The Devil's Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual

by Shiva Honey

The Devil’s Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual explores non-theistic satanic ritual as a means for healing, empowerment, and community building. It brings light to what is often a hidden and misunderstood practice and provides insight into how to cultivate your own personal power through Satanism. Shiva, a long-time leader within The Satanic Temple, discusses her own 'journey to the underworld,' the scientific case for ritual, and how to create your own Satanic ritual practice. Shiva includes a collection of Satanic rituals for the solo practitioner as well as group rituals, which include photographs, scripts, and background on rituals done at The Satanic Temple Salem. The book features a foreword and illustrations by co-founder of The Satanic Temple Lucien Greaves and illustrations by Lex Corey.

First edition gilded paperback of The Devil's Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual, featuring an a black matte cover with gold stamp detail.

Genres: Satanism, Religion, Nonfiction, Occult, Witchcraft, Psychology

Paperback

Published March 1, 2020

About the author

Shiva Honey is a Satanic Priestess and Ordained Minister of The Satanic Temple. She was a founding member of The Satanic Temple Detroit (the first chapter of The Satanic Temple) and The National Council of The Satanic Temple. In addition to being a chief architect of The Unveiling, Snaketivity, and other TST Detroit actions and rituals, she organized a number of national events/campaigns, including bringing the Baphomet statue to Arkansas 2018. In 2021 she was awarded The Satanic Temple's Anatole France Literary Award for Contemporary Literature for her best-selling book The Devil's Tome: A Book of Modern Satanic Ritual which contributed significantly to the understanding of non-theistic ritual and stoked a Satanic ritual movement. Shiva has performed and taught about Satanic ritual throughout the world. Her work has been featured in the film Hail Satan? (2019) and CNN's This is Life with Lisa Ling: The Satanists Next Door (2015) and on Satanic Planet’s self-titled album. In 2021 she released the first ever Satanic ritual deck, The Devil's Deck and announced her new book which will be arrive in 2022 - The Devil’s Death: Your Satanic Companion for Grief and Dying.

Reviews

[Tarot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special thanks to Shiva Honey for signing my first edition book, purchased as part of my donation to The Satanic Temple to support their fight for women's bodily autonomy, healthcare, and abortion rights.

"I think ritual is most effective as a means of helping you work on and with yourself. I don't believe in 'casting spells' or 'cursing' other people. If you have that desire, I'd suggest you do a cleanings/banishing/liberation ritual to free yourself of the need to control another person rather than wasting any more energy on the subject in question. Master yourself and you'll no longer feel the need to master others." -- Shiva Honey in The Devil's Tome

What this book is ~

* an unconventional resource about the psychological importance of ritual, whether you're an atheist or have a spiritual practice, and even references several research papers
* a look into the activism and rituals of TST
* an agnostic guide to cultivating your own rituals with an emphasis on shaping each ritual to your own needs

What this book is not ~

* about worshiping a literal Satan, no TST members believe the Abrahamic figure is real, simply a metaphor for rebelling against tyrannical authority and social injustice
* a handbook for hate, bigotry, evil, or anything else negative or hurtful
* related to the Church of Satan or its founder, Anton LaVey

Individual rituals included ~

Devotion (self-love for those struggling with abuse, self-esteem, and body image issues)

Finding Your Flame (a "love spell" to help one analyze what they want and don't want in a partner, and envision their goals for the future)

Unbound From Lost Love (for grieving, honoring, learning from, and moving on from past relationships)

Bind, Cut, Banish (cord cutting for freeing oneself from harmful people, experiences, and ideas)

Burn (liberation by writing down negative feelings, experiences, and people and burning the paper/leaves)

Thermae (bathing for relaxation and washing away pain and stress)

Amolior (protection to reduce anxiety and worry)

Aphrodesia (for creativity and intimacy)

The Sight (basically making a vision board for goals and steps to take towards goals)

Unbaptism (healing from triumphalism and other religious trauma)

Hexennacht (Spring ritual, unrelated to the German holiday, planting seeds and visualizing goals for the next year)

Litha (Summer ritual, unrelated to the Pagan holiday, for spending time in nature for gratitude and self-love)

Momento Mori (Fall ritual for remembering and processing the loss of loved ones)

Inflammo (Winter ritual to help with loneliness and unhealthy things to give up for the upcoming year)

Group rituals included as performed by TST:

The Black Mass (various editions with some color photos)
Solvitur Ambulando (Hexennacht ritual)
Unbaptism
Yule Goat Trilogy (three-part Winter celebration)

And finally, for those interested, here are TST's Seven Tenets Fundamental Tenets (which are, in fact, humanist) ~

I. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

II. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

III. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

IV. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

V. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.

