Satanism

[Amedot]

I'm not a Satanist so I cannot really answer any questions. I know a little bit about Satanism, mostly spiritual as opposed to non-spiritual, but I was wondering if there were any Satanists here on AVEN.

For non-Satanists, hey! What do you think of Satanism, what do you know of it, how do you perceive it, etc. How do you feel about it? Or do you not care?

[Sherlock Holmes ACE]

It's basically sex magic and I we don't like sex here much so I doubt any of us would care about it.

[Amedot]

It's basically sex magic and I we don't like sex here much so I doubt any of us would care about it.

Do you want to clarify this, or explain more about your perception of Satanism?

I've noticed Wicca focuses on sex and sexual symbols, yet I've seen many Wiccans here on AVEN. Just because you're asexual doesn't mean you aren't interested in a certain spiritual path. But I do find focusing on sex a little odd.

[Azure.Providence]

The Satanic Temple wants to build a monument in my state capital. I think thats pretty cool. The statue is designed to function like a chair so you can sit on his lap... like Santa...

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/12/09/2017226/satanists-propose-monument-at-oklahoma-state-capitol-next-to-ten-commandments

http://www.thesatanictemple.org/

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/put-a-satanic-monument-at-ok-capitol

http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-ra-why-christians-should-embrace-the-satan-statue-in-oklahoma-20140107,0,7147783.story

Their tenants sound much better than the Ten Commandments in my opinion.

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
3. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forego your own.
5. Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
6. People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

[Moon Ace]

The Satanic Temple wants to build a monument in my state capital. I think thats pretty cool. The statue is designed to function like a chair so you can sit on his lap... like Santa...

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/12/09/2017226/satanists-propose-monument-at-oklahoma-state-capitol-next-to-ten-commandments

http://www.thesatanictemple.org/

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/put-a-satanic-monument-at-ok-capitol

http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-ra-why-christians-should-embrace-the-satan-statue-in-oklahoma-20140107,0,7147783.story

Their tenants sound much better than the Ten Commandments in my opinion.

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forego your own.
• Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
• People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Not looked at the links yet, but I really like their 'commandments', they make a lot of sense and don't illustrate what the name could imply. I think there will be fireworks if they erect a statue though...

[I-Love-Birds]

Despite most people having a negative opinion of it, just because it has 'Satan' in the word, I aspire to be a Satanist. But more of a LaVeyan Satanist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaVeyan_Satanism

[Tiranasta]

The Satanic Temple wants to build a monument in my state capital. I think thats pretty cool. The statue is designed to function like a chair so you can sit on his lap... like Santa...

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/12/09/2017226/satanists-propose-monument-at-oklahoma-state-capitol-next-to-ten-commandments

http://www.thesatanictemple.org/

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/put-a-satanic-monument-at-ok-capitol

http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-ra-why-christians-should-embrace-the-satan-statue-in-oklahoma-20140107,0,7147783.story

Their tenants sound much better than the Ten Commandments in my opinion.

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
3. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forego your own.
5. Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
6. People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

All well and good, but I'm not sure associating those principles with Satanism is a particularly good idea.

[Zerο]

Just the name "Satan" itself carries negative implications so for a while I just assumed Satanists were the hey-let's-wear-robes-and-sacrifice-an-animal nutjobs, but once I read into the religion it actually didn't sound bad. Less ridiculous than Christianity anyway (oh the irony).

Of course, Satanism itself is a bit of a broad religion so it depends what parts of it they choose to worship, EG free will or evil.

[Azure.Providence]

Just the name "Satan" itself carries negative implications so for a while I just assumed Satanists were the hey-let's-wear-robes-and-sacrifice-an-animal nutjobs, but once I read into the religion it actually didn't sound bad. Less ridiculous than Christianity anyway (oh the irony).

Of course, Satanism itself is a bit of a broad religion so it depends what parts of it they choose to worship, EG free will or evil.

I kinda think thats why they chose that name. Take some humanist beliefs and use Satan as a mascot to poke at the Christians.

