Transcript
Speaker: Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser, We Are Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
Speaker: Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches as we journey into the realm of demonology.
Speaker: I forgot how much I loved that spooky intro-outro song. I know. it is so good. I always listen to them while I'm like uploading and changing all this stuff for Supercast and Patreon and Zencaster.
Speaker: And it came on and I was like, ah I forgot it's spooky music season. Yes. I love spooky music season. So if this is your first time listening to us during the month of October, please.
Speaker: You should go back to – I think we started it even in season one, didn't we? Like every year. think so. I think If not at least season two. but We changed the music in October to make it sound a little bit more spooky and I forgot.
Speaker: get how much I love it. But I think how my favorite intro outro music is the music that we use for our super cast. Yeah. Oh my God. It's so fun. I feel like the the subscriber specific music is super fun.
Speaker: And then our October episode music is so like hauntingly spooky. I love it. And, you know, our regular music is great, too. It's great, too. We just hear it all the time. So we forget how amazing it is.
Speaker: Yeah. And I will say for um our episode with Rebecca, I did not use the spooky music because I was like, do I? No, it's not really a spooky episode. So I didn't.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. It is an October episode. the Yeah. And it's I think because we changed up the... the order of some of the episodes that could accommodate having Rebecca on, which was so amazing.
Speaker: So and fun and such an amazing like human to talk to. Yes. I think some of the episodes like are, and is it like one of the episodes that we're releasing in November will still be technically like a spooky episode, even though.
Speaker: i think so. Yeah. The one that we release, um maybe it's the I don't know, honestly. We changed the schedule so much leading into everything. we really did.
Speaker: So maybe maybe not, actually, because I'm looking at it. I think – ah The one on November 3rd, don't think it is going to be a spooky one. No, I think I adjusted it because I noticed it was November. and so we had talked about this specific episode, which will be a surprise to all of you guys.
Speaker: Yes. So we're not goingnna i'm not going to spoil it. but yeah Yeah. But it will have some, at least for my portion, some social media tie-in where you guys will get to see some stuff. Ooh, I love that. I know.
Speaker: It's so fun. Mm-hmm. To kick us off for this episode, i just want to say that we're going to be discussing demonology. and its connections to witchcraft, including historical beliefs, religious perspectives, and practices that some may find unsettling.
Speaker: We won't be sensationalizing the topic, but we will be touching on themes like spirits, possession, exorcism, and cultural views of demons. If these subjects are uncomfortable or maybe triggering for you,
Speaker: Please listen with care or feel free to skip this one. So when we're talking about demons and looking at what they are really, they could be misunderstood spirits, symbols, or even just actual entities.
Speaker: But our aim today is going to be to explore demonology from historical, folkloric, and magical perspectives for educational purposes. This is not something that either Sam or I practice. So please feel free to reach out if you have any personal experiences that you're willing to let us share.
Speaker: um But really, we're just going to kind of be talking about this topic on an educational like level. Yeah. And if you are somebody who's come across this podcast and you want to give us hate because we're talking about demonology, go somewhere else. We don't really care.
Speaker: So just looking at the background, demonology at its core is simply the study or the science of demons, the way cultures have understood, classified, and described these beings over time.
Speaker: It's not always about fire-breathing monsters or Hollywood jump scares. Instead, it often comes down to exploring how different traditions explain forces that feel other, unsettling, or difficult to name.
Speaker: Part of the confusion can be linked to the vocabulary. So a demon in one culture might just be a mischievous spirit in another, or even just a neutral being that humans don't fully understand.
Speaker: Then you've got terms like fallen angel, which comes out of Christian theology, or zhen that comes from Middle Eastern traditions who aren't automatically evil, but they have their own complex roles.
Speaker: So for anyone who plans to work in the realm of demonology, it's really important to do thorough research to understand the different labels and to see how much variety exists in the way that people describe these entities.
Speaker: And context is everything here. So in Western traditions, demons often get tied to Christianity and the idea of rebellion against God. In Middle Eastern frameworks, you'll find the djens, described as beings made of smokeless fire, who live alongside humanity with free will of their own.
Speaker: In other places, like parts of Asia or Africa, spirits labeled as demons might actually be ancestral beings, nature guardians, or tricksters.
