A Satanic group in Portland is organizing an unexpected event: a good-old-fashioned picnic in Deering Oaks Park.
And yes, there will be deviled eggs.
The Portland chapter of The Satanic Temple calls it a “Satanic Jaunt in the Park.” The Sunday afternoon potluck picnic is a chance for anyone to “have some snacks, talk about Satan,” and meet members of the local affiliate of the national organization, which recently made headlines for erecting a statue of a goat-headed idol in Detroit, and for trying to hand out Satanic coloring books in Florida.
The national group has typically focused its ire on what it considers breaches of the wall between church and state.
But the Portland chapter, which has been around since the fall and has around 20 members, hasn’t found a reason to protest anything, said the head of the group, Mercy Maelica. So it’s planning to focus more on charity work.
“Fortunately, our state is fairly secular unlike some of our comrades who have chapters in the south, so we can focus on more good works than having to activate against harmful ones,” she said. The group might raise money related to Maine’s heroin problem, or to help fund homeless programs in Portland, for instance.
It’s probably worth mentioning that the Satan this group is talking about is a little different from the one found in Christianity.
“It’s definitely not the Biblical Satan and there’s no worship about it,” said Maelica, 36. “Think Milton[’s] Satan over the biblical one. … Satan to us is the rebel in the face of arbitrary authority who encourages critical thinking and the acquisition of knowledge to empower.”
In other words, this won’t be an evil picnic — though you will be able to buy those coloring books if you come. And Maelica says they’re not trying to recruit anyone.
The Satanic Temple is guided by seven tenets, which espouse things like personal freedom, reason and empathy. It doesn’t believe in the supernatural but it’s not opposed to other religions unless “they push their beliefs on others,” said Maelica.
So how is this not just atheism or humanism?
“The fact that we follow a guideline of core beliefs in the Tenets is a big part of what makes this a religion, as well as shared goals, an aesthetic, and sense of community,” she said.
The group also owns its outsider status.
“People have been called Satanists or witches or heretics far back in the past for standing out,” she said. “The modern-day version of that is kind of wearing that and being unapologetic about it.”
So what do Satanists eat at picnics?
At an event in April, someone brought cupcakes with “totally pure black frosting with red pentagrams on them.”
Maelica also plans to bring deviled eggs.
“And they will be delicious,” she said.
