THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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In contrast, Christians and Christianity were projectively identified with negative
self/object representations, and thus intensely hated (52). S's identification with the
destructive subpersonality meant that he derived sadistic pleasure from the cruelty of
animal sacrifice, as well as from seeing others' emotional pain (55,64). The suffering of
these external objects was also gratifying because they were projectively identified with
S's hated part-objects, who he tortured in fantasy. Sacrifices assumed further significance
for S; ritual blood drinking is a literal enactment of the infantile cannibalistic fantasy of
draining the parental breast/penis of it's fantasised magical contents. Not surprisingly,
therefore, S developed a craving for blood, which he greedily imbibed to give him power
(56,65). Anticipation ofthe blood would drive S into a state offrenzied excitement before
each sacrifice. Despite S's manic excitement and omnipotent fantasies, his satanic lifestyle
began to pall. Three factors contributed to his disillusionment. Firstly, fellow
Satanists, who initially seemed like caring family members, gradually appeared to be
driven by selfish pursuit of their own interests (67,69). Secondly, S's narcissistic
grandiosity provided an imperfect defence against the dissociated self representation of
being rejected and hated by bad internal objects. His new-found strength and selfconfidence
did thus not feel authentic, and he became aware of an underlying self-hatred
that equalled his hatred of others (57,58). Thirdly, S realised with growing anxiety that he
was becoming increasingly controlled by his possessing demons (71,76,77).
14.4.4. Experience of demonic possession
S invited demonic possession in order to gain supernatural power. These demons would
manifest themselves visibly to S in the form of a wrinkled crone, a handsome young man,
and an ugly beast, and instruct him in the use ofblack magic (70,74). Possession by these
entities suggests the ego-syntonic reintrojection of previously split-off self/object
representations as personified, independent agencies. This is most clearly evident in the
ugly beast-demon, whose possession of S resulted in him verbally and physically attacking
others, and causing them magical harm through the destructive use of supernatural power
(73). Here we see S's fantasised omnipotent destructiveness projectively personified as an
ugly, animal-like, possessing entity. At the level of conscious awareness, S experienced
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