VI. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

VII. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I've known Shiva for years but I am not engaging in hyperbole when I say never have I read a more sensible, understandable and empathetic how-to book on modern ritual for both non-theists and theists alike. The way Shiva explains what ritual means to her, without trying to hard sell you on the type of cliched 'mysticism' that Christianity and capitalism has long sold us, is genuinely invigorating. I found her words to be insightful and graceful–the sheer power she projects, and encourages you yourself to harness, simply radiates off the page. I also love how open she is to letting the reader blossom on their own. That alone is a great example of why female voices are so needed out there– instead of rigidly trying to force what works for her upon the masses, Shiva openly encourages you customize as you see fit. You can follow this book by the letter or simply use it as a jumping off point; each ritual has built-in flexibility in order to encourage both personal healing and allow room for growth. She never forces of threatens you to do anything, and she focuses solely on self reflection and self betterment. (Sorry folks, there's not any 'love potions' in here but she does have an amazing ritual that allows for you to better understand yourself and your needs in order to attract love your way.)

I found this book to be truly inspirational to meditate upon and I encourage all to seek it out.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a spiritual seeker and a fan of Shiva Honey's for quite some time, so when she released her book on ritual, "The Devil's Tome," it truly felt like the stars had aligned for me!

I don't consider myself a Satanist (more of an agnostic aspiring Jew) and I disclose this for the fellow reader who might be curious but unsure if this book is for them. The Devil's Tome is most absolutely is for everyone!

This is one of the beautiful things about Shiva's writing, is that she clearly explains both the psychological and spiritual reasonings and benefits of ritual.

Her rituals are a wonderful jumping off point to connect with our own subconscious and she encourages and supports the personal modification of rituals to support you as a practitioner.

Shiva has also gone above and beyond to make her magic accessible to everyone. I often frequent her shop https://www.serpentinae.com for her magical candles and the best incense I've ever used. Whenever I use her products I feel supported by Shiva in connecting with myself in a more positive way. She has even begun recording ritual music to accompany the book and has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard.

To me Satanic ritual is true self-care. The willingness to go to the depths of human experience and come out on the other side still shining bright and even thriving is truly the best any of us can hope for in this life. Shiva has done much of the hard work of navigating the underworld for us and has brought us her discoveries in this book so that we too can traverse the wilds of our inner psyche and find the magic within. ✨

[Martha Pittman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hail Shiva, Hail Satan.

Shiva did it. She captures the spirit and essence of what a Satanist truly is and how rituals can be a truly liberating process for an individual. I truly enjoyed the precise details of every ritual but she also notes that things should be done to YOUR liking. That makes me as. Satanist feel free. The rituals are not there to BIND you but to let you express the freedoms that you were once denied in life. You can take these rituals and alter them to suit your lifestyle and beliefs. In this way Shiva has give you a sacred tool that will take you on a journey of liberation, self empowerment, and self understanding... You will achieve so much within this beautifully written guide. Thank you Shiva.

[La Carmina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Devil’s Tome, Shiva Shiva shares a number of mindful, symbolic activities that anyone can perform to attain a particular result without any supernatural context - no need to be a self-identified Satanist. She writes about her personal journey with ritual, and includes many in-depth Satanic rituals for personal empowerment including various forms of unbaptism. Well-written throughout with a gorgeous cover and illustrations by Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves, artist Alexander Corey

[Eve Poirier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiva's book offers us a glance at what modern non theistic Satanism can bring in our lives and also shares rituals that can be used as part as self empowerment and personal development. I'm really grateful for this grounded and intellectual book.
No woo-woo, only science.

[Timothy J. Sanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on rituals

This book was fun to read and had good points on Satanism and rituals.
Covered some of the satanic holidays as well.

[Roberta Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He is. Insurrection, he is spite, he's the force that made me be
He is. 
He's the shining and the light without whom I cannot see.
And he is the disobedience that holds us together" 

- Papa Emeritus III.


