Casting Light Into the Shadows - By David Desjardins CD, CFPI

8/14/2019 Casting Light Into the Shadows - By David Desjardins CD, CFPI

1/23

1

Casting Light Into theShadowsA historical and theological look at modern demonology

By David Desjardins


2/23

2

Preface

Many times I have been asked what would possibly possess me (no pun intended) to write such an

article about such a dark subject? Well to be brutally honest, there are a couple of reasons: A I

was asked if I would; and B I dont particularly see topics such as this as dark. On the contrary,

they are very much misunderstood, misrepresented, and the source of unnecessary fear and

conjecture.

I have often been asked, as well, if I personally believe in demons and the like. The fast answer is,

no. Not in the literal sense of the term at any rate. Good and bad are evident in all aspect of society

with both being ingrained in the human condition. Demons, devils, and all things deemed as evil, to

me, are nothing more than religious constructs, based on these lesser socially accepted aspects of

human behaviour throughout history. A quick example of social acceptance of these teachings could be

the often coined phrase, the devil made me do it.

What is included in the following pages in an account of demons, and evil entities as recorded

throughout the ages, in essence a theological history lesson, in order to cast light into the shadows of

all things evil as documented in numerous belief systems.

The greatest evil that exists in humanity today, are the demons within ones own mind. There is no

room for fear mongering within the paranormal community and anyone who believes otherwise has no

right to consider themselves true researchers. They are nothing more than thrill seekers. To play on a

persons fear of the unknown and their beliefs is morally unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

So with the public service announcements out of the way, I welcome you all as we cast some light into

the shadows, educate and dispel the demons that have haunted all societies throughout the ages by

looking at the historical upbringings.


3/23

3

INDEX

CHAPTER ONE A Primitive View of Gods and Devils....................................... 3

CHAPTER TWO Cultures and Beliefs...........................................................6Assyria and AkkadiaBabylon and SumerIranian DemonologyJewish DemonologyBuddhismChristian DemonologyGreek DemonologyTibetan DemonologyThe Bible

CHAPTER THREE Angels and Demons, Legend and Lore.................................12The Nature of DemonsOriginsFreedom on EarthAppearanceRole of DemonsEvil spiritsIn pre-Islamic Arab cultureIn IslamIn New Age / ShamanismIn science Hypothetical DemonsReal DemonsNames and ClassificationsPsellus' classification of demonsBinsfeld's classification of demonsGuazzo's classification of demonsMichaelis' classification of demonsBarrett's classification of demonsClassification by monthClassification by officeThe Numbers of the Beast(s)Periods of Increased Demon Activity


4/23

4

CHAPTER ONE

A primitive view of Gods andDevils

The evil deity known as the Devil is notuniversal, but certain characteristics of hiscan be found in the God(s) of everyreligion. Some of these are iconographicsimilarities, others relate to the god'sfunction within the mythos.

To understand the emergence of the Devilas the personification of evil, it is

necessary to consider the divinepersonages in world religions whoprefigured him. In general, a demon maybe defined as a malicious spirit who doesharm to human beings. In this sense,demons have been recognized since thetime of the ancient Sumerians andBabylonians.

Most gods in so-called "primitive" religionsare morally neutral manifestations ofUltimate Reality. In polytheistic systems,

even the most powerful, "king" gods aresubordinate to the single, impersonaldivine principle.

There is often little or no differentiationamong the Gods along the lines of good andevil; better, each divinity is capable ofeither good or bad, as the mood takes him.This moral ambivalence explains theexistence of good and evil withoutresorting to a heavenly schism, in whicheach individual god takes a character ofgood or evil.

Belief in supernatural spirits has not beenlimited to the major Western religions. Inthe preliterate societies of Africa, Oceania,Asia, and the Americas, spirits werethought to inhabit the whole natural world.These spirits could act either for good or

for evil, and so there was no divisionbetween them as there has been betweenangels and demons.

When these lines of demarcation weremade, they were usually the result ofpolitical upheaval, as Margaret Murray (1)explains:

The idea of dividing the Power Beyondinto two, one good and one evil belongs toanadvanced and sophisticated religion. In themore primitive cults the deity is in himselfthe authorof all, whether good or bad. The

monotheism of early religions is verymarked, each littlesettlement or group of settlements havingits one deity, male or female, whosepower was coterminous with that of itsworshippers. Polytheism appears to havearisen with the amalgamation of tribes,each with its own deity. When a tribewhose deity was male coalesced with atribe whose deity was female, the union ofthe peoples was symbolized by themarriage of their gods.

When by peaceful infiltration a new godousted an old one, he was said to be theson of hispredecessor. But when the invasion waswarlike the conquering deity was investedwith all goodattributes while the god of the vanquishedtook a lower place and was regarded bythe conquerors as the producer of evil, andwas consequently often more feared thantheir own legitimate deity.

In ancient Egypt the fall from the positionof a high god to that of a "devil" is wellexemplified inthe god Setekh [Seth or Set], who in earlytimes was as much a giver of all good asOsiris, but


5/23

5

later was so execrated that, except in thecity of his special cult, his name and imagewererigorously destroyed.(2)

(1) Margaret Alice Murray a prominent

British anthropologist and Egyptologist,known for her contributions toEgyptology and the study of folklore.(wiki)

(2) As the peoples of the arid Upper Egypt,worshippers of Seth, were united with theNile-dwelling adherents toOsiris and Horus, it was necessary for someresolution of the religious conflict to takeplace. In some places, thedivine twins Horus and Seth wereworshipped together as one god with two

heads. However, Seth eventually cameto be regarded as inferior and evil butremained a representation of the monisticdivine principle. The latter solutionbetter explained the continual conflictbetween the forces of good and evil, andso foreshadowed later dualisticreligious systems.

From certain cuneiform texts, which aremore especially described as "religious", itappears that besides the public and official

cult of the "twelve great gods" and theirsubordinate divinities, the Assyriansindulged in magic and sorcery.

These "religious" texts together with a massof talismanic inscriptions on cylinders andamulets prove the presence of anexceedingly rich demonology. Below thegreater and lesser gods there was a hugelore of spirits, some of them good andbeneficent and some of them evil andhurtful. Moreover, these spirits were

described and classified with an exactnessand method, which leads some to liken thearrangement to that of the choirs andorders of our own angelic hierarchy.

The antiquity and importance of this secretreligion, with its magic and incantations ofthe good spirits or evil demons, may be

gathered from the fact that by order ofKing Assurbanipal his scribes made severalcopies of a great magical work according toan exemplar which had been preservedfrom a remote antiquity in the priestlyschool of Erech in Chaldea.

This work consisted of three books, thefirst of which is entirely consecrated toincantations, conjurations, andimprecations against the evil spirits.


