Editing Satanism (section)

=== Theistic Satanism ===

[[Theistic Satanism]] (otherwise referred to as traditional Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or religious Satanism) is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual [[deity]] or force to revere or worship.<ref name="Satanism-Introduction"/><ref name=autogenerated6>{{cite book |last=Partridge |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Partridge |year=2004 |title=The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture, and Occulture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g05THJPH5xUC&pg=PA82 |volume=1 |publisher=[[T&T Clark]] |location=London |page=82 |isbn=0-567-08269-5}}</ref> Other characteristics of theistic Satanism may include a belief in [[Magic (paranormal)|magic]], which is manipulated through [[ritual]], although that is not a defining criterion, and theistic Satanists may focus solely on devotion.

==== First Church of Satan ====
The First Church of Satan (FCoS), a splinter group that separated from LaVey's Church of Satan during the 1970s,{{sfn|Lewis|2001a|page=91}} attempts to rediscover the teachings of Aleister Crowley and believe that [[Anton LaVey]] actually was a ''[[Magic (supernatural)|magus]]'' in the early days of the Church of Satan but gradually renounced his powers, became isolated and embittered.{{sfn|Lewis|2001a|page=91}} Furthermore, the First Church of Satan strongly criticizes the current Church of Satan as a pale shadow of its former self, and they strive to "maintain a Satanic organization that is not hostile or manipulative toward its own members".{{sfn|Lewis|2001a|page=91}}

==== Temple of Set ====
{{Main|Temple of Set}}

The Temple of Set (ToS) is an [[occult]] [[left-hand path]] religious organization. It was founded in 1975 when [[Michael Angelo Aquino|Michael Aquino]], the founder of a Church of Satan Grotto in Louisville, Kentucky, and editor of the Church's newsletter, ''The Cloven Hoof'', left the church, taking 28 members with him.<ref>{{cite book |title= Church of Satan |url= http://www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/COS.pdf |last= Aquino |first= Michael |year= 2002 |publisher= Temple of Set |location= San Francisco |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070712000522/http://www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/COS.pdf |archive-date= 12 July 2007 }}</ref><ref>Boulware, "A Devil of a Time"; Lyons, Satan Wants You, p. 126.</ref> Aquino's anger that LaVey had devalued his high level grade of "magister" in the church may have initiated his break, but Aquino also disagreed with LaVey's materialist philosophy, arguing that while the church might publicly be materialist, Satan as symbol was "only part of the truth". Aquino held a ritual to ask Satan "where to lead" his CoS defectors and, on the night of 21–22 June 1975, Satan allegedly told him to "Reconsecrate my Temple and my Order in the true name of Set. No longer will I accept the bastard title of a Hebrew fiend." Thus Aquino came to believe that the name ''Satan'' was a corruption of the name ''Set'', the  Egyptian god of darkness.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-ToS>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981]]: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism.The Temple of Set</ref>{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=390}} The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as "enlightened individualism"—enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment, and initiation. This process is necessarily different and distinctive for each individual. The members do not agree on whether Set is real or symbolic, and they're not expected to.{{sfn|Harvey|2009}}

The Temple teaches that Set is a real entity,{{sfnm|1a1=Petersen|1y=2005|1p=436 |2a1=Harvey|2y=2009|2p=32}} and the only real god in existence, with all other gods being created by the human imagination.{{sfnm|1a1=Granholm|1y=2009|1pp=93–94 |2a1=Granholm|2y=2013|2p=218}} Set is described as having given humanity—through the means of non-natural [[evolution]]—the "Black Flame" or the "Gift of Set", which is a questioning intellect that sets humans apart from other animals.{{sfnm|1a1=La Fontaine|1y=1999|1p=102 |2a1=Gardell|2y=2003|2p=291 |3a1=Petersen|3y=2005|3p=436}} While Setians are expected to revere Set, they do not worship him.{{sfn|Granholm|2009|p=94}} Central to Setian philosophy is the human individual,{{sfn|Schipper|2010|p=109}} with [[self-deification]] presented as the ultimate goal.{{sfn|Faxneld|Petersen|2013a|p=7}}

