Blanche Barton (born Sharon Leigh ; October 1, 1961) is an American religious leader who is Magistra Templi Rex within the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House (Church of Satan), Black House in San Francisco, Cali ...

, and is addressed by Satanists as Magistra Barton.

Biography

Barton was raised in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California. She began a relationship with Church of Satan leader Anton LaVey in 1984 after he had separated from his companion of twenty-five years,

Diane Hegarty Diane Hegarty ( 1942 – July , 2022), was an American religious leader who, along with longtime partner Anton LaVey, co-founded the Church of Satan. Biography Hegarty, also known as Diane LaVey and Diana Hall, was born July 10, 1942. As well ...

. When Hegarty resigned from her role as Church of Satan High Priestess, LaVey bestowed the role and title to

Zeena LaVey Zeena Galatea Schreck (née LaVey), known professionally by her mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which she founded in 200 ...

(daughter of LaVey and Hegarty), who served from 1985–1990. In 1990 Zeena abdicated from the role of High Priestess and LaVey then bestowed the title to his eldest daughter,

Karla LaVey Karla Maritza LaVey (born July 31, 1952) is the daughter and eldest child of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey. She is an American radio host, former high priestess of her father's organization and founder and administrator of the First Satani ...

. Upon LaVey's death, on October 29, 1997 Barton claimed the role of High Priestess, although Karla LaVey had not abdicated her role as High Priestess. On November 7, 1997, Karla LaVey held a press conference to announce the death of her father Anton LaVey. It was at this time that Barton and Karla LaVey announced that they would run the Church of Satan as co-High Priestesses. Several days later Barton produced a hand written will claiming that LaVey had left all of his belongings, property, writings, and royalties, including the Church of Satan to be put in a trust, exclusively for Barton's son Satan Xerxes Carnacki LaVey (a.k.a. Ethan X. Clarke), managed by Barton. Karla contested this will in

San Francisco County Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the state superior court with jurisdiction over the City and County of San Francisco. History In 1976 the Court helped to create the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, a ...

and it was judged to be invalid. A

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

settlement was then reached in which Anton LaVey’s belongings,

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

and

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

would be split among his three children, Karla, Zeena and Xerxes, and that Barton would receive the “corporation known as Church of Satan.” After the Church of Satan as corporation was in Blanche Barton's control, Karla LaVey formed the First Satanic Church on October 31, 1999. In 1999 Barton led an unsuccessful campaign to raise $400,000 with which to repurchase the Black House, where many of the church's rites were performed. Barton remained High Priestess until April 30, 2002, when she appointed

Peggy Nadramia Peggy may refer to: People * Peggy (given name), people with the given name or nickname Arts and entertainment * ''Peggy'' (musical), a 1911 musical comedy by Stuart and Bovill * ''Peggy'' (album), a 1977 Peggy Lee album * ''Peggy'' (191 ...

as High Priestess and assumed Nadramia's previous role of Chair Mistress of the Council of Nine. Barton wrote '' The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion'' (1990), '' The Secret Life of a Satanist: The Authorized Biography of Anton LaVey'' (1990) and ''We are Satanists: The History and Future of the Church of Satan'' (2021).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Blanche 1961 births Living people 21st-century occultists American LaVeyan Satanists American occult writers American occultists Church of Satan People from San Diego