I would like to point out that i consider myself a nocturnal neopagan. I would also like to point out that i understand satanism is looked down upon even among occultists because of the bad rap it gives us however, whether we like it or not(personally i respect both the religions i talk about below) they are included as part of the occult and we should educate those who misunderstand satanism. I also believe that we should educate them on the difference between paganism and satanism. Below is a little education for those that may not know.
Okay, so ive been made aware that alot of people do not know what "Satanism" actually is. They look at the name as the cover of a book. This is not necessarily the case. There are 2 major types of Satanism: LaVeyan and Theistic. LaVeyan Satanism was found by Anton LaVey in 1966 and does not in any way worship satan. They worship themselves. They are made up of mostly atheists. They use the term satanism because Satan means adversary in Hebrew and they see themselves as the adversaries to all other religions as they are the only one(that i have come accross) that actually embraces science. Unlike other religions who, when in power, had those who made scientific advances(that made people question god) put to death. So..in a nutshell, Anton LaVey was a atheist who believed that we all have one life and we may as well live it fully without worrying about set boundries such sex before marriage and not fighting back when attacked(my words). LaVeyan Satanism does not support human or animal sacrifice or violence that is undeserved. These things were rumors started by ignorant people in the 70's which has been called the Satanic Panic. The federal government investigated these accusations and found all of them to be rumors.
Theistic Satanism on the other hand does worship Lucifer/Satan. However, they look at the bible as one side of the story. After all, it is very one sided. Theistic satanists look at Lucifer as the liberator of mankind. A example of this is that Lucifer possessed a snake in the garden(still a angel i might add, the bible does not mention his fall from heaven until much later) and tempted eve to eat of the fruit. Before this god had not given Adam and Eve true free will. Lucifer spoke the truth, if you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you will be as god and know what good and evil are. Once they ate the fruit they knew and understood. God created man as another being to constantly worship and glorify him. Once they ate the fruit they had the choice not to follow god. True free will. Theistic Satanists also believe that god is not all knowing and all powerful. He is not all knowing because he obviously would not have created lucifer if he knew he would rebel and take a third of his angels to his side. And he is not all powerful because he requires worship to have power. This is evident throughout history as every time mass numbers of people have fallen away from him he as done something drastic to draw them back. Such as the great flood, sending jesus(to essentially change the message and draw more people) and finally one day he will come back to grab his followers so they dont have a chance to fall away and then he will try to destroy the rest of us.
Keep in mind that i wrote this for informational purposes only. I do not believe either of these "religions" have it right, although i am inclinded to agree with alot of the ideals of LaVeyan Satanism and if God is real, i believe the Theistic Satanists have a few good points. Anyway, i do not want negative comments. I put this out for people to understand and bring knowledge. And now those of you that have read this know the difference. lol