Amy Haben reviews seven bands and musicians who were also part of notorious religious cults, communes, and porn legends between the 1960s-80s, culminating with the best for last, Zeena & Radio Werewolf.
 
Read the entry for Radio Werewolf below, or go to the full article HERE: 
https://pleasekillme.com/subversive-grooves/

The below article was originally posted in San Francisco newsgroups for Halloween by Jeff Farris, who shares first-hand impressions of Zeena in early life. Farris and Zeena attended the same schools yet have never met. Many thanks to Mr. Farris for allowing us to reprint his article here! An afterword from Zeena follows his article:

In San Francisco on California Street, between 23rd and 24th Avenues in the Richmond District, there once was a house that was painted pure black long before it was fashionable or cool to do so. The home was rumored to have a real live roaring lion as well as human occupants, we were warned, who were devotees to the Prince of Darkness himself. Other than the austere and gloomy color, it was an unassuming little home just a few blocks down the road from where I grew up.
​
A typical San Francisco A-framed, 3 story Victorian, The Black House, as it was known for many years, was the official First Church of Satan and the home of Anton LeVay, aka, The Black Pope and Lucifer’s Great High Priest and author of the Satanic Bible, as well as his family, including 2 young children and his companion, the self professed sorceress and High Priestess, Diane Hegarty. An ex-carnival worker and notable chronic liar, Anton established the Church of Satan in 1966 where it had a run for about 35 years until it was eventually torn down in 2001, only to be replaced, unceremoniously, by a cheap, 4 unit apartment complex commonly known among locals as a Richmond Special. The son of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants who had arrived in the United States sometime near the turn of the 20th Century, Mr. LaVey had finally made a name for himself in the late 1960’s with his audacious ambition to create the first church of Satan ever, anywhere.
​
San Francisco, at the time, was ripe for such a plan and Anton soon found himself at the center of controversy along with much welcomed attention from the ranks of luminaries such as Hollywood elites, avant-garde artists, and rock superstars of the time. One of his first and most celebrated religious ceremonies held at The Black House was the “Baptism” of his youngest daughter, Zeena, in 1967, when she was just 3 years old.

Anyhow, as the years have transpired, I have kept my eye on the life and times of Zeena LaVey, or Zeena Schreck, which is her current last name. I wouldn’t say that I am a stalker, but I have always felt for her as one would feel towards any misunderstood outsider. I felt bad for her, actually, not that she needs my sympathy and she could probably care less of what I think, for that matter. But I’ve always believed that she was a good soul under extraordinary pressure from circumstances beyond her control. She was a San Francisco kid, caught up in those crazy times, no different than I, but definitely more complicated and dark.

As you can imagine, Zeena and her family weren’t very welcome in our working class, multicultural, mostly Catholic, and Asian, and Russian Orthodox neighborhood. In a 2012 interview with Vice Australia, she explains that she had to transcribe for the SFPD death threats left for her on her father’s answering machine wherein she was to be raped and killed. She was 11 years old at the time. She also states that her father may have haphazardly fallen into the role of The Black Pope by sheer accident and that the Church of Satan was created after a local publicist described Anton as a neighborhood eccentric and “the first priest of Satan.” Anton then seized the idea and transformed it into a religion and that it all took off from there.

To be clear, Anton’s belief system did not include an actual deity or entity that one would call Satan or Lucifer, the Angel of Light. He believed that there wasn’t a devil at all. It was an ego driven theology. Each person is a God, in essence, and the tenets of the religion are almost all selfishly motivated and self aggrandizing. It’s also important to note that the Church of Satan, for the most part, was ultimately a failed venture leaving Anton destitute by the time he died. He sold his soul for nothing more than a limited and fleeting run at popularity, poor thing.

By 1990, Zeena had renounced her father’s church and belief structure, and likewise the Church of Satan vehemently denounced Zeena, commencing a campaign to discredit her name. I don’t think she ever had contact with Anton after that. She claimed that her father was basically a charlatan and a con artist and that he never had the depth of knowledge to be a true Satanist and that it was all for show and celebrity.

Whether or not I believe her completely is predicated upon the publication of the Satanic Bible, which is still the definitive go to resource for anything Satanic. It is clear that he gave that book some thought. Nonetheless, Zeena then applied her spiritual endeavors towards the Temple of Set, which could best be described as a pre-christian, Egyptian mystery religion, but highly influenced by other ex-members of the Church of Satan and the writings of Aleister Crowley. But even here, Zeena failed to find an environment that was to her liking and she resigned from her post as High Priestess in 2002. She then formed the Sethian Liberation Movement, donned with a title that could only be conjured up by an ex-San Francisco kid who survived the citywide pandemonium that the Symbionese Liberation Army caused when they kidnapped Patty Hearst in the early 70’s.

Currently, Zeena is a self avowed Tibetan Tantric Buddhist and she offers counseling services and specifically ministers to victims of extreme circumstances, the socially stigmatized, outcasts, and those otherwise subject to prejudice. By use of yogic, meditative and shamanic exercises, she offers short-range treatment, she says, without having to become an initiate of any particular spiritual path. Like the Phoenix, she claims that she can help you rise from the ashes of difficult experiences, find your own inner mystical resources, and have a spiritual awakening towards a foundation of inner strength.
​
Personally, I believe in her and I want her to succeed. If anyone has experience of overcoming difficulties, Zeena is among those who have. It seems poetic to me that a young girl from San Francisco, without any act of her own volition, was baptized at the tender age of 3 into the milieu of post-modern sensationalized Satanism, only to come out the other side finding peace and stability from the teachings of someone as self effacing and modest as the Buddha. I sincerely hope that she ultimately finds the peace that surpasses all understanding. As a fellow San Franciscan, I am rooting for her. How about you?

