To someone new to nontheistic Satanism, it might seem strange or silly to keep a grimoire. We don’t believe in a god to worship, and we’re generally not superstitious, so it’s not like we’re going around in hooded robes casting spells on everyone.
The robes are just for fun.
A copy of a well-known grimoire on your coffee table, like the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum or the infamous Simon Necronomicon is a great way to keep up with your spooky Satanic aesthetic. However, they’re good for more than just aesthetics. In addition to those well-known grimoires, many Satanists – myself included – like to write their own grimoires. I personally have two: what I call my working grimoire, where I write new rituals, notes, recipes, and invocations; and I have my finished grimoire, which I use as a reference. The finished grimoire is a lot nicer than the working grimoire, and there are two copies of it – a digital copy and a hard copy. If I need to make changes, I make the change in the digital copy first, print the necessary page out, and replace it in the hard copy.
So, what is a grimoire, and why would a Satanist want to write one? Most people might associate a grimoire with black magic – that first half of the word, “grim,” likely only reinforces that association. If we look at the etymology of the word, however, that’s not actually the case. Grimoire comes from the Old French word “grammaire,” which in turn is derived from the Greek word “grammatikos,” meaning pertaining to letters. So basically, a grimoire is just a form of record keeping for witches and occultists. It’s the same thing as a book of shadows or a spellbook. Even a cookbook could arguably be a type of grimoire, especially for a kitchen witch; it contains recipes for foods, and even the act of cooking can become very ritualistic, especially if you’re baking.
Still, the question remains: What does that have to do with nontheistic, nonsuperstitious Satanists? What’s the point in writing a grimoire for someone who doesn’t practice magic?
Satanists may not practice magic in the fantastical sense of the word, but we do practice mindfulness and utilize dramatic ritual intentionally – a practice Anton Lavey called a psychodrama. But rituals don’t always have to be dramatic affairs. Our everyday activities, such as brushing our teeth and hair, are often ritualistic and hold meaning for us, even those of us who aren’t Satanists or occult practitioners. Of course, I’m not suggesting we write detailed instructions on how to brush our teeth or cleanse our bodies, but those of us who struggle to take care of ourselves sometimes recite affirmations or invocations to remind us of why it’s important for us to take care of ourselves and to summon the willpower to do so. If you don’t have your invocation memorized by heart, having it written down in a grimoire can be helpful.
Grimoires can also be used to record crafting recipes – after all, creativity is a treasured trait among Satanists. Essential oil blends for cleaning, repelling bugs, and making your space smell nice can be recorded in a grimoire. Instructions for candlemaking, cooking recipes, and even baking recipes are also good additions to a grimoire. If it’s relevant to your practice in any way, it has a place in your grimoire.
Besides ritual instructions and crafting recipes, I also use my grimoire to write down just what it is I believe as a Satanist as well as any deities/demons/mythological creatures I most identify with. Again, someone new to nontheistic Satanism might be confused to hear that a nontheistic Satanist connects with supernatural beings and creatures, but while I don’t believe in these characters as actual beings, they are still characters in stories. Those stories may be fiction, but they’re still stories, and stories are essential to the human psyche; they impart meaning to people’s lives, teach us empathy for those who are different from us, and help us understand the world around us.
That last line was pulled straight from my finished grimoire, by the way.
For me, it’s important to know and understand what I believe and why, and as a writer, it helps me to organize my thoughts on certain matters – as well as to find flaws in my belief system and address them accordingly. It’s also great to have on hand when someone wants to challenge my beliefs. I generally prefer not to debate others about what I believe and why, but some people are pushy. If they’re respectful and seem to have a genuine curiosity, I indulge them and let them read from my finished grimoire. If they’re being a dick about it, I can still use the grimoire as a scare tactic to get them to leave me alone. It’s amazing how quickly an ignorant asshole will run away when you grab a hand-stitched leatherbound journal with vague occult symbols on the cover, flip to a random page, and start chanting gibberish in what sounds like Latin. They’ll either piss themselves in fright if they’re superstitious, or they’ll think you’re just a cringey little edgelord playing pretend. Either way, not your problem.
While a grimoire is a fantastic tool to have, it may not necessarily be for everyone. Ultimately, it’s up to each individual witch, occult practitioner, or Satanist to write their own or not.
Playing With Demons 