Estimates of the Temple's total are between 300 and 500 as of 2005 (Petersen);{{sfn|Petersen|2005|p=435}} and approximately 200 as of 2007 (Granholm).{{sfnm|1a1=Granholm|1y=2009|1p=93 |2a1=Granholm|2y=2013|2p=223}} Members must remain active. New members have one year to join a pylon (a Local chapter) and must reach the second degree of adept by showing proficiency in magic within two years, or have their memberships revoked.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-ToS/>

Aquino died in September 2019 at the age of 72. High priests after Aquino were Don Webb starting in 1996, Zeena Schreck starting in 2002 (who lasted only six weeks when Aquino took over again), Patricia Hardy starting in 2004.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-ToS/>

==== Temple of Zeus ====
{{Main|Temple of Zeus (organization)}}

The Temple of Zeus (ToZ) is a [[Western esotericism|western esoteric]] [[occult]] organization that combines Satanism, the [[Ancient astronauts|ancient alien astronaut "hypothesis"]], and [[antisemitism]].<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.5-Other">[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981]]: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism. Other Esoteric Groups</ref> It was originally founded as the Joy of Satan Ministries in the early 2000s by Maxine Dietrich (pseudonym of Andrea Maxine Dietrich),{{sfn|Asprem|Granholm|2014|pp=144–146}}<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last=Petersen |first=Jesper |date=27–29 August 2012 |title=Bracketing Beelzebub: Satanism studies and/as boundary work |url=https://contern.org/cyberproceedings/papers-from-the-1st-international-conference-on-contemporary-esotericism/jesper-aa-petersen-bracketing-beelzebub-satanism-studies-andas-boundary-work/ |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=ContERN}}</ref> wife of the [[National Socialist Movement (United States)|National Socialist Movement]] of the United States' co-founder and former leader Clifford Herrington.{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=370–371}} With its inception, spiritual Satanism was born—a current that until recently was regarded only as "theist", but then defined into "Spiritual Satanism" by theistic Satanists who concluded that the term ''spiritual'' in Satanism represented the best answer to the world,<ref name=":5">{{cite web |last=Twilight |first=Jennifer |date=25 January 2021 |title=Analysis on the Joy of Satan |url=https://www.unionesatanistiitaliani.it/index.php/analisi-del-progetto-joy-of-satan |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=Italian Satanist Union}}</ref> considering it a "moral slap" toward the earlier carnal and materialistic LaVeyan Satanism, and instead focusing its attention upon [[spiritual evolution]].<ref name=":5" /> Joy of Satan presents a unique synthesis of theistic Satanism, [[Nazism]], [[Gnosticism]], [[Modern Paganism|Paganism]], [[Western esotericism]], [[UFO conspiracy theory|UFO conspiracy theories]], and extraterrestrial hypotheses similar to those popularized by [[Zecharia Sitchin]] and [[David Icke]].<ref name=":4" />

Members of Temple of Zeus are generally [[polytheists]], believing that Satan is one of many [[deities]].<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=McBride |first=Jaemes |title=The Divine Province: Birthing New Earth |publisher=Ed Rychkun |year=2013 |isbn=978-1927066034 |location= |page=84}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=ATLANTA |first=J.F. |date=9 January 2014 |title=What do Satanists believe? |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2014/01/09/what-do-satanists-believe |access-date=25 January 2021 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> While Satan and demons are considered deities within ToZ, the deities themselves are understood to be highly evolved, un-aging, sentient, and powerful humanoid extraterrestrial beings.<ref name=":03" />{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=370–371}}{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=144–232}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Paniccia |first=Enrico |date=17 January 2021 |title=The dark side of Christianity |url=https://www.consulpress.eu/il-lato-oscuro-del-cristianesimo/ |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=Consul Press}}</ref> Satan and many demons are equated with gods from ancient cultures, some of which include the [[Sumerian religion|Sumerian]] god [[Enki]], and the [[Yazidism|Yazidi]] angel [[Melek Taus]] being seen as Satan, borrowing their theistic Satanist interpretations of Enki from the writings of [[Zecharia Sitchin]], and Melek Taus partially deriving from the writings of Anton LaVey.{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=370–371}} Satan is seen not only as an important deity but a powerful and sentient being responsible for the creation of humanity.<ref name=":03" />{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=370–371}} Satan is also revered by ToZ as "the true father and creator God of humanity",<ref name=":22" /> the bringer of knowledge, and whose desire is for his creations, humans, to elevate themselves through knowledge and understanding.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":22" />