– Jeff Farris
San Francisco, Halloween 2014

Thank you Jeff, wherever you are! Though it's true we never met, nor shared any words in those years, I never forget a face and knew it was you, because you still look the same, some 40 years later. You are correct that most people didn't have the guts to speak to me then in school, unless antagonistically. The same character traits usually remain on into adulthood. People who refuse to educate themselves about what they're frightened of, find comfort in remaining ignorant. So thank you for your curiosity to educate yourself, and for your candid recollections.
And, as you alluded to, I have found peace and contentment. When we have peace within ourselves and develop intrinsic happiness and relinquish hope for extrinsic sources of happiness, we have peace and joy wherever, and in whatever, situations we find ourselves. 

Wishing you [all] a fantastically Happy Halloween. 

~Ƶeena

Flashback to 8-8-88:
Today marks thirty years since Zeena's first public collaboration with music group Radio Werewolf, which led soon after to her becoming co-director as composer, musician, lyricist, singer, artist and art director.
Music historian Mikey Bean interviewed Radio Werewolf for his forthcoming encyclopedic volume, 'Phantoms: The Rise of Deathrock from the L.A. Punk Scene.' The Radio Werewolf chapter covers a vast amount of yet unknown information about several key points in the bands development, from all members involved.
Thanks goes out to Mikey Bean for granting permission to share a peek of this book, prior to release.
​The following passages are specifically in reference to the 8-8-88 rally at the Strand Theater in San Francisco.
To follow updates on the 'Phantoms' release, go to this Facebook page:
Phantoms: The Rise Of Deathrock From The La Punk Scene https://www.facebook.com/mikeys.book/
Original, Vintage Radio Werewolf Merchandise available on this site under: 
​VINTAGE, ORIGINALS & COLLECTIBLES 

Radio Werewolf begin working on The Norse Eddas shortly before 8-8-88​

Zeena: In Summer of '88, a couple of months after we'd met, Nikolas mentioned that he and Kirby were planning on doing an album of the Norse Eddas.
Nikolas Schreck: …on rehearsing the adaptation of the Elder Edda, which formed the centerpiece of Radio Werewolf's second album Songs For The End Of The World.
Zeena: He said, “I'm looking for a strong woman to play the role of a Valkyrie and you just might be the one I've been looking for.”
Nikolas Schreck: Her artwork and creative writing, which she read to me, and her skills as an improvisatory keyboard player with a gift for haunting medieval melodies, her experience in theater as ritual, these were the many things we had in common as far as the mutual artistic approach that blossomed into our collaboration in the next phase of Radio Werewolf.
Zeena: He knew I'd done theater pieces and had acting experience, and asked if I'd be interested. Now, the funny thing is, between '87-88, I'd been having a pleasant dalliance with King Diamond. Right around the time Nikolas asked me to participate in the Eddas recording, Kind Diamond said he'd like to find a way to bring me on tour with him but in order to do that, he would have had to work me into his act to justify my travel expenses. At that time, King Diamond had a stage act that involved a haunted house story with a scary old grandmother character and he asked if I'd consider wearing a latex mask to play the grandmother. Well, given the choice between playing a Valkyrie or playing an old grandmother in a latex mask, which would you choose?! (laughs) So obviously Nikolas, Kirby and I began working on what would become Songs For The End Of The World fairly early on. We were artists who would’ve collaborated as equals on something anyway, regardless of whether or not we got romantically involved, and regardless of Nikolas's then involvement with the first cast of Radio Werewolf.
[…]

8-8-88 rally at Strand Theater SF

Nikolas Schreck: Then in August, the 8-8-88 concert happened, the anniversary of the Manson murders. Zeena came to San Francisco from LA at my invitation, to do a reading at this concert to which Boyd Rice and I had agreed to several months before.
Zeena: I was supposed to arrive at the venue with Boyd and Adam Parfrey. I wanted to get there a little early, as I usually do, but they wanted to wait until the last minute and opted instead to kill time eating dinner in Japan Town. Meanwhile, Nikolas and his girlfriend were still running around getting everything together for the performance, obviously with no help from the three of us.
Zeena: The 8-8-88 rally was the only time the old line up of Radio Werewolf and the yet-to-be new line up of Radio Werewolf worked together. It would be the only performance that Nikolas, the original percussionist Wilhelm, and I ever performed live together. That marked the transition point spanning three phases of Radio Werewolf: 1) the Nikolas Schreck/Evil Wilhelm collaboration, 2) the solo Nikolas Schreck/The Fiery Summons, and 3) the Nikolas Schreck/Zeena collaboration.
[...]

Zeena: During the performance my cue was a particular organ chord that Nikolas would play; Boyd's part came before mine and when Nikolas played the cue Boyd was to step away from the podium to make room for the next in the line-up, me. When the time came for my part Boyd just stood there, I kept looking around wondering when he'd get it, his part was finished, but he stood there an interminably long time, just sort of zoning out. Judging by Boyd's and Adam's jitteriness that they expressed at dinner over the Geraldo crew filming it, I think that must have been what panicked him, they weren't yet used to that level of national attention.
Nikolas Schreck: When the Geraldo Rivera [U.S. TV show] film crew had arrived at the theater they asked me in all seriousness if they could film my Satanic wedding ceremony with Zeena LaVey; they were very disappointed when I told them there was no such wedding planned!
Zeena: Because of Boyd's stage fright, it left me about half the time I needed for what we'd planned for me to read…so I just hurriedly did my part and moved on. It was also tense during the performance because shortly before we went on, we learned of a call-in threat from someone with the intention of stabbing the participants on stage with syringes filled with AIDS infected blood.
[…]

