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the 'right-hand (dexter)' magical theory, magic should only be used for altruistic purposes or it would turn on the user. LaVey felt that such an attitude invited disaster, as all magic is ultimately used for selfish purposes, and turns back on the user due to a failure of will. Satanic magic and ritual is designed to use the most powerful human emotions - lust, hate, greed, and compassion - to empower energy constructs which impose the mage's wishes on reality. That's right, compassion - one's own empathetic desire to alleviate the suffering of others. Thus, a healing spell would be used and powered by the magician's own emotions, not from some nebulous desire to 'do good'. In magical theory this is known as the 'left-hand (sinister) path' or as black magic.

The highest holy day of the Church of Satan is one's own birthday. Other significant Satanic holy days are Walpurgisnacht (April 30th) and Halloween (October 31st). These Pagan astrological festivals, which celebrate (respectively) sex and death, have proved difficult to Christianize and have thus been taken by the Church of Satan for its own Dionysian revels.

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, the growth of the Church of Satan was fueled by lurid press and the fulminations of the Christian establishment. LaVey was a consummate showman, having spent several years of his life working with a traveling carnival where he first encountered the hypocrisy of Christian beliefs. He well knew than any publicity was good publicity, and fed the storm of controversy with public Satanic weddings and baptisms. If the Devil had kept the Christian Church in business for centuries, they could now return the favour by feeding prurient interest and driving business Satan's way. The growth of the Church and the Satanic philosophy was further spurred in the 1980's and 1990's through its connection with the libertine Goth counterculture, which explicitly embraced many of its philosophical and moral tenets. Even today, after the death of Anton LaVey in 1997, the Church of Satan is a thriving organization which attracts many adherents who are disillusioned with the hypocrisy and power-mongering of organized religion. One can join the Church of Satan in exchange for a one-time donation of $200. Thereafter, advancement in the hierarchy of the church is by invitation and is linked to significant achievements in the larger world. The Church operates a system of Grottoes with the purpose of bringing together like-minded Satanists and providing space for discussions or magical rituals. Like all religions, the Church of Satan pursues certain political aims including the advancement of Libertarian causes, separation of Church and State and revoking tax-free status for religious organizations, and reforming the legal and justice systems along the lines of the Lex Talionis (Law of Vengeance).

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