Joy of Satan Ministries

Joy of Satan Ministries, also referred to as Joy of Satan (JoS), is a website and western esoteric occult organization founded in 2002 by Andrea M. Dietrich (a.k.a. Maxine Dietrich). Joy of Satan Ministries advocates "Spiritual Satanism", an ideology that presents a synthesis of theistic Satanism, Nazism, gnosticism, paganism, western esotericism, UFO conspiracy theories and extraterrestrial beliefs similar to those popularized by Zecharia Sitchin and David Icke.

Members believe Satan to be "the true father and creator God of humanity", whose desire was for his creations, humanity, to elevate themselves through knowledge and understanding.

They have been the topic of significant controversy for their antisemitic beliefs and a connection to a former chairman of the National Socialist Movement, an American neo-Nazi organization.

Definition
The orientation of the Joy of Satan Ministries – "Spiritual Satanism" – is generally acknowledged by scholars as a form of western esotericism, which embraces LaVeyan Satanism with an esoteric perception contrasting the materialist and carnal inceptions idealized by Anton LaVey. Their relation between Satan is also described by professor of religious studies, Christopher Partridge, as "the core of an esoteric project of transformation, based on a personal or mystical relationship".

History
In the early 2000s, Maxine Dietrich began the creation of Joy of Satan Ministries. Maxine Dietrich established a Satanic ideology that would present itself as an esoteric form of LaVeyan Satanism, but would espouse a "traditional Satanism" by establishing its satanic fundamentals from ancient Middle East, Far-Eastern and Western teachings, and only acknowledging Judaic/Abrahamic concepts of Satan as a reaction. From the research of Zechariah Sitchin, Maxine Dietrich derived the theory of an ancient conflict between advanced extraterrestrial races (see, below) and incorporated these theories into her ideology; she concluded that Jews and the Abrahamic religions were the products of a hostile alien race responsible for the deposition of pagan religions and their pagan gods (who the JoS identify as demons). With this reinterpretation, the Joy of Satan recreated Anton LaVey's Sigil of Baphomet, a Sigil that would incorporate Cuneiform script instead of Hebrew letters (which spells out "Satan" in cuneiform instead of "Leviathan" in Hebrew), attributing to the earlier uses of the Pentagram in Sumeria. These incorporated theories, in addition to its contempt of Jewish mysticism, became the spark of significant controversy for the religious organisation.

When the adoption of anti-Judaic sentiment had completely established itself within the JoS ideology, further antisemitic theories would later be incorporated. In 2004, it was also revealed that Clifford Herrington, chairman of the National Socialist Movement, was the husband of the high priestess of the organisation. This revelation exposed the split in the NSM's religious orientation, leading to significant disputes and conflicts among members within the NSM and JoS.

The Joy of Satan Ministries became established as a non-profit religious organisation in 2004.

Despite its serious controversies, the Joy of Satan maintained some degree of popularity and significance among the currents of recent and contemporary theistic Satanism. On June 30, 2006, the JoS and NSM founders allegedly found themselves to be the target of an attempted car bombing. After noticing wires hanging out from under the car, the Tulsa bomb squad was called out to a Walmart supercenter to remove the explosive device. The incident was reported by newspaper company 'Tulsa World', however, all articles were removed from the website shortly after.

Extraterrestrials
Joy of Satan presents various extraterrestrial theories, some of which they derive from author of ancient astronauts, Zecharia Sitchin. JoS believe that Satan and the Demons of the Goetia are sentient and powerful extraterrestrial beings responsible for the creation of humanity, and whose origins pre-date Abrahamic religions. They're also identified as Nephilim from the Hebrew bible.

According to sociologist of religion Massimo Introvigne, "Maxine Dietrich derived from these theories the ideas of a mortal struggle between enlightened aliens and a monstrous extra-terrestrial race, the Reptilians."

Origins of humanity
Joy of Satan Ministries believe that one of the benign aliens, Enki, which they consider to be Satan himself, created with his collaborators on Earth human beings through their advanced technology of genetic engineering. It's considered by Joy of Satan that most salient of his creations were the Nordic-Aryan race. They declare that the Reptilians have, in turn, created their own kind by combining their own DNA with the DNA of semi-animal humanoids which would later become known as the Jewish race.

Joy of Satan Ministries theorize that after the benevolent extraterrestrials left Earth 10,000 years ago, the agents of the Reptilians created their own religions, the Abrahamic religions, which subsequently lead to the deposition and defamation of Pagan deities (See witch-cult hypothesis). They claim these religions maligned the benign extraterrestrials by labelling them as "devils", and through their doctrines, created a climate of terror within humanity (e.g. condemning sexuality), in order to better program and control humans. They state that Satan, however, did not abandon humanity, believing he has revealed himself in The Black Book of Satan (not to be confused with the ONA's scripture of the same name).

Theology
The Joy of Satan Ministries has a polytheistic belief system wherein they consider demons of the Goetia to have a real existence and perceive Satan as their primary ruler. Satan and some demons are also viewed as one of many deities which are equated with many gods from ancient cultures, such as Satan having known to be the Sumerian god Enki and the Yazidi angel Melek Taus. While the JoS views Satan as a deity, they also consider the deities to be highly evolved, sentient, and powerful humanoid extraterrestrial beings who do not age.

Satan is seen as an important deity by the Joy of Satan, They also hold the belief of Satan to be a representative of the notions of strength, power, justice, and freedom. Lillith is another deity of significance to the group, who is recognised as "the patron of strong women and a Goddess of women's rights".