Zeena: I was not at all comfortable with the atmosphere immediately after the show and wanted to immediately leave, as was the original agreement. There was supposed to be a car waiting for me, which never materialised so I was stuck in the backstage area with a bunch of dips wanting to ape for the camera. There were some group photos taken and if you notice I'm at the far outer end…why? Because I didn't even want to be in the photos at all. I was the only one standing off to the side watching the others take photos but the ‘Anton LaVey fan-club’ all whined that I should be in the photos with them and that's why I'm actually half in, and half out, of those shots.
Nikolas Schreck: Me and Wilhelm gave an interview to Geraldo, and if you watch the interview you can already see the tension that comes across from us sitting together.
Evil Wilhelm: During the show I looked around in disgust and said “this is just not fun anymore…”.
Zeena: You could cut the tension with a knife, because on the one end of the spectrum you had these goofy newcomers to the CoS, getting off on their 15 minutes of media high, and then on the other end of the spectrum you had this silently smouldering Radio Werewolf drama between Wilhelm and Nikolas unfolding behind everyone else's drunken giddiness…as for me, I just wanted to go home.

Fastforward 30 Years

Zeena: Although we haven't collaborated on musical projects since Radio Werewolf ended in 1993, there are still a lot of similarities in theme and content to what we both do.
Nikolas Schreck: These days, Zeena and I focus on solo performances and individual writing/art projects; we purposely don't attend each others' gigs for a variety of practical reasons, mostly having to do with maintaining respect for each artists' autonomy, and to dispel the moronic ‘Mommy and Daddy of Satanism’ idea which originated primarily from both the US Fundamentalist Christian AND Satanic factions.
Zeena: We live and work entirely independently of each other these days. On a practical level, we learned long ago that it's very difficult for two very focused artists, who are always working on a continuous stream of projects, with unpredictable schedules, to attempt to live any sort of conventional co-habitation or ‘coupledom’ lifestyle. In addition to that, I've taken Buddhist Bodhisattva vows and am a yogini, which also necessitates specific ways of living.
Nikolas Schreck: I’m flattered that [more than] thirty years after I started [Radio Werewolf] people are still enthusiastic and excited about it. I saw from the beginning that it’s something beyond…I can’t get away from it, but it isn’t ‘me’; I feel like I have a younger twin brother who did all this stuff and I have to deal with the consequences, that it’s like a child I brought into the world and I have to accept the responsibility of it.
Zeena: For me, the most powerful, valuable and enduring lesson of all that came out of my Radio Werewolf years is the message of our final album: Love Conquers All.
[End of excerpt]

Den of Geek online journal explores the mystique and back stories of the 1968 cult anthem Sympathy for the Devil, by The Rolling Stones in this in-depth article. Exclusive interview with Zeena throughout the article, recalling her first-hand experiences with and magical interpretations of the song and its influences (excerpted in parts below: Full article, HERE and again at end of this post):

 Zeena Schreck, a Berlin-based interdisciplinary visual and musical artist told Den of Geek [...] “I'm sure they didn't mind the controversy that came with the dark associations from 'Sympathy,' or the previously released 'Their Satanic Majesties Request.' I'd think the more sinister reputation would have been, for the Stones, a welcome delineation from the 'I-wanna-hold-your-hand’ Beatles [...] generally, it seemed they were tapping into the overall Zeitgeist of the times, of the overwhelming pop-culture focus on occultism, witchcraft, and Satanism,” Zeena explains. “Specifically, the theme of that song seemed more a literary reference, influenced by the Russian novel The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. I doubt there were any intentional sinister motivations.”

Rock has been called the devil’s music since it began to roll. This is both overt bigotry and inferred spiritual racism. There must be real power in those jungle beats that pump out real magic. “Possibly one of the reasons that particular song developed such an aura surrounding it is due to the consistent, shamanistic-like percussion and chanting,” says Zeena. “The quality of the rhythm in ‘Sympathy’ is similar to magical drumming played to induce trance states. That type of hypnotic rhythm is a traditional method of inducing altered states of consciousness. Combine that with the copious amounts of drugs and psychedelics that everyone was taking those days, while invoking a (conventionally understood) malevolent force, then obviously the effects would be quite epic.”

Invoking a Demon Brother: “Sympathy for the Devil” was captured in two takes, the first one Richards declared a disaster, before hitting on the perfect alchemy. The recording was filmed by French new wave film icon Jean-Luc Godard, who renamed his film One Plus One in honor of it for its 1968 producer’s cut. During the five days of recording, as the stories go, a film lamp started a fire that laid waste to the band’s equipment. The tapes were protected, another clue to the possessed nature of the noise.
The band’s mythic satanic alliance was further cemented by their association with American underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger, a former child actor who wrote the tell-all book Hollywood Babylon. Anger was a Crowleyan who called his movies Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Scorpio Rising, and Fireworks “visual incantations” and “moving spells.” Jagger played the synthesizer soundtrack for his Invocation of My Demon Brother. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin scored one on Crowley. Anger met the Stones through art gallery owner Robert Fraser and asked if they would work on a film called Lucifer Rising. Anger wanted to cast Mick as Lucifer and Keith as Beelzebub.
Zeena says that, during the 1960s and 1970s, the filmmaker “transmitted the influences of Curtis Harrington, Jean Cocteau, and Maya Deren [to her],” adding that her own art “was influenced early in life by the mentorship of her godfather Kenneth Anger.” During her childhood and adolescence, Zeena “was privy to Anger's conversations about his involvement with such contemporaries as the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page and Anita Pallenberg.”
“Occasionally Kenneth Anger would mention his involvement with the members of the band,” Zeena says. “When the subject came up, he'd say they'd brought destructive energies upon themselves. Ironically he, himself, helped facilitate that, being their magical mentor. Despite the Stones' backing off from the 60s’ dark occult influences around them, there can be no denying that Anger was a strong influence for a time, as witness Jagger's soundtrack for Invocation of my Demon Brother.”
But Zeena, who was teaching magic and sorcery at the age of 16, “never agreed with Kenneth's admiration and proselytizing of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. It's a very destructive and misogynistic philosophy which has brought a lot of harm to people who take it seriously.” Zeena severed ties with her father and his Church, and is now a teacher of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, where the music of the Rolling Stones is more welcome.
“Although Kenneth Anger was befriended with both the Rolling Stones and my father during the same years, you definitely would not hear ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ playing at Church of Satan headquarters,” Zeena says. “The simple reason is that the High Priest had very rigid, idiosyncratic interpretations of what he considered ‘satanic music.’ Rock music, heavy metal, or any other kind of popular music, were definitely not part of his satanic jukebox.”
The British band might also have stopped dropping quarters into the American director’s nickelodeon. “Kenneth Anger they thought laughable,” Faithfull wrote in her memoirs. “Mick and Keith were utterly contemptuous of his satanic hocus-pocus.”
“However, a more direct magical influence, aside from Kenneth Anger, influencing the group during the making of 'Sympathy for the Devil', would have more likely been Anita Pallenberg,” Zeena says. “She openly practiced black magical rituals and never hid her fascination for the darker side of life. She not only performed backing vocals but also had a creative influence on the music and style of the group, being their sort of 'resident witch.' I know one of Pallenberg's cousins who confirmed she was always into the black arts and a little 'witchy.’”

