Culture & Ethics
Unverified personal gnosis
Unverified personal gnosis identifies a spiritual claim or interpretation whose source is personal experience rather than established textual or communal authority.
Results for “Reading religious primary sources”
Theology & Cosmology
Thelema
The religious and philosophical tradition associated with Aleister Crowley and The Book of the Law.
History
Gnosticism
A modern umbrella term for several ancient religious movements and texts concerned with saving knowledge and divine origins.
Texts & Sources
Three Books of Occult Philosophy
Agrippa’s Renaissance synthesis of natural, celestial, and religious magic.
Devotional Practice
Initiation
Entry into a religious or esoteric path through ceremony, instruction, recognition, and lived development.
Devotional Practice
Offerings
Offerings are objects, substances, actions, or works intentionally presented to a deity, spirit, sacred power, or religious community. Across religious history offerings have included food, drink, incense, flowers, animal sacrifice, money, vows, music, labor, art, and acts of service. In theistic Satanism, offerings are commonly used to express devotion, gratitude, hospitality, dedication, or…
Culture & Ethics
Pentagram
A pentagram is a five-pointed star figure used in different religious and esoteric settings. Orientation and surrounding imagery matter, but do not establish one universal meaning.
Theology & Cosmology
Monotheism and dualism
Monotheism and religious dualism concern different questions about ultimate reality. The presence of an adversary does not automatically establish two equal divine principles.
Devotional Practice
Occult diaries and record keeping
An occult diary records religious or magical work as it occurs. Separating observations from interpretations makes reflection and comparison more reliable.
Texts & Sources
Satan in 1 Chronicles
In 1 Chronicles 21, Satan or an adversary incites David to count Israel. Comparison with 2 Samuel 24 raises questions about divine agency, translation, and the development of the adversary figure.
Texts & Sources
Grigoripedia
Grigoripedia is the official online encyclopedia of Satano-Grigorism, maintained by members of the Grigorist Temple of Satanael. Launched in June 2026 according to its About page, it documents the religion’s beliefs, deities, scriptures, history, holidays, and terminology from a Satano-Grigorist perspective.
Texts & Sources
Malleus Maleficarum
The Malleus Maleficarum is a Latin treatise associated with the inquisitor Heinrich Kramer. It combined demonological argument with proposals for prosecuting alleged witches. Its allegations, treatment of women, and influence require critical historical reading.
Theology & Cosmology
Iblis
Iblis is the figure who refuses God’s command to bow to Adam in the Qur’an. Islamic commentary and Sufi literature explore his pride, his relationship to the jinn, his role as a tempter, and the meaning of his disobedience.
History
Salem witch trials
The Massachusetts prosecutions of 1692-1693, the spread of accusations, spectral evidence, and the surviving court archive.
Theology & Cosmology
Setianism
The religious philosophy associated with the Temple of Set, the Egyptian name Set, and the idea of Xeper.
Texts & Sources
Ars Goetia
The Ars Goetia is the first section of the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon, an early modern English compilation of ceremonial magic. It is famous for a catalogue of seventy-two spirits, each described by name, rank, appearance, abilities, and a seal or character. In modern occultism the term “Goetia” is often used loosely for demon-summoning or work with these spirits, but historically the Ars Goetia…
Devotional Practice
Prayer in theistic Satanism
Prayer is intentional communication addressed to a deity, spirit, sacred power, or ultimate reality. It can include praise, petition, confession, thanksgiving, lament, dedication, silence, repetition, or simple direct speech. In theistic Satanism, prayer usually means addressing Satan or another spiritually real being rather than speaking only to oneself or performing a purely symbolic exercise.
Devotional Practice
Meditation and contemplation
Meditation in theistic Satanism refers to contemplative practices used to focus attention, examine experience, cultivate devotional awareness, or create a deliberate setting for approaching Satan and other spirits. There is no single Satanic meditation method. Practices range from silent sitting and breath awareness to visualization, repetitive prayer, sigil contemplation, journaling, and extended…
Organizations & Traditions
Theosophical Society
A modern esoteric society with stated aims of fraternity, comparative study, and investigation of nature and human capacities.
Culture & Ethics
Satanic symbolism
The images, names, and gestures used by Satanic traditions, whose meanings depend on their religious and historical setting.