Editing Satanism (section)

==Precursors of modern Satanism==

=== Literary ===

From the late 1600s through to the 1800s, the character of Satan was increasingly rendered unimportant in western philosophy, and ignored in Christian theology, while in folklore he came to be seen as a foolish rather than a menacing figure.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=29}} The development of new values in the [[Age of Enlightenment]] (in particular, those of [[reason]] and [[individualism]]) contributed to a shift in many Europeans' concept of Satan.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=29}} In this context, a number of individuals took Satan out of the traditional Christian narrative and reread and reinterpreted him in light of their own time and their own interests, in turn generating new and different portraits of Satan.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=28}}

The shifting concept of Satan owes many of its origins to [[John Milton]]'s epic poem ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1667), in which Satan features as the protagonist.{{sfnm|1a1=Dyrendal|1a2=Lewis|1a3=Petersen|1y=2016|1p=28 |2a1=van Luijk|2y=2016|2p=70}} Milton was a [[Puritan]] and had never intended for his depiction of Satan to be a sympathetic one.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=28, 30}} However, in portraying Satan as a victim of his own pride who rebelled against the Judeo-Christian god, Milton humanized him and also allowed him to be interpreted as a rebel against tyranny.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=30}} In this vein, the 19th century saw the emergence of what has been termed ''literary Satanism'' or ''romantic Satanism'',{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=73}} where in poetry, plays, and novels, God is portrayed not as benevolent but using His omnipotent power for tyranny. Whereas in Christian doctrine Satan was an enemy of not only god but humanity, in the romantic portrayal he was a brave, noble, rebel against tyranny, a friend to other victims of the all powerful bully, i.e. humans. These writers saw Satan as a metaphor to criticize the power of churches and state and to champion the values of reason and liberty.<ref name=JPLS2023:chpt.1-Invention>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981]]: chapter 1. What Is Satanism? Anton LaVey and the Invention of Satanism</ref>

This was how Milton's Satan was understood by [[John Dryden]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2kk1AQAAIAAJ&q=%22but+he+is+a+satanist+only%22+%22dryden%22 |title=Seventeenth-century Critics and Biographers of Milton – M. Manuel – Google Books |date=23 July 2010 |accessdate=2022-10-08|last1=Manuel |first1=M. }}</ref> and later readers such as the publisher [[Joseph Johnson (publisher)|Joseph Johnson]],{{sfnm|1a1=Dyrendal|1a2=Lewis|1a3=Petersen|1y=2016|1pp=28, 30 |2a1=van Luijk|2y=2016|2pp=69–70}} and the anarchist philosopher [[William Godwin]], who reflected it in his 1793 book ''[[Enquiry Concerning Political Justice]]''.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=30}} ''Paradise Lost'' gained a wide readership in the 18th century, both in Britain and in continental Europe, where it had been translated into French by [[Voltaire]].{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=70}} Milton thus became "a central character in rewriting Satanism" and would be viewed by many later religious Satanists as a "''de facto'' Satanist".{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=28}}

According to Ruben van Luijk, this cannot be seen as a "coherent movement with a single voice, but rather as a ''post factum'' identified group of sometimes widely divergent authors among whom a similar theme is found".{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=108}} For the literary Satanists, Satan was depicted as a benevolent and sometimes heroic figure,{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=69}} with these more sympathetic portrayals proliferating in the art and poetry of many [[romanticist]] and [[Decadent movement|decadent]] figures.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=28}} For these individuals, Satanism was not a religious belief or ritual activity, but rather a "strategic use of a symbol and a character as part of artistic and political expression".{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=31}}

