Heterosexuality Discussion ForumDo you think there will be sex in heaven (the afterlife)?burwelm wrote:Don't Satanists worship themselves?
What is Satanism about?
Laveyan Satanism (Modern Satanism)
Modern Satanism is probably the widest-spread of the currently active denominations of Satanism, and probably also the biggest "bone of contention" amongst the other denominations. Modernists do not worship Satan as a god or deity; theistically, they are atheists. They believe in neither a god nor a devil, nor (usually) spirits and "supernatural beings.
In that there are two subcatagories:
Naturalist:
The Naturalists view Satan as the natural force of the universe, the "underlying current" of nature. The power which makes trees grow, earthquakes shatter, stars form and die....all these, the raw energy of "What Is," is Satan. As such it has no good or bad side in and of itself; it is everything. But, it is not intelligent or self-aware. Just like electricity or windpower, it exists without consciousness, but may be tapped by the conscious user (magician). This is the basis of Modern Satanic magick: that by training oneself to "tap into" this force -- Satan -- one may subtley warp reality into a form more advantageous to ones desires. However, it is not an external godhead or force which enables you to accomplish this; it is the force of your own willpower and emotions, exerting a "draw" on the Satan, attracting it to you so that you can "mold" it into a more suitable shape. This doesn't mean "I wish for a car," and a Ferrari appears. But it may make it more likely that you eventually obtain a Ferrari in various ways.
Symbolists:
The Symbolists view Satan as a mental, mythic archetype, as the "Adversary" or the "Light-bringer." As such, the figure of Satan as an anthropomorphic being is completely fictional: he does not exist as such. However, the mental conception of the figure draws us to him. We identify with him, respect him, admire him, even as a fictional character. The archetype or mythic figure embodies a lot of what Symbolic Satanists consider important and good qualities. Some of them may include pride, independence, free-will, intelligence, knowledge, truthfulness, and ambition. The exact list will vary on who you ask. The qualities of the archetype may be draw from various sources, such as the Christian Bible, Milton's Paradise Lost, the Apocrypha, The Satanic Bible, and personal experience or thought. For some, the admirable qualities may include destruction, cruelty, hatred -- it truly depends on what the individual Satanist sees as "desireable" and "undesireable," or as "admirable" and "inadmirable." Again, the Symbolists do not worship Satan-Lucifer, or acknowledge his literal existance, but view him as a mythic figure much like Peter Pan, Uncle Sam, Zeus, or King Mida
Then there are Traditionalist sometimes referred to as Luciferian:
Traditional Satanists are those Satanists who believe in Satan as a literal existant being, whether a human, a spirit, an alien, or a god. Sometimes Satan is viewed as a friend, a comrade, a fellow being which is an equal to be befriended just like any other person or being. Sometimes Satan is seen as an superior being, but not necessarily THE most superior being, who should be respected for the power he/she has. Sometimes he/she is seen as the supreme creator of all things; sometimes s/he is seen as BEING all things, the divinity inherent in All (Satanic Pantheism?). Regardless of what the Traditional Satanist defines him/her as, the commonality therein is that Satan is a defineable (if vaguely) external force which has an existance and usually consciousness in and of itself. This may or may not be an active consciousness, but is a consciousness of some sort.
I am Laveyan.
I am sure we are going way off topic your topic. But since you are the author of said thread I think we might have some leeway. Though I think this might get moved to the open forum section.
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