There are many great celestial events. Many of these have Magickal qualities to them, and can strongly affect both our lives and the Magick that we use here on Earth. However, there is one that has a special significance. When a Lunar Eclipse occurs, it brings a silence and a special stillness into play. There is an energy unleashed that many of us feel deeply within us.

This particular event is not one that happens on any sort of regular basis. There is often a great outflow of energy when a full moon occurs, but an eclipse of the moon is a different situation altogether.

The actual eclipse, in a total sense, of the moon only occurs on very select dates. For example, we have upcoming total eclipse that will be visible from all of North and South America on April 14^th 2014. We will not have another hint of an eclipse like this for another 6 months. Eclipses last only for an hour at the very most, before the brief ballet is over and the moon returns to normal. They are short and shocking, and they don’t come along very often.

One of the most stunning aspects of the lunar eclipse is the coloration of the moon to our eyes. If you like at a partial or total lunar eclipse, you may begin to think your eyes are deceiving you, as the moon turns red. You should not worry, thankfully! You are viewing a spectacular atmospheric effect that does not have a parallel anywhere.

Anton Lavey, born as Howard Stanton Lavey, was born on April 11^th in Chicago. He would go on to live an incredibly colorful life, gaining a great reputation as a major occultist and mystic. However, his lasting legacy is related to his redefining of ‘Satanism’ that he was deeply involved with.

He is a very difficult figure to pin down. Many feared the man, but it’s clear that he was very charismatic. A lot of people view his works with a degree of skepticism and concern for the views that he published. They were fearful that they were possibly evil. However, he remains a highly interesting figure who captured the imagination of thousands. For this reason, I wish to look into his life and examine his relationship with the Craft.

Importantly, I will look into how his approach is fundamentally different from that of many other people who follow aspects of the Craft, such as Wicca. I believe this is an important distinction to make. There should be more understanding Lavey’s ideas and we shouldn’t be afraid of examining his life and work without pre-judgement.

Firstly, it’s important to address the odd comparisons that some people make between Satanism and Wicca. These systems can be viewed as almost completely unrelated. Wicca itself has developed independently through the millennia.