Speaker: The word demon doesn't mean the same thing everywhere, and looking at those cultural frameworks shows us just how broad the topic really is. Over time, views on demons have shifted dramatically.
Speaker: What was once a local spirit causing illness or bad luck could later be reframed as a servant of Satan under Christian influence. In the Renaissance, demonology became more structured, with grimoires laying out the hierarchies and the list of names.
Speaker: Today, we see everything from pop culture depictions to modern magical practices that reinterpret demons not as inherently evil, but as complex figures to study, respect, or even work with.
Speaker: So moving into a more like historical and cultural overview, when we look back to some of the earliest cultures, we can see how the foundations of demonology were laid. In Mesopotamia, beings like the Lamashtu or Pazuzu were considered dangerous spirits who could bring illness or misfortune, but they weren't evil in the Christian sense.
Speaker: Sometimes people even invoked one spirit to protect against the other. Okay, I'm going to just preface this with I said this word wrong my whole life and I told Sam about this until I did this research.
Speaker: So in ancient Greece, the word daimon originally meant a guiding or intermediary spirit, not necessarily malicious. Socrates even talked about having a personal daimon that offered him guidance.
Speaker: Over time, though translations and shifting worldviews started painting daemons in a darker light. And if you're anything like me, i have been saying that word wrong my entire life because I thought it was daemon.
Speaker: And it's not, apparently. i learned doing this research. So hopefully that educates you because I felt really dumb. I was like, wow, okay. Yeah. But this word was later translated as meaning supernatural being or lesser divinity.
Speaker: In Egypt, beings we might now call demons appeared in funerary texts, often as guardians or gatekeepers in the afterlife. These figures weren't always hostile.
Speaker: Instead, they represented challenges or thresholds the soul had to navigate. As time goes on, we can start to see the side of the Abrahamic influences in terms of the history of demons.
Speaker: With the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, demonology took on new layers of meaning. So in Judaism, texts like the Book of Enoch and rabbinic writings introduced the idea of fallen angels and spirits born from them.
Speaker: Christianity expanded this framework, strongly linking demons with Satan and rebellion against God. This reframing took local spirits and folded them into a single narrative of good versus evil.
Speaker: The Christian Bible refers to their version of the demon as unclean spirits. It's the Abrahamic and Christian influence that altered the view of the demon as being purely evil beings.
Speaker: Another view that was born out of Christianity is that demons are actually the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim. And for those that maybe didn't grow up in Christianity or have any like working knowledge on this topic, the Nephilim were a race of giants that once roamed the earth that were a result of a group of angels known as the Watchers.
Speaker: impregnating human women. And this is referenced in Genesis and Enoch, as well as the Abrahamic books of giants and books of Jubilee.
Speaker: What the fuck? Yeah. We learned about this as like when I was a kid in church that there was this race of giants that were basically the result of these watchers impregnating women and like they go about like causing destruction on earth and so like God kills them all.
Speaker: o So. Cool. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. Right? The Bible's wild. In Islam, djinns play a central role, and the djinns are beings created from smokeless fire who, like humans, can be good, bad, or neutral.
Speaker: They aren't automatically demonic, but stories of possession and mischief gave them an ambiguous reputation. Together, these traditions solidified the image of demons as moral actors tied to human choices and divine order.
Speaker: By the Middle Ages, demonology in Europe was deeply entangled with religion and power. The church promoted the idea that demons were ever-present threats, tempting humans into sin or conspiring with witches.
Speaker: Manuals like the Malleus Maleficarum codified beliefs about demonic pacts and possessions, fueling witch trials and persecution. And this is only slightly off topic, but I went to England recently and I went to an antique book fair and I got to hold an original Malleus Maleficarum.
Speaker: Which is fucking amazing. But also amazing. Yes. So um it was very much out of my price range, but the man was very nice and was like, you should hold it at least. And I was like, you are so nice.
Speaker: So, but back on topic. In medieval and early modern Europe, demonology was used to frame witches as people in league with demons, often accused of pacts, possession, or Sabbaths with infernal beings.
Speaker: As many of you probably already know, many accused witches were actually practicing things like folk magic, using charms, herbs, and prayers to ward off harmful spirits, which were later interpreted as demonic, while others were just living their daily lives and were accused out of jealousy, fear, or other petty BS.