In their beliefs, [[Yazidism]] (a pre-Islamic religion of about one million members found mainly in northern [[Iraq]], that holds that Melek Taûs/''Tawûsî Melek'', "the Peacock Angel", is the leader of the archangels and functions as the ruler of the world; but who Muslims believe is a fallen angel), is in juxtaposition with Satanism as they consider the two share similar elements, such as Yazidi devotees being defined by Muslims as "devotees to [[Shaytan]]" and regarded as Satanists.<ref name=":5" /> It is also believed that the figure of Melek Taus, the peacock angel, may derive from much older pagan deities, such as [[Saraswati]], the Hindu goddess of wisdom who rides a peacock, or even the god [[Indra]], who transforms into a peacock.<ref name=":5" /> The story of Melek Taus itself is also considered by ToZ to have many satanic elements, such as being described as the angel who rebelled against the Abrahamic God.<ref name=":5" /> The sacred text of the Yazidis, the [[Al-Jilwah]], is claimed by the ToZ as the word of Satan.<ref name=":5" />

While maintaining some popularity as a theistic Satanist sect, the group has been widely criticized for its association with the National Socialist Movement and its racial [[anti-Jewish]], [[anti-Judaic]], and [[Criticism of Christianity|anti-Christian]] sentiment, as well as its [[anti-Semitic conspiracy theories]].{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|pp=144–232}}<ref>{{cite web |date=27 September 2019 |title=Satanism |url=https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/satanism |access-date=25 January 2021 |website=HISTORY}}</ref> Much of their beliefs on aliens, meditation, and telepathic contacts with demons have become popular in a larger milieu within the currents of recent non-LaVeyan theistic Satanism.{{sfn|Introvigne|2016|pp=370–371}}

==== Order of Nine Angles ====

{{Main|Order of Nine Angles|Timeline of crimes involving the Order of Nine Angles}}
[[File:Flag of the Order of Nine Angles.svg|thumb|Flag of the O9A]]
During the 1990s, the idea that groups like Church of Satan and Temple of Set were "too benevolent and law-abiding" to be true Satanists grew, particularly among musicians and fans in extreme heavy metal music, where being more extreme meant being more authentic.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-Amoral-O9A>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981]]: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism.Amoral Groups and the Order of Nine Angles</ref> These antinomian and amoral Satanic (or post-Satanic) groups are sometimes called the "sinister tradition" of Satanism.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-Amoral-O9A/>
 