6/23

6

CHAPTER TWO

Cultures and BeliefsAssyria and Akkadia

These cuneiform books, it must beremembered, are really written on claytablets. And each of the tablets of thesefirst books which have comedown to us ends with the title, "Tablet No.- of the Evil Spirits".

Besides being known by the generic nameof udukku -- "spirit" -- a demon is calledmore distinctly ecimmu, or maskimmu.One special class of these spirits was the

sedu, or divine bull, which is representedin the well-known figure of a man-headedbull so common on the Assyrianmonuments.

This name, it may be remarked, is probablythe source of the Hebrew word for demon.The Assyrian sedu, it is true, was morecommonly a beneficent or tutelary spirit.But this is hardly an obstacle to thederivation, for the good spirits of onenation were often regarded as evil by men

of rival races.

Babylon and Sumer

In ancient Babylon, demonology had aninfluence on even the most mundaneelements of life, from petty annoyances tothe emotions of love and hatred. Thenumerous demonic spirits were givencharge over various parts of the humanbody, one for the head, one for the neck,and so on. In present-day Egypt, the

ubiquitous jinn are believed to be sodensely distributed that acts such aspouring water unto the ground areaccompanied by seeking the permission ofa potentially dampened spirit.

The culture of the Mesopotamian valleywas particularly rich in demon lore asMesopotamians viewed themselves as

under constant attack from evil on allsides.

Demons were usually the spirits of naturalforces such as fire, plagues, droughts,infant crib death, and diseases, and often

took the form of fantastically-shapedcreatures made up of a conglomeration ofparts from dangerous or dreaded livingthings such as scorpions, serpents, lions,hawks.

For example, Pazuzu, the Sumerian demonwho attained celebrity status after hisappearance inthe horror film The Exorcist, is a demon ofdisease that has four wings, the clawedfeet of a hawk, and a snarling lion-like

face.

Their only recourse was to fight againstthem with magic. They placed specialbowls inscribed with potent word charmsupside down under the foundations of theirhouses to catch demons andprevent them from entering the housesthrough the ground. They also madeamulets with aversive verses againstspecific demons, such as those that mightthreaten the life of women during

childbirth.

During their period of Babylonian captivity,the ancient Hebrews absorbed manySumeriandemons into their own folklore, and overtime these were transmuted into uniquelyJewish demons, such as Lilith, the demonwho strangles children in their cribs andvisits solitary men in their beds to provokenocturnal emissions. Lilith began her life asa class of Babylonian demon known as the

lilitu. Later, she became the first wife ofAdam but refused any obedience to God.

Iranian Demonology

In many ways one of the most remarkabledemonologies is that presented in theAvesta (q.v.), the sacred book of the


7/23

7

Mazdean religion of Zoroaster.Zoroastrianism is the doctrine or teachingof Zarathustra that is also known asMazdaism, Bah Din, Parsiism, and Fire-worship.

The doctrine was founded by the Persianprophet Zoroaster or Zarathustra about720-541 BC. While still a young man hebegan having conversations with AhuraMazda (the "Lord of Wisdom") from whomhe received revelations.

In this ancient religion, which unlike thatof the Assyrians, was not popular from thebeginning but still exists in the Parseecommunity, the war between light anddarkness, good and evil is eternal. The

mythological system was based on thePersian worship of the ahuras, good deitieseternally at war with the evil daevas.10

It must be noticed that these deities comefrom the Aryan polytheistic paganismwhich made it later attractive to theGreeks. Plato, Aristotle and other Greekthinkers took great interests in some of thedoctrines. To Plato, the creator of theUniverse, Demiurge would be adopted bythe Gnostics, and other heretical sects, as

the false-god that created the world andall physical matter, and also authored theScripturesthemselves.

The Gnostics believed that the sins of mankeep them under the control of Demiurge,and his army of false-angels, the Archons.

True religious dualism posits the existenceof two absolute cosmic principles, whollyindependent of one another. Neither can

be omnipotent, since they must bydefinition limit one another. In absolutedualism, there can be no single, ultimatedivine principle.

The novelty of Zoroaster's system is that itdoes away with the morally

indefinable conception of the single divineprinciple in favor of a cosmic strugglebetween the good Lord, Ahura Mazda(Ormzad) and Ahriman (Anro Mainyu), thecruel Evil Spirit, the Demon of Demons(Daevanam Daeva).

Ahriman is served by many demons whosenames have been adopted later bythe Jews: Azazel, Lilith, Rahab, Leviathan.Zoroaster preached devotion to theabsolute good, and prophesied that, in thefullness of time, evil would be utterlydestroyed by the Lord.

Although there are marked differencesbetween the demons of the Avesta andthe devil in Scripture and Christian

theology (for Christian doctrine is freefrom the dualism of the Mazdean system),the essential struggle between good andevil is still the same in both cases. And thepictures of the holiness and fidelity ofZoroaster when he is assailed by thetemptations and persecutions of AnroMainyus and his demons may well suggestsome faint analogy with the great scene ofthe temptation of Christ in the wilderness.

The important part played by the demons

in the Mazdean system may be seen fromthe title of the Vendidad, which is thelargest and most complete part of theAvesta, so much so that when the sacredbook is written or printed without thecommentaries it is generally known asVendidad Sade which means somethingthat is "given against the demons.

Jewish Demonology

While historical Judaism never "officially"

recognized a rigid set of doctrines aboutdemons, many scholars believe that itspost-exilic concepts of eschatology,angelology, and demonology wereinfluenced by Zoroastrianism. Some,however, believe that these concepts werereceived as part of the Kabbalistic


8/23

8

tradition passed down from Adam, Noah,and the Hebrew patriarchs.

Because demonology never became anessential feature of Jewish theology, thereality of demons was never questioned by

the Talmudists and late rabbis; mostaccepted their existence as a fact. Nor didmost of the medieval thinkers questiontheir reality. Only rationalists likeMaimonides and Abraham ibn Ezra, clearlydenied their existence. Their point of vieweventually became the mainstream Jewishunderstanding.

Rabbinical demonology has three classesof, demons, though they are scarcelyseparable one from another. There were

the shedim, the mazziaim ("harmers"), andthe ruiin ("evil spirits"). Besides these therewere lilin ("night spirits"),("shade", or"evening spirits"), ("midday spirits"), and("morning spirits"), as well as the "demonsthat bring famine" and "such as cause stormand earthquake" (Targ. Yer. toDeuteronomy xxxii. 24 and Numbers vi. 24;Targ. to Cant. iii. 8, iv. 6; Eccl. ii. 5; Ps.xci. 5, 6.)

While Zoroaster and his Mazdaist followers

are the first to have embodied theprinciple of evil within one personality, theconcept of the Devil is of definite Hebreworigin. Early Judaism was, of course,utterly monistic. The god Yahwehencompassed both good and evil, mercyand justice, yet could not be assigned aspecific moral character.

