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Lucifer

In contemporary literature, even occult, the mentioning of Lucifer immediately brings to mind the concept of the Christian Devil. It is suggested that this results from a misinterpretation of Isaiah 14:12, which referred to the king of Babylon. However, a brief review of the origin of the name Lucifer shows this is also untrue. Although even in legend Lucifer retains its Latin meaning "bearer of light" or "light bearer" designating the Morning Star. Instead Christianity assigned Lucifer the position of the Prince of Darkness.

There is a legend that Lucifer means "light bringer," meaning a Morning Star god announcing daily birth of the sun. The Canaanites called him Shaher, the Hebrews Shaharit, Morning Service, still commemorating him. His twin brother, Shalem, the Evening Star, announced the daily death of the sun, speaking to him a Word of Peace, shalom. These two may be identified as the heavenly twins of the Greeks, Castor and Pollux, born of Leda's world egg. They also played a prominent role in Persian sun worship as two torch-bearers, one with an ascendant torch, the other pointing downward.

In Canaanite legend Shaher and Shalem were born of the great mother Asherah, in her world-womb aspect as Helel, "the Pit." Shaher coveted the superior glory of the sun god and attempted to usurp his throne, but was defeated and cast from the heaven like a lightening bolt.

There is a seventh century BCE scriptural account of this story of the Morning Star, which eventually became Isaiah 14:12-15. Lucifer is told, "Thou shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." The pit, here, is symbolizing, or the same as, Helel, the Mother-bride's womb. In this version Lucifer, the light-bringer, is cast from heaven by the solar sun, Christian God, because he was competing for the sexual favors of the Mother. In the Bible, the sin of Lucifer is pride, whereas, in nature, it was sexual.

The Morning Star was the god, at times referred to as a bird, Benu to the Egyptians. He was the dying-and-reborn bird Phoenix, called the "Soul of Ram" who died on the World Tree in order to renew himself so to "shine on the world." It is said his spirit dwelled in the phallic obelisk, called Benu or the Benhen Stone, representing the god's sexual union with the Mother. Egyptian lore has several other versions of Lucifer previous to his incarceration into the Christian Devil.

One finds Plato knew the morning star as Aster that appeared in a different position as the evening star (actually the planet Venus). He saw Aster as a dying-and-reborn deity. Of it he wrote, "Aster, once, as Morning-Star, light on the living you shed. Now, dying, as Evening-Star, you shine among the dead."

The Gnostic Christians too believed in the light of Lucifer which they viewed as the enlightenment which he as the Serpent, also an Egyptian phallic form as the serpent Ami-Hemf "Dweller in the Flame," who enlightened the first parents, Adam and Eve, against God's will. Here Lucifer is likened to Prometheus who stole fire from heaven to give civilization to humanity. God denied the first two people the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but Lucifer gave them the light of wisdom.

These Gnostic sentiments and beliefs for Lucifer were held by the Persians as well. Unlike Orthodox Christians, they did not hold Jehovah as the good-God of mankind, but the Demiurge who created man for his own selfish interest. Lucifer was regarded as the hero, savior, and friend of man, who revealed the sacred mysteries which the Heavenly Father jealously withheld. Some, such as the Luciferians, held that Lucifer was the brother of God. These Gnostic beliefs persisted throughout the first half of the Christian era and well into the second half. Meister Eckhart said, "Lucifer, the angel, who is in hell, has perfect intellect and to this day knows much." And, even to this day, for some, these sentiments persist.

The name Lucifer also appears in Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches made famous by Charles Godfey Leland. The work is supposedly based on myths and legends of ancient Italian witchcraft. Lucifer was son and consort of Diana, goddess of the night. Their daughter is Aradia, the witch-messiah in the myth. The story is unpopular with many because of the name Lucifer, the evil Christian connotation.

In Anthroposophy, Lucifer is one of the two evil powers in the universe. He represents intellectual arrogance-the tendency to withdraw from a mental existence into a pure mental one.

As can be seen, the Christian derogatory connotation of Lucifer has crept into other belief systems. The impact is duly illustrated. Christianity emphasized the great battle between God and Lucifer, debating its brevity, and how speedily God cast Lucifer and the other fallen angels from heaven. According to Christian orthodox teaching the cause of the battle between God and Lucifer was because Lucifer, one of the most beautiful angels, refused to adore man, since man was lower than him, as God commanded. The Muslims carry this one step further saying the Lucifer loved God so much that he refused to adore anyone but him.

One fact seems to be prominent, God and Lucifer always seems to be paired even though Lucifer is often interchanged with Satan. This possibly could give rise to the brotherhood of God and Lucifer, and the rivalry; also a reason why God would put his arch enemy over the world to test, or tempt, humanity so he could constantly defeat him, a very choice position for a hated sibling. A.G.H.

Source:s

Lindemans, Micha F. "Benu." Encyclopedia Mystica. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/benu.html>.
Cisco, Jamie. "Leda." Encyclopedia Mystica. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/l/leda.html>.
Greer, John Michael. "cunning men/women." The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. St. Paul, MN, Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 281
Lucifer. Wikipedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer>.
Smith, Anthony. "Asherah." Encyclopedia Mystica. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/asherah.html>.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. New York, HarperCollins, 1983. p. 551-554