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Luciferianism

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Luciferianism can be understood best as a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer.

Luciferianism is often identified as an auxiliary of Satanism, due to the canonical identification of Lucifer with Satan. Some Luciferians accept this identification, and thus could properly be called Satanists. Others reject it, arguing that Lucifer is a more positive ideal than Satan. They are inspired by the ancient myths of Egypt, Rome and Greece, Gnosticism and traditional western occultism.

There are several different viewpoints on how Luciferianism is defined. These include:

  • Spiritual/Gnostic Luciferianism
  • Philosophic Luciferianism
  • Modern Luciferianism
  • Religious/Traditional Luciferianism


Spiritual/Gnostic Luciferianism

Spiritual Luciferianism has its roots in the esoteric teachings of Western Occultism and Hermeticism. This view holds that, while Satan represents the manifestation of the Material Realm, Lucifer represents the highest spiritual ideal, one's true Will, the Holy Guardian Angel, etc. As all “material” things are energy or light, Lucifer is seen as the creating force of the universe, ever present. Spiritual Luciferianism is more of a branch of Hermeticism than Satanism, having little or nothing to do with the latter. Magical practices are mostly influenced by Roger Williamson and Aleister Crowley.

Various Gnostic Luciferian sects that emphasize the dualism of the universe have also been associated with the image of Lucifer, in the root sense of the "bringer of light". The orthodox view has associated Lucifer with "Satan before the fall", though, as Bishop Lucifer Calaritanus's name attests, Lucifer was not yet associated with "Satan" in the 4th century. Some classically-educated Free Masons used "luciferian" in the scholarly sense of "bringing enlightenment," invoking Prometheus who stole fire from the gods to bring to man. Pro-Catholic polemicists linked such Masonic usage with sects worshiping Lucifer, which have had persistent groups of followers since the Middle Ages.

Philosophical Luciferianism

Luciferianism is the embodiment of knowledge that acknowledges the Principles of Lucifer as the "Light of Conscious Evolution". As a god or as a principle, Lucifer is the "Light Bearer". The Light which illuminates the consciousness of sapient beings and heightens the senses and awareness to experience Higher Levels of Being. Luciferianism is the path of Self-Attainment, the Higher Self. It is the Centered Path, neither Left nor Right, for Lucfier is the Star that shines in the morning and evening, that point of light between opposing forces.

Modern Luciferianism

Modern Luciferianism and Modern Satanism share many primary aspects. In both, practitioners self-identify with a super-personal essence that they view as embodying desirable characteristics. Both work towards employing these characteristics as a means of bettering the Self. However, these two groups differ in that Modern Satanists, particularly younger ones, are believed to actively engage in the sinister or diabolical aspects traditionally associated with the biblical Satan due to criticism received by people who are ignorant about Satanism. It is therefore incorrect that crimes, such as child kidnapping, human sacrifices, vandalism, and so forth, are committed by true Satanists. Contrary to popular belief, many Luciferians and Satanists alike do not worship the devil, but rather worship nothing except the divinity within themselves.

Religious/Traditional Luciferianism

This is the view that Lucifer is a living deity, and is worshipped as such. Lucifer is usually equated with Satan and there is really no difference between this philosophy and Religious Satanism.

It is also considered by some Luciferians that Lucifer is the name of an alien entity, or race of entities, that exists outside of our awareness and that also genetically manipulated early primates thereby creating the human being.[citation needed]

Followers of Lucifer Calaritanus

"Luciferians" described a schismatic group named after Lucifer Calaritanus, Bishop of Cagliari, Sardinia in the late 4th century. The movement was linked to the complex political machinations involving the emperor Constantius II and Pope Liberius. Lucifer was a staunch ultra-orthodox opponent of Arius, declared a heretic. The movement died out early in the following century. All that we know of Bishop Lucifer's views derive from the anti-Luciferian polemic of Jerome in the form of a dialogue, Altercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi ("Altercation of the Luciferian and the orthodox").

Luciferian Orders

Structured systems that are fundamentally Luciferian are exceedingly rare. The Children of the Black Rose are a long-time Luciferian order who view Lucifer as a Supreme being encompassing all; "everything and nothing" [1]. This can be compared to the Gnostic deity Abraxas, which is thought to contain both Absolute Good and Evil. A more modern structure inspired by Gnosticism, French occultism, Thelema and the works of Danish Luciferian author Carl William Hansen (Ben Kadosh) and Bishop Michael Bertiaux is the Neo-Luciferian Church. It works within a seven grade church system.

See External Links below for more organizations.

The Entity Known as Lucifer

The name Lucifer is commonly tied to the biblical Satan. However, the name Lucifer does not appear in most versions of the Bible. Lucifer does appear once in the King James version in Isaiah 14:12, in which the King of Babylon is referenced as "Lucifer, Son of the Morning" (translated from the Hebrew "Helel ben Shahar," or "Day Star, Son of the Dawn"). This is because Lucifer was originally the Latin term for the planet Venus, also known as the morning star. There is no direct link in the Bible between the entity known as "Satan" and the entity known as "Lucifer." This was a myth later created by Augustine after translating the above mentioned text from the original Hebrew into Latin. [citation needed] It was at this time that the story of the "War in Heaven" was created. There is no mention of this myth in any Hebrew document.

It should be noted that in the earliest days of the church, Lucifer was seen as being synonymous with Christ, not Satan. Early Christian parents often named their children Lucifer, as with Lucifer Calaritanus.

See also

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