The darker side of the moon: Satanic traditions in New Zealand as magick systems

<p>When people discover the topic of my thesis they usually ask "Why Satanism?". In 1998 Satanism caught my attention when I was doing an undergraduate paper in sociology, the sociology of religion. Here I encountered several studies on the Satanic Ritual Abuse phenomena (SRA, also known as Satanic Panic and Satanism scare) See appendices for a brief history of SRA of the late 1980's and early 1990's in England, America, Australia and here in New Zealand. SRA evolved from accusations that satanic cults were involved in rituals where children were physically and sexually abused, and possibly killed. There were also reports that children were being bred for such practices. Both here and overseas cases were investigated by government agencies. The Peter Ellis case is perhaps the defining example of SRA in New Zealand. See appendices for an overview of this case In 1999,I noticed the census figures between 1986 and 1996 showed a growth of New Zealanders who identified as Satanist during the height of SRA scare, with the number rising nearly 400% (from 240 to 906). From this several questions arose: perhaps most importantly what is Satanism: why had this number grown: and how does one become a Satanist? As I began researching answers to these questions, I became aware of elements that were not apparent from the literature. Not all Satanism is about being evil and using black Magick. The spelling of Magick with a 'k' is to differentiate between religious Magick and show (illusional) magic. This is explained in more detail later. Some elements of Satanism link it closely with other Magick traditions. In this thesis I discuss two questions: what is Satanism in New Zealand and is there a relationship between Satanism and other Magick traditions in New Zealand?</p>

The darker side of the moon: Satanic traditions in New Zealand as magick systems

<p>When people discover the topic of my thesis they usually ask "Why Satanism?". In 1998 Satanism caught my attention when I was doing an undergraduate paper in sociology, the sociology of religion. Here I encountered several studies on the Satanic Ritual Abuse phenomena (SRA, also known as Satanic Panic and Satanism scare) See appendices for a brief history of SRA of the late 1980's and early 1990's in England, America, Australia and here in New Zealand. SRA evolved from accusations that satanic cults were involved in rituals where children were physically and sexually abused, and possibly killed. There were also reports that children were being bred for such practices. Both here and overseas cases were investigated by government agencies. The Peter Ellis case is perhaps the defining example of SRA in New Zealand. See appendices for an overview of this case In 1999,I noticed the census figures between 1986 and 1996 showed a growth of New Zealanders who identified as Satanist during the height of SRA scare, with the number rising nearly 400% (from 240 to 906). From this several questions arose: perhaps most importantly what is Satanism: why had this number grown: and how does one become a Satanist? As I began researching answers to these questions, I became aware of elements that were not apparent from the literature. Not all Satanism is about being evil and using black Magick. The spelling of Magick with a 'k' is to differentiate between religious Magick and show (illusional) magic. This is explained in more detail later. Some elements of Satanism link it closely with other Magick traditions. In this thesis I discuss two questions: what is Satanism in New Zealand and is there a relationship between Satanism and other Magick traditions in New Zealand?</p>

Modern Practice, Archaic Ritual: Catholic Exorcism in America

The following ethnographic and folkloric analysis of American exorcism practices post-1998 centers on four Catholic priest-exorcists currently active in the United States. After a brief commentary regarding the place of Satanism within contemporary Catholic imagination, this article posits that the Catholic Church’s recent institutional support of its office of exorcist must not be viewed separately from its discursive fear of Satanic cults and larger narratives of religious declension. The current era of exorcism practice in America is chiefly characterized as a response to the media sensationalism surrounding not only prior cases of demonic possession but also of Satanic ritual abuse. Moreover, beyond these explicit issues of religious competition (e.g., Catholics versus Satanic conspirators), the current era of exorcism practice is also implicitly characterized by the changing belief systems of contemporary Catholics. Thus, this article ultimately concerns issues related to religious modernization, the apotropaic use of established religious tradition, popular entertainment and the mediatization of contemporary exorcism cases, institutionalized training curricula and the spaces allowing ritual improvisation, and the vernacular religious consumption of unregulated paranormal concepts that possess no clear analogues within official Church theology.

Trial: a Special Type of Technology vs Play Imitation

The article deals with the issue of the technique of the communicative action in an adversary trial, where the communicative action is represented within the interactive play recognized by both parties, in which abuse is unacceptable. At any stage of the controversy and the conflict regarding statements and arguments of a court language game, participants verify their statements and arguments with material and symbolic means capable of assisting them, while at the same time attempting to deny their opponents, breaking the links between their opposing statements and their own means. The basis of adversary proceedings is the system of language conventions between participants of language communication, and judicial knowledge is transformed into «narrative» one. Analyzing the «agonistic» adversary nature of the judicial procedure, the author notes that the latter, like the game, is built on an artificial basis, according to specially created rules, and conceals a real social conflict by conditional legal «quasi-conflict». On the other hand, it is proved that the nature of the adversary trial is dual; it is characterized not only by the element of play, but also by a less powerful utilitarian component. The adversary nature of justice does not turn a judge into a passive witness of a debate between parties of a court trial, does not relieve him of his responsibility to comply with the matter of fact, to choose an adequate rule and to make a fair decision. Otherwise, justice is invariably transformed into a «dead play ritual»; abuse of the play itself — a solid imitation, a theater, an ideological liturgy, or vice versa, deliberate creating of barriers to transfer of the conflict to the territory of law. Taking into account the philosophical and legal conception of the judicial procedure as a civilized form and a specific type of legal communication of the participants of the trial, the author emphasizes that excessive language game between the participants of the trial is dangerous, since it deprives the justice of the permanent and the sacred — to establish the truth in the trial. In addition, it is paid attention to the fact that a full-fledged play can expand in a free area limited by a symbolic framework, where rules, not surrogates, operate and they are recognized and enforced by both parties.

Malignant trauma and the invisibility of ritual abuse

This article draws on psychoanalytic theories of malignant trauma to explain the invisibility of ritual abuse. Ritual abuse refers to the misuse of rituals in the organised sexual abuse of children. Despite expanded recognition of the varieties of child maltreatment, ritual abuse remains largely invisible outside the trauma and dissociation field as a specific form of sexual exploitation. Presenting qualitative data from interview research with ritual abuse survivors and mental health specialists, this article argues that the trauma of ritual abuse and its invisibility are co-constitutive. The perpetration and denial of ritual abuse occur within a relational matrix of perpetrators, victims, and bystanders structured by the presymbolic dread of vulnerability and dependency. The simultaneity of perpetration and disavowal creates the conditions for the malignancy of ritual abuse, including the invisibility of victims and the intergenerational transmission of extreme abuse. The article examines how the provision of care to ritual abuse survivors can become contingent on its erasure, and reflects on the role of therapists and others in interrupting the metastases of malignant trauma and crafting cultural and moral frameworks to transform the dread at the core of ritual abuse.