Satanism in Iowa

Satanism in Iowa has made the news twice recently. A Satanic invocation at a county function a couple of weeks ago outraged Christians. The Ottumwa City Council has an open policy for public invocations that allows members of all religions to participate - in compliance with the United States Constitution.

Former council member Matthew Dalbey, a member of the Satanic Temple, delivered the invocation, saying, "That which will not bend must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise. It is done. Hail Satan." Dalbey said he was not trying to provoke anyone and emphasized that the Satanic Temple is often misunderstood.

"I think as a community, we have a tendency in Ottumwa to ... jump to conclusions and to fill in the blanks with information that's not really true, based on very little effort and research and background on it," he told KTVO/Tri-State Trusted News. "And I think if we'd all do our homework, we'd probably get along a lot better, and we'd find or have more in common than we probably do apart."

Despite the objections, the city of Ottumna has no plans to change the policy, which is a good thing. If government functions allow opening invocations at all, they must allow all people of all religious persuasions to participate. They could also abolish the policy, but I for one like seeing religious diversity on display.

The second story concerns a recent judicial ruling. An Iowa judge ruled this week that the Satanic Temple could hold a holiday event at the state capitol, over the objections of Republican lawmakers. Republicans have vowed to appeal the ruling, but for now the event should be going forward.

The religious organization and Iowa Republican state officials have been in a legal battle over the group’s applications to hold a holiday event at the state capitol in recent years. Republicans in Iowa, who currently control the governorship and majorities in the state house and senate, have cited the capitol building’s policies prohibiting gratuitous violence and obscene displays as justification for denying the applications.

According to the office of the attorney general, Brenna Bird, state Republicans intend to appeal the federal judge’s decision. The Satanic Temple and Iowa chapter leader filed a lawsuit in August, alleging discrimination from former and current state officials. Chief District Judge Stephanie M Rose stated in her court order that the group was likely to succeed on its free speech claim and ordered the current director of the Iowa department of administrative services to approve the holiday event application within seven days.

Calling the event obscene or gratuitous only because it is being put on by a group calling themselves Satanists is classic example of Poor Oppressed Christian logic. Obscenity does not mean "follows a different religion than me" and allowing religious diversity is not "oppression." Christians will holding their own event at the capitol, so it's the easiest thing in the world for Christians to just attend that instead.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the problems that people have with Christians are not because they practice Christianity. It's because they harrass people in the name of "proselytizing" and insist on driving other religions out of public spaces that are open to all. If they would just quit doing those two things they would be a lot more popular.

Rebuke Christian Nationalism

Tomorrow is election day in the United States. It will be two more years before we get another chance to rebuke the Christian Nationalists who are intent on turning our country into a toxic theocracy not that different from countries running under the Sharia law that they all claim to hate. I contend that it is far better to stop them now so we can limit the damage as much as we can. A lot of that damage has already been done, and more is on the way if they win again.

You can argue all you want that both major political parties are the same. I'm a progressive myself and am often frustrated by the centrist, corporatist leanings of a lot of Democrats. Progressive policies are popular, but wealthy donors on both sides of the aisle work to keep them from even being implemented. That sameness prevents a lot of political discussions that we should be having about many important issues. This election, though, one big difference is clear. The Republican Party supports Christian Nationalism and the Democratic Party does not.

Christian Nationalism is not just another political ideology. It is the very dangerous idea that all non-Christians - and Christians who don't worship the "right way" - should be relegated to second-class citizens. It contends that civil law should be based on the Bible, and not just the Bible as written, pushes its own cherry-picked interpretations of Biblical law as defined by specific churches. They violently oppose homosexuality and abortion, which Jesus said nothing about, and have no problem mistreating the poor, which Jesus said a lot about.

Surveys show that only about ten percent of the population is committed to Christian Nationalist ideology, but about another twenty percent is "sympathetic" to it. I know that nothing I write is ever going to reach the True Believers, but if you are at all sympathetic to the movement you should realize that they aren't going to stop with non-Christians. If you're the wrong kind of Christian, they'll outlaw you too once they're done with everybody else.