Because Swinging London in the '60s only really ranged a few blocks, both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles were loosely connected to the sixties counter-spiritual group, the Process Church of Final Judgement, but mainly because they all went to Pink Floyd shows. “The Stones' playing with popular satanic themes and imagery may have begun superficially at first but ultimately a malignant seed was planted and the conditions for destructive consequences ripened,” Zeena says, referencing another tragedy that played into the song’s morbid mythology.
The legend of the “Sympathy for the Devil” took more sinister turn during the Altamont Free Concert in 1969. Though Meredith Hunter was killed by Hell’s Angel’s bikers who were working security while the band was playing "Under My Thumb," the fight that killed him interrupted the band as they kicked into their rhythmic satanic anthem. "We're always having—something very funny happens when we start that number," Jagger said before the band restarted the number. Because of the public outrage, the Stones didn’t play the song live for the next seven years.
Brian Jones was played out during the recording of Beggars Banquet, but he was not silent. Richards worked double and triple duty, but Jones did the wonderful slide work in “No Expectations,” and played the sitar and tanpura on "Street Fighting Man." The album would be the last with Jones, who was discovered drowned in his Sussex swimming pool on July 26, 1969.  His own musical exploration propelled the band to take the lead in many major musical movements. “Speaking only for my years composing with Radio Werewolf, I wouldn't say ‘Sympathy’ or Satanic Majesties Request had direct influence on my music within Radio Werewolf,” Zeena says. “But I did have a strong affinity with their music produced in the Brian Jones years - their music when it had a more medieval flavor. That sound is what I'm naturally drawn to and often create.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ​http://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/the-rolling-stones/273983/the-occult-influences-of-sympathy-for-the-devil

The Chiseler Online Magazine interviewed Zeena about her memories of actor Christopher Lee:

The interdisciplinary avant garde artist spoke exclusively with the Chiseler about the legendary actor.

Zeena “met Christopher Lee as a result of being co-producer for the CD ‘Christopher Lee Sings Devils Rogues and other Villians.’ Specifically, I first met him at the apartment in Los Angeles that Nikolas and I rented for him and his wife Gitte to stay in while we worked on the recording of ‘Christopher Lee Sings Devils Rogues and other Villains.’ ”

Long before Lee recorded with the symphonic power metal group Rhapsody of Fire, he was involved with “Christopher Lee Sings Devils, Rogues & Other Villains (From Broadway To Bayreuth And Beyond).“

“Nikolas knew of Lee’s love of classical music, opera and Broadway musicals. But at that time, the general public only knew Lee for his vampire roles and had little awareness of his musical talent and appreciation,” Zeena explained.

Lee maintained that his one regret was his decision not to become an opera singer.

“Nikolas conceived of the idea to spotlight Christopher Lee’s considerable singing talents,” Zeena said. “But he knew that to do that effectively, such a project would need to focus on musical selections one would automatically think of Lee singing, appropriately sinister villainous characters from Opera and musicals.

“Lee was very enthusiastic at the proposal. So it was through helping Nikolas with the planning, production and coordinating of that project that I got to know Christopher. We recorded it at a studio in Crossroads of the World in Los Angeles. A considerable amount of work and expense went into finding suitable, classically trained musicians and a musical director (Dean Shepherd, who was fantastic) who had the right skills and temperament to work well with Lee.”

The friendship endured long after the work was completed.

“We stayed in contact throughout the years following that album,” she said. “We’d see him whenever he was in Berlin for the Berlin Film Festival and the ‘Cinema for Peace’ benefit.”
[...]
“It goes without saying that Christopher was a very colorful person,” Zeena said. “But for me, the most interesting conversations with him revolved around his descriptions of his WWII work as a British Intelligence officer. He talked about parachuting into German enemy Waffen SS camps and, well, he did what the British government trained him to do, which was not pretty.”

“I got the impression he was still rather haunted, even decades later, by some of his experiences during the war. Even though he believed that what he did was for virtuous and just reasons,” she added.
[...]
“He definitely had an interest in magic beyond the roles he played,” Zeena said. “But we need to make a distinction between 'interest’ and 'involvement.’ He had no first-hand involvement in any magical, occult or satanic groups and even declined direct invitations from such groups.

“He liked horror fiction of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Algernon Blackwood, etc. But that was purely a literary appreciation. He also had an interest in John Dee, The Golden Dawn and other 19th and early 20th century magical groups,” she explained.

