A description of Satanism

A basic introduction to modern LaVey Satanism
Closer to Buddhism than Christianity No Gods, Heaven, or Hell No Holy Books Neither are there tooth fairies
We do not murder children, kill animals or do weird things to virgins Satanists do not burn down churches. Why should we risk our necks just to burn down a handy place to put Christians? Eclectic. It takes more than a precursory browse to understand all the complexities and personalities within our theology. This page is a start at least
1. Premises of Satanism
Heaven, Hell, Existence
"There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!"

Things that exist do so due to perfectly ordered and natural phenomenon. Gods, omniscient, omnipotent or omnipresent beings (etc) cannot exist.
Many Satanists keep an open mind, and many do believe in unexplained phenomena, Forteana, and of course, a strong doubt that we will ever know everything. Some believe in spirits and such but believe them to be the result of natural science, not of divinity.
Philosophical keywords and generic descriptive labels
Satanism can be considered to be:
Atheistic. There are no Gods in Satanism.
Not dualistic: souls and bodies are indivisible and there is no war between cosmic good and cosmic evil
Autodeists - we worship ourselves. The only God we can ever perceive is in our own existential world. We are each a God.
Materialistic
A "human potential" movement. Striving for longer life and a better education. Science And Technology Are Necessary: We who walk this dark path along with the same interests will pursue the elimination of Human limitation to the maximum
Of the left hand path
Opposition of religions, especially those that hold a belief in an afterlife. Satanism is an un-religion. Satanism adopts the adversaries of major religions as it's standard bearers
Also:
Only the self is sacred. Nothing is holy except clarity of thought
Satanists do not pray
Meditation is considered a valid path of self discovery
stupidity is the cardinal sin sin which is believed to cause all other Human evil
Is Satanism just Humanism?
"Humanism shares materialistic views and ethical methodology with the Satanist and we have the same opinions on the emptiness of religion. Satanism is religious whereas Humanism is not due to the religious symbolism, ceremony, ritualistic and dogmatic aspects of Satanism. Satanism is also Left Hand Path , Humanism is not. For these reasons, although Satanists are not strictly "religious" in most senses of the word, Satanism is clearly a religion. Although the differences in metaphysics are so extremely opposed to what is classically considered 'religious' that some take to calling Satanism the unreligion, which is a term I find appealing!"
2. Who is Satan?

Satan is not a real living entity, conscious or a physical thing that can be interacted with. It is a symbol, something ethereal, something that basically doesn't exist except as an emotional attachment and personal dream. Just like Buddhists do not worship Buddha, Satanists hold up Satan as an ultimate principal rather than an object of literal worship. Satan inspires and provokes people, like all (honest) religions the ultimate point is self-help. God believers have a different opinion on what Satan is, but their opinion is a result of their religion. Satanism's Satan is much more eclectic and multicultural than to be defined by Christianity or Islam. Satan is the dark force in nature representing the carnal nature and death of all living things. Satan is the best word to describe our powerful and independent symbolic figurehead and our opposition of god and organized religion accords with even traditional views of Satan. The materialism of satanism is a direct challenge of God, Allah, and all or other religious symbols. Satan wishes to replace God. The Christian Bible and other artefacts of religion may be plundered and misused as required as they're merely Human inventions. The social engineering aspect shows through with our imagery and style, we control people with it.
Of course Satanism has denominations and widely varying beliefs. Many types of Satanism exist including some where Satan is seen as a living being. I think if there was a god, it would probably be an evil one. In these, thankfully, the basis of the belief is not the Christian Bible and I call these beliefs " Righteous Satan" theologies. All the elements of Satan I have just mentioned are discussed in more depth below and on the essays linked from this page."

Laws and Sins
Major Satanic Social Ethics:
Do whatever you want as long as you harm no underserving person
Lex Talionis
Social Stratification
Respect people, their territory and belongings, and when the fail to respect their do whatever you want to them. Destroy them
You can do whatever you want, but you pay the consequences
Responsibility to the responsible
[...] Stupidity is the cardinal sin of Satanism. As the cardinal sin, Stupidity is the cause of all other sins. Anti-stupidity is also the source of most Satanic ethics. Most of the above can be bioled down to a discussion of what is most self-beneficial to do and most the time, because of the way our species is, this frequently means social effects are of utmost importance. A Satanist is not stupid and we know that long term consequences should always be taken into account and this is main step in making sure that the strong, yourself, survives."

Survival of the fittest Survival of the fittest does not mean (as it frequently assumed by dumb neophytes to our philosophy) survival of the strongest. For what use is strength in the modern world? It has plenty of uses, for sure, but it does not imply that one is successful just because they are physically robust or forceful. To be fit, and to be a survivor, you have to realize the society that you are in. It is about adapting to your circumstances, and making your circumstances suit you.
Primarily, it is about cold logical social awareness. Those who fit in control the people around them, yet do not come across as imposing or domineering. Those who fit in get away with exploiting others, because they always do it at the right time.
"Satanism is pro-sexuality. Sexuality is a pure form of pleasure, something that satisfies our deepest purpose in life. Modern life allows us to enjoy sex without the risks of unplanned pregnancies and sexual diseases assuming that sense is taken. Which it should be. Satanism supports any fetish, kink or flavor of sexual encounter as long as all parties involved are consenting. Some people like quality, some people like quantity.
A number of essays and texts by LaVey concentrate on the use and expression of sexual energy, but as social tools and energy within ritual. Boyd Rice says 'LaVey understood that wasn't one cookie-cutter for everyone [...] Sexual freedom doesn't mean having as much sex as possible, it means having the kind of sex you want.' Our strongest emotions and desires are sexual, we are sexual beings, it drives and motivates us more than any other factor.
Our sexuality is fluid: It cannot be oppressed. Denying our sexuality simply causes it's waters to flow into other areas, sometimes in very unhealthy ways, honestly and expression fare much better than repression. Satanism is informed by modern and learned psychological, medical and scientific opinions on sex, there is no dogmatic principles or religious intolerance of sexuality within Satanism. It is very optimistic, positive and healthy: This can only be expected of such carnal religion of the flesh such as Satanism!"