@Tiranasta

Those principals were taken straight from the Temple of Satan's website. I don't see it as a bad idea to have these principals. What principals do you think they should be promoting instead?

[Tiranasta]

@Tiranasta

Those principals were taken straight from the Temple of Satan's website. I don't see it as a bad idea to have these principals. What principals do you think they should be promoting instead?

I know, I've read the site, it's quite interesting. My point is precisely that they're good principles, and that Satanism's association with those principles may sour some people on them. Guilt-by-association, and all that. Honestly, from reading their site, they basically seem to be secular humanists with a few extra religious beliefs on top which they all but outright admit to not *really* believing, and, if that's the case, I don't really see what the point is.

[Braydin]

tax exemptions perhaps?

[Tiranasta]

tax exemptions perhaps?

Yeah, that was one of the few possible motives that came to mind. Another is an attempt to bring together communities as religions tend to do.

[Guest]

I am neutral to most religions, and Satanism is no exception. On paper, it has some principles I agree with, and some that I don't agree with - same as most other thought currents, whether religious or not. I do think, however, that of all religious people Satanists are perhaps those that are most subject to prejudice and social stigma, because of the classic Satan = evil association. It's not like that. The fundamental difference between Christianity and Satanism, as I see it, is that Christianity is focused on acting for the good of others, whereas Satanism focuses on acting for the good of oneself.

[Azure.Providence]

I am neutral to most religions, and Satanism is no exception. On paper, it has some principles I agree with, and some that I don't agree with - same as most other thought currents, whether religious or not. I do think, however, that of all religious people Satanists are perhaps those that are most subject to prejudice and social stigma, because of the classic Satan = evil association. It's not like that. The fundamental difference between Christianity and Satanism, as I see it, is that Christianity is focused on acting for the good of others, whereas Satanism focuses on acting for the good of oneself.

It doesn't help that they chose a name knowing full well the negative connotations of it. It's not like they have been practicing under that name for a long time and society changed their view on the word. That would be like saying "I'm so gay!" and then complaining when people think you are homosexual. Satan may have had a different meaning thousands of years ago but the meaning of words change over time and its confusing when you insist on the archaic usage of a word. People once used the word lucifer to refer to the planet Venus--the morning star--but pointing to the sky and telling people you just saw lucifer is going to confuse people because the modern usage doesn't refer to the planet Venus.

[House of Chimeras]

'Satanism" is often used as an umbrella term for various "left-hand path' philosophies and/or beliefs.

Levayan Satanism being one, which is more or less agnostic/atheistic and merely views "Satan" as a symbolic entity.

There is also Setianism from the Temple of Set which is a more theistic belief system which mixes some Egyptian themes with left-hand path ideals while putting a lot more focus on self enlightenment and inner understanding.

There is Luciferianism which can be either theistic or atheistic depending on who you talk to which reveres Lucifer. However, they often go back to pre-Christian Lucifer as Lucifer was the name of a minor god of the morning star. That is where the name "Lucifer" came from. So depending on who you ask here, Luciferianism may or may not have anything to do with Christian themes.

Those are just to name a few groups off the top of my head though I know there are more.

I used to be an "independent" Satanist, kind of my own mix of various Left-hand path ideas and such mixed in with some paganism. I still am pretty Left-hand path leaning but now consider myself Kemetic rather than a Satanist (or left-hand path practitioner as I preferred but see below as to why that never really worked).

When it comes to the word "Satanism" not all "Satanic religions" want to be called as such. They end up being lumped into under "Satanism" by people studying religious movements, by everyday people, by pagans, etc. Its very easy for someone to throw the label "Satanist" at someone. Heck, even to this day I'm still mistaken for a Satanist even though I don't consider myself one.

