what are the different types of Satanism?

Question

and how are they all different

Answer 1

I will answer your question with a article by Geifodd ap Pwyll:

"First I will cover the LaVeyan Satanists. LaVeyans take their name from Anton Szandor LaVey, who authored The Satanic Bible and who founded the Church of Satan in 1966. They believe that Satan is merely a symbol representing certain characteristics and traits that they find desirable. Such characteristics and traits include, but are not limited to: individuality, carnality, independence, and earthly success and power. The LaVeyan Satanist views Satan as being an imaginary character who represents the reality of the "Beast in Man," which itself is a manifestation of something that LaVey identified in his writings as "the Dark Force in Nature." Religious Satanism, to LaVeyans, is not about worshiping the Devil, but about worshiping oneself as the center of one's own universe. Naturally this will tempt some of my readers to describe LaVeyan Satanists as being "selfish," and indeed such Satanists will not shy away from that adjective.

LaVeyans also believe in practicing what they call magic. However, "magic" to them is not the exercise of supernatural power, but a form of theatrical psychodrama which is intended to help the practitioner overcome their inhibitions and become a full-fledged "personification" of Satan - the Dark Force - in the flesh.

Next I will speak of the Deistic (or Pantheistic) Satanists. Deistic Satanists are like LaVeyans, in that they do not believe that Satan is a personal being. Rather, they believe that Satan is an impersonal supreme being or force which is one with all things (i.e., pantheism). They agree with the "Dark Force in Nature" terminology that LaVeyans use, but they tend to place less emphasis on the teaching of LaVey than on what they term "the Dark Doctrines." The Dark Doctrines are essentially based upon an etymological hypothesis that the Hebrew word "Satan" is derived from a pair of Sanskrit terms, "Sat" (which is said to mean something like "pure existence") and "Tan" (which is said to mean something like "stretching forth"). The Sat part is a description of what it fundamentally is, while the Tan is a description of what it does. As Sat, it is the force of being which causes all and everything to exist. As Tan, it is the force that causes evolution and metamorphosis. The primary two churches which teach Deistic Satanism are the First Church of Satan in Salem, Massachussetts, and the Satanic Reds (who are also, interestingly enough, a Communist group).

The theistic branch of Satanism is divided into multiple subcategories. Perhaps the oldest variety of theistic Satanism of which I know are the Gnostic Satanists, who are descended from the Ophidian Gnostics. The Gnostics believed that everything that existed was originally pure spirit; then the Demiurge (who was identified as the god of the Old Testament by Ophidian Gnostics, and with the Devil by Gnostic Christians) trapped our souls in matter and cut us away from the Source. The Gnostic Christians believed that Jesus Christ was an incorporeal spirit that had been sent into the world by the Source, not to save the human race by dying on the cross, but to teach the way of discovering Gnosis - i.e., knowledge of the divinity within - which was believed to be the only way to escape the sinfulness of the material world. While some Gnostics, typically the Gnostic Christians, believed that it was necessary to abstain from worldly pleasures in order to transcend the material world, others (particularly the Ophidians) believed that Gnosis could be achieved by indulging in worldly pleasures and by "exhausting" their sinfulness. This is where the Gnostic Satanists came from.

The Ophidians identified the One who was sent into the world by the Source to teach humans of the Gnosis with the serpent of Genesis, and not with Christ. They believed that when the serpent tempted Adam and Eve with the Knowledge of Good and Evil, He was really tempting them with the Gnosis and thereby freed them from the authoritarian power of the Demiurge (Jehovah). The Ophidians, unlike Christians, did not identify the serpent as Satan, but as Sophia, the goddess of wisdom. However, there were some Ophidian-based Gnostics who did acknowledge the serpent as Satan, and these became the Gnostic Satanists. Gnostic Satanists, therefore, worship Lucifer as the Bringer of Light, who helps us to transcend the imperfections of earthly existence by enticing us to indulgence, rather than abstinence. There is currently no major Gnostic Satanist organization in existence of which I am aware, though there have been groups such as Church Lucifer (also known as the Children of the Black Rose). It has been speculated that the Gnostic Satanists had a bit of influence over the Freemasons. Whether this is actually true or not is anyone's guess.

