Monday, 19 August 2013

Luciferianism & Theistic Satanism: Are They The Same?

The answer is unequivocally no.

For some time on the Internet, I have noticed an inclination for Luciferianism to be compared to, if even equated with Theistic Satanism.  Some individuals have begun to classify Satanism as:

Atheistic Satanism (i.e., LaVeyan)
Theistic Satanism (i.e., Luciferian)

Let me first make it clear that the term, Theistic Satanism, is an umbrella term - much the same as is the umbrella term, Paganism.  Theistic Satanism does not denote one single, unified religion whose practitioners observe the same Holy Days, beliefs in Divinity or Satanic philosophies.  It is not an organised religion.  Practitioners of Theistic Satanism are almost always solitary and, most assuredly, eclectic in nature.

Similarly, Luciferianism is also an umbrella term for a collection of practices and religions which share a common thread - a belief in and exaltation of the figure or symbolism of Lucifer.  Unlike Theistic Satanists, Luciferians may or may not be theistic - as in LaVeyan Satanism, some Luciferians believe in the concept and archetype of Lucifer and his symbolism as opposed to others who consider Lucifer to be a Deity.

While some may consider Luciferians to fall under the umbrella of Theistic Satanism, I personally do not.  For me, Luciferians venerate the figure of Lucifer whereas Theistic Satanists venerate the figure of Satan.  Some may insinuate that Lucifer and Satan are the same entity, but for anyone who has managed even the most humble of attempts at Biblical research it is quite clear that Lucifer was not equated with Satan until the rise of the New Testament and subsequent scholarly postulations by Christian authors.

The purpose of this "disclaimer" is not to discredit the existence of Lucifer - and while I very much consider him to be a fictional character, I do also respect the beliefs of Luciferians and thus choose to refrain from arguing my point more strongly in regards to the mythology of Lucifer within the Bible.

There seems to be two lines of thought emerging from the Luciferian community today.  Those aligned with the rather odd and, frankly, silly writings of Michael W. Ford and those aligned with the notion that Luciferians are somehow the equivalent of Satanic "fluffy bunnies".

Luciferian fluffy bunnies have been visible on the Internet for some time.  They tend to haunt Neo-Pagan forums and proclaim themselves to be the "good Satanists", as opposed to non-Luciferians who must be "bad Satanists".  One such musing went so far as to indicate that Luciferians were a cross between Theistic Satanism and Christianity.  Some Luciferians are actually Neo-Wiccans who believe that Lucifer was a demonised Roman Deity and have aligned themselves with him as their Patron.  While I have no issue with the beliefs of others, the insinuation that Luciferianism is the "white light" offspring of the Left Hand Path is honestly rather nauseating.  Few of these Luciferian fluffy bunnies actually know what the Left Hand Path is, much less embrace it.

Theistic Satanism is also full of its own brand of fluffy bunnies and lunatics.  Some so-called Theistic Satanists believe that Satan is actually the Sumerian Deity, Enki.  I often wonder how and why they continue to call themselves "Satanists" when they are more accurately "Enkists".  Granted, few Theistic Satanists regard Satan as the villainous character He is portrayed to be within the Christian tradition, but I feel that if you understand your Deity to be Enki, then you are not a "Satanist".

The purpose of this article is to clear the air of any misinformation regarding the (false) equating of Luciferianism with Theistic Satanism.  In addition to this purpose however, there are also a great number of disturbing trends within the online presence of Theistic Satanism.

Some members of this Theistic Satanism community online have begun to "represent" the supposed broader Theistic Satanism community with "informative" posts entitled "Ask a Theistic Satanist".  In these posts, members of the forums in question may ask the alleged Theistic Satanist any question and he/she will promptly answer.  The disturbing thing that I have noticed about this trend is that the alleged Theistic Satanist will then answer with statements such as "we [Theistic Satanists] believe", "we [Theistic Satanists] do/do not", etc.  The innate problem with these statements is that there can be no "we" as Theistic Satanism is not a congregation, organised religious sect or group which shares a common religious platform.  It is likened to someone speaking for the whole of humanity with complete disregard to racial, cultural and societal variations.  Furthermore, most of these alleged Theistic Satanists are Enkists - there also seems to be a great desire amongst them to convince the Neo-Pagan community that Satan is actually, of course, Enki or even the Egyptian god, Set.  Let me reiterate - Enkists worship Enki.  Setians venerate the concept of Set.  Satanists venerate the concept of Satan.  Luciferians venerate the concept of Lucifer.