So… why “Satanism” and not either another word (such as just going with pagan) or make-up a new word for my religion? For one of the biggest reasons, that tends to stem from just calling it like it has been labeled. Even though labeling a number of religions that are within the Left-Hand Path scheme of things as satanic seems a bit wonky for me in a few minor levels, that is how they ended up getting labeled similar to how words like “neopagan” or “heathen” or “Wiccan” got picked up and ran with it by people in the past. It got labeled as Satanism years ago and with the reasons with how and why it got picked seems to work fair enough.

People use many words in different ways in their own company. To quote Balanone, a longtime member of the Temple of Set, “if by ‘Satanism’ you mean the worship of a Satan, or anti-Christian belief, then most definitely we are not, since we do not believe in the Christian god, Jesus, nor devil, and we have little reason to be ‘anti-Christian.’ If by Satanism you mean an antinomian freedom from the unreasoning limitations of various elements of society, then by that definition we would qualify.” So - Satanist, dark pagan, Left-Hand Path practitioner, whatever that is what I sort of used off and on for half a decade and still sometimes end up just nodding my head.

[Amedot]

Great responses.

I love the idea of that Satanic statue in Oklahoma; I think it looks really cool, and I love a variety of religious icons in the public (if we can have Christian icons in public, why not other religions, too?).

I am neutral to most religions, and Satanism is no exception. On paper, it has some principles I agree with, and some that I don't agree with - same as most other thought currents, whether religious or not. I do think, however, that of all religious people Satanists are perhaps those that are most subject to prejudice and social stigma, because of the classic Satan = evil association. It's not like that. The fundamental difference between Christianity and Satanism, as I see it, is that Christianity is focused on acting for the good of others, whereas Satanism focuses on acting for the good of oneself.

Spiritual Satanists (not LeVeyan Satanists, or at least, I don't think non-spiritual Satanists believe in this) believe that they are finishing Satan's work. Satan created humanity and Satanists strive to reach a state of godhood by following the path of Satan. This means empowering oneself spiritually. Satanism is a personal choice; you cannot pressure someone to be a Satanist. Only you can decide if you want to dedicate yourself to this path.

Christians, to me, seem to focus on finishing God's work, that they do God's work through their hands, and their main job is to save others through converting them. They dedicate their children to their religion without their consent.

That's how I see the differences, anyway.

--

A few Spiritual Satanists told me that they believe Satan was their creator, and the Judeo/Christian God is either a) imaginary mindset or b) the enemy of Satan, who is real and tries to hinder people of their true power. Some Spiritual Satanists tell me they've been attacked by angels; that there is a spiritual warfare. Many Christians feel there is a spiritual warfare, too. It's interesting that these two faiths are linked in this way... they both think they are fighting on the good side of a spiritual war.

[Usernamethe2nd]

I was introduced to Satanism when I was in boot camp, and quickly fell in love with how much Anton LaVey placed on the individual. LaVey called it a humanitarian doctrine and that is in large essentially what it is. I also had the good fortune of hearing about the Temple of Set. I have and am now studying to be an initiate. As for magic I am "un-iniated" so my understanding of it is very juvenile. As for why the word Satanism? The very word Satanism is used, as in LaVey's sardonic speech, a buffer to weed out the meek. Satanism used carnal desire and the practicing of the seven sins, to better separate the individual from a "submissive mindset" and "religious indoctrination".

[Vampyremage]

House of Chimeras described Satanism brilliantly so I won't go into any more detail than that. I am not a Satanist however I do consider myself to be a left hand path Pagan and I have taken some inspiration for my specific beliefs from the Satanic Bible. Its a book I recommend anyone interested in supiritual subjects read as it has many good ideas within. Its the idea that one should treat others how their actions dictate they should be treated rather than simply treat everyone well that really resonated with me as a strongly left hand path philosophy. While my default is to treat everyone positively and with respect, if they in turn treat me with a lack of respect then I have no more responsibility to treat them with such. Actions have consequence and that includes social consequence. Not everyone should be treated the same and it is their actions that dictate how they should be treated.

