Lucifer
In modern and late
Medieval Christian thought,
Lucifer is a
fallen angel commonly associated with
Satan, the embodiment of
evil and enemy of
God. Lucifer (who was supposed to be very beautiful) is generally considered, based on the influence of Christian literature and legend, to have been a prominent
archangel in
heaven (although some contexts say he was a
cherub or a
seraph), prior to having been motivated by
pride to rebel against God. When the rebellion failed, Lucifer was cast out of heaven, along with a third of the
heavenly host, and came to reside in the
Hell. However, this common belief is not officially accepted by most Christian denominations, on the grounds that it exalts evil to an overly high position and is not directly supported by any passage in the
Bible.
Lucifer was originally a
Latin word meaning "light-bearer" (from
lux, "light", and
ferre, "to bear, bring"), a Roman
astrological term for the "
Morning Star", the planet
Venus. The word
Lucifer was the direct translation of the
Greek eosphorus ("dawn-bearer"; cf. Greek
phosphorus, "light-bearer") used by
Jerome in the
Vulgate. In that passage,
Isaiah 14:12, it referred to one of the popular honorific titles of a Babylonian king; however, later interpretations of the text, and the influence of embellishments in works such as
Dante's
The Divine Comedy and
Milton's
Paradise Lost, led to the common idea in
Christian mythology and
folklore that Lucifer was a poetic appellation of Satan.
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A 2nd-century sculpture of the moon goddess Selene accompanied by Eosphorus and Phosphorus, the Greek personifications of Venus later Latinized as "Lucifer". |
Lucifer is a poetic name for the "morning star", a close translation of the Greek
eosphoros, the "dawn-bringer", which appears in the
Odyssey and in
Hesiod's
Theogony.A classic
Roman use of "Lucifer" appears in
Virgil's
Georgics (III, 324-5): :
Luciferi primo cum sidere frigida rura i'm bsergi :
carpamus, dum mane novum, dum gramina canent"
"Let us hasten, when first the Morning Star appears, :To the cool pastures, while the day is new, while the grass is dewy"
And similarly, in
Ovid's
Metamorphoses::"
Aurora, watchful in the reddening dawn, threw wide her crimson doors and rose-filled halls; the Stars took flight, in marshalled order set by
Lucifer, who left his station last."
A more effusive poet, like
Statius, can expand this trope into a brief but profuse allegory, though still this is a poetical personification of the Light-Bearer, not a mythology:
"And now Aurora, rising from her
Mygdonian resting-place, had scattered the cold shadows from the high heaven, and, shaking the dew-drops from her hair, blushed deep in the sun's pursuing beams; toward her through the clouds, rosy Lucifer turns his late fires, and with slow steed leaves an alien world, until the
fiery father's orb be full replenished and he forbid his sister to usurp his rays.":::Statius,
Thebaid 2.134
In the
Vulgate, an early-5th-century translation of the Bible into
Latin by
Jerome,
Lucifer occurs in
Isaiah 14:12-14 as a translation of the
Greek word
heosphorus ("dawn-bearer"), an epithet of
Venus. The original
Hebrew text of this verse was ×"ילל בן שחר (
heilel ben-schahar), meaning "Venus, son of the morning" or "Venus, the brilliant one", a poetic epithet of the king of
Babylon, comparable to many other titles used by kings throughout history, such as
Louis XIV of France being called
Le Roi Soleil ("The Sun King"). In Isaiah, this title is specifically used, in a prophetic vision, to reference the king of Babylon's pride and to illustrate his eventual fate by referencing mythological accounts of the planet Venus:
14:4 And you shall bear this parable against the king of Babylon, and you shall say, "How has the dominator ceased, has ceased the haughty one!:14:10 All of them shall speak up and say to you, 'Have you too become weak like us? Have you become like us?':14:11 Your pride has been lowered into
Gehinnom, the stirring of your psalteries. Maggots are spread under you, and worms cover you.:14:12 How have you fallen from heaven, Lucifer, the morning star? You have been cut down to earth, You who cast lots on nations.:(
Isaiah,
Judaica Press Tanakh)
The
Jewish Encyclopedia reports that "it is obvious that the prophet in attributing to the Babylonian king boastful pride, followed by a fall, borrowed the idea from a popular legend connected with the morning star".
[Jewish Encyclopedia: Lucifer; also Fall of Angels] However, this metaphorical "falling from the heavens" was later interpreted as a literal fall from heaven when the passage's original meaning was made opaque by retranslations and eventually forgotten.