While the Joy of Satan Ministries incorporates some of the Satanic principles found in LaVey's Satanic Bible, Introvigne notes that LaVeyan Satanism tends to be more "rationalist" in comparison. In Asbjorn Dyrendal's account, he acknowledges "a different spiritual atmosphere from LaVeyan Satanism." Asbjorn adds that while LaVey was able to suggest the existence of mysterious, occult forces while simultaneously appealing to an atheist viewpoint, which he claimed was supported by modern science, the Joy of Satan tends to use more simplistic, spiritualist language.

Practices
Joy of Satan promotes a wide variety of occult practices, such as methods for evocation of demonic entities and guidelines for making pacts with them. JoS consider that Satanism, in practice, is the true nature of humanity that precedes Christianity.

Occultism
The practices of Joy of Satan Ministries may bear similarities to those of other groups categorised under theistic Satanism and esoteric ideology. As Christian author and biblical researcher Josh Peck notes, "theistic Satanism engages in every New age practice under the sun in their dedications to Satan and Satanic philosophy." As an example, he cites their use of divination methods such as, astrology, magic, pendulums, runes, clairvoyance, past lives, the pineal gland and third eye, the chakras, bioelectric technology, the astral plane, spells, the kundalini serpent, trance, as well as methods in self-hypnosis, incense, telekinesis, brain waves, and chanting.

Jesper Petersen notes that practitioners who experiment with the meditation practices of Joy of Satan Ministries may find them useful, and adds that the group's use of magic spans from simple to complex techniques. These include sorcery, spells, and various types of witchcraft, all of which require the practitioner to imaginatively apply specialised knowledge and technique to the object of the spell, hypnotism, healing and other kind of magic or divination. They also offer a range of occult techniques in black magic.

Rituals
According to Jesper Petersen, "The rituals proposed by the Joy of Satan are very simple and not particularly advanced, with most consisting of mainly visualisation exercises rather than actual rituals known in mainstream satanic culture." He adds that contrary to popular belief, the process of their rituals does not involve negotiations or the exercise of evil and instead revolves around telepathic communication with anthropomorphic beings, which is often accompanied by an almost jovial tone during various rituals. The JoS also state Satan recognises a lack of funds and does not expect his adherents to have expensive items for ritual in comparison to the ideals of a modern Christian Church. A similar formulation is also used when discussing the scarcity of black candles.

Initiates begin a "formal commitment" that is signed in blood and burned in order to participate fully in Satan's work upon humanity, to imply a growth in spiritual knowledge and personal power. During standard devotional rituals, the focus of their practice is described as shifting from exerting control to cultivating attachment and self-development. Rather than forcefully summoning demons, these rituals aim to facilitate mystical experiences and empower the practitioners in a way that aligns with their expressive concerns. The central part of their "Standard Ritual to Satan" consists in reading prayers to and "communicating with father Satan one to one", which is considered by Jesper Petersen "a surprising break with the more traditional ceremonial activities known in mainstream satanic culture." The structure of the ritual is also considered fairly standard, after which suitable preparations (bathing, lighting candles and so on), the ritual begins with ringing the bell and invoking "The four princes of hell." In the main part, the Invocation to Satan is recited, establishing a link suitable for prayer and communication in which the practitioner, after concluding his endeavours, will then end the ritual with a close.

Prominent theistic Satanist, Diane Vera, commends Maxine Dietrich, appraising her pioneering efforts as a "vast improvement over the old, disrespectful grimoire methods." Rev. Jeff Rhoades also states their endeavours with demons are "with much more respect than most version of the Goetia and other Christian grimoires."

Adherents of the Joy of Satan may also partake in rituals against those believed to be "enemies of Satan", advocated as spiritual warfare.

Reception
Joy of Satan Ministries became the topic of significant criticism for its close connections to a high-ranking leader of the National Socialist Movement, as well as for its anti-Judaic, anti-Christian, and antisemitic beliefs. While spiritual Satanists have adopted their ideas as a model, they have since distanced themselves from the group's controversial beliefs, and "very explicit connection with Nazism."

When the fact that Maxine was the wife of a well-known American neo-Nazi leader became public knowledge, it created serious problems within Joy of Satan itself. This controversy exposed the split in the NSM between the Christian Identity and the Odinists and Satanists. According to Introvigne (2016), "Several local groups abandoned Dietrich and started minuscule splinter organisations. Some of these insisted that they were not Satanist, just pagan". According to Introvigne, while most of the Satanic groups are no longer active, Joy of Satan persists, albeit with fewer members. Despite the events, Introvigne notes that the group's beliefs in extraterrestrial life, meditation, and telepathic communication with demons have gained popularity among a broader community of non-LaVeyan "spiritual" or theistic Satanists. Followed by a series of backlash, Clifford and Andrea Herrington were also accused of sexual misconduct with many other allegations against them, however, Introvigne claims the allegations "are difficult to evaluate". Maxine's Satanic affiliations, however, were enough to result in Clifford Herrington's departure from the National Socialist Movement. Clifford Herrington would then form the "National Socialist Freedom Movement" after leaving the NSM in 2006.

Similar to the Order of Nine Angles, the Joy of Satan espouses antisemitic beliefs and expresses sympathy towards National Socialism. Both are considered to be within the same ideological category, with similar views but some dissenting beliefs.

James R. Lewis noted in his "Satan census" (2009) a surprising number of respondents to the Joy of Satan. Additionally, the scholar of Religious studies and researcher of New religious movements Jesper Aagaard Petersen's survey (2014) on the Satanic milieu's proliferation on the internet noted a surprising prominence among theistic Satanist websites on the internet. He notes that "the only sites with some popularity are the Church of Satan and (somewhat paradoxically) Joy of Satan's page base on the angelfire network, and they are still very far from Scientology or YouTube."