AI Religious Exemption Granted

When people ask employers for religious exemptions, they usually are conservative Christians looking to impose their views on others. Think pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions because birth control medication "causes abortions" - which, to be clear, it absolutely does not. This one, though, goes in a completely different direction. A Kentucky man who describes himself as a humanist has successfully argued for a religious exemption from using AI tools at work. He claims that outsourcing his thinking to AI violates his deeply held humanist beliefs.

David Durman, a research administrator at the University of Kentucky (UK), has successfully argued that using AI violates his beliefs as a humanist and has received Title VII religious accommodation from university officials not to use the technology. According to the Religion News Service (RNS), Durman believes in "the human part of life," which includes making his own decisions. However, he says that when the UK asked its employees to use AI, he felt that doing so would mean outsourcing his thinking to tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, thus violating his deeply held beliefs.

“The process and work involved in thinking through situations, through my work, through my ethics, through the way I handle other people, is a key component in being able to develop myself as a moral person,” Durman told RNS in an interview. “And offloading that labor, regardless of whether it’s taxing or not, is undercutting my ability to be a moral actor.” Because of this, the research administrator was granted a Title VII exemption under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. While humanism is often a non-religious philosophy or a worldview, federal courts have ruled that it qualifies as a religion.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) assisted Durman with his request for the accommodation. “This is the first of its kind at the AHA and for humanism generally to exempt those who see AI use as flying in the face of their freedom of conscience,” AHA staff attorney Alexandria Huiskens said to RNS. She also added, “For us, humanism is a comprehensive way of life. It’s built on inherent worth and dignity, and everyone should have room to exercise this comprehensive way of life at work the same way Christians do, or Muslims do.”

I don't know that I would call it a religious belief, but I do think it's problematic when companies develop policies forcing their employees to use AI tools. It seems to me that you can either do your work or you can't, and if you can get it done without AI you should be allowed to do so. Many studies have shown that using AI looks like it saves time at first, but the amount of back-end checking and verifying that it requires can take as much time as just solving the problem in the first place.

I'm happy to see a religious exemption for somebody other than a Christian upheld by the courts. If we are going to have religious freedom in this country, we need to make sure that the majority religion is not granted special privileges under the law. It shows that the rights of religious minorities nave not been completely stripped away.

Presenting at EnochiaCon 2026

Crossposted from my author website with this new promotional video.

In a couple weeks I will be presenting at EnochiaCon 2026 in Austin, TX. Click the link to find out more and register for the convention. The conference is specifically dedicated to various aspects of the Enochian tradition, and this is my first time presenting at it. I am looking forward to what promises to be an enlightening and enjoyable weekend.

My topic is “Enochian Wealth Magick: Working With the Cacodemons of Metals and Precious Stones.” The cacodemons are entities whose names can be extracted from the Great Table, and as the name suggests they generally have negative connotations. The Cacodemons of Medicine, for example, can be called on to cause illnesses. But the Cacodemons of Metals and Precious Stones are different.

The Angels of Metals and Precious Stones, their “positive” counterpart, are called on to find the location of ore-veins and other valuable natural resources. The Cacodemons are said to “bring you the money, coined.” This may be framed as negative because of the idea that making money was somehow unholy, but it is not a direct reversal of the Angels’ power.

Almost 25 years ago I decided to see if this was really true. I conjured them up and instructed them to increase the value of my investments at the time. It worked so well I kept doing it with good results. The ritual I will be presenting does exactly that – it is designed to make all of us rich.

Dee was explicitly told not to work with the cacodemons, even though they work just fine for me. I have an idea why, and I will be covering that in my presentation that will precede the ritual. Hope to see you there!

Not Today, Jesus!

I unfortunately heard about this one after the fact, so I was unable to add to my perfect prophetic record of predicting no Rapture would actually occur. Still, one more false prophet has proved himself false - again!

