Joy of Satan Ministries

Joy of Satan Ministries, also referred to as Joy of Satan (JoS), is a website and esoteric occult group founded in 2002 by Maxine Dietrich (pseudonym of Andrea Maxine Dietrich). Joy of Satan advocates "Spiritual Satanism", presenting a unique synthesis of Theistic Satanism, National Socialism, Gnostic 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. Their relation between Satan is described by professor of religious studies, Christopher Partridge, as "the core of an esoteric project of transformation, based on a personal or mystical relationship." Members are also generally polytheists, viewing Satan as one of many deities. While Satan is considered a deity within JoS, the deities themselves are understood to be highly evolved, un-aging, sentient and powerful humanoid extraterrestrial beings.
The Joy of Satan Ministries have maintained some popularity as a significant Theistic Satanist sect since their creation. They have also been the topic of significant controversy for their anti-Semitic beliefs and founder's former involvement in the National Socialist Movement.
Definition.
The orientation of the Joy of Satan is generally acknowledged as a form of western esotericism.
History.
With the closure of the Black Roses occult e-group began the creation of JoS in the early 2000's by Maxine Dietrich. Theistic Satanists concluded the term "spiritual" in Satanism represented the best answer to the world, considering it a "moral slap" towards those who had matured within themselves the idea of a carnal, socialist and worldly Satan, placing their main focus and central values on the spiritual evolution. Joy of Satan Ministries then coined the term "Spiritual Satanism", a sect that was solely regarded as "Theist". Maxine Dietrich adopted some of her Satanic concepts from Anton LaVey's Satanic bible and the research of Zechariah Sitchin. She also introduced a new system of "respectful demon evocation" that was appraised as a "vast improvement" over the old Grimoire methods, which was considered a revolutionary and historically pivotal landmark in the development of the Theistic Satanist scene. 
Subsequently, the Joy of Satan began a reinterpretation of their Satanic ideology that would form into one of mainstream Satanic culture's most controversial religion. Maxine Dietrich's theories of a metaphysical and ancient conflict between extraterrestrial races lead to a serious controversy and backlash in the process, mainly ascribed to their rejection of Jewish mysticism and its concepts after concluding Jews and their religion to be products of a hostile alien race responsible for the deposition of pagan religions and their pagan gods (Who they identified as Demons). They would then establish their satanic fundamentals from these theories and incorporate a Satanic concept based on ancient Middle East, Far-Eastern and Western teachings, acclaiming a "traditional" Satanism from this and only acknowledging Judaic/Abrahamic concepts of Satan as a "reaction". (See #Extraterrestrials, below). The Joy of Satan then recreated Anton Lavey's Sigil of Baphomet, appropriating it with Cuneiform script instead of Hebrew letters (Which spells out "Satan" in cuneiform instead of "Lavey" in Hebrew).
After the adoption of anti-Judaic sentiment, sympathy towards National Socialism was also incorporated, in turn, furthering anti-Semitic theories within their ideology. Their affiliations were also realized when it was revealed that Clifford Herrington, chairman of the National Socialist Movement, was the husband of Maxine Dietrich, exposing the split in the NSM's religious orientation and leading to a major debate and conflict within the NSM and JoS. 
Beliefs.
Extraterrestrials.
Joy of Satan presents various extraterrestrial theories, adapting from some of the writings of Zecharia Sitchin. They affirm Satan and the Demons of the Goetia are sentient and powerful extraterrestrial beings responsible for the creation of humanity, and whose origins pre-dated 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." 
Creation of humanity.
It's believed that one of the benign aliens, Enki, also known as Satan, 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 with the end result identified as the Jewish race.
Aftermath.
It's theorized that after the benevolent extraterrestrials left Earth 10,000 years ago, the agents of the Reptilians created their own religions, the Abrahamic religions, which began the deposition and defamation of their Pagan gods as a result. They claim these religions maligned the benign extraterrestrials by labeling them as "devils", and through their doctrines, created a climate of terror within humanity (Such as 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.
While their theology adopts some of its Satanic concepts from LaVey, Introvigne describes LaVey's Satanism as more "rationalist" in comparison. In Asbjorn Dyrendal's account, he acknowledges "a different spiritual atmosphere from LaVeyan Satanism." Stating that "LaVey was able to suggest the reality of mysterious, 'occult' forces' while simultaneously appealing to an atheist viewpoint that, he asserted, was supported by modern science. The Joy of Satan tends to present with more simple, spiritualized language."
In demonology, Satan is seen as an important deity by the Joy of Satan, although not as an omnipotent and omnipresent god. They also believe him to be a representative of notions such as strength, power, justice, and freedom. Satan is equated with gods from ancient cultures, some of which include the Sumerian god Enki and the Yazidi angel Melek Taus. The JoS draw comparisons between Yazidism and Satanism, considering the two to share similar elements. JoS members believe the sacred text of the Yazidis, the Al-Jilwah, to be "the word of Satan". Lillith is another deity of significance to the group, who is recognized as "the patron of strong women and a Goddess of women's rights". It's also believed that Lilith stands for a virtuous notion of abortion rights and birth control.