Later came the Yezidi, who are a Middle Eastern sect that originated in the area which is currently known as Iraq. Founded by the prophet Sheik Adi in the 1100's, the Yezidi were a band of Islamic heretics who believed that Shaitan, the fallen angel, was not really the Devil but the true Messiah whom the Creator had sent to rule over our terrestrial world and to eventually extinguish the fires of Hell with His tears. They were forbidden to pronounce the name "Shaitan" (and in some accounts it is said that Yezidi would even go so far as to kill themselves upon hearing the name, as it was considered an act of blasphemy just to hear it), so they called Him "Melek Ta'us," which is a Kurdish name meaning "King of the Angels."

As Melek Ta'us, the Prince of this World was often depicted in the form of a peacock. This is taken from an earlier Persian myth in which Ahura Mazda, the god of light, asked Ahriman, the god of darkness, why He only created "evil" things. Ahriman then promptly took an ugly bird, dismembered it, brought the pieces of its corpse back together again and resurrected it, and it came back to life as the beautiful peacock. Ahriman then said to Mazda, "See? Not all of my works are evil." The Yezidi believe that at the end of days, the Prince of this World and the Creator god will become reconciled, and thus will the human race be saved. It is important to point out here that in Yezidi theology, Satan is not the enemy of God, but a faithful servant of God who was appointed to be the God of this World, rather than a fallen angel who was "cast out" from heaven. Yezidi typically believe that the god of Christians is the true deceiver.

The Yezidi still exist today, and were among the Kurds who were most persecuted by Saddam Hussein in modern Iraq. Some still live in Iraq, where they are currently establishing representation for themselves in the new government. Others have moved to parts of Europe, including both Russia and Germany. The Yezidis do not accept the term "Satanist" because they do not accept the name "Satan" as a name for the Prince of this World. However, it is a fact that they worship the very same deity that other theistic Satanists do. The Yezidi holy text is known as the Mishaf Resh, which outlines their view of creation. Copies of this text can now be found online.

Then come what is called the Christian-based Duotheists. Christian-based Duotheists are theistic Satanists who believe in a form of Satanism that is essentially more like inversified Christianity. Which is to say, they believe that Satan is not a god but a fallen angel who has rebelled against the Creator, and who is attempting to usurp the Creator's throne. This is probably a form of Satanism that most Christians will be more familiar with, as it accepts most of what Christianity believes - including the Fall of Man, the Crucifixion, the coming of Antichrist and the Second Coming of Christ - except that Christian-based Duotheists simply choose the other side of the fence. They often believe that Satan, although a mere fallen angel, actually has a fighting chance of winning the battle against God. Christian-based Duotheists are commonly laughed at and ridiculed by the majority of Satanists as being the Satanic equivalent to "Holy Rollers."

Next we have the Setians. The Setian denomination was founded by Dr. Michael A. Aquino in 1975. Aquino was a priest of the Church of Satan who left over a dispute with LaVey concerning the existence of the Prince of Darkness. Aquino then started his own church called the Temple of Set. The Setians believe that the Prince of Darkness' "true" name is Set, and that before He became known as "Satan" in Judeo-Christian mythology, He was known as Set in ancient Egyptian religion. Setians believe that the Prince of Darkness is a god who is responsible for creating consciousness - the ability to perceive, to be aware and to take deliberate action. They believe in a mystical concept called "Xeper," an Egyptian word pronounced "Kheffer" which means "I have Come into Being." Xeper is what the Egyptian sun god, Ra, would proclaim each morning at dawn after his nocturnal journey through the underworld. Set was the god who protected Ra during this journey from Apep, the serpent of darkness and chaos. In protecting Ra, Set enabled the sun to "Xeper" each morning, and this myth is taken to be symbolic of Set's power to enable us to become newly created beings with each self-determined action that we take in life. In this context, the term "Xeper" means something similar to "I think therefore I am," though it could be said to take an additional meaning: "The MORE I think, the MORE I am."