South African pastor Joshua Mhlakela has announced that the Rapture will happen on October 12 or 13, 2026. “God told me because there’s no other date coming out, 12 to 13 October, which is the true feast of trumpets, which is when I will be meeting my savior face to face in the Rapture,” he said in a YouTube interview. The only issue is that Mhlakela has already gotten this wrong... twice. And people have reportedly made some pretty expensive decisions based on his predictions.

I'm posting this on October 14th, hence the title. Not today, Jesus! And no, it's not because of the time zone or anything like that. South Africa is seven hours ahead of where I'm posting from in Minnesota, so October 13th is over. I suppose there are time zones where it's not, but I'll go ahead and issue my own prophetic dictate that the 15th is going to come with no Rapture to speak of.

His first date was September 23 and 24, 2025, timed to coincide with Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets. The prediction spread across TikTok, where some followers reportedly quit their jobs and sold property in preparation. Then September 24 came and went. Everyone was still here, and the people who’d sold their homes and cars had to explain themselves. Mhlakela explained that he’d used the wrong calendar and moved the date to October 7 and 8. That didn’t work out, either.

One TikTok user described the unfortunate academic consequences of believing him. “I didn’t do my exams because I [thought] it doesn’t matter,” they wrote. “Now look at me.” For his latest prediction, Mhlakela claims the Feast of Trumpets was calculated about a month early. He’s also cited a vision involving two full moons. How that explains the previous two failed predictions is anybody’s guess. He’s refused to apologize and still insists God personally gave him the information.

Dude, I don't know how you haven't figured this out yet, but whoever you are talking to isn't God. The information you're getting is making Christianity look downright foolish. To quote the infamous Church Lady, "Could it be... SATAN?!?" I mean, I don't really believe in Satan any more than I believe in The Rapture, but it's still a good line.

As I mentioned in my previous article, I suppose I could give the guy some sad props for trying something different than reworking William Miller's calculations again. That's what everybody else always does. The problem is that whatever method he's using clearly works no better.

Via Solis Libra Elixir Rite - Year Ten

Today's post is the full script for the Libra Elixir Rite that we will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday October 13th, at the Ritual Workshop. We will be starting around 8 PM.

0. The Temple

The ritual space is set up with an altar table in the center. The bell chime, banishing dagger, and invoking wand are placed on the altar. In the center of the altar is placed a cup of wine for creating the elixir, within the Table of Art corresponding to Libra. The sign Libra is attributed to "Works of Justice and Equilibrium." So those sorts of intents are most appropriate, and as this is a general and highly adaptable power, it can be used for many different purposes, from obtaining justice in the external world to balancing your internal magical energies and/or spiritual perceptions. The Via Solis Elixir Rites were written by Michele Montserrat in 2010 for the Comselh Ananael magical working group.

I. Opening

All stand surrounding the altar. Officiant inhales fully, placing the banishing dagger at his or her lips. The air is then expelled as the dagger is swept backwards.

Officiant: Bahlasti! Ompehda!

Officiant then performs the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. All rotate accordingly.

Officiant: We take refuge in Nuit, the blue-lidded daughter of sunset, the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night sky, as we issue the call to the awakened nature of all beings, for every man and every woman is a star.

All: MAKAShANaH

Officiant: We take refuge in Hadit, the secret flame that burns in every heart of man and in the core of every star, as we issue the call to our own awakened natures, arousing the coiled serpent about to spring.

All: ABRAHADABRA

Officiant: We take refuge in Heru-Ra-Ha, who wields the wand of double power, the wand of the force of Coph Nia, but whose left hand is empty for he has crushed an universe and naught remains, as we unite our awakened natures with those of all beings everywhere and everywhen, dissolving all obstacles and healing all suffering.

All: AUMGN

Officiant: For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

All: All is pure and present are and has always been so, for existence is pure joy; all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and done; but there is that which remains. To this realization we commit ourselves – pure and total presence. So mote it be.

