Few words are as loaded with incomprehensible layers of meaning as “demon.” The term has shifted connotation many times within different cultural, religious and social contexts since practically the dawn of mankind. Though the modern dictionary definition, “an evil spirit; a source of evil, harm, distress or ruin,” has remained mostly constant there has been considerable variation in how the origin, nature and ultimate purpose of demons has been viewed. The first great human civilization, the Sumerians, existed in Mesopotamia from approximately 4000 BC until 2000 BC. They had a concept of demons, a class of spirits called utukku. The malevolent ones killed men and caused sickness and suffering. The same spirits existed in the mythology of another Mesopotamian culture, the Akkadians. These spirits were actually considered to be the restless spirits of the dead who caused distress but ultimately came to be considered a class of demons that haunted desolate locations. The half-human and half-animal alu lurked in the darkness while the hideous and hairy rabisu caused nightmares. Many of the same, or similar, demons and spirits made appearances in the mythologies of Babylon, Assyria, Persia and other Middle Eastern cultures. Egypt had its own developed wealth of demonology, as did the Oriental religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Hebrew Scriptures speak of the se’irim, goat-like demons to which sacrifices were made in open fields. There are also the shedim, storm demons of destruction with connections to the Chaldeans and Babylonians. The ancient Greeks had a word for intermediate spirits between mortals and the gods: daimons. They could be either good or evil but the term itself ultimately became demons and came to refer solely to evil beings. When Christianity began to develop it was strongly influenced by the good-versus-evil dichotomy of Zoroastrianism. This made the development of a large tradition of demonology within Christianity inevitable and it absorbed a good deal of the lore and legends of earlier cultures and religions. With the growing dominance of Christianity across the Western world that particular faith’s impression of demons has become by far and away the most popular; the angel, fallen from grace and dedicated to causing suffering and misfortune under the orders of the supreme ruler of evil, yet doomed to the fires of hell at the end of days. Wicked beyond repentance, the affliction of sinners and the godless and bowing only to divine decree, the Christian church has done the most to popularize the idea of demons and their works. The presence of demons in horror movies such as The Exorcist and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, on popular television like Paranormal State and Supernatural and in literary works like the legends of Faust almost universally mirror Christian beliefs. One interesting aspect of Christian demonology that is especially relevant to magical practitioners is the grimoire tradition. Other cultures have had magical and religious techniques for placating, driving off and even buying the favor of demons, but the Christian demonologists of history developed especially elaborate magical systems
of interacting with demons, subduing them with rituals and divine authority so that they can be used to serve a human magician. There are many different books detailing these methods, called grimoires, with some of the earliest ones dating back to the 13th century and presumably being based on even older sources. These methods remain popular in modern magical circles and any number of grimoires can be purchased at chain bookstores. Modern magic users have thus retained a large part of the lore and knowledge of demons in current days even as the very idea of demons has become laughable to the general public. It is thanks to magical practitioners, the grimoires, historians and archaeologists that we have any information available to us about demons and it is modern magical theorists and practitioners who have written extensively about demons as a whole class of entities rather than a philosophical notion or an anachronism. Taken as a group, the class of entities called demons has a few defining characteristics. Looking beyond cultural and religious characteristics for the grain of universal truth, a few things can be observed. They are generally non-human spirits, which separates them from ghosts. They are universally malicious, or at least ill-intentioned, differentiating them from other spirits. They are not part of the natural order, making them distinct from fay or elementals. They can take on almost any form imaginable, but tend towards the horrible, weird and grotesque. Their behaviors tend to follow some predictable patterns and symptoms while remaining harmful and heralding their presence. The presence of a demon can be hard to determine. Even though they are a class of beings in their own right, their behaviors are often similar or identical to other types of pests and magical beings. Two signs of a demonic presence are persistence and malignancy. Common methods of banishing and cleansing are often enough to deal with other types of threatening or dangerous magical beings but against a demon will usually bring short-term relief at best. The activity will also be more intense and malignant than what is witnessed with other causes. Demonic activity can range from annoying and frightening to threatening and life-shattering but at any stage of the gamut it is undeniable, has a tangible impact and is some degree of malicious. A minor demon may only be able to cause feelings of fear or manage to annoy its victim with malevolent but ultimately harmless actions while a more powerful demon can manifest itself as an overpowering panic, tangible evil presences, physical wounds and blows against its victim, life-threatening bad luck, repetitive nightmares and foul smells. It all depends on the exact nature of the demon and its attack. Some modern exorcists and theorists divide demonic attacks into four categories, from the least to the most severe. A demonic assault manifests itself as sense of supernatural evil along with possibly experiencing immobility, terror and helplessness to move or fight back after being awoken from sleep. A demonic haunt denotes a demon that is attracted to a particular location where something evil happened or which was used for magic of a suitably immoral slant. Demons will be attracted to such places and possibly cause problems for anyone