Speaker: Because humans are trash. Demonology wasn't just superstition. Rather, it became a tool for enforcing moral and social control. where accusations of quote-unquote working with demons often fell on marginalized groups, which most of you likely already know, especially if you've listened to the podcast from the beginning, as we've discussed this in numerous episodes, numerous times, especially in the first few episodes.
Speaker: Outside of the Western lens, the picture broadens even more. So in Hinduism, beings like Asaris or Rakshasas show up as powerful forces opposing the gods.
Speaker: But they're not always framed as purely evil. Sometimes they're more like cosmic rivals. In Buddhism, Mara is a figure who embodies temptation and distraction, testing those seeking enlightenment.
Speaker: In many African traditions, spirits might be seen as dangerous or protective, depending on how humans interact with them. What outsiders might label demons are often guardians or ancestral forces.
Speaker: And in Japanese folklore, we see the oni, which are ogre-like figures who punish wrongdoers, as well as the yokai, which are a wide range of supernatural beings that can be playful, frightening, or somewhere in between.
Speaker: These examples remind us that the Western idea of the quote-unquote demon is only one slice of a much bigger global story. Local deities, spirits, or household guardians were sometimes rebranded as demons under Christian influence, blurring the line between witchcraft, spirit work, and demonology.
Speaker: Moving into the famous grimoires, text, and demonology sources, one of the most famous texts in Western demonology is the Lesser Key of Solomon, specifically the first section called the Goetia.
Speaker: It was compiled in the 17th century, and it lays out a list of 72 demons, each with their own names, ranks, abilities, and appearances.
Speaker: these descriptions aren't just colorful, many of them read almost like character profiles. Some demons are said to teach sciences or arts, others reveal hidden knowledge, and some even influence love, wealth, or politics.
Speaker: The text also outlines ritual instructions for summoning or commanding these beings, which later influenced ceremonial magic traditions. Texts like the Goetia were sometimes linked to witchcraft,
Speaker: presenting instructions for summoning or commanding demons, though in reality, much of this was more ceremonial or learned magic rather than folk practice.
Speaker: Before the Lesser Key of Solomon became widely known, there was Johann Weyer's Pseudomonarchia daemonum, published in the 16th century. Weyer was actually a physician and a critic of the witch hunts, and his catalog of demons may have been partly satirical, pointing out how absurd it was to believe in such an elaborate hierarchy.
Speaker: Still, it became a foundational work describing dozens of demons, their powers, and their ranks in what looks like a kind of infernal bureaucracy. Even though Wire argued against the persecutions of accused witches, his work helped solidify the idea that demons could be neatly organized and classified.
Speaker: Fast forward to the 19th century and you get Jacques-Colin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal. And this was essentially an encyclopedia of demons and supernatural beings. pulling together folklore, theology, and literature.
Speaker: What makes it especially memorable are the illustrations that were added in to later editions, which are kind of funny. I looked some of these up. They were detailed woodcuts that visually depicted demons with bizarre and sometimes like comical features.
Speaker: And these images are what helped cement a more modern imagination of what humans like quote unquote look like, influencing art, literature, And even the way that pop culture portrays demons today.
Speaker: Wow. I love that. So looking a little bit more at some of the ancient texts and folklore. So long before we had the medieval grimoires like the Key of Solomon or the Malleus Maleficarum, there were ritual texts, hymns, incantation tablets, and temple manuals specific to demonology and witchcraft within different regions and ancient civilizations.
Speaker: So in Mesopotamia, this is where we see probably the richest source of demonology in the ancient world. The maklu, which translates to burning, is a massive Babylonian anti-witchcraft series from around the 7th century BCE that included ritual cycles, incantations, offerings, and effigies to counteract witchcraft and drive away demons.
Speaker: The serpu, which is another, i guess, translation of the word burning, is another Akkadian incantation series focused on lifting curses. There was also the Etuku Lemnutu, also translated as the evil demons, was a collection of incantations describing and banishing spirits and demons.
Speaker: There's also the Exorcist Manual, or the Udag Hull Texts, which was a handbook on demon stories spirits and exorcism rites used by Mesopotamian exorcist priests.