As in Zoroastrianism, however, the evil inthe god's nature was eventuallydifferentiated from him and ascribed to a

malignant spirit. As always, the Devil is afigure that actively inflicts suffering andpursues wholesale destruction for its ownsake.

During the second exodus, the Jews wereconfronted with evil in a new, more

powerful way, and the existence of theDevil made their suffering more explicable.

When we turn from the Avesta to theSacred Books of the Jews, that is to say tothe canonical Scripture, we are struck by

the absence of an elaborate demonologysuch as that of the Persians and Assyrians.

There are large descriptions of the hosts ofheaven, the seraphim and cherubim, andother spirits who stand before the throneor minister to men, but the mention of theevil spirits is comparatively slight. Not thattheir existence is ignored, for we have thetemptation by the serpent, in which Jewsas well as Christians recognize the work ofthe Evil Spirit.12

In Job, again, Satan appears as thetempter and the accuser of the just man;in Kings it is he who incites David tomurder the prophet; in Zacharias he is seenin his office of accuser. Saul is afflicted orapparently possessed, by an evil spirit. Thescapegoat is sent into the wilderness toAzazael, who is supposed by some to be ademon.

A further development of the demonology

of the Old Testament is seen in the Book ofTobias, which though not included in theJewish Canon was written in Hebrew orChaldean, and a version in the latterlanguage has been recovered among somerabbinical writings. Here we have thedemon Asmodeus who plays the partassigned to demons in many ethnicdemonologies and folk-legends and becamea prominent figure in later Hebrewdemonology.

The rabbinical demonology of the Talmudand Midrashim is very far from thereticence and sobriety of the canonicalwritings in regard to this subject. Somemodern critics explain this rich growth ofdemonology among the Jews by the effectsof the Captivity, and regard it as the resultof Babylonian or Persian influence. The


9/23

9

influence of Apocalyptical sects during thecaptivity makes it a clear case ofappropriation.

The rabbinical demonologists havecarefully selected a number of demons

from external systems and drew forth bymeans of their subtle and ingeniousmethods of exegesis in order to fill themissing point of the Scriptures.

Thus, Lilith who was for the Babylonians amysterious female night spirit apparentlyliving in desolate places, became in Jewishmythology the demon wife of Adam andthe mother of demons.

Buddhism

Some branches of Buddhism affirm theexistence of Hells peopled by demons whotorment sinners and tempt mortals to sin,or who seek to thwart their enlightenment,with a demon named Mara as chieftempter. Most of these "demons" areconsidered to be representations of mentalobstructions. Hinduism contains traditionsof combats between its gods and variousadversaries, such as the combat of Indraand the asura Vritra.

Christian Demonology

Whatever may be said of this theory of theRabbis, that the air is full of demons, andthat men are in danger of receiving theminto their systems it may certainly be saidthat in the days of the early Christians theair was dangerously full of demonologies,and that men were in peculiar peril ofadopting erroneous doctrines on thismatter.

Theories were everywhere coming from oldOriental religions to take roots in the veryheart of the Roman world. The firstChristian converts and the first Christianteachers were for the most part eitherJews or Greeks, and many of them wereliving in the midst of those who professed

some or other of the old pagan religions.Some of the earliest ecclesiastical writerssuch as St. Justin, Origen, or Tertullianwere not very clever in their treatment ofthis topic and indulged in any superstitionthey could meet.

Moreover, monks and hermits who live inprivation, solitude and sexual frustrationwere easy prey for all the phantasms andhallucinations that can visit an isolatedman. The perversity of the Devil was heldresponsible for all the trials they had toface along their retreat.

Gregory the Great with his Dialogs in600, but essentially Athanase, who wroteThe life of St Antony in 362 give us a

luxury of details about the trials of thefamous hermit (251 356).

The early heresies had been cast out, andtheological speculation had been directedin the true way by the decision of the FifthEcumenical Council (545), whichcondemned certain Origenist errors on thesubject of demons.

There is, of course, a true doctrine aboutdemons or evil spirits, namely, that portion

of Catholic theology which speaks of thecreation and fall of the rebel angels, andof the various ways in which these fallenspirits are permitted to tempt and afflictthe children of men. But while thetheologians of the great scholastic periodwere setting forth and elucidating theCatholic doctrine concerning angels anddevils there was a darker side in thepopular superstitions, and in the men whoat all times continued to practice the blackarts of magic and witchcraft.

In the troubled period of the Renaissanceand the Reformation there appears to havebeen a fresh outbreak of old superstitionsand evil practices, and for a time bothCatholic and Protestant countries weredisturbed by the strange beliefs and thestrange doings of real or supposed


10/23

10

professors of the black arts and by thecredulous and cruel persecutors whosought to suppress them. This period wascalled the Burning Times

Greek Demonology

Greek philosophers such as Porphyry, whoclaimed influence from Platonism, and thefathers of the Christian Church, held thatthe world was pervaded with spirits, thelatter of whom advanced the belief thatdemons received the worship directed atpagan gods.

Greek demonology bears a huge heritage tothe former civilizations of the Indus.Despite being fully polytheist, the Greek

mythology introduces many myths andmonsters that will be integrated into thelate Jewish and Christian demonology: theTitans, Pan, the Hydra, Mermaids .

Orphism which supports the idea that menare born from the ashes of Titans is veryclose to the Enoch interpretation.

Tibetan Demonology

Often misunderstood or misinterpreted,

Tibetan demonology is tightly integratedinto Buddhism and the main localbranches. Nevertheless, the richness andscope of the still-know iconography is aliving proof that it was the pre-BuddhistBn-Po tradition that gave birth to allthose terrifying monsters.

Today considered as angry form ofdivinities and pure emptiness, they werepreviously fearsome demons and gods whoruled those mysterious heights of the

planet.

The BibleThe Perfect Being

Under the figure of "King of Tyrus," Ezekieldeclares that this great created being "hadthe seal

of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfectin beauty."

"Son of man, take up a lamentation for theking of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says theLord God: "You were the

seal of perfection, full of wisdom andperfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the garden of God;every precious stone was your covering:The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl,onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, andemerald with gold. The workmanship ofyour timbrels and pipes was prepared foryou on the day you were created.

You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you; you were on the holymountain of God; you walked back andforth in the midst of fiery stones.

You were perfect in your ways from theday you were created, till iniquity wasfound in you.

Ezekiel 28:1219 describes Satans originalstate as the anointed cherub who was notonly a created being, but created perfect(vss. 12-13). He enjoyed the highest

position and honor in the presence of God(28:14, 16).

Further, Isaiah spoke of him as Lucifer,star of the morning , son of the dawn -Isaiah14:12-15.

