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Gustave Doré’s 1866 engraving of Satan from Paradise LostFrom the indexSatan
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Gustave Doré’s 1866 engraving of Satan from Paradise Lost
Theology & CosmologyUpdated 2026-09-07

Satan

Satan is a figure whose meaning has changed substantially across Jewish, Christian, Islamic, literary, esoteric, and modern Satanic contexts. In contemporary theistic Satanism, Satan may be understood as a real deity, spirit, adversary, initiator, or metaphysical intelligence. Those modern interpretations draw on—but are not identical with—the much older history of the word and character.

SatanDevilHebrew BibleChristianity
Éliphas Lévi’s nineteenth-century Baphomet illustration
Theistic SatanismUpdated 2026-09-07

Symbolic and theistic Satanism

Symbolic and theistic Satanism are broad labels used to distinguish Satanist traditions according to how they understand Satan’s reality. In theistic Satanism, Satan is ordinarily regarded as a real deity, spirit, intelligence, or independently existing being. In symbolic or non-theistic Satanism, Satan is understood primarily as a symbol, literary figure, archetype, cultural adversary, or name for a…

theistic Satanismatheistic Satanismsymbolic SatanismChurch of Satan