
"Yankee
Rose."
-The
very last page of the Satanic Bible.
The
final words of the Satanic Bible, "Yankee Rose," have been
mulled over, analyzed, debated, and discussed by many a Satanist and even some non-Satanists, alike.
So
what does it all mean?
Well,
LaVey himself was a fan of Sousa and all of his rousing marches. He
was even known to play them on his organ, with hair-raising results.
I never actually listened to the original Yankee Rose until today,
and it is, in fact, a march. A patriotic march to be exact, which
Sousa was known for, especially his most widely beloved piece, Stars,
and Stripes Forever. Now, Yankee Rose was not put together by Sousa,
but it does have the patriotic flair of his work.
I
do not see LaVey as a nationalist; he would shun such collectivism.
However, as a fan of orchestral pieces, it would be surprising that
he would choose to place a swingy old-timey piece like Yankee Rose
within the Satanic Bible. Who knows, I'm pulling things out of my ass
at this point.
Another
explanation could be within the word of the rose itself. Roses have
some symbolic meaning in occult thought. The rose, in some mysterious
circles, stands for a trifecta of power and represents the three main
alchemical properties: salt, mercury, and sulfur. Now, the first two
have little-to-no bearing on Satanic magic, but the last one, sulfur,
does. At least in my opinion. (shut up! I'm doing the best I can)
Sulfur can be akin to brimstone, with its burning qualities, and what
is one of the primary symbols of Satanism? That's right! The Sigil of
Brimstone; Which is an alchemical symbol.
Take
a look at the symbol itself: It could be construed to be a weird
flower. Or maybe a dick. This sigil could also take the form of
fertility and growth, much like a flower. (which is more vaginal, but
that's beside the point) Alchemy is also all about growth and
creation. See where I'm going with this?
Now
I doubt that any of what I am saying is true, hell, It's entirely up
in the air at this point. But LaVey was an esoteric man, so there
more than likely was some occultist leaning in this mysterious last
passage. So he might have melded a song he loved with an occult
symbol that he thought was cool, using botany as a cover-up to fuck
with our collective minds. Or maybe he just wanted to be random and
put the title of a song he liked.
The
world may never know.
That
was my two cents. Please add your pennies to the jar by
commenting below.
Yankee Rose could also have a meaning of "im out" or "goodbye" as a reference to the end of his book, who knows.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember where I first read it, however, supposedly when ASL was playing nightclubs, "Yankee Rose" was his stock closing piece. So, it basically just meant, "the end." Or maybe more ritualistically, "it is done" or "so mote it be."
ReplyDeleteIt could mean "keep this in mind" as a parting phrase, telling the listener to essentially pay heed to what he or she has learned...to always remember it.
ReplyDelete