RIP Jim Bakker

The crazy has finally left the building. Disgraced televangelist, talk show host, potato soup monger, and all-around evangelical nutbag Jim Bakker passed away this week at the age of 86. Bakker was a "Prosperity Gospel" preacher who perfected the art of raising massive donations in the 1980's. A series of scandals sank his ministry and sent him to prison, and his ministry lost everything. After serving his time he returned to television, but never again reached anywhere near his previous viewership.

Jim Bakker, who along with his first wife Tammy Faye built an evangelical empire around the hugely successful "The PTL Club" TV show, only to lose it all over a sex scandal and financial crimes, has died. He was 86. Bakker died Monday, his second wife, Lori Bakker, said in a statement. His cause of death was not immediately clear.

"He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry," she said. The pair lived near the Missouri entertainment town of Branson and filmed their TV show "The Jim Bakker Show" there since it launched in 2003. Bakker suffered a stroke in 2020.

But it was another evangelical program that made Jim and his first wife Tammy Faye Bakker cultural icons — so much so that they were often skewered in the 1980s and 1990s by late-night comedians and parodied on "Saturday Night Live." A theatrical movie on their lives, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," was released in September 2021.

At its peak in the mid-1980s, the Bakkers' ministry included not only the TV show drawing up to 13 million nightly viewers but also the Christian-based Heritage USA theme park and hotel in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Augoeides has covered some of Bakker's silliest hits from his latest program. In addition to his attempt to build a potato soup empire, he has sounded off on eclipses, neighbors eating babies, making fun of Donald Trump, phony virus treatments, and witches. So many witches. Barack Obama's "witch doctor army." And so much more!

Still Not Occult Crime

As a fan of the True Crime genre, I am very familiar with cases in which false confessions get innocent people convicted. Such cases are practically cliche at this point. They usually are older cases from back when DNA evidence was not as easy to test, which means that testing evidence with today's techniques can yield an accurate result.

Richard Allen was convicted in 2024 of murdering two girls in Indiana. He denied killing them for months, but after being held in solitary confinement and interrogated repeatedly he finally confessed. His defense lawyers claimed that police had managed to convince him he killed the girls and he had "repressed the memory" of it.

Now that should throw up an immediate red flag with my readers. "Repressed memories" are not real unless you happen to be a police officer trained in a method called the Reid Technique. It is used by police departments all over the country, and whether you are innocent or not police can usually extract a confession using it. They often do so by convincing subjects that they committed the crime, but do not remember doing so because of "repression."

Prosecutors said Allen was armed with a gun and forced the girls off the hiking trail. They said he confessed to planning to rape them before a passing van made him change his mind and he killed them. An expert testified an unspent bullet found between the teens’ bodies “had been cycled through” Allen’s handgun.

Defense lawyers at his trial said no witness explicitly identified Allen as the man seen near the trail the afternoon the girls went missing. They also said no fingerprint, DNA or forensic evidence linked Allen to the murder scene. Allen was held in solitary confinement while awaiting trial. He denied killing the girls for months, but his attorneys said mental stress from isolation led to a steep psychological decline. Eventually, his mental state became so bad he convinced himself he killed the girls and confessed several times, his lawyers said.

“Allen lost forty pounds, was unable to care for himself, was tased, his face was black and blue and at times bleeding, and he was poisoned by fecal matter and toilet water,” attorneys Stacy Uliana and Mark Leeman wrote in their brief. Prosecutors said the statements coincided with Allen seeing evidence in the case including the conditions of the teens’ bodies.

“The discovery materials forced Allen to face the horrifying evidence of what he did ... images and events he had been able to ignore and repress over the five years in which his guilt had gone undiscovered,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote in his office’s brief.

So far, so ordinary - at least as murder cases go. I'm not familiar with how you test if a bullet has "cycled through" a gun, so I have no idea how accurate that test is. The stress described by the defense is absolutely the sort of thing that could produce a false confession, so it is possible that this is another case of that. At the same time, there's no way to say for sure. If the bullet can be reliably traced to his gun, it sounds like that should be conclusive.

Now I know you're wondering - what does all this have to do with Augoeides' usual subject matter? I promise, we're just about there - because here's where the story goes weird.