of J/C reference-points, then enter a much larger universe as Setians.

Q6: WHAT IS BLACK MAGIC? HOW DOES THE TEMPLE OF SET TEACH IT?

A6: The Temple of Set helps its Initiates to understand just what magic is -
and indeed there are several types of magic to be learned and distinguished.
But as magic enables one to influence or change events in ways not understood
nor anticipated by society, before you put it to use you must first develop a
sound and sophisticated appreciation for the ethics governing your own motives,
decisions, and actions. Merely using magic for impulsive, trivial, or egoistic
desires is not Setian. It must become second-nature to you to carefully
preevaluate the consequences of what you wish to do - then choose the course of
wisdom, justice, and creative improvement.

Q7: IS SATANISM CRIMINAL? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE ALLEGATIONS THAT SATANISTS
PRACTICE HUMAN/ANIMAL SACRIFICE, CATTLE MUTILATION, CHILD MOLESTATION,
CANNIBALISM, GRAVE-ROBBING, ETC.?

A7: Authentic Satanism (i.e. the 1966-75 Church of Satan and the 1975-present
Temple of Set) is emphatically non-criminal and, if anything, far more decent
and socially mature than any conventional religion. As it is based on
principles of creativity, beauty, freedom, courtesy, tolerance, and pleasure,
this is inherent in its design.

Since its inception, Christianity has made use of the most horrific propaganda
to attack its competitors. For many centuries it was the Jews who were accused
of human sacrifice, cannibalism, [Christian] child sexual abuse, etc. - and
persecuted accordingly. As the Church of Satan and Temple of Set were founded
in a period of extreme religious tolerance and experimentation in the United
States, such propaganda was initially not a serious problem to them. In the
1980s, however, a revival of Fundamentalism sponsored a wave of unprecedented
"Satanic crime" hysteria, first in the United States and then in culturally-
close nations such as Britain and Australia. By the mid-1990s, many studies by
responsible law-enforcement and academic institutions have thoroughly exposed
and discredited the "Satanic crime" myth, although some Fundamentalists still
try to promote it. The Temple of Set maintains a database of the most current
and prominent of these law-enforcement and academic reports.

It is unfortunately the case that the recent Fundamentalist propaganda campaign
has convinced some sick or maladjusted Christians that the way to practice
"Satanism" is to perform the destructive and perverse outrages prescribed by
the propaganda. When/if such Christians go on emotional rampages, they may
follow that model and call themselves "Satanists". Obviously the Temple of Set
would deny them this title, just as the 1966-75 Church of Satan would have
denied it to them. However this phenomenon illustrates the dilemma that the
Church of Satan regularly confronted [and which foreshadowed the Temple of
Set's rejection of J/C mythology altogether]: that the god *it* represented as
good and constructive was the *same* one defined by the world's three largest
conventional religions as evil and destructive.

Q8: HOW CAN ONE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE TEMPLE OF SET?

A8: A copy of the current General Information Letter is available upon request.
Write to: Executive Director, Temple of Set, Post Office Box 470307, San
Francisco, CA 94147, USA. Or provide a *postal* mailing address to Internet:
[email protected]