The Church of Astaroth is a nova cult influenced by Satanism active in the Nova Age.
Overview[]
The church preaches that the Great Beast Astaroth will incarnate on February 2, 2017, but that it requires the help of "daemons" (novas) to do so. Members engage in hedonistic excesses that will allegedly trigger eruption so they can be one of these elect when Astaroth appears and visit apocalyptic destruction on the world.[1]
The church's OpNet site is amateurish, their doctrine rambling, and their methods useless for triggering actual eruptions. Most authority figures regard them as a minor and utterly unremarkable nuisance, at best; in world with Divis Mal and Caestus Pax, the CoA hardly rates anyone's attention. Its membership is made up of teens who enjoy the shock value, aging hippies, wanna-be occultists and hateful basket cases happy for any excuse to commit violence. However, this membership is surprisingly large, and the leaders are a lot more subtle than they pretend to be, so there is the possibility that the CoA could pose a legitimate threat in the future.[1]
Organization[]
The "Domitori" who lead the CoA, and a few select baseline minions, run "Altars" that serve as combination temple, party house and recruiting center. The Domitori themselves are a wildly dysfunctional pack of schemers, most of whom have separate agendas, but they recognize that for now they need the support of the other four.[1]
Currently, four Altars are active: Lillehammer, Norway; Black Rock, Nevada; San Francisco, California; and their OpNet site. The Domitori claim need one more member and one more Altar before they can summon Astaroth, and part of their reason for seeking publicity ahead of the apocalypse is to find that person.[2]
The CoA recruits from the Black Metal music subculture, piggybacking on its violent, anti-Christian imagery. Grimskull regularly posts music reviews and concert announcements; a number of bands owe the CoA for their level of success.[3]
History[]
Astaroth established the first Altar in Lillehammer in 1999, killing his rivals in the Black Metal scene with the help of a gang of thugs he calls his huskarls. He and Belial met for the first time at Burning Man in 2000.[4] There, they experienced disturbing visions after taking LSD, which recurred long after the festival ended; they eventually lead to both men erupting at nearly the same time.[4] [5] Their website attracted Grimskull[6] and Mammon,[7] and Mammon recruited Beltaine.[8]
Alleged CoA member "Brother Elias," real name Stanley Jason Weltey, was convicted of multiple counts of kidnapping in Springfield, Missouri in 2006. Prosecutors alleged that Weltey had kidnapped six infants and eaten them as part of a satanic ritual; his defense, and the official line of the CoA, was that he was being persecuted for his faith.[9]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 6-7
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 15-16
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 12
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 17
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 19
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 21
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 22
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 20
- ↑ TU: ReignOfEvil.com, p. 3