Why I See Lucifer As a Solar Deity

It is undoubted that all of the inferior are beneath the superior. In a certain way (as Proclus said) they belong to each other—that is, the lowest supreme and the highest inferior [...] Therefore, we say that some things are Solar, some things are Lunar, in which the Sun or the Moon cause some of their virtue, from where things of this kind receive many operations and qualities similar to the qualities and operations under that star and figure.

- Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy: The Natural World (Eric Purdue trans.)

Prior to my being claimed by Lucifer, I had a several years long devotional relationship to the planetary spirits. Lucifer once referred to them prior to my path change as "your Roman gods," which clearly distinguished to me that he was coming from a different place than they were. Nevertheless, if one looks throughout the historical grimoires that contain the practice that has come to be called "goetia" when not "Solomonic magic," there is an instant noticing of the authors classifying Lucifer and members of his demon pantheon under a planetary system. This follows from an almost compulsive urge from western esotericists since at least the 16th century to do so to pretty much everything, sometimes because they are following a Qabala path, which has its own questionable associations with appropriation of Judaism.

While everyone has their own Unverified Personal Gnosis about Lucifer, his origins, and who he is, one of the unarguable facts of his existence is that he is called the Morningstar. Morningstar, of course, is a name for the planet nowadays known as Venus because for about half its cycle it rises ahead of the sun in the morning. It is also remarkable for being the brightest star in the sky and so the name Lucifer in Latin literally means "light-bringer." I probably don't need to tell you that it originates from a verse from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Isaiah, which translated from Latin to English reads "How art thou fallen from Heaven O Day Star [Lucifer], son of dawn!" (14:12)

So in terms of categorization, Lucifer's supposed planetary nature should be the most straightforward in the world. But, I am about to argue during the course of this blog post, not really.

Even if you're not familiar with the planetary associations and domains, you may be able to guess. If you compare "Venusian" deities such as Venus herself, her Greek counterpart Aphrodite, or even Astaroth to Lucifer there are deeply different qualities that we recognize as most important. Lucifer's vital contribution to humanity is his rebellion, which many versions of the Fall claim sourced from his pride. The first time I ever spoke to him in hypognogia, that's what I remembered; a pride so strong his voice rung with what I would have read as arrogance from another human being. And when he entered my bedroom upon my first invocation of him, it was that pride announcing itself.

"I know what I am," Lucifer's presence always says. Or, as he flatly stated to me once, "I am incomparable."

In western esoterica, we can only refer to such a statement as "solar." The overall difference between what the Sun represents in western astrology and esoterica and what Venus represents is summarized by the 9th century Arabic grimoire The Picatrix (Dan Attrell and David Porreca trans.): "The Sun is the light of the world by which the universe is governed and the source of generative power" (p. 133) whereas "Venus is the source of the power of taste" (p 134). Another Arabic grimoire called Shams Al-Ma'arif (The Sun of Knowledge, Amina Inloes trans.) from the year 1225 states that the Sun "rules honor, status, happiness, joy, and kingship" while Venus "rules the passions, bridal crowns, composing melodies, singing, entertainment, fun, and laughter" (p.160).

As for the Romans, Chris Brennan in his book Hellenistic Astrology quotes astrologer Vettius Valens' Anthology for the Sun Helios as "The all-seeing Sun, consisting of fiery and intelligent light, the instrument of the perception of the soul, in a nativity signifies kingship, authority, mind, intelligence [...] judgement, being engaged in public affairs, action, leadership of crowds, father, master [...] notable figures, being honored by portraits, statues, and crowns of office" (p.168). In the same text with Venus, who is called Phösphoros as in "light-bringer", she is described as "desire and love, and signifies mother and nurse. She makes priesthoods, public benefactors [...] the wearing of crowns, merriment, friendships, companionship, the acquisition of additional property, purchasing of ornaments, reconciliations for the good, marriages, refined arts, pleasant sounds, music-making, sweet singing, beauty of form, painting, mixing of colors and embroidery [...] and perfume making, both the inventors and also masters of these (professions)" (p.177 - 178).

Taking these definitions at face value, Lucifer as a solar entity is a suggestion of "what if also...?" Notably, the artistic and sexual sides of Venus are recognizable in Lucifer. He revels in the "temptation" part of his nature that sees elucidation in the Snake in Genesis, making it into a drive within you so strong it could be weaponized. In particular, he can make you insatiable for knowledge, helping you access classes and books that unlock occult wisdom especially as it relates to him. (Faust, the magician who spawned an entire German tradition of grimoires, was a follower of Lucifer's). For certain followers, including myself, he has sexual relations.

But I do wonder if those sexual relations as well as Lucifer's ability to inspire artistry cannot also be ascribed to the generative nature of the Sun as the Picatrix describes. Certainly, Lucifer balks being purely Venusian under the western understanding of the quality because the Venusian type contains an agreeableness, a conformity, and an emphasis on women. In contrast, Lucifer prioritizes genderless individualism, authenticity, and liberation. He does so in a manner that has a notably extroverted edge, a quality that better matches the so-called "masculine" (de-gendered read: dynamic or outward) descriptions of solar power. Related to this, when addressing a follower's emotional challenges, he provides empathy but tends toward a "solutions-oriented" approach, which may involve the bringing in of Astaroth or the human's equivalent spirit ally to more fully address the pain.

Additionally, there is a historical basis for Lucifer having relationships with humanity that are solar in nature via multiple religious traditions throughout different eras and places. Aleph the Luciferian has exhaustively researched and listed them. Referring to the descriptions of Lucifer in the most influential goetic grimoires such as Livre des Esperitz and the Lemegeton, David Crowhurst concludes in his book Stellas Daemonum that "From the description of [Lucifer's] person, we can ascertain that his nature, like that of Belzebuth who follows him, is predominantly Solar" (p.35).

With my interest in Babylonian astrology having recently resurfaced due to tracing some spirits of the Goetia (Beelzebub and Astaroth, particularly) back to the ancient Near East, there is something important to note about the relationship between the Sun and Venus. Although from the cuneiform tablets that have been found and translated from the region that was Mesopotamia (now Iraq) we do not have such a clear delineation of each planet's meaning as we do from Roman and Islamicate sources, we do know that the Venus goddess Inanna/Ishtar and the Sun god Utu/Shamash were twins. We also know that the planet Venus (called Ninsi'anna) had one of her "secret places" (ben nisirti) of power in the sign of Leo, with the lion being Inanna's animal. The ben nisirti planetary associations are nearly identical with the Hellenistic astrology system of planetary exaltation except for Venus' power in Leo, which was dropped. In the Hellenistic system, Leo became the sign ruled by the Sun, which is how it's largely regarded today.

As someone who has four natal Leo placements including the Sun and Venus, this shift is of personal interest to me. Generally, astrologers recognize that there is more than one framework in which one can practice astrology. That is what allows different house systems to all work, never mind Indian astrology in comparison to the variety of traditional western astrology practiced in the US. The suggestion in Babylonian astrology is that my chart and therefore life is ruled by a powerful Venus while in Hellenistic astrology a domiciled Sun. Looking at myself, I can agree that those two truths can exist at once. Not much wonder that I ended up with a patron deity who is similar!

Outside of my personal spiritual path, however, I felt that this blog post was important to write in order to help potential Luciferian readers expand what they believe is possible in their own relationships with Lucifer. When I have needed it, Lucifer has shared with me his solar power. This is not something I will further detail due to how precious an experience it was for me. But clearly I am not the only Luciferian who has noticed how solarity is part of Lucifer's essential nature; this is something I greatly encourage his other followers to look into if they feel so called to it.