He was on the holy mountain of God andevery precious stone was his covering. Hewas set there as "the anointed coveringcherub" by God and walked up and down in

the midst of stones of fire. He was perhapsthe appointed guardian of the holiness ofGod, probably over this original planetearth. By the abundance of your tradingyou became filled with violence within,and you sinned; therefore I cast you as aprofane thing out of the mountain of God;and I destroyed you, O covering cherub,


11/23

11

from the midst of the fiery stones. 17 Yourheart was lifted up because of yourbeauty; you corrupted your wisdom for thesake of yoursplendor . . ." Ezekiel 28:12

Satan and the Bible

In the New Testament and Christianity"Demon" has a number of meanings, allrelated to the idea of a spirit thatinhabited a place, or that accompanied aperson. Whether such a daemon wasbenevolent or malevolent, the Greek wordmeant something different from the latermedieval notions of 'demon', and scholarsdebate the time in which first centuryusage by Jews and Christians in its original

Greek sense became transformed to thelater medieval sense. It should be notedthat some denominations assertingChristian faith also include, exclusively orotherwise, fallen angels as de factodemons; this definition also covers the"sons of God" described in Genesis whoabandoned their posts in heaven to matewith human women on Earth before theDeluge (Genesis 6:2, 4, also see Nephilim).

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus casts out many

demons, or evil spirits, from those who areafflicted with various ailments (such asepileptic seizures). The imagery is veryclear: Jesus is far superior to the power ofdemons over the beings that they inhabit,and he is able to free these victims bycommanding and casting out the demons,by binding them, and forbidding them toreturn. Jesus also apparently lends thispower to some of his disciples, who rejoiceat their new found ability to cast out alldemons. By way of contrast, in the book of

Acts a group of Judaist exorcists known asthe sons of Sceva try to cast out a verypowerful spirit without believing in orknowing Jesus, but fail with disastrousconsequences. However Jesus himselfnever fails to vanquish a demon, no matterhow powerful (see the account of thedemon-possessed man at Gerasim), and

even defeats Satan in the wilderness (seeGospel of Matthew).

There is a description in the Book ofRevelation 12:7-17 of a battle betweenGod's army and Satan's followers, and their

subsequent expulsion from Heaven to earthto persecute humans although this eventis related as being foretold and takingplace in the future. In Luke 10:18 it ismentioned that a power granted by Jesusto control demons made Satan "fall likelightning from heaven."

Augustine of Hippo's reading of Plotinus, inThe City of God (ch.11) is ambiguous as towhether daemons had become 'demonized'by the early 5th century: "He [Plotinus]

also states that the blessed are called inGreek eudaimones, because they are goodsouls, that is to say, good demons,confirming his opinion that the souls ofmen are demons. 17

The contemporary Roman Catholic Churchunequivocally teaches that angels anddemons are real personal beings, not justsymbolic devices. The Catholic Church hasa cadre of officially sanctioned exorcistswhich perform many exorcisms each year.

The exorcists of the Catholic Church teachthat demons attack humans continually butthat afflicted persons can be effectivelyhealed and protected either by the formalrite of exorcism, authorized to beperformed only by bishops and those theydesignate, or by prayers of deliverancewhich any Christian can offer forthemselves or others. At various times inChristian history, attempts have beenmade to classify these beings according to

various proposed demonic hierarchies.

According to most Christian demonologydemons will be eternally punished andnever reconciled with God. Other theoriespostulate a Universal reconciliation, inwhich Satan, the fallen angels, and thesouls of the dead that were condemned to


12/23

12

Hell are reconciled with God. This doctrineis today often associated with theUnification Church. Origen, Jerome andGregory of Nyssa also mentioned thispossibility.

In contemporary Christianity, demons aregenerally considered to be angels who fellfrom grace by rebelling against God. Somecontest that this view, championed byOrigen, Augustine and John Chrysostom,arose during the 6th century. Anothertheory that may have preceded or co-existed with the hypothesis of fallen angelswas that demons were ostracized fromHeaven for the primary sin of mating withmortal women, giving rise to a race of half-human giants known as the Nephilim. That

theory is accepted by some contemporaryChristian sects.

There are still others who say that the sinof the angels was pride and disobedience.It seems quite certain that these were thesins that caused Satan's downfall (Ezek.28). If this be the true view then we are tounderstand the words, "estate" or"principality" in Deuteronomy 32:8 andJude 6 ("And the angels which kept nottheir first estate, but left their own

habitation, he hath reserved in everlastingchains under darkness unto the judgmentof the great day.") as indicating thatinstead of being satisfied with the dignityonce for all assigned to them under the Sonof God, they aspired higher.

There is no full account of Satan given inany one place, and the Scripture teachingon this topic can only be ascertained bycombining a number of scattered noticesfrom Genesis to Apocalypse, and reading

them in the light of patristic andtheological tradition.

Almost absent in the Old Testament, theDevil is mentioned 188 times in theNew Testament:62 as a demon36 as Satan

33 as the Devil37 as a Beast13 as a Dragon7 as Belzeebuth


13/23

13

CHAPTER THREE

Angels and Demons Legendand Lore

The Nature of DemonsDemons are spirit beings who do not have abody of flesh and blood. Since demons arefallen angels, like angels they areimmaterial and not usually subject tohuman visibility or our other senses. Theyare dwellers in an unseen world. Tomanifest themselves among men, theymust possess or control a physical body ofa person or an animal. As they possessedpeople, their influence had its effect in

several different areas.

In the Dark Ages and Middle Ages, demonswere thought able to travel on the earthinvisibly, but to assume physical bodies atwill. The same was understood concerningangels. This has a certain logic. In order totempt human beings, demons need toremain invisible while they whisperseductive words or cause opportunities tocommit sin to fall across the paths of theirintended victims. But in order to murder

their victims once their temptationssucceed, demons need to have teeth andtalons capable of ripping flesh.

The modern view of demons, among thosewho believe demons in the Christian senseto exist, are that demons are usuallyinvisible but are capable of revealing theirforms at their pleasure.

It is not so widely accepted that demonscan make their forms material. The

modern demon is thought to punish thosewho give in to its temptations bypossessing the victim's body and using itagainst the victim and the loved ones ofthe victim.

Frequently the possessing demon causesthe victim to commit a horrible crime, such

as the mass murder of elementary schoolchildren, before committing suicide.

Origins

According to the Scripture, demons are

fallen angels but their names often revealthat they derive from pre-Christian Godsdemonized by the early fathers of theChurch. In Christian writings demons in thestrictest sense -- those fallen angels whoremained loyal to Lucifer in hell -- werecontinually being confused with pagandeities and with nature spirits. Thus wefind mention of the demon Satyr whoincites men and women to lust, and thedemon Theutus, who induces the urge togamble for money with cards or dice.