Speaker: And those priests were called the Asipu or Asipu. I'm not sure, 100%. we're just to go with that. And then we also have the Enuma Elis, which is the Babylonian creation epics.
Speaker: This is not a grimoire anything, but it establishes the divine order, chaos monsters, and cosmology that shaped Mesopotamian demonology. And then when we're looking at Mesopotamian demonology, there are key figures, which Tiffany, you already mentioned both of these. Well, there's three, but um two of these.
Speaker: So Pazuzu, which was a wind demon, Lamashtu, which were child-stealing demons, and Lilitu, which was a prototype of Lilith. I feel like Lilith is also used interchangeably with Lilith.
Speaker: I think so too. I feel like I've read that. So yeah. And Pazuzu's are what, what are those little things called? Those little dolls now that everybody has.
Speaker: Wait, what? Oh, La Boo Boo. the yeah apparently I was like, wait. they Everybody, like Christians, were freaking out that LeBuboos were the Pazuzu demons.
Speaker: I have not seen that. Have you not? Oh my gosh. There was like a whole thing like when they first came out where people were like, these are demons. And I was like, it's just stuffed animal.
Speaker: Yeah, she's a stuffed animal, first of all. But second of all, if you were going to tie it to a demon, why would you not tie it to the Lamashtu, which is the child-stealing demons? Right. Right. Apparently, it kind of looks like the cartoon drawing of the Pazuzu.
Speaker: Oh. We have to look into that because Avery has two. Oh.
Speaker: Just two little pazuzus in your house. She does. Yeah. She loves them. I think they're the ugliest things, but she loves them. So, you know what? mean, we have beanie babies and Furbies, so. Exactly. Exactly.
Speaker: ah So moving on to Egyptian, ancient Egyptians, ah demonology was an important part of ancient Egyptian religion, and demons were often invoked in religious practices.
Speaker: Demons were believed to be able to heal or harm, and many of the gods and goddesses in ancient Egyptian mythology were associated with demons in some way, or they were believed to have power over demons.
Speaker: So looking at some of the ancient texts, the first one is ah obviously the Book of the Dead. Of course, we're going to talk about it in this episode. This is one of the most important sources of information in ancient Egypt, and it was a funerary text that was used to guide the deceased through the afterlife, and it contained spells to protect the dead from various things to include demons.
Speaker: We also have the coffin texts, and these were written into the coffins of the deceased and included spells to protect the deceased from demons to include the soul eater and the demon of darkness.
Speaker: Then we also have the pyramid texts, and these are texts that are inscribed on the walls of the royal pyramids. They contain spells and incantations that protect the pharaoh in the afterlife and include spells to protect against demons and, of course, evil spirits again.
Speaker: But there's also a lot of archaeological evidence related to demons found on the walls, on pottery, and drawn on other artifacts. It's clear that ancient Egyptians believed in demons and that they thought they could harm them and but and that they need protecting against during or depending on different circumstances.
Speaker: And as far as key figures in ancient Egyptian demonology, this includes Seth, which I thought, that's a weird name for- That just doesn't seem to fit, but whatever. No, it seems so modern. Yeah. Seth.
Speaker: Especially whenever we combine it with Apophis, which is the Chaos Serpent, and Amit, the Soul Devourer. so And Seth. Yeah. So looking also at ancient Greece, in ancient Greece, demons were spiritual beings mediating between the mortals and the gods.
Speaker: The word demon had many different meanings in ancient Greece. The main one was, quote, he who dispenses fate. It was also seen as a spirit that gives a person his or her personality traits.
Speaker: A demon was considered a guiding spirit. And in ancient Greek mythology, some demons were the souls of men who had inhabited in the golden age, which was a time that ancient Greeks believed was a time of peace and innocence, much like the Christian version of like the Garden of Eden.
Speaker: So when we're looking at some of the older texts and grimoires associated with demonology, we have the Orphic hymns. And this contained a collection of devotional hymns to gods and sonic the the homeric hymns which were ritual poetic invocations of gods and spirits ah Greek Magical Papyri, which contains spells for summoning demons, love charms, necromancy, healing curses, and protection.
