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Occultism and Western esotericism provide an important historical and intellectual background for many forms of modern Satanism, but neither term is a synonym for Satanism. Western esotericism is an academic field encompassing currents such as Renaissance Hermetism, alchemy, astrology, Christian theosophy, Kabbalistic reception, Rosicrucianism, ceremonial magic, spiritualism, occultism, and later…
The left-hand path is a modern esoteric category used for religious and magical currents that emphasize themes such as individual self-direction, antinomianism, self-deification, initiatory transformation, or deliberate engagement with symbols rejected by dominant religious culture. It overlaps with some forms of Satanism, Luciferianism, Setianism, and modern occultism, but the terms are not synonymous.
Lucifer is a name whose religious meaning developed from an ancient expression for the morning star into one of the best-known names associated with the Devil, fallen angels, occult illumination, and modern Luciferian religion. The word itself is Latin: lūcifer means “light-bringer” or “light-bearer” and was used for the planet Venus when it appeared before sunrise. The later equation “Lucifer = Satan”…
Baphomet is an occult figure whose history connects the medieval trial of the Knights Templar, nineteenth-century ceremonial symbolism, twentieth-century Satanic iconography, and the modern public imagery of The Satanic Temple. The familiar goat-headed, winged, androgynous figure is not a medieval portrait of a secret Templar god. It was created in the nineteenth century by the French occultist Éliphas…
Theistic Satanism is a family of religious positions in which Satan is understood as an actually existing spiritual being, deity, intelligence, or metaphysical presence, rather than only a literary symbol or political metaphor. It is not a single church or creed. The term is best used as an umbrella for practitioners and groups whose beliefs differ on the nature of Satan, the status of other spirits,…