I've expanded and revised the page about the five rising gods of the modern West.

Among other things, I've added sections about the five orders. My eventual plan is for the Church of Azazel to consist of five orders, one for each of the five rising Gods. Each Church of Azazel member would be expected to belong to one or two of the five orders. Each of the five orders would also aim to create an associated larger group dedicated to the order's deity (and related deities). The larger groups would be distinct from the Church of Azazel and would aim to include non-Satanists as well as Satanists. It is my hope that these groups could serve as bridges between us and the larger alternative spirituality scene, thereby helping to end the isolation of Satanists. In any case, a group devoted to Lilith, Prometheus, Ishtar, Pan, or Lucifer-of-Sophia could go lots of places that a small theistic Satanist group per se cannot go at the present time. It would have a lot more opportunities for outreach in Pagan/occult media, for example.

My plan now is to launch the five orders, and their associated larger groups, in the following order: (1) Lilith, (2) Prometheus, (3) Ishtar, (4) Pan, and (5) Lucifer-of-Sophia. I'm now estimating that it will take maybe three years to launch all of them, starting with the Order of Lilith and its associated larger group in January or February, following our next open meeting, for which the topic will be Lilith.

More details in my expanded and revised article on The rising gods of the modern West. I would appreciate comments on that article, especially on the new sections.

Diane – There is a great deal to absorb in your well thought out plan for the 5 orders of the Rising god’s. It is a complex structure and I imagine it will take quite a bit of time to organize. As I contemplate the plan I am sure that I will have questions and comments for you. In the meantime, I just want to acknowledge your work and thank you for undertaking this important next step in the Church of Azazel. - Drew

Satan is the fundamental representation of all that is natural. An acceptance of our carnal nature and its dynamic characteristics. Christianity, both in philosophy and practice, has changed little over 2000 years. Christian leaders have exploited their followers for the benefit of wealth and power. Leadership enforces a set of static ethics and moral code enslaving populations. The five rising gods represent the advancement of modern culture and personal freedom. The rising gods cross the boundaries of pure satanism into alternative spirituality. There is an overwhelming desire to take charge of life and increase independence; a higher quality of life arising from new evolutionary ethics and morality. A life disjoint from religious dogma and bigotry.

To John: Thanks very much for your reply. On the whole, you seem to understand the Church of Azazel paradigm. However, there's one point on which we might have a disagreement:

Satan is the fundamental representation of all that is natural. An acceptance of our carnal nature and its dynamic characteristics.

That's ONE of the things Satan represents. But Satan means very different things to different kinds of Satanists. For example, the Temple of Set's "Prince of Darkness" (formerly identified with Satan) is associated not with "all that is natural" but, rather, wtih human intelligence and creativity, which the Temple of Set sees as very distinct from the rest of Nature.

I'm inclined to see Satan as a very multi-faceted, transcendant figure, not a well-defined egregore that represents just one particular thing.

To those Christians who believe strongly in a Devil, Satan is associated with EVERYTHING outside their little box, not just one particular kind of thing. As the online Catholic Encyclopedia has put it, the Devil is associated with "heresies and errors of opposite character."

I see Satan as challenging dogma in general, not just Christian dogma, from many different angles, of which "acceptance of all that is natural" is just one -- albeit an important one.

I would say that "acceptance of all that is natural" is more unambiguously associated with Pan than with Satan. Similarly, I would also say that the Temple of Set's "Prince of Darkness" seems to me to be more like Prometheus than like Satan.

Anyhow, I look forward to seeing you at future meetings.

Thank you Diane for the reply to my post. Your very insightful and I appreciate the opportunity to learn from others.

I am looking forward to the meeting this Thursday and the discussion of Lilith and the plans to launch the Order of Lilith. I have read the Rising God’s of the modern West and your vision of the Church of Azazel several times. My reaction to it each time it is that, very comprehensive and thought out treatise. It gave me the opportunity to get to know the deities better and also to do additional web based research on them. I use the call to the rising god’s of our age as part of every ritual that I do. So the more I know who they are, what they stand for and how they relate to each other in the here and now, then my devotion and worship of Satan/Azazel will develop deeply. Again I thank Diane for conceiving and writing this.

This is my take on the Five Orders. It appears to me that this is a long term plan which envisions a very complex structure. If I understand it, your goal is to bring people of various non-Abrahamic cultures together in their own order (as represented by the here and now interpretation of each god) with all five orders under the umbrella of the Church of Azazel. This is obviously a very ambitious and long term plan.

Is the goal to attract people of various cultures that don’t have a spiritual connection with a deity? However I wonder if it is too complex for a budding group of Theistic Satanists. I realize that I am a neophyte Satanist with a great deal to learn and if there were many more active participants then I would not have any right to comment. But since we are still small, and you asked for comments, then I am taking the opportunity to give you my thoughts (no mater how uneducated). It just seems to me that the energy needed to start each of the orders as outlined may dilute the essential foundation of the Church of Azazel not as outlined in the web site but in its practice. I do like the concept of the “tone setting” of each of the orders but trying to attract and organize a diverse group of people under the umbrella of Satanism just may not work and envisioned. Possibly more experienced Satanists may find the paradigm of the Orders something that is workable. But for me a new but dedicated Satanist it seems too ambitious. I would think that a seeker may find it too complex. I would like to hear what others in our group think about this. -- Drew

This is my take on the Five Orders. It appears to me that this is a long term plan which envisions a very complex structure. If I understand it, your goal is to bring people of various non-Abrahamic cultures together

No, not "various non-Abrahamic cultures." Just modern Western culture and some of its subcultures.

in their own order (as represented by the here and now interpretation of each god) with all five orders under the umbrella of the Church of Azazel. This is obviously a very ambitious and long term plan.