The Setian holy text is The Book of Coming Forth by Night, which was supposedly dictated to Michael Aquino during a ritual channeling with the Prince of Darkness in 1975. Setians are often indecisive over whether or not they should consider themselves Satanists. Many times, Setians consider themselves to be a part of the Satanic subculture and indeed they are, since they grew out of the Church of Satan (strangely enough). However, often they will claim that they are a "higher" form of Satanism that is much too sophisticated to be ensared in "the bastard title of a Hebrew fiend," so they will try to pass their religion off as something completely different. However, for all their neo-Egyptian mysticism, they continue to refer to Set as "the Prince of Darkness" and they continue to use the Satanic pentagram (i.e., two points up, so the star is shaped like a goat's head) as their sacred symbol. Therefore, most Satanists continue to consider the Setians to be a denomination of Satanism. Also, Setians, although they are theistic, count as Self-worshipers instead of as Satan/Set-worshipers. They have what I like to call a "Faustian" relationship with the Prince of Darkness, which is to say that instead of worshiping Him and serving Him, they work with Him as an associate who helps them to increase their own power in this world. Sort of like a strictly academic or business relationship, rather than a "god-follower" relationship.

Joy of Satan-style theistic Satanists (JoSers for short) are rather weird. Satanists such as these believe, like Christian-based Duo-theists, that there is a cosmic struggle going on between Satan and Jehovah. However, the JoSers (having read too much Zechariah Sitchin) believe that Satan and Jehovah are not actually supernatural beings, but mortal aliens living on a distant planet across the universe, who communicate telepathically with human beings and who are engaged in a psychic mind-war over our allegiance. JoSers tend to believe that all of the gods worshiped by human beings throughout history are really extra-terrestrials. They also believe that Satan was originally the pre-Christian Sumerian deity Enki, before He became corrupted into the fallen angel concept. Some of them have actually taken to calling themselves Enkians. Although JoSers are commonly laughed at and ridiculed by other Satanists as being sort of like the Satanic equivalent to Scientologists, they nonetheless have a large following in theistic Satanism.

Demonolators are not exactly Satanists per se, although they are accepted as a part of our subculture. Demonolators are people who worship Demons, as opposed to just Satan Himself. They believe that the Demons are not actually fallen angels, but really pre-Christian pagan deities who represent the "dark side of Nature." Demonolators consider themselves to be Dark Pagans (i.e., worshipers of Nature who are tuned to the dark side). They do not really have much of a public presence at this time, though they have in the past. It is known that they are organized, but they choose to remain underground due in part to various troubles that they have had with outsiders in the past. Some of them used to maintain public websites through which they attempted to reach out to outsiders, but it is reported that one of these outsiders stirred up some major political trouble within one or more of the priesthoods. Therefore, as a way of avoiding further trouble, the Demonolator community opted to go underground. However, it would appear that at least one of the traditional Demonolator covens has decided to re-instate an online presence. Please visit the OFS Demonolatry website for more extensive information.

Lastly, I will speak of the Devil worshipers (also called Diabolators). This is where I fit in. While it is true that most theistic Satanists can probably be described as Devil worshipers (except for the Setians - who have quite an aversion to that word "worship"), it will probably surprise most of my readers to learn that the vast majority of Satanists frown upon the term "Devil worshiper," in much the same way that many gays frown upon the word "queer" and many African Americans from upon the dreaded "N" word. Satanists who embrace the term "Devil worshiper" and actually use it as a term of self-reference are, surprisingly enough, a minority within a minority.

