The Prince of Darkness Infused...
Satan (South, Fire), a Hebrew word meaning Adversary, Opposer and Accuser is often regarded as a Dark Force in nature, a force that is infused into all living creatures, He is the unseen motivator and the action of motivating. That which pushes everything into existence and pulls everything out, simultaneous push/pull, creation/destruction - Ouroboros, the Serpent devouring its tail while its body expands.
He isn't an anthropomorphic being that tempts man to "sin," of course "sin" in itself being a natural human predilection. The Christian doctrine perverts nature, it perverts what's natural, it preaches to abstain from our carnal nature and that the Devil tempts us to indulge. The one point up pentagram, once used as a symbol of Christianity with the five points representing the five wounds of Christ, represents nature on its head, divinity is anti-natural. Nietzsche was right on when he claimed the Christian church is hostile to life, it is!Satan, the Adversary to their views of abstinence, is the "hidden force" that motivates all life to follow their true nature -- it isn't resistance, it is natural and hence part of nature, "divinity in nature" - likewise the house of nature upright within the inverted pentagram. This is why He wins out, it is natural, it isn't anti-nature.
But, He is more than the archetype that Christians use to scapegoat. He has existed through Set in Egyptian theology, Pan through Greek polytheism, Shaytan (Shaitan) in Islam, Samael, and so on. These are the archetypes empowered through the collective unconscious that represent the ineffable Prince of Darkness, among others, they are archetypes empowered by belief itself, for belief is the most powerful magick of all. Peter Carroll chooses to call them archetypes contained within the collective etheric (collective unconscious) of the human race, as man has given essence to these archetypes with the power of his carnal mind. They are powers of the subconscious, man's inherent qualities and abilities, man's virtues, manifestations of man's externalized ego that man projected for his need to deify human qualities and abilities. These archetypes may be invoked, summoned, and/or resonated with at a certain level of consciousness to empower certain areas of the subconscious. A broad spectrum of psychological qualities can be attributed to each Daemon, and can be utilized accordingly for works of invocation. Invocation being, basically, full possession by a daemonic essence for illumination or divination, enchantment, cursing, so on and so forth. I don't believe in groveling and bowing before these gods, but rather forging a bond parapsychologically, a raport established with the daemon's resonance, to empower those abilities that operate beyond the veil of waking consciousness. It is the emotional excitement and subconscious link that the daemon provides. I don't, however, believe in praying to them and handing my sovereignty and independence over to them. They assist in empowering the individual, cultivating his ability to harness his magical power. As it has been said, there is none higher than the Self. In terms of evocation, generally I would apply that to the creation of elementals, or sub-personalities of the magician's psyche, to carry out enchantment and other magical tasks assigned.
The archetypes symbolize that Dark Force, which is infused into nature. SAT and TAN, being and becoming, the Darkness expanding and animating life. Satan is the Dark Force that motivates change, becoming on the part of a being - development and progression. He creates and destroys, molds and unmolds, and acts as the balancing factor. Personally I don't see Him as either good or evil, rather as both, the often referred to Goethe quote in which Satan is seen as willing evil, but doing good.
Why is this force known as "Dark"? The force which manifests through all life is dark because one cannot see it with their eyes. LaVey claimed that it was dark because it was hidden. And, it is. The word Satan has been corrupted by Christianity, all the while millions have died in the name of Christ, and none have died in the name of Satan! Without Satan to throw responsibility on, without devilizing old pagan gods, who would they go after? People won't find Satan in the Christian bible, they will find a certain perspective of Him, cloaked in Christian dogma. For years in the past the few that did practice the Black Arts had to live in secrecy, their practices had to be kept in secrecy for fear of persecution. With all the media's propaganda about Satanic activities, and the word Satan being shunned by a predominantly Christian society (obviously in some areas the dominant monotheistic view is Islam, but it is still transcendental BS) it is no wonder this Power has been hidden for so long.
To find Satan one must first experience Him, some consider invocation to be the highest form of worship. Witness the Dark Force manifest in nature, plant a few seeds and watch them grow, watch them change, watch them become (progression); watch them grow to be beautiful flowers. Satan is that Will to become, the Will to change, the Will to evolve. He is the spirit of carnality, He is animal nature, He is aggression, He is strength, He is man's struggle for individuality in a world of conformity -- He is the Adversary, and He is adversarialism in every Satanist that stands against oppression and control! I believe man is a Willed manifestation of the Prince of Darkness; Satan, Set, Pan, Baphomet, whatever you prefer to call Him, or even Her; Lilith, Babalon, correlating to the feminine attributes.
But, there is an element of Light. Not light forces as discussed in the Dark Doctrines, but as in Light bearer.
