Mary Langenfeld
Kris built a temple in the basement of his Fitchburg home to honor Lucifer.
Fitchburg’s isn’t where one would expect to find a Church of Lucifer, but hiding in plain sight among the city’s suburban splendor is the Order of the Infernal Raven, spiritual enlightenment for the do-it-yourself pagan.
“We use the archetype of Lucifer to guide our path,” says Kris, the coven’s founder. “For us, it’s about exploring areas of the universe that science hasn’t quantified yet. It is about going beyond that and looking at how magic could be used to find understanding about life.”
Despite liberal Madison’s embrace of tolerance, Luciferians feel unwelcome. Even though he wears an inverted pentagram around his neck, Kris insists that his last name be withheld because of concerns about safety and public embarrassment.
“Sometimes when I’m out and about, I get dirty looks, especially from older people,” he says. “Older guys look at me like they want to fight me, but I think it’s a lack of understanding.”
Four years ago, Kris converted the basement of his Fitchburg residence into a Luciferian temple — think heavy-metal man cave — where the coven’s rituals take place. An assortment of daggers, chalices and candles crowd the north- and south-facing altars, each built by Kris.
Kelly, a 29-year-old coven member, joins Kris and me in the basement temple, where they shed some light on light bearing. Luciferians are a fringe group even within the pagan community, Kelly explains. “It’s really hard to find like-minded people on this path; we’re a severe minority.”
Founded four years ago, the coven has just eight members. Although they operate in the shadows, Luciferians are all about the light.
“Lucifer just means light bearer,” explains Kris. “There’s not a lot of dogma associated with Luciferianism. It’s about living a fulfilled life, and doing what you want — within the law of course.”
Luciferians follow the Left-Hand Path. Satanists, with whom they’re often confused, follow the Right-Hand Path, which lacks a spiritual component.
“Satanists believe only in the carnal,” he explains. “There is no beyond, no afterlife, there is nothing spiritual. Satan isn’t a supernatural entity; it’s a metaphorical construct.”
Similar to Wicca, the coven’s rituals typically align with solar and lunar cycles. They aren’t open to the public. Requests by Isthmus to attend one were denied.
“In Wicca, they believe you should only do good things with magic,” says Kris. “Not that we want to do bad, but they have very strict beliefs about it.”
Pagan beliefs predate Judeo-Christian theism. Despite the latter’s lording over world affairs for two millennia, its attempts to snuff out the occult have been for naught.
“We believe we’re the divine by having a human experience,” he says. “Once in awhile we will do a Black Mass to rid ourselves of any external influences of society.”
Despite the coven’s non-conformist ethos, Kris sees the Order of the Infernal Raven becoming a nonprofit one day, a step toward a tax-exempt Church of Lucifer in downtown Madison.
Kris and Kelly share a good chuckle.
“The Catholic church would come out of the woodwork to try and stop us,” he says. “There’d be picketing, protests, they’d find a way to shut us down.”
A Christian might say it would take a miracle. Kris and Kelly, however, get mystical with it.
“Practicing magic is utilizing your will to bring about change,” says Kelly. “We aren’t afraid to go after what we want. A lot of people are like, ‘God will make me happy,’ but we’re a little more proactive than that.”
The Pentagram’s five-points: The top (or bottom) point represents the spirit; the other four represent earth, air, water, and fire.
One year: Time the Greater Church of Lucifer had a public church in Spring, Texas, before being evicted.
Online store for your Luciferian needs: luciferianapotheca.com
Famous Luciferians: None that Isthmus could find.
