darker path, and this
involves only the appointing of guardians to watch over and care for the child(ren): "Do you, so
chosen, pledge to guard and watch over this newborn and to teach them when the teaching time is
right, our ways ..." (from 'The Ceremony of Birth' in "The Black Book of Satan"). The time for
teaching is when the child, in accord with Satanic philosophy, can choose for themselves - sixteen
years of age or thereafter - that is, when they have attained the threshold of adulthood.
Hence, there is not, and cannot be, any such thing as "Satanic" child-abuse: there can be no childhood
'initiation', no participation by children under a certain age in rituals, and no abuse, by adult
Satanists, of children. This latter is important - Satanism is concerned with the individual gaining
self-mastery and self-understanding. The abuser (whether of children, drugs or pleasures) is
swayed by mostly unconscious desires and impulses - they may manipulate and try to control
others who are susceptible, but they cannot control themselves, or even begin to understand their
'darker' side. In short, they are weak - and generally rather pathetic - individuals, although they
may hide behind a "mask" or a "role". Such people are not Satanists, but rather failures. The
Satanist aspires to self-mastery, self-overcoming: to knowledge...