Lucifer (East, Air), a Roman god, who's name is Latin and literally means, "Light Bearer" (Lux - Light and Fero - To Bear). He is often regarded as the Angel of Light, and is synonymous with enlightenment. Lucifer is another aspect of the Prince of Darkness, He is spiritual evolution. Not Christian "spiritual," as it requires servitude, requires that the individual live his/her life to the Will of some god, heaven also implies a ceasing of evolution (end of the line), spiritual evolution doesn't end with life strumming harps or rediculous fire and brimestone, a perceived ending is but another beginning! It also strips man of his earthly and carnal heritage thereby stripping life of part of its vigor. Satan represents the flesh, carnality, animalistic nature; whereas Lucifer represents enlightenment, intelligence, rebellion, and pride. Luciferian "spirituality" doesn't rely on stripping man of his nature, but rather embraces his nature and his potential (godhood). Lucifer has infused the Black Flame that burns within all men and women, the breath of divinity. The Black Flame is referred to as the 'Atma' or 'breath of life' by the Dark Traditions - it is "black" because it cannot be seen, it must be felt. Yes, Lucifer is correlated with light, as His name suggests, but light emanates from within darkness.
"The Great Darkness IS THE LIGHT WHEN it is ANIMATING a living creature."
"The Light cannot exist alone: it is IN Darkness, within the Darkness from whence it came and into which it returns."
-Tani Jantsang
His rebellion against a tyrannical god in Christian mythology is a testament to His symbolic link to personal divinity and pride. A rebellion against the norm, against the collective herd, against the fad is the spirit of Lucifer, and to stand up for one's beliefs and reserve great pride in them is Luciferian spirit indeed. To strive for knowledge, pride in one's abilities and accomplishments, the Will to stand against conformity, tyranny, and opposition and declare personal sovereignty - That is Luciferian Spirit, and Luciferian Spirit breeds a powerful Will within the individual, so that he may shape life according to his Will - as opposed to having the individual's Will being absorbed, thus the individual becoming part of the collective borg.
There do exist other archetypal gods in various cultural paradigms that are similar to Lucifer in characteristics and qualities. One of which is the Egyptian god Sata, who is mythologically the god of lightning and also apparently fell to Earth. There is also Zu, a Babylonian god also symbolic of lightning, and likened to a flying serpent. In the Qua'ran of Islamic beliefs, Satan has two names, one mentioned earlier, Shaytan, but also Iblis who is more closely connected with the rebellion against tyranny, and hence Iblis is often correlated to Lucifer.
The Black Flame is man's personal divinity, Lucifer's Light which is used to explore the depths of Darkness. Satan and Lucifer, Darkness and Light, matter and spirit unified! But, darkness simply refers to that which is unseen or hidden and must be perceived through that inner Infernal light. Lucifer, in some traditions, represents the first isolate intelligence, which I regard as the Prince of Darkness altogether. He may also be found in witchcraft tradition. From the Great Darkness it is said that Diana divided herself into two equal forces, herself residing over night and Lucifer residing over day -- the sun, light. Generally Lucifer is also correlated to the higher aspects of man's consciousness, while Satan correlates to man as an animal upon this earth.
And, so you see, the Light infused by Lucifer provides illumination through which we may endeavor into the Darkness. Lucifer grants us the perception and enlightenment to cross into an unseen world and explore the depths within and without. Lucifer's Light is the Great Darkness animated and infused at the core of your being!
with the Light of Lucifer...
Table of Contents
Satanic Theism
As was stated above, Satanism is an anti-absolutist religion, it is individualistic, so by the same token beliefs vary greatly among us. Many modern Satanists these days are symbolic, more atheistic. But, that certainly doesn't mean we all are. LaVey's Satanic Bible was the first of its kind, and as is well known, the book itself doesn't refer to Satan as a literal being - as some theistic Satanists perceive Him, but it doesn't abolish such thought, and it certainly isn't atheist. Besides the symbolism, it refers to Satan as a dark force hidden in nature, hidden because no man or religion has taken them out of the darkness - as LaVey describes. This point of view is similar to the Dark Doctrines which also describe Satan as a Dark Force in nature - The Dark Doctrines by Tani Jantsang which is popular among theistic Satanists.
"It is a popular misconception that the Satanist does not believe in God."
"To the Satanist 'God' - by whatever name he is called, or by no name at all - is seen as the balancing factor in nature, and not as being concerned with suffering."
-Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible.