The Order of Nine Angles has been called "the ur-type that defines the sinister tradition"<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-Amoral-O9A/> and is connected to multiple killings, rapes, and cases of child abuse and  [[right-wing terrorism]].<ref name=NS-4-3-2020/>
According to the group's own claims, the Order of Nine Angles (O9A or ONA) was established in [[Shropshire]], England, during the late 1960s, when a Grand Mistress united a number of ancient pagan groups active in the area.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodrick-Clarke|1y=2003|1p=218 |2a1=Senholt|2y=2013|2p=256}} This account states that when the Order's Grand Mistress migrated to Australia, a man known as "Anton Long" took over as the new Grand Master.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodrick-Clarke|1y=2003|1p=218|2a1=Senholt|2y=2013|2p=256}} From 1976 onward, he authored an array of texts for the tradition, codifying and extending its teachings, mythos, and structure.{{sfnm|1a1=Goodrick-Clarke|1y=2003|1p=218 |2a1=Senholt|2y=2013|2p=256 |3a1=Monette|3y=2013|3p=87}} Various academics have argued that Long is the pseudonym of [[British National Socialist Movement]] activist [[David Myatt]],{{sfnm|1a1=Goodrick-Clarke|1y=2003|1p=216 |2a1=Senholt|2y=2013|2p=268 |3a1=Faxneld|3y=2013|3p=207}} (Myatt denies it but Religion scholar Jacob Senholt "copies of ONA documents from 1978 with Myatt’s name on them" have been found and "early ONA texts were published" by a press that "Myatt owned").<ref>Senholt, "The Sinister Tradition," pp. 47–8</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Ryan|1y=2003|1p=53 |2a1=Senholt|2y=2013|2p=267}} The O9A arose to public attention in the early 1980s,{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=293}} spreading its message through magazine articles over the following two decades.{{sfn|Senholt|2013|p=256}} In 2000, it established a presence on the internet,{{sfn|Senholt|2013|p=256}} later adopting social media to promote its message.{{sfn|Monette|2013|p=107}}

O9A consists largely of secretive,{{sfn|Kaplan|2000|p=236}} autonomous [[covert cell|cells]] known as "nexions",{{sfn|Monette|2013|p=88}} operating as a network of allied Satanic practitioners, which it terms the "kollective".{{sfn|Monette|2013|p=88}} The majority of these are located in Britain, Ireland, and Germany, although others are located elsewhere in Europe, and in Russia, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and the United States. In recent decades up to 2023, O9A has caught the attention of "white supremacist groups and troubled young men" through its material online, and as of 2013  2,000 people "may be associated with the ONA in one form or another", according to one estimate.<ref name=ftnt>Monette, Mysticism in the 21st Century, p. 89.</ref><ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-Amoral-O9A/>

The O9A describe their occultism as "Traditional Satanism".{{sfnm|1a1=Faxneld|1y=2013|1p=207 |2a1=Faxneld|2y=2014|2p=88 |3a1=Senholt|3y=2013|3p=250 |4a1=Sieg|4y=2013|4p=252}} The O9A's writings not only  encourage human sacrifice,{{sfnm|1a1=Goodrick-Clarke|1y=2003|1pp=218–219 |2a1=Baddeley|2y=2010|2p=155}} but insist it is required in Satanism,<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5-Amoral-O9A/> referring to their victims as ''opfers''.{{sfn|Goodrick-Clarke|2003|p=219}} According to the Order's teachings, such opfers must demonstrate character faults that mark them out as being worthy of death.{{sfnm|1a1=Kaplan|1y=2000|1p=237 |2a1=Ryan|2y=2003|2p=54}}{{sfnm|1a1=Harvey|1y=1995|1p=292 |2a1=Kaplan|2y=2000|2p=237}} No O9A cell has admitted to carrying out a sacrifice in a ritualized manner, but rather, Order members have joined the police and military to carry out such killings.{{sfn|Monette|2013|p=114}} Faxneld described the Order as "a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism",{{sfn|Faxneld|2013|p=207}} while religious studies scholar [[Graham Harvey (religious studies scholar)|Graham Harvey]] wrote that the O9A fit the stereotype of the Satanist "better than other groups" by embracing "deeply shocking" and illegal acts.{{sfn|Harvey|1995|p=292}} Several British politicians, including the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]'s [[Yvette Cooper]], chair of the [[Home Affairs Select Committee]],<ref name=NS-4-3-2020>{{cite news |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/03/nazi-satanist-cult-fuelling-far-right-terrorist-groups-overlooked-uk-authorities-order-nine-angles |title=A Nazi-satanist cult is fuelling far-right groups |magazine=New Statesman |date=4 March 2020 |access-date=5 January 2023}}</ref> have pushed for the group to be banned as a terror organization, and according to the [[BBC News]], "the authorities are concerned by the number of paedophiles associated with the ONA." Additionally, there are various followers of the O9A paradigm who are (or were) also members of banned militant national-socialist groups, namely the [[Atomwaffen Division]], [[Combat 18]], and [[Nordic Resistance Movement]], the first of which even openly aims to perpetrate terror attacks.<ref name=terrorism>
* {{cite web | date=9 March 2020 | url=https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/state-of-hate-2020-final.pdf | title=State of Hate 2020 | quote=Over the last 12 months four nazis convicted of terrorist offences have been linked to O9A, and there are two more cases pending. | publisher=[[Hope not Hate]]}}
* {{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-53141759 | title=Order of Nine Angles: What is this obscure Nazi Satanist group? | work=[[BBC News]] | quote=The Sonnenkrieg Division, with its glorification of sexual violence, highlights another disturbing theme relating to the ONA – sexual offending as a way of undermining social norms....The authorities are concerned by the number of paedophiles associated with the ONA, taking the group into a different area of law enforcement activity. | date=29 June 2020}}
* {{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-49773773 | title=High Wycombe neo-Nazi Jacek Tchorzewski jailed for terror offences | work=[[BBC News]] | date=20 September 2019 | quote=The satanist text demonstrated a "marked fixation with blood, the sexualisation of violence, a paedophilic projection of adult sexuality onto children, and with achieving National Socialist political goals through political violence and acts of terrorism".}}
* {{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51682760 | title=UK Nazi Satanist group should be outlawed, campaigners urge | work=[[BBC News]] | date=16 July 2020 | quote=ONA's Nazi-Satanist ideology, a supernatural worldview that encourages the disruption of society through violence, criminality and sexual offending.}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.counterextremism.com/supremacy/order-nine-angles | title=Order of Nine Angles | quote=One piece of propaganda the group produced is called The Rape Anthology, a collection of ONA writings praising Hitler, Satan, and rape, while employing Islamic terminology and demonizing Jews and minorities. Some of the essays suggest that rape is necessary for the ascension of the Ubermensch. | publisher=[[Counter Extremism Project]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/random-murder-of-muslim-man-linked-to-neo-nazi-death-cult-report/ | title='Random' Murder of Muslim Man Linked to 'Neo-Nazi Death Cult': Report | date=30 September 2020}}</ref>