“However, it should be stated that Lee had an interest in a wide variety of eclectic subjects, which had nothing to do with occultism. He was simply very well-read and inquisitive by nature,” she added.

Lee was in the enviable position to be able to satisfy his many curiosities.

“As a result of his years in British intelligence, he’d known figures like Dennis Wheatley, his cousin Ian Fleming, etc., and had heard of their experiences with Aleister Crowley. In fact he was lifelong friends with Dennis Wheatley and agreed with Wheatley’s views on the occult. But their friendship grew out of their mutual intelligence work, not because of occult or magical interests.

Christopher Lee was instrumental in getting Wheatley works to film. Wheatley’s The Forbidden Territory was made into a movie starring Ronald Squire as Sir Charles rather than Duke de Richleau in 1934.

“It was Lee who convinced Hammer films to buy the rights to Wheatley’s books for the films he would star in,” Zeena said. “But it should be clarified that Lee was very dismissive and wary of occultists, black magicians or satanists.”

During Zeena’s involvement in the Lee album, she had the opportunity to ask Lee about the rumor that her father knew Christopher Lee.

“When Nikolas and I got to know Lee, we were able to discuss this rumor with him in detail,” Zeena said. “Both Lee and his wife Gitte refuted the rumor vehemently. Lee explained that, as a result of working on the U.S. TV movie Poor Devil, with Sammy Davis, Jr. (who became a Priest in the Church of Satan), Davis tried to ingratiate Lee into accepting an invitation at the behest of my father, offering Lee a copy of The Satanic Bible, personally inscribed and signed by my father.

“Lee still had the book in his collection and, on one of Nikolas’s visits to London for preparations of the CD, Lee showed Nikolas the book referring to it as a cheap paperback from the '60s witchcraft fads. Lee didn’t take it at all seriously,” Zeena said. “His wife Gitte recalled another time they visited Sammy and his wife Altovise in Los Angeles, when again Sammy tried to serve as middle-man between Dracula and the Black Pope, and again to no avail.

“Lee had no interest. He said Sammy was nuts about my father but Lee saw my father as a 'Johnny-come-lately opportunist and con-man’ within the occult. Lee expressed that he had no intention of ever meeting LaVey. Then, Lee pointedly looked me in the eye and said 'I’m very glad that you had the sense to get out of all of that destructive rubbish, expounding on what he called the ruinous effects of that type of belief system,’ ” she concluded.

The levelheaded enchantress also got to see the work that went into his actor’s preparation.

“Lee took personal responsibility to research his roles, to learn what he could about the characters and the historical context, in order to bring a more believable performance to each character,” Zeena said. “His interest in devilish and monstrous roles was purely a matter of aesthetics and literary appreciation - but not at all a personal lifestyle.

“I think he considered the villainous roles he played as having allegorical and moral significance. Sort of like morality tales for a new generation. I don’t think he expected to actually inspire people to want to become the characters he played. He was part Italian and had a very strong sense of religious moral ethics. So even though he befriended Wheatley and personally researched the villainous roles he would play, it was really out of a dedication to portray those roles in as real a way as possible, to understand those characters from their own points of view and to make them believable,” she said.
THERE'S MORE TO THE ARTICLE - READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

In today's The Sun, Zeena talks about fabled Jayne Mansfield death curse.
Excerpted: "Artist Zeena, who used to practise magic and is now a Buddhist, claims it was beyond her father’s powers to cause the crash.
She said: 'His curses were fits of anger.
'This needed a focused ritual.'
But she is in no doubt LaVey was a man you would not want to cross.
Zeena, who also knew serial killer Charles Manson, said: “I could deal with Manson in a more rational way than I could with my father.'
The film dwells on LaVey’s kooky TV persona, yet Zeena describes a 'brutal' man who almost killed her mother Diane Hegarty more than once."
Read the whole article here: ​https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/6230856/jayne-mansfield-satanic-sex-cult-film/

ZEENA is an artist, activist and mystic currently living in Germany. What I find especially fascinating and inspiring about her is her ability to change and grow with the times. Born into daunting circumstances, she managed not only to rise above them, but to re-invent herself despite what I surmise might be abominable pulls toward lethargy and abject nostalgia.

​In one of her texts, “Demons of the Flesh” she explores the metaphysics of eroticism. Not simply focusing on Hermeticism and the usual occult fare, she also looks at the important contributions of French philosophy (in the form of Georges Bataille) and other, vital strands of evidence… ultimately sharing experiential knowledge and suggesting one use one’s own as guide.

Zeena Schreck is very beautiful. And her awareness of this is not simple, nor yet affected. She presents herself and her energy in a very straight-forward way which is refreshing in itself, but which, upon closer inspection, reveals the gentle touch of a survivor helping others survive. The first thing one does when confronted with the prospect of extinction, naturally, being human, is panic. When this happens to a group, the result is collective hysteria. Perhaps her experiences during the 1980’s allowed her to see such circumstance unfold around her (and their manipulation and co-opting by nefarious forces of self-interest) in such a way that she holds a tender regard for the possibility of others going through them as well, but she has a gentle touch, which belies a fierce mind and steely core.

ZEENA’s art is fascinating. Maintaining a lucid awareness between the mediated roles of artist and academic, theorist and practitioner, her art is yet generous enough to question such ambiguity. Her piece “Ladders” questions not only Euclidian Geometry, but the formalist expansion of Western Metaphysics it stands for. How is one to “rise” in a society based upon questionable heirarchies, where, for instance, Social Justice and Reform is not necessarily based upon the injuries sustained by victims but sometimes just as likely the power of the accused? Recalling Feudal Warfare - Caste System Dynamics and other illusory states of “Maya” the piece is yet presented in soothing tones and inviting poetics of space. It’s as if ZEENA were leaving behind an Easter Egg, something someone could enjoy at whatever level of development they had attained to in dealing with it, yet something which also continued to reward dilligent and patient effort.

