What is a Luciferian and Who is Lucifer?

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The word "Lucifer" pre-exists Christianity. Originally it was a term used by the Romans to refer to the planet Venus when seen as the last "star" visible in the sky as the Sun is rising. Another term for this which is even older is "the morning star" which symbolically heralds the rising of the Sun - somewhat akin to the symbolism of a rooster. In fact, for a very long time the term Lucifer was often used by Christians to refer to Christ. For an example of this right in the bible, check out Revelation 22:16 where the resurrected and triumphant Christ refers to himself as the Morning Star. There was even an early Church Father who took on the ecclesiastical name of "Lucifer" when he became a Bishop and nobody at that time would have considered it to be a reference to the devil.

It wasn't until the year 1611 when the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible was published that the word "Lucifer" started to become synonymous with "Satan". This stems directly from the choice of words used in the English version of Isaiah 14:12-15, which I think is worth quoting:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High.' Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

If read in context, this is simply a denunciation of the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is being compared to the planet Venus in the sky still shining its light after all the other stars have gone dim, but ultimately getting overpowered by the light of the Sun. It's an analogy used to condemn the King's arrogance by comparing him to a familiar (daily for about half the year) celestial phenomenon. This is the kind of thing we see many examples of when reading the Greek myths but for some reason overlook when found in the Bible.

This book of the Bible (Isaiah) was originally written in Hebrew, so where does this Latin word come from you may be wondering? The original Hebrew uses the terminology of "the morning star" (if translated directly into English) which was their term for the appearance of the planet Venus in the morning. Eventually this was translated into the Latin "Vulgate" version of the Bible where the word Lucifer was used (as it was in the quote from Revelation referring to Christ, and other places, such as 2nd Epistle of Peter, etc... Imagine reading the Latin version of the Bible and seeing Christ referring to himself as "Lucifer"? It's right there in Rev 22 if you read the Vulgate!) All the other uses of the word "Lucifer" were translated into English as Morning Star or Shining One, except this passage from Isaiah. Some contend that this word choice may have actually been a political smear campaign against Bishop Lucifer. The term Lucifer became specifically associated with the devil and "Satan" when later Christians connected this story with the prophesy of a war in heaven described in Revelation 12:7-9

"And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Even though this text is usually considered by Christians to be a vision of future events to happen around the apocalypse, people came to believe (probably from the influence of Milton) that this particular part of the vision depicted events that had already happened before Adam and Eve were booted out of Eden. Therefore, this is how the term "Lucifer" became associated in the minds of Christians with the serpent in Eden as well as with Satan.

The word Lucifer itself literally means "Light Bearer" in the original Latin. Light and Darkness have forever been used as an analogy for Knowledge and Ignorance (respectively), the term "Light-Bearer" therefore refers to the bringing of knowledge. There are undeniable parallels between this concept and the Hellenistic Greek figure of Prometheus, who rebelliously and heroically brought the forbidden fire of the Olympian gods to humanity and taught them how to harness it for all sorts of arts and sciences. Prior to this, Humans were ignorant, animalistic slaves to the gods, particularly Zeus (Jupiter in the pagan Roman pantheon of gods) who was King of gods. Zeus would have rather kept humans ignorant and obedient to him, so being angered at Prometheus he binds him to a boulder or mountain (essentially a large mass of Earth) and sees to it that he is tortured. Prometheus eventually escapes this punishment with the aid of Heracles (Hercules in the Roman myths.)

This is almost the same story of the temptation of Eve by the serpent in Eden. God forbids humanity to partake of the fruit of knowledge, preferring to keep them ignorant servants to tend his garden. The serpent points this out to Eve and she partakes. God is angered that his order has been upset and becomes fearful that humans will also partake of the Tree of Life. If that were to happen, Adam and Eve would not only have the knowledge of gods but be immortal as well. To prevent this from happening, God banishes them from Eden. He also strips the serpent of his limbs so that he has to crawl on his belly in the dirt (another symbol of being Earth-bound, just like Prometheus.) In the biblical book of Revelations, the devil or dragon is eventually unchained from the Abyss, although in the Christian story this is only temporary.

Putting all of this together, including not only the usage of the term before Christianity, during early (before the year 1611 CE) Christianity as well as the further folkloric developments after the KJV was published, they all point to the same force of enlightenment and emancipation from cosmic enslavement through knowledge. Further analysis, of not just these stories, but stories found all through the Bible (think Abraham being ordered to sacrifice his own child, Moses being ordered to commit genocide against the Canninites in order to establish Zion/Israel, and even Jesus allowing himself to be crucified) paint a very clear picture that the natural physical drives we all possess (the much maligned "animal urges") as well as the desire for truth and knowledge are all demonized in order to provide an insidious set of controls for temporal authorities to exploit in their quest for power over others. This control system is inherent in the Bible, not simply some twisted interpretation (although that does also occur.)

