A lot of people shy away from Devil Worship, including the atheistic Satanists who compromise the majority of Satanists. I understand why. A lot of pagans want to escape completely from the Abrahamic context, and I get it. Besides, the stigma is really high.

For me personally, I can’t help but stand by Lucifer, and yes he is Satan, and yes he is the Devil, yes, that Devil.

I went for Devil Worship because it actually felt connected to my world and my upbringing and my heritage. I needed to get away from Christianity, but at the same time that Abrahamic mythology is the mythology of my culture. I can’t connect with Celtic traditions or Druidry. That stuff may be in my bloodline somewhere, but it has nothing to do with my life.

The Devil, on the other hand, is an ever-present God to me. He’s the Lord of this World. He’s the untamed wilderness, and he’s also the Promethean light of invention, science, technology. He’s equally present in a virgin forest, or in the back ally, or a dive bar. He’s timeless, because he adapts to every era. Wherever there is temptation, curiosity, rebellion, creativity, lust, music, revolution, carousing, adventure, defiance, he’s THERE, just around every corner, lurking in the shadows with a smile.

I respect others who chose Paganism and avoid the Devil, but none of those Gods have ever felt so close to me, so intimately present, so entangled with everything I love, value and stand for. Call me a Satanist, a Luciferian, a Devil Worshipper, a Diabolator, but please don’t call me a Pagan. Both my religion and I exist in a post-Christian paradigm, not a pre-Christian one, and I have no issue with that.

Because people have been so eager to get away from Devil Worship, the rich mythology of demonology has barely been explored. As a polytheistic Satanist, I have the most incredible pantheon available to me. Demons are amazing, diverse, engaging, personable, wise, playful, and hilariously queer. They’re veterans of a bold cosmic insurrection, guerilla fighters who strike from the shadows of the universe. They inspire me far more than any other Gods ever have.

I am so glad that theistic Satanism is finally really becoming a real thing, and that the Devils are finally getting their due, because this really does have the potential to be a beautiful, joyous, liberating, revolutionary religion.