Satan is the name attributed to a force which literally exists. Albeit, there are many theistic Satanists out there that perceive Satan as a sentient anthropomorphic being, the above description is more impersonal, but still not atheistic! Satan is the Archetype, among others who take the Adversary form throughout the centuries, the Satanist chooses to name this force, because of its characteristics - Many see the force as willing us to follow our nature - some may misconstrue that as "tempting" to sin if they view our nature as "sinful." Unlike Jehova, Satan is a god who'd rather see His own prosper in the land of the living, using our desires as trumpets of ambition and motivation. Many do perceive Him as a balancing factor, in totality as the Prince (or Princess) of Darkness containing two fundamental principles: Feminine and Masculine (Passive and Active), which is characterized by Lilith and Satan, Diana and Lucifer, or even Nuit and Hadit if you prefer Egyptian symbolism. It is a balancing factor in that this paradoxically non-dualistic force is both creative and destructive, light and dark, beautiful and terrible, it is ineffable to the dualistic human mind because it reconciles the opposites into balance instead of opposing each other. In Ophite traditions this force is symbolized by a serpent devouring its own tail (refer to Baphomet page), symbolizing creation/destruction. The two primary concepts mentioned in the Dark Doctrines which make up this force are SAT (the being), which is the Boundless Darkness, and TAN (becoming, progressing, stretching forth), how that Darkness is infused into each living creature, The Dark Doctrines also stipulate that this force manifests itself as the Will of the being. The force expands and creates the universe as it dissolves it, this is exemplified by the quantam physics theory that the actual amount of energy and matter in the universe is always constant - but the universe is in a state of constant change, thus the Dark Force balances by creating and dissolving simultaneously, manifesting as change. You see, what we perceive as the Dark Creative Essence is just that, the Creator must be the sum of its parts, containing all opposites and the totality of the universe itself - a Creator is also a Destroyer, willing all things to change and evolution.
If "God" created the universe and the world, then he created everything in it and of it, including "evil." The ignorant Christians and other RHPers assert that "God" (Jehova to them) is all good, but the true God (The One, exemplified by the PoD through Satan) couldn't be put into such dualistic terms - to the Satanist, "God" (the PoD) is incomprehensible and ineffable from the perspective of human duality, He is whole, the One, containing ALL things of the universe, reconciling all opposites - thus He is inconceivable from a dualist perspective, the "all-loving" Christian martyr/god is an altruist's wet dream - and not indicative of the creative/desctructive forces at work. In Pagan religions of past, before they were persecuted by Christians, the horned nature gods represented this force, the two horns representing the reconciliation of the opposites - horned gods such as Pan, Cernunnos, Baphomet, and Dionysus - whom, in modern times have become known as Satan - The God of Liberation, because Christianity just had to demonize Nature itself, hence Satan is the modern Prince of Nature (The Pagans personified internal forces within man and external forces they saw in Nature itself as gods, they created an entire pantheon of gods relating to these facets). Conventional religious theology, on the other hand, personifies each of the man-made moral perspectives (good and evil) as absolutes, each one opposing one another. They apply their dualism to the universe, with nature divided against divinity, creation divided against itself, with the intent of separating man from his nature, and his divinity by essence - but creation couldn't be divided against itself, this theology is not based on "absolute holy law," but rather is the result of their dualism and unability to see beyond it. Human constructs created out of the mind's need to pair things cannot be used to describe forces and intelligences that are beyond human duality - obviously Christians aren't the only ignorant parties triumphing such tripe! The Satanist doesn't dualize the PoD, he realizes that the human brain is only equipped to detect contrast, which is why "good" and "evil" were created by the human mind itself - he realizes that the definition of god cannot be based upon such human constructs and that indeed "God" (the PoD) is beyond such categorization - He is good AND evil, creative AND destructive, love and hate, and morality is of no consequence, for it was created by the human mind! It isn't morality that separates us from the divine within our Selves, no, it is ignorance, the one TRUE SIN.
The Satan Archetype itself is more than a symbol as well, though. As has been elaborated, Satan has existed independently of Christianity for thousands of years - He was the manifestation of Horned Gods of past turned devils by Christianity. Millions have believed in Him, in some image of Him - be it Set, Pan, Dionysus, or whatever! Belief is a mechanism which empowers, when someone truly believes in something it becomes a reality - a non-physicaly reality, a thought-form which has the potential to shape physical (causal) reality. All the more power if a mass of people believe in the same concept, archetype, idea, or whatever the case. It forms what is known to some as, "Agreed Upon Realities," or sometimes a egregore. Satan, all the other Daemons aligned with Him and all the gods of every mythology certainly exist, because man has created these gods to symbolize primal forces within himself and within the universe (Man as the microcosmic replica of the macrocosm - the universe) and empowered these once thought-forms turned god-forms by his carnal mind and the power of his unconscious. This formed etheric resonances once projected into the Collective Unconscious, that aspect of humanity which connects us all, containing all primordial images, god-forms, and archetypes. It is accessible to any human being at anytime (information emittence, ether - refer to Satanic Magick page). Therefore, Satan and other Daemons of Darkness are accessible to the Satanist at any time for inspiration and empowerment (through invocation, meditation, ect), and a means of approaching the Prince of Darkness, known to us as the Dark Creative Essence from which life has sprung and shall return (eg: sex and death, that which creates life also dissolves it), which is characterized by these gods (not by one god opposing another). The Satanist is able to resonate with the god-form known as Satan and others so that they may manifest their power through him. This is a very profound psychological effect using the power of belief itself. Beliefs shouldn't be used to restrict, but rather to empower the individual, this is one of the most valuable messages of CMT (Chaos Magic Theory).
