Satanism is a direction and a school of religious beliefs that comprise a number of related ideologies and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. They share the feature of symbolism, traditions, veneration or admiration of Satan or/and similar figures or personifications of powers or ideologies. Practitioners of Satanism are referred to as Satanists. Satanic rituals generally involve incantations and rituals that sometimes involve illegal processes, such as the sacrifice of a living being or animal. Many Satanic rituals also require the letting of blood to satisfy whichever demonic entity the practitioner is attempting to summon or curry favor with. A common symbol used amongst Satanic scholars is the sign of the inverted pentagram.