Grotto (Satanism)

Within the Church of Satan, a Grotto (from Italian grotta, a type of cave) is a clandestine association or gathering of Satanists within geographical proximity for means of social, ritual, and special interest activities.^[1] The Black House, the founding place and headquarters of the Church of Satan from 1966 to 1997, was effectively the first grotto, and was for a time referred to as the "Central Grotto".^[2][3] Grottos existed for a time in various parts of the United States; these included the Babylon Grotto in Detroit, the Stygian Grotto in Dayton, and the Lilith Grotto in New York.^[4] In 1975, LaVey disbanded all grottos,^[5] then reinstated them in the 1980s.^[6] The Church of Satan no longer formally recognizes or charters grottos.^[7]

See also

• Cell group – Form of church organization
• Coven – Group or gathering of witches

References

1. The Church of Satan Website Archived 2012-07-01 at the Wayback Machine, under Affiliation: The Grotto System Retrieved December 3, 2010
2. Religious Requirements and Practices 1978.
3. Matthews 2007, p. 380.
4. Baddeley 2010, p. 74.
5. Lewis 2002, p. 7; Lap 2013, p. 84.
6. Martin et al. 2008, p. 421.
7. High Priest, Magus Peter H. Gilmore. "The Grotto System". churchofsatan.com.

Works cited

• Religious Requirements and Practices: A Handbook for Chaplains. Washington DC: U. S. Department of the Army. 1978.
• Baddeley, Gavin (2010). Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship & Rock n' Roll (third ed.). London: Plexus. ISBN 978-0-85965-455-5.
• Lap, Amina Olander (2013). "Categorizing Modern Satanism: An Analysis of LaVey's Early Writings". In Per Faxneld; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (eds.). The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 83–102. ISBN 978-0-19-977924-6.
• Lewis, James L. (2002). "Diabolical Authority: Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible and the Satanist "Tradition"" (PDF). Marburg Journal of Religion. 7 (1): 1–16.
• Martin, Walter; Rische, Jill Martin; Kurt, Van Gorden; Rische, Kevin (21 October 2008). The Kingdom of the Occult. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-1-4185-1644-4.
• Matthews, Warren (2007). World Religions. Wadsworth/Thomson. ISBN 978-0-495-00709-8.