goat's head inside an inverted pentagram did not become the foremost symbol of Satanism until the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966. LaVey learned of this variant of the symbol after it had been reproduced on the front cover of Maurice Bessy's coffee table book, Pictorial History of Magic and the Supernatural. Feeling that this symbol embodied his philosophy, LaVey decided to adopt it for his Church. In its formative years, the church utilized this image on its membership cards, stationary, medallions and most notably above the altar in the ritual chamber of the Black House. During the writing of The Satanic Bible, it was decided that a unique version of the symbol should be rendered to be identified exclusively with the church. LaVey created a new version of Guaita's image, one which was geometrically precise, with two perfect circles surrounding the pentagram, the goat head redrawn, and the Hebrew lettering altered to look more serpentine. LaVey had this design copyrighted to the church, claiming authorship under the pseudonym of "Hugo Zorilla". In doing so, the symbol – which came to be known as the Sigil of Baphomet – came to be closely associated with Satanism in the public imagination. History Origins: 1966–72 Although there were forms of religious Satanism that predated the creation of LaVeyan Satanism—namely those propounded by Stanisław Przybyszewski and Ben Kadosh—these had no unbroken lineage of succession to LaVey's form. For this reason, the sociologist of religion Massimo Introvigne stated that "with few exceptions, LaVey is at the origins of all contemporary Satanism". Similarly, the historian Ruben van Luijk claimed that the creation of LaVeyan Satanism marked "the actual beginning of Satanism as a religion such as it is practiced in the world today". After he came to public attention, LaVey shielded much of his early life in secrecy, and little is known about it for certain. He had been born in Chicago as Howard Stanton Levey in either March or April 1930. He was of mixed Ukrainian, Russian, and German ancestry. He claimed to have worked in the circus and carnival in the years following the Second World War, and in later years, he also alleged that he worked at the San Francisco Orchestra, although this never existed. He also claimed to have had a relationship with a young Marilyn Monroe, although this too was untrue. By the 1960s he was living at