Ritual serves as a means to implant various beliefs and manipulate them, but it is not the only means. The reason why we've chosen Satan and His minions should be quite obvious, they are the patron gods of the Left-Hand Path, they exemplify ideals, ideas, concepts, and a way of life altogether that the Satanist chooses to identify with and encorporate into his or her life. He invokes with a dark fiery passion, and is intoxicatingly inspired and transformed by the Powers of Darkness. It is also up to the Satanist to stand as an Adversary to popular cult beliefs and traditions, Satan's very name means Adversary, Opposer, and Accuser. He has always represented a rebellion against the "norm," and has always stood as an Accuser of the unjust and rotten. Lucifer should not be ignored here, as He is an integral piece - the contrast and connection between He and Satan as the PoD collectively is discussed in The Prince of Darkness Infused essay. As is stated in that essay, some perceive Lucifer as the first isolate intelligence (representing the PoD in this form) of the universe - this relates to the symbolism from the parable in Christian mythology where He led a rebellion against tyranny and became Self-aware, became the Prince of Pride - pride being a Satanic virtue, and Self-awareness being a goal of the Satanist and generally the LHP practitioner altogether - the first isolate intelligence is the first "thing" to be aware of itself and its existence. Lucifer is also the god of enlightenment, it is through Lucifer that the PoD speaks to His own and teaches. The Luciferian Satanist goes further than the typical modern symbolic Satanist in that he forges a bond with Lucifer through Gnosis, and it is through this "Knowing" (the Gnosis) that enlightenment and knowledge is gained. So, although Satan is the main god-form the Satanist identifies with, it must also be noted that Lucifer is another aspect of the PoD, separate yet united, just as all the Daemons of the LHP are manifestations of the PoD in some form. The Daemons of the LHP, in many instances, being modern personifications of the Old Ones - predating Christianity, Judea, Islam and all the other conventional world religions of the modern day.
Lucifer is a God of Liberation - He unties the tangled psychological mess that conventional religions can cause and liberates the practitioner from the harm that can be caused by this, essentially emanicipating his spirit from the decadence (decaying life) which has befallen it. This is actually, as will be noted on the Satanic Rites page, one of the main purposes of the Black Mass - to liberate the practitioner's entire being through a ceremonial. Luciferian Satanism has always been about personal liberation, and the liberation of the individual's godhood and his potential so that he may raise his Self to the highest. World religions repress this, they don't believe in liberation, no they believe in psychological, fleshly, AND spiritual imprisonment and indoctrination.
After all this talk of theism, the question of worship comes up. There are those Satanists who do worship Satan, in some form, if not just taking His name as a part of themselves - many of us more. BUT, there is an important fundamental in Satanism and the Left-Hand Path and this of the Self. As has been noted, Satanism is a religion of the Self, it deifies the Self, it's philosophy asserts that each individual is in control of their own destiny, nothing is set in stone, no external gods governing it - the PoD is chaos manifesting as order, the nature of the reality in which this force has created is probabilistic - man has the ability to determine his own future. Through the application of the Satanic philosophy and magickal principles the practitioner aspires to elevating his Self to godhood through various Satanic rites and rituals and the modifying of his Self in accordance with his Will. To the Satanist, each man and woman is inherently divine, with a "spark of divinity" infused at the core of their being, it is the Satanist who wishes to cultivate this BLACK FLAME, or ATMA - as the Dark Doctrines put it. The Satanist becomes his or her own god/dess, and in doing so takes responsibility for his or her own actions as he or she knows well that it is the choices he or she makes that determines the outcome - action and reaction, no scapegoat.
As opposed to the popular, cult-conformist driven altruist morality of RHP religions, the path of Satanism (LHP) incorporates what LaVey called "controlled Selfishness," or as Ayn Rand put it, "rational Self-interest." The Satanist knows well that all acts return to the Self, even acts of compassion. In other words, ultimately everything you do is for your Self, even if it is helping someone else. You are helping that other person because a) you care about them and thus it makes you feel good to do so, or b) out of sheer pitty like an altruist, but what they don't understand is that they are doing it for themselves, making themselves feel good.
In Satanism, one is to seek their own advantage. Strength is virtuous, and weakness is a sin by all means. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't show compassion to those who have shown them compassion, it goes both way, balance!... The PoD, in the form of Lucifer and Satan, is the god of Self. He inspires us to aspire to godhood, to carve out our own path, to indulge our Selves, and to cultivate a Will that nothing will break. Just as Lucifer, in Christian mythology, exerted His Will - thus creating His own Kingdom, instead of submitting to the tyrannical Jehova.
In other words, in Satanism and the LHP, the Self is deified. It isn't trodden under primitive morality, or martyrdom, no, the Self is raised to the highest plateau of human existence and hailed!