[[File:Lucifer Liege Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Guillaume Geefs]], ''[[Le génie du mal]]'', 1848]]
Among the romanticist poets to adopt this concept of Satan was the English poet [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], who had been influenced by Milton.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=71–72}} In his poem ''[[Laon and Cythna]]'', Shelley praised the "serpent", a reference to Satan, as a force for good in the universe.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=97–98}}
Another was Shelley's fellow British poet [[Lord Byron]], who included Satanic themes in his 1821 play ''[[Cain (play)|Cain]]'', which was a dramatization of the Biblical story of [[Cain and Abel]].{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=73}} These more positive portrayals also developed in France; one example was the 1823 work ''Eloa'' by [[Alfred de Vigny]].{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=74–75}} Satan was also adopted by the French poet [[Victor Hugo]], who made the character's fall from Heaven a central aspect of his ''[[La Fin de Satan]]'', in which he outlined his own [[cosmogony]].{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=105–107}}
Although the likes of Shelley and Byron promoted a positive image of Satan in their work, there is no evidence that any of them performed religious rites to venerate him, and thus they cannot be considered to be religious Satanists.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=108}}

Radical left-wing political ideas had been spread by the [[American Revolution]] of 1775–83 and the [[French Revolution]] of 1789–99. The figure of Satan, who was seen as having rebelled against the tyranny imposed by Jehovah, was appealing to many of the radical leftists of the period.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=77–79}} For them, Satan was "a symbol for the struggle against tyranny, injustice, and oppression... a mythical figure of rebellion for an age of revolutions, a larger-than-life individual for an age of individualism, a free thinker in an age struggling for free thought".{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=31}} The French anarchist [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], who was a staunch critic of Christianity, embraced Satan as a symbol of liberty in several of his writings.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=117–119}} Another prominent 19th century anarchist, the Russian [[Mikhail Bakunin]], similarly described the figure of Satan as "the eternal rebel, the first freethinker and the emancipator of worlds" in his book ''[[God and the State]]''.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|pp=119–120}} These ideas probably inspired the American [[feminist]] activist [[Moses Harman]] to name his anarchist periodical ''[[Lucifer the Lightbearer]]''.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=120}} The idea of this "Leftist Satan" declined during the 20th century.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=120}}

=== Occult ===

[[File:Baphomet by Éliphas Lévi.jpg|thumb|The Sabbatic Goat, also known as the Goat of Mendes or [[Baphomet]], as illustrated by [[Éliphas Lévi]], has become one of the most common symbols of Satanism.{{sfn|Petersen|2005|pages=444–446}}]]
In 17th-century Sweden, a number of highway robbers and other outlaws living in the forests informed judges that they venerated Satan because he provided more practical assistance than Jehovah,{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=44–45}} practices now regarded as "folkloric Satanism".{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=44}}

The figure of "Lucifer" was taken up by the French [[ceremonial magic]]ian [[Éliphas Lévi]] (1810–1875), who shocked convention by turning the traditional figure of evil into a brave rebel against tyranny.<ref name=JPLS2023:chpt.1-Invention/> Lévi has been described as a "Romantic Satanist",{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=107}}{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=37}} a [[Romanticism|Romantic]] literary movement that formed no organizations and did not worship Satan, but did make a crucial break away from the traditional Christian figure of the "Lord of Darkness" doomed to failure and punishment for his wickedness.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.1-Invention/> They reimagined Satan as an enemy of God the powerful, but not of the weak and mortal human race. In other words, a figure humans could sympathize with.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.1-Invention/>
As Lévi moved toward political conservatism in later life, he retained the use of the term, but instead applied it to what he believed was a morally neutral facet of "the absolute".{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=107}}{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=37}}

Lévi was not the only occultist who used the term ''Lucifer'' without adopting the term ''Satan'' in a similar way.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=37}} The early [[Theosophical Society]] believed that "Lucifer" was a force that aided humanity's awakening to its own spiritual nature;{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=37–38}} the Society began publishing the [[Lucifer (magazine)|journal ''Lucifer'']] in 1887.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=38}}

The first person to promote an explicitly "Satanic" philosophy was the Polish writer [[Stanisław Przybyszewski]] (1868–1927), a "[[Bohemianism|decadent Bohemian]]" who based his ideology on [[Social Darwinism]] of the 1890s,{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=36}} publishing ''[[The Synagogue of Satan]]'' in 1897.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.3-Esotericism/>

