Witchy Wednesday: De-Demonizing Satanism

Liz Ramos, under the supervision of Lucifer the cat, discusses stigma around Satanism.

Greetings Witches! As you all have learned throughout this journey with me, I don’t take kindly to bashing and misinformation about various spiritual paths. Satanism is no exception.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I want to say first and foremost what Satanism isn’t – It is NOT the Satanic Panic bullshit of the 80s where Dungeons and Dragons, baby or general human sacrifice, or ritualistic serial killings pop-culture movies make it out to be. It is also not anything any of the fucked up famous mass murderers have claimed it is. Satanism is a non-theistic religious group primarily in the USA. Satanists do not worship Satan – the word Satan is Arabic and means The Enemy. They also do not worship Lucifer, which historically in Roman culture was the name of the planet Venus, and means “light bearer” or “morning star”. This was because Venus was bright and visible in the sky, and was seen as a star, shortly before the sun rose each morning. As a Roman figure, Venus was personified as a man with a torch. Later, his name in Hebrew translated to “Shining One”. The casting down story that we are taught today in Christianity originally comes from Canaanite mythology, where Helel (now Lucifer) tried to dethrone El, a mountain god. This has also been translated to an attempt to overthrow Ba’al, a more prominent deity. In this version. The deity who tries and fails to overthrow Ba’al descends to rule the underworld. Speaking of Christianity – did you know Lucifer is not a deity or Christian figure in the Bible at all? The name Lucifer is mentioned once, and it is during a taunt to an unnamed King of Babylon, referencing the above Canaanite story and the planetary movement.

 As I mentioned in the Deity 101: Baphomet piece, there are two different groups of Satanists: The Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple. Satanism as a belief began with Anton LaVey in 1966. According to LaVey, he came up with the premise after being disgusted and outraged while working at carnivals and seeing “people of higher society” abandon their morals and scriptures on Friday and Saturday, yet attending church on Sunday and looking down on others in a pious fashion. LaVey decided to turn his back to Christianity, taking an atheist and humanistic worldview focused on individualism, expression of desires, bodily autonomy, and rejection of dogma, placing the Satanist as the highest personal authority. During his lifetime, LaVey founded the Church of Satan, a group of like-minded individuals who could connect and meet together. The Church of Satan is still active, but has never been recognized as an IRS Tax Exempt organization. This group is very individual-focused. The Satanic Temple, a later offshoot of Church of Satan, was founded in 2013 by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry. While keeping with Satanic beliefs, The Satanic Temple focuses their efforts on social justice and human rights efforts to allow for the collective of followers to thrive. The Temple is a recognized religious group in the USA by the IRS and is Tax Exempt. There are more differences, and I recommend visiting The Satanic Temple website to continue your research.

Satanists come in various forms – solo practitioners or those who attend Temple Services. I myself have never participated in Temple worship, but I am a member of The Satanic Temple. I plan to visit The Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts this year to see the Baphomet statue and visit the art gallery (and check out the site to see if I can convince my husband to do our vow renewal there!) Speaking more on The Satanic Temple and their fights for justice and freedom, one effort they do is the Nationwide Menstruatin’ with Satan campaigns across the nation. These are donation drives of various feminine hygiene products (tampons, pads, diva cups) that are then given to shelters and other resources for people who don’t have access or funds to these items. I think this is AMAZING! Other works include after school programs for students, fighting for women’s and reproductive rights, and leading the way in various religious freedom campaigns. If you would like to become a member of The Satanic Temple, you can obtain membership by visiting their website and register with the Temple.

Whether you are a Satanist or not, it is important that we are mindful of other spiritual practices and learn what they truly are, not just what pop-culture makes them out to be. Satanism has been a misunderstood and demonized practice for a very long time. I am in no way an expert on the subject, but I can tell you I have met wonderful humans who follow the Satanic Path and continue to inspire me with their kindness, generosity, and desire to be the best they can be to themselves and others. May we all strive to have these qualities. Blessed be!

Elizabeth Ramos is a magic practitioner who specializes in nature focused, healing, protective, and ancestral magics. She is a Reiki Master-Teacher and lives with her husband and their several Feline Leukemia Positive kitties in Upstate New York.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.