The future for ZEENA will hopefully contain more expansion. It will be very lucky for the Artist community and every other group or individual she manages to touch with her sincere and powerfully articulated grace if she continues to thrive and generously shine upon us!
​
-STANLEY GEMMELL
* * * * * * *
Gallery contacts and for commissioned art by Zeena contact:   info@zeena.eu

Original post can be seen at
Stanley Gemmell's writings blog: ​http://stanleygemmell.tumblr.com/post/94193114815/zeena-is-an-artist-activist-and-mystic-currently

A Message From Zeena:

"In celebration of Harvest Season and the coming Autumn Equinox, I am very happy to share with you a newly created fine art portrait of me as the Angel of Death by the very talented artist and friend Fabiano Gagliano.
All of Gagliano's works are timeless depictions of feminine beauty at its highest spiritual ideal (a phenomenon I've coined in my book Demons of the Flesh as “the Feminine Daemonic”). His style has been honed over decades and is refreshingly free of any distractions, distortions or irritations of modern art trends or references. The minimalist, streamlined presentation and choice of colors is confident yet sensitive and beautifully classical without clichés.  

"Aside from our mutual appreciation for the same aesthetics in traditional art, and our similar histories as graphic artists for publications and band art, Gagliano is also a long-time accomplished musician and has traversed a kindred musical path as I; it's through oblique music connections from our past bands that we came to know each other. So when he asked to do a new rendition of an established photo-portrait of me, I knew that in his case it was a perfect suggestion. Based on his art education, experience, intuition and instinct, he understood not only my personal tastes but the significance and layers of the symbolism in the portrait he proposed, as it relates to my life's work.

The Augustinian quote he chose to include in the portrait, says it all:
Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi. In interiore homine habitat veritas.
'Don't lose yourself with the outside; return within. Truth dwells inside the human heart.' (loosely translated)

This scripture could also be understood as the Method which leads to spiritual Enlightenment, known in many mystical traditions variously as: Primoridial Wisdom (Vajrayana Buddhism), the Gnostics understanding of Sophia, the Quest for the Holy Grail and the process of Internal Alchemy.


Thanks to Fabiano for his inner wisdom to “see” what many cannot see, and to hopefully inspire others to “see,” with all senses, the magic of feminine beauty in all of his works - and all of life as well...

~Omnia Vincit Amor~

~Zeena     "
___________
To see more of Fabiano Gagliano's work, visit his online sites at:
www.fabianogagliano.com 
https://www.instagram.com/fabiano_gagliano/
https://www.facebook.com/FabianoGaglianoArtPage/?pnref=lhc  
https://it.pinterest.com/fabiano777/ 

Music video clip from the Zeena Schreck/Radio Werewolf Archives: Concert footage from early 90s.
​More vintage Radio Werewolf from the Zeena Schreck/Nikolas Schreck European collaborative years will be featured regularly on this site and Zeena's YouTube channel.
Genre categories: #performanceart #postindustrial #soundscapes #experimentalmusic #avantgardemusic 
#darkambient #neoclassical #postpunk #darkwave #nikolasschreck #zeenaschreck

Milarepa mantra chanted during meditation by Zeena for CHÖKHOR DÜCHEN, 2017.
In the Buddhist tradition, today is celebrated as the first teaching given by the Buddha Shakyamuni after attaining Enlightement. Any mantras recited on this day accumulate the positive merit ten million times. 
During the day's mantra meditations, as Zeena chanted the Milarepa mantra, birds came to listen.
The Tibetan sage Milarepa, born nearly a thousand years ago, was a powerful black magician in Tibet who renounced his sorcery ways, dedicating himself to the Dharma teachings. As a result, he become fully enlightened in one lifetime.
Milarepa is not only a source of inspiration to Zeena, who has also followed a similarly extreme path in life, but it is also into his lineage that she is initiated by her heart lama H.E. Ayang Rinpoche, one of the yogi lineage holders who has maintained Milarepa's teachings in pure, undiluted and unbroken form. 
​
Gratitude to H.E. Ayang Rinpoche for the image of Milarepa, Vajradhara and Vajrayogini used at the beginning of the video and for his wisdom and compassion which are boundless.

To learn more about the magical life of Milarepa, visit this page. ​
http://www.thranguhk.org/buddhism/en_milarepa.html 

"After twenty six years, I'm thrilled to have just reconnected with the very dear Arnoldo Steiner, who was the event organizer of Radio Werewolf's final concert "The Zürich Experiment." He recently posted a collection of his images from that night and, with his permission, I'm featuring them in my Photo Gallery on my website as well.
My memories of the event are entirely positive and wonderful. Without a doubt, Arnoldo was the most gracious host I'd had in all of my music experiences.
Arnoldo has always had, and still does have, an Old World charm which one expects of the Goth sub-culture, but in recent years is often lacking. A true emanation of Shelley-Byron style Romanticism at its best. As a result, his events' decor, his personal presence and classic style had a positive influence on the Zürich Goth scene which, to my recollection, were an ideal audience that particular night! It's safe to say that Arnoldo has had a longstanding reputation as 'The Source' for such alternative entertainment as what Radio Werewolf represented. Best described in the advertizement of the Radio Werewolf performance he organized (also in English below):

' GOTHIC OPERA

The commitment to youth culture of Zurich's Arnoldo Steiner dates back to the 'Halbstarken' era of the 1960s [Halbstarken def: Americanization of post-WWII Europe via pop culture].
​In recent years, he has organized unusual gothic and rock parties, with fans from all over Switzerland. This will also be the case on 30 December, the day before New Year's Eve. For the first time, the cult group Radio Werewolf from L.A., based in Vienna, will perform in Switzerland. These prophesies of doom offer more than just an ordinary concert. Their performance is an opera, a ritual, a magical work of art. Before and after the midnight spectacle, the original -Big Apple- DJs Walky, Andy and Arnoldo will spin wave and gothic rock classics.'