The term itself does not really propose any particular theological worldview, save for a belief in a Satan (or satans), and a belief in worshiping Him. Other than these two points, Devil worshipers can embark upon a wide variety of theological perspectives - polytheism, pantheism, henotheism, duo-theism, etc. The major qualification for being a Devil worshiper is that you take a primarily devotional approach to the Powers of Darkness. Most other varieties of Satanism place emphasis on the practice of magic or the attainment of Gnosis over worship and prayer (in fact the Setians will tell you that worship and prayer are "un-Satanic"). But Devil worshipers unashamedly worship the Powers of Darkness as their gods, and we also unashamedly refer to them as our Masters - another "taboo" that most other Satanists refuse to accept. Perhaps the only three organizations dedicated to honest-to-Satan Devil worship are the Church of Azazel, the Order of Eternal Darkness and the Temple of Diabolic Youth. However, the Church of Azazel is still just starting out, and is only beginning to gain acceptance among some of the other denominations.

Those of us who identify as Devil worshipers tend to overlap with many, perhaps all, of the other theistic categories I have mentioned above. In this context, Devil worship is not really a theological category, but rather an attitude. The taboo on the term "Devil worship" originated with LaVey's Church of Satan, who basically have the attitude that they are the only true Satanists and the rest of us are all "Devil worshipers" whom they despise and tend to lump together with the criminal fringe.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that no discussion of the varieties of religious Satanism would be complete without mentioning our criminal fringe. Historically there has only been one organized Satanist group that committed acts of terrorism, murder and violence. These were the members of the Norwegian Black Metal Circle, which existed in Norway during the early 1990's.

The Black Metal Circle (sometimes called "the Black Metal Mafia") was founded by a man who called himself Euronymous (after a Greek deity of death and the underworld). Euronymous and his followers were musicians who played black metal music. They chose to call themselves Satanists because they believed in Satan as this "Spirit of Evil" who only wants to spread misery and suffering throughout the world. In order to "serve" Him, Euronymous and his followers began a long campaign of church-burning and graveyard desecrations, as well as murders. They made a point to target churches that were historical monuments of architecture in Norway, and I believe that in at least one case, they burned one of these churches down while people were actually inside.

Euronymous explained in interviews that the reason he and his followers did this was because they believed that, by performing acts of terrorism cloaked in Satanic imagery, they would cause Christian fanaticism to grow in Northern Europe. Northern Europe is actually known for having a predominatly liberal Christian climate these days, but Euronymous wanted to initate a surge in Christian fanaticism by creating terror in people with these church burnings and murders. Euronymous was completely insane and was working to initiate a man-made apocalypse. However, as crazy as he was, he was not stupid. The Black Metal Circle was well organized and they managed to get away with what they were doing for a couple of years. In fact, the Black Metal Circle was not stopped until one of their own members - one Varg Vikernes, who had converted to Odinism - murdered Euronymous in 1993.

It would be intellectually dishonest of Satanists to deny that we have our fair share of psychopathic monsters, as do all other religions. But as with other religions, the number of psychopathic monsters in our religion is actually quite small when compared to the number of sane people. The problem is that the criminal Satanists tend to get more press than the sane Satanists do, simply because the media does not consider "friendly neighborhood Devil worshipers" like myself to be very newsworthy.

So these are the varieties of religious Satanism as I have come to understand them over the past decade of my life. I hope that this article has been helpful in clearing some of the misconceptions that many people have about our religious subculture."

You can check out his site below.

Hail Satan.

Answer 2

Types Of Satanism

Answer 3

Three main ones. Classical Satanism where people gather and worship the Devil. It's like an 'inversion' of a Catholic Mass with people having sex on the altar and similarly juvenile stuff.

LaVeyan Satanism as promoted by Anton LaVey is a form of humanism. They claim not to believe in the Devil but still perform certain rites for their own reasons (Google 'Church of Satan' if you're interested.)

Lastly, some teenagers practice what they think is Satanism, which usually involves listening to bad music, vandalising churches and being cruel to animals. They are usually lapsed Christians going through a difficult stage and inevitably rejoin their church again within a few months.

