Prior to the composition of the New Testament, the idea developed within Jewish communities that Satan was the name of an angel who had rebelled against Jehovah and had been cast out of Heaven along with his followers; this account would be incorporated into contemporary texts like the Book of Enoch. The figure of Satan, who was seen as having rebelled against the tyranny imposed by Jehovah, was appealing to many of the radical leftists of the period. Here, he stated that people who consulted augurs were entering " quasi pacts" (covenants) with demons. In most of these cases, there was no corroborating evidence that any of those accused of Satanism were either practitioners of a Satanic religion or guilty of the allegations leveled at them.

The internet has allowed for intra-group communication and is also the main forum for Satanist disputes.The cross of Satan was first used by Anton Lavey, the founder of the Church of Satan in the Satanic Bible. Some preach normalization of ‘evil’ practices while others employ a wide range of magical and mystical practices. Beliefs in the afterlife varied, although the most common beliefs about the afterlife were reincarnation and the idea that consciousness survives bodily death. The First Satanic Church was re-founded on October 31, 1999, by Karla LaVey to carry on the legacy of her father.

it does not matter how each Satanist group perceives Satan, as personal or impersonal, real or symbolical". Satan and many demons are equated with gods from ancient cultures, some of which include the Sumerian god Enki, and the Yazidi angel Melek Taus being seen as Satan, borrowing their theistic Satanist interpretations of Enki from the writings of Zecharia Sitchin, and Melek Taus partially deriving from the writings of Anton LaVey. He argues that man's unwillingness to accept his own ego has caused him to externalize these gods so as to avoid the feeling of narcissism that would accompany self-worship. The word "Satan" was not originally a proper name, but rather an ordinary noun that means "adversary". In a Roman Catholic tract of 1565, the author condemns the "heresies, blasphemies, and sathanismes [sic]" of the Protestants.

Satanism, and the concept of Satan, has also been used by artists and entertainers for symbolic expression. The court ruled that facilities that accept federal funds cannot deny prisoners accommodations that are necessary to engage in activities for the practice of their own religious beliefs. They believed that there were two tendencies within reactive Satanism: one, "Satanic tourism", was characterized by the brief period of time in which an individual was involved, while the other, the "Satanic quest", was typified by a longer and deeper involvement. The Swedish metal band Ghost makes use of the inverted cross in place of the final "t" in the band's wordmark, as well as on singer Papa Emeritus I's chasuble. An ancient symbol of a unicursal five-pointed star circumscribed by a circle with many meanings, including but not limited to, the five wounds of Christ and the five elements (earth, fire, water, air, and soul).

S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ken Lanning, revealed that he had investigated 300 allegations of Satanic ritual abuse and found no evidence for Satanism or ritualistic activity in any of them. When pointed down, the upside-down cross represents evil powers, which could be why Anton Lavey adopted the Leviathan cross or the Wicca symbol as the primary sign of the Church of Satan along with the Sigil of Lucifer, Sigil of Baphomet, etc. A number of religious studies scholars have described LaVey's Satanism as a form of "self-religion" or "self-spirituality", [125] with religious studies scholar Amina Olander Lap arguing that it should be seen as being both part of the "prosperity wing" of the self-spirituality New Age movement and a form of the Human Potential Movement.a mythical figure of rebellion for an age of revolutions, a larger-than-life individual for an age of individualism, a free thinker in an age struggling for free thought". From 1976 onward, he authored an array of texts for the tradition, codifying and extending its teachings, mythos, and structure. The early Theosophical Society believed that "Lucifer" was a force that aided humanity's awakening to its own spiritual nature.

While the early Christian idea of the Devil was not well developed, it gradually adapted and expanded through the creation of folklore, art, theological treatises, and morality tales, thus providing the character with a range of extra-Biblical associations. The Book of Job– The Book of Job also depicts the Leviathan as a giant monster, and everyone is terrified of it.A number of contemporary press sources portrayed these as gatherings of atheist rakes where Christianity was mocked, and toasts were made to the Devil. In the thirteenth century, there were also references made to a group of "Luciferians" led by a woman named Lucardis which hoped to see Satan rule in Heaven. In 1969, a Satanic group based in Toledo, Ohio, part of the United States, came to public attention. Prior to that time, Satanism existed primarily as the subject of accusations by various Christian groups toward perceived ideological opponents rather than a self-identity or expressed religious belief.