Speaker: And it's also the major source of Greco-Egyptian magical practices. The Chaldean Oracles, which is theurgical and magical instructions for working with divine and demonic powers.
Speaker: Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days, which are not grimoires per se, but are key mythological frameworks that discuss demons or spirits and underworld beings like Hecate.
Speaker: Plato's Symposium and Apology. This introduces the concept of demons or daimons as intermediaries between gods and humans. The Cursed Tablets. This is something we've discussed on the podcast before, way back in episode one.
Speaker: in our Witchcraft Throughout History episode, which was recorded in 2022. God. I know, right? We were babies. long ago. Yeah. These were tablets that were inscribed with curses, binding spells, and invocations of thonic spirits or demons. And some of the key figures in ancient Greek demonology were, of course, Hecate, our amazing liminal goddess linked to sorcery, and then phonic Hermes, which I don't know very much about that, but I would be interested in researching that
Speaker: And then Daimonic Spirits, which could be protective or malevolent, and Irignes, or the Furies. So as far as modern interpretations, there're when I was researching this, I didn't see a ton of like modern interpretations of...
Speaker: remoirs outside of you know just books that we would reference anyway. And I know that that's something that we are, well, I think you actually are talking about that. Yeah, so that's something that Tiffany is gonna talk about towards the end when we're looking at different references, if you are interested in this topic.
Speaker: But what I wanted to say as well is I have this article linked in our show notes, of course, but I found this article on Occultist Net by, the author is named Astinu Server.
Speaker: And they list some of the best demonology books in one place. So if you're interested in what they say are some of the best resources that you can find, like maybe at a library or maybe on Amazon, that definitely check that out if you're interested.
Speaker: So looking into some of the classifications of demons, one of the things I will preface this is going back to ah what Tiffany mentioned. you When we're looking at the classification of demons, like I feel like this is kind of a slippery...
Speaker: slope when we're talking about it because a lot of this stuff and the hierarchies and classifications came about during the medieval time period when Christianity was you know at its peak. I mean, it's not at its peak, let's be for real. but like Yeah.
Speaker: It's peaking again. Yeah. When we had to make sense of everything and create hierarchies and establish backstories for everything. So some of this stuff is tied really closely into the classification of demons.
Speaker: So looking at this and um when you're listening to this section, understand that a lot of this stuff comes through a lens of Christianity and goes through the lens of Christian folklore.
Speaker: So in book one of the lesser key of Solomon, there is the Ars Goetia. This is the main grimoire that lists out the 72 demons that Tiffany mentioned earlier. So sometimes this is called the noble pillars, the Goetians or the Goetial authorities.
Speaker: And this was thought these 72 demons were what King Solomon is said to have evoked, bound and commanded. so Who knows if any of that is actually real. um But these 72 demons each have their own rank and title, legions that they command, and seals or symbols that can be used to summon and control them.
Speaker: While they serve Lucifer or the Infernal Order, there also seems to be a hierarchy as well within the Goetia themselves. So higher ranking demons can give orders to lower ranking ones.
Speaker: The Ars Goetia includes the notion that these 72 are elite demons, stronger and more authoritative than many others, and that they are trusted with important missions by Lucifer.
Speaker: Some of them are described as formerly fallen angels who revolted with Lucifer. um So take that with a grain of salt, because of course, this is all being viewed through a very specific lens of Christian mythology.
Speaker: So the noble hierarchy is as follows. First, we have kings. These were those angels, if we're looking at it through a Christian lens, who were closest to Lucifer when he led the rebellion against God.
Speaker: They were promised their own crowns if this attack succeeded and like it didn't. Succeed according to mythology. So in hell, these demons received kingdoms of their own to rule.
Speaker: And these include the demons Baal, Paimon, Beleth, Persan, Asmodee or Asmodeus, Vene, Balaam, Zagon, and Belial.
Speaker: Next are the dukes. These were angels who joined the rebellion after they saw how many of the higher and more powerful angels had already begun the assault against the throne of the almighty.
Speaker: And this includes demons such as Agares, Valifor, Barbados, Guzian, and who knows, could be pronouncing all of these completely wrong because, you know, I don't study demonology and some of some of the um actual pronunciations for some of these are not online.