Satan (South, Fire), a Hebrew word meaning Adversary, Opposer and Accuser is often regarded as a Dark Force in nature, a force that is infused into all living creatures, He is the unseen motivator and the action of motivating. That which pushes everything into existence and pulls everything out, simultaneous push/pull, creation/destruction - Ouroboros, the Serpent devouring its tail while its body expands.
He isn't an anthropomorphic being that tempts man to "sin," of course "sin" in itself being a natural human predilection. The Christian doctrine perverts nature, it perverts what's natural, it preaches to abstain from our carnal nature and that the Devil tempts us to indulge. The one point up pentagram, once used as a symbol of Christianity with the five points representing the five wounds of Christ, represents nature on its head, divinity is anti-natural. Nietzsche was right on when he claimed the Christian church is hostile to life, it is!Satan, the Adversary to their views of abstinence, is the "hidden force" that motivates all life to follow their true nature -- it isn't resistance, it is natural and hence part of nature, "divinity in nature" - likewise the house of nature upright within the inverted pentagram. This is why He wins out, it is natural, it isn't anti-nature.
But, He is more than the archetype that Christians use to scapegoat. He has existed through Set in Egyptian theology, Pan through Greek polytheism, Shaytan (Shaitan) in Islam, Samael, and so on. These are the archetypes empowered through the collective unconscious that represent the ineffable Prince of Darkness, among others, they are archetypes empowered by belief itself, for belief is the most powerful magick of all. Peter Carroll chooses to call them archetypes contained within the collective etheric (collective unconscious) of the human race, as man has given essence to these archetypes with the power of his carnal mind. They are powers of the subconscious, man's inherent qualities and abilities, man's virtues, manifestations of man's externalized ego that man projected for his need to deify human qualities and abilities. These archetypes may be invoked, summoned, and/or resonated with at a certain level of consciousness to empower certain areas of the subconscious. A broad spectrum of psychological qualities can be attributed to each Daemon, and can be utilized accordingly for works of invocation. Invocation being, basically, full possession by a daemonic essence for illumination or divination, enchantment, cursing, so on and so forth. I don't believe in groveling and bowing before these gods, but rather forging a bond parapsychologically, a raport established with the daemon's resonance, to empower those abilities that operate beyond the veil of waking consciousness. It is the emotional excitement and subconscious link that the daemon provides. I don't, however, believe in praying to them and handing my sovereignty and independence over to them. They assist in empowering the individual, cultivating his ability to harness his magical power. As it has been said, there is none higher than the Self. In terms of evocation, generally I would apply that to the creation of elementals, or sub-personalities of the magician's psyche, to carry out enchantment and other magical tasks assigned.
The archetypes symbolize that Dark Force, which is infused into nature. SAT and TAN, being and becoming, the Darkness expanding and animating life. Satan is the Dark Force that motivates change, becoming on the part of a being - development and progression. He creates and destroys, molds and unmolds, and acts as the balancing factor. Personally I don't see Him as either good or evil, rather as both, the often referred to Goethe quote in which Satan is seen as willing evil, but doing good.
Why is this force known as "Dark"? The force which manifests through all life is dark because one cannot see it with their eyes. LaVey claimed that it was dark because it was hidden. And, it is. The word Satan has been corrupted by Christianity, all the while millions have died in the name of Christ, and none have died in the name of Satan! Without Satan to throw responsibility on, without devilizing old pagan gods, who would they go after? People won't find Satan in the Christian bible, they will find a certain perspective of Him, cloaked in Christian dogma. For years in the past the few that did practice the Black Arts had to live in secrecy, their practices had to be kept in secrecy for fear of persecution. With all the media's propaganda about Satanic activities, and the word Satan being shunned by a predominantly Christian society (obviously in some areas the dominant monotheistic view is Islam, but it is still transcendental BS) it is no wonder this Power has been hidden for so long.
To find Satan one must first experience Him, some consider invocation to be the highest form of worship. Witness the Dark Force manifest in nature, plant a few seeds and watch them grow, watch them change, watch them become (progression); watch them grow to be beautiful flowers. Satan is that Will to become, the Will to change, the Will to evolve. He is the spirit of carnality, He is animal nature, He is aggression, He is strength, He is man's struggle for individuality in a world of conformity -- He is the Adversary, and He is adversarialism in every Satanist that stands against oppression and control! I believe man is a Willed manifestation of the Prince of Darkness; Satan, Set, Pan, Baphomet, whatever you prefer to call Him, or even Her; Lilith, Babalon, correlating to the feminine attributes.
But, there is an element of Light. Not light forces as discussed in the Dark Doctrines, but as in Light bearer.
