orogoturi:

Forms of Satanism around the world – Part 1

I. The Satanic Temple

The Satanic Temple is an organization that probably wouldn’t fit most people’s idea of what a Satanist is. After all, their goals are to “encourage benevolence and empathy” and “embrace practical common sense and justice.” Much like Anton LaVey’s version of Satanism, the Satanic Temple doesn’t actually believe in or worship Satan. They see him as a symbol—a rebellious figure against tyranny and authority.

Regardless of their lack of belief, the Satanic Temple considers itself to be a religion and believes that religion should be based on science and critical thinking rather than supernatural or superstitious claims. To them, Satanism provides them with everything that a religion should provide—a sense of identity, symbolic practices, and a community of those with similar beliefs.

The Satanic Temple has gained notoriety by pushing the boundaries of free speech and having a go at fundamentalist Christians. The group is most famous for trying to erect a statue of Baphomet in Detroit because the city had approved a statue of the Ten Commandments. The logic was that if Christians were allowed to publicly profess their religion, then they should, as well.

After the Hobby Lobby decision, which allows religious organizations to opt out of providing birth control, the Satanic Temple decided to use their own status as a religion to challenge US laws. They claimed that “informed consent” laws, which require doctors to share state-approved information to a woman before she has an abortion, violate their religious beliefsbecause some of the shared information has been deemed unscientific by the members

The Satanic Temple also held a “Pink Mass” in 2013 at the grave site of Fred Phelps’s mother. Phelps is the head of the Westboro Baptist Church, an extremist Christian group that is notorious for their opposition to homosexuality. The Pink Mass involved gay couples kissing in order to make Phelps’s mother “gay in the afterlife.”

II. Luciferianism

Luciferians are rather similar to LaVeyan Satanists. Most of them are nonreligious and simply treat Lucifer as a symbol. The 11 Luciferian Points of Power, provided by the Greater Church of Lucifer, illustrate how Lucifer represents values like self-determination and liberation from “slave mentality.” In this regard, Luciferianism falls closer to a philosophy rather than an actual religion. The Neo-Luciferian Church states that Luciferianism’s core goal is to help people “take responsibility for [their] own life and act as an individual moral agent, using the full potential of [their] own genius and thereby optimizing [their] own possibilities.”

Luciferians also see Lucifer as being a completely different entity than Satan. The Greater Church of Lucifer states that the word “Lucifer” (meaning “Light Bearer” or “Morning Star”) existed far before Christianity and that translations and interpretations have changed over time to equate Lucifer and Satan as one being.

Perhaps the greatest difference between Luciferians and LaVeyan Satanists is that Lucifer (the Light Bearer) is a symbol of knowledge, while Satan (the Adversary) represents carnality and opposition. The Greater Church of Lucifer compares the story of Adam and Eve to the Hellenistic story of Prometheus. In this story, Prometheus brings forbidden fire to humanity and teaches them how to harness it for their own good. For this, Prometheus is punished by Zeus. This is not unlike the Biblical story of how the snake tempts Adam and Eve into eating from the forbidden Tree of Life.

The ultimate goal of Luciferianism is to help each individual ignite their inner Black Flame and become self-aware. Luciferianists are called to question everything, overcome their own ignorance, and balance their carnal desires with their intellect

III. Anti-Cosmic Satanism

Anti-Cosmic Satanism, also called Chaos-Gnosticism, believes that the cosmic order created by God is nothing more than a grand fabrication, and behind that illusion is an endless and formless chaos. One practitioner of this form of Satanism is an occultist author who goes by the name of Vexior 218. In an interview, Vexior explained that he did believe in an all-powerful god called the Demiurge, who has been interpreted as Odin in Norse religion and God in Christianity. He created restrictions—time, space, and flesh—to bound our otherwise free spirits. This is where figures like Loki and Satan come in. They are rebels against the Demiurge’s tyrannical rule and aim to destroy his control. Other anti-cosmic gods might include Tiamat, Baal, Asmodeus, Lilith, and more.

This form of Satanism, much like its other non-LaVeyan variants, is very obscure and unfortunately hard to find much information on. It’s most well-known member was Jon Nodtveidt of the black metal band Dissection which we’ve mentioned before. He was a member of the Temple of Black Light, once called the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, an organization with the goal of destroying the order of the Demiurge and bringing the universe back to the chaos that was originally there. The Temple used many invocations to various deities and beings, especially Lilith.

Let me know if you want Part 2