I would like to know how you have experienced love in your existence?

How close was this emotion to something that you have heard before? How is it different? How did it feel to care and feel close to someone as much as you feel close to yourself? How did it feel when every word from your loved one struck a cord within you and made you both tremble on the same frequency?

What is love to you? Is it a chemical reaction, is it a pure emotion or is it a combination of emotions, how would you define it according to what your OWN mind is telling you?

What does it feel like when your heart is open for someone else?

Have you experienced love in a form where it felt like your being became one with another being? I believe that true love is like two wild horses running together beside each other.

The mistake and the flaw of this world is that usually people mistake love for a horse with a rider. I am, of course, using horses here as a metaphor for two minds.

"Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination."
~Voltaire

Of course, scientifically speaking, any emotion can be explained as chemical reactions. The members of LttD composing various words and phrases on this venue are the results of chemical reactions. However, thoughts and emotions go much deeper and are something that are regularly studied.

I believe what you are asking is, "Do Satanists feel love?"

The answer is a resounding, "YES!" Whether it's love for another person who shares the experiences of life with us, love for our familiars, or even love for our work, we most definitely feel love. In fact, I think it's safe to say that we feel love on a much deeper, far more passionate, and even intellectual level than the average human.

You need not read far into the various threads on the forum lists to find evidence of this. I have read incredibly sad words from members of our cabal who have lost people and pets that they loved dearly. I have also read the most heart-felt words from those who are entering life-long commitments with significant others. And I have read of the extremely passionate loves that members possess for their books, art, or music.

Yes, we feel Love! Love that inspires us to write poetry like Shakespeare, paint works like Dali did for Gala, and compose music like Beethoven. I belive that it was true Love for carnal life and the darker side of nature which inspired the mainfesting of Satanism by Dr. LaVey.

~Storm

Ask one thousand persons about love and you will get one thousand different answers. Love can never be expressed the same way twice.
-Japanese saying.

When it comes to love, I am keeping my mind open as I have yet to find a partner that I truly love.
I simply do not know...

I love falafels!

It's ultimately a chemical reaction, but there are also some psychological plays involved. I don't think that throwing out the metaphysical or it's-more-than-that notions makes it any less significant, though. But like all emotions it's not something that stays in the mind forever. I've seen plenty of relationships that start off full of obsessive "love", but then come crashing down just a few months later. I think some of this has to do with finding somebody that you think is "perfect", which only amplifies all the imperfections.

Unfortunately the term "love" gets misused all too often to mean things like "philanthropy", "psychic vampirism", and most especially "mutual infatuation".

I have been extraordinarily fortunate in this area. I am fortunate to experience reciprocated love with another person. I have experienced love with other animals.

Because I experience the emotion, anything I have heard about it pales. It is bone jarring. To be in the midst of it is to know that you are totally accepted. To lose someone you have that kind of relationship with rips you apart. But reading or hearing about it is no comparison to experiencing it.

I fully realize that love can be broken down into chemical components. However, I know people who are able to break an engine down to the individual parts. They fully realize what makes up the engine, and how it works. But, when they start the engine, they get that same silly grin on their faces. The magic is still there, for them. The same can be said for love. I may be able to identify the chemical involved. I may be able to identify the parts of the brain that are involved. I may even have some understanding of why love has evolved. But, when I am in the driver’s seat, I still get a sloppy grin on my face.

Start your engines.

I don't concern myself with the rudiments of what constitutes the biological composition of the orange.

I just enjoy the sweet juices.

Love in one's life, even if fleeting and golden, is a wonderful feeling.

Romance in the heart is more potent and uplifting than any drug.

One could posit that so often love affairs are brief. But the sparkling, rushing, joyous emotions can leave an impression that rushes through our veins for a lifetime.

Love is magic. Real Magic.

Al Koran, in his book, Bring Out The Magic In Your Mind, states:

"When I let my dog out in the morning he stands for a moment, sniffs the air; drinks in the sights and sounds and smells for a while. It is as though so much magic hits him all at once and he is bowled over by it. And then he suddenly leaps in the air. Why can't we be the same?"

Love is such a natural and powerful emotion.

I am like that dog! I possess the magic of romance in my veins. And it bowls me over.

I wouldn't be any other way. I would never be like the rest of the walking dead, dull fuckers.

There isn't enough romance in this world. Jaded, dull, unimaginative bastards that most people are.

