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There are two prevailing perspectives within Satanism, the spiritual and the philosophical. Also called Theistic and Atheistic respectively. Both perspective's multitude of systems having been born mostly from, and/or influenced by Anton LaVey's original system.

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Spiritual, or Theistic Satanism, regards Satan as an actual force or intelligence. The nature of this intelligence differs depending on who is asked; from an energy that exists in all things to a physical-being existing on some other plane of existence. The theology of the adherents of the spiritual perspective also differs in the beliefs they entertain, from the esoteric, to the almost fundamentalist and Christian based.

 

The philosophical, or Atheistic Satanists, regard Satan as a symbol representing a set of ideals that they emulate.

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The most prominent form of this Satanism has been promoted by the Church of Satan under Peter Gilmore's rule, and is most often termed “Laveyan” Satanism. Like spiritual Satanism, there is a wide range of variations in practices and edicts amongst the numerous groups that practice philosophical Satanism.

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Despite sharing a common mythology and often common practices and perspectives, spiritual and philosophical Satanism are often strongly opposed to one another, with the spiritualists regarding philosophical Satanists as pretenders and usurpers, while philosophical Satanists see spiritualists as zealots and reverse-Christians. So strong is this mutual animosity that many organizations will denounce a member for even considering trying to bridge the gap. Within these two disparate points exists a range of variation on the same themes.

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Gnostic Satanists support the idea that Earth is a Satanic Kingdom and debate whether or not the final battle foretold in the Bible has already been fought and won by Satan.

 

Theistic Satanists regard Satan as a spiritual force and devote themselves to the exploration of this force in all its guises.

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Traditional Satanists follow interpretations of the Bible and other sources with varying degrees of strictness.

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Luciferians see Satan as the ultimate truth, life as cycles of joy and pain, the expression of our urges and desires, with any higher aspirations as delusions of the weak.

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Most Church of Satan members, though commonly called Laveyans, are sometimes called Gilmoreans nowadays, regard Satan as merely an individual’s natural tendencies toward decadence, comfort, and self-promotion.

 

It should also be noted that while Laveyans follow the edicts of Anton LaVey and the Satanic Bible, are not necessarily always Atheistic in nature. The Satanic Thulian Society is currently the only organization follows this unique form of Satanism.

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The Satanic Thulian Society practices a form of Satanism that is philosophically founded in the Satanism of Anton LaVey, but recognizes a spiritual component to reality. Our Satanism regards Satan as the force of nature in the universe, the Great Unifier and source of all things. Satan is, for us, a real force that we seek to commune with and emulate.

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It is through Satan that we believe we come to a greater understanding of ourselves and the universe. In this way, we could be regarded as Spiritual or Theistic Satanists.

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However, we do not see this force as an intelligence completely from outside ourselves, but rather that every individual makes up a fragment of the whole being of Satan. 

 

By understanding and exploring our own natures; our urges, aspirations, and ideals, we come to a greater understanding of what Satan is. Through applied logic and testing the values of our society, we work to improve our own lives and lifestyles.

 

These ideals are considered by some the realm of philosophical or Atheistic Satanism.

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Our goal as Satanists is our own personal growth and development in all realms of our existence. We seek to increase our knowledge, secure and improve our living conditions, expand our awareness, indulge in our desires, and profit from our endeavors. We seek a spiritual evolution within the self and from without, doing so with LaVey’s iconic tongue in cheek humor when possible. The term then that best refers to this version of Satanism is “Pre-1975 Laveyanism”.

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