Answer 4

You basically have two main branches in Satanism: LaVeyan, also known as Modern, Satanism, and Theistic Satanism, sometimes erroneously referred to as Traditional Satanism (for the most part though that term has been dropped). LaVeyans are closer to being atheists. They see all the gods, and Satan, as symbolic or archetypical and believe that the only "god" that is important is yourself. They believe in the right to indulgence and for the most part follow the sets of codes, ethics, and values presented in Anton LaVey's "Satanic Bible".

Theistic Satanists actually do worship a being they call Satan, though they don't see him as an embodiment of evil but rather a figure of independance who rebelled against an oppressive authoritive figure and then got a bad rap for it. Besides that there really isn't much about Theistic Satanism that is different from Modern Satanism.

Theistic Satanism also have several sub-branches within it...you have Luciferianism, Spiritual Satanism, the Setians, and a few others.

Answer 5

In LaVeyan satanism, you are basically atheist, but you focus on your personal needs alot. They believe in no god, and instead believe that because you only live once, all of your desires must be obtained here on earth, and they work towards obtaining and indulging in their desires, excluding whatever is prohibited by law. They think that worshipping a god is wrong, and so basically from what I understand they use the name satanism as a jab at all the religions that worship a higher power. They use satan (which they do not worship or believe in in any way) as their representation of opposition to most religions. They work towards physical, mental, and emotional gratification.

And on the other side, you have Theistic Satanists, people who believe in Satan as a deity. Some choose what is viewed as the "baddie" of Christianity, and many others so in a sense they are still part of that religion.

From my own findings, most satanists are good people (or at least, not bad people) that follow the first definition, which would be LaVeyan satanism.

Oh, you also have the pissy teenagers who call themselves satanists to make their parents mad.

Those are the main ones that I know of, there are probably other ones with slight variations of the same idea. I may be a bit off on the Theistic satanism, seeing as I do not follow it, but it should be at least a bit accurate.

Answer 6

There are two main branches of Satanism. Theistic Satanism and Atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists worship Satan as a physical being.
Atheistic Satanists follow a Satanic philosophy. They live life in a Satanic way. The philosophy, in turn, is divided into two more branches: LaVeyan and Solitary Satanism. LaVeyans follow the Church of Satan's ideals, which are based off of Satan. Solitary Satanists follow their own ideals.
At this point in what I'm writing, by Solitary Satanist, I mean Solitary Atheistic Satanist. Most Solitary Satanists are theistic.


There is also an in between form of Satanism, called Deistic Satanism.
They believe in an actual force of nature, but this force is personified as Satan. I'm closest to a Deistic Satanist.


Many Satanists formulate their own religion, taking influence from LaVeyan Satanism, Theistic and Deistic Satanism, and Paganism.


Atheistic Satanism is actually a philosophy, and it's main purpose is to "initiate" the Satanist in to the Left Hand Path. They may become Theistic Satanists, Deistic Satanists, Wiccans, and many other Occult religions.
Others may remain atheistic.

Answer 7

There are two types of Satanism. Traditional and Spiritual Satanism. Traditional Satanism includes LeVayan teaching and teaching from other organizations, such as FCOS (First Church of Satan) which should not be confused with the Church of Satan founded in 1966.

Spiritual Satanism teaches that Satan is a real being. SS (spiritual Satanist) men and women believe that Satan is no devil, but rather a god.

For more information: www.exposingchristianity.com
www.joyofsatan.com

Answer 8

I know a little about La Vey Satanism, because my boyfriend is deeply involved in that. Just what I have learned through him and researched on my own and spoken to other Satanists, to get a better grasp of him.
-Athiests
-You are your OWN god/goddess
-Some do magick and rituals, altho athiests. All he will say is that the energy comes from us, not a Divine Power.
-Satan is a symbol for human nature, not a literal being (Needless to say, some find this rather confusing)
-Anti-Christian...from what I have seen everything is done in reverse of Christianity to mock it. I've seen them use Holy Water (bet the priest didn't count on where it would end up), etc.
-A lot of partying, hedonism--yet from what I have seen, a responsible bunch about these activities
-There are 9 Satanic sins I think, (don't eat me alive if I am wrong please, just trying to help here)you can find all that info and more on the Church of Satan website..Check out the Satanic Bible, etc
-Don't tick these people off, haven't seen them respond to kindly to percieved "enemies"
All in all though, a nice but naughty bunch. I have learned a lot from them. I just started a fun little blog about my relationship with one. It is goddessy damned hilarious. Click on my profile for the link.
Toodles.