The satyr is a nature spirit of Greekmythology, and Theutus is a degeneratevariation on the name of the Egyptian godThoth, who was associated by the Greekswith numbers, and by extension withmoney. In dealing with the pagan system ofidolatry, the apostle Paul declared byinspiration of God that the things whichthe Gentiles sacrifice to idols

"they sacrifice to demons, and not to God;

and I do not want you to become sharers indemons. You cannot drink the cup of theLord, and the cup of the demons; youcannot partake of the table of the Lord,and the table of demons" (1 Cor. 10:10-21).

The Bible thus clearly reveals that behindevery pagan idol there is a demon and thatthe sacrifices offered to such idols areoffered to demons and not the one andonly true God. There was the table of

demons and the table of the Lord, andexpressed fellowship with one or the other.

Associated with the whole satanic systemof idolatry were many other demonactivities about which Moses of old warnedthe children of Israel. In the book ofDeuteronomy we read:


14/23

14

"When thou art come in the land which theLord they God giveth thee, thou shalt notlearn to do after the abominations ofthose nations. There shall not be foundamong you any that maketh his son or hisdaughter to pass through the fire, or that

useth divination, or an observer of times,or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer,or a consulter with familiar spirits, or awizard, or a necromancer. For all who dosuch things are an abomination unto theLord" (Deut.18:9-12).

Freedom on Earth

Contrary to popular opinion, the Biblereveals that Satan and some of his demons

were not confined to hell after their initialexpulsion from heaven. Indeed, the OldTestament shows that, before the firstcoming of Yeshua the Messiah, Satan andthe demons continued to have access tothe very throne of God.

Now there was a day when the sons of Godcame to present themselves before theLord, and Satan also came among them.Job 1:6

Again there was a day when the sons ofGod came to present themselves beforethe Lord, and Satan came also among themto present himself before the Lord. Job2:1

Then he showed me Joshua the high prieststanding before the angel of the Lord, andSatan standing at his right hand to accusehim. Zechariah 3:1

If some demons are obviously free to

propagate evil in the world, there areScriptures which indicate that a portion ofthe evil angels are currently restrained in atype of spiritual prison.

And the angels who did not keep their ownposition, but left their proper dwelling, hehas kept in eternal chains in deepest

darkness for the judgment of the greatDay. Jude 6

For if God did not spare the angels whosinned, but cast them down to hell anddelivered them into chains of darkness, to

be reserved for judgment; II Peter 2.4

. . . He went and preached to the spirits inprison, 20 who formerly were disobedient,when once the Divine longsuffering waitedin the days of Noah, while the ark wasbeing prepared, in which a few, that is,eight souls, were saved through water. IPeter 3:19

Clearly, the Bible teaches that there are atleast two different groups of fallen angels;

those who can move around freely andthose who are currently locked up in"chains of darkness."

Appearance

To modern eyes, medieval images ofdemons may appear comical and quaint.You should realize that these images, andthe understanding that Christiandemonologists had about them, weremerely unsophisticated attempts to come

to terms with real, perceived phenomenaof daily life.

Demons in one form or another have beena constant fixture of folklore and myth inall cultures around the world since thedawn of history. While this is not proofthat these folk beliefs are literally true, itsuggests that a core of truth exists that hassustained and defined the myths of demonsover the centuries. It is nothing short ofintellectual arrogance to leave unexamined

so universal an aspect of humanexperience.

If he was as beautiful then as now he isugly, when he lifted his brow against hisMaker, well must all grieving proceed fromhim. Oh how great a marvel did it seem tome, when I saw three faces on his head! ...


15/23

15

Beneath each one came out two greatwings....They did not havefeathers; their mode was like abat's....With six eyes he was weeping, anddown three chinsdripped the tears and the bloody slobber.

In each of his mouths he was breaking asinner...

Dantes InfernoThe other shape If shape it might be call'd,that shape had none, Distinguishable inmember, joint, or limb; Or substancemight be call'd that shadow seem'd; Foreach seem'd either; black it stood as night,Fierce as ten furies, terrible as Hell, Andshook a dreadful dart; what seem'd hishead The likeness of a kingly crown had

on. Satan was now at hand; and from hisseat the monster, moving onward, came asfast with horrid strides; Hell trembled ashe strode."

John Mi lt ons ParadiseThe truth is that demons are more likely toappear as attractive. They love tomasquerade, so even Christians are fooledby them. Paul warned them that even"Satan himself masquerades as an angel oflight. It is not surprising, then, if his

servants masquerade as servants ofrighteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

In traditional black magic, demons haveusually two shapes : a monstrous one and apleasant one. The pleasant one can be abeautiful woman or an elegant good-looking man. When a demon is of highauthority, it appears in human form.Demons in animal forms are of lesserimportance. Still less in rank are demonsthat come in the shapes of insects or

plants. And last in importance are demonsthat appear as objects regardless of whatis claimed for him.

Role of Demons

Just as angels are the agents of God whoact with divine authority to do good works

among men, so demons are the agents ofLucifer who act with infernal authority todo works of evil. Indeed, in Jewish, Islamicand Christian mythology, Lucifer washimself once an angel of heaven whodefied God.

Lucifer seeks to harass God by plaguingmankind with a multitude of troubles, andby inciting human beings to defy God. Heuses his fallen angels as his agents, sendingthem abroad across the face of the worldto incite and commit evil. Every time hesucceeds in inducing a human to defy God,Lucifer gains another soldier in hisrebellious army.

Evil spirits

On the account of the Hindu theory ofreincarnation and transmigration of soulsaccording to one's Karma, other kinds ofdemons can also be enlisted. If a humandoes extremely horrible and sinful karmasin his life, his soul (Atman) will, upon hisdeath, directly turn into an evil ghostlyspirit, many kinds of which are recognizedin the later Hindu texts. These demonscould be Grimnex Vetalas, Pishachas,Bhutas etc.

In pre-Islamic Arab culture

Pre-Islamic mythology does notdiscriminate between gods and demons.The jinn are considered as divinities ofinferior rank, having many humanattributes: they eat, drink, and procreatetheir kind, sometimes in conjunction withhuman beings. The jinn smell and lickthings, and have a liking for remnants offood. In eating they use the left hand.

Usually they haunt waste and desertedplaces, especially the thickets where wildbeasts gather. Cemeteries and dirty placesare also favorite abodes. When appearingto man, jinn sometimes assume the formsof beasts and sometimes those of men.


16/23

16

Generally, jinn are peaceable and welldisposed toward men. Many a pre-Islamicpoet was believed to have been inspired bygood jinn, but there are also evil jinn, whocontrive to injure men.

In Islam

Islam recognizes the existence of the jinn.Jinns are not the "genies" of modern lore,and they are not all evil, as demons aredescribed in Christianity, but as creaturesthat co-exist with humans.