who comes across them. A demonic obsession refers to a case where an individual or individuals are afflicted by an illogical and self-destructive or dangerous obsession. The obsessed person may be otherwise perfectly rational but, left unchecked, will follow their obsession to even a suicidal conclusion. Finally, a demonic possession is exactly what you see in movies; a demon takes control of its victim’s body and/or mind and controls that person’s actions and words. Possessions are the most dangerous and, blessedly, rarest manifestation of a demon and requires considerably more advanced methods of removal than other situations. Assaults, haunts and obsessions, while not easy to resolve, are certainly easier to deal with than possession. Assaults and hauntings are the simplest form of demonic activity to curb; they have no anchor to an individual to lend them strength and durability. Techniques of natural magic such as the use of holy water, protective stones and herbs, salt, iron and other apoptropaics can hinder and weaken a demon’s activities while the frequent repetition of protective and banishing rituals will drive it off. Wards can be erected to keep them out and, in the case of hauntings, frequent cleansings and blessings can break the link between a location and its haunting demon. A demonic obsession is considerably more difficult to combat, because a demon has begun to actually get its hopefully-metaphorical claws into a person. This type of haunting is likely to require outside aid for the victim. Again, any and all magical techniques of protection, banishing, cleansing or purification should be brought to bear to try and weaken the connection between demon and victim. However, the most important thing is for the obsessed individual to muster their will and fight back. When a demon chooses to bring its evil to the battlefield of a mortal mind, the victim has the opportunity to strike back from a position of strength. Simply refusing to give in, consciously turning the mind away from whatever the obsessing idea or thought is and realizing that it isn’t really them thinking such things will weaken the demon eventually, forcing it to give up and seek easier prey. When reinforced by magic and spiritual support and protection, a strong-willed person can overcome a demonic obsession. Psychological counseling and religious support are also good options to explore in such a case. Finally, there is the ultimate and most dramatic expression of demonic activity: possession. By the time things escalate to this point outside assistance is mandatory. The possessed are virtually guaranteed to be incapable of freeing themselves. This is also the most ambiguous territory to enter, for there are few hard and fast rules for dealing with such a desperate situation. Some type of exorcism is going to be in order, whether of a religious or magical nature. If the afflicted has a religious preference all efforts should be made to find a representative of their faith who is empowered and trained to deal with such situations. In the likely situation that no competent clergy are available then a skilled and masterful magical practitioner is the best and only real choice. Natural magical techniques and standard banishing rites are going to fall flat in such a situation. Specifically focused and powerful rituals of exorcism and
banishing need to be constructed and/or performed flawlessly, backed up by ability and will. Protective and helpful entities can be called on for aid and divine aid sought. The process of exorcism may need to be repeated multiple times, over a span of time that can vary from days to months, before the demon is finally driven out. It is also worth mentioning that the entire process of exorcism hinges on the will of the possessed; if they don’t wish to be free or won’t fight back, then the battle is hopeless. No exorcism will free a person who can’t find the will to fight for their freedom. Even assuming that an exorcism is successful, it is still a draining and difficult experience for all involved. Especially for the victim, who is likely to need psychological and spiritual support afterward. Such support needs to be marshaled, along with other methods of warding and protection, in the wake of an exorcism to prevent a relapse. The victim is still weakened and would be vulnerable to a counterattack from the demon or even from a completely different being looking for easy prey. Steps must be taken to prevent a reoccurrence. This, of course, describes the optimal outcome of the worst-case scenario. There are, however, some topics that must be taken into consideration before even attempting to deal with a demon. First, is the question of ability. Anything but the least impressive and niggling imp is going to be a severe challenge to deal with. The more powerful demons, especially in scenarios involving possession, have a person’s life and quite possibly soul at stake. Dealing with demons can quickly become extraordinarily dangerous; there is a reason that demons are so feared across cultures. It is certainly not a job for amateurs and apprentices. Only experienced magical practitioners should even consider dealing with such a case. There is also the topic of identification and certainty. As discussed, it can be challenging to distinguish demons from other beings, to say nothing of mental illness, fraud or paranoia. It is likely to require a good bit of investigation, and preferably medical and psychological/psychiatric evaluations, to try and verify the reality of a demonic case. Rashness is diagnosing a demonic problem is likely to cause more harm than good. Then, one must consider questions of liability and safety. People can be injured dealing with demons and a full-blown exorcism is an extremely traumatic and dangerous affair. There are numerous stories of people dying of exorcisms, though such cases are generally ascribed to poorly performed or unsafe techniques rather than demons actually killing, but the possibility can’t fully be discounted. It has been written several times before in this paper, but it bears reiterating; demons are one of the most dangerous things one can go up against, at least at the higher tiers of their power and manifestation. Demons can be very powerful and are always malicious. They are dangerous and can cause life-altering problems. They can manifest in many forms and attack in many ways. There are differences of opinion about why they exist and what part of the cosmology they occupy. One thing is certain, however; demons are architects of misery and delight in suffering. Wherever they rear their eldritch heads, hopefully there is someone there to drive them back and protect their victims However, the best option is to never have to deal with a demon in the first place. The best offense against a
demon is a good defense; they are beings of evil and pain. They are attracted to negativity, whether in a person or a place. They can strike at individuals through their weaknesses, which can be anything from depression to drug addiction to illness. Filling one’s life with their very opposite is the best way to keep demons at bay. A happy, well-adjusted person, supported by loving friends and family and buoyed up by spiritual, religious or magical practices is like a bastion against such evil beings. A life full of love, light, happiness and harmony is an alien environment in which a demon can get no traction and is the best defense against demons possible.
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