THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
To: alt.satanism,alt.pagan,alt.magick.tyagi From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (tyagi/TOKUS) Subject: Luciferans (LONG - Baskin/Smyth) Date: Kali Yuga 49950413 "LUCIFERIANS Medieval sects of occultists who mutilated Eucharistic wafers before an idol of Lucifer. The practice of witchcraft may have been initiated by a Luciferian sect in Milan. It was against this sect that Konrad of Marburg, the first German inquisitor, moved zealously in the first part of the thirteenth century. He extorted confessions from them 'proving' that they were out-and-out Satanists who worshiped the Devil as creator and ruler of the world." _Dictionary of Satanism_, by Wade Baskin, Philosophical Library, 1972; pp. 202-3. ______________________________________________________________________ Below they are referred to as 'Luciferans'. Strange variations. "In 1227 Pope Gregory VII sent Conrad of Marburg on a mission to Germany with unlimited powers to bring to the stake a sect of Satanists. This is the first instance of a fully organized witchhunt in Europe and it set patterns that later generations were to follow. There had been rumours of Luciferans who worshipped Satan, kissed the backsides of toads and cats, and indulged in indescriminate orgies.... "As for the Luciferans they present the kind of problem that confronts us over and over again in trying to distinguish between fact and fantasy in witchcraft. It seems probable that there were sects practising Satanism, but fanatics like Conrad were all too quick to believe that they were fighting in a struggle where all mankind had gone over to the devil, and if the Archbishop of Mayence is to be believed he created what he set out to destroy." _Modern Witchcraft_, by Frank Smyth, Castle Books, 1970; pp. 52-5. __________________________________________________________________ "Early in the [13th] century rumours circulated of the hideous Satanic rites practised by a sect in Germany called Luciferans, and in 1227 the Pope sent Conrad of Marburg to root out the heresy and reform the Church in Germany. Conrad was a sadistic fanatic who had been spiritual director of St. Elizabeth of Thuringia and had delighted in beating and humiliating her. He descended on the Luciferans in the fierce conviction that he was called to do battle with Satan himself. The confessions he extracted were apparently made without torture, but under the threat of death if the victim did not confess. If these confes- sions were accurate, the Luciferans were full-blown Satanists. They worshipped the Devil as creator and ruler of this world, complained that he had been unjustly and treacherously banished from heaven, and believed that he would overthrow the God of the Christians and return to heaven, when they would enjoy eternal happiness with him. They revelled in whatever displeased the Christian God and hated whatever pleased him. At Easter they would go to Mass, keep the consecrated hosts in their mouths and spit them out into a cesspool to show their contempt for Christ. "When a man was initiated as a Luciferan he was taken to one of their meetings and made to kiss a toad on its backside or mouth. Or sometimes the thing he kissed looked like a duck or a goose and was the size of an oven. Then there came to him a man with black eyes who was pale, emaciated and icy cold. Possibly, he represented the Devil or lord of death. The initiate kissed him and lost his Catholic faith in that instant. Then everyone sat down to a feast and a large black cat appeared, emerging from a statue which was always present. The initiate, the leader of the group and any other members who were worthy of the honour, kissed the cat's backside. The leader said, 'What does this teach?' A member answered, 'the highest peace', and another added, 'And that we must obey.' The candles were put out and there was indiscrim- inate heterosexual and homosexual orgy. Afterwards the candles were relit and the figure of a man appeared from a dark corner. The upper part of his body shone like the sun, but from the hips down he was black like the cat. The leader cut off a piece of the initiate's clothing and gave it to the shining man, saying, 'Master, I give this to you which has been given to me.' The shining man answered, 'You have served me well, you will serve me more and better. I leave to your care what you have given to me.' Then he disappeared. "This account of an initiation carries a certain conviction and it could have been stage-managed without too much difficulty. There are traces, in modern times, of a tradition among witches that Lucifer, 'the light-bearer', was the sun, an identification which could easily be made when the Devil was regarded as the ruler of life on earth. The shining man may perhaps have been intended to represent the Devil as both the sun of day-time -- the shining upper half of the figure -- and the sun of night, the black lower parts standing for the black sun, passing under the earth through the regions of darkness before the next sunrise. The black sun can be imagined as the leader of the stars, which follow his course towards the western horizon and disappear beyond it -- the stars fallen from heaven. "The obscene kiss on the backside of an animal or person representing Satan became a stock charge in allegations of devil-worship, but where it originally came from is not known. It was evidently a symbol of utter submission and perhaps also of the reversal of conventional values." _The Black Arts_, by Richard Cavendish, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1967; pp. 324-5. _________________________________________________________________ "In 1453 a sect of Brethren of the Cross was discovered in Thuringia. They practised flagellation and believed that Satan would regain his lost power and place, and would expel Christ from heaven. They celebrated orgies in secret by night. "Early in the following century it was said that Bohemia was infested with thousands of Luciferans. In Italy, Pope Julius II ordered an inquisitor to proceed against 'a certain sect', which renounced the Christian faith, trampled on and dishonoured crosses, abused the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and took the Devil as their lord and master, offering him obedience and reverence. "By this time the searchlights of persecution were being turned away from the Luciferans and similar heretical sects to be trained on the witches. Many of the sects had been accused of holding secret meetings at night and worshipping the Devil, usually in the form of a man, cat or goat. Some were specifically charged with believing that the Devil rules this world and will eventually overthrow God. Even when these accusations were lacking, other heretical practices were classed as Satanist because they reversed Christian values -- renunciation of Christianity and hostility to the church; condemnation of marriage and procreation; slaughtering of children and cannibalism; orgiastic sexual practices and homosexuality. Most of this pattern of Satanism reappears in the witch trials." Ibid, p. 327. ______________ "Witches existed from very early times and were always thought to be in touch with evil spirits and the powers of the underworld. In medieval Europe the prince of the underworld and the master of demons was Satan and it is probable that the god of the witches was not the supposed 'horned god' of the hypothetical 'Old Religion' but the Devil of Christianity. The principal beliefs and rituals of medieval witches seem to have come from the Cathars, Luciferans and other sects accused of worshipping the Devil, though the witch religion drew on many other sources -- magic and sorcery, classical traditions, the Bible, pagan customs and beliefs, and accepted popular notions about the behaviour of witches. "It is also likely that the persecution of Satanist sects and the witch trials themselves stimulated activities they were intended to suppress." Ibid, p. 330. _____________ tyagi/TOKUS tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com --------------------------- Satanism is merely a category of worldviews involving sympathetic interpretations of "Satan". Diane Vera -- If you wish to be sure I read your response to me, cc me via email. Thanks. Contribute to the Netmage's Consortium Newsgroup: alt.magick.tyagi DivWeb: telnet bill.math.uconn.edu 9393 ** ftp.portal.com/pub/ss/Usenet
The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org. |
Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site. |
The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories, each dealing with a different branch of religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge. Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit: |
|
interdisciplinary:
geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc. |
SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):
OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST
Southern
Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo,
including slave narratives & interviews
|