[Nevyn]

House of Chimeras described Satanism brilliantly so I won't go into any more detail than that. I am not a Satanist however I do consider myself to be a left hand path Pagan and I have taken some inspiration for my specific beliefs from the Satanic Bible. Its a book I recommend anyone interested in supiritual subjects read as it has many good ideas within. Its the idea that one should treat others how their actions dictate they should be treated rather than simply treat everyone well that really resonated with me as a strongly left hand path philosophy. While my default is to treat everyone positively and with respect, if they in turn treat me with a lack of respect then I have no more responsibility to treat them with such. Actions have consequence and that includes social consequence. Not everyone should be treated the same and it is their actions that dictate how they should be treated.

I couldn't agree more with the bolded part. It amazes me just how many people I meet that think they deserve to be respected but fail to be respectful in the first place. While I don't believe someones disrespect allows me to act however I want, it does allow me to remove my own social filter. I think a large part of this is how much we are influenced to let our egos reign by societal forces like the media and social networking.

[poindexter]

I treat it basically as I would treat any other religion - with indifference. I'm as non-spiritual as they come. As a philosophy, it is interesting, and even though I do agree with it in many ways, I would never call myself a Satanist because I wouldn't like to draw on such religious principles, and adopt all the negative implications that arise with it.

[ThaHoward]

Wonder how the worship of the devil evolved into some form of humanism.

[I-Love-Birds]

Not all Satanists worship Satan. Theistic Satanists worship him as an actual deity. Atheistic Satanists, on the other hand, do not.

"Contrary to popular belief, LaVeyan Satanism [Atheistic Satanism] does not involve the worship of "the devil" or any such deities, it is an atheistic philosophy that uses the character of "Satan" as a symbol of pride, carnality, enlightenment, undefiled wisdom, and of a cosmos which Satanists perceive to be permeated and motivated by a force that has been given many names by humans over the course of time."

Believe what you will about Satanism. It is no worse than any other 'religion' or philosophy. People's minds have just been warped with the idea that Lucifer is 'evil'. Which isn't true.

[House of Chimeras]

Not all Satanists worship Satan. Theistic Satanists worship him as an actual deity. Atheistic Satanists, on the other hand, do not.

Some theistic satanists don't even worship Satan though. (As I noted above.)

The Temple of Set worships Set/Seth.

Some Luciferians worship Lucifer who is a Roman god.

Some worship various dark gods or goddesses such as Hecate, one of the various horned gods, and so on.

Some worship/honor Baphomet.

You can be a theistic satanist and not worship Satan.

[I-Love-Birds]

Oh yeah. I forgot to add that bit in. >_<

[hgwells]

I'm a Theistic Satanist and Clergy within the religion and run an outreach programme for those that are ( theistic) Satanist and those that think they might .be.

[hgwells]

Not all Satanists worship Satan. Theistic Satanists worship him as an actual deity. Atheistic Satanists, on the other hand, do not.

Some theistic satanists don't even worship Satan though. (As I noted above.)

The Temple of Set worships Set/Seth.

Some Luciferians worship Lucifer who is a Roman god.

Some worship various dark gods or goddesses such as Hecate, one of the various horned gods, and so on.

Some worship/honor Baphomet.

You can be a theistic satanist and not worship Satan.

I don't agree that you can be a theistic Satanist and not worship Satan. You can follow a religion that has similar beliefs but that doesn't make it the same. The problem with discussing Theistic Satanism is that it's so vast a subject and things can intertwine and what one person see's as Satanism someone else might not. The bulk of my belief and practise is rooted in Demonolatry and in that religion Satan is seen by many as the 5th element, the all. So technically, all demonolaters are Theistic Satanists but many,still don't have Satan in their own pantheon and don't worship him so they wouldn't want to be classed as Theistic Satanists. So it could be said that all Satanists are demonolaters but not all demonolaters are Satanist. I call myself Theistic Satanist because I have take Satan as my Patron deity but saying I follow demonotry is also correct. But, in the end, the each Dark Pagan walks their own path and they have the right to call it what they feel most comfortable with :)

[Xenopsyche]

Wonder how the worship of the devil evolved into some form of humanism.