It was wonderful to have had an organizer who not only totally got what we were doing musically, but also made everything so pleasant!  (In 1991, being a vegetarian was not an easy thing to add to the rider! )

Many thanks to Arnoldo for providing these images and fun memories from Radio Werewolf's past !"
~Zeena

Go to PHOTO GALLERY for the images from RADIO WEREWOLF's final concert courtesy of Arnoldo Steiner - thanks again Arnoldo !

A slideshow and video from the Summer Solstice ritual can be now be seen on the
NEW permanent feature 'Photo Gallery of Events and Activities' page of our website.
Click  on this link: 
http://www.zeenaschreck.com/photo-gallery.html

Video  clip of the ritual is below in this post.  

Thanks goes out to author Jamie Mason for posting this very thoughtful message in response to a correspondence he had with Zeena relating to his mother's recent death. Below you will find his kind message, and below that, the letter from Zeena to which he's responding.

If there are any other requests for blessings at next week's Summer Solstice ritual, please write clearly what the blessing is for (i.e., deceased being, or sick person or animal), briefly state what the purpose of the blessing is. They will be added to the ritual.-Om Ami Dewa Hri-
​
Jamie's message below:

The following is the email from Zeena to Jamie to which he refers:

Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2017 6:30 PM
Subject: Re: Letter to Zeena Schreck [pls. forward]

--[BEGIN]--
​Dear Jamie,
 
Thank you for your recent letter. I appreciate your explaining the complicated and challenging upbringing you surely experienced. 

For now, because of the timing, I will address the issue which first inspired you to write: 

I'm very sorry for what you are experiencing surrounding news of your estranged mother's death (which is now over a month ago) and the accompanying hostility from family. 

I understand and empathize with your mixed emotions about your mother's passing, a once in a lifetime experience. Such dysfunctional family situations are especially difficult at the time of death, when unexpected behavior among family inevitably arises and emotions are raw. 

Nonetheless, right now, your mother's consciousness is still wandering within the 49 day transition between this life and where she will take form next. Her Bardo phase will end approximately on June 29, so her consciousness is still able to perceive faint traces of this world, and connections to it, albeit it with more difficulty with each passing day. 

However, she can still be contacted. So it was very fortunate that you happened to make contact at this time and that the time coincided with this Summer Solstice ritual.

The mother-child bond is very revered within the Tibetan tantric practices and teachings. With applied focus techniques I've learned from my heart lamas (the old-school first-generation of exiled lamas), I will focus especially on the aspect of dissolving the karmic sources of pain and suffering on both of your sides so that there should be no clinging to resentments, animosities or hostilities. Such destructive emotions only cause worse problems for all concerned. There is nothing more she can do to you now. Now you are in a stronger position to be for her what she couldn't be for herself or others.

The part of the ritual where I do the blessings and release for the deceased will occur at roughtly 9:45PM CET, which would be about 12:45PM PST. It would be good if you could simultaneously perform whatever mind clearing meditation that you know, focusing on only peaceful thoughts. If it helps stabilize your visual field, and the mind from wandering, use the support of a white candle flame to gaze upon, allowing yourself to become relaxed within the warmth of the flame for several minutes, keeping the breath even and relaxed.

From that warmth, allow peaceful, loving thoughts to emanate for your mother, visualizing her perfected self, free of the defilements she had in worldly life. Then visualize her being absorbed within the Pure Light, released from cyclic suffering and uncontrollable rebirth. Try to not think but just experience non-judgmental loving-kindness. This is one reason why these practices are called "the Heroic Path." Because to emanate loving-kindness, especially to those who've hurt us most, requires a heroic constitution, carried out from a place of strength, understanding and compassion. 

May you have Peace within the Eye of the Storm,

Om Mani Padme Hum

Zeena
--[END]--

​Jamie Mason's books are available online and personal writings on his blog at ​https://jamiescribbles.wordpress.com/

NOW BACK IN STOCK: Designed by HEINZFELLER NILEISIST as a companion piece to the 84 page book-zine The Zaum of Zeena, by the same publisher, this t-shirt was first presented at the LA Art Book Fair last year and can be purchased on our site HERE!!!  Sizes in S, M, L & XL.  

FRANK HAINES: “I designed this shirt of Zeena as The High Priestess of Seth (which she is).
This is the first authorized Zeena shirt to exist (there have been a bunch of bootlegs) with proceeds actually going to her.
A more detailed description of the shirt as follows: 
'It's a magical talisman combining all the symbolism necessary to foster blissful union of the initiate's inner male-female erotic-war deity energies represented by Seth And His secret consort Inanna and presided over by their High Priestess in this era, Zeena.
The human mind is always at war with itself because the inner masculine-feminine polarities are not united but divided. As a result, the inner conflicts translate to outer destructive behavior and actions. ​Donning this article of clothing should be regarded as a ritual homage to the wearer's yet-to-be indestructible, non-dual state of perfect peace and spiritual completion 
​(Š-L-M ). A reminder that Liberation and Enlightenment comes when opposing forces become one.
For those not well versed in tantric practices, Gnosticism, ancient mythology and Magical Theurgy, it's also just a damn cool design to have in your collection!' 

SUPPORT FOR WORKS IN PROGRESS
Zeena is a self-funded, independent artist working entirely outside of conventional and mainstream art and music cliques.
Her livelihood and funding for current audio-visual projects rely on commissioned work, teaching, lecturing, performing, and fan-based support in sales of her previous work and donations. 

​COMMISSIONS & BOOKINGS
To book Zeena for music and sound art performances, or to commission her graphic art or photography, please write her agent at: info@zeena.eu.