Lucifer (East, Air), a Roman god, who's name is Latin and literally means, "Light Bearer" (Lux - Light and Fero - To Bear). He is often regarded as the Angel of Light, and is synonymous with enlightenment. Lucifer is another aspect of the Prince of Darkness, He is spiritual evolution. Not Christian "spiritual," as it requires servitude, requires that the individual live his/her life to the Will of some god, heaven also implies a ceasing of evolution (end of the line), spiritual evolution doesn't end with life strumming harps or rediculous fire and brimestone, a perceived ending is but another beginning! It also strips man of his earthly and carnal heritage thereby stripping life of part of its vigor. Satan represents the flesh, carnality, animalistic nature; whereas Lucifer represents enlightenment, intelligence, rebellion, and pride. Luciferian "spirituality" doesn't rely on stripping man of his nature, but rather embraces his nature and his potential (godhood). Lucifer has infused the Black Flame that burns within all men and women, the breath of divinity. The Black Flame is referred to as the 'Atma' or 'breath of life' by the Dark Traditions - it is "black" because it cannot be seen, it must be felt. Yes, Lucifer is correlated with light, as His name suggests, but light emanates from within darkness.
"The Great Darkness IS THE LIGHT WHEN it is ANIMATING a living creature."
"The Light cannot exist alone: it is IN Darkness, within the Darkness from whence it came and into which it returns."
-Tani Jantsang
His rebellion against a tyrannical god in Christian mythology is a testament to His symbolic link to personal divinity and pride. A rebellion against the norm, against the collective herd, against the fad is the spirit of Lucifer, and to stand up for one's beliefs and reserve great pride in them is Luciferian spirit indeed. To strive for knowledge, pride in one's abilities and accomplishments, the Will to stand against conformity, tyranny, and opposition and declare personal sovereignty - That is Luciferian Spirit, and Luciferian Spirit breeds a powerful Will within the individual, so that he may shape life according to his Will - as opposed to having the individual's Will being absorbed, thus the individual becoming part of the collective borg.
There do exist other archetypal gods in various cultural paradigms that are similar to Lucifer in characteristics and qualities. One of which is the Egyptian god Sata, who is mythologically the god of lightning and also apparently fell to Earth. There is also Zu, a Babylonian god also symbolic of lightning, and likened to a flying serpent. In the Qua'ran of Islamic beliefs, Satan has two names, one mentioned earlier, Shaytan, but also Iblis who is more closely connected with the rebellion against tyranny, and hence Iblis is often correlated to Lucifer.
The Black Flame is man's personal divinity, Lucifer's Light which is used to explore the depths of Darkness. Satan and Lucifer, Darkness and Light, matter and spirit unified! But, darkness simply refers to that which is unseen or hidden and must be perceived through that inner Infernal light. Lucifer, in some traditions, represents the first isolate intelligence, which I regard as the Prince of Darkness altogether. He may also be found in witchcraft tradition. From the Great Darkness it is said that Diana divided herself into two equal forces, herself residing over night and Lucifer residing over day -- the sun, light. Generally Lucifer is also correlated to the higher aspects of man's consciousness, while Satan correlates to man as an animal upon this earth.
And, so you see, the Light infused by Lucifer provides illumination through which we may endeavor into the Darkness. Lucifer grants us the perception and enlightenment to cross into an unseen world and explore the depths within and without. Lucifer's Light is the Great Darkness animated and infused at the core of your being!
with the Light of Lucifer...
Table of Contents
Satanic Theism
As was stated above, Satanism is an anti-absolutist religion, it is individualistic, so by the same token beliefs vary greatly among us. Many modern Satanists these days are symbolic, more atheistic. But, that certainly doesn't mean we all are. LaVey's Satanic Bible was the first of its kind, and as is well known, the book itself doesn't refer to Satan as a literal being - as some theistic Satanists perceive Him, but it doesn't abolish such thought, and it certainly isn't atheist. Besides the symbolism, it refers to Satan as a dark force hidden in nature, hidden because no man or religion has taken them out of the darkness - as LaVey describes. This point of view is similar to the Dark Doctrines which also describe Satan as a Dark Force in nature - The Dark Doctrines by Tani Jantsang which is popular among theistic Satanists.
"It is a popular misconception that the Satanist does not believe in God."
"To the Satanist 'God' - by whatever name he is called, or by no name at all - is seen as the balancing factor in nature, and not as being concerned with suffering."
-Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible.