The devil has never been worshipped, at least not until recently. The idea of satan worship as a historical phenomenon was used to scare people and by the Church to eliminated individuals they didn't approve of. A prime example being the Knights Templar, but there is no evidence of them worshipping Satan or any version of the devil. They did acquire Muslim texts and artifacts from their time in the Crusades which were used as evidence against them, including the Baphomet, which is just a corruption of the name Muhammed through Mahomet.

Modern Satanism is either a philosophy such as LaVeyan Satanism or a LHP religion. In essence Satanism in its various incarnations can be seen as approaching spirituality from a non-conventional angle, not malicious, just a different point of view.

[hgwells]

Wonder how the worship of the devil evolved into some form of humanism.

The devil has never been worshipped, at least not until recently. The idea of satan worship as a historical phenomenon was used to scare people and by the Church to eliminated individuals they didn't approve of. A prime example being the Knights Templar, but there is no evidence of them worshipping Satan or any version of the devil. They did acquire Muslim texts and artifacts from their time in the Crusades which were used as evidence against them, including the Baphomet, which is just a corruption of the name Muhammed through Mahomet.

Modern Satanism is either a philosophy such as LaVeyan Satanism or a LHP religion. In essence Satanism in its various incarnations can be seen as approaching spirituality from a non-conventional angle, not malicious, just a different point of view.

again it depends on how you view the devil, the devil straight out of the bible & Koran without anything added or taken away could definitely be seen as a recent worship but many believe that the devil found in those books are based on a much earlier pagan God ( who's name has long been forgotten) and was just demonised ( for want of a better word) by the Jews, then the Christians and Muslims, some of the pagan deities were made into Demons the rest into Angels.

[Calla]

I do not consider myself highly educated about Satanism, but I have crossed paths with a few Satanist. Their school of thought (couldn't tell you what it's formal name was) was that Satan/Lucifer rebelled against authority/God (and not out of teenage angst, but out of a clash of deeply held beliefs). Satanism to them was about refusing external authority in favor of the authority of the self. Therefore it was about honoring your own authority and spiritual power. In that respect, I find those tenets to be compatible with those of many other belief systems.

[Amedot]

Wonder how the worship of the devil evolved into some form of humanism.

I am not very educated on the matter but...

Spiritual Satanism is ancient. LeVayan Satanism is recent, only several decades old, and they kind of appropriated the term "Satanist". LeVayan Satanism is about your own authority, whereas Satanism is worshiping a deity. And they do not call him the devil, or consider him in the way many others do (red horns, pitchfork, etc). In fact, the descriptions of him remind me of the Horned God from my pagan explorations....

I was introduced to Satanism when I was in boot camp, and quickly fell in love with how much Anton LaVey placed on the individual. LaVey called it a humanitarian doctrine and that is in large essentially what it is. I also had the good fortune of hearing about the Temple of Set. I have and am now studying to be an initiate. As for magic I am "un-iniated" so my understanding of it is very juvenile. As for why the word Satanism? The very word Satanism is used, as in LaVey's sardonic speech, a buffer to weed out the meek. Satanism used carnal desire and the practicing of the seven sins, to better separate the individual from a "submissive mindset" and "religious indoctrination".

I'd argue that LeVey guy kind of appropriated/stole the term Satanism from spiritual satanists... He might use it to weed out the meek, but others use the term because they worship Satan (the name they give their deity; some worship Lucifer, some worship other names of this deity, etc). Worship of Satan is very old, much older than LeVeyan satanism.

I'm a Theistic Satanist and Clergy within the religion and run an outreach programme for those that are ( theistic) Satanist and those that think they might .be.

I'm trying to learn more about Satanism... I've read some things online, but I don't know many spiritual satanists IRL. Do you think I could ask you some questions, or is privacy an important part of your spirituality?