In Islam the evil jinns are referred to as theshayatin, or devils, and Iblis (Satan) is theirchief. Iblis was the first Jinn whodisobeyed Allah. According to Islam, the

jinn are made from the light of flame offire deviation of "light" (and mankind ismade of clay).

According to the Qur'an, Iblis was once apious servant of Allah, but when Allahcreated Adam from clay, Iblis became veryjealous, and arrogant and disobeyed Allah.Adam was the first man, and man was thegreatest creation of Allah. Iblis could notstand this, and refused to acknowledge acreature made of "dirt" (man). Allah

condemned Iblis to be punished after deatheternally in the hellfire. Allah had createdhell.

Iblis asked Allah if he may live to the lastday and have the ability to misleadmankind and jinns, Allah said that Iblis mayonly mislead those whom have forsakenAllah. Allah then turned Iblis's countenanceinto horridness and condemned him to onlyhave powers of trickery.

Adam and Eve (Hawwa in Arabic) wereboth together misled by Iblis into eatingthe forbidden fruit, and consequently fellfrom the garden of Eden to Earth. Theword "genie" comes from the Arabic jinn.This is not surprising considering the storyof `Ala' ad-Din, (anglicized as Aladdin),

passed through Arabian merchants en routeto Europe.

In New Age / Shamanism

Carlos Castaneda referred to demonic

predators called flyers which have theappearance of frightening dark shadowsand which vampirize human energy.According to this view, ancient humanswere complete, with much greaterenergetic resources than effete, decadent,modern humans possess.

At the time when agriculture was inventedthe flyers gave human beings their mind(constant internal dialogue of beliefs,ideas, social mores, expectations, and

dreams of success or failure). By playing onthis self-reflection, sucking the angry andworried energy it generates, the flyersbegan to farm human beings for energy,just as humans began farming animals.

Modern humans are the hypnotized slavesof these flyers; and the pseudo concerns ofmodern society are a flyer mechanism ofmind control.

In science Hypothetical Demons

In thought experiments scientistsoccasionally imagine entities with specialabilities in order to pose tough intellectualchallenges or to highlight apparentparadoxes. Examples include:

Descartes malicious demon - Cartesianskepticism (also called methodologicalscepticism) advocates the doubting of allthings which cannot be justified throughlogic. Descartes uses three arguments to

cast doubt on our ability to objectivelyknow: The dream argument, the deceivingGod argument, and the malicious demonargument.

Since our senses cannot put us in contactwith external objects themselves, but onlywith our mental images of such objects, we


17/23

17

can have no absolute certainty thatanything exists in the external world. Inthe evil demon argument Descartesproposes an entity who is capable ofdeceiving us to such a degree that we havereason to doubt the totality of what our

senses tell us.

Laplace's demon - A hypothetical all-knowing entity (later called "Laplace'sDemon") who knows the precise locationand momentum of every atom in theuniverse, and therefore could use Newton'slaws to reveal the entire course of cosmicevents, past and future. Based upon thephilosophical proposition of causaldeterminism.

Maxwell's demon - A demon able todistinguish between fast and slow movingmolecules. If this demon only let fastmoving molecules through a trapdoor to acontainer, the temperature inside thecontainer would increase without any workbeing applied. Such a scenario wouldviolate the second law of thermodynamics.

Real Demons

M. Scott Peck, an American psychiatrist,

wrote two books on the subject. Peckdescribes in some detail several casesinvolving his patients. In People of the Lie:The Hope For Healing Human Evil he givessome identifying characteristics for evilpersons whom he classifies as having acharacter disorder. In Glimpses of theDevil, A Psychiatrist's Personal Accounts ofPossession, Exorcism, and Redemption Peckgoes into significant detail describing howhe became interested in exorcism in orderto debunk the myth of possession by evil

spirits only to be convinced otherwiseafter encountering two real-word caseswhich did not fit into any category knownto psychology or psychiatry. Peck came tothe conclusion that possession was a rarephenomenon related to evil. Possessedpeople are not actually evil; they are doingbattle with the forces of evil. His

observations on these cases are listed inthe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ofMental Disorders (IV) of the AmericanPsychiatric Association.

Although Pecks earlier work was met with

widespread popular acceptance, his workon the topics of evil and possession hasgenerated significant debate and derision.Much was made of his association with (andadmiration for) the controversial MalachiMartin, a Roman Catholic priest and aformer Jesuit, despite the fact that Peckconsistently called Martin a liar andmanipulator. Other criticisms leveledagainst Peck include misdiagnoses basedupon a lack of knowledge regardingdissociative identity disorder (formerly

known as multiple personality disorder),and a claim that he had transgressed theboundaries of professional ethics byattempting to persuade his patients intoaccepting Christianity.

Names and Classifications

Lists of demons occur in some of the darkergrimoires, notable among them theLemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon. Thisis a collection of tracts about ritual

evocation and spirit magic. The first tractis named The Goetia and consists of adescriptive list of the seventy-two demonswhich were bound by King Solomon with hismagic seal ring in a vessel of brass orcopper, and cast into a lake (or the sea --accounts differ).

The Testament of Solomon is an OldTestament pseudepigraphical work,purportedly written by King Solomon, inwhich Solomon mostly describes particular

demons whom he enslaved to help buildthe temple, the questions he put to themabout their deeds and how they could bethwarted, and their answers, whichprovide a kind of self-help manual againstdemonic activity. The date is very dubious,perhaps 1st century to 3rd century,certainly the oldest work surviving


18/23

18

particularly concerned with individualdemons.

Psellus' classification of demons

This is a classification of demons preparedby Michael Psellus in the 11th century andthat undoubtedly was an inspiration for theone Francesco Maria Guazzo preparedlater.

Avoid daylight and are invisible to peopleDemons of fire, which dwell far from us...

pina's classification of demonsAlfonso de Spina, in 1467, prepared aclassification of demons based on several

criteria:

Demons of fateGoblinsIncubi and succubiWandering groups or armies of demonsFamiliarsDrudenDemons that are born from the union of ademon with a human being.Liar and mischievous demonsDemons that attack the saints

Demons that try to induce old women toattend Sabbaths

This classification is somewhat capriciousand it is difficult to find a criterion for it.It seems that Spina was inspired by severallegends and stories. The drudes belong toGerman folklore. Familiars, goblins, andother mischievous demons belong to thefolklore of most European countries.

The belief in incubi and succubae (and

their ability to procreate) seem to haveinspired the sixth category, but it couldalso have been inspired in the Talmudiclegend of demons having sexual intercoursewith mortal women (see also Mastema).

The visions of tempting demons that someearly (and not too early) saints had,

perhaps inspired the ninth category (i.e.the visions of Anthony the Great). The ideaof old women attending Sabbaths wascommon during the European Middle Ageand Renaissance, and Spina mentioned itbefore the Malleus Maleficarum as it is

possible to see.Binsfeld's classification of demons

Binsfeld's classification of demons wasprepared in 1589 by Peter Binsfeld. Hisdemon classification based on the sevendeadly sins, establishing that each one ofthe mentioned demons tempted people bymeans of one of those sins.