Satan is the name attributed to a force which literally exists. Albeit, there are many theistic Satanists out there that perceive Satan as a sentient anthropomorphic being, the above description is more impersonal, but still not atheistic! Satan is the Archetype, among others who take the Adversary form throughout the centuries, the Satanist chooses to name this force, because of its characteristics - Many see the force as willing us to follow our nature - some may misconstrue that as "tempting" to sin if they view our nature as "sinful." Unlike Jehova, Satan is a god who'd rather see His own prosper in the land of the living, using our desires as trumpets of ambition and motivation. Many do perceive Him as a balancing factor, in totality as the Prince (or Princess) of Darkness containing two fundamental principles: Feminine and Masculine (Passive and Active), which is characterized by Lilith and Satan, Diana and Lucifer, or even Nuit and Hadit if you prefer Egyptian symbolism. It is a balancing factor in that this paradoxically non-dualistic force is both creative and destructive, light and dark, beautiful and terrible, it is ineffable to the dualistic human mind because it reconciles the opposites into balance instead of opposing each other. In Ophite traditions this force is symbolized by a serpent devouring its own tail (refer to Baphomet page), symbolizing creation/destruction. The two primary concepts mentioned in the Dark Doctrines which make up this force are SAT (the being), which is the Boundless Darkness, and TAN (becoming, progressing, stretching forth), how that Darkness is infused into each living creature, The Dark Doctrines also stipulate that this force manifests itself as the Will of the being. The force expands and creates the universe as it dissolves it, this is exemplified by the quantam physics theory that the actual amount of energy and matter in the universe is always constant - but the universe is in a state of constant change, thus the Dark Force balances by creating and dissolving simultaneously, manifesting as change. You see, what we perceive as the Dark Creative Essence is just that, the Creator must be the sum of its parts, containing all opposites and the totality of the universe itself - a Creator is also a Destroyer, willing all things to change and evolution.
If "God" created the universe and the world, then he created everything in it and of it, including "evil." The ignorant Christians and other RHPers assert that "God" (Jehova to them) is all good, but the true God (The One, exemplified by the PoD through Satan) couldn't be put into such dualistic terms - to the Satanist, "God" (the PoD) is incomprehensible and ineffable from the perspective of human duality, He is whole, the One, containing ALL things of the universe, reconciling all opposites - thus He is inconceivable from a dualist perspective, the "all-loving" Christian martyr/god is an altruist's wet dream - and not indicative of the creative/desctructive forces at work. In Pagan religions of past, before they were persecuted by Christians, the horned nature gods represented this force, the two horns representing the reconciliation of the opposites - horned gods such as Pan, Cernunnos, Baphomet, and Dionysus - whom, in modern times have become known as Satan - The God of Liberation, because Christianity just had to demonize Nature itself, hence Satan is the modern Prince of Nature (The Pagans personified internal forces within man and external forces they saw in Nature itself as gods, they created an entire pantheon of gods relating to these facets). Conventional religious theology, on the other hand, personifies each of the man-made moral perspectives (good and evil) as absolutes, each one opposing one another. They apply their dualism to the universe, with nature divided against divinity, creation divided against itself, with the intent of separating man from his nature, and his divinity by essence - but creation couldn't be divided against itself, this theology is not based on "absolute holy law," but rather is the result of their dualism and unability to see beyond it. Human constructs created out of the mind's need to pair things cannot be used to describe forces and intelligences that are beyond human duality - obviously Christians aren't the only ignorant parties triumphing such tripe! The Satanist doesn't dualize the PoD, he realizes that the human brain is only equipped to detect contrast, which is why "good" and "evil" were created by the human mind itself - he realizes that the definition of god cannot be based upon such human constructs and that indeed "God" (the PoD) is beyond such categorization - He is good AND evil, creative AND destructive, love and hate, and morality is of no consequence, for it was created by the human mind! It isn't morality that separates us from the divine within our Selves, no, it is ignorance, the one TRUE SIN.
The Satan Archetype itself is more than a symbol as well, though. As has been elaborated, Satan has existed independently of Christianity for thousands of years - He was the manifestation of Horned Gods of past turned devils by Christianity. Millions have believed in Him, in some image of Him - be it Set, Pan, Dionysus, or whatever! Belief is a mechanism which empowers, when someone truly believes in something it becomes a reality - a non-physicaly reality, a thought-form which has the potential to shape physical (causal) reality. All the more power if a mass of people believe in the same concept, archetype, idea, or whatever the case. It forms what is known to some as, "Agreed Upon Realities," or sometimes a egregore. Satan, all the other Daemons aligned with Him and all the gods of every mythology certainly exist, because man has created these gods to symbolize primal forces within himself and within the universe (Man as the microcosmic replica of the macrocosm - the universe) and empowered these once thought-forms turned god-forms by his carnal mind and the power of his unconscious. This formed etheric resonances once projected into the Collective Unconscious, that aspect of humanity which connects us all, containing all primordial images, god-forms, and archetypes. It is accessible to any human being at anytime (information emittence, ether - refer to Satanic Magick page). Therefore, Satan and other Daemons of Darkness are accessible to the Satanist at any time for inspiration and empowerment (through invocation, meditation, ect), and a means of approaching the Prince of Darkness, known to us as the Dark Creative Essence from which life has sprung and shall return (eg: sex and death, that which creates life also dissolves it), which is characterized by these gods (not by one god opposing another). The Satanist is able to resonate with the god-form known as Satan and others so that they may manifest their power through him. This is a very profound psychological effect using the power of belief itself. Beliefs shouldn't be used to restrict, but rather to empower the individual, this is one of the most valuable messages of CMT (Chaos Magic Theory).
