What is Satanic Panic? "Satanic Panic" describes an era that covered most of the 1980s and 1990s when people became very concerned about Satanic Conspiracies all over the country. "Ritual Satanic Abuse" became a catchphrase. Cattle mutilations, vandalism, abductions and more were all attributed to a vast conspiracy of Satanists who lived and worked among us. Teenagers with unconventional appearances were assumed to be the foot soldiers of the movement, always on the lookout to convert their friends and classmates to Satanism, or worse yet, to lure them away to some remote location to be sacrificed and eaten. People traded stories with their neighbors and coworkers about Satanic gatherings where animals and humans were brutally sacrificed by soulless devil worshipers who would then have a blood soaked orgy on the corpses of their victims. "Satanism Experts" estimated that Satanic sacrifice resulted in 50,000-60,000 deaths a year. Startling numbers, considering the annual murder rate in the US hovered around 25,000 for most of that time.
The spark that ignited this insanity was the 1980 now thoroughly debunked memoir, Michelle Remembers. In it, the author Michelle Smith (now believed to have multiple personality disorder) recounts memories that were recovered through hypnosis of a truly horrific childhood. She claimed to have been tortured, locked in cages, witness to many murders, and smeared with the blood of the deceased. She claimed to have witnessed many orgies as a child, that she was later forced to participate in. She also said she had been impregnated many times, always forced to carry the child to term to be sacrificed on the altar of Satan. Her vivid account was so disturbing that the Vatican launched an investigation. The Christian magazine, Cornerstone traveled to her hometown to interview her family and childhood friends and concluded that the book was nothing more than a "gruesome fantasy". But it was too late.
In 1983, employees of the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach California were accused of grisly crimes similar to the ones mentioned above. Children who attended the preschool were asked leading and disturbing questions, usually without a parent present. Everyone accused in the McMartin preschool scandal was found innocent, but this kicked off a rash of Ritual Satanic Abuse allegations in schools and preschools all across small town America from 1983-1995 Hundreds of people were arrested. There was never any evidence to back up these claims, and no teacher or daycare provider was ever found guilty, but they all lost their jobs, and many lost their homes, savings and communities as a result of these allegations. One employee of the McMartin preschool could not afford bail and spent two years in jail away from her young children awaiting trial. Another tragedy in all this is that investigating all these salacious rumors wasted valuable resources that could have been used to help children who actually were endangered.
The Satanic Panic hysteria reached a fevered pitch on November 19, 1987 when NBC aired a two hour Geraldo special on Satanism. It was watched in 19.8 million home. Geraldo Rivera looked into the camera and stated, "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country. The majority are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. The odds are, this is happening in your town." This gave credibility to what before had only been spoken about in whispers. Pastors taped the episode and showed it to their congregations. Small town police officers took correspondence courses to become "Satanism Experts", or more to the point, witch hunters. It's worth mentioning, that during the Satanic Panic Scare, (about 1983-1997) a handful of teenagers actually were arrested and found guilty of Satanism inspired crimes. It was almost always vandalism (though in a couple cases animal mutilation was involved) and it was always pretty obvious that the teenagers acted alone and were in no way part of some vast conspiracy.
Undoubtedly, the people who suffered the most due to Satanic Panic hysteria were Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols, or the West Memphis Three. In 1994 the three teenagers were convicted of the 1993 murders of three eight year old Boy Scouts in their community. They all had alibis and there was no evidence linking them to the victims or the scene of the crime, but none of that mattered. They were disliked and mistrusted by their community before any crime had ever been committed. In his memoir, Life After Death, Damien Echols recalls the repeated harassment he received from West Memphis Juvenile Officer, Jerry Driver, his town's so called "Occult Expert". Their trial and subsequent convictions were a total media circus including false testimonies, "evidence" leaked to the press, and a jury that had heard all the gory (and at times made up) details before the trial ever started. Jessie and Jason received life without parole. Damien Echols, the alleged "ringleader" was sentenced to death by lethal injection.What had we become? New forensic evidence submitted in 2007 lead to the eventual release of the West Memphis Three in 2011 after having spent 18 years and 78 days each in prison. This was in large part due to the HBO documentary Paradise Lost about the crimes and subsequent trial. It painted an unflattering picture of small town America and the ignorance at the heart of the Satanic Panic scare. The movie helped the case gain national attention and inspired several high profile celebrities to get involved as well as many average Americans who saw the movie and thought, "That could have been me!" Without their support, the new DNA evidence may never have been submitted.