Lucifer: arrogance (pride)Leviathan: envy

Amon: wrathBelphegor: sloth (laziness)Mammon: avarice (greed)Beelzebub: gluttonyAsmodeus: lust

Guazzo's classification of demons

Francesco Maria Guazzo prepared thisclassification of demons based on aprevious work by Michael Psellus. It waspublished in his book Compendium

Maleficarum in 1608.

Demons of the superior layers of the air,which never establish a relationship withpeople.Demons of the inferior layers of the air,which are responsible for storms.Demons of earth, which dwell in fields,caves and forests.Demons of water, which are femaledemons, and destroy aquatic animals.Demons of the underground part of the

earth, responsible of keeping hiddentreasures,causing earthquakes, and causing thecrumbling of houses.Demons of the night, which are black andevil. These demons avoid daylight.

Michaelis' classification of demons


19/23

19

In 1613 Sebastien Michaelis wrote a book,Admirable History, in which included aclassification of demons as it was told tohim by the demon Berith when he wasexorcising a nun, according to the author.

This classification is based in hierarchies,the sins by means of which the temptationis made, and includes the demons'adversaries (who suffered that temptationwithout falling).Note that many demons' names areexclusively French or unknown in othercatalogues. St. John the Baptist and St.John the Evangelist are the two St. John'sto whom Michaelis refers. The other saintsare cited only by their name withoutmaking clear, i.e., which Francis is (of

Assisi?).

First HierarchyBeelzebub: arrogance; adversary, St.FrancisLeviathan: attacks Christian religiousbeliefs; adversary, St. PeterAsmodai: lust; adversary: St. JohnBerith: murdering and blasphemy;adversary, St. BarnabasAstaroth: laziness and vanity; adversary,St. Bartholomew

Verrin: impatience; adversary, St. Dominic.See VerrineGressil: impurity, uncleanness andnastiness; adversary, St. BernardSonneillon: hate; adversary, St. Stephen.Second HierarchyLilith: first wife of Adam, succubus

Third HierarchyBelial: arrogance; adversary, St. Francis ofPaulaOlivier: fierceness, greediness and envy;

adversary, St. LawrenceJouvart: sexuality; adversary, not cited.Barrett's classification of demonsFrancis Barrett, in his book The magus(1801), offered this classification ofdemons,making them princes of some evil attitude,person or thing:

Mammon: seducersAsmodai: vile revengesSatan: witches and warlocksPithius: liars and liar spiritsBelial: fraud and injusticeMerihem: pestilences and spirits that cause

pestilencesAbaddon: war, evil against goodAstaroth: inquisitors and accusersClassification by monthDuring the 16th century it was believedthat each demon had more strength toaccomplish his mission during a specialmonth of the year. In this way, he and hisassistants' powers would work better duringthat month.Belial in JanuaryLeviathan in February

Satan in MarchBelphegor in AprilLucifer in MayBerith in JuneBeelzebub in JulyAstaroth in AugustThammuz in SeptemberBaal in OctoberAsmodai in NovemberMoloch in December

The classification of demons by month

seems to have astrological implicationsmore than religious ones.

Classification by office

There were also classifications by office,like those written in several grimoires.

Le Dragon Rouge (or Grand Gr imoir e)Like many works of mystical nature, LeDragon Rouge (or the Red Dragon) claims tocome from Solomon and his priests and is

said to be published in 1517 by Alibeck theEgyptian. However, it was most likelywritten in France in the 18th century.

The grimoire details the different hosts ofhell and their powers, describing how toenter a pact with them to attain themagicians' goals. The demons of hell are


20/23

20

classified by three different tiers fromGenerals to Officers.

Elite, veteran members of Le Dragon Rougebear a ring of an onyx stone with the formof Le Dragon Rouge in red enamel for

official stamping of letters betweenmembers.

Pseudomonar chia DaemonumPseudomonarchia Daemonum, by JohannWeyer, is a grimoire that contains a list ofdemons and the appropriate hours andrituals to conjure them in the name ofGod, Jesus and the Holy Ghost (simplerthan those cited by The Lesser Key ofSolomon below).

This book was written around 1583, andlists sixty-eight demons. The demonsVassago,Seir, Dantalion and Andromalius are notlisted in this book. PseudomonarchiaDaemonum does not attribute seals to thedemons. Weyer said to have been inspiredby another grimoire also attributed to KingSolomon.

The Lesser Key of SolomonMain article: The Lesser Key of Solomon

The Lesser Key of Solomon or LemegetonClavicula Salomonis is an anonymous 17thcentury grimoire, and one of the mostpopular books of demonology. The LesserKey of Solomon contains detaileddescriptions of spirits and the conjurationsneeded to invoke and oblige them to dothe will of the conjurer (referred to as the"exorcist"). It details the protective signsand rituals to be performed, the actionsnecessary to prevent the spirits fromgaining control, the preparations prior to

the invocations, and instructions on how tomake the necessary instruments for theexecution of these rituals.

From Collin De Plancy's DictionaireInfernale (1863)* Asmodeus - The Destroyer

* Astaroth - Obtains friendship of greatlords.* Behemoth - Demon of indulgence* Ronwe - Demon of linguel knowledge* Urobach - Of the lower order of demons* Andras - Grand Marquis of Hell, causes

discord and quarrels* Beelzebub - Lord of the flies

Francis Barrett's The Magus (1801)* Mammon - Prince of temptors* Asmodeus - Prince of vengence* Satan - Prince of deluders* Belzebuth - Cheif of false god* Pytho - Prince of the spirits of deceit* Beliel - Prince of iniquity* Merihim - Prince of the spirits ofpestilence

* Abbadon - Prince of war* Astaroth - Prince of accusers andinquisitors

From the Grimoire of Pope Honorius:PRINCIPLE INFERNAL SPIRITS* Lucifer - Emperor* Beelzebub - Prince* Astarot - Grand Duke

SUPERIOR SPIRITS

* Lucifuge Rofocale - Prime Minister* Sataniachia - Grand General* Agaliarept - General* Fleuretty - Lieutenant Commander* Sargantanas - Major* Nebiros - Field Marshall

SUBORDINATE SPIRITS:Bael , Bathim, Agares, Narbas, Pruslas,Marbas, Abigar, Loray, Poraii, Aamon,Valefar,Barbatos, Forau, Buer, Ayperos, Gusoyn,

Neuberus, Botis, GlasyabolisJohan Weyer's Hierarchy of Hell* Beelzebuth - Supreme Cheiftan* Satan - Occupies second place as princeof darkness.* Eurynomous - Prince of death* Moloch - Prince of the land of tears* Pluto - Prince of fire