DONATIONS:
If you would like to pledge your support towards the production costs involved in the various projects Zeena is currently creating and producing, please use the PayPal donation button below.

​Thank you for your support! 

EXCLUSIVE- Zeena will conduct a rare Summer Solstice Ritual and Blessing by the Sea in Italy: Open to the first 12 people to reserve their place. A teaching with guided practice and the possibility for individuals' questions answered are also included in the ritual event. More details below in Italian language, then followed by English.
Because of the very limited number of participants allowed, to reserve a space NOW use THIS PayPal Button:

ESCLUSIVO: Zeena guiderà un raro rituale Tantrico-Sethiano per il Solstizio d'estate con la benedizione del mare italiano, l'evento è limitato ad un gruppo di 12 persone. Durante la giornata saranno inclusi anche alcuni insegnamenti aggiuntivi con pratiche guidate. 
Seguono più dettagli.

* In sintonia con il lignaggio yogico del saggio buddhista tibetano Milarepa, a cui Zeena è iniziata, il tema dell'insegnamento sarà basato sulla consapevolezza intuitiva che il guru avrà al momento dell'insegnamento, e riguarderà quindi ciò che sarà più utile in quell'istante per i partecipanti. Per questo motivo,  il tema dell'insegnamento non potrà essere annunciato precedentemente. 

* L'insegnamento inizierà alle 15.30 ed includerà istruzioni sulla pratica dello yoga; verrà dedicato del tempo per fare in modo che i partecipanti siano guidati attraverso la pratica. 

* Ci sarà tempo per domande brevi e conseguenti risposte.

* Alle 18.00 dopo l'insegnamento, ci sarà un piccolo break per cenare. 

* Ognuno dovrebbe portare con sé il cibo che preferisce, non possiamo accontentare ognuno con dei piatti speciali. Ma ci saranno alcuni snack leggeri per tutti. Vi preghiamo di portare anche le bevande di cui avete bisogno. Per rimanere vigili durante l'insegnamento e il rituale, si chiede di astenersi dal bere alcolici finché non sia giunto a termine il tutto. 

* La pausa serale durerà approssimativamente tre ore. Durante questa pausa sarete liberi di andare fuori a passeggiare, parlare con gli altri, fermarvi o visitare la spiaggia. Ma per favore siate puntuali per il rituale che inizia alle 21. 

* Incontro privato con Zeena: se qualcuno ha domande personali sulla spiritualità o l'iniziazione, potrà farle durante la pausa serale. Quando farete il pagamento tramite PayPal siete pregati di far notare che volete anche parlare in privato, oppure rendetelo noto a un assistente durante il seminario.  

* Il rituale avrà inizio alle 21.00.

* Richieste di benedizione per sé stessi, per gli altri o per animali, potranno essere scritti sulla carta e dati a Zeena alla fine del rituale. 

* CHIUNQUE NON POSSA PARTECIPARE, MA VUOLE COMUNQUE CHE LA PROPRIA RICHIESTA DI BENEDIZIONE SIA INCLUSA ALLA FINE DEL RITUALE, è pregato di mandare solo il proprio nome OPPURE il nome della persona o dell'animale per cui è la benediIone a kch_info@yahoo.com. Scrivete chiaramente il motivo per cui chiedete la benedizione (es. esseri deceduti, persone malate o animali), oppure brevemente lo scopo per cui è la benedizione. PER FAVORE, NON LETTERE LUNGHE!!! Solo il nome e lo scopo. Sarà aggiunto al rituale. 

*L'evento si concluderà alle 22.00.

*Per domande rivolgersi a kch_info@yahoo.com . 

[FINE]

ENGLISH VERSION :

EXCLUSIVE: Zeena will conduct a rare Tantric Sethian Summer Solstice Ritual and Blessing by the Sea in Italy to a limited group of 12. Additional Teaching with guided practice also included. – more details below.

*In accordance with the yogic lineage of the Tibetan Buddhist sage Milarepa, from which Zeena is initiated, the theme of the teaching is based on the guru's intuitive understanding of what the participants need at the time of the teaching. Therefore, the theme of the teaching cannot yet be announced.

*The teaching begins at 15.30 which includes instructions of yogic practice plus time for participants to be guided through the practice.

*There will be time for short questions & answers afterwards.

*At 18.00, after the teaching, there will be an evening break.

*Everyone should bring their own preference of food, for themselves - we cannot accommodate each person's special food wishes. But there will be some light snacks for everyone. Please also bring your own drinks. To remain alert through the teaching and ritual, we ask that you to refrain from drinking alcohol until the teachings and ritual are over.

*The evening break is approximately three hours. During the evening break, you're free to go for a walk, talk with others, rest or visit the beach. But please be on time for the ritual which begins at 21.00.

*Private Meetings with Zeena: If anyone has spiritual or initiatory questions of a personal nature for Zeena, there will be time during the evening break to do that. When making your Paypal transaction, please note that you would like to speak privately, or mention it with one of the assistants at the seminar.

*The ritual will begin at 21.00.

​*Requests for blessings for yourself or others, or for pets/animals may be written on a paper and given to Zeena at the end of the ritual.

*ANYONE NOT ATTENDING, BUT WHO WOULD LIKE THEIR REQUESTS FOR BLESSINGS TO BE INCLUDED AT THE END OF THE RITUAL, please send only your name OR the name of the person or animal for whom the blessing is for to kch_info@yahoo.com. Write clearly what the blessing is for (i.e., deceased being, or sick person or animal), or briefly what the purpose of the blessing is. NO LONG LETTERS PLEASE!!! Just a name and purpose. They will be added to the ritual.

*The entire event concludes at 22.00.

*For any questions, contact kch_info@yahoo.com.

[END]