By the late 1990s, the Satanic Panic Scare was waning. There simply wasn't ever any evidence. News outlets that had previously reported alleged Satanic activity, were now running stories debunking myths about Satanic Panic. In 1997, employees of a daycare center in Wenatchee Washington who had been falsely accused of Satanic inspired sexual abuse, were awarded a $3 million settlement. Sanity was returning.
Full disclosure: I've actually had my own brush with Satanic Panic. When I was fifteen, my dad overdosed on prescription pills and alcohol. He had been Atheist for most of his life, but not long after he got sober he started attending one those big stadium churches out in the country. My first thought was, "Good for him, I guess." But things got weird pretty fast. I first became nervous when he informed me that the members of his new church had preformed a laying on of hands and told him he never had to take his bi-polar medication again. Then he started pacing the halls of the small apartment we shared, bug eyed and muttering about "swollen genitals". Then he hid my Tarot cards which was especially odd because he had given them to me as a gift less than two years before. (That just goes to show you how unpredictable untreated manic depression can be.) Then the accusations started. Mostly he accused me of smoking crack and participating in "orgies for Satan". (Seriously, what is it with these people and the group sex allegations? Gross!) It would have been funny, if I hadn't been terrified. And I was angry too. I'd been putting up with allegations of Satanism from classmates and teachers for years, but I never expected to have to deal with that BS in my own home. My dad had been absent for most of my life, and even when he was around he usually ignored me. Now for the first time in my life he was paying attention to me, but only so he could call me a devil worshiping whore? It was too much. One day I had the most powerful intuitive feeling of my young life, something inside me said, "Whatever you do, don't go home after school today." So I didn't. I went to a friend's house instead, and the day after that I moved in with my mom. Later, I found out from my school's Guidance Counselor that my dad had been home waiting for me that afternoon. The plan was to tell me he was taking me to a family counseling session, but he was actually going to have me committed at a private mental hospital. Shudder. Fundamentalist parents having their children who didn't share their worldview institutionalized was a regrettably common occurrence during the Satanic Panic scare.
So what caused so many of us to lose our collective minds? For an influence lasting this long, (1983-1997 or so) we need to take a look at the slow moving outer Planets, or the Destiny Planets. A few months back, I wrote a little bit about Pluto in Scorpio, but let's recap: Pluto is the smallest, but generally considered to be the most powerful planet of the Zodiac. Astrologically speaking, Pluto is an upsetter that occasionally leaves a scorched Earth in it's wake. Pluto rules Regeneration and Transformation. Pluto is the natural ruler of Scorpio. Pluto was in Scorpio from 1983-1995. Scorpio rules Sex, Death and above all, Secrets. The accusations made in 1983 against the McMartin preschool employees had all that in spades. Scorpio's rulership of secrets includes secret societies. A Powerful and evil cult that sexually preys on and murders the weakest and most innocent members of a society has all the hallmarks of the lowest, darkest energy of Pluto and Scorpio. The thing is, none of it was true. What made so many people believe and in some cases actually "recover memories" of such atrocities?
