KING DIAMOND

KING DIAMOND - b06-14-56 Kim Bendix Petersen,CoS member

"'That was ... what inspired the song "Satan's Fall" -- discovering LaVey's Bible. The interesting thing is that LaVey's book is not that occult, it's mostly philosophy. In LaVey's Satanism he doesn't say you have to believe in this Devil with horns or whatever. When it comes to the spiritual side, there's just this huge void. LaVey realises, and I have the same feeling, that we're all born different with different needs and ways of thinking. No two people believe exactly the same way. When you realise that, you realise you should take whatever you want, whatever suits you best, whatever feels right for you to believe in. You can pick and choose what you believe. One of the things I consider almost mandatory, though, is believing that there are powers around us.'"

-- "Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll", King Diamond interview, quoted by Gavin Baddeley, Hillman Printers, 1999; p. 127.


"King Diamond('s) .... inspiration was Anton LaVey, who Diamond visited in San Francisco (during this visit, the eccentric LaVey regaled his guest with a keyboard rendition of 'Wonderful Copenhagen'). In return, King Diamond received an honourable mention in LaVey's 1990 biography, The Secret Life of a Satanist, as the only Satanic rocker then paying proper dues to the Prince of Darkness."

-- Ibid., "Lucifer Rising", text by Baddeley, p. 123.


"'You could say any concert is a Satanic ritual because you are definitely letting so much energy loose. You could probably turn it into one of those most powerful Satanic rituals ever if you did it in the right way. With all of that energy, if it was directed in the right way, my God it could be powerful! But we never tried to do that -- it would be taking advantage of people. We never tried to convert people. I never saw us as priests. I have my beliefs in spiritual things, but they are different from everyone else's. That's where the spiritual void in Satanism comes in again. Satanism is a lot to do with a life philosophy. There are also the steps of how to perform a ritual. But there too you have to be careful. Not just everybody can do it, you've got to have certain features and abilities so you can release the right energies at the right moment. If you can't do that nothing will come out of it. I've performed Satanic rituals at home, but never on stage.'"

...

"'...it says in The Satanic Bible, and I agree with it 100 per cent on this point, that under no circumstances would a true Satanist sacrifice a child, or an animal for that matter. So, how could that be true? If kids are turning Satanism into something bad then they must have got it from somewhere else. Maybe the TV preachers in the US, or from the Church, which has always portrayed Satanism in this way. I have nothing against the Christian Church, I fully respect that people are different with different views, feelings and needs. If it feels right, do it. I judge people by their personality, not by their religious beliefs.'

"Do you believe in Satan as an actual entity?"

"'If you're thinking of this guy with horns and a trail who opposes some good force, then no. For me the word 'Satan' stands for the powers of the unknown, the powers of darkness, that are all around us which we can use for our or other people's benefit.'"

-- Ibid., "Lucifer Rising", interview with King Diamond, pp. 127-128.


"In an interview from 2006, King Diamond stated that he does not follow any specific religion, and expressed concern that religion has led so many people to kill and destroy each other. He stated that he cannot comprehend why religion has caused so much death and destruction when it is logically impossible to prove the presence or absence of any god. He states that he has reached a point in his life where he has completely given up believing in anything religious and that he simply does not know what to answer when asked whether he is a Satanist or not."

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Diamond#Religious_beliefs
(accessed 4/13/09)


"...there are about as many views on Satanism as there are different types of Christianity (laughs). For me, I was living my life that way before I read that book, you know, "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey, and I think that book was mistitled because once you hear the word Bible people automatically think of religion and it's really not -- it's more of a philosophy, really."

-- http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=27693
(accessed 4/13/09)


Related sites of interest:
SATANITY, SATANISM, DEVILRY, AND INFERNALITY
The Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Satanism Bibliography: composite booklist of relevant sources on Satanity and devildom, by category
Satanic Blood Pact: explanation of how, why, and when to make a blood pact with the Devil
      Adversarial AEon Begins: the particular and specific incident of a Satanic Blood Pact described
Manifesto Satanika: a generalized Satanic sociopolitical manifesto, with a helpful elaboration
nocTifer: a tender-hearted Satanian (nagasiva yronwode) in all avenues of expression
      Bookmarks in compilation from the Magus of the AEon of the Adversary

MAGIC, SPELLS, AND DIVINATION
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
      Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century hoodoo accounts, with ex-slave narratives & interviews
      Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: readings and hoodoo services
      Hoodoo Library facilitating an education on conjure, and help procuring modern sources
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, and a way to obtain them
Free Spells from eclectic witches, Coven Kyklos, in their Book of Shadows, called "Spiritual Spells"
Lucky Mojo Spell Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, and more
Mystic Tea Room: tea leaf reading, teacup divination, and a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Tarosymbolismatrix Tetraktypisciseferoticus: the symbolic foundation of a novel Tarot deck
Change Oracle: rudiments of Yijing (I Ching) and several means of using it for readings
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Usenet FAQ Archive: arcane and spiritual FAQs and REFs, brought to you by Lucky Mojo
YIPPIE: the Yronwode Institution, bearing the standard of indigenous ethnomagicology

OCCULTISM, MYSTICISM, AND RELIGION
Arcane Archive: thousands of archived usenet posts on religion, magic, mysticism, and spirituality
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: inter-faith; candle services; Smallest Church in the World
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century occultist