Symbols.
Animals have been regarded by the Joy of Satan as sacred symbols in their ideology, the most profound and popular being the Serpent and its various adaptations such as the symbol of Edenic knowledge, the symbol of the caduceus and the symbol of the kundalini.
Practices.
Joy of Satan promotes a wide variety of occult practices, such as methods for evocation of demonic entities, including guidelines for making pacts with them. It's considered that Satanism, in practice, is the true nature of humanity that precedes Christianity. Adherents take an antagonistic view on Christianity, believing it has suppressed humanity's "true essence", and successively overturns their concepts. It's described that adhering to Satan is not viewed as following impulses, baseness and degenerate behaviors, but instead participating in "awareness, beauty, and light".
Practitioners of the Joy of Satan Ministries may share similar practices of other groups under the theistic Satanist sect and those categorized in the esoteric ideology. According to Christian author and biblical researcher, Josh Peck, "theistic Satanism engages in every New age practice under the sun in their dedications to Satan and Satanic philosophy." Referring the spiritual ministry as an example, he notes their divination methods in 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.
Occultism.
With an extensive array of "Satanic Meditation" techniques they provide, categorized from beginner, intermediate and advanced, members may go in any direction for inspiration and growth. Jesper Petersen states that practitioners experimenting with these meditations can find them useful. Their numerous uses of magic also run from simple to the complex, these include sorcery, spells, and various types of witchcraft. All of which require the practitioner to imaginatively apply specialized 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 visualization exercises rather than actual rituals known in mainstream satanic culture. Despite what's commonly believed, the process of their rituals is not a negotiation or 'exercises of evil, but rather 'telepathic communication' with anthropomorphic beings, with an almost jovial tone throughout various rituals". The JoS also state Satan recognizes 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.
In standard devotional rituals, their orientation is described as a shift from control to attachment and self-development, in which their rituals are not intended to forcibly summon demons but instead enable mystical experiences and empowerment more in tune with their expressive concerns.
Prominent theistic Satanist, Diane Vera, regards the JoS as having the most comprehensive system of respectful demon evocation, and commends the owner of the Joy of Satan site, Maxine Dietrich, stating her pioneering efforts is a vast improvement over the old, disrespectful grimoire methods. Rev. Jeff Rhoades also states their endeavors with demons are "with much more respect than most version of the Goetia and other Christian grimoires."
Dedication.
Initiates begin their paths in spiritual Satanism by the consecration of their belief and devotion to Satan, renouncing their Christian beliefs. This "formal commitment" 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.
Standard ritual.
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. The practitioner, after concluding his endeavors, will then end the ritual with a close.
Spiritual warfare.
Adherents of the Joy of Satan may also involve themselves in spiritual warfare, participating in rituals against those they believe to be enemies of Satan, under the conviction to be in a largely spiritual war. "Reverse Torah rituals", are rituals encouraged to members by Maxine Dietrich; instructing them to read the Torah in reverse. The reason for this practice is attributed to the fact that, according to JoS, when one recites the Torah they are actually cursing all gentile people and their pagan gods, by reading it backwards one would reverse this malediction. Adherents may also participate in curses against churches.
Clergy.
The clergy of the JoS currently consists of several high priests of different ethnicities and backgrounds aiding Maxine Dietrich in the research and expansion of the Joy of Satan.
Reception.
The group has been widely criticized for its connections to the National Socialist Movement, as well as its beliefs considered anti-Semitic. Although their ideas are appreciated by some in the theistic Satanist current, many consider that the group has a somewhat flawed belief. According to Diane Vera, "despite the neo-Nazi sympathies of the JoS's leaders, the advent of the Joy of Satan group is nevertheless a historically pivotal, and in some ways beneficial, landmark in the development of the theistic Satanist scene." The spiritual Satanist may adopt their ideas as a model, distancing themselves from the groups controversial beliefs and affiliations to the NSM.
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 organizations, some of these insisted that they were not Satanist, just pagan" and that "most are by now defunct, while Joy of Satan continues its existence, although with a reduced number of members". Despite the events, Introvigne states that "Its ideas on extraterrestrials, meditation, and telepathic contacts with demons became, however, popular in a larger milieu of non-LaVeyan “spiritual” or theistic” Satanism". Clifford and Andrea Herrington were also accused of sexual misconduct with many other allegations put against them, all of which according to Introvigne "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.
Like the Order of Nine Angles, the Joy of Satan shares similar anti-Semitic beliefs and National Socialist sympathy and considered to be in the same ideological category, appearing to be similar ideologies. However, Secuntra Nexion considers advocates of the "spiritual Satanist" current "weak and dull individuals, despite the fine words that they sometimes use to describe themselves", considering them "slaves to ancient mythologies" in comparison.
Jesper Petersen noted in his survey (2014) that the Joy of Satan's angelfire network has a surprising prominence among theistic Satanist websites on the internet. James R. Lewis also noted in his "Satan census"(2009) a surprising number of respondents to the Joy of Satan.
Further reading.
Webpages.
Catholic Encyclopedia : Devil Worship
Kirlian Photography