Later Jewish tradition, influenced by Babylonian mythology acquired during the
Babylonian captivity, elaborates on the fall of the angels under the leadership of
Samhazai ("the heaven-seizer") and
Azael (
Enoch, book vi.6f). Another legend, in the
midrash, represents the repentant Samhazai suspended star-like between heaven and earth instead of being hurled down to
Sheol.
The Helel-Lucifer (i.e. Venus) myth was later transferred to Satan, as evidenced by the 1st-century
pseudepigraphical text
Vita Adae et Evae (12), where the Adversary gives Adam an account of his early career,
[Vita Adae et Evae: Text from R.H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament] and the Slavonic
Book of Enoch (xxix. 4, xxxi. 4), where Satan-Sataniel (Sataniel/Satanel "The Keeper of Hell") (
Samael?) is also described as a former
archangel. Because he contrived "to make his throne higher than the clouds over the earth and resemble 'My power' on high", Satan-Sataniel was hurled down, with his hosts of angels, to fly in the air continually above the abyss.
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The fall of Lucifer, Gustave Doré's illustration for the Paradise Lost by John Milton. |
Jerome, with the Septuagint close at hand and a general familiarity with the pagan poetic traditions, translated
Heylel as
Lucifer. This may also have been done as a pointed jab at a bishop named Lucifer, a contemporary of Jerome who argued to forgive those condemned of the Arian
heresy. Much of Christian tradition also draws on interpretations of
Revelation 12:9 ("He was thrown down, that ancient serpent"; see also 12:4 and 12:7) in equating the ancient serpent with the serpent in the
Garden of Eden and the fallen star, Lucifer, with
Satan. Accordingly,
Tertullian (
Contra Marrionem, v. 11, 17),
Origen (
Ezekiel Opera, iii. 356), and others, identify Lucifer with Satan.
It was viewed that when Lucifer left/fell from Heaven, he kept his original radiance, but mixed with with Darkness. When Lucifer arose not as Lucifer of Heaven, but Lucifer of Hell, he was Noctifer "Night Bringer." The process of fusing both Light and Darkness inside yourself is the main goal of
Left Hand Path followers, the "Luciferians." It is even said that Luciferianism is not "Left nor Right...But Centered." Philosophical Luciferianism in the
Luciferianism page, shines more on this subject.
Homer's description of the supernatural fall:"the whole day long I was carried headlong, and at sunset I fell in Lemnos, and but little life was in me"relates the fall of
Hephaestus from
Olympus in the
Iliad I:591ff, and the fall of the Titans was similarly described by
Hesiod; through popular epitomes these traditions were drawn upon by Christian authors embellishing the fall of Lucifer.
In the fully-developed Christian interpretation, Jerome's
Vulgate translation of Isaiah 14:12 has made Lucifer the name of the principal
fallen angel, who must lament the loss of his original glory as the morning star. This image at last defines the character of Satan; where the Church Fathers had maintained that
lucifer was not the proper name of the
Devil, and that it referred rather to the state from which he had fallen; St. Jerome gave it Biblical authority when he transformed it into Satan's proper name.
It is noteworthy that the
Old Testament itself does not at any point actually mention the rebellion and fall of Satan. This non-Scriptural belief assembled from interpretations of different passages, would fall under the heading
Christian mythology, that is, Christian traditions that are derived from outside of church teachings and scripture. For detailed discussion of the "War in Heaven" theme, see
Fallen angel.
In the
Vulgate, the word
lucifer is used elsewhere: it describes the Morning Star (the planet
Venus), the "light of the morning" (
Job 11:17); the constellations (
Job 38:32) and "the aurora" (
Psalms 109:3). In the
New Testament,
Jesus Christ (in
II Peter 1:19) is associated with the "morning star" (
phosphoros).
Naming Jesus the "Morning Star" was a way to "replace" the title of "Morning Star." Lucifer's title "The Morning Star" was becoming to synonymous with what Christian's called the
Devil, so they tried to "undo" what they had done and "erase" Lucifer with said title.
Not all references in the New Testament to the morning star refer to
phosphoros, however; in
Revelation:
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star (
aster proinos).
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, [and] the bright and morning star (
aster orthrinos).
