Luciferianism: Theistic, Arcadic, and Nontheistic

Not all Satanists revere the carnal aspects of Satan. Some revere Him as a bringer of Knowledge, Truth and Light, akin to the Prometheus legend of the Greeks. These people are called Luciferians.

Lucifer, as depicted in John Milton’s Paradise Lost

Unlike conventional Satanists, many of whom embrace less than virtuous behavior in an attempt to exalt the physical body, Luciferians strive to be beacons of integrity, honesty and wisdom. They seek to become more like Lucifer through left-hand path occultism – Thelema and Kaballah in particular – and therefore, gnosis. They believe Lucifer was wrongly cast from the heavens for blessing humanity with knowledge and have a sympathetic interpretation of the events leading to His legendary fall from grace.

Theistic Luciferians revere Lucifer as an actual deity and offer Him praise through elaborate ceremonial magick. Most are solitary. The Neo-Luciferian Church, founded in 2005 by Danish occultist Bjarne Pedersen and American artist, author and philosopher Michael Paul Bertiaux, maintains an active membership in Denmark and Sweden.

Arcadic Luciferianism, named after the ancient mythological society of Arcadia, marries secular humanism with neo-pagan culture. Though they participate in occult activities, such as revering the sabbaths listed in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, they consider these activities purely symbolic of human ideals and otherwise distance themselves from magical work. The ambition of Arcadic Luciferians is to return to a state of communion with nature as described in the legend of Arcadia.

Sometimes described as “agnosticism for Luciferians,” the third sub-group within this category are called Nontheistic Luciferians.