Satanism Overview

[Lightkeeper]

Setian Satanism
According to this sect, the Egyptian deity Set, is the real Dark Lord behind the name Satan. They have their own concept of the Black Flame (see the above group, the Sat/Tan type).

This type of Satanism maintains that the Hebrews ran into an adversary in Egypt who was the Pharaoh of the Seti Dynasty, when Set was the principal pharaonic Deity. After the Pharaoh expelled the Hebrews from Egypt, the Hebrew Bible scribes wrote "Exodus", demonstrating the enormity of this event to the Hebrew people. However, there are apparently no Egyptian records to back up any of the Hebrew claims except a passing mention of the Pharaoh kicking many foreigners out at that time — not just Hebrews. Even so, the impact of this expulsion was large enough to the Hebrews to warrant their calling Egypt and its Seti Pharaoh "ha stn", the adversary. Setian Satanists theorize that "Satan" is a wrong or slanderous label for a legitimate Egyptian God, the God Set.

The practices and theology of the Set sect are very oriented towards cultivating selfhood. They reject the dissolving of the individual into oneness with existence, and celebrate the separation of the individual self from the rest of the universe. Some followers believe in Set as a real theistic conscious being that appears in revelations and delivers messages, while others revere Set as a more of a principle. How historically correct their picture of Set is might be considered debatable.

This type of Set-Satanism is a legally tax-exempt religion in the United States.

LaVeyan Satanism
This type of Satanism is based on the philosophy of Anton LaVey as outlined in The Satanic Bible and other works. LaVey was the founder of the Church of Satan. Philosophically, it could be described as heavily influenced by the writings of Aleister Crowley, Machiavelli, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, and a few others; "Satan" is appropriated as a positive symbol of this worldview, and is not considered to exist in a literal fashion. Theologically, each individual Satanist is viewed as his or her own god; its rituals are essentially magick in the original sense given by Crowley, with an eye towards furthering the Satanist's ends. The belief system can be summed up in the motto "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."


Satanic cults
The existence of large networks of organized Satanists involved in illegal activities, murder, and child abuse is occasionally claimed, often by fundamentalist religious movements. Those claims have never been substantiated and are widely believed to be false. See conspiracy theories.

Other groups
In various Gnostic sects, the Serpent was praised as the giver of knowledge. Sometimes Satan was also referred to, under the names Lucifer or "the light-bringer". Some Gnostics claimed that the being declared God by Christians and Jews was in fact Satan, known as the Demiurge. Some early Gnostic sects, such as (the Borborites and the followers of Carpocrates were accused of horrific acts. It was said that they had sworn to commit all kind of evil acts in order to free themselves from the pains of this world. Accounts of these barbaric acts are not generally credible, as the accusations were rhetorical attacks against these groups by such heresiological writers as Irenaeus.

The Order of Nine Angles (ONA) has labeled itself Traditional Satanism and considers Satanism to be an individual quest which goes far beyond the gratification of the pleasure-principle and involves the arduous achievement of self-mastery and self-overcoming in a Nietzschean sense, with the aim of cosmic wisdom. Their conception of Satanism is practical, with an emphasis on individual growth into realms of darkness and danger through risky acts of prowess. In addition, the ONA seek to change, and disrupt, society itself. They espouse human sacrifice, which they see as the culling of "opfers," victims who are chosen according to strict guidelines. The use of the term "traditional" by these Satanists (ONA) is viewed by some as improper because the ONA refuses to provide any evidence of an old tradition, countering that it is the duty of each initiate to work things out for themselves. In addition, it is felt that "Traditional Satanism" as a label applies better, or at least equally well, to parts of the gnostic movement and its modern remnants.

In early 2004, John L. Westbrook, a former Oklahoma politician told a Penthouse reporter that he had formed an "occult fraternity, to finish the work that the Temple of Set has previously botched." He then displayed a platinum medallion which he had commissioned that resembled a Mars planetary sigil. He has christened this neo-satanic fraternity The Order of Mars. He said membership in his "fraternity" is restricted to those whom he knows personally and that his group does not solicit memberships. He also stated that this "Order" is named in honor of the Roman god Mars, who he claims is closely aligned with Egyptian god Set.