When examining a period of our history when confusion reigned supreme. we should always take a look at what our old friend Neptune, the Great Dissolver was up to during that time. Neptune entered Capricorn in 1984, the year the investigation into the McMartin preschool was officially launched. Neptune is the planet of Confusion as well as the planet of Mysticism. Earthy Capricorn is cautious, conservative, and can be a little judgemental. Which is to say, Neptune in Capricorn is not a great fit. Neptune seeks to escape, Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, seeks to confine. A growing interest in the Occult, Mysticism and World Religions had been happening in the US since the 1960s. But Neptune entering Capricorn dovetailed with the Rise of the Christian Right, and attempted to snuff out anything that wasn't traditional. Capricorn is the Sign of the Father, and as I mentioned before, the 1980s saw more single mother household's than ever before. A lot of young people were searching for Father Figures, and sometimes they found them at Church. Teenagers who wouldn't or couldn't fall in line were sometimes scapegoated as Satanists. Scapegoating teenagers who stand out from the crowd is nothing new, but accusing them of being actually evil was. Neptune rules the Masses. One of the lowest vibrational qualities of Neptune is that it can hide important truths and help spread Misinformation to the Masses. With Neptune in Capricorn we have this Misinformation coming from trusted male authority figures. Capricorn seeks to gain recognition, and with this influence we had individuals exploiting rumors of Satanic activity in order to elevate their status within their community.
When I try to think of one phrase to describe the influence of Neptune in Capricorn, the one that I keep coming back to is, "Fear of the Unknown". Neptune was in Capricorn from 1984- 1998 and it was a fearful time for a lot of people. Many were nostalgic for a past that actually wasn't so great, but in retrospect seemed simpler and more stable. I think conspiracies about a secret, evil society were a comfort to some people because it strengthened bonds within communities. (Unless you were unfortunate enough to be considered an outsider.) Also it meant that if this supposed evil could be exposed, then maybe it could be eliminated, and things could go back to normal, whatever that was. We all have a Neptune somewhere in our birth charts, and it's lesson for us is to learn to recognize the difference between intuition and delusion. Currently Neptune is at home in Watery Pisces and Astrologers are predicting that children being born now with this influence in their charts will have the attribute of the Peacemaker and in general will be very loving, kind and accepting of each others' differences. The hope is that these old souls will be born already knowing the truth is that we're not that different.
In 1983, employees of the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach California were accused of grisly crimes similar to the ones mentioned above. Children who attended the preschool were asked leading and disturbing questions, usually without a parent present. Everyone accused in the McMartin preschool scandal was found innocent, but this kicked off a rash of Ritual Satanic Abuse allegations in schools and preschools all across small town America from 1983-1995 Hundreds of people were arrested. There was never any evidence to back up these claims, and no teacher or daycare provider was ever found guilty, but they all lost their jobs, and many lost their homes, savings and communities as a result of these allegations. One employee of the McMartin preschool could not afford bail and spent two years in jail away from her young children awaiting trial. Another tragedy in all this is that investigating all these salacious rumors wasted valuable resources that could have been used to help children who actually were endangered.
The Satanic Panic hysteria reached a fevered pitch on November 19, 1987 when NBC aired a two hour Geraldo special on Satanism. It was watched in 19.8 million home. Geraldo Rivera looked into the camera and stated, "Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country. The majority are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. The odds are, this is happening in your town." This gave credibility to what before had only been spoken about in whispers. Pastors taped the episode and showed it to their congregations. Small town police officers took correspondence courses to become "Satanism Experts", or more to the point, witch hunters. It's worth mentioning, that during the Satanic Panic Scare, (about 1983-1997) a handful of teenagers actually were arrested and found guilty of Satanism inspired crimes. It was almost always vandalism (though in a couple cases animal mutilation was involved) and it was always pretty obvious that the teenagers acted alone and were in no way part of some vast conspiracy.
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| "It's like Salem all over again." Damien Echols, on trial for his life in 1994. |
By the late 1990s, the Satanic Panic Scare was waning. There simply wasn't ever any evidence. News outlets that had previously reported alleged Satanic activity, were now running stories debunking myths about Satanic Panic. In 1997, employees of a daycare center in Wenatchee Washington who had been falsely accused of Satanic inspired sexual abuse, were awarded a $3 million settlement. Sanity was returning.