21/23

21

* Baal - Commander of the armies of hell* Lucifer - Dispenses justice* Asmodeus - Gambling* Baalberith - Minister of pacts and treaties* Proserpine - Prince of demonic spirits* Astaroth - Prince and treasurer of hell

* Nergal - Chief of secret police* Chamos, Melchom, Behamoth, Dagon,Adramalek

Berbiguer de Terre Neuve duTthymsLes farfadets ou tous les dmons ne sontpasde ce monde* Belzebuth - Supreme Chief* Satan - Prince without throne* Eurynomus - Prince of death* Moloch - Prince of the land of tears

* Rhotomago Prince of Time* Pluto - Prince of fire* Pan Prince of incubes* Lilith Princess of succubes* Leonard Great master of sabbaths* Daalberith Great Pontife* Prosperine Arch Demoness

Jean Wiers PseudomonarchiaDaemonum's Hierarchy* Bael - King, lord of the East, andcommands 66 legions

* Forcas - President* Beur - President and commands 50 legions* Marchocias- Marquis and commands 30legions

Sebastien Michaelis's Histoire admirablede la Possession et conversion d'unepenitente (1613)FIRST HIERARCHY* Belzebuth - pride* Leviathan - faith* Asmodeus - luxury

* Balberith - blasphemy and murder* Astaroth - vanity and sloth* Verrine - impatience* Gresil - impurity* Sonnillon - hate

SECOND HIERARCHY* Carreau - mercilessness

* Carnivean - obscenity* Oeillet - riches and wealth* Rosier - love* Verrier disobedience

THIRD HIERARCHY

* Belial - arrogance* Olivier - cruelty and greed* Juvart - demonic possession

Peter Binsfeld's Demons of the SevenDeadly Sins (1589)* Lucifer - pride* Mammon - avarice* Asmodeus - lust* Satan - anger* Beelzebub - gluttony* Leviathan - envy

* Belphegore - sloth and vanity

Faust's Hierarchy of the Kingdoms:* Beelzebub - North* Lucifer - East* Belial - South* Astaroth - West* Phlegathon Center

Misc. Medieval HierarchiesTHE SEVEN PRINCES OF HELL* Baal-beryth - Master of rituals and pacts* Dumah - Commander of the demons ofgehenna* Meririm - Prince of air* Rahab - Prince of oceans* Sariel - Prince of the moon* Mephistopholes - the Destroyer

* Lucifer Rofocale - Prime minister andChief of the Treasury

ARCH DEMONS OF HELL* Adramaleck - Prince of Fire* Carniveau - Demon of Possession* Python - Prince of lying spirits


22/23

22

* Mammon - Prince of temptors, avarice,and greed* Rimmon - Prince of lightning and storms

ARCH SHE-DEMONS* One of the Very Few All Female Demon

Hierarchies.* Leviathan - The Chaos Dragon* Barbelo - Unknown* Proserpine - Destroyer* Astarte - Queen of spirits of the dead* Agrat-bat-mahlaht - One of Satan's wivesand demoness of whores* Eisheth Zenunim - Same as above* Lilith - Satan's favorite wife* Naamah - demoness of seduction

Richard Dukante's Hierarchy (1963)

* Unsere - (f) Fertility and Sorcery* Delepitore - (f) Demoness of SorceryEnlightement* Satanchia - Grand Genreal (War)* Agaliarept - Assistant Grand General(War)* Lucifage - High Command (Control)* Flereous - Fire Elemental* Lucifer - Air Elemental* Leviathan - Water Elemental* Belial - Earth Elemental* Beelzebuth - Lord of insects

* Belphegore - Master of Armorment andWeaponry* Mesphito - Keeper of the book of death* Amducious - The destroyer* Asmodeus - Demon of Lust* Sonnielion - (f) Demoness of hate* Abbadon - Advisor* Ammon - demon of domination* Mammon - Demon of Avarice* Rosier - Demon of love* Ashtaroth - (f) Preistess of friendship* Eurynomous - Demon of Death

* Verrine - Demon of Health* Verrier - (f) Demoness of plants andherbalism* Ronwe - Demon of Knowledge* Babeal - Keeper of Graves

Demons quoted during exorcism and caseof collective possession:

LoudunAstaroth, Essas, Celsus, Acaos, Cdon,Asmodeus, Leviathan, Balam, Isacaron,Behemoth, Alexh, Zabulon, Nephtalius,Cham, Uriel, Achas, Grsil, AmandLouviers

Lucifer, Beelzebuth, Leviathan, St Michael,Bhrie and 24 other spirits

Species of Demons, as Described byAlphonse de Spina (1467)* Fates, who alter destiny* Poltergeists, who cause mischief* Incubi and Succubi, who stimulate lustand perversion* Marching Hordes, who bring about war* Familiars, who assist witches* Nightmares, who disturb sleep through

bad dreams* Demons formed from Human Semen* Disguised Demons* Demons who Assail the Saintly* Demons who Instigate Witchcraft (blackarts/black magic)The Numbers of the Beast(s)Demons are said to be great in numbers.While it is impossible to count the numberof angels (Revelation 5:11; Hebrews 12:22;Daniel 7:10), the fallen angels wereapparently a third of all these (Revelation

12:4,9).

According to Joanes Weirus in "Depraetistigiis" published in 1568, there are 7451 926 demons, organized in 111 legionsof 6666 demons and ruled by 72 princes ofdemons.

Fromenteau in Le cabinet du Roy deFrance (1581) is very close to thatnumber. An inventory supposedly made bysorcecers has yielded 7 409 127 demons

and 72 princes.

According to Wier in Pseudomaniadaemonum there are 6 legions of 66cohorts each, divided into 666 companiesof 6666 individuals which comes to 1 758640 176 demons. They are governed by an


23/23

Emperor, 7 kings, 23 Dukes, 13 Marquees,10 Counts and 11 Presidents.

Last but not least, a popular method ofcalculation is to multiply the number ofPythagorus by 6, i.e 1234321 x 6 = 7 405

926 demons, a number very close to Wierand Fromenteaus conclusions.

Periods of Increased Demon Activity

Some historians of times past believed thatthere were cycles during which demonicactivity increased, and used this theory toexplain various occurrences, much in thesame way as today's economic historiansmight explain historical events in terms of

trade, productivity and other factors.These older historians saw a rise indemonic activity accompanying suchoccurrences as the destruction ofJerusalem, the fall of Rome and the FrenchRevolution, and would in all likelihood alsohave viewed the demonic theory at work inrelation to the rise of Nazism and WorldWar II.

Casting Light Into the Shadows - By David Desjardins CD, CFPI

Documents

Transcript of Casting Light Into the Shadows - By David Desjardins CD, CFPI