Origins Of Satan by NordSeeHexe

The term probably comes from Hebrew, but Arabic lexicographers derive the word from the Arabic root š-ṭ-n, meaning “To turn someone away from his original intention,” or “Someone who has strayed from (the path of God).” According to field research in Syria in 2001 and 2002, Satan does not appear as personified demon but as abstract concepts that always try to tempt the devout Muslim to perform forbidden acts.

According to Christian ideas, the Satan of the Old Testament is the tempter of mankind. The Hebrew term “Satan” (שטן, Sin-Teth-Nun) means “Adversary,” or “Opponent.”

Christianity teaches that Satan hates people and does everything he can to lead them astray and separate them from God.

In the Tanakh, Ha-Satan (“the Satan”) is a name given to various angels with whose help God tests the religious righteousness and integrity of various people. In normative Judaism, Satan is the main accuser, prosecutor, adversary, enemy in battle and the spiritual force that in Judaism is called the inclination to evil (jezer ha-rah).

Initially, Satanism was a literary movement originating in England that dealt with evil in an integrative way.

The beginnings of Satanism are seen in Manichaean-Gnostic dualism, which assumed a fundamental, “Equality of God and the devil.” Some Gnostic groups are said to have worshiped Satan, so that he would not harm them.

Satanist tendencies can be found undeniably in the occultism of the 19th century, apparently as a reaction to the materialism of this epoch, which was perceived as banal and believing in progress, and which largely rejected orthodox faith, but nevertheless demanded, “Dark mysteries.”

Until the 1960s, there was no Satanist tradition of its own to which the followers of this worldview could refer. According to the American religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, all publications on the subject up to that point came exclusively from staunch opponents of Satanism, mainly conservative Christians. Although they had never attended black masses, they repeatedly described them in great detail.

That changed in 1966, when Anton Szandor LaVey founded the Church of Satan.

The content of his Satanic Bible (1968) was largely anticipated by Crowley and the Social Darwinist book Might is Right (1896), whose unknown author goes by the pseudonym Ragnar Redbeard. Satan, “Here is not the medieval god with the pitchfork, but the principle of ‘lust’ and ‘unconditional freedom’  — the ‘peace, love and happiness’.” This church represents an atheistic philosophy and denies the, “Reality of any spiritual existence” — the aspects of ritual magic it takes up are accordingly described as a, “Self-altering psychodrama to free oneself from pent-up feelings,” and, “Almost a substitute for psychotherapy,” that contains no elements of faith.

The Church of Satan has found numerous prominent supporters and followers and has “long since gone pop.” Accordingly, it is considered the Church of Satan’s, “Merit to have removed Satanism’s nimbus of elitism and anchored it in godless capitalism, which is why the magical competition likes to ridicule it as an occult drive-in.”

The Order of Nine Angles is said to have been founded in the 1970s. It was the first group to describe itself in its writings as a representative of traditional Satanism. For the ONA, traditional Satanism goes far beyond the satisfaction of the pleasure principle and includes self-mastery, self-conquest and cosmic wisdom. His idea of Satanism is pragmatic with an emphasis on the evolution of the individual through dangerous situations.

Satanism is also presented as an extreme right-wing ideology. The anti-Christian ideology is also anti-Semitic and the social Darwinist position offers, “Extreme similarities,” to a religiously based, “Fascist view of man and the world.” — In contrast, Fehn, describes Satanists as rational free thinkers.

However, right-wing extremist and right-wing esoteric ideas have been linked to satanic content by individual groups since the 1990s. The forerunner here was the ONA, which invokes Adolf Hitler in its Mass of Heresy and describes National Socialism as, alongside traditional Satanism, the only true heresy, which calls for a revolution of the soul, a triumph of the will and a return of racial pride and duty.

Jung noted that the devil has, “Qualities which give one pause.” Being enigmatic, worldly, awkward, wily, savage, immoral, destructive, cheating, the devil, Jung said, “Is something quite frightful!“

Seen through the lens of psychology, the devil has the, “Character of an autonomous personality,” which “… is greater than man’s consciousness and greater than his will.” As the, “Animal side of the libido,” the devil is “… that part of the psyche which has not been assimilated to consciousness…” — While it might seem “Wonderful and ingenious,” to us (think of all the amazing technological gadgets that our creativity has cooked up) Jung warned that it is simultaneously, “Dangerously deceptive on account of its numinous nature.”

Any archetype can fascinate us, because of its numinosity, and the devil is no different. Being autonomous, the shadow — our inner devil — can “Insinuate itself,” into daily life and cause all manner of mayhem. Our environmental problems are just one of many examples of this. Which brings us to consider how the devil shows up in the world.