Satanism is a term that may refer to a religious, semi-religious, and/or philosophical movement. The term is normally applied by non-Satanists to those individuals who worship the entity called "Satan," and advocate the triumph of evil forces over good in the universe; however, members of the Church of Satan, the most organized Satanic group, reject this common association, as they do not actually believe in a being called "Satan," and use his name only as a symbolic allusion to certain materialistic and individualistic values. Adherents of the various forms of Satanism recognize Satan as either an archetype, a pre-cosmic force, an actual living entity, and/or some aspect of human nature. Although named for Satan, a name associated with evil and temptation, Satanism is also the name given to certain spiritual paths which emphasize the Left-Hand Path, as opposed to the much more common Right-Hand Path. Left-Handers believe in spiritual enrichment through their own work on themselves, and that ultimately they are answerable only to themselves, while Right-Handers believe in spiritual enrichment through the dissolution or submission of the self to (or into) something greater. LaVeyans do not in fact worship a deity called Satan, or necessarily any other deity, nor do they follow a principle of evil. This aspect of their beliefs is very commonly misunderstood due to the presence of theistic Satanists, who revere Satan as a literal being.

Instead of divine laws or naturistic principles (such as in Wicca), Satanism generally focuses upon material or physical advancement of the self with guidance from external higher beings or external principles, instead of submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. For this reason, many contemporary Satanists eschew traditional religious beliefs, attitudes and worship in favor of more egoistic, self-centering worldviews, natural law, survival of the fittest and practices such as materialism, individualism and magic. However, some Satanists do choose voluntary moral codes, thought carries a strong current of inversionism; although a faith in its own right groups or individuals described in some sense or another as Satanic can largely, though incomprehensively, be described as belonging to one of two unofficial sub-groupings: Philosophical Satanism or Religious Satanism.

The concept of Satan has evolved over the centuries, as has Satanism.

Originally in Judeo-Christian traditions, Satan was seen as a part of creation, embodying the principle that one could choose contrary to God's wishes, and thus empowering the potential for free will and defiance. (In this context an ancient Jewish commentary notes that only when the potential to contravene God's will arose, could creation become "very good" as opposed to merely "good"). Over the centuries this concept of Satan came to embody all that was evil and against God, a change attributable to two main influences:
The view that everything had its opposite, and that God, all-good, must have His opposing deity too (many preceding multiple deity religions also had their evil gods as well as good gods, Set of the Ancient Egyptians being one example),
The spreading of Christianity, followed by Islam, both religions which gained a wide number of adherents, which placed a high premium on salvation and the afterlife, and within which Satan grew as an embodiment of all that was trying to undermine God in this theological world-view.


As european society evolved from the reformation into the enlightenment onwards (17th and 18th centuries), people began to question the nature of evil, and Satan gradually evolved yet again in response to this, so Satanism came to signify a tradition which denied traditional religious paths in favor of a self-oriented path, rather than a path which favored evil.

In an older sense, Satanism also refers to unorthodox practices within Abrahamic religions deemed by an orthodoxy to be in opposition to the Abrahamic God. The earliest recorded instance of the word is in "A confutation of a booke (by Bp. Jewel) entitled An apologie of the Church of England", by Thomas Harding (1565): ll, ii, 42 b, "Meaning the time when Luther first bringed to Germanie the poisoned cuppe of his heresies, blasphemies, and Satanismes." As Martin Luther himself would have denied any link between his teachings and Satan, this use of the term Satanism was primarily pejorative. Many Satanists find such use of the term offensive.

The concept of "Satan" originated with Judaism and was elucidated further by Christians and Muslims. This Judeo-Christian-Islamic view of Satan can be broken up as follows:
Jewish: Satan ‏(שטן)‏ in Hebrew, means "adversary" or "accuser", and is also the name used for the angel who tests believers. Satan is not considered an enemy of God, but a servant whose duties include testing the faith of humanity.
Islamic: The Arabic word for Satan, "al-Shaitaan" ‏(الشيطان)‏ means transgressor, or adversary, as in Judaism. It is a title which is generally attributed to a being called Iblis, who is a Jinn that disobeyed God and was condemned consequently by God to serve as a source of misguidance for mankind and the Jinn to test their faith in God. Iblis is said to be the proper name for the devil-like figure named in the Qur'an whereas there are many Shaitan.
Christian: In most branches of Christianity, Satan, originally Lucifer before he fell away from Grace, is a spiritual being or angel who was once in God's service. Satan is said to have fallen from God when he surrendered to his own vanity and refused to take his proper place in creation (In Christianity, the fallen "son of the dawn" of Isaiah 14:12 is identified with the "adversary" of the Book of Job.) It is said to be Satan who whispered to man that he could become as God, negating his creaturely position, which led to man's original sin and his being cast out of Eden. Satan is also referred to as the Devil from the Greek "diabolos" (Διαβολος), meaning "slanderer" or "one who accuses falsely" (derived from the verb "dia-ballô" (δια-βαλλω) which most literally means "to throw across" or "carry something over"). Reportedly, LaVey made the claim that the word "devil" was derived from the Sanskrit "devi", meaning goddess (though this is thought to be an incorrect etymology).
Ayyavazhi: Akilattirattu Ammanai the source of Ayyavazhi mythology and religious book of Ayyavazhi says about Kroni, a satan like figure. He was sliced into six fragments and in each successive Yugas these fragments took birth in the world as Ravana, Duryodhana etc.

Philosophical Satanism

Largely considered to have been unofficially founded by Anton Szandor LaVey, with his creation of the Church of Satan (the first above-ground organization to use the term), Philosophical Satanism views one's self as the subjective center of the universe, and the highest aspirations and virtues are those which seek the elevation and improvement of the individual Satanist over others. Philosophical Satanists generally do not recognize a theological deity or a metaphysical afterlife, though this is not to say that one must not.

To the Philosophical Satanist, a person is his own god. He disdains rationalist, secular humanistic beliefs, seeing them as abhoring the existence of the supernatural, only to thereby promote a sterile life grounded in the 'real world' alone and sees them as working towards the altruistic advancement of his fellow man while neglecting due attendance to one's own gratification and fulfillment. Obviously, philosophically Satanic thought has had a long history before LaVey's Church. Though it was the notion of Satan as the conceited, self-seeking black sheep, acting falsely to his true position which inspired the title in spite of Judeo-Christian theology, which views Satan as evil because of these qualities.

This type of Satanism is based on the philosophy of Anton LaVey as outlined in The Satanic Bible and other works. LaVey was the founder of the Church of Satan (c.a. 1966). LaVey was influenced by the writings of Aleister Crowley, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, Marquis De Sade, Wyndham Lewis, Charles Darwin, Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain and others. "Satan", in the view of LaVey, is seen as a positive influence, while the "divine" actions of the church are to be mocked, and the mundane is held in the highest disregard.

A LaVeyan Satanist views himself or herself as his or her own god; the LaVeyan Satanic rituals are quite similar to Crowley's magick, with an eye towards furthering the Satanist's ends. The LaVeyan Satanist maintains that those who find themselves naturally aligned with Satanism should not adhere to "herd mentality" and assume there is something ethically wrong with them, but should instead adopt an individualistic attitude, and consequently should strive constantly to stand head-and-shoulders above the so-called "Moral Majority", and not hesitate to exploit their "misguided and naive" altruism as necessary.