Lucifer is a very complex and multifaceted entity because it depends on which canon you’re following. I look at Lucifer from a very Judaic understanding, which is as The Adversary or The Accuser. Lucifer is not inherently bad, however he does hold knowledge without gnosis over knowledge with gnosis, which can have shitty results for the Hermeticist. Lucifer has the power to bind us in Malkuth by convincing us that Malkuth is the largest, most detailed place on the Tree—the most important part of the Tree because it’s the most prominent in our lives.
I sort of agree with The Unknown Friend regarding The Devil. The Devil is any thing or any force which keeps us from being pierced by the light of the Logos. If Malkuth becomes too big, too real, too important before understanding its place on the Tree, then literally, how can the light of Tiphareth reach us? It can’t, because .we have lost our faith in the reaffirming power of gnosis through the Word. And since gnosis I think is our primary connection to Tiphareth through Yesod, that means going through the Middle Pillar is impossible. Which means union with the Godhead is lost. The Devil is matter without spirit, and Idea without spirit.
Of course there are many positive traits to this idea of The Devil as well. There’s something to be said for forms of knowledge that don’t require gnosis, so long as we don’t worship that kind of knowledge or apply it in magick where it keeps us from reunification with the One. If such knowledge were not important or useless the magician would never have to spend her time with the Seven Liberal Arts, with Scripture, with grimoires, etc. And The Devil—Light’s Shadow—has much to teach us by negative example. Any one who is wise has sat at the knee of the Devil as a student with open ears. Only by completely ignoring him do we not learn anything, do we remain trapped in Malkuth. The Devil can bring us face to face with our own shortcomings, can help us achieve knowledge of all the forces of the Universe, and forces us to contend with the problems of matter as dual beings.
As for your other remark…I personally welcome our reptilian overlords 😉
Or from another perspective, we can all become gods and flip malkuth into kether.