In the Eastern Empire, where Greek was the language, "morning star" (
heosphorus) retained these earlier connotations. When
Liutprand, bishop of Cremona, attended the Byzantine Emperor
Nicephorus II in
968, he reported to his master
Otto I the greeting sung to the emperor arriving in
Hagia Sophia:
"Behold the morning star approaches, Eos rises; he reflects in his glances the rays of the sunâ€" he the pale death of the Saracens, Nicephorus the ruler." [
1]
Lucifer has been acknowledged by the
Satanic Bible as one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, particularly that of the East. Lord of the Air, Lucifer has been named "Bringer of light, The morning star,Intellectualism, Enlightenment."
In a little known tome,
The Urantia Book, published in 1955, Lucifer was a brilliant spirit personality, a "son of God" who at one time ruled this
constellation of 607 inhabited planets. He fell into an iniquitous
rebellion against the ordained
universe governmental regime in a denial of God's existence saying he was God. "There was
war in Heaven" but, according to
The Urantia Book, the story has become convoluted over time.
Lucifer recruited Satan, another brilliant being of the same order, to represent his cause to the universe authorities on
earth. The then planetary prince of earth, Caligastia - one and the same as "the
devil", believed Lucifer's cause and subsequently aligned himself, along with 37 other planetary princes in the system, with the rebels. They all attempted to take their entire populations of their
planets under the assertion of a false doctrine, a "Declaration of Liberty" which would have driven them to darkness, evil, sin and iniquity.
When Jesus of
Nazareth went up to
Mt. Hermon for the "
temptation", it was really to settle this iniquitous rebellion for the triumph of the entire system. "Said Jesus of Caligastia: "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this
world be cast down." Subsequently, Lucifer, Satan, Caligastia and all the personalities who followed them, figuratively "fell from Heaven". They were actually and literally all "dethroned and shorn of their governing powers" by the appropriate universe authorities and most have been replaced. Subsequent to their efforts to corrupt Jesus while incarnated in the flesh on earth, any and all sympathy for them or their cause, outside the worlds of
sin and
rebellion, has ceased.
See:
Paper 53 - The Lucifer Rebellion and
Paper 54 - Problems of the Lucifer Rebellion.
Because the planet Venus (Lucifer) is an
inferior planet, meaning that its orbit lies between the
orbit of the Earth and the Sun, it can never rise high in the sky at night as seen from Earth. It can be seen in the eastern morning sky for an hour or so before the Sun rises, and in the western evening sky for an hour or so after the Sun sets, but never during the dark of midnight.
Venus (Lucifer) is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. As bright and as brilliant as it is, ancient people couldn't understand why they couldn't see it at midnight like the outer planets, or during midday, like the Sun and Moon. Some believe they invented myths about Lucifer being cast out from Heaven to explain this. Lucifer was supposed to shine so bright because it wanted to take over the thrones or status of
Saturn and
Jupiter, both of which were considered most important by the worshippers of planetary deities at the time.
In
Romanian mythology, Lucifer (Romanian:
Luceafăr) means the planet Venus and some other stars. It is also linked with
Hyperion, a figure who animates bad spirits (but is not the Devil himself).
"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav'n." â€
"Paradise Lost, Book I, 263Lucifer is a key protagonist in
John Milton's (
1667) Protestant epic,
Paradise Lost. Milton presents Lucifer almost sympathetically, an ambitious and prideful angel who defies God and wages war on heaven, only to be defeated and cast down. Lucifer must then employ his rhetorical ability to organize hell; he is aided by
Mammon and
Beelzebub. Later, Lucifer enters the
Garden of Eden, where he successfully tempts
Eve, wife of
Adam, to eat fruit from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Lucifer naturally makes appearances in fiction offering a suggestion of
esoterica.
* Lucifer is a character in
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by
Christopher Marlowe (
1604)
* Lucifer appears in
Joost van den Vondel's
Lucifer (
1654)
* In
Miguel Serrano's
Nos (
1980), Lucifer is identified as the King of the White gods.
* In
Arthur C. Clarke's
Space Odyssey series (
1968-
1997),
Jupiter was renamed Lucifer after its transformation into Earth's second sun.
* Lucifer is a character in the view-from-the-other-side
fantasy novel
To Reign in Hell (
1984) by
Steven Brust.
* Lucifer is a character in
The Sandman graphic novels (
1988-
1996) by
Neil Gaiman.
* Lucifer is the protagonist of the graphic novel series
Lucifer (
1999-present) by
Mike Carey.
* Lucifer is the main character in
Catherine Webb's novels
Waywalkers (
2003) and
Timekeepers (
2004), under the name of Sam Linnfer.