Full disclosure: I've actually had my own brush with Satanic Panic. When I was fifteen, my dad overdosed on prescription pills and alcohol. He had been Atheist for most of his life, but not long after he got sober he started attending one those big stadium churches out in the country. My first thought was, "Good for him, I guess." But things got weird pretty fast. I first became nervous when he informed me that the members of his new church had preformed a laying on of hands and told him he never had to take his bi-polar medication again. Then he started pacing the halls of the small apartment we shared, bug eyed and muttering about "swollen genitals". Then he hid my Tarot cards which was especially odd because he had given them to me as a gift less than two years before. (That just goes to show you how unpredictable untreated manic depression can be.) Then the accusations started. Mostly he accused me of smoking crack and participating in "orgies for Satan". (Seriously, what is it with these people and the group sex allegations? Gross!) It would have been funny, if I hadn't been terrified. And I was angry too. I'd been putting up with allegations of Satanism from classmates and teachers for years, but I never expected to have to deal with that BS in my own home. My dad had been absent for most of my life, and even when he was around he usually ignored me. Now for the first time in my life he was paying attention to me, but only so he could call me a devil worshiping whore? It was too much. One day I had the most powerful intuitive feeling of my young life, something inside me said, "Whatever you do, don't go home after school today." So I didn't. I went to a friend's house instead, and the day after that I moved in with my mom. Later, I found out from my school's Guidance Counselor that my dad had been home waiting for me that afternoon. The plan was to tell me he was taking me to a family counseling session, but he was actually going to have me committed at a private mental hospital. Shudder. Fundamentalist parents having their children who didn't share their worldview institutionalized was a regrettably common occurrence during the Satanic Panic scare.
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| Me, in High School. |
When examining a period of our history when confusion reigned supreme. we should always take a look at what our old friend Neptune, the Great Dissolver was up to during that time. Neptune entered Capricorn in 1984, the year the investigation into the McMartin preschool was officially launched. Neptune is the planet of Confusion as well as the planet of Mysticism. Earthy Capricorn is cautious, conservative, and can be a little judgemental. Which is to say, Neptune in Capricorn is not a great fit. Neptune seeks to escape, Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, seeks to confine. A growing interest in the Occult, Mysticism and World Religions had been happening in the US since the 1960s. But Neptune entering Capricorn dovetailed with the Rise of the Christian Right, and attempted to snuff out anything that wasn't traditional. Capricorn is the Sign of the Father, and as I mentioned before, the 1980s saw more single mother household's than ever before. A lot of young people were searching for Father Figures, and sometimes they found them at Church. Teenagers who wouldn't or couldn't fall in line were sometimes scapegoated as Satanists. Scapegoating teenagers who stand out from the crowd is nothing new, but accusing them of being actually evil was. Neptune rules the Masses. One of the lowest vibrational qualities of Neptune is that it can hide important truths and help spread Misinformation to the Masses. With Neptune in Capricorn we have this Misinformation coming from trusted male authority figures. Capricorn seeks to gain recognition, and with this influence we had individuals exploiting rumors of Satanic activity in order to elevate their status within their community.
When I try to think of one phrase to describe the influence of Neptune in Capricorn, the one that I keep coming back to is, "Fear of the Unknown". Neptune was in Capricorn from 1984- 1998 and it was a fearful time for a lot of people. Many were nostalgic for a past that actually wasn't so great, but in retrospect seemed simpler and more stable. I think conspiracies about a secret, evil society were a comfort to some people because it strengthened bonds within communities. (Unless you were unfortunate enough to be considered an outsider.) Also it meant that if this supposed evil could be exposed, then maybe it could be eliminated, and things could go back to normal, whatever that was. We all have a Neptune somewhere in our birth charts, and it's lesson for us is to learn to recognize the difference between intuition and delusion. Currently Neptune is at home in Watery Pisces and Astrologers are predicting that children being born now with this influence in their charts will have the attribute of the Peacemaker and in general will be very loving, kind and accepting of each others' differences. The hope is that these old souls will be born already knowing the truth is that we're not that different.
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