Putrid Review interviews Venger Satanis

[darrick]

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Interview w/ Venger As'Nas Satanis, founder & High Priest of the Cult of Cthulhu by Claytron



Hello and greetings from Putrid Reviews! Today we are bringing you a very special interview with Venger As'Nas Satanis, the founder and High Priest of the Cult of Cthulhu. Lets get get started!


The Cult of Cthulhu is the integration of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, Satanism, Chaos Magic, the Fourth Way, and other Left Hand Path traditions. Would you care to elaborate and educate us on your beliefs?

Every Cultist is different, like some luminous green, wrong-angled snowflake. Individual consciousness is unique and a Cultist's beliefs are themake-up or perhaps the distillation of his consciousness. For example, some take the Old Ones as actual entities and others use them as symbolism for greater depths within the individual.

In forming the Cult of Cthulhu, I either borrowed or was influenced by everything that spoke to me on a higher level. Principally, the weird tales of author H.P. Lovecraft. My youth was heavily shaped by Satanism, Crowley, the Temple of Set... then I got into Ouspensky and Gurdjieff (the 4th way).

I put them all together and mixed in my own personal revelations. Presto, a religion was born.


You have just released a new book entitled Liber A:O. This is the second bible of your teachings. Do you care to explain what we may expect from reading it?

Liber A:O is a deeper exploration of the Cult and my own personal journey. Cthulhu Cult was more introduction while this second volume is a practical guide to Awakening. It's not that long, only about 75 pages. I tried to make Liber A:O more accessible than some long manuscript which might have gotten awfully dry, convoluted, or looked intimidating to the average newbie.

Where can we find Liber A:O or any of your other works if we wish to read or purchase them for ourselves?

The text is on our website (in the Cult of Cthulhu section, naturally):

Cult of Cthulhu

The free PDF download is here:

Liber A:O by Venger Satanis (Book) in Religion & Spirituality

Lulu is a print on demand company, so people can buy a hardcover of the book directly from them. However, I just purchased a large order of hardcover books and will be selling them myself, signed, for $23 including shipping and handling. So, anyone who wants one is encouraged to email me.


What was the factor that awoke yourself, spiritually, to this path of enlightenment?

I don't think it was just one thing or event. Perhaps a perfect storm of circumstances that startled me out of my deep sleep? Everything from a genetic predisposition to mind expanding drugs to reading Lovecraft, LaVey, Ouspensky, and many other writers. I'm sure there are thousands of tiny details that led me to the path I currently walk.

But one thing I know is that I didn't just Awaken without help from those who have come before. Additionally, it took great efforts on my own to figure out what was wrong about life and the universe. Sleep is the constant, waking up from sleep is the rarity. I don't want this understanding to live and die with me. No, I want to share it with the world... or at least those crazy enough to listen.


How many currently follow the Cthulhu Cult teachings?

Several hundred, in various capacities. We have a few different degrees which lead to certain responsibilities within the organization.


When do you believe that the Old Ones shall return?

When we're ready. Perhaps an individual apocalypse? I'm quite sure that Cthulhu shall not be freed until the observer has attained a state of freedom. Only the Awakened can know the Old Ones as They truly are.


What is your take on reality and the world we as humans believe that we exist in?

Reality is a multi-dimensional affair. In some ways, reality is what we make of it. In others, reality is governed by certain laws. One person's reality will never exactly match another's perception of things. If belief is reality, then what shapes our beliefs? Can we control what we think or is it all pre-programed?

I've always liked that old Thrill Kill Kult song with the sample, "Reality is the only word in the English language that should always be used in quotes". I was probably in High School when I first heard that, about the time that I discovered The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey. Anyways, I'm rambling... what is reality? I don't know. Is it possible for a magician to reconstruct and improve his own reality? Yes, I believe so.


What do you believe exists beyond our line of sight?

Something powerful and terrifying: the unknown. I'm sure there's a very good reason for certain things to be outside our line of sight. People think they know lots of things. People also assume that they are Awake. It's sad how deluded we all are.

The Cult of Cthulhu has a healthy respect for whatever is out there in that ineffable darkness.


How do you believe the majority of society views your religion?

"There's a Cult of Cthulhu!?! Wait, what's a Cthulhu?" That's what I assume the majority of society thinks about us. Haha. We are beneath their radar. Oh well, every year we extend our tentacles a little farther. Those that do know about us have mixed feelings, I'm sure. Some fear us, some laugh at us, and others are just perplexed.


What is your take on christianity, catholicism, and the other forms of organized religion?

Any religion can be beneficial, if one takes the essence away from the bulk of it. Most believers take things in such a watered-down way, that it makes their various religions identical and worthless. I'm not talking about being hardcore or fundamentalist either. What I mean, is going inside the inner workings, the secret heart of whatever religion you happen to believe in. Find the third side... the esoteric form of such and such religion and practice that!

Even members of our Cthulhu Cult can take concepts poorly, understand the teaching in a wrong way. It happens, but those who are more prepared or have more understanding keep a close eye on things like discussions, policy, writings. We're big on non-dogmatic critical thinking. Don't take things as read, find
out answers for yourself by experimenting.

What about other cults and their beliefs?

It depends, I suppose. It depends on the leadership, the middle
management, and the general members. The value of a religious group would depend on not only their knowledge but their being as well.


I see that you are a RPG enthusiast. What games do you enjoy playing?

Enthusiast might be too strong a word. These days, I usually get together with friends about three times a month to play board, miniature, or tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons or Call of Cthulhu.

I also really like poker, specifically Texas Hold'em. That's a
challenging game like chess. If I didn't have all my creative,
spiritual, and entertainment stuff going on I'd probably devote myself to becoming really great at playing high stakes no limit Hold'em. As it is, I play low stakes Hold'em every once in awhile. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose.


What are some of your favorite movies?

The Thing, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, Evil Dead, Naked, Henry Fool, Get Carter, From Dusk Till Dawn, Dawn of the Dead, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, The Godfather, Star Wars, The Matrix, Blood Sucking Freaks, Ilsa She-Wolf of the SS, House of 1,000 Corpses, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, The Descent, Near Dark, High Plains Drifter...

That's just a few of my favorites (non pornographic, of course). I really love dark, gritty, complex, fun, exploitation films. Subtlety is nice, but I love in-your-face sex and violence more. I enjoy weird stuff too, but not too bizarre where it's only weird for the sake of being weird. The weirdness should have a purpose.


What can we expect from you and The Cult of Cthulhu in the future?

Well, I keep making little Cult related videos and uploading them to my youtube channel (I'm HighPriestSatanis on there if you want to find me). What else... I'm thinking about creating a new CoC presence on the internet, talking with friends from Mythos Media about such a project.

We've got the Cthulhu 2 Convention coming up in the midwest this
Spring: http://www.cultofcthulhu.net/c2convention.htm

It's been my long-term goal to get involved in the adult entertainment industry. So eventually, maybe in a couple years, I'll produce or direct some nice, slimy green lesbian tentacle porn or something?


Is there anything that you would like to close off with?

No, I've probably said way too much already. Thanks for interviewing me.


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