* Lucifer is also a poem by the Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu
Luceafarul (the Evening Star)
* Lucifer is identified by the name of "Memnoch" in
Memnoch the Devil, by
Anne Rice (
July 3,
1995)
* The fall of Lucifer is a central element of the universe portrayed in
Philip Pullman's
His Dark Materials trilogy.
* Lucifer is a character in
Michael Moorcock's
Von Bek series. Here he is a multi-faceted and complex character.
* Lucifer is a character in
Kaori Yuki's
Angel Sanctuary manga, about a boy who is the reincarnation of one of his fellow fallen angels.
* Lucifer is the protagonist of
Glen Duncan's
I, Lucifer, in which he is offered a shot at redemption by God, and must live a mortal life free of sin.
* Lucivar is the name of a main character in
Anne Bishop's
Black Jewels books, a character
tortured for hundreds of years by one cruel matriarch and redeemed by a kinder, loving one.
* Lucifer is a character in
Anatole France's
la Révolte des anges; he is said to have led men to philosophy, science, and art.
* The
Iron Maiden song "moonchild" from the album "
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son" at one point says
"be the mother of a birth strangeled babe, be the devils own, lucifers my name* On
Black Sabbath N.I.B. the following lyrics are used
Look into my eyes, you will see who I am, My name is lucifer, please take my hand* Lucifer is the first-person "narrator" in
The Rolling Stones' song "
Sympathy for the Devil" (
1968).
* Lucifer is used in "Lucifer Sam", from the
Pink Floyd's album
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Lucifer Sam is a
Siamese cat who belongs to a witch named Jennifer Gentle, as described in the songs lyrics by Syd Barrett. (
preview this song).
* The 13th section of
Jethro Tull's
A Passion Play is subtitled
Flight From Lucifer and its first lyric-line is
"Flee the icy Lucifer. Oh he's an awful fellow!".
* Lucifer was played by
Viggo Mortensen (to
Christopher Walken's
Archangel Gabriel) in the (
1995) film
The Prophecy, as well as by
Robert De Niro in
Angel Heart (
1987).
* Lucifer is a vital character in the roleplaying series
Shin Megami Tensei, and its related spin offs. In the series, Lucifer is portrayed as a multi-faceted, almost noble enemy of YHWH (God). His human alias is Louis Cypher.
*Lucifer is played by
Peter Stormare in the movie
Constantine.
*Lucifer is played by
Al Pacino in the movie
The Devil's Advocate, with
Keanu Reeves as a lawyer who finds out he is the Devil's son.
*Lucifer is mentioned as being the former ruler of the
Netherealm before he was overthrown by
Quan Chi and
Shinnok in the
Mortal Kombat series.
*"Father Lucifer" is the name of a song by
Tori Amos.
*"Lucifer" is also the name of the song by
Jay-Z produced by
Kanye West.
*Lucifer is also the name of a
Shivan capital ship, from the game
FreeSpace.
*Lucifer is one of the demons that possesses the title character in the movie
The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.
*Lucifer is the name of the household cat in the movie
Cinderella.
*Lucifer is the main character in "The Fall of Lucifer: The Chronicles of Brothers" by Wendy Alec
*Lucifer is the basis for the character Horus in the
fictional universe of
Warhammer 40,000. His story is much the same as Horus' (including his fall from grace, or in Horus' case, fall to Chaos), but Horus slew Sanguinius, while Lucifer was cast down by Michael.
*"Lucifer's Angel" is the name of song composed by Rasmus in their album "Hide from the Sun" - 2005
*Lucifer is mentioned in the chorus of
Tenacious D's "Tribute".
*Lucifer is played by
Rodney Dangerfield in the movie
Little Nicky.
*W.A.S.P - Song title: Sleeping in the fire. Lucifer's magic.
*
Stephen Lynch's song "Beelz" portrays Satan as a
bisexual man.
*Lucifer is played by
Will Ferrell in a
Saturday Night Live sketch. The symphonic black metal band
Cradle of Filth devoted an entire album ("
Damnation and a Day") to telling the story of creation and mankind's progression through Lucifer's eyes
*Lucifer is the name of a playable character in the
Warcraft III custom map
DotA.
*
Lucifer and Venus Lucifer in relation to ancient kings, Venus and idolatry.
*
Lucifer's entry in "A Gallery of Demons"*
Lucifer's entry in Occultopedia*
Demons and Devils*
The Luciferion Rebellion of the Cosmic Overplus*
Order of the Morning Star