"O Templo Satânico adota uma filosofia antiautoritária não-sobrenatural que vê o construto literário metafórico de Satã como um libertador da mente e do corpo. Nosso cânone incorpora o satanismo romântico de Milton, Blake, Shelley e, em particular, Anatole France, cuja A Rebelião dos Anjos é um texto basilar no TS. Desde sua concepção, o satanismo moderno, tal como veio a ser definido na Era Revolucionária dos românticos, foi basicamente um movimento não- teísta alinhado com a Liberdade, a Igualdade e o Racionalismo. (...) A afiliação religiosa do satanismo não-teísta tem um contexto cultural que é profundamente significativo e está longe de ser arbitrário - dito de outra forma, nós não poderíamos simplesmente renomeá-lo por uma questão de diplomacia, e fazer isso também não seria leal aos nossos princípios. A narrativa do rebelde definitivo contra a tirania, o uso da blasfêmia como uma ferramenta de libertação contra superstições santificadas, frívolas, que nos foram impostas; o cultivo da vontade individual e do racionalismo desembaraçado da "fé" ou da subjugação cega; a inclinação de se posicionar como um forasteiro com um senso de justiça independe de leis e instituições; tudo está personificado pelo Satã literário. (...)
Eu sei que isso não responde exatamente, de formadireta, a questão de como a literatura e a arte servem como ícones para crenças profundamente arraigadas; mas o poder da metáfora, a necessidade vital da narrativa para se cultivar e definir o senso pessoal de ser e de propósito, o desejo atávico por arte são todos autoevidentes para mim. Eu passei por maus bocados tentando entender a noção bizarra, mas aparentemente prevalente, de que a identidade, prática e ética religiosas devem ser dependentes de superstições intelectualmente incapacitadoras. Não posso compreender por que se tornou a norma acreditar que fundamentalistas de intelecto atrofiado têm uma pretensão mais autêntica a crenças profundamente arraigadas."

Esse "satanismo" pop do Lucien Greaves até que cola.

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiva is a member of the Satanic Temple who has led multiple group rituals for her community. She teachers readers the psychological benefit of ritual, even without spiritual context, and shows examples of how she uses ritual in her non-theistic satanic practice. As a member of the Satanic Temple and someone who identifies as religious but not spiritual, I gained a lot of insight from this book. As a teenager I identified as a Wiccan because I wanted to religion to identify with, even though I found my experiences with Christianity whole unsatisfying and occasionally traumatic. Since college, I have been both an activist and a scientist and I have found religion to be very much in conflict with my belief system (god is an authoritarian despot) and knowledge about the world (there is no such thing as the supernatural or a creator). The Satanic Temple allowed me be religious, without compromising myself. My only complaint is that it wasn't longer and that it didn't contain more practical advice for ritual practice, although I do very much so enjoy her proposition that we can choose our own meaningful rituals and symbols, because they are only meaningful to us anyway.

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and thoughtful. It's constructive toward valuing yourself, which seems to be the core aim of Temple Satanism. Body positive, sex positive, individualist but in a way that doesn't diminish empathy or community responsibility. It begins with somewhat surprising research into how rituals in general can be of psychological benefit to us. It's also interesting to see it here in an atheistic lens, instead of the necessarily spiritual one other religions might employ, here's it's more in the LaVeyan tradition of psychodrama. Theater, art, and poetry applied to life. And actually one of my favorite parts was at the beginning where she talks about the targets of her 'spells' and says that her rituals only target the one(s) performing them. She says if you desire some way to curse or move another person, you might instead want a ritual to remove that desire to control others from yourself instead.

[Jan-e · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, even TST's compassionate Satanism is too deeply steeped in its antagonistic relationship with Christianity to ever break free from it. Maybe it is exactly what is needed in contemporary US culture, but I feel that true liberation needs to overcome, not bind itself to a dichotomy.

So why five stars?

I always found it hard to appreciate ritual, and felt ridiculous when I tried to engage in it on my own. Shiva Honey's book changed that. I can see how there truly is a place for ritual in a secular world, how it's not just empty pomp.
Also, I share basically all of TST's values except for their iconography, for the reason outlined above.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Ritual book for the non-theist

Shiva is easy to relate to. She is a good author who writes good rituals that are easy to follow, and substitutions for ingredients are no problem. I want a physical copy soon as well.

Remember that you are the magic.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely and concise little volume that details ritual and the rational behind it, and several rituals to perform solo or in a group. Shiva is eloquent and to the point, and full of knowledge and experience. A must for your Satanic library. 🖤

[Eligos Vespillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A resource book for the ritually-inclined secularist looking for powerful means to alter one's perceptions for greater appreciation of the good things in life, and aid for overcoming the bad. Every ritual is easily personalized, and holds self-affirmation and acceptance above all else.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book for the Practitioner

This book is written for nontheistic practitioners who want to see change for the better in a World run by Fundamentalist extremists.

[Alissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a regular at R/SASSwitches on reddit, I expected a lot more from this book than it provided. That may be my fault but at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the money.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hoping for a book like this, it’s great

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am protected, I am determined.
Thank you Priestess Honey. 🙏

[Minister Jane Trivigno · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful tome of Modern Satanic rituals and why the practice is important.

[Alonzo Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect guide into what the role of ritual is in modern Satanic practice.