To conclude, believe as you like - but please respect that:

A.  You do not speak for the whole of "Theistic Satanism", no matter who you are or how you identify, as there is no unified and organised religion known as "Theistic Satanism".

B.  Luciferians are not representative of Theistic Satanism.

C.  If you consider your Luciferian path to be the only "good and White Light" path within the Left Hand Path, then consider yourself to be of the so-called "Gray" or "Middle" Path - if you do not embrace the philosophies of the Left Hand Path, then you do not follow one.

D.  If you do not worship the concept or entity known as Satan, then you are not a "Satanist".  If you consider Satan to be Enki, then you are an Enkist.  If you consider Satan to be Set, then you follow some variety of Setianism.  If you choose not to refer to Satan as "Satan" in order to avoid "negative preconceptions" associated with this title, then you most certainly are not a Satanist of any description.


  1. Greetings. Thank you for your blog, which i have found so far to be helpful and thought provoking. i am new to this and carefully feeling my way. On the Satan/Lucifer thing, do you know anything about the Temple of the Black Light/ex-MLO? They see Satan and Lucifer as the same. And from the little i can gather they don't seem very fluffy. Comments?

  2. I didn't know much about the occult. I didn't go to it, it seems to keep coming to me I'm no expert in these matters but from studying the bible in my youth I thought that Satan was a title meaning adversary. Why would anyone call what they worship an adversary? I once thought Lucifer was just a title, The light bearer. It seems like it was an accident really I was raking leaves and had a few plies burning. I was going through a rough patch in my life and was thinking about it all. Then I thought of this light bearer and called to him, spoke to him of my problems, not really expecting an answer. WOW did I get one! In about two weeks my very quiet life got tuned upside down! I was surprised I didn't go to jail or the E.R. things worked out for the better, But I was changed forever like I mean my thoughts my taste buds, taste in music, I love smooth jazz now. This was something I couldn't stand before anyway looking back I did realize I was standing in the mist of three piles of leaves that formed a triangle on the day I called him. So I keep learning as best I can, but much of this seems to be like beauty in the eye of the beholder.

  3. I have to say I kind of always was a Satanist/Luciferian all my life except for a shortish period when after a personal crises I kind of went Christian (due to having been raised one). But like I'm confused on what theistic Luciferian or Satanism really is about. For me its like if the bible were true Lucifer is humanity's hero and saviour if he's a real being because mankind was running around naked in either Gods backyard or his zoo like stupid animals as pets to him if the Christian/Jew (and Muslim ???) story of creation was true. Their "god" made people kept them in a zoo (garden) where they were essentially caged naked animals until somehow Lucifer got them (or 1 of them) to eat some forbidden fruit then suddenly they became sensible aware intelligent and knew they didn't have to stay as pets or slaves. But was Lucifer a God or a created being? I'm undecided. But I kind of think since according to the Christian bull I grew up hearing. I kind of think he is a god or became a god by virtue of his being an immortal being and humanity are gods too (even though few acknowledge it) because we supposedly have an immortal soul so why should we bow to some other thing even if it created us when we are just as immortal and therefore just as much gods as it is (if it exists)? And I wouldn't bow to a so called god that wants to punish us for being self aware and having free will and for knowing we are immortal and gods too just like him. Especially when the promises those Christians keep spouting from the bible never come true.Ask and it will be given but it isn't sand its supposedly because god knows best/ phooey on that. I am the lord who heals but noone gets healed on earth ever even if they or their family pray diligently for it then they die and its supposedly for the best or cuz god needs them more then we do? Phooey.So is my viewpoint what you call theistic Satanism/Luciferianism? Or is it something else (cuz of having been raised in a Christian home? which BTW was no picnic especially when I got thrown out into group homes twice just cuz I spoke my mind (not about Satan/Lucifer, about other stuff at home and in school and had a mind and will of my own) Actually regarding that group home bit its probably partly responsible for my not getting brainwashed by my family's church and being a so called true believer of their faith since at the group home there was nothing religious no praying or nothing to corrupt my ability to question what I was told (that and also because my family didn't push it on me except for going to church)