Speaker: And then other ones, i just, after a while, got tired of looking them up. So try my best. Well, because you look one up and it's like, this is how you say it. And then someone's like, no, this is how you say it. And you're like I don't know what I'm saying.
Speaker: Yeah. I don't know my fruits. You know what? I don't know my fruits. Elagos, Zepar, Batham, Salos, Aem, Brune, Bereth, Astaroth, Foclear, Vepar, Crocelle, Allosis, Murmur, Grimory, Vapula, Haris, Amducius, and duus and dental Then, okay So the order kind of takes a little bit of a skew because I also saw princes in a couple of lists that were higher than Dukes.
Speaker: And then also in some lists that were below Dukes. So I don't know. I just put them after Duke. So it could be higher than the Dukes because in like actual, like I think monarchy listings. I think princes are higher than dukes, but I don't know.
Speaker: um So these were angels who joined the rebellion in heaven after many promises and much convincing. They did not quickly follow Lucifer, but still received rewards in hell based on the attributes they had while as angels.
Speaker: And this includes Visago, Citri, Ipos, Gop, Stolas, Oribas, and Cyr. And then we also have Marquis. And these are Gamigan, and Decarabia.
Speaker: Then and the order of hierarchy, there are earls or counts. Sometimes earls or counts are used interchangeably for some spirits. So Endomelius is often called an earl or a count. um So there's not really other information I found on that.
Speaker: And then as far as knights go, there's only one demon that is called a knight, and this is Fergus. He was an angel who loved magic above all, And then dark arts and heaven so lucifer supposedly promised him the ability to increase his knowledge of all magical systems and to propagate them against the earth so he was then appointed as lucifer's soul knight due to his vow to him and then Lastly, there is the classification of presidents.
Speaker: Many demons hold the title of president, and these were servants of the higher angels who rebelled against God and were cast out of heaven for following their leaders into battle. And side note here, let me just say, heaven is real and I go to heaven and I am somebody's fucking servant, I'm sorry, I'm going to hell.
Speaker: like Shoot me now. Kick me out of here. this all the time right? Like- The whole thing with fallen angels is that God was being shitty to humans. He created humans, decided he didn't like them, was being shitty to them.
Speaker: And Lucifer said, bro, this isn't cool, rebels against him. And now he's supposed to be our punisher for sin. And I'm like, don't feel like he'd be punishing us. Yeah. I feel like this isn't that bad. Like I would rather do that than go up there where i would be somebody's servant. Are you shitting me? you.
Speaker: No. thank you. Also, i like the temperatures of hell, okay? Yeah. Nothing says my showers are meant for demons. Well, actually, too, if we read the – what is it? The Kingdom of – what is it? What is the the book series that we really like? Kingdom the Wicked. It's actually, like, really cold there, so i think it'd be okay.
Speaker: I think I'll survive. Yeah, we'll survive. And there's some daddies down there, so. Yeah, there's, like, seven daddies, and they're all ours, And I hope you guys have read the that series. If not, maybe we should read that as far as our book club.
Speaker: For the Demonology Month, we will be reading yeah Kingdom of the Wicked. Kingdom of the Wicked. yeah um Yeah. You guys should all read it. Mm-hmm. So the Lesser Key also provides for kings of the cardinal directions.
Speaker: And so this would it be for east or the element of air. This would be the demon Oriens. For south, the element of fire, this would be Paimon.
Speaker: For west, um And the element of water, this would be Egin, Egin, or I don't know how to say that. um For north or the element of earth, with this would be Maimon.
Speaker: And then lastly, I just wanted to go over some famous demons or... like quote unquote powerful demons. When we use the term powerful demons, usually that implies that they commanded large legions or have very broad or versatile powers or have the ability to influence multiple different domains. So like being in charge of things like knowledge, wealth, and transformation. So um having just like very broad overarching powers.
Speaker: The first one is King Baal, and this is probably a demon that a lot of people are familiar with because you see them referenced in literature a lot and in pop culture.
Speaker: This is the first spirit listed in the Goetia, and he is often seen as the gateway to the hierarchy and is known for invisibility, wisdom, and his commanding presence.
Speaker: King Paimon is often listed in many sources as a high-ranking king who teaches arts and sciences and has very broad powers. He is also listed as one of the most loyal demons to Lucifer.