Yes, it will take at least a few years to get all these groups off the ground.

Is the goal to attract people of various cultures that don’t have a spiritual connection with a deity?

No. One of the goals is to attract people who already do have a connection, or at least an attraction, to at least one of the five deities. There are also several other, overlapping goals which I'll discuss at the meeting.

However I wonder if it is too complex for a budding group of Theistic Satanists.

In order to build our own group, it will be helpful to have alliances with other related groups. And a group that looks active and busy is likely to attract more members. Furthermore, based on what I've observed in the Satanist scene, seemingly simpler approaches just don't seem to work very well.

I realize that I am a neophyte Satanist with a great deal to learn and if there were many more active participants then I would not have any right to comment. But since we are still small, and you asked for comments, then I am taking the opportunity to give you my thoughts (no mater how uneducated). It just seems to me that the energy needed to start each of the orders as outlined may dilute the essential foundation of the Church of Azazel not as outlined in the web site but in its practice.

What do you mean by "its practice"? What would you want "its practice" to be?

Anyhow, I would not expect most individual members of the Church of Azazel to be active in more than one of the five orders.

I do like the concept of the “tone setting” of each of the orders but trying to attract and organize a diverse group of people under the umbrella of Satanism just may not work and envisioned.

The groups will not all be under the umbrella of Satanism. The five orders should not to be confused with the larger groups that they will aim to build. The five orders themselves WILL be part of the Church of Azazel (thus "under the umbrella of Satanism), whereas the larger groups will not be.

Possibly more experienced Satanists may find the paradigm of the Orders something that is workable. But for me a new but dedicated Satanist it seems too ambitious. I would think that a seeker may find it too complex. I would like to hear what others in our group think about this. -- Drew

Again, you're not expected to be personally involved in every aspect.

Diane – First off, thanks for your detailed reply to my comments. For the most part you helped clarify the goals of the Orders. What I was thinking in “its practice” for the CoAZ is: discussion, teaching, ritual. With regard to the Orders, I am still hazy on your vision of how it will function. Maybe an org chart would help. I am looking forward to the meeting. Drew

As for ritual: Until we have a core of regulars large enough to begin renting space, we'll be doing coordinated solo rituals approximately once a month or so. Three of us held the first such coordinated ritual a couple of weeks ago, for the solstice. Other interested people will be invited join in our next one.

Most of the coordinated Church of Azazel rituals will be addressed to Satan/Azazel and the elemental "Princes" (which we see as aspects of Satan).

As for teaching: The forthcoming five orders and their associated larger groups are a prerequisite to doing the kind of high-quality teaching of new members that I'd like to do. In the meantime, please try to attend the Church of Azazel open meetings and relevant meetings of New Yorkers Against Religion-Based Bigotry.

I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

Our conversation last week has inspired in me some new interest in your CoAZ pantheon. I present the follow as comments on this area of your website: “Theology of the Church of Azazel”.

I hope it is appropriate to cross-post my comments in your meetup group. It is a copy of the same comments I recently posted on your Wordpress Blog. If you would prefer this discussion take place only in one of the two places, please let me know and I will comply. I was thinking though that the current members of this meetup might find the comments of interest.
Thanks.
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Part 1 comments on CoAZ pantheon

On the Theology page I found a well constructed “pantheon” of deities who have active relevance to today’s world. For adherants it is important that they can relate modern life to the intentions and actions, as well as the qualities of the deities. It is also evident that the main interaction of the deities with the world and mankind are with a complimentary purpose aimed toward the enlightenment and progress of the human race.

Another strong point I see in this assembled pantheon is that each deity’s perceived goals are of a postive nature as benefactors of human beings, most of whom, mythologically speaking, have gone through struggles and suffering in order to do so.

There is no need for a detailed creation of adversarial deity(s), since there already exist primary adversaries to the CoAZ deities’ goals in the present world through the modern developments of the Christian and Islamic religions which are after-life and obedience focused, and basically unfriendly toward mankind’s self-empowerment and technological advancements.

Some pagans object to one mixing gods of one pantheon with another, even to say that some gods would be incompatible and in conflict with each other. In the CoAZ there are largely Greek and Judaic gods combined in recognition of their perceived manifestations rising again with influence in our modern times. There are pagans that can see this as easily justified by historical and anthropological evidence that in the areas of the middle east and mediterranean, peoples borrowed each others’ gods and renamed them. Still others who subscribe to Jungian thought see similarities in deities of cultures who could not have influenced each other much if at all, attributing this to man’s connection with the collective unconscious, thus having interaction with and access to the same archetypes. In this case, I concur with the two latter lines of thought on the matter.

Azazel and Prometheus both are compatible examples of the archetype who is a type of saviour of mankind in an empowering way. Azazel fits as the primary focus of the pantheon. He is attributed to the highest station in the book of Enoch as a leader. Azazel is given equal prominence in perhaps the most important yearly ceremony of Israel to their god that all sin be imputed to him, while other verses say that god will save them (Israel) from their sins. In Enoch, Azazel succumbs to the lures of the world and rebells by giving man metallurgy, alchemy and other knowledge. It does not really go into any other motives. Prometheus is cunning and sometimes a trickster, yet his stealing fire from the gods to give power to man is more of an act of compassion. Both are punished, again typical of the suffering savior aspect of both.
Though the latter is unlike the majority of the other CoAZ deities, in that he is less demonized, he fits with the others due to their actions which definitely indicate their past and modern roles as active benefactors of mankind as well as sources and wielders of power.