Proclaimed an American national holiday four years ago, the Church of Satan celebrates independence, sovereignty, and emancipation from imposed servitude on this Juneteenth, 2025. Our unique banner design for this holiday, a variation rendered by myself, includes 19 vertices between the two stars, to mark the date, while the central star is inverted to symbolize our carnal philosophy, which has always championed liberty and individualism.
As has become my tradition on this holiday, I point out notable music by African American composers that I believe you will find intriguing.
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer who wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie. A child prodigy on the piano, at age seven she began performing publicly in Pittsburgh and was known as “The Little Piano Girl.” She became a full professional musician at age 15.
Williams composed her Zodiac Suite between 1942 and 1945, with each movement, following a very brief introduction, named after one of the 12 signs of the zodiac under which a friend or performer had been born. It is a notable early work blending classical and jazz styles and set a style that became more widely adopted by jazz composers and arrangers in the 1950s. I will link to recordings of each sign, by the Umlaut Chamber Orchestra conducted by Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, so that you may select which sign you might like to sample—they are brief, none reach 5 minutes in length.
I. Introduction, II. Aries, III. Taurus, IV. Gemini, V. Cancer, VI. Leo, VII. Virgo, VIII. Libra, IX. Scorpio, X. Sagittarius, XI. Capricorn, XII. Aquarius, XIII. Pisces.
As is essential to our religion, here’s to celebrating self-determination—Hail Freedom!
—Magus Peter H. Gilmore