The Satanic Scriptures features three Church of Satan rituals never before broadly released to the public. The Marriage and Funeral rituals were exclusively used by the Priesthood of Mendes until now, and the third – an evocation of the Northern European pagan beliefs – was briefly available in the obscure Scandinavian journal The Fenris Wolf in the 1980s.
From the introduction to the rite:
Satanists take the position that Man has invented his gods. We find world mythology to be our field from which to harvest symbols and metaphors that we find to resonate most strongly with our Satanic natures. When exploring a particular historical mythology, we do not simply pick something that is NOT Christian, or not a part of Christianity’s various antecedents and offshoots; we look instead to a myth system and ferret out its unique dark side, the taboo and forbidden regions that its adherents held in awe and terror. That’s where the Devils are to be found.
What makes this ritual different from the prolific amount of old European themed occult books is that it doesn’t pretend to be an authentic Iclandic or Pagan ceremony, encouraging the literal belief in these older gods. The introduction continues:
This rite is an exercise in “exoticism”—an old practice in the West for purloining elements from foreign cultures that might seem too alien to be comprehended in their foreign form. Thus they become palatable and enjoyable in an adulterated state. Such absorptions launch trends in the arts. Art Deco had been influenced by the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Musically it happened in the classical realm when composers like Beethoven imported into his Ninth Symphony the trumpets, drums, and cymbals used by marching Turkish Janissaries. Closer to our own time was the explosion of the “Tiki Lounge” fad.
As with the two other rituals, and after the general introduction, a preliminary text is given to prepare the reader for different settings or accoutrements that may be needed to perform the ceremony fully. Reflecting Magus Gilmore’s love of music, his notes here are especially of interest, and the Rite of Ragnarök even includes suggestions for drummers written in musical notation!
Also unique to this ritual is the inclusion of runes, including Gilmore’s own Ragnarök Rune, used on an album of that name by Boyd Rice in 1992.
A powerful rite in honor of revenge, in tribute to Lex Talionis! The first spoken lines easily set the tone for the rest of the work:
CELEBRANT: Hear me, Gods of the abyss and attend! I command thee, Infernal Lords, to witness mighty deeds done in Thy name. Come forth and greet those numbered among thy pack. The time has come for redress. Justice shall reign through the rule of fang and claw, as it was in the beginning, and as it shall be again!
We smash open the gates to Musspellsheim, Nifelheim and the very depths of Hel’s domain and summon thee forth to climax this age of fire!