Speaker: King Beleth is associated with love and attraction, but is known for his fierce and regal presence and must be commanded with respect. King Asmodeus I just want to sing it now. Salatness.
Speaker: Lucifer. Oh. Is associated with gambling, craftsmanship, mathematical knowledge, and is considered a fierce warrior demon. Count or President Marbus well known for relief for revealing hidden truths and giving mechanical knowledge and is also associated with curing and causing diseases.
Speaker: So I guess be careful with that one. um The Marquis Amon commands 40 legions and is sometimes involved in secrets, predictions, or summoning drowned spirits.
Speaker: The Marquis Marcosius is another demon sometimes considered strong. He commands 30 legions and is a warrior and gives true answers. So I guess this guy doesn't lie as a principal. Yeah.
Speaker: There we go. We need more of that. Literally. Can we have more of that? Yeah. Thanks. President Morax teaches astronomy and liberal sciences and gives knowledge of herbs and stones. Isn't that sweet?
Speaker: Okay. Well. I think you found your demon. Well, I found my demon, guys. yeah
Speaker: So now that we have- A little bit of working knowledge of demons. Let's talk about interaction with demons. Throughout history, people have developed all sorts of ways to deal with what they believed were demonic forces.
Speaker: So the most famous and well-known is going to be exorcisms. And these were rituals meant to drive out spirits seen as harmful or possessing.
Speaker: But there were also more everyday methods like protective charms, prayers, and magical formulas used to ward off unwanted influences. In many cultures, this looked like carrying an amulet, hanging protective symbols over your doorways, or performing cleansing rituals to keep spaces clear of negative presences.
Speaker: These practices weren't just about fear, they were about creating a sense of safety and order in a world full of unknowns. Today, the ways that practitioners approach working with demons within magical and occult circles are much more varied.
Speaker: Some practitioners avoid the subject entirely, while others view these beings not as evil, but as sources of insight or power. Some contemporary witches and occultists engage with demonology not as a fear-based system,
Speaker: but as a way of exploring shadow work, building relationships with spirits, or reclaiming figures once demonized by dominant religions. Working with demons in modern practices might mean invoking them for knowledge, protection, or as a way of confronting shadow aspects of the self, essentially using the archetype of demons as a mirror for personal growth.
Speaker: It's less about commanding and more about building a relationship depending on the tradition. With that said, intent and ethics are crucial. Just because a text says that you can summon or control something doesn't mean that you should.
Speaker: Modern practitioners often stress the importance of consent, respect, and spiritual safety when engaging with any spirits. That includes setting clear boundaries, approaching with humility, and understanding that these practices aren't just for fun.
Speaker: Whether you view demons as literal beings, or symbolic forces, your mindset and intent shape the experience. For those curious but cautious, there are simple protective practices that can be used regardless of belief systems.
Speaker: Herbs like rosemary, rue, and sage have a long history of being used for cleansing and protection. Casting a circle or marking out sacred space helps set boundaries before doing any spiritual work.
Speaker: Prayers, mantras, or affirmations can also serve as protective anchors depending on your background. And you can also create and carry a protective sigil that offers a way to embody the sense of safety.
Speaker: These tools remind us that preparation and grounding matter as much as curiosity. Yeah. And just a brief little aside, because I mean, it goes along with it's not technically an aside, but because, you know, Tiffany and i we talk about all the time, behavioral health, mental health is something that, you know, we both have backgrounds in.
Speaker: We can look at this topic of demon as a metaphor you know, So when we talk about demons, and we're not just talking about horned monsters from movies or TV shows waiting in the dark to possess us.
Speaker: From a Jungian lens, demons are psychic realities and metaphors for the parts of ourselves that we fear, reject, or even suppress. Carl Jung saw the devil or demons not as external beings, but as the archetype of the shadow, the unconscious aspects of ourselves that the ego refuses to accept.
Speaker: So these can be things like anger, jealousy, lust, and greed, but it can also include things that are buried within ourselves. Like if we're burying our own creativity, our passions, our power, our voice, whatever that is.