Answer 9

It’s sad to say that in today’s modern world there still is religious predigest and Religious Discrimination. It is a too common thing that ignorant people believe that Left hand path religions are the evil of this world, and that anyone being involved or a member of a Left Hand Path group, order or organization are evil.

This is simply untrue those on the Left Hand Path are seeking a spiritual elevation of a different nature, Instead of focusing on a faith based worship of a all powerful and omnificent God or Gods/deities.

The Left Hand Path Religions value the advancement and preservation of the self, glorification of the earthly, and personal power over there own lives, nature and to discover, become and evolve towards self deification.

There are social and moral codes that Those on the Left hand Path follow, Those on the Left hand Path follow and adhere to the Laws of the country they reside in and the Laws of the United Nations.

The Left Hand path is a lone path, your experiences can be shared with others verbally, but it is a lone journey, meaning each person's experiences will be different, each person's views will be different, and each persons approach will be different. Effects, levels and approach to ritual and magik practice will be different. Some are in the The Cain state, The Cain State refers to when Cain of the Zohar / Biblical Texts wondered or Exoduses his homelands to the wilderness for many years in solitude until finding, learning and testing all he needed about himself, taping into the core of his psychosis and reaching self deification.

Some may gain a Theistic stand point (monotheistic or multi-theistic) or an Atheistic standpoint. Meaning some will believe in actual deities that guide them along the path, While the Atheist use these deities one or more just as symbolism that represent the forces in the inner self and as forces of nature.

Both should (this is my own beliefs) always remain in control and remain ones own God or Goddess, this means not worshiping these Deities/Gods as higher than yourself, I personally do not worship; I give thanks for what is revealed to me. Never am I less, I may adore certain aspects of these gods and realize in myself that those are the aspects I need to build in myself or I have let lapse and build back up.

Any one that worships a God or Gods is not of the left hand path, Lucifer, Set, Lilith, never bowed down and worshiped another God and the biblical Satan even rejected this ideal and rebelled.

The left hand path is about oneself reaching the greatest potential and becoming more, evolving, and Becoming a God, Your own God.

Ways of the Left Hand Path:

Odalism

Practice of Yatuk-Dinoih Satanism

Luciferianism and Gnostic Luciferianism

Vampirism

Dark Paganism

Cthulhu Mythos

Setianism

Persian Sorcery (Ahrimanean Black Magick)

Choas Magic

Occult Science

Parapsychology Demonology

Energy Manipulation

Astral Projection

Mind Control

Divinity

Immortality

Esotericism

Uthark

Lucid Dreams

Quantum Physics

Ancient History

Nephilim

Conspiracy Theories

Extra Terrestrials

Transhumanism

Goetica

Alchemy

Tantra

Taoism

vampyrism

lycanthropy

Left Hand Path Hinduism

Aghoris

Vamachara

The Amount of actual different kinds of existing and now non- existing adversarial, Satanic, Luciferian, Modern Sumerian, Modern Setian, Occult movements are numerous.
All with different beliefs and Philosophies.

How are they different?
There is not enough room here to explain, But other peoples answers here would cover just the basics, Reseaching it your self would bring a better and a untainted veiw with your own eyes.

Answer 10

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what are the different types of Satanism?
and how are they all different

Answer 11

De-Caf Satanism
Satanism Lite
Son of Satanism
Satanism for Idiots
Analog Satanism
Organic Satanism
Un-Leaded Satanism