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Catherine Beyer is a practicing Wiccan who has taught religion in at Lakeland College in Wisconsin as well as humanities and Western culture at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
Updated on February 11, 2019Christians commonly consider Satan and Lucifer to be two names for the same being. Satanists also commonly use the names interchangeably. Luciferians, however, do not, nor does the Bible.
While Satan is mentioned throughout the Bible, Lucifer is mentioned only once, in Isaiah 14:12:
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! ( King James edition)
And in many translations, he's not even mentioned here:
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! (New International Version)
And if that doesn't sound very Satanic, that's because it isn't. It is addressing Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, who destroyed the First Temple and exiled the Jews more than 2500 years ago. Kings commonly have a variety of titles, and "morning star" was one of his. It is a prophecy of the destruction of the enemies of the Jews.
The planet Venus is commonly called the morning star. In Latin, the morning star Venus was sometimes referred to as Lucifer, literally "bringer of light." This is how the word originally entered the Bible, and it was popularized in English by the King James Bible.
It is this concept of light-bringer that Luciferians embrace. For them, Lucifer is a being that brings out enlightenment in those who truly seek it. He is not external power that hands out knowledge so much as one who assists a seeker in bringing it out of himself.
Balance is also a significant component of the concept of Lucifer. He is both spiritual and carnal, as are humans, according to Luciferians. He is moderation over extremes. He is both the light and the darkness, as you cannot have one without the other, and there are lessons to be learned from both.
Some Luciferians consider Lucifer an actual being, while others consider him entirely symbolic. Many agree that ultimately it doesn't actually matter since the focus is upon the principles of Lucifer, not submission to a supernatural intelligence.
Lucifer does have many qualities that make him similar to the Satan of Satanists (although not to the Satan of Judeo-Christianity.) Lucifer represents creativity, freedom, perfection, development, exploration, and knowledge through experience over accepted truths. He represents rebellion from dogma and other elements of control.
Some describe Lucifer and Satan as being two sides of the same coin; one being with multiple aspects. How you view him depends upon your spiritual goals and understanding. Satan is the more rebellious and confrontational figure. Luciferians generally see Satanists as primarily resisting something (Christianity specifically and dogmatic religion in general) while Luciferians walk their own path independent of any other religion.
Luciferians explain this concept as saying that it is all about perspective. Many believe that while Lucifer and Satan may be the same being, in Luciferian he is not Satan because that name denotes 'the enemy.' This is "Satan" in its original, Hebraic meaning. Satan originally wasn't a name but a description. He was the adversary, challenging the Hebrews to lose faith.
That is to say, the concept of light-bringer -- the literal meaning of Lucifer -- makes absolutely no sense in a Judeo-Christian context of Satan, who is a being of darkness, trickery, temptation, and destruction.
Luciferians criticize Satanists as being overly focused on resisting Christianity and viewing themselves in terms opposing Christianity. That is not the view of the Luciferians. They do not see themselves in rebellion, although they accept that their beliefs are contrary to that of traditional Judeo-Christianity.
His role as Satan is important, and many (most?) Luciferians look fondly upon the ideas and imagery that have risen from his role as Satan, but it is not our primary focus. Satanism is a religion against something by its nature. Luciferianism is a progression of Satanism - a religion that stands on its own, independent of any other stimuli, for it is the path of those who have understand the need to transcend the lower levels of corrupt creation, on which even the material creator resides. (Occult Forums, " Questions about Luciferianism")