Speaker: So Jung rejected the idea that evil is just the absence of good. He saw it as real, a force that we must face consciously. And so when we ignore or deny our shadow self,
Speaker: We project it outward, seeing evil in others while remaining blind to it ourselves. The devil archetype challenges us to confront our shadow desires, our own hypocrisy and temptations.
Speaker: And this confrontation is what helps us become whole. It's what allows us to be more self-aware. so We need to acknowledge our inner demons, name them and give them form so that they can be transformed. And so in this aspect, when we're looking at it through the lens of demonology and taking out the mythological or folklore representations of demonology, it's really taking a look inside of ourselves and understanding what our own inner demons are and how we can confront them.
Speaker: And when you're looking at some of these ancient texts and you're looking at the ways in which, you know, ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek, all of these different cultural beliefs tied to demonology.
Speaker: And the fact that demons were seen as spirits or entities that can help shape us and guide us down our path. You can even use this framework when looking into that as well, because it's like, okay, you know the demons were a personification essentially of this type of a belief of guiding us through life, addressing that shadow.
Speaker: And so that's just another way to look at it where it's like, it's taking the scariness out of it because, you know, it doesn't have to be like what it seems like in the movies. So we're looking at some of the myths and misconceptions, much of what we know when we think about demons comes from Christian demonology, Hollywood and horror fiction, which often doesn't include any historical or cross-cultural study.
Speaker: And what we've just seen based on the brief history we've provided in this episode is that demons aren't always evil. They often represent neutral or even beneficial spiritual forces that could be harmful if disrespected or misused and were often considered guides for humans.
Speaker: Pop culture and media in general flattened demons into villains or monsters for dramatic effect, ah erasing the culture and the context that we see in history, where demons were seen as teachers of philosophy.
Speaker: They could grant wisdom, help with craftsmanship, or even love. The quote, all demons are evil moral framing is a product of monotheistic theology and Christianity.
Speaker: In pre-Christian pantheons, spirits were not necessarily seen as good or bad. They were mere forces of nature that could be destructive depending on the intention. And so approaching spiritual entities or archetypal demons doesn't require fear, but it does require respect, grounding, and critical thinking.
Speaker: So whether you view whether you view demons as real beings or psychological forces, like I was just mentioning, it's good to practice discernment. And as Tiffany mentioned with protection, using protection in your working. So not just protecting you physically, but also psychically as well.
Speaker: And so just to kind of recap this episode, we unpacked demonology from several angles. So we explored demons as symbols of our inner shadows, historical entities rooted in ancient belief systems, and and powerful tools within magical practice.
Speaker: Whether viewed through psychology, history, or spirituality, these beings remind us that darkness and light are often two sides of the same coin. And this isn't a new concept, and we've often mentioned that you can't have one without the other on the podcast.
Speaker: So there's that. And just as a reminder, you should always approach your curiosity with both wonder and respect. dive into old grimoires, folklore, and religious texts, but remember that these are reflections of human experience as much as they are spiritual teachings.
Speaker: Use what you learn as fuel for your own shadow work, exploring what these symbols awaken within you, and also bring that concept into your own magical practice. And if this is a topic that you're interested in learning more about,
Speaker: make sure that you're doing thorough research. I would recommend checking out our references for this episode in the show notes as well as the Dictionary of Demons by Michelle Ballinger, The Lesser Key of Solomon for historical context and ritual framework, The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology by Rosemary Ellen.
Speaker: I think it's Ghoulie? Ghoulie? I'm not sure. Guiling, I think. Yeah. I don't know. um Folklore archives and mythology collections as well. Those are going to reveal how these entities evolved across cultures.
Speaker: And if you want a fantastic YouTube series on the topic of demons, there's a several video series that covers demonic history That's so fantastically put together and so well researched.
Speaker: The account name is Belial768. So for anyone interested, i would definitely suggest this one. And I have this account linked in our show notes. But also remember that this is not a practice that either Sam or myself participate in Everything that we've shared with you today is purely research-based.
Speaker: And if any of our listeners do work within this realm and you would like us to share any of your experiences, please don't hesitate to reach out via social media or our email.
Speaker: We always love being able to share listener experiences.
Speaker: That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser We Are Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
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Speaker: Join us next week for another spooky episode, this time on Ouija boards. Until next time, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, blessed be witches.