Danish occultist [[Carl William Hansen]] (1872–1936), who used the pen name Ben Kadosh, listed "Luciferian" as his religious affiliation in answer to the Danish national census (his wife and children were listed as Lutheran),{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=38}} making him among the earliest "self-declared Satanists".<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.3-Esotericism/> 
Hansen sought to spread a cult of Satan/Lucifer,<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.3-Esotericism/> and was involved in a variety of esoteric groups, including [[Martinism]], [[Freemasonry]], and [[Ordo Templi Orientis]], drawing on their ideas to establish his own philosophy.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=38}} He provided a Luciferian interpretation of Freemasonry in a 1906 pamphlet, although his work had little influence outside of Denmark.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=39}}{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=227}}

Throughout his life British occultist [[Aleister Crowley]] (1875–1947) was widely described as a Satanist, usually by detractors.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lk8_ARNz-dYC&dq=%22the+first+satanist%22&pg=PA641 |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions – Google Books |date= March 2001|isbn=9781615927388 |accessdate=2022-09-14|last1=Lewis |first1=James R. |publisher=Prometheus Books |ref=none}}</ref> Crowley did not consider himself a Satanist, nor did he worship Satan, as he did not accept the Christian world view in which Satan was believed to exist.{{sfnm|1a1=Hutton|1y=1999|1p=175 |2a1=Dyrendal|2y=2012|2pp=369–370}} He nevertheless used imagery considered satanic, for instance, describing himself as "the Beast 666" and referring to the [[Whore of Babylon]] in his work, sending "[[Christmas cards|Antichristmas cards]]" to his friends later in life.{{sfn|Hutton|1999|p=175}} Crowley "in many ways embodies the pre-Satanist esoteric discourse on Satan and Satanism through his lifestyle and his philosophy", with his "image and thought" becoming an "important influence" on the later development of religious Satanism.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=39}} Both Crowley and [[Anton LaVey|LaVey]] "cultivated a sinister public image and sported shaved heads".

In 1928, the [[Fraternitas Saturni]] (FS) was established in Germany; its founder, [[Eugen Grosche]], published ''Satanische Magie'' ("Satanic Magic") that same year.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=42}} The group connected Satan to [[Saturn]], claiming that the planet related to the Sun in the same manner that Lucifer relates to the human world.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=42}}

[[Maria de Naglowska]], a Russian occultist who had fled to France following the [[Russian Revolution]], established the esoteric group Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow in Paris in 1932.{{sfn|Medway|2001|p=18}}{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=43–44}} She promoted a theology centered on what she called the Third Term of the Trinity consisting of Father, Son, and Sex, the last of which she deemed to be most important.{{sfn|Medway|2001|p=18}} Her early disciples, who underwent what she called "Satanic Initiations", included models and art students recruited from [[bohemianism|bohemian]] circles.{{sfn|Medway|2001|p=18}} The Golden Arrow disbanded after Naglowska abandoned it in 1936.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=45}} Hers was "a quite complicated Satanism, built on a complex philosophical vision of the world, of which little would survive its initiator".{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=277}}

Herbert Sloane claims [[Our Lady of Endor Coven]], a Satanic group based in [[Toledo, Ohio]], was founded in 1948. Describing his Satanic tradition as the Ophite Cultus Sathanas, the group first came to public attention in 1969.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=49–50}}{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=278}} The group had a Gnostic doctrine about the world, in which the Judeo-Christian creator god is regarded as evil, and the [[serpents in the Bible|Biblical serpent]] is presented as a force for good, who had delivered salvation to humanity in the [[Garden of Eden]].{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=49–50}}{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=280}} Sloane's claim of a 1940s origin remain unproven: potentially fabricated to make his group appear older than the (1966) establishment of the Church of Satan.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=50}}{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|p=278}}