The Bible itself, however, contains the seeds of its own undoing. Try studying it for the purpose of understanding the effect that is intended upon the readers/believers. You will discover that a better religion would be difficult to create if your purpose is to keep a massive number of slaves under control. Islam, based on the same core scriptural material, is also an effective slave religion. The word Islam itself means "Submission" to God's Will, which is revealed in the texts and interpreted by the priest class (of course.) Ever notice how political and religious leaders often give lip service to Christianity or Islam or any other mainstream public religion, but then go and do whatever they want anyways? It's because they want those who they rule over to believe. It makes these believers more complacent about their role as human cattle. We could use the actual analogy given to us in scripture of the followers as "sheep" requiring a "shepard", which of course are the members of the priest class.

In the eyes of most mainstream Christians, Lucifer is currently considered to be a name of Satan or the devil. There is an element of the Gnostic interpretation of Christianity in the manner most self-described "Luciferians" consider the term "Lucifer, but many use the term exclusively or at least primarily in connection with the pre-Christian and sometimes the early Christian usage of the term to indicate liberating knowledge or the force of enlightenment. The term "Promethean" is a suitable alternate for "Luciferian" if you do not want to reference a concept that has been influenced by Abrahamic thought. This is the route taken by Percey Shelley. However, many [myself included] still prefer the more recognizable and provocative term.

I can't speak for all Luciferians, but the vast majority of Luciferians that I have interacted with are not interested in forcing their beliefs on anyone else. We just want to live and let live. We don't come knocking on people's doors trying to win souls for Lucifer. We just want to live our lives free of intolerance like everyone else. Check out the video below to see my opinion on Freemasonry in particular.

Aside from online discussion forums, one easy way to meet other self-proclaimed Luciferians is to join a specifically Luciferian Order. Just be sure you understand that this does not make you a Luciferian. You, and you alone determine whether you fit your own description of what a Luciferian should be. Here is a section taken from Wikipedia on Luciferian Groups:

The Order of Phosphorus is a Luciferian Magickal Order by Michael W. Ford, based on individual initiatory development based on the concepts of Luciferianism.

The Ordo Luciferi is an international occult group that does not mandate any strict religious or dogmatic belief system. Otherwise known as "The Luciferian Order", the Ordo Luciferi exists to enable free discussion of philosophy, magick and lifestyle with like minded individuals. There is a series of six named degrees which are granted to members upon recognition by a Magus (third degree member) or above. There is also a "Working Group" designed for the co-ordination of practical workings. The Working Group is considered "The Official Think-Tank of The Luciferian Order" and is engaged in research and development of practical occult techniques.

The Children of the Black Rose are a long-time Luciferian order who view Lucifer as a Supreme being encompassing all; "everything and nothing."

The Luciferian Research Society exists in order to provide an atmosphere of co-operation among Left Hand Path (LHP) occultists and to encourage the application of Luciferian principles toward accomplishing real world projects.

Visit Luciferian Research Society

Also check out the latest project from the LRS:
Lucipedia.net
This is an online resource hub for material related to Luciferian and Left Hand Path philosophy and spirituality. It is a "wiki", which is type of website that is created by the users themselves. The most popular example of a wiki would be wikipedia, an online encyclopedia on everything and generated by everyone. Lucipedia.net is similar but is specifically focused on material related to the LHP and only produced by those traveling a Left Hand Path. If you would like to contribute to this project, visit the LRS and ask how to obtain access to add and modify content on Lucipedia.

The short answer for this question is that no, most self-styled Luciferians don't worship Satan. In fact, many don't worship Lucifer! While some do worship Lucifer as a deity, a significant number of Luciferians prefer to treat him as a symbol, an inspiration, an ally or a guide.

Regardless of the mainstream Christian stance on the identities of Lucifer and Satan, most Luciferians consider them to be separate entities. Even those Luciferians who do equate them will typically differentiate between the two terms in some way.

Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "Light Bearer". This is typically interpreted as representing the force of enlightenment and initiation, "light" being a universal symbol of conscious awareness and Truth.

Satan is a Hebrew word meaning "Adversary". This is interpreted a few different ways. One of the most common in the community is to use "Satan" to represent an entity which is an adversary to yourself, attempting to keep you ignorant and enslaved. This meaning is often connected with the Gnostic "Demiurge". The other main usage of the term "Satan" involves seeing this entity as an adversary to either God or mainstream morality. This second view of Satan connects it with carnality and hedonism. Those Luciferians who were formerly Satanists will tend toward this carnal definition of Satan.

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If you are interested in knowing more about me, the creator of this page, go ahead and check out my other Squidoo lenses and visit my own web page JeremyCrow.com. You can also visit me online at the Luciferian Research Society occult community. I am also part of a musical project called Pleasure The Priestess. You can hear the latest tracks, check out photos, join the mailing list and see what we've been up to on the PTP Band Site.

In addition, I want you to know that I do intuitive readings professionally. I learned a traditional family method of doing Tea Leaf readings from my Ojibway father when I was only 8 years old. At the age of 17, I took up the life-long study of occultism, including the art of reading the Tarot. I am currently 34 years old and continue to pursue my studies with great passion.

Kind Regards,
Jeremy Crow

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