The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

Scot, Reginald 227
Satanic Rituals in 1972. A third book, The Compleat Witch,
was published in Europe.
In 1975, the church lost members, who left to form a
new satanic organization, the Temple of Set. The Church
of Satan reorganized as a secret society and dissolved
its grottoes. LaVey retired from the scene and went into
seclusion. He reappeared in the media in the 1990s and
published another book, The Devil’s Notebook, in 1992.
He died on October 30, 1997, at age 67, having suffered
from heart problems for years. The “Black House” in San
Francisco where he founded the church was torn down to
make way for an apartment complex. A new Black House
was established in a secret location.
The Church of Satan is presently run by Peter Gil more.
Members do not all believe in Satan, demons, or ANGELs.
As do the principles espoused by LaVey, the church emphasizes
personal freedom and swift action against persistent
enemies.
Key founders of the Temple of Set were Michael A.
Aquino, Lilith Sinclair (Aquino’s wife), and Betty Ford.
It is an initiatory society devoted to the Egyptian god Set
(also known as Seth), whom members do not consider
evil, but the prototype of Satan. According to the temple,
Set has over the millennia altered human genetics in order
to create people of superior intelligence for the next
level of evolution. Three major phases have occurred: the
first in 1904, when Crowley received The Book of the Law,
dictated via mediumship by the spirit AIWASS; the second
in 1966, when the Church of Satan was formed; and the
third in 1975, when the Temple of Set was formed.
In his writings, Aquino has prophesied an apocalypse
in which only the “elect,” or members of the Temple of
Set, will survive. Aquino has an interest in Nazi Pagan
rituals practiced during World War II but has stated he
does not sympathize with Nazi politics.
Other satanic groups have formed; some become defunct
after a period of activity. The extent of satanism is
impossible to gauge, because of the secrecy of many organizations.
There is evidence of “family traditions” of
satanism, passed down from one generation to another.
FURTHER READING:
Barton, Blanche. The Church of Satan. New York: Hell’s
Kitchen Productions, 1990.
———. The Secret Life of a Satanist: The Authorized Biography
of Anton LaVey. Los Angeles: Feral House, 1990.
LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon
Books, 1969.
Scepter DEMON who appears in the form of a gigantic
dog and who causes quartan fever.
In The Testament of Solomon, Scepter tells King SOLO-
MON that before the king’s time he was a man, not a dog,
and he accomplished many unlawful deeds in the world.
He is so strong that he restrains the stars of heaven, and
he is planning many more evil deeds. He deceives men
who follow his star closely and leads them into stupidity.
He also subdues the hearts (thoughts) of men through
their throats and destroys them.
Solomon asks Scepter why he is so prosperous. The
demon tells him to turn over his manservant, whom he
will spirit off to a place in the mountains where he will be
shown an emerald stone. The stone will adorn Solomon’s
temple.
Solomon agrees, but he gives his servant his magical
ring, with which he can quell the demon. The servant retrieves
the emerald, which is shaped like a leek. He uses
the ring to bind Scepter. Solomon extracts 200 shekels
from the stone and has it carried about day and night as a
light for the artisans. Then he locks it up. He commands
Scepter and the headless demon MURDER to cut marble
for the temple.
Scepter is thwarted by the ANGEL Briathos.
FURTHER READING:
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vols. 1 & 2. Edited by
James H. Charlesworth. 1983. Reprint, New York: Doubleday,
1985.
scorpion-people Assyrian and Babylonian supernatural,
semidivine beings who protect against evil DEMONs.
The scorpion-people have a human body and head with a
beard, the hindquarters and talons of birds, a snakeheaded
penis, and a scorpion’s tail. They wear a horned
cap that denotes divinity. They are powerful protectors,
and figurines of them were used in homes and buildings.
Scot, Reginald (ca. 1538–1599) English writer who
was one of the few outspoken critics of witch hunts. Reginald
Scot was openly derisive of prevailing beliefs that
witches were servants of the DEVIL and committed abominable
acts in his name. He was skeptical of the ability of
DEMONs and spirits to interfere in the lives of the living.
Scot was not a DEMONOLOGIST, clergyman, or lawyer,
but rather an outraged citizen. He was born in or around
1538 in Kent. His father was Richard Scot, the youngest of
three sons of Sir John Scot, a wealthy landowner. Young
Scot was sent to Oxford at age 17, but he left without earning
a degree and returned to Kent, settling in Smeeth.
He worked as a subsidies collector for the government,
served a year in Parliament, and tended to hop gardening.
He was supported by a wealthy cousin, Sir Thomas Scot,
whose estate he managed.
He married twice. His first wife was Jane Cobbe, whom
he married on October 11, 1568. They had one daughter,
Elizabeth. Jane died (the date is unknown), and Scot married
a widow named Alice, who had a daughter, Marie, by
her first marriage.
Scot spent much of his time reading, and he especially
enjoyed obscure topics such as the occult and superstitions.
On his own, Scot studied law, superstitions,
folklore, and the contemporary literature of antiwitch demonologists.
He grew increasingly angry at the tortures
and executions of witches, who in his view were innocent