Who cares what it is?

Just grab it by the horns when you get the chance. Romantic people are few and far between. And they are so much more rewarding than those that waste time wondering what love is because they are too busy enjoying drinking down the juices.

I love chocolate, more so than I do most people.

Love ehh whatever.

You Love what you like.
Hate what you don't.

I'm surprised love is such a mystery to so many folks. It's a very basic feeling, and the fact that a lot of people here have never felt it is strange to me.

I've felt love strongly enough that I would have defended its object with my own life. I decline to specify the relation of that person to myself.

Does that answer the question?

Hear, hear!

I cherish my extreme sensitivity; it has provided me with some incredible experiences. The closest word that comes to mind is a French one: ému. There's no English equivalent, but essentially it means am/was moved, a totally passive state that enables one to have deep emotions sweep through them.

I wouldn't have it any other way either.

Conan the Barbarian and Belit.

I assume eyebrows are raised to my choice of representing my idea of love through such a seemingly shallow and melodramatic adventure story…
But in truth I've yet to have found a story that better describes the passion and intensity of love as perfectly as this one.

Belit and Conan's love for each other is so carnal and strong that you can feel it burn through the pages.
It's conceived from opposites that enhance each other;
They are two ferocious warriors, but they surrender to one another.
They are both selfish, life-loving beings, but they would die for one another.
They are both free, wild spirits, but they are deeply loyal to one another.

Unlike many other tales of love I've read, this one does not portray the woman as a gentle and innocent girl who devotes herself to her spiritual love of the intellectual man, and I think this is the key to why I resonate with this story so much.
Belit is a huntress, and she falls in love only with the man who successfully displayed his ability to smash down his enemies.
She falls in love with the man who proved he was powerful enough to conquer her- and therefore worthy of being her mate.

This is love- with all it's raw emotional glory.
And I'm glad I have it to save me from modern cynicism.
=)

>> the fact that a lot of people here have never felt it is strange to me.<<

It's fear.

Fear of not appearing big and tough and bad.

The truth is love opens us up. It takes the heart of a lion to love without fear.

It takes a man to love, Rev. Leviathan. And to stand up for it and say what you just said.

In loving we can get hurt.

And for many, that fear destroys romance. They retreat and miss the glory of love.

Mistaking love for a sign of some kind of weakness they cower away like a little squeaking mouse - actually being the very thing they're trying not to be.

What's tough about not being able to love? Love is the motivation that drives men to their greatest acts of strength and heroism.

You are correct though, it also carries the risk of bringing a man to his most vulnerable. If a man is robbed of his love (not only romantic, but familial) it can be far more trying than a physical blow. Perhaps it is knowledge that this can happen that causes many to shy from it. One can only speculate that in some cases it is abuse of their love that has caused so many to shun it now.

That story has so many truly outstanding lines and passages that it cannot be praised enough. Anyone who has not read it is simply missing out.

Or, most commonly, "horny."

Most of the "love songs" on the radio are sex songs.

I am not sure, to be honest, what to always call the emotions I have, especially since I often feel a mix or combination of them. I am able and willing to be deeply and profoundly moved, to be sure, and my likes and dislikes are often quite passionate and intense.

Though, when it comes to romance, I tend to be rather pragmatic and not particularly sentimental. If you were to ask a roomful of people, "What is love?" no doubt many would say, oh, if he gives you flowers and chocolates, if he takes you to Tuscany to watch the sun set over the hills, if he writes poems for you, that sort of thing. I would be the one to say, love is when someone holds back your hair while you vomit, gets you a glass of water afterwards, and doesn't resent or shy away from you in the end. Love is loyalty. Love is genuine helpfulness. Love is empathy. Love is taking interest.

I don't go in for a lot of the bells n' whistles n' PDA. Some of that makes me nervous, frankly, because any sleazebag or twit can learn to fake it for a little while, for as long as they're having "fun." And, anyone can produce mushy talk, or claim their striving for the unreachable star.

My parents have always been truly loving and loyal, so they've given me a solid foundation. Other people, eh. I don't know. When it comes to friends, it can sometimes take a long time to determine who can and will go the distance, and for whom I will also go the distance. When it comes to romance, I have yet to really meet "the One" (probably more accurately called "a One" in most cases). I'm looking, though. But, there are a lot of toads to sift through.