Theistic Satanism: Home > Varieties



The varieties of theistic ("traditional") Satanism

by Diane Vera



Copyright © 2006 by Diane Vera. All rights reserved.



  1. Theistic ("traditional") Satanism in general
  2. Some specific forms of primary theistic Satanism
  3. Some secondary theistic Satanisms
  4. My critiques of some forms of Satanism

This page is a work in progress. There are many more kinds of theistic Satanism than I've documented below, so far.


  1. Theistic ("traditional") Satanism in general

    For purposes of this website, a "Satanist" is anyone with a favorable regard for Satan, and a theistic Satanist is anyone who reveres Satan as a deity. There are many different kinds of theistic Satanism, as detailed further down on this page. But first, here are some links to pages about theistic Satanism in general:


  2. Some forms of primary theistic Satanism

    By "primary theistic Satanism," I mean a religion, spirituality, or worldview in which Satan is not only believed in as a literal deity, but is also the primary (or sole) object of worship/reverence/veneration/whatever, or at least as one of the names of one's primary deity. Some of the more popular kinds are these:

    See also my much longer list of Other theistic or theistic-friendly Satanism/LHP websites.


  3. Some secondary theistic Satanisms

    By a "secondary theistic Satanism," I mean a religion or spirituality in which Satan is part of the pantheon and is worshipped, revered, or at least propitiated in some way, at least to some extent, but is not the primary object of worship/veneration/reverence/emulation/whatever.

    • Thelema. (Aleister Crowley did include Satan in his personal pantheon and in some of his rituals, e.g. Liber Samekh, but only as one of many gods. If you happen to know of a good article detailing this, please let me know and I'll link to it.)
    • Those Gnostic Luciferians who revere Satan as well as Lucifer, but who see Satan as a distinct entity.
    • On Exu by Clifford Low & Carol Dow (about some of the African Diaspora religions) on necronomi.com.
    • More later.

    The line between primary and secondary theistic Satanism can sometimes be hard to draw. For example, there are quite a few people who revere Satan as their sole or primary God, but who believe that "Satan" is "really" just a name given by Jews and Christians to some god who was worshipped in one or more older religions under other names, e.g. Set, Pan, Loki, or Enki. (And such forms of Satanism will sometimes give birth to new forms of Paganism that worship the god in question without calling that god "Satan" anymore. A prime example is Michael Aquino before he stopped calling himself a Satanist. Other examples include some of the Joy of Satan splinter groups.)


  4. My critiques of some forms of Satanism

    The Satanist scene is full of vicious, petty infighting. At the other extreme, some Satanists avoid criticizing other Satanist groups at all.

    I believe that it's important for us to think about our own beliefs; and, as a means of helping us develop our own beliefs, it's desirable for Satanists to be able to talk freely about what does or does not make sense to us about the beliefs and practices of various Satanist groups and writers. Unfortunately, too many folks in the Satanist scene don't seem to realize that it's possible to debate about ideas and practices without stooping to petty insults, mud-slinging, and in many cases outright slander. Here on this website and in my forums, I aim to raise the level of dialogue.

    Below are some of my disagreements with some of the beliefs and practices of some Satanists.



See also:

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