ABSTRACT
The phenomenon identified as Satanism by scholars, the general public and practitioners often coincides with a category of esoteric spirituality termed the Left-Hand Path. Whereas Satanism is generally understood as a number of religious traditions and philosophies that in some way appropriate the Judeo-Christian Devil, movements within the Left-Hand Path milieu operate with a multitude of mythological beings beyond this context. In my opinion, the term Satanism has all too often been loosely applied by scholars to include movements that should not really be contained under the banner. In this chapter I will take a look at the Left-Hand Path, shortly introduce three influential movements that are contained in this milieu, and discuss the existence of a multitude of “Princes of Darkness” in the philosophies and practices of these movements. In discussing the terminologies of Satanism, “Post-Satanism”, and the Left-Hand Path, I hope to demonstrate the problematic nature of the first of these.