Ritual serves as a means to implant various beliefs and manipulate them, but it is not the only means. The reason why we've chosen Satan and His minions should be quite obvious, they are the patron gods of the Left-Hand Path, they exemplify ideals, ideas, concepts, and a way of life altogether that the Satanist chooses to identify with and encorporate into his or her life. He invokes with a dark fiery passion, and is intoxicatingly inspired and transformed by the Powers of Darkness. It is also up to the Satanist to stand as an Adversary to popular cult beliefs and traditions, Satan's very name means Adversary, Opposer, and Accuser. He has always represented a rebellion against the "norm," and has always stood as an Accuser of the unjust and rotten. Lucifer should not be ignored here, as He is an integral piece - the contrast and connection between He and Satan as the PoD collectively is discussed in The Prince of Darkness Infused essay. As is stated in that essay, some perceive Lucifer as the first isolate intelligence (representing the PoD in this form) of the universe - this relates to the symbolism from the parable in Christian mythology where He led a rebellion against tyranny and became Self-aware, became the Prince of Pride - pride being a Satanic virtue, and Self-awareness being a goal of the Satanist and generally the LHP practitioner altogether - the first isolate intelligence is the first "thing" to be aware of itself and its existence. Lucifer is also the god of enlightenment, it is through Lucifer that the PoD speaks to His own and teaches. The Luciferian Satanist goes further than the typical modern symbolic Satanist in that he forges a bond with Lucifer through Gnosis, and it is through this "Knowing" (the Gnosis) that enlightenment and knowledge is gained. So, although Satan is the main god-form the Satanist identifies with, it must also be noted that Lucifer is another aspect of the PoD, separate yet united, just as all the Daemons of the LHP are manifestations of the PoD in some form. The Daemons of the LHP, in many instances, being modern personifications of the Old Ones - predating Christianity, Judea, Islam and all the other conventional world religions of the modern day.
Lucifer is a God of Liberation - He unties the tangled psychological mess that conventional religions can cause and liberates the practitioner from the harm that can be caused by this, essentially emanicipating his spirit from the decadence (decaying life) which has befallen it. This is actually, as will be noted on the Satanic Rites page, one of the main purposes of the Black Mass - to liberate the practitioner's entire being through a ceremonial. Luciferian Satanism has always been about personal liberation, and the liberation of the individual's godhood and his potential so that he may raise his Self to the highest. World religions repress this, they don't believe in liberation, no they believe in psychological, fleshly, AND spiritual imprisonment and indoctrination.
After all this talk of theism, the question of worship comes up. There are those Satanists who do worship Satan, in some form, if not just taking His name as a part of themselves - many of us more. BUT, there is an important fundamental in Satanism and the Left-Hand Path and this of the Self. As has been noted, Satanism is a religion of the Self, it deifies the Self, it's philosophy asserts that each individual is in control of their own destiny, nothing is set in stone, no external gods governing it - the PoD is chaos manifesting as order, the nature of the reality in which this force has created is probabilistic - man has the ability to determine his own future. Through the application of the Satanic philosophy and magickal principles the practitioner aspires to elevating his Self to godhood through various Satanic rites and rituals and the modifying of his Self in accordance with his Will. To the Satanist, each man and woman is inherently divine, with a "spark of divinity" infused at the core of their being, it is the Satanist who wishes to cultivate this BLACK FLAME, or ATMA - as the Dark Doctrines put it. The Satanist becomes his or her own god/dess, and in doing so takes responsibility for his or her own actions as he or she knows well that it is the choices he or she makes that determines the outcome - action and reaction, no scapegoat.
As opposed to the popular, cult-conformist driven altruist morality of RHP religions, the path of Satanism (LHP) incorporates what LaVey called "controlled Selfishness," or as Ayn Rand put it, "rational Self-interest." The Satanist knows well that all acts return to the Self, even acts of compassion. In other words, ultimately everything you do is for your Self, even if it is helping someone else. You are helping that other person because a) you care about them and thus it makes you feel good to do so, or b) out of sheer pitty like an altruist, but what they don't understand is that they are doing it for themselves, making themselves feel good.
In Satanism, one is to seek their own advantage. Strength is virtuous, and weakness is a sin by all means. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't show compassion to those who have shown them compassion, it goes both way, balance!... The PoD, in the form of Lucifer and Satan, is the god of Self. He inspires us to aspire to godhood, to carve out our own path, to indulge our Selves, and to cultivate a Will that nothing will break. Just as Lucifer, in Christian mythology, exerted His Will - thus creating His own Kingdom, instead of submitting to the tyrannical Jehova.
In other words, in Satanism and the LHP, the Self is deified. It isn't trodden under primitive morality, or martyrdom, no, the Self is raised to the highest plateau of human existence and hailed!