==== 764 ====
[[764 (organization)|764]] is an offshoot of ONA,<ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Winston |first=Ali |date=2023-09-28 |title=A 23-year-old was arrested for gun possession. It led the FBI to a global Satanic cult, |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/28/new-york-satanic-cult-764-fbi |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and a satanist neo-Nazi cult and a terrorist group.<ref name=":52">{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=2024-11-08 |title=Discord terrorist known as "Rabid" gets 30 years for preying on kids |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/discord-terrorist-known-as-rabid-gets-30-years-for-preying-on-kids/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Royal Canadian Mounted Police |date=2024-08-27 |title=RCMP reminds Canadians about violent online groups targeting youth {{!}} Royal Canadian Mounted Police |url=https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2024/rcmp-reminds-canadians-violent-online-groups-targeting-youth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002171143/https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2024/rcmp-reminds-canadians-violent-online-groups-targeting-youth |archive-date=2024-10-02 |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca}}</ref> 764 members engage in a wide variety of crimes in both real life and the internet; [[cybercrime]], [[swatting]], [[child exploitation]], assaults, murders and rapes.<ref name=":02">{{Cite magazine |last=Winston |first=Ali |title=There Are Dark Corners of the Internet. Then There's 764 |url=https://www.wired.com/story/764-com-child-predator-network/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028 |quote=the com/764 extortion network.}}</ref> 764 members form "blood pacts" with Satan as a demonstration of their faith.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Lamoureux |first=Mack |date=2023-02-03 |title=Neo-Nazi Pedophilic Cult Member Allegedly Coerced Minors to Make Child Porn |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/neo-nazi-pedophile-cult-arrest-order-of-nine-angles/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2023, the FBI published a bulletin warning the public of the network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) {{!}} Violent Online Groups Extort Minors to Self-Harm and Produce Child Sexual Abuse Material |url=https